Short Term Rentals (STRs) are hardly new, nor are regulations that help the many communities (incorporated and unincorporated) live with the impacts that come with STRs.

Bend adopted its regulations in 2015. The City of Hood River adopted regulations on STRs in 2016 while Hood River County has had regulations since at least 2018. Tillamook County, home to various coastal destinations where tourists flock to, adopted its regulations in 2017.

It's really a no-brainer: as more and more properties have become STRs, there is the need to regulate a wide range of aspects, including occupancy, parking, access, noise and so much more.

It's particularly important for those communities where the STRs are located to have these regulations to protect their identity, safety and peace of mind (not to mention the health and safety of the visitors to ensure STRs are up to code).

Clackamas County started its process towards regulating STRs in unincorporated areas in 2019, yet 2022 is halfway over and the fruits of those labors are about to be scrapped.

There are many lessons learned over the past three years, but one big one is that STRs are more popular now than ever. They aren't going away, and neither are the problems that they come with.

One sticking point for the County Commissioners seems to be imposing a new fee ($800 for two years, which may be higher than some other programs, but is comparable).

Yet that fee, that would help fund the program's regulations and enforcement, would be paid for by the owners of STR properties, not the community at large. Many of those property owners don't reside in unincorporated Clackamas County and have purchased property here as an investment vehicle.

Why would we not want these investors to help ensure the Mountain community remains safe and hospitable to all people, but particularly those who live and work here and deal with the influx of visitors due to STRs? Who are the County Commissioners working for, anyway?

There will always be a cost associated with having STRs in the community – either the monetary cost to regulate them or the cost the community pays in other ways if we don't regulate them.

STRs have their benefits, including supporting the local economy, but leaving them unregulated in unincorporated Clackamas County turns it into the Wild West, with regulations on a permanent vacation.

May 24, 2022 – Robb Elementary School.

Nov. 30, 2021 – Oxford High School.

May 18, 2018 – Santa Fe High School.

Feb. 14, 2018 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Oct. 1, 2015 – Umpqua Community College.

Oct. 24, 2014 – Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

May 23, 2014 – University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dec. 14, 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Feb. 14, 2008 – Northern Illinois University.

Oct. 2, 2006 – West Nickel Mines Amish School.

March 21, 2005 – Red Lake High School.

April 20, 1999 – Columbine High School.

One of the staples of election season are the political ads, whether it be in print, on TV or anywhere else eyes and ears might wander.

What amazes me is the negativity some candidates resort to, with the sole purpose of advertising to tear down an opponent while also trying to stoke fear and anger in voters.

I suppose these candidates just don't have anything to say about themselves in their attempt to secure office – perhaps they lack a vision or ideas to run on, or they aren't convinced of their record (or don't have one to stand on).

But the funny thing is that those negative ads certainly do say an awful lot more about the candidate behind them, including that they'd rather tear others down than build themselves up.

I'm not interested in hearing how awful you think the other candidate is or how the country will collapse with their victory.

I'm not interested in how "extreme" you think the person running against you is, or any other of the buzz words used only to stoke fear, anger and division in the voting public.

Tell me what you will do; what your vision is.

Because if all a candidate can do is trash their opponent, that tells me everything about their character and how suited they are to govern.

The Mountain abounds with outdoor recreational opportunities.

From Wildwood Recreation Area to hiking, biking and more in the Mount Hood National Forest, I suspect most everyone in the community has some sense of the possibilities out there.

But one thing that the vast majority of these opportunities share is that their jurisdictions remain outside the immediate community.

The Bureau of Land Management operates Wildwood (along with the Sandy Ridge Trail System).

The U.S. Forest Service is in charge of the Mount Hood National Forest.

So much of the land on the Mountain is run by entities that aren't based on the Mountain.

That's a huge difference when talking about the potential of the Hoodland Park District, which will be run by a board of local volunteers.

The district offers the opportunity for local control to determine the shape and scope of the land along Salmon River Road, along with the possibility of embracing future projects, yet unknown, for the local community and by the local community.

That's not an opportunity that should be passed up. Development is inevitable, and the evidence of that is all around us in how the community has changed over the years.

Having a seat at the table when decisions are made is vital (hence the need for to restart the Community Planning Organization for the Welches area), but having all the seats and setting the table yourself is even better.

The district offers so much potential to add playgrounds, skate parks and whatever else can be dreamed up, but the greatest potential is how these dreams can be executed by the Mountain community.

The coronavirus pandemic marches on, continuing to shift in some ways, but with an all too familiar tune to it.

As of this writing, more than five million people lost their lives around the world, including more than 800,000 deaths in the United States and more than 5,500 in Oregon.

And the pandemic has taken away even more – experiences and time together, jobs and businesses, the list can go on and on.

Last month, the list grew a bit longer with the loss of the Sandy River Watershed Council (see story on Page 1).

For more than 20 years, the Council had an impact on the Mountain community through a bevy of activities, including litter removal, addressing invasive species, restoring fish habitat and more.

One of the more memorable events was the annual fall fish toss, when salmon carcasses (typically from the Sandy hatchery) were tossed into a stream, providing a booster shot of nutrients that would help future generations of salmon, predators and more.

Not surprisingly, it's hard to forget a cold Mountain morning involving hundreds of rotting fish. And while the smell might have been unpleasant, everybody involved was upbeat and enjoyed a sense of purpose; there was also the sense of making a difference lingering in the air.

That sense – of people joining together to improve the community and world around us – now takes a hit with the Council's dissolution.

In so many ways, the Council made a huge impact on the Mountain, both seen (such as the stream restoration projects that installed large pieces of timber) and perhaps unnoticed (such as the cumulative effect of events such as the salmon toss).

For all that the Council accomplished, I offer my thanks to everyone involved – from board members to volunteers and beyond.

While the momentum of those efforts will continue in the immediate future, other groups and individuals will need to pick up the slack to really keep it going. The work of improving and preserving this watershed is too important, perhaps now more than ever.

My hope for the New Year is that the loss of the Council is just a small bump in the progress they made and that the work can continue unabated.

Even if that means more cold Mountain mornings involving hundreds of rotting fish.

Last year, my mom, sister and I chose to offer up what we would have spent on Christmas presents for one another and instead donate that money to a nonprofit.

It was a small organization that provides ebooks to schoolchildren and donating to this nonprofit offered us a different sense of joy for the holiday season.

All three of us have what we need and want, and while I do appreciate a thoughtful gift, I enjoyed seeing that money go to an amazing cause and joining together with my mom and sister in supporting that.

We're doing it again this year, with a different nonprofit this time; a new holiday tradition to support a different cause that is meaningful to one of us each year.

For those of you who can, I hope you'll consider supporting a cause or nonprofit this holiday season, whether or not you forgo with the traditional gift giving in the process.

There are many nonprofits on the Mountain that make the community so much better for all they put into it.

To help spur the giving, the Mountain Times will match up to a total $500 in gifts to nonprofits in the community.

The matching gifts will be up to $25 per donation, and there will be a maximum of $100 per nonprofit in order to try and spread the wealth some.

Send me an email showing your donation to a nonprofit based on the Mountain or one that serves the community, and we'll help spread some joy this holiday season.

Most months, I will write the editorial as late as possible. That's a bit out of necessity – my hope is to write something timely, but often times the subject for a good editorial also evades me until I'm on deadline.

And there's also many a month when one of the columnists in these pages will cover the same topic that I've been considering (and more successfully than I would).

Dr. Victoria Larson, who sadly passed away earlier this year, had a knack for that. Chalk that up as another reason I miss having her words in these pages every month.

In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, in the holiday tradition of remembering a lost friend and as a gentle reminder of some sage words, here are a few messages that Victoria shared with us in the past that are still resonant today:

– Increase your happiness (and health) by paying off debt, decreasing screen time, invest in experiences rather than stuff, get outside more and socialize more.

– Decrease consumption of junk food, packaged food and simple sugars.

– Go slow in making changes.

– Make sure you get enough sleep.

– Be grateful for what you have and share your abundance.

The world today is very polarized and challenging in so many ways. These messages might not solve all that ills us, but it can be a start.

Remember them, remember Victoria, remember those we've lost and remember each other this holiday season.

Kudos are in order for the Clackamas County Commissioners for their willingness to delay a decision on the different plots of land along Salmon River Road as the community tries to pursue a park district and possibly take ownership of the properties. The Commissioners have given the Mountain a chance to control the destiny of that land, and that is much appreciated.

We can only ask the Commissioners to also step up and offer some clarity on the Hoodland Senior Center building, owned by the county and which has been in limbo for ten months with no light at the end of the tunnel.

The center's board of directors wrote in April this year about the situation they are in regarding the building: the county notified them last December that they may need to vacate. Since then, that possibility has hung over the Senior Center, hindering long-term planning and adding an extra layer of anxiety in an already challenging time.

County Spokesperson Kimberly Dinwiddie reported that as of late September, the building's status is not an agenda item for the Commissioners in the near future.

But it needs to be.

The center, which offers a bevy of serivces (from transportation to home meal deliveries to energy assistance and much more) to the community's seniors, has carried on admirably with a staff of two part-time employees and their volunteer ranks. In April, the board asked for either a three-to-five year lease or a timeline on when they need to vacate the building, but board president Robert Boertien noted that even a two-year lease would help.

There is no perfect alternative space for the Senior Center to move into, but usable information is needed now to know what the immediate future might be.

Who knows – it's possible that in the future, the Senior Center may find itself in a new building where the Dorman Center once stood, a project that may come to be thanks to the proposed Park District and the land the county is willing to give it.

That possibility is nothing but a dream right now, in part because the county was willing to do what's best for the community by delaying a decision on that land.

But now is the time to provide clarity on the Senior Center building, and keep their dreams alive.

I started covering the Mountain more than 15 years ago, when I ventured over to The Resort at The Mountain to write about a Bus Project event. I guess it says something about how long I've been at this that both the location and the organization involved with that story now have other names.

The Mountain beat became a familiar one in quick order, from dogsledding to the birth of a village and many more, during which I had the privilege to meet many people in this community, some who I've known now for more than 15 years and counting.

Change is always happening, though, and this past May the paper changed hands as my wife and I bought it from Frances Berteau. I never envisioned myself a journalist when I was younger, much less a publisher, but here I am.

And in case you missed the earlier announcement, I thought it best to offer some insight into the new phase of this wonderful community resource.

It has been said that change is always happening, but little has changed with the paper in the recent months and that is the plan. I started working for The Mountain Times more than 11 years ago (when my first son was born) and took the helm as the editor nearly six years ago (and yes, I had to look back through my files to remember how long ago it was).

In this way, the transition to the new ownership has been virtually seamless, and in no small part that credit goes to Frances, who has constantly gone above and beyond to make it so. I am so thankful for her assistance through this process and how she and Larry gave me a chance to be a part of this so many years ago.

And I can't mention continuity at The Mountain Times without mentioning Peggy Wallace. Peggy has more institutional knowledge of the paper than anyone else out there, thanks to staying on through different ownership for more than 20 years. And she is more than a resouce, she is a delight to know and work with and I feel lucky to have her on board.

It has amazed me to see the support the community has given to the paper through the years, from the words of encouragement and the wonderful advertisers who help make this possible, to the columnists who always amaze me with their writing, Tom Tarrants, Ben Simpson and everyone who makes this paper possible.

It's been a privilege and an honor to have been a part of this journey and I am humbled to be able to continue doing so. Thank you.

The Greatest Generation featured those men and women whose courage and determination were forged through their experiences and sacrifices during the Depression and in World War II. They did what they did because it was the right thing to do.

I think of that generation today, as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc across the country – a development that was completely avoidable thanks to the vaccine that combats it.

What would the Greatest Generation do? Certainly, they would take two jabs to protect their country, their communities and their families.

At the time of publication, the country's population remains just below the 50 percent of people fully vaccinated and less than 60 percent with a single shot.

And while the two shots needed to be fully vaccinated would hardly be considered a great sacrifice, scores of people can't even bring themselves to go that far, putting their country, their communities and their families at risk.

The results of that risky behavior are now coming to fruition with the Delta variant. A surge is underway, and the death toll will rise dramatically in the weeks to come. All unnecessarily so.

