Dim lights for fall migration
Have you noticed a lot more birds in your yard in the past few weeks? That is because their fall migration season has been in full swing. Some birds are still migrating, some stop to rest and refuel, and others have already arrived to stay for the winter. The Columbia River Gorge is part of the Pacific flyway, a major corridor for migrating birds.
Most birds migrate at night. Bright lights from Gorge towns create skyglow that blocks out the moon and stars birds use to navigate. And artificial light attracts and disorients birds and can cause them to circle around until they exhaust their energy or collide with windows and other structures.
While we have no skyscrapers in the Gorge, residential and small-town lights can lure birds down into trees and backyards only to fall prey to windows, cats, and other hazards. If you care about birds and want to help them out, please turn off any unnecessary outdoor lights and close your blinds at night.
Holly Coccoli
Hood River
Vote Bassett
I’m supporting Nicole Bassett for Oregon Senate District 26.
We face tremendous challenges and Nicole will provide a new voice for the people. Nicole understands that our farms, fisheries, and drinking water, as well as our region’s economy, all depend on clean water and healthy communities.
And her background gives her the credibility to back it up. Nicole spent two decades building sustainable business practices, including years with Patagonia and co-founding a Cascade Locks company built around reuse and the circular economy. She knows how to grow a healthy local economy.
Brett Vandenheuvel
Hood River
Real science
I stepped outside one night to walk Dusti. The smoke brought tears to my eyes. I am a local veterinarian and a marine biologist. All summer, we treated pets with respiratory problems due to the smoke.
That smoke and the climate change behind it can be combated. Our federal representative refuses to do so and revels in making things worse.
Science, principles, and leadership matter. Their absence is harming our culture, our home, our health, and our pets in The Dalles.
The Grasshopper fire incinerated almost 100,000 acres, endangered our homes, ruined air quality, and shut down the Wasco County Fair, one of our cultural institutions. Wildfires here are unequivocally more likely with rising temperatures. After the warmest winter on record with the lowest snowpack, Oregon’s state climatologist this spring predicted rampant summer wildfires. Oregon topped 2024s all-time yearly record for acres burned before the end of July.
Salmon fisheries are most imperiled by climate change’s high temperatures. Save Our Wild Salmon tracked record hot water days, coinciding with “historically low 2026 adult returns for sockeye, Spring Chinook, and steelhead.” Our culture, our dinners, and our ecosystem suffer.
Our pets are suffering the smoke with increased respiratory symptoms and even deaths. As Forbes reported, “Even a dog or a cat that’s not affected by another illness can be affected.”
Scientific denial endangers us all. More clients than ever resist vaccines because of the anti-science mindset championed by our representative. The rabies vaccine is reliable, cost-saving, legally required, and MUCH safer than the alternative. Do you want anyone disregarding proven protections against a disease with a 99% fatality rate?
My background and current position make me uniquely able to see these intersecting issues. We are losing because of climate change and science denial. Yet our federal representative supports policies and practices that canceled the Wasco County Fair, crashed salmon runs, burned Grasshopper, and chased suffering pets to my office. He has yet to own those mistakes.
We need a representative with principles and convictions to support evidence-based policies that will sustain the best parts of our community for future generations.
Gin Carter
The Dalles
Endorses Matulovich
I know both candidates for sheriff. I have been a volunteer with Klickitat County Search and Rescue for more than 18 years. I have also been a Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy for more than 15 years.
In these two roles, I have seen the hard work, dedication, and strong values both these men display. I have worked side by side, over and over again, with both candidates. I have nothing bad to say about either. I also know that both of them are human, both of them make mistakes, and hopefully both of them learn from those mistakes and become better humans. Talk to me individually, and I will tell you wonderful things about both. Too much to write in one endorsement.
More importantly, however, I have been a resident of Klickitat County for more than 21 years. My endorsement is not based on who will be the best for Search and Rescue. Likewise, my endorsement is not on who will be the best for the Sheriff’s Office or the Reserve program. It is not even on who will be the best sheriff for me personally. Rather, it is on who will be the best for ALL the residents and visitors to Klickitat County.
Klickitat County needs a sheriff who can bring people together and not divide us. Additionally, Klickitat County needs a sheriff that will work to create or repair relationships between other local government agencies and community groups.
Dwayne Matulovich is the person the Sheriff’s Office needs now to regain the trust of all the community. We need Dwayne’s integrity, his commitment to doing what’s right for all people, and his personability. Dwayne also understands the inherent rights we have that are enshrined in the Constitution.
I speak for myself, and not on behalf of any other people or organization with which I am affiliated. Feel free to contact me directly if you would like more information.
Timothy P. Hardin
Klickitat County
Roadless Rule and wildfire risk
The Forest Service is taking public comment until Oct. 6 on a proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, which protects roughly 44.7 million acres of national forest from new road building and logging. Gorge residents should weigh in, because this decision bears directly on our wildfire risk.
