Unity in Community interfaith event
Yes, we have a vibrant interfaith community in the Gorge!
With faith leaders from Baha’i, Buddhist, Druid, Christian, Jewish, Sufi and Universalist Unitarian fellowships, we come together in mutual respect and understanding to strengthen our community as a whole. There will be a celebratory gathering on Monday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Bethel United Church of Christ at 480 E Jewett Blvd., White Salmon.
Our main focus for this event is connection across the spiritual spectrum, to meet each other and invigorate our common values. In addition, we welcome you to sing, offer gratitudes or concerns and share a dessert potluck. This is a fund raiser for the MAMA Emergency Fund which addresses needs that social service agencies cannot address. Maybe someone needs dentures, a bus ticket to visit a dying relative, a porto potty or propane tank filled. We give one time assistance to families in need.
MAMA, or the Mt. Adams Ministerial Association is a 501c3. In addition to the Emergency Fund, we are working toward finding concrete ways to support the Native American communities within the Gorge. The needs are great, and donations are gratefully received through our website: https://mountadamsministers.org/.
Honoring all spiritual paths.
Kalama Reuter
White Salmon
Library gets shout-out
We saw the famous author David Sedaris speak on Friday night at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland. At the end of the talk, they brought up the house lights for a couple minutes of Q&A. I knew that Mr. Sedaris had spent two falls in the Hood River Valley in the late 1970s, living in Odell, where he picked apples and worked in the Duckwall packing house, and later living in Hood River, where he worked for an artist making folk-art clocks from jade (as told in portions of his books, "Naked" and "Theft by Finding"). I was lucky enough to be called on, so I asked what his favorite part of living here was. He thought about it for a moment, remarking that he hadn’t been back in 50 years. But then he said his favorite thing was the Hood River Library, because he wouldn’t have become who he is today without it.
During his second fall here, when he came without the friend that had joined him the first year, he got a library card at the Hood River Library, where he started reading the types of books, he said, that people who’d gone to “good” high schools had already read. He said there are no “folk writers” like there are folk artists. A successful writer must be a master of his craft in order to “seduce” his readers. He said the only way to learn to do that is by reading a lot, and for him, that started in the Hood River Library.
I just wanted to share with everyone the role our public library had in shaping one of America’s greatest living humorists.
Peter Harman
Hood River
Not happy with bill
Make sure to check your Farmers Irrigation bill! You will be shocked. It is not a mistake, it is real. To complain or voice your opinion, they are having a board meeting Wednesday, Nov. 20 at noon at their facility. Please attend.
They state that the 15-year contract they signed with Pacific Power is only paying them half of what they were supposed to; therefore, the district is making all us customers foot the $800,000 shortfall. It is NOT right. They should go after Pacific Power, not us. Your bill will not go down. Now is the time to pull out or reduce your irrigation rights because it isn't going to get any better. They can't make a bad investment because they're using our money. We attended the meetings back then when they put in the power generator. We were told it would reduce our bill. Reach out to everyone to attend this meeting, and/or call them to tell them your feelings. Their bad decision shouldn't be put on us customers.
Tina Dye
Hood River
Criminal president
For the first 246 years of the nation’s history, no American president or former president had ever been indicted. That changed in 2023. Over a five-month span, former President Donald Trump was charged in four criminal cases. Together, the indictments accused him of wide-ranging criminal conduct before, during and after his presidency. One of those indictments has now led to the first criminal conviction of a former president; the other three remain pending (Politico, Nov. 5, 2024).
Congratulations Trump voters! You elected a liar and a crook! He will create a Constitutional crisis and declare the United States unable to pay back our government’s Social Security loans and take away our retirement! Probably giving us a settlement, like the employees in his bankrupt companies. It will be much lower than we’ve earned, and then end up privatizing what’s left.
As far as Christians who voted for today’s Barabbas, you showed your real beliefs. Nothing's changed in 2,000 years. Jesus was for the people and kicked the money changers out of the temple. You just put them back in! Shame on you!
S. Michael Carlson
Tygh Valley
To do list
It is going to be difficult to handle the next four years of a Trump presidency as he causes “havoc” in wielding his unchecked/unbalanced power. I have decided I have choices to make and will do most of the following things to get through this challenging time:
I will watch less national news. I will work on local issues and volunteer in local opportunities.
I will participate in the national organization “Braver Angels,” whose goal is to bring Americans of red and blue leanings together to meet, discuss our differences and find compromises and understanding and new relationships. In order to participate with Braver Angels Columbia Gorge, contact Doug Roof at droof@braverangels.org.