In this "me first" society we live in, being unvaccinated seems to be a badge of honor for some who are willing to sacrifice those around them rather than being vaccinated. Amazingly, they are empowered and encouraged by politicians, celebrities and other blowhards who put the lives of Americans at risk rather than put those same lives first.

These people have no concept of doing what's right.

This continuing pandemic and these ongoing deaths were avoidable, but they are the reality we live in because of this hubris.

Those who endured the Depression and World War II faced different, yet similarly monumental, challenges. If this current generation encountered the same challenges of the Greatest Generation, failure would be a certainty, based on how spectacularly it failed in the face of the pandemic.

The Greatest Generation certainly does not have any competition for the title; the current generation has a loser's mentality.

The grand reopening is here. My guess is that most everyone is ready to throw away the mask and give out a few hugs. I know I am.

But nothing is ever as easy as it appears to be, and with the reopening comes challenges.

Of particular note are restaurants, which have experienced a dramatic impact during the pandemic. And now that restrictions have eased, even reopening poses difficulties since employees are in short supply and getting back to "normal" may not be as easy as it seems.

Many restaurants, locally and across the nation, face this new challenge. Some have cut down menus, others have cut back on hours, and the likely result is a population ready and eager to enjoy meals out encountering a business environment that may continue to limit its offerings.

In a world where patience and understanding are also in somewhat short supply, let's remember that both are needed as we all take part in the grand reopening.

Other hiccups are sure to occur, as supply chains are still not where they were before the pandemic, some people may not be ready to just go back to the way it was and others may be concerned that the Delta variant (or some other) poses enough of a threat that they would rather minimize their risk in public.

For these reasons, among others, let's give others the benefit of the doubt, exercise understanding and be happy in the fact that we have come this far.

And if you need a job, there are some eager restaurants looking to hire...

Hanging up my publisher's hat, it is a fitting time for Garth and Jen Guibord to take ownership of our community newspaper that Larry Berteau and I have owned since 2008. Welcome Garth Guibord, new publisher of The Mountain Times.

The Mountain Times will benefit greatly with Garth's leadership, and he will bring with him fresh ideas, stay astride of current events and keep The Mountain Times a community newspaper we all look forward to reading and can be proud of.

No stranger to our area, Garth has been covering our local news for 15 years. In fact, he has been the very competent editor of The Mountain Times since 2015 when, spurred on by Larry's health, a lifelong dream and what may have been a final fling in pursuit of adventure, Larry and I relocated to France with our two cats and aging blind dog. A huge affection was quickly developed for the French way of life, save for Larry's remorse on publishing day he missed the personal experience at the printers as papers rolled off the press. The aroma of printing ink to Larry was akin to the joy of breathing in and savoring a fine wine.

Thirteen years ago, following our purchase of The Mountain Times, our first editorial declared, "We are fierce defenders of the First Amendment. We do not take it lightly that the press is the only business protected by the Constitution. The Fourth Estate must strike a balance between its freedoms and responsibilities, and The Mountain Times will be dedicated to that principle." Larry Berteau, Editor.

Today's press continues to be protected by the Constitution. We are fortunate to live in a society which offers an uncensored choice and where we all have an opportunity to read unbiased and balanced news, whether it is the lofty Washington Post or our local Mountain Times.  Community newspapers are no exception, and have been scattered over kitchen tables for decades providing residents a central network to share information, write letters to the editor to air opinions and read local news penned by local reporters. The Mountain Times has always endeavored to provide a high standard of fair reporting.

With this my last issue as publisher, I would like to take the opportunity to thank our awesome advertisers, columnists, contributors and residents of this remarkable mountain community who make up the very fabric of The Mountain Times. And a huge debt of gratitude to Garth, Peggy Wallace, a woman of many hats, reporter Ben Simpson and circulation manager Tom Tarrants. Thank you all.

I feel truly honored and privileged to have been afforded the opportunity to spend 13 years with The Mountain Times, and if Larry were here today, he would agree wholeheartedly.

Garth, I am fully confident that the future of The Mountain Times is in the finest possible hands. Savor the ink. Bonne chance.

– Larry Berteau/Publisher 2008-2019

Did I ever feel tired last month. Just pooped. There could be a plethora of reasons: the pandemic, raising kids, work, seasonal allergies.

But March is also the month when we "spring ahead" for the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST). And I always seem to feel tired when that happens.

The whole idea seems superfluous – changing our clocks by an hour, either by adding or subtracting 60 minutes, hardly increases the hours of sunlight a day will offer. It just shifts things around, including our daily schedules, sleep patterns and more.

Also last month, bipartisan legislation introduced (including by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden) would make DST permanent for the country, ridding us of the obligation to change our clocks twice a year. Dubbed "The Sunshine Protection Act," its authors point to benefits that would potentially include reduced car accidents, reduced cardiac issues and seasonal depression, reduced energy usage, benefits to the economy, increased physical activity and more.

That's all well and good, although it should be noted that some of those same reasons are why DST started in the first place.

My hand is raised as one who supports not changing our clocks twice a year and dealing with the hassle and confusion that accompanies that routine. While the costs and benefits of keeping DST as it is, getting rid of it or making it permanent can be argued, I have no doubt that at the very least, "springing ahead" has a negative impact on me every year that doesn't go away with an afternoon nap. Fixing this should be easy, either with permanent DST or no DST.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

Two milestones in our return to normalcy happened last month: students going back to in-person learning at school and restaurants getting the green light for indoor dining.

These formally routine occurrences took on some special meaning after nearly a year without them.

For the restaurants, the timing should be fortuitous. With the "shoulder season" now on the horizon, the limited indoor dining can help boost the recovery for an industry that has been hit hard by the pandemic.

And for those of us who can, let's be sure to do our best to spur that recovery.

It will feel so good to sit in one of the Mountain's restaurants and enjoy a meal out. It's been too long without that simple pleasure.

But the pandemic is not fully in our rearview mirror, it's still ongoing and a real threat – to our health and lives and also to the economy. Proceeding with hopeful caution is necessary.

Some of us may even feel hesitant to return to indoor dining, and this is very understandable. But even those of us who are hesitant can contribute – get some take out or delivery and help restaurants build back up their business.

Restaurants need to plan for increased customers with the return to indoor dining, bring back employees and stock up more, so every purchase will help. Even if you are not "in" on indoor dining, you can be "in" on helping out.

And by contributing to the cause, you can be sure that the Mountain's restaurants will still be there whenever you are ready to return to indoor dining.

One year ago this month, the pandemic shut us down. The dawn of our reopening has me hopeful and encouraged, but even so, let's remember to be safe (masks, washing hands, social distancing) and be patient with one another.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

Our words – spoken or written – have tremendous power. The pen (and one's voice) is mightier than the sword, indeed.

As the world watched on Jan. 6, an insurrection boiled over both due to the words some supposed "leaders" used to incite the crowd of miscreants in an attempt to undo our democracy and from years of words used to deceive our citizens and undermine our values. Those words were fatal, albeit they failed at their end goal.

Words can help, too. Our new Clackamas County Sheriff, Angela Brandenburg, shared her thoughts in this edition on various issues in this county, including a start to address those communities the Sheriff's Office can serve better.

Her words were compelling enough to include them in entirety as her tenure begins.

More words that matter were uncovered last month: social media posts by the recently elected Commissioner, Mark Shull, that demeaned and degraded people, including Muslims, immigrants and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Shull's subsequent apology served as an example of words that ring hollow – an attempt to excuse his harmful words because he "didn't imagine" they would be shared.

Racism is racism and hate is hate, Commissioner Shull, whether it is in the chat room, the locker room or anywhere else, and expecting those words to remain private is no excuse for using them. The words in those posts were hurtful and disgraceful and you lost your credibility as a leader not just by using them, but trying to excuse them.

Commissioner Shull should resign, as a litany of politicians from all corners, organizations and more have called for. As long as he remains as a Commissioner, those words will be remembered in every meeting and every vote conducted by the Board of County Commissioners, eroding confidence in everything they do and keeping the embers of racism warm.

If he chooses not to, I expect more words to follow – in a petition for his recall, with a surplus of names in support of that effort. Those words will also matter; words from the people who will not stand for those that would divide and degrade us.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

One reported consequence of the pandemic is that carpooling might be out of style. Parking lots at ski resorts fill quickly and early, in part thanks to people driving up in their own cars to reduce the risk of getting exposed to COVID-19. Fewer people using public transportation also adds to the situation.

With the extra cars on Hwy. 26, there's more of a chance for conflict with those bad drivers – speeders, of course, and also people who get a little too aggressive behind the wheel. The highway has become safer than it used to be, as evidenced by the decommissioning of the Safety Corridor last year, but for members of the Mountain community, safe driving starts in your own car.

In decommissioning the corridor, the Oregon Department of Transportation noted more than half of the fatal/severe injury crashes involved locals. Data from the Oregon State Police shows 43 percent of speed citations in the Safety Corridor between 2014-18 came from residents of Welches, Brightwood, Government Camp and Rhododendron. Another 43 percent came from Sandy.

COVID-19 has also done a good job revealing that many people aren't adept in assessing their risks, highlighted by the reluctance of some to wear masks despite studies showing they can reduce one's chances of getting the coronavirus by up to 65 percent. The risks of speeding and driving dangerously through the Hoodland community just aren't worth the meager rewards, but in a similar fashion, the statistics haven't prevented people from taking unnecessary risks.

If we draw something positive from our experiences in the past year, perhaps it is that slowing down can be helpful, both in our lives and on the road.

We are all tired of this pandemic and we are all on edge from the state of the world. Slow down, be safe and give anyone who isn't behaving on the road a little space.

Slow and safe can be the new style.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

On a shopping voyage to a Mountain grocery store last month, a man without a mask walked in. Staff informed him that he needed a mask and the scene really took off from there. The offending party shared his thoughts, other shoppers added their two cents and on it went.

I can't help but think that this scene repeats itself every day in this state and country, the conflict between the many masked and the unmasked few, in grocery stores, restaurants and elsewhere.

Let's hold off on chiding that man (for now).

Instead, I think of the employees of that grocery store and the others who have worked with the public during the pandemic. Since last March, these people have been on the frontlines of the coronavirus – the countless restaurant workers, firefighters, police officers, delivery drivers, healthcare workers, postal employees and so many more.

Early in the pandemic, there was more support for these people who have put their lives on the line so we could maintain our own. Some businesses even offered "hero pay," although many ceased that effort months ago.

As the cases of coronavirus surge, let's remember these workers, who help keep life stable and functioning for those of us who can work and stay at home. We can't take their efforts for granted, not just in the face of the pandemic but also from the hostility created by some people who choose to make life riskier than it needs to be for all of us. Our frontline workers' lives are on the line every day, along with their livelihoods.

Thank you for your efforts, your patience and your contributions to getting us all through this challenge. Thank you for being at the frontline of the pandemic and thank you for persevering while some people would put your life at risk over their politics.

And let's be clear on masks – a business is well within its rights to require you to wear a mask, just as it is within its rights to require customers to wear shirts and shoes.

Put your mask on and leave the politics at the door.

Halloween is in the rearview mirror and Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon. It is more than safe to say that this holiday season will be like no other one in our collective memory.

Late last month, Oregon recorded its highest daily count of coronavirus cases so far, and the same can be said for the country.

Despite the optimism of months ago that the trajectory of the pandemic could improve by this winter, thanks to a possible vaccine or other factors, COVID-19 is on the upswing and the coming months may offer more and greater challenges than we've dealt with in the recent ones.

Furthermore, there are no large outbreaks or sudden increase in testing to take the blame for the recent rise in numbers. The culprit is linked to smaller gatherings, be it social or familial in nature.

These coming weeks and months are known for the smaller social and family gatherings that are part of so many traditions, engrained in our cultural fabric for generations.

They are also a danger.

If anyone has forgotten some of the inherent risks related to a large outbreak of COVID-19 that were at the forefront of our minds just a few months ago, take notice of the woman in Utah who was near death but had trouble finding a spot in an intensive care unit because of the influx of coronavirus patients.

This year, giving for the holidays will also include sacrificing some of what we have enjoyed in the past, perhaps even taken for granted. Staying safe may mean staying home this year, forgoing traditions and the warmth of our friends and families, while finding different ways to celebrate.