The repeal is being pitched as a wildfire measure. The agency’s own draft environmental impact statement undercuts that claim. It acknowledges that as road density increases, so do the probability, number and frequency of wildfire ignitions. Research has found fires are roughly four times more likely to start near a road than in a roadless area. More roads bring more vehicles, more people and more sparks into places that are now hard to reach. The draft also warns that new roads and logging are likely to spread invasive plants by disturbing the ground. Many invaders, cheatgrass among them, burn more readily than the native plants they displace.
We know what one human-caused fire can do here. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burned nearly 50,000 acres, closed Interstate 84 and closed trails for years. We should not be adding new ignition sources to the forests around our towns.
The roadless lands that would be impacted by this repeal also protect old growth, clean water, wildlife and the tourism economy our communities depend on. The Forest Service itself estimates its rescission alternative would cost local communities $9 million a year in visitor spending (Source: USDA Forest Service, 2026; 2001 Roadless Rule rescission: Draft environmental impact statement, Vol. I, U.S. Department of Agriculture).
Please comment by Oct. 6: www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2025-0001-342438. Say you oppose rescinding the rule and support Alternative 1, the No Action alternative.
Kate Bennett
White Salmon
Gambee for all
During her decade as county clerk, Lisa Gambee worked closely with communities from Mosier in the northwest to Antelope in the southeast — Dufur, Maupin, Tygh Valley, Wamic, Pine Grove, and Shaniko among them. She learned the character of each place, the challenges they face, and the people who keep them going.
That experience matters. It means she understands that Wasco County isn’t one community, but rather many, each with its own needs and strengths.
Just as important, Lisa built strong, respectful relationships with local leaders across this wide geography. Whether supporting elections in the smallest precincts or collaborating with staff in larger towns, she earned trust by showing up, listening, and following through. Those relationships don’t disappear when a job title changes —they become the foundation for effective, responsive county leadership.
As commissioner, Lisa will bring that same grounded, countywide perspective to decisions that affect all of us. She knows rural voices matter, that small towns deserve attention, and that good governance starts with understanding the people you serve.
Wasco County needs a commissioner with deep ties across the region and a proven record of collaborative, transparent service. Lisa Gambee is that leader. I’m voting for her and encourage others to do the same.
John Smeraglio
Maupin
Gambee for commissioner
I’m happily voting for Lisa Gambee for our next Wasco County commissioner, and encourage others to do the same.
You never know who will run for public office; I just hope every time there’s someone we can trust to do the work honestly, diligently, and thoughtfully — and we have that person in Lisa Gambee. With her perspective living and working in both Tygh Valley and The Dalles, she has a good feel for much of the county.
And with nearly 10 years as the county clerk, she brings a highly informed ability to be an effective commissioner. Lisa’s take on county issues combines a solid common sense with an impressive grasp of detail. Her view on data center funds, for instance, balances both how save some money for the long-term good with making some funds available for near-term needs around the county.
If there’s someone on the ballot who can put aside partisan feelings and tackle the job with seriousness, experience, and a heart for their neighbors, well, then vote for them, I say. Lisa Gambee gets my vote this November.
Dan Richardson
The Dalles
Another for Bassett
We need more people with business experience working in government, and we’re lucky to have Nicole Bassett as a candidate for the Oregon State Senate, District 26 — a district that borders mine here in The Dalles.
Nicole co-founded and was CEO of The Renewal Workshop in Cascade Locks, which repaired and resold unsold outdoor-industry products instead of letting them go to waste. She’s invested in the Gorge, innovated, hired people, and provided needed jobs.
Nicole worked at Patagonia, prAna, Textile Exchange and the Sustainable Food Trade Association, and brings deep experience as an innovator, but also as a listener, a responsive problem solver and a collaborator. She understands how we’re all feeling the rising cost of living, from gas to housing to groceries. And she sees how our rural areas aren’t being embraced and included by metropolitan areas with the same principles of inquiry and equity we want for each other as people.
As we approach voting season, I encourage everyone to come out and meet the candidates. I met Nicole when she was in The Dalles earlier this month and was impressed. She’ll be back at Sunshine Mill on Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. — I encourage everyone to stop by, meet her, and ask your own questions. Then decide, and vote.
Lee Weinstein
The Dalles
Sanders for D52
I first met Hank Sanders as he was engaging members of our community to sound out running for District 52 in the Oregon House. We sat down for coffee, and it was very clear to me that Hank was genuinely interested to learn what was important to me as an Oregon voter. When I learned he was running in the primary, I was happy to support him as a fresh voice.