I will watch the “fireplace” on Netflix, rest, do deep breathing, listen to beautiful music, fill my day with humor and laughter, watch uplifting news stories, mute Trump when he is on the news, and call Trump the pathological liar, narcissistic president that he is.
You can also make a tax deductible donation to an awesome literacy effort Books for Kids Columbia Gorge at www.booksforkidscg.org.
I have a flag now in my yard that says, “LOVE, not hate, makes America GREAT." When you get discouraged, remember what Mr. Rogers said: “When there is a catastrophe, look to the helpers.” Also remember “it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ….won’t you be mine, will you be mine?" We all have good neighbors and “helpers” in our neighborhood if we look for them.
Most important, I will support those I love and stand together with the members of my community to protect them from what I expect to be the cruelty and hate/violence in the next four years. We now know that Trump is ABOVE THE LAW. He is a “privileged rich felon” who believes and found that the laws in America don’t apply to him. I hope we can come together in our community to be supportive of each other, and show our respectful, kind, and compassionate side rather than hate and division.
Nancy Johanson Paul
Hood River
Mass deportations
Illegal immigration is unresolved in our country, but mass deportations will have a devastating effect on our economy.
Data from the American Community Survey estimates the cost to deport approximately 11 million people who did not have legal status as of 2022, and the additional 2.3 million people who’ve arrived between 2023 and April 2024, would cost about $315 billion, a conservative estimate. This covers the cost of arrest, detention, and deporting, plus the fiscal impact on the labor force and the increased cost of consumer goods. Other costs, such as building the infrastructure and training people to run them are not included in this estimate ("Mass Deportation, Devastating Costs to America, its Budget, and its Economy," American Immigration Council, Oct. 2, 2024).
Tom Homan is Trump’s pick for “Border Czar.” The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), speaking at the Republican National Convention, said, “I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden’s released in our country: You better start packing now.”
In a CBS interview, Homan vowed to begin deporting public safety and national security threats, but upon further questioning, admitted there will be “worksite enforcement operations,” which may include deporting the worker’s families with them ("Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan for Un-documented Immigrants Could Cost Billions a Year," CBS news, Cecilia Vega, Oct. 27, 2024).
If you’re worried about the cost of groceries now, get ready for higher prices when the workers are deported, with no quick replacements.
April George
White Salmon
Land Trade update
Should the north (Cooper Spur) side of Mount Hood look like the developed south side or be protected as wild lands? For more than 20 years, Thrive Hood River (with the Cooper Spur Wild and Free Coalition; CSWF) have stood against Mt. Hood Meadows, Hood River County, and the U.S. Forest Service in an ongoing legal battle for the future of Oregon’s iconic mountain.
All parties agreed in good faith mediation that Mt. Hood Meadows will give up ALL holdings on the north side in exchange for developable land in Government Camp. Develop the south side, keep the north side wild — a “clean sweep."
Legal proceedings limit what Thrive Hood River and Mt. Hood Meadows can say publicly so it’s been difficult for the community to fully understand what’s happening. But Thrive and CSWF’s role is rock-solid: Challenge flawed public processes and fight for a fair deal.
Two key legal cases are moving forward at a glacial pace:
First, the federal “clean sweep” case: Improper land appraisals have stalled a three-way deal between Thrive Hood River, Mt. Hood Meadows and the Forest Service. An out-of-state appraiser overvalued land on the north side of Mount Hood and undervalued developable Government Camp land, allowing Mt. Hood Meadows to benefit unequally. That lopsidedness undermined Thrives' goal to preserve 1,700 acres of wilderness in the Tilly Jane-Cloud Cap Historic District and protect 2,000 acres of the Crystal Springs watershed.
Second, the local, circuit court case over the original 2002 land exchange between Mt. Hood Meadows and Hood River County: Recently, Judge John Olson sent land equalization values that shortchanged county taxpayers more than $1 million in the original land swap back to the Hood River County Board of Commissioners for their re-review. In October, the county commissioners once again denied Thrive Hood River and the public an opportunity to reopen the record for full public comment on a fair valuation of the land. Thrive is appealing this decision and has entered court-ordered mediation. Thrive has proposed a fair compromise that will secure protection for the north side of Mount Hood and awaits a response.
Peter Cornelison, Thrive co-president, and
the board of directors
Hood River
Editor's note: On advice from the county’s legal counsel that it would be in violation of Olson’s order to consider anything outside the established record, the board of commissioners declined to allow additional testimony.
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