If you do gather, do it safely. Take precautions, give space, wear masks, wash hands and be firm and diligent in these efforts.

It is not the winter or the holiday season we want. But if we can possibly give the gift of health, of life, and of space, then those gatherings and embraces in the years to come will be worth the muted celebration this year.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

The old corded telephone is a thing of the past, but the old game of telephone seems to be alive and well. Except these days, instead of whispering something to another person, it happens on social media.

Whereas the game of telephone, in which a statement goes around a circle of people to see if the original words can travel without being corrupted, is a funny child's game, rumors and lies spread like wildfire on social media, sometimes intentionally, with potentially horrifying results.

Last month, with wildfires destroying property, taking lives and knocking on the doorstep of the Hoodland community, rumors of antifa starting fires arrived and took on a life of their own – so much so that law enforcement agencies throughout the state, including the Sandy Police Department, and even the FBI had to issue statements and press releases that they were not true.

More misinformation came out about police and firefighters going from door to door in Sandy to evacuate people, and again, the Sandy PD had to take the time out of all that it does to combat another lie.

Lies such as these can result in people getting hurt and property being lost thanks to the confusion they cause in people and the need for responders to deal with them. And don’t just take my word for it. The FBI statement read, in part:

“Conspiracy theories and misinformation take valuable resources away (from) local fire and police agencies working around the clock to bring these fires under control. Please help our entire community by only sharing validated information from official sources."

And despite the clear message from various authorities about the misinformation, I saw the lies repeated on social media, even from those on the Mountain. Perhaps fanning the flames of these lies serves their political purpose, but it is reckless, irresponsible and potentially life-threatening.

Of course, this behavior is not limited to wildfires in the least. Expect to see a deluge of misinformation, on social media and elsewhere, this month as the November election is now firmly on the horizon.

Be aware and be diligent, as these lies are meant to subvert the democratic process. Just as with the fires, misinformation and the people who spread it are reckless and irresponsible, putting our country under a very real threat.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

Some people out there would have you believe that mail-in voting will result in mass fraud. But there is just no evidence to support that claim.

Take Oregon – the first state to enact all mail-in voting. We have 20 years of experience in this now, and according to the data collected by the conservative organization The Heritage Foundation, there have been 15 instances of voter fraud in Oregon in the past 20 years.

Those instances include seven duplicate voting, two fraudulent uses of an absentee ballot, two instances of ineligible voting and two instances of ballot petition fraud. Not anything remotely close to the conspiracy theories that exist.

Residents of Clackamas County may remember one notable instance, when a county elections worker unlawfully altered ballots by filling in blank spots left by voters in 2012, with the additional votes going to Republicans. Authorities thought that six ballots had been tampered with.

All in all, the 15 instances made no difference in any election and represent a miniscule percentage of the total ballots cast in the past 20 years.

But let's not get complacent, because there is one simple step that we can take to make sure that these negligible examples of voter fraud mean even less in the upcoming election: just vote. General election turnout since 2000 has ranged from 68 percent to 86 percent.

If we can hit 100 percent, the almost meaningless amount of voter fraud becomes even more meaningless.

And let's not stop there, reach out to your friends and family throughout the country and encourage them to vote (whether by mail or in person). Especially for anyone who thinks that fraud is more prevalent (but even for those who don't), make sure that everyone you know votes.

Voting is the single biggest thing we can do to preserve the sanctity of our elections. Voting by mail is safe, easy and at this moment in our history, a healthy way to preserve our democracy.

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

One takeaway from the coronavirus pandemic is that no matter where you are in this world, sickness can reach you. And as the popular saying goes, including by the inimitable Christopher Guest as Count Rugen in "The Princess Bride," "if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."

Health, both individually and for all humanity, is a priority.

That didn't stop the head of our executive branch from trying to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), giving the organization a one-year notice last month about our country's departure.

The U.S. is the biggest contributor to WHO, chipping in approximately 15 percent of its total funding for the 2018-19 year and has historically been the biggest contributor. And in its 72-year history, WHO has done some pretty amazing things, including saving millions upon millions of lives from diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, eradicating smallpox and so much more.

That alone would be a good return on investment. And as the world becomes a very small place when a pandemic takes hold, being a part of WHO makes sense not only as a humanitarian effort, but also in our own self-interest and future health.

Withdrawing is a decision that is clearly not in the best interest of the citizens of this country. And considering it was made in the face of a pandemic that has already taken the lives of 150,000 Americans already, it is truly inconceivable.

It's not the first decision in the past 42 months that has been made without the best interests of this country in mind. Let's make it one of the last ones.

Thankfully, there is still time and opportunity to reverse course and remain a partner in WHO and leader in the world, helping make it a healthier place for all (including ourselves).

 – Garth Guibord/Editor

My family moved from Portland at a young age to escape the busyness of the city into our smaller, rural Welches. I began school in the first grade, surrounded by kids who were, simply put, just kids.

It wasn’t until I got to about middle school that I realized I was different than most of my peers. I think I began to internalize this when people reached a point of comfortability to ask me which parent was the colored parent. I would assume it was a harmless question.

I was also reminded that my kinky-curly hair was this big afro, and that most people liked my hair better when it was straight. I proceeded to learn that I was Black, but not Black “enough” because I spoke like a “white” person. But I wasn’t white either because I was clearly “different.” It wouldn’t be for years and years that I would realize the word for this is a micro-aggression.

It also wouldn’t be for years that I came to understand that people come in all shapes, sizes and colors and that’s what makes us beautiful. Unfortunately for my small self, I would soon face the harshest piece of reality that allowed me to begin putting the pieces together. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realized racism was real. That it was present, and that it hurt.

It may have been when I began to like a boy in middle school. I was confronted with a racially driven response that I didn’t even realize there were words for; I’ll spare you the repulsive language that I received at the tender age of 11.

I do remember when I realized that racism was so ingrained in generations that even my peers in high school were comfortable presenting a confederate flag accompanied by phrases like “White Power” and many other piercing words. But racism didn’t discriminate by place. I learned this as the away team for basketball, when the bleachers were filled with kids and parents making monkey noises at the two brownest girls on the team.

I’ve tried to free myself from carrying the burden of these words, these experiences. I bring it up today because your neighbors, coworkers, the girls or boys on your child(ren)s teams, myself and many others are persevering through similar situations, still today. Some blatant and some of them in smaller doses.

I could speak with you all day about what I have endured as a colored person in a small town, the state, the country, the world. But I’m not here to convince you that racism is real. That’s not a question.

What I want you to walk away with after reading this, is not necessarily that you are the problem, but that we are stronger fighting these problems together. But don’t mistake that as being that we need you. And I say that in the kindest way, to let you know that we will get through this regardless.

As a person of color (POC), I ask you this. Value my life, as I value yours. Look out for my children as I look out for yours. And please, SPEAK UP. Because without justice, there will be no peace.

– Juanita Birdsong/Welches Schools alumni

Two months, or thereabouts, of staying at home. Days went by slowly, repetitions of work, kids and chores, while weeks seemed to go by in a flash. We are at a new beginning as society reopens.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and the proverbial bottom of the ink well, to our advertisers and to the community for all the support you have shown to this paper over these recent weeks. It’s humbling and we always strive to offer a paper worthy of this wonderful community.

Of course, this level of support is not a stranger to me. For more than 15 years I’ve had the honor of covering the Mountain and seeing the incredible strength of community. I’m very grateful to those on the Mountain willing to share their stories and to my former editors, Marcus Hathcock and Steve Brown, who gave me my first opportunity and enough slack to grow on the job and eventually land where I am.

It was 10 years ago this month that I joined The Mountain Times, an easy year to remember as it was shortly after the birth of my first son. From those early years, with my son strapped to my back during interviews, until now, the support from the Mountain community has been amazing.

That opportunity with this paper came thanks to Larry Berteau, who we lost one year ago this month. Not an issue has gone by that I don’t think of Larry – my boss, colleague and friend. I wouldn’t be here without him.

In so many ways, it’s gone by in a flash, the past two months, the one year, the decade and the 15 years, but also punctuated by those times that almost seem to stand still.

We are not coming out of these two months as we entered them. The community will be different in the businesses lost and the lives changed by the virus.

But in this moment, as we reopen and recover, I am confident in the community’s power to prevail and hopeful for us all. Time will tell where this new path brings us, faster than we will want it to and one day at a time.

My grandmother, Buggum, was a child during the Spanish Flu, more than 100 years ago, and then a young adult when the Great Depression hit. While the former may have had an impact on how she lived after that pandemic, there were definitely some habits she had that had a clear connection to living through the Great Depression.

She saved bacon grease – I remember this one the most. Bacon grease kept in a glass jar in the refrigerator, to be used when she cooked potatoes on another date.

She saved paper towels – if they were only to clean up water, she dried out paper towels and reused them.

She wrote down the date she bought clothes and how much she paid for them on the inside tags, and she took care of them – to help make them last.

Our new reality, one that seemed unlikely when March began, has upended so much of life as we knew it; from who we see and how we act to how we plan our lives and the prospect of an uncertain future. Handshakes become fist bumps become elbow bump.

And even though it’s safe to say that we are closer to the beginning of this pandemic than we are to the end, I wonder what lasting ramifications will come of it, both the larger ones and the small changes in our lives that become new habits.

Maybe seeing how fragile the economy can be will inspire people to save more and eschew credit.

Maybe people will better understand that a global catastrophe of even greater proportions – global warming – is on the horizon and the time to prepare and prevent is now.

Maybe universal health care will appear a little more attractive.

Maybe the elbow bump is here to stay.

Clackamas County’s new Search and Rescue (SAR) structure could be tested in short order, as the peak season for climbers to summit Mount Hood is just on the horizon in May. Those interested in volunteering must get their applications in at the end of the month, which leaves little time to form a team, establish procedures and training.

SAR missions in the county are hardly limited to that peak season, as we all know, with rescues and searches possible at any moment of any day of the year. And even with the most recent announcement that the Sheriff’s Office and Portland Mountain Rescue will work together, details on the new structure are few and far between, not to mention what will come of the other volunteer groups who have been integral to SAR operations in the past.

The timing of the decision and abandonment of the previous structure is a troubling one. The appetite for those same volunteers to now sign up with the county appears to be tepid, and the loss of so many experienced SAR members might be a major hurdle for Sheriff Craig Roberts.

Roberts says the county will be prepared, but this transition would be unnessesary had he run a more inclusive process that didn’t alienate many of those volunteers who have put their lives on the line while rescuing others.

As it stands, all eyes will be on the first major operation the new SAR unit undertakes, adding pressure to a situation that doesn’t need any extra.

It’s also an ignonimous end for those volunteers who remain willing to perform SAR operations at the highest level, risking life and limb, but who may not be able to do so under the new structure. To those volunteers, and the many who preceeded them, we offer our thanks.

The Mountain community is a destination for climbers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts of all sorts, who on occasion, find themselves in need of help. And while we are confident that somebody from the county will show up for the next SAR operation (many of those former volunteers are still more than willing to do so), the question is, who will that be?

The cake couldn’t wait at the Rhododendron Centennial Celebration.

After a strong lineup of speakers sharing highlights from the community’s great past – covering the indigenous people who utilized the area’s natural resources for thousands of years to the recent families who have helped shape the community we know today – Master of Ceremonies Steve Graeper  stopped the proceedings just as he was going to speak about Rhody’s future.

After all, cake and refreshments were waiting.

But the next chapters of Rhododendron should be tantalizing in their own right, because they will be written in part by those very people who flocked to the Still Creek Inn to share their love and appreciation for the last 100 years (and beyond) of their corner of the Mountain.

At one point during the festivities, I glanced outside and noticed the heavy traffic that sped by (and one skier or snowboarder who had been pulled over by a police cruiser, thankfully). And that view, even in the not-too-distant future, may be a different sight to behold – streetlights, sidewalks, bike paths and more.

It is a community at a crossroads, where the stories of yesteryear will be mirrored in future generations. There are challenges ahead, just as those generations before us faced their own difficulties on these lands, but the assembled crowd offered a great deal of hope that these challenges can be overcome.