Upon entering the race, Hank immediately showed his stripes, knocking on literally every registered Democrat’s door. To engage and listen. To learn about who he is running to represent. And once Hank won the crowded primary, he proved again who he is as a candidate. He immediately got to work, reaching out to voters of all affiliations. He’s not running to represent Democrats; he’s running to represent us all. He’s listening, engaging and proving that he’s a cut above the party politics we have grown so sadly accustomed to.
I recently saw an attack ad from Hank’s opponent in the general election, Scott Hege. The ad tried to paint Hank as a supporter of data centers, which I know to be false. I know Hank supports a moratorium on building data centers until we have protections in place to keep our power bills down and our environment clean. I also know Scott Hege was a main figure in bringing data centers to our community. And now, Mr. Hege is running from his record. We don’t need another politician who tells voters what he thinks they want to hear and who conveniently attempts to obscure his own record. We need someone who listens and engages and stands up for all the residents of District 52. That candidate is Hank Sanders. Please join me in supporting Hank this November.
Matt Althoff
Hood River
Greater good?
I had to smile when a letter from Goldendale said that we should not vote against our own self-interest because of the greater good of the nation. Are these greater goods the destruction of the middle class through trickle-down economics and tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of the ordinary citizens? Are these payouts to the corporate farmers to make up for the foolish tariff decisions? (The family of Sen. Joni Senator Ernst ended up getting about $463,000 in federal farm subsidies. Talk about self-interests.) Are these the decisions to buy votes to keep those shifting the funding of social security for seniors, the disabled and social services to pay for theses tax breaks, unnecessary war costs, funding of a police state (ICE) and corporate welfare? If you look it up, one definition of “patriot,” it’s doing things for the good of all the citizen of a country, not just a special class. Here’s your sign!
S. Michael Carlson
Tygh Valley
Surveillance
While it has been generally accepted that some of our tax dollars did end up in the hands of Al Qaeda, I do not think the CIA directly, knowingly and intentionally funded Al Qaeda in any significant manner more than it did any other turbulent gang of murdering thugs.
Sure, shrink-wrapped pallets of $100 bills were dropped hither and yon during that chaotic era of spooks running amok. But Al Qaeda in particular was just one of the participants in this grand party time, not really standing out. Nevertheless, I have come to believe the best overall paradigm from which to consider the whole sordid affair, and its negative effects down to this very day, is Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” concept.
I’ve read and heard a lot of media coverage about the present 25th anniversary of 9/11, but seen no mention of this essential concept. Well, perhaps the next time you drive through a street intersection, and a snoop camera up by the traffic light steals without judicial warrant your privacy, your face, your vehicle make, model, year and license number, and this, say experts, contributes to a growing comprehensive database of your entire life, what some government officials have described gleefully as Total Information Awareness, you might give it some thought.
Our current and increasingly invasive Surveillance State did not just sorta happen. It has been done to us intentionally. Would this have happened lacking 9/11? Oh, probably. Any old catastrophe will do, if those of malign intent understand how the shock doctrine works, and how to use it effectively.
Jerrold Richards
Lyle
Helfrich not for kids, families
Rep. Jeff Helfrich likes to talk about representing the interests of his constituents, but his voting record tells a different story. Time and again, when bills came to the floor that would have helped children and working families, he said no.
He voted against protecting foster care funds meant for children in the system (SB 556). He voted against closing a loophole that lets employers dodge child support reporting for contractors (SB 184). He voted against capping predatory loan interest rates at 36%, leaving struggling families exposed to lenders that trap them in debt (HB 2561). He voted against giving tenants the right to leave a lease early after a landlord refuses to renew (HB 2134). He voted against letting policyholders recover damages when insurers act in bad faith (HB 3242). And he voted against the right to repair, a measure that saves ordinary consumers money (SB 1596).
Six bills. Six chances to stand up for kids, renters, borrowers, and consumers. Six no votes.
It’s hard not to notice who benefits from that pattern: predatory lenders, insurance companies, landlords, and the corporations that oppose right-to-repair. Big Business has a friend in Rep. Helfrich. Foster children, working parents, and struggling renters do not.
Rep. Helfrich has made his priorities clear. Voters should return the favor at the ballot box this November, as he runs for state senator.
Maureen Lauran
Hood River
Dean for HD57
One of the easier choices on the Nov. 3 ballot: Oregon House District 57.
Not many Dufur residents have been candidates for the legislature, but we are pleased and honored to share the talents of Josiah Dean. We met when he was an owner of the Balch Hotel. He has a long history of small business ownership, and is currently employed by the Small Business Development Center based in The Dalles.
Please visit his website to learn more about Josiah: www.josiahdean.com.
While on that site, you can learn more about the other candidate, who has a long history of service for self, with appropriate recognition regarding that service.
Please vote for Josiah Dean.
Keith Mobley
Dufur
Commented