The celebration marked the last 100 years of the community, but these community leaders aren’t satisfied with just looking back. Their hearts and minds are also focused on the future. And because of that, the future looks bright.

Let’s put another round of cake and refreshments on the calendar in another 100 years.

My youngest son and I took a walk on Christmas afternoon; a familiar route to a spot on Clear Creek we visited countless times in the past. This walk offered a little something new: a pair of salmon, almost all black except for their white tails, just hanging out in the cold water.

The best I could tell, each one was more than 24 inches and not much longer for this world. But I hadn’t seen fish that size in the creek before and the gift of seeing them on that special day seemed to offer a sign of hope as the New Year approached.

Challenges on the horizon lay before us, this year and beyond, but let us have hope that we can overcome them.

As the calendar now flips to 2020, we welcome back to our pages Steve Wilent, now offering his wisdom and thoughts in a new monthly column, “The Woodsman.” Wilent, as many of you know, helmed this paper for many years, no doubt stewing over the content of the words in this box every month just as I do now.

Wilent joins a stable of writers whom I am immensely grateful for and whose contributions help make this paper as thoroughly enjoyable as it is (so I’ve been told). I am fortunate enough for my work to be based in such a wonderful community, and even more so that the people I work with are so dedicated and interesting.

Each year brings change, some more than others. And as we look forward, it’s also time to look back.

I wouldn’t be part of the Mountain Times if it weren’t for Larry Berteau, our Publisher whom we lost last June. It was 10 years ago, in 2010, when Larry offered me a writing gig after the birth of my first son. And it’s been a pretty good ride, to say the least.

The support we get from our readers, our advertisers and the whole community continues to amaze me and is one of our greatest strengths.

Happy New Year to you all.

American Ingenuity has stamped its mark throughout history when it was most needed; when imminent threats grew and our country rose to meet them. In the Space Race, spurred on 62 years ago last month with the launch of Sputnik 2. In the Manhattan Project, with threat of Germany developing nuclear technology before us.

In both of those cases, and in many others, our leaders set forth a goal that many thought was unattainable and rallied our best and brightest to get there.

But is American Ingenuity a thing of the past?

If last month is an indication, the answer is yes. In the face of the most recent growing and imminent threat, the United States formally announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, reneging on a pledge to combat climate change.

We aren’t rising to meet this challenge, we are giving in to it, surrendering to the battle just as it crests before us. And it’s not because we can’t rise, it’s for a lack of will power.

But perhaps another will rise for us. Shortly after our country’s announcement, the European Union’s investment arm, the European Investment Bank, announced it would no longer fund fossil fuel projects starting after 2021.

It’s an ingenious step in the fight against climate change, because as the saying goes, money talks. Fostering an atmosphere where businesses are incentivized to work toward reversing climate change is good for our planet’s environment.

And in the long run, with the challenge before them, those businesses will also benefit. Ingenuity can unlock unknown opportunities – the Manhattan Project also lead to treatments for cancer and medical diagnostic tests, while the Space Race resulted in a myriad of contributions to the world as we know it, from aircraft anti-icing systems to freeze-dried food to artificial limbs.

The stakes with climate change are just as great now as they were when Americans took on the Space Race and the Manhattan Project head-first. The difference is today, we meet that challenge not with ingenuity and resolve, but with a new approach: American Banality.

November brings with it two very important holidays we should all embrace: Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11) and Thanksgiving (Nov. 28). Honoring those who served our country and being thankful for all our blessings have a place in daily life, not just once a year.

The month also has some lesser-known days, sometimes a little silly and other times important, including...

Nov. 1 and 2, Dios de los Muertos: to celebrate our lost loved ones.

Nov. 5, Election Day: the stakes may not be quite as high as it will be in 2020, but it is still a chance to have our voices heard.

Nov. 6, Saxophone Day: the birthday of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone (I did not make that up). So enjoy some John Coltrane.

Nov. 13, World Kindness Day: and boy, the world could sure use some.

Nov. 15, America Recycles Day and Clean Your Refrigerator Day: can’t be a coincidence, can it?

Nov. 16, International Tolerance Day: see Nov. 13, World Kindness Day.

Nov. 17, Take a Hike Day: this is one the Mountain community can get into.

Nov. 21, Great American Smokeout: encouraging people to give up smoking.

Nov. 23, Eat a Cranberry Day: or just wait a few more days and eat many more.

Nov. 28, French Toast Day: one more thing to be thankful for this year.

Nov. 29, Black Friday: a day to shop, and if you do, consider the local businesses that will keep your money in the community and potentially help minimize your carbon footprint.

Take trash. No, really, take it. There are some bigger problems that exist, but trash is a good place to start.

On the Mountain, there are signs of improvements: a stretch of the Salmon River has been rehabilitated thanks to years of work to undo the damage done by irresponsible dispersed recreation, the All Mountain Cleanup nabbed 2,320 pounds of trash from the area watershed and all through the year people and organizations, like the Hoodland Women’s Club, pick up trash and help keep the community clean. For those countless hours, gratitude is extended to all those who played a part.

But let’s all do better. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all. What could be accomplished with all the manpower, willpower and funding if they didn’t have to go to litter removal?

When it comes to the U.S. Forest Service and the Salmon River, it’s our tax dollars going to the cleanup – what problems could we solve if they didn’t have to get earmarked for a cleanup?

Many of us, perhaps most, already pack out what we pack in, pick up some trash when we can and make an effort to not add to the problem. But its time to double-down on the efforts, particularly in spreading the word about the ways we can respectfully enjoy nature and our forests.

The message seems to be clear from all the efforts needed to clean things up: a lot of people aren’t just getting the message. When you see someone mistreating our lands, let them know (respectfully) how to be responsible and why it’s needed.

The cost for those that do? A few moments of your time, a little interaction that might just make everyone understand a little more. But the savings could be immense, in actual tax dollars and the manhours that can be applied elsewhere.

After all, bigger problems await.

August left us with the parting gift of some summer weather reminiscent of the past few years: it got hot. And adding those meager two days when the temperatures rose above 90 degrees to the one from June, this summer has still seen fewer of those days than there were members of the Doors.

But as we enjoy the temperate weather in our corner of the world, the Amazon burns and new records for high temperatures have been set around the world.

It’s not time to be complacent here. Even if it doesn’t seem to fit in with this summer, the fire danger is very real.

If you need a reminder, two years ago at this time the Eagle Creek Fire burned just to the north of us. Had conditions been different then, perhaps the Mountain would have been Paradise one year early. Even now, the Gorge marches on with its recovery, with Wahclella Falls Trail reopening last month. But other trails in that area remained close, with no timeline for reopening.

And this shouldn’t come as news, but despite the temperate weather this summer, we are under a burn ban in the Hoodland Fire District. That means no campfires. No charcoal grills. Definitely no burn piles.

Sure, it might seem like it would be okay to cozy up to that campfire, but the cooler weather of a more typical summer belies the dangerous conditions that have been building over the recent hot and dry seasons. All it takes is one mistake – one spark – to put us on the map with the Amazon and Eagle Creek.

People are strange and it can be tough to resist the allure of a September campfire. But exercise caution and wait for better conditions before striking that match. Fire is not to touch the earth until it is safe to do so.

Let me tell you about my father.

Larry Berteau helped bring me around 32 years ago. It was then that he opened the door to his walk-in closet of shoes to fill. Along the way, one of the first things he ever taught me was how to tie my laces (really).

After all the things you might have heard and read about my Pops over the last six weeks or so, since it’s my “View from the Mountain” in the spotlight this month, I’ll tell you how he shaped mine.

It’s a tricky line to walk to instill both confidence and thoughtful caution in a child — and especially in a teenager. It’s also quite a balancing act to give a young man the tools for success, while also making him feel like he needs to earn them for himself. The middle path is always the hardest to traverse. But in this regard, Larry’s selfless gait belonged on the trapeze.

For me, nobody’s praise will ever compare to that of my father’s when it came to creative critique or glory in finishing first in the swimming pool. He doled it out in tremendous scoops, yet I always earned it myself. He always let me tie my own laces.

It shouldn’t come at too much of a surprise to hear I attended the same two universities he did, on opposite sides of the country (though Oregon always held a higher place in our hearts). Following thusly in his footsteps, I got a silly little arts degree. I have never once regretted that choice, and neither would he let me.

To my father, poetry was life and everything in it; that is, canvas painted and music composed, with words themselves. Any other interest was just another stanza waiting to be written. After many long walks home from school in the autumn leaves, I knew I wanted to see, hear and live just like he did. However, after many long evening conversations and debates until the morning sun rose, I eventually realized that no one can, at least not quite.

But where his trail ends, he left behind not a blazed path to follow. No good father would make something so easy. He gave me something better: the tools to carve out my own adventures.

About seven years ago, I packed everything I had of utility into a single backpack and moved to Thailand. After a few months, I started to question my decision. He wrote me an email wherein a piece of it has immortalized itself in my worldsview ever since: “Maintain the adventure, my son. Keep the wind at your back and follow your knowledge. Lean forward forever.”

That I will. I miss you Dad.

It wasn’t just a sad day when I heard of the passing of Larry Berteau. That only begins to encompass the myriad of feelings involved. It was a fond reflection on the decade-plus that I had to enjoy Larry being in my life, enriching my world, watching him work to be a positive influence in the world around him. Similarly to the complexity of that day’s feelings, Larry was a complex person, he wasn’t just a man…

He wasn’t just the publisher of our Mountain Times. He was a screenwriter, a storyteller, a producer of movies and TV. He was successful while his industry is in its death throes, other newspapers becoming desiccated shells as he was able to grow our little rag (as he would affectionately call it). He broadcast his opinion and world view strongly, without hesitation and no care whether others agreed.

Larry wasn’t just a Vietnam veteran. While in the Air Force, he was attached to a Marines unit, and his bravery made him the kind of man who was compelled to throw his medals over the fence onto the White House lawn because of the many injustices that war represented. Larry was also a compassionate vet involved with the many vets that populate our mountain community.

He wasn’t just an American. Larry had a world view shaped by American parents and French grandparents, the latter being the roots he returned to when he and Fran moved to France a few years ago. As we all know from his columns he never lost his passion for our country nor did he fear expressing his disappointment in it as well. While many disagreed and decried what he had to say, myself included at times, he used his constitutional prerogatives to continue expressing his opinions. And with very appropriate irony, his passing was June 14, or Flag Day as we mark it.

Larry wasn’t just a family man. He always spoke with such deep affection and passion about his Fanny; his love, his partner, the mother of their son. He also talked of his son with the deepest of pride, about the man he had watched Geoff become. His son was also someone Larry genuinely liked, in addition to having his father’s love. As much as he wanted to be the curmudgeon at times, Larry could never hide the joy and glee that came from having Fran as his spouse and Geoff as his son.

He wasn’t just a friend. Larry was a gracious host and an exceptional companion to enjoy a glass of Bordeaux with. He was a thoroughly enjoyable mental sparring partner and mentor, someone with whom you could strongly disagree and still be treated with an affable kindness.

But he was a friend. And he will be greatly missed by myself and many others.

– Allen Bixby /Friend of Larry Berteau

Do not allow June 6 to pass as just another hazy spring day. Seventy-five years ago, on that day, a 50-mile stretch of France’s Normandy coast bore witness to the largest sea invasion in history. Americans, shoulder to shoulder, beachhead to beachhead, fallen soldier to fallen soldier with our British and Australian allies stormed the heavily fortified emplacements of the German army, and as if guided by some sense of future glory managed to sweep away the enemy from the five beaches dubbed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword in less than two months.

The French resistance was enlisted for D-Day as well, and in acts of daring sabotage cut railway lines in more than 500 places, destroyed 52 locomotives, and essentially isolated the Germans by June 7.

The cost was horrible. Allied casualties totaled more then 10,000. German casualties amounted to nearly the same.

At the time, Nazi Germany occupied all of France, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway and Denmark with close to 70 divisions of combatants at their disposal.

Less than a year later, the German army surrendered.

D-Day, of course, was a singular event in an unspeakable war that ravaged all of Europe. There stands in every city, town and village in France, for example, a memorial to those who gave the last full measure. Their names are etched in the monuments. It is a chilling thing to witness. There are towns of less than 2,000 inhabitants that list as many as 200 who died in combat. It is said an entire generation of young men were taken away.

Nazi Germany waged a war against anyone who was not like them. They murdered because of who people were. Nothing more. And should any civilized human being have the temerity to view brown-shirted, Swastika emblazoned, “Blood and Soil” chanting, Nazi-saluting low-lifes as having some “good people” among them, needs at a minimum, a humanitarian intervention.

Of course, draft-dodgers are made of lesser stuff.

Un paso. Otro. Y otro más. Un día nublado en junio, Sandra y su hija Ana de 4 años de edad salieron de su hogar en El Salvador con rumba al Norte. Sandra temía cada paso del viaje de 2.000 millas. Ella no sabía a dónde iba ni cómo llegaría, pero el temor de quedarse superaba aún al temor de salir, y le propulsaba a sus pies a seguir adelante. Un pie delante del otro, a través de dos países y cruzando el despiadado Desierto de Sonora hasta llegar a la frontera.

Le podría contar la historia de Sandra--la violencia espantosa que sufrió y sus intentos desesperados e inútiles a pedir socorro de su país. Le puedo contar porque ella me lo contó a mí, en un centro de detención de familias en Nuevo México con palabras suaves y ojos desesperados, lo que todavía recuerdo vívidamente. Se debe relatar su historia, pero esto no se trata de lo que le sucedió a Sandra en El Salvador; en cambio, se trata de lo que está sucediendo hoy.

Cuando yo conocí a Sandra, ya tenía varios años de experiencia trabajando con los migrantes y yo misma me había enfrentado frente a frente con el sistema. Supe que el régimen de migración estaba muy lejos de justo (de hecho, casi ni funcionaba), así que no pensaba que me podía sorprender, pero estuve profundamente decepcionada. Cada día que yo pasaba adentro del Centro de Detención Familiar de Artesia yo vi seres humanos tratados como si fueran animales--enjaulados, insultados y regañados, y vistos con una falta de respeto y un desprecio profundo. Para mí, la manera que trataron a las mujeres y a los niños en sus momentos más vulnerables fue el comienzo doloroso de lo que los académicos ahora han articulado como un completo “crisis de empatía”. No tienes que buscar tan lejos para encontrar huellas de esto en nuestra sociedad, pero en ninguna parte es más obvio que en nuestra retórica nacional y nuestro sentimiento general hacia los migrantes.

Simplemente, la empatía es la capacidad de entender y sentir lo que sienta otro. Se suma en tales dichos como “jamás juzgue a un hombre sin caminar dos lunas en sus mocasines.” La empatía es un proceso neurológico incomun y complejo que tiene un papel importante en el comportamiento social y la formación de sociedades cooperativas. Sin la empatía, el odio y la agresión surgen fácilmente. La idea de una crisis de empatía se presentó por primera vez en 2009 cuando los investigadores encontraron a una reducción en niveles de empatía entre estudiantes universitarios en comparación con los estudiantes de los años 1970. Observaron la reducción más dramática en los últimos 10 años. Sin embargo, el problema no queda solamente en más bajos niveles de empatía en general, sino que el uso sumamente selectivo del mismo. Hoy en día, es mucho más probable que la gente empática con alguien que les parezca similar a sí mismo, y más probable que retengan empatía de los que les parezcan “los otros.”

En esto radica el problema: la administración [gubernamental] actual se ha aprovechado de este negocio de hacerle al migrante “el otro” despreciado, y lo sigue haciendo. Nuestro presidente ha descrito a los migrantes como “animales,” “criminales,” y “extranjeros.” Él ha usado la palabra “infestación” en descripción de migración. Él ha rehusado dejar de describir a seres humanos como “ilegales.” Algunos tal vez razonen que es cuestión semántica nada más, pero las palabras son poderosas. Esto lo sabemos por la historia. Lenguaje que les prive a los migrantes de las calidades que les humanicen, comparándolos con insectos o animales, sutilmente pero sin duda les dirige a la gente más al margen, causando que aún más difícil sea para sentir empatía de cualquier en otros zapatos.

Y se empeora. La falta de estabilidad y el caos que le caracteriza esta administración ha causado una necesidad razonable para sentir algo de seguridad y certeza. Lo más caótico parezcan las cosas, más crecen los deseos - para líneas fuertes, fronteras claras, paredes altas. Pero ¿a qué costo? ¿Cuál precio se paga para un sentido falso de seguridad? ¿Qué es lo que renunciamos cuando permitimos que a los humanos se deshumanicen?

Yo creo que perdimos parte de nuestra misma humanidad. Una de las cosas que nos hace humano es nuestra capacidad a empanizar y la estamos abusando y perdiendo. Estas paredes físicas y psicológicas no solo mantienen a la gente fuera, también nos encierran. Secuestrados en nuestro propio país y en nuestros corazones temerosos. La conexión y la comunidad nos revelan la salida de este cautiverio, y tiene que comenzar con la empatía.

Es fácil a rechazar todo esto como escándalo político para nosotros quienes vivimos en lugares hermosos entre los ríos y los árboles. Pero esto no solo se trata de la frontera y cómo se les tratan a las mujeres y a los niños. Esto se trata de mí y mi familia. Una familia que ha estado en La Montaña por 30 años y que se ha dividido en cada manera—en lo político, lo físico, lo espiritual, lo emocional, por la falta de empatía en nuestro sistema de migración. Yo sé que la empatía no es una varita mágica. No arreglará a nuestro sistema de migración quebrado (por lo menos no de un día al otro), pero sí puede afectar a la calidad de nuestras vidas y comunidades. La empatía es un remedio poderoso contra la deshumanización destructiva que está sucediendo pero no es fácil a extender la empatía a los que son diferentes a nosotros. Nos incomoda el intentar a ver algo de la perspectiva de alguien con quien no identificamos. Aunque duela, yo creo que sí se puede.

(Vanessa Saldivar es una residente anterior de La Montaña quien ahora trabaja en una organización de migración sin fines lucrativos.)

Editor’s note: Vanessa Saldivar is a former Mountain resident who now works for an immigration nonprofit.

One step. Another. And another. On a cloudy day in June, Sandra and her 4-year-old daughter Ana left their home in El Salvador and headed north. Sandra was scared every step of the 2,000-mile journey. She didn’t know where she was going or how she would get there, but the fear of staying was even greater than the fear of leaving and it propelled her feet to move forward. One foot in front of the other, through two countries and across the brutal Sonoran Desert until she arrived at the border.

I could tell you Sandra’s story — the horrific violence she endured and her desperate but failed attempts to get help from her country. I can tell you because she told me at a family detention center in New Mexico with quiet words and desperate eyes, which I still remember vividly. Her story is worth hearing, but this isn’t about what happened to Sandra in El Salvador, but rather, what is happening today.

By the time I met Sandra, I had several years of experience working with immigrants and I had gone toe to toe with the system myself. I knew the immigration regime was far from fair (in fact, it was hardly functional), so I didn’t think I could be surprised, but I was sorely mistaken. Every day that I spent inside the Artesia Family Detention Center I saw human beings treated like animals— kept in cages, belittled and berated and looked at with deep contempt and disrespect. For me, the way women and children were treated at their most vulnerable moment was the painful start of what is now referred to by academics as a full-blown “empathy crisis.” You don’t have to look far to see traces of this in our society, but nowhere is it more evident than in our national rhetoric and overall sentiment toward immigrants.

Put simply, empathy is the ability to understand and feel what another is feeling. It is encapsulated in sayings such as, “never judge a man before you walk two moons in his moccasins.” Empathy is a rare and complex neurological process that plays an important role in social behavior and the formation of cooperative societies. Without empathy, hate and aggression can coolly arise. The idea of an empathy crisis was first introduced in 2009 when researchers found a significant decrease in empathy levels among university students compared to students in the 1970s. They observed the most dramatic decline in the last 10 years. However, the problem isn’t just lower levels of empathy overall, but rather the very selective use of it. Today, people are much more likely to empathize with those who they see as similar to them and they are more likely to withhold empathy from those who they see and label as “others.”

Here lies the problem: the current administration has been and continues to be in the business of making immigrants the despised “others.” Our president has described immigrants as “animals,” “criminals” and “aliens.” He has used the word “infestation” to describe immigration. He has refused to stop referring to human beings as “illegal.” Some may argue that it’s just semantics, but words are powerful. We know this from history. Language that deprives immigrants of the qualities that make them human, likening them to insects or animals, subtly but undoubtedly pushes people farther into the margins, making it ever harder for anyone not in their shoes to feel empathy towards them.

And it gets worse. The instability and chaos characteristic of this administration has created an understandable need for a sense of safety and certainty. The more chaotic things are perceived to be, the more the desires grow - for hard lines, clear borders, tall walls. But at what cost? What is the price we pay for a false sense of security? What are we giving up when we allow humans to be dehumanized?

I believe we lose a part of our own humanity. One of the things that make us human is our ability to empathize and we are losing and misusing it. These physical and psychological walls don’t just keep people out, they also keep us in. Captive in our own country and in our own fear-filled hearts. Connection and community are the way out of this captivity, and it has to start with empathy.

It’s easy for us who live in beautiful places among the rivers and trees to dismiss all this as political fodder. But this isn’t just about the border and how women and children like Sandra and Ana are treated. This is about me and my family. A family that has been on the Mountain for 30 years and has been split apart in every way – politically, physically, spiritually, emotionally, by the lack of empathy in our immigration system. I know empathy is not a magic wand. It will not solve our broken immigration system (at least not overnight), but it can make a difference in the quality of our lives and in the quality of our community. Empathy is a powerful antidote to the destructive dehumanization that is taking place but extending empathy to those who are different than us is not easy. It’s uncomfortable to try to see something from the perspective of someone we don’t identify with. It can be painful, but I believe we can do it.

The long journey of this grand experiment in democracy regarding voting rights has been a rocky one – from the first step.

In 1776, when it all began, only men who owned property had the right to vote. Property owners were mainly white, Christians and over 21. In 1856 (80 years later), all white men were afforded voting rights. The Civil War’s conclusion in 1868 saw the 14th Amendment added to the Constitution granting citizenship to African-Americans, but not the right to vote. The 15th Amendment came two years later (supposedly) preventing government from denying the right to vote based on race.

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for trying to vote – and a movement ensued. In 1890, Wyoming became a state, and the first state to grant women the right to vote. Immediately 18 other (mostly western) states did the same. Historians concede the reason was quite possibly that these states were sparsely populated and wanted to attract more women.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment passed granting suffrage to women. In 1965 the historic Voting Rights Act removed roadblocks that denied many people of color from voting. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18 mainly because of the Vietnam War. The thinking was if one is old enough to fight a war, the right to vote must trail along with it.

It should follow that the whole discriminatory voting abuses have been solved. Not true. Voter suppression has now raged through states like a wildfire. Missouri, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania are the most obvious – all of which were designed to disenfranchise voters most likely to vote as Democrats.

Thankfully, we have Oregon where vote-by-mail has doused these flames before they could spread. We have another election this month. Do not deny the history that has been hard-won and passed to us. VOTE.

It’s an exclusive club. Besides knowing the password and the secret handshake, you also have to be in the top one-tenth of 1 percent of income earnings for Oregonians.

It’s rare air these clubbies inhabit. They’ve never been so rich. According to the Oregon Department of Revenue, in the tax year 2016, the income of the average member of Oregon’s richest was $4.5 million. And although that was an all-time high, one wonders how they can manage.

Sneaking a look into the clubhouse, we find that the gap between the richest and the vast majority of those who belong to the middle-income club has soared to an all-time high as well. In 1980, the rich lapped the middle 26 times. By 2016, the gap was a staggering 127 times.

“Such extreme income inequality undermines the well-being and opportunities of most Oregonians, while weakening the economy,” said Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) policy analyst Daniel Hauser. “Oregon lawmakers should be doing everything in their power to push back against the growing inequality.”

Hauser pointed out that from 2009 to 2016, the average income of the top earners increased by about $1.7 million, while the typical Oregonian saw an increase over the same time period of $1,600 – the down payment on a second-hand pickup.

The legislative session is chugging along and lawmakers need to focus on health care, education and affordable housing to allow all Oregonians to learn the secret handshake and share in the state’s growing economy.

“To pay for these investments, Oregon needs to ask more from those reaping the greatest profits from our economy, the rich and the corporations,” Hauser said.

Connect the dots, or ignore the lines that waver along the way, but there are consequences for senseless – seemingly, at the time, childish – attacks on the media, and raising to the rafters the Stalin-esque summation that it is “the enemy of the people,” as President Trump bellows beyond prolixity.

Fifteen firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated in late February from the home of Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Paul Hasson of Silver Spring, Maryland. He was arrested on weapons and drug charges. Score one for the Trump-maligned FBI.

Also confiscated by federal prosecutors was a hit list Hasson had created that included CNN journalists Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon and Van Jones, as well as MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Chris Hayes and Ari Melber. Hasson, emboldened by this list, added Democratic politicians Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, Kamala Harris and Richard Blumenthal.

Hasson was a devotee of Norwegian Anders Breivik who was convicted of killing 77 people, mostly children, during a 2011 terrorist attack. Hasson had a stash of steroids and human growth hormones “to increase his ability to conduct attacks,” as Breivik had written in his manifesto.

“The defendant is a domestic terrorist, bent on committing acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct,” prosecutors wrote. In an email written by Hasson to a known U.S. neo-Nazi leader, he wrote: “We need a white homeland as Europe seems lost.”

Over and over and over again the American President has referred to the media, specifically CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, New York Times, as “fake news” and “enemy of the people.” Those dots are easily connected. All the while, he is beyond cozy with his state media outlet Fox, and the supermarket tabloid The Enquirer. True believers like Hasson were cited by Trump post-Charlottesville as having “good people” among their ranks. Their ranks were brimming with neo-Nazis, white supremacists and KKK members.

Where will this end? When will it matter enough? Democracy lies somewhere between the disconnected dots.

‘Doubt thou the stars are fire. Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar. But never doubt I love.’ – William Shakespeare

We have it on no better authority. Shakespeare’s hopelessly-in-love Ophelia referred to herself as Hamlet’s Valentine.

Geoffrey Chaucer beat the Bard by announcing a century earlier that English birds produced eggs in February – a declaration that inspired European nobility to pen love poems during mid-February’s mating season.

But the earliest origins of St. Valentine are filled with fecundity and beheadings. In fact, there were multiple “St. Valentines” who met their maker on Feb. 14. A priest named Valentine in 270 A.D. was the most famous. While being held in a Roman prison, he slipped a letter to the jailer’s daughter – it was rumored he had healed her blindness – and signed it “from your Valentine.” Unimpressed, Emperor Claudius had him beheaded.

In the 5th Century a Roman festival of “love” – called Lupercalia – was held in mid-February. Supposedly celebrating the coming of spring, Lupercalia’s most noteworthy feature was the auctioning off of women to men via the drawing of lots. Later, Lupercalia morphed into St. Valentine’s Day, but not before another Christian martyr was beheaded on Feb. 14 – or was it two martyrs, history is vague on the math.

The French Duke of Orleans possibly sent the first official Valentine’s Day ‘card’ when, during his incarceration in the Tower of London, wrote a letter to his wife in February, 1415, declaring he was hopelessly in love with her and signed it your “very gentle Valentine.”

What followed was industrial strength commercialization, with the first ‘love’ messages being printed in the 1700s, followed by the U.S. jumping in with giddy feet in the 1800s. The enduring stamp of Hallmark made its mark shortly after.

So, a day of love? A day of valentines? A day to hide your head?

No matter what promontory you stand upon atop the political divide in America, we can all agree that the presidency of Donald Trump will come to a halt in 2020, or, at least by 2024. (There was a collective shudder that rumbled over that same political divide.)

Nevertheless, the term will terminate. (Exactly how is to be determined.)

But what will endure, tragically, will be the results of ignoring the world’s leading scientists that the planet has “barely a decade” to cut carbon emissions by nearly half to avoid catastrophic warming.

America’s position (which is Trump’s position) was spelled out clearly – over the derision of those present – by Trump’s advisor Wells Griffith last month at the climate conference in Poland. His words: “We strongly believe that no country should have to sacrifice economic prosperity or energy security in pursuit of environmental sustainability.”

Seriously. He said that. The crowd doubled over in paroxysms of mocking laughter.

Undaunted, Griffith went on to extoll the virtues of coal. Seriously. He did that.

The world is coming together to battle the impending, and present, horrors of climate change and the causes of greenhouse gas emissions. That is, the world except for Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.-under-Trump.

As individuals we can lift as much as we can to support the world’s efforts. But unless political figures who are unconcerned with the planet’s condition (evidently after they leave this mortal coil), are removed from decision making, it will likely be a futile effort.

One good note, albeit a temporary tune, was the resignation of Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior. There is an unconfirmed report that a polar bear and a moose were seen slow dancing under a pale Arctic moon.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) notes that one in five adults in this country experiences a mental illness in a given year. Odds are that if it isn’t you, someone you know has or will experience one.

A mental illness struck a cast member of the Wolfpack Theater’s production of “Proof” in October, resulting in delaying the show until this month. The theater will offer this show – one that deals with mental illness as a central theme – as a message of support, an opportunity to heal and a way to foster the dialogue around mental illness, while giving 10 percent of proceeds to NAMI Multnomah.

Kudos hardly suffices for this effort.

I lost my father to mental illness 20 years ago this past September. Society has come a long way since then when it comes to mental illness, but we need to do better. As Wolfpack’s Artistic Director, Howard Bickle, noted, “empathy is not a weakness. It leads to understanding. It leads to ways of coping. It leads to cures. Love is not a weakness.”

And one show of support deserves more. I urge you to go see this play and support these artists and those in the community who need love, understanding and help. Not to mention to enjoy a smart and touching play that examines the very subject that led to this production’s delay (or that the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001).

Finally, remember that you are not alone. If afflicted, you are loved and there is help available. Please reach out, please let someone know. We all have a role to contribute in improving the lives of those impacted by mental illness. Someone you know likely needs your support.

This should be easy stuff. But in these turbulent times, nothing is easy.

Nevertheless, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, male, female, youth, elders, middle-aged, white, black, brown, gay, straight, should all agree on this: the tide comes in and goes out when it comes to elections. One year you’re in the majority splashing in lapping waves, the next you are in retreat like the water fleeing the Bay of Fundy. Therefore, we should all agree to making elections as safe as possible. For make no mistake, there are alien elements that would toss us onto the rocks.

Oregon is a great fortress against this stormy sea with our paper ballots. Somehow, the antiquated system is a refuge, so it is no surprise that our U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has introduced a bill to strengthen election security by requiring paper ballots – called the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act – which requires paper ballots and risk-limiting audits for all federal elections, ensuring that election results have not been sullied by hackers or foreign governments.

“Americans are sick and tired of inaction to protect the foundation of our democracy,” Wyden said. “There is a growing momentum in Congress and across the country to make paper ballots the law of the land, and confront the threats posed to our federal election systems.”

Eight other senators have signed on as cosponsors, including Oregon’s Jeff Merkley.

Keep an eye out for lawmakers who oppose this bill. And keep in mind the words of Warren Buffett: “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

We are a strange lot. We all want things. We never want to pay for them.

In order to sneak a peek under the strange part, let’s take a look at one of the things we all want: funding for our children’s education.

So how did we go about that? (Hint: remember we never want to pay.) Remember Measure 5 – way back in 1990 when we passed this draconian piece of legislation? Property taxes fell from 4.7 percent of personal income to 3.2 percent in 2015 due to the measure, according to a new national report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The result has stressed local communities beyond their ability to fund schools.

“Oregon schools have never recovered from the damage wrought by the property tax limits enacted in the 1990s,” said Daniel Hauser, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP). “The Oregon legislature failed to fully make up for the loss of property tax revenue, and a whole generation of Oregonians have paid the price.”

This state of affairs forced local governments to look for other sources of revenue to pay for basic services. In Oregon, local governments turned to fees. In 1977, these fees made up 16.7 percent of all the revenue collected. By 2015, that share rose to 26.6 percent. And those fees hit low-income residents the hardest. As the OCPP points out, a $50 fee to participate in the school band is a far greater burden for a parent earning a minimum wage than for a millionaire.

There are ways to combat these inequities and throw a lifeline to our schools. Lawmakers should create refunds for households whose property taxes are deemed unaffordable, or homestead exemptions to set a flat amount of property value from taxation. Couple those strategies with actions to equitably raise revenue for adequate investment in our schools – like eliminating property tax discounts for owners of high-value homes.

As that old song goes: “You can’t always get what you want.” But when it comes to our schools, we must be certain to get what we need.

“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.” – James Madison

Amid the chaos of present-day Washington D.C., it is refreshing to reflect on the tireless work of our two U.S. senators: Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.

The implacable incarceration of children in cages on our southern borders is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. Merkley was the first politico to show up. “The zero-tolerance policy means zero humanity and makes zero sense,” Merkley said, after having been initially refused access to the cages, for security reasons, according to security officials, despite Merkley being in possession of a top-secret security clearance. “It shouldn’t be secret as to how we’re treating children inside our borders,” he said.

Wyden’s reaction raised the heat a few degrees, likening the Trump policy to moral bankruptcy. “Children don’t belong behind bars,” he said. “Trump has made his underlying goals clear: to terrorize innocent refugee families and use them as political pawns … This humanitarian crisis is not over.”

The two Oregon senators also joined 28 colleagues in demanding Department of Interior Secretary Zinke be held in full compliance with environmental laws to preserve wildlife and local habitats in Zinke’s issuing of the department’s intent to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – protected since the Eisenhower Administration in 1960.

And in a virtually unprecedented act of bi-partisanship, Wyden and Merkley joined forces with Republicans Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul to introduce legislation legalizing hemp as part of the Senate Farm Bill. “Lifting the nonsensical ban on growing hemp in Oregon and nationwide reverses decades of policymaking that hurt farmers,” Wyden said. Merkley: “Outdated policies should not stand in the way of our American farmers growing a crop that is already used to make products sold all across the U.S.”

As July 4 is upon us, we are certain that Thomas Jefferson, himself a farmer as well as wielder of the mighty pen behind the Declaration of Independence, would approve of Oregon’s lawmakers.

Fifty years ago, 1968, America was suffering through dark hours. Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. Martin Luther King was assassinated. The Tet Offensive was launched in Vietnam. North Korea captured the USS Pueblo. There were riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

But as in all historical moments of darkness, there were also beacons of light. In 1968, Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. Two black athletes took a stand against racial discrimination at the Mexico City Olympics. Capt. James T. Kirk was the first white man to kiss a black woman (Lt. Uhura) on television.

Perhaps not as celebrated today, but certainly as momentous at the time, the modern women’s movement was born. Consciousness raising groups sprung up in living rooms. All the taboos were dismissed. Women discussed reproductive rights, abortion, workplace inequality, financial disparity, rape, harassment, even orgasms. They joined the anti-war movement. They marched on the Miss America pageant. They tossed their bras, girdles, high heels. It was at the beauty pageant that the banner “Women’s Liberation” was unfurled.

Today, women are on the move again. Want proof? In 1970 there was one female Senate candidate in America. Today, there are more than 50. There are nearly 400 women running for the House.

We think (shudder) we have the odious Trump administration to thank for (what we’ll loosely refer to as) the inspiration.

We also thank the law of unintended consequences.

To all the women: you have come far.

While the White House and Congress continues, unabated, to fly off the rails, it is a welcome sight to see a government agency rolling along the tracks, full steam ahead.

Leave it to the state of Oregon to provide the engine.

A total of $550,000 in grants have been awarded by the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) to fund projects that will improve veterans’ access to, not only transportation, but housing, health care and many other vital services across the state.

Included in the awards is a $50,000 grant to St. Andrew Legal Clinic, a non-profit organization, to provide legal services to veterans with a focus on issues of economic stability and housing security in Clackamas County, as well as Multnomah County, Yamhill and Columbia counties. Other grants included providing outreach for Native American homeless vets, and training of veterans as Peer Support Specialists for vets with behavioral health issues.

“Our partners are our greatest asset,” said Mitch Sparks, ODVA acting director. “They are doing amazing and innovative work to ensure all of our veterans have access to the care and benefits they deserve, and we are thrilled to be able to support and expand that work.”

The Veteran Services Grant Fund receives funding from Lottery revenues, as authorized by Measure 96, which Oregon voters approved overwhelmingly in 2016. ODVA and its partners in the veteran community pointed to the support and bipartisan leadership of Gov. Kate Brown, the Legislature and citizens across the state.

Our political leaders and the ODVA get a hearty tip of our engineer’s hat for their streamlined efforts. Keep on chuggin’.

The Interior Department has created a new advisory board – dubbed, presumably, with no intended sarcasm – The International Wildlife Conservation Council.

The council’s explicit intendment is to rewrite regulations on the importation of hunting trophies. The council consists of a herd of trophy hunters, including but by no means limited to a private New York hunting preserve co-owner who shares the ownership with those intrepid hunters, the President’s adult sons. Other council members include celebrity hunting guides, representatives from rifle and bow manufacturers, and other noted “sports” enthusiasts who brag of having bagged the “Big Five”: elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and Cape buffalo. Others include members of Safari Club International and, of course, the ubiquitous National Rifle Association.

These characters have been feverishly suing the Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the list of countries from which trophy kills can be legally imported, which have kept them out of our sights (wince) – until now.

The homily “fox guarding the hen house” does not do this advisory board justice.

But in the sense of fair play, it’s incumbent on us to add to the “Big Five” in order to ramp up the trophy kills for these plucky stalwarts.

Let’s start with No. 6: the illusive Greyhound bus. It’s about the same size as a bull elephant, and, when stationary, provides the same degree of marksmanship to hit. Also, once bagging this sleek prize, the trophy tail pipes will cut down on shipping costs.

No. 7: a barn. They’re much easier to find than a Greyhound bus, or, say, a Cape buffalo, but will provide the same amount of sporting challenge for the most dead-eyed sharpshooters.

We could go on. Abandoned automobiles. Washed up washing machines. Four-car garages. Drive-In movie screens. The possibilities are endless. And so is the inhumanity.

Let’s make certain a few things. Let’s draw indelible lines. Let’s get this issue straight.

We must defend the Second Amendment to the fullest. Granted, when it was written, our dedicated patriots were brandishing muskets and dueling pistols.

But hey, we progress. Let’s not stop with ownership of war weapons designed for the sole purpose of killing as many people as quickly as possible. There’s no telling what’s around the corner.

We may need personal surface-to-air shoulder-fired missiles to defend our strip malls and patios.

We must continue to wring our hands when children die in Parkland, Florida, as they did at Sandy Hook, Columbine, Thurston and so on. And when a Parkland occurs, let us make certain that “this is not the time to talk about gun control.”

We must continue to insist these mass shootings are nothing more than a mental health issue – all the while cutting funding for those who seek or require mental health assistance.

We must ignore the Facebook page of the Parkland shooter wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap.

We must continue to grovel at the feet of Wayne LaPierre, for, after all, he is our master.

And we must continue to vote for Republican lawmakers who accept his silver in return for a pledge to never mention gun control.

This is what we’ve become. This is who we are. This is US.

The 2018 Women’s March held Jan. 20 throughout the U.S., Canada, and other countries attracted hundreds of thousands of participants. All the major cities in America, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and others, were witnesses to the enormous rallies protesting President Trump’s stands on race, immigration, healthcare and women’s rights.

The march occurred the day after the shutdown of the federal government.

But it wasn’t just the major cities that attracted marchers. Small towns and communities joined in as well.

And none more important to our community than the marchers who turned out in Sandy – which included women from the Mountain.

We applaud their effort with the anticipation that it will bring real change to our beleaguered country. There is much work to be done. And make no mistake, every voice matters.

A day slipped by in December, virtually without notice. It shouldn’t have.

On December 1, 1955, a woman in Montgomery, Alabama had just finished a long day at work in a department store. She was 42 years old. She was black.

She stepped onto a municipal bus that was one of the many agents of segregation. The front of the bus was dedicated to whites. The back of the bus was for blacks.

But it wasn’t even that simple. In the segregated south at the time, bus drivers had the authority to make a black stand up and surrender their seat to a white.

On this particular day, a white man boarded the bus but all the seats were taken. The driver told the first row in the black section to vacate their seats. There were four seats in the first row.

Three blacks gave up their seat. The department store worker did not.

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired,” the woman wrote in her autobiography. “But that isn’t true. I was not tired physically. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

She was arrested and found guilty of violating segregation laws and fined $10 plus $4 in court fees. On the day of her sentencing the black community refused to ride any municipal bus. It became known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. A man named Martin Luther King Jr., 26 at the time, was among them.

The department store worker was Rosa Parks. She is often referred to as the mother of the civil rights movement.

There are obstacles we face today that in many ways are not all that different from that day in Montgomery.

Just remember. Never give up your seat.

We have a list of presents we hope for all to receive this holiday season. And certainly, there will be surprises.

We wish access to quality health care for all.

We wish for a snowy winter to keep driving the engine of our local economy.

We wish safe haven for all freedom loving people.

We wish for the 45-mile speed limit to be observed through our community.

We wish a warm home and bounty for all our children.

We wish for sensible gun control legislation.

We wish the best quality education for all our children, no exceptions, no amendments, non-negotiable.

We wish that all your enlightened wishes will come true.

We wish Govy to be great.

We wish Rhody to rise.

We wish Zigzag to keep making T-shirts.

We wish Welches to be welcoming.

We wish Brightwood to, well, be bright.

And finally, (you knew this was coming) we wish this country to be miraculously rescued from the Banana Republic we are rapidly slipping into. Non-negotiable.

‘Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower,

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind.’

We get accused of a lot of misdeeds and misguided notions on these opinion pages. And that’s OK. Accusations are a lot like semicolons. We could just as easily do without them. Besides, Kurt Vonnegut said they only prove the writer went to college.

But there are a few things we believe that have nothing to do with whether or not we are heading in the wrong direction. There are moral imperatives. They are more like quotation marks. They have to be said.

We believe in the revelations of our 18th Century, soon-to-be country’s declaration: we are all created equal. And we take it a step beyond. We must remain equal.

And if we can agree on that simple tenet, then it follows that truth is the bedrock of these beliefs. We call on Mahatma Gandhi, who said it well. “Morality is the basis of things, and truth is the substance of all morality.”

There is no morality where unhinged, emotional eruptions – borne of vulgarity and falsehoods – are spewed like smelted lava across this country. It is imperative there be a standard of truth and morality that can be raised higher than a flag or a Nazi salute.

Otherwise, what are we? What do we stand for? What matters?

Is there heroism in the dogma of hatred? Is there a moral space where bigotry should flourish? Is mendacity the moral equivalent of Wordsworth’s splendor and glory? “We think not.”

(Accomplished without a single semicolon.)

“Nowhere else in history has there ever been a flag that stands for the right to burn itself.” – Ken Kesey

Colin Kaepernick is a football player who has been shunned for his kneeling on the sideline during the playing of our national anthem. His reason: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color.”

Pretty straightforward. It’s what he believes.

We can take issue with Kaepernick’s display. We can make a case that it is somehow misplaced. We could suggest ways he might better serve his cause. But what we cannot do is attack his right to peacefully make his protest. (See Kesey, above)

We are aware of all the admonitions and warnings, like Samuel Johnson’s “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” But we are also imbued with the kind of patriotism from the image of Marines planting the American flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima – and it still gives us great pride.

So why are these beliefs in conflict? If you believe they are not, please notify our President. He thinks otherwise.

At a September rally in that great inclusive state of Alabama, in front of his adoring acolytes, Donald Trump called Colin Kaepernick’s mother a crude, ignorant, deplorable name. Donald Trump doesn’t even know this woman, all the while calling out Colin for being her son. He went on to say that anyone who stands with Kaepernick should be fired. (Oddly, Kaepernick is unemployed at the moment – but that’s another discussion) The President followed that with a bellicose shout: “FIRE HIM,” as if capturing a signature from a reality television show. Surely not.

So, let’s dig one foot deeper in the overly fertilized field. Charlottesville. (We should never forget that moment.) According to Donald Trump, there were some “nice people” among the neo-Nazis, KKK and white supremacists. Our President believes things like anthems, gestures and flags are symbols of undying patriotism. Yet, these marchers were chanting “Blood and Soil” (anthems), giving Nazi salutes (gestures), and brandishing swastika flags. And somehow, that was OK, not worth mentioning, even though one of them committed murder.

We know our President doesn’t read, he’s admitted to it. But, certainly an adviser could explain the meaning of hypocrisy to him.

We look forward to one day, once again, witnessing “The dawn’s early light.”

Last month served to define Donald Trump. If you harbored any doubts about your objections to him, or if you were concerned over his commitment to your cause, in other words whatever your opinion was, you can no longer be confused.

The thinly disguised veil has been lifted.

To wit: The President pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty of criminal contempt in a racial-profiling case. Arpaio was known for targeting and terrorizing Latino families. He was also a devout supporter of Trump, and marched arm-in-arm with him at the head of the “birther” line.

And: President Trump banned transgenders from the armed forces. This, from a draft dodger.

And: In the aftermath of Charlottesville, where neo-Nazis, KKK and white supremacists marched with torches and Nazi insignias, brandished Confederate flags, and bellowed anti-Semitic chants, President Trump proclaimed that those who protested against them were equally bad, then finished with actually saying there were nice people among the Nazi horde. At the time he failed to mention one of the white supremacists killed a counter protester.

Racial profiling, denying equal protection, and playing cozy with the KKK can be called playing to his base. But we believe it is simply base.

Terrifying Latino families, discriminating against transgenders, and finding nice people among Nazis is as concerning as this President’s unhinged behavior.

A small voice from a small newspaper on the Mountain may not carry much weight. But to be silent would be complicit.

In case you missed it: The White House announced in late July “Made in America Week.” Imagine the jobs that are coming to America.

Currently Trump products are manufactured in 12 countries, including China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Mexico, India, Netherlands, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, getting the idea?

The “Donald J. Trump Collection” includes ties, suits, dress shirts, eyeglasses and too many accessories to comprehend. Some suits were advertised as “Made in USA” when in fact a label showed the suits were made in Indonesia.

Trump eyeglasses are made in China.

Not to be outdone by her father, Ivanka Trump has branded clothing that includes handbags, knitted dresses, woven dresses, blouses, shoes, etc. These items are made in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.

And soon, labor activists like Hua Haifeng – recently arrested in China for illegally using eavesdropping equipment while investigating labor conditions at factories that produce shoes for Ivanka Trump – will be able to retire once released from prison.

We are truly moved by “Made in America Week.” When manufactured goods soar out of orbit, when unemployment numbers disappear from sight, when the federal budget is suddenly balanced, we will all know who to thank.

The Trump line is heading home. This is “very, very, bigly.”

Flushed with what we sensed was instant success, we trotted out our first version of The Mountain Times 10 years ago. While we basked in the first 15 years of our predecessors, we embarked on a new adventure full of optimism.

That first edition, though a harried one (we were forced to convert to InDesign software having spent our previous years of design time in the business wrestling with QuarkExpress), we made deadline (there’s no alternative, that’s why it’s called deadline) and our first MT was on the street.

We couldn’t help but filter among members of the community to check the pulse.

That’s when, sitting in the back patio of the Brightwood Tavern having a beer with a local logger, we got our introduction. To us, the lead story was a no-brainer: a rescue had been made on a local mountain, as a hiker was plucked from a horrible wilderness fate.

We waited for the reaction. We didn’t have to wait long. The logger held his copy and looked over Page 1. If we had been more observant, we might have noticed the detached, mildly amused smile that etched its way across his face. “Or,” he said, quietly, as if it was just meant for the two of us, “it could be Hunchback hiker hauled off.”

Welcome to the Mountain. And, welcome to the humor of the now departed Tom Rutledge. As we look back, it is still our most precious moment.

Now we begin a new decade. We have flourished, but haven’t outgrown our pants. Seven years into his tour at the MT, Garth Guibord now operates as the Editor. Peggy Wallace was made Business Manager, which was an act long overdue. She had been exactly that and more for the entire 25-year run of the MT. And Tom Tarrants was brought in as Circulation Manager. That team, coupled with our faithful advertisers and contributors, takes the reins and leans forward being careful not to spit the bit.

Last month’s election had some positive news, regardless of which side of the aisle you prefer (or perhaps you chose to use the aisle and exit the arena all together): more people were running for school board positions in Oregon since 2009. At the local level, this manifested in two races featuring multiple candidates and three with just one.

The willingness to run for the office and participate is a worthwhile endeavor, and we hope that those candidates who failed to join a school board, both locally and statewide, continue to engage in the district.

And for those readers who have thought about running for the school board (only two years left before the next seats open), or simply want to be more involved, there are many ways to get involved and make a difference, and none of them require having a child in the school district.

In the Oregon Trail School District, a budget committee meets every year, typically in April, to make the budget for the upcoming school year. Perhaps not as glamorous as the school board itself, the seven-member committee nevertheless performs a crucial role in the district, but almost always seems to be in need of members. And the committee will serve as a fine introduction to the financial mechanisms (such as PERS) that drive the district’s budget.

The Oregon Trail Education Foundation works on district-wide programming, while each school has a site council that works on figuring out ways to improve academic achievement and determining professional development.

And at the local level, the Welches Parent Teacher Community Organization (see Chalkboard, page 12) works in a myriad of ways to support learning and simply volunteering at the school can make a big difference (visit oregontrailschools.com for the volunteer application).

The next election cycle, we hope to see even more candidates vie for positions on the school board, but the time is now for those potential candidates to start to make an impact and get involved.

Admittedly we have been in the forefront of dissenters to the policies (and lack thereof) of Donald Trump the campaigner and president.

The bellicose attacks against Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen, and the pointed threats against North Korea aside, we are finding some positive signs.

These are being viewed by the mass media as flip flops. And they are many: China is a currency manipulator (campaign), China is not a currency manipulator (president); NATO is obsolete (campaign), NATO is no longer obsolete (president); I know more about ISIS than any of our generals (campaign), our military is doing a terrific job. Call them flip flops, and you are correct. But there’s another point of view.

Donald Trump the candidate had no more a world view than Joe the Plumber, except for the advantages of his foreign properties. But we believe there’s hope that he is actually, perhaps, getting some on-the-job training. That’s a frightening observation, but what isn’t frightening in the world today?

We’re not prepared to call it evolution yet, but another positive sign is that Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn have been tossed aside. It appears Carter Page is next. It’s encouraging that in recent situation room photo ops, Steve Bannon is sitting in the back row and there’s no sign of Kellyanne Conway.

This remains a fractured nation. But Trump can help by diverting his attention away from trying to hold together a fractious Republican Party only bent on reelection, and performing a flip flop that addresses all the American people.

Will this happen? We admit this can be called a Pollyanna approach. But Mr. President, step carefully with your military. Listen to Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley – who has risen to the heights of diplomacy by pounding her fist and staring her Russian counterpart in the eye (shades of Adlai Stevenson).

The president has the opportunity to flip flop on coal sludge invading our rivers and streams. Surely, he knows climate change is not a hoax. He can help fix the Affordable Care Act rather than repeal and replace. And he can learn a lesson from the Pope and realize that it is better to build bridges than walls.

We come to this place with the undying belief in America. And that is not a flip flop or a recent moment of clarity.

The future of land use at Miller Quarry was etched in stone in August 2016 (Mountain Times, January 2017), following a process that was first carved out in 1995 then chiseled down to a new plan three years ago.

Last August, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wrapped up its Resource Management Plan which designated the quarry as a recreation management area – a designation that all but muzzled future target shooting at the site along the Salmon River.

This plan allows the BLM to determine what activities will take place on its property. The majority of Miller Quarry falls under the BLM umbrella.

The argument to continue the firing of weapons in the sensitive ecosystem range from personal freedom – a misguided notion often fomented by zealous Second Amendment advocates and gun lobbyist Wayne LaPierre – and the unsubstantiated defense that shooting enthusiasts at the quarry “carry out more than they carry in.”

The argument against the quarry being used as a gunnery site ranges from the fragile nature of the wild Salmon River to the issues of safety and noise pollution. Any casual observer can see the debris that is strewn along the banks of the river and the chewed-up trees being used as targets. Obviously, the “carry out” part of the program has failed.

Personal freedom comes in many hues. It includes the pursuit of happiness. We’ll defend those who desire personal safety and tranquility over those who feel addicted to blasting away at household electronics.

The BLM should keep its sights zeroed in on the target, that is, closing Miller Quarry to target shooting.

First, let’s be clear, we are biased on this subject. We believe freedom of the press to be an essential ingredient to keep government accountable. The founding fathers believed in it enough to make the press the only constitutionally protected profession in America.

It follows that the words of President Trump that “the press is the enemy of the American people” is not only offensive, but it smacks of despotism.

That he cites Thomas Jefferson as his authority on making such a statement would be laughable were it not so wrong-headed. Let’s clear this up. Jefferson’s attack on the press came at a time when a pamphleteer published that Jefferson had consorted with Sally Hemmings, his slave, by whom he sired several offspring. Not surprisingly, Jefferson went ballistic and made his feelings known about such an irresponsible attack against him.

It should be noted that subsequent DNA testing has proved that the Hemmings are descended from Jefferson. Score one for the pamphleteer.

It should also be noted that Jefferson said that if he had to choose between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.” This aspect of Jefferson’s views must have been too inconvenient to include.

President Trump went on to say that “our press is allowed to say whatever they want and get away with it.” This, too, is untrue. There are libel laws. There’s also a legal standard known as “actual malice.” When a public figure sues a newspaper, it must prove that the statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether or not it was false.

All this spells out the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press. President Trump should take a deep breath and conclude that the press was free long before him, and will certainly remain so long after. And historically, it has only been deemed an “enemy” by despots.

‘I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news,

But she just smiled and turned away …

I started singin bye-bye, Miss American pie.’

We of a certain age (we know who we are) remember “The Day the Music Died.” Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper went down in a plane in Iowa in 1959. Rock and Roll lost three legends.

This was followed in 1970-71 when we lost pop stars Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Louis Armstrong and Jimi Hendrix.

But if 1959 was the day the music died, 2016 must surely be “The Year the Music Died.”

The list is staggering: David Bowie, Merle Haggard, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, George Michael.

Had enough? Try: Glenn Frey (Eagles), Paul Kanter (Jefferson Airplane), Keith Emerson and Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire), Sir George Martin (Beatles producer), Buckwheat Zydeco (accordion king), Sonny James (country), Scott Moore (Elvis guitarist), Sharon Jones (Dap Kings), Phife Dawg (rapper), Joey Feek (country).

The list goes on, but you get the idea.

Publisher’s note: Steve Bates is a 39-year resident of Boring. He is a two-time candidate for the Board of County Commissioners (BCC), Clackamas County. The following is his opinion regarding the BCC, and how it can be fixed – an opinion that finds The Mountain Times in complete agreement.

The four commissioners (one open seat to be appointed) reside within nine miles of the county seat: Oregon City. For perspective, Welches is 40 miles from Oregon City. Sandy is 23 miles away, Estacada 17 miles and Molalla 14 miles. All or part of the cities of Barlow, Canby, Wilsonville, Milwaukie and Happy Valley are outside of the nine-mile circle. This demonstrates that a majority of the population centers in the county are not proportionately represented.

For comparison, Multnomah County and Washington County have four commissioner DISTRICTS and a chair. Multnomah County has 1,705 people per square mile. Washington County has 731 people per square mile. Clackamas County has 201 people per square mile. One must ask, why does Clackamas County not have commission districts?

Districts would reduce campaign costs and increase competition. Districts would cause each commissioner to live in a different part of the county. Don’t Clackamas County residents deserve a designated commissioner to represent them? Would it not be best for the commissioners to represent specific communities and advocate for them?

It is easy to agree that the county needs to adopt commission districts. The suggested change was rejected by the BCC four years ago. It can be assumed that this decision was self-serving for the sitting commissioners.

The 2017 commissioners should fill the board vacancy with a citizen who resides outside the nine-mile circle. The urban-rural divide exists. Our commissioners must ensure that the rural communities in our great county are adequately represented.

 “Don’t even hear the murmur of a prayer

It’s not dark yet but it’s gettin’ there.”

We woke up Nov. 9 to a new reality (show). The Apprentice President.

Now the cry around the land is to give President-elect Donald Trump a chance, as if he gets a do-over after a year and a half on the campaign trail spewing hatred, fear, bigotry, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, islamophobia, and perhaps the worst: publicly mocking the handicapped.

We should give him a chance after he promises to “drain the swamp” and proceeds in the early days after his election to “dredge the swamp?” There’s no other way to explain his proposed appointments. Rudy Giuliani? Jeff Sessions? Steve Bannon? Newt Gingrich? John Bolton? These old hacks have been at the bottom of the swamp well-past their “use by” dates.

There’s simply too much “other” in Donald Trump. To him, President Obama is one of the “others.” For five years, he led the anti-Obama birther movement, insisting he was not American born. Women he considers “not a 10” are others. Mexican Americans are others. African Americans are others. Muslim Americans are others. And the list goes on, ad nauseam.

Are we to suppose that Donald Trump was recently enlightened on the road to Damascus?

We believe women, immigrants, Jews, blacks, browns, gays, transgenders, POWs, veterans, handicapped – all are true Americans.

And we hold these truths to be self-evident.

As we publish this first of November, the election looms just a week away. It is said this is the most important election in America’s history. Perhaps we could say that about every election, as the stakes seem to be raised at each turn of the calendar.

It is safe to say, however, that this election is terribly important. And time is running out, so we urge you to vote. It matters.

One last thought before election day is to return to the words of former Supreme Court Justice David Souter. It is worth noting he was a conservative appointment to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. He retired from the bench in 2009.

Four years ago, (Sept. 14, 2012) he spoke at an institute for civic education in New Hampshire. He grew most passionate when asked about the school’s responsibility to teach young people the basics about their government. He said:

“What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough – another serious attack, another financial meltdown – some one person will come forward and say ‘Give me total power, and I will solve this problem.’ That is how the Roman republic fell. That is how democracy dies. And if something is not done to improve the level of civic knowledge, that is what you should worry about at night.”

“Past is prologue” – The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Endorsement: Mark Johnson (R-Hood River) for state representative HD 52. This is an easy one. Johnson has proved his worth to the Mountain community. He is here when we need him. Every time. This is a rare trait in local politics. He also has the agility to work across the aisle. He is a staunch advocate of our children’s education, and, consequently, their futures. We urge a vote to reelect Rep. Mark Johnson.

Unendorsement: We are obliged to coin a new word. The ineptitude of our Board of County Commissioners – the stalwarts of the Interstate corridor – is well documented. Three of the five appear on this year’s ballot. Jim Bernard and John Ludlow are vying for the board’s Chair position. It is imperative to not vote for either one. They are oblivious to the Mountain’s existence, much less its needs. Write in someone. The dimwitted dog that pals around with Mickey Mouse comes to mind. Also, Tootie Smith is seeking reelection for Position 4. Vote for Ken Humberston. Smith is a devoted member of the Interstate Cabal.

We urge Mountain residents to not be duped by Donald. We fear for our country, yea, our planet, should he darken the door of the White House in any capacity other than a walking tour. Even then, he should be accompanied by an adult.

Measure 97 deserves a Yes vote. Oregonians with health insurance reached 93 percent in 2015, up from 90 percent in 2014 – mostly due to the Affordable Care Act. We can help those who have been left out. Measure 97 would raise taxes on C-corporations with more than $25 million in Oregon sales, and direct those tax dollars to healthcare, senior services and education. The Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association opposes the measure, even though it would affect only 14 of its members. Vote Yes on 97.

This could have been a grand moment. What a time it could have been. The door of opportunity wasn’t just wide open. It was unhinged.

No one was getting a thrill out of Hillary. It was the perfect storm for a knight on a sturdy steed to swoop in. Instead, Donald, we got you – a man who should infuriate every genuine conservative, not to mention shock anyone who has even a cursory understanding of the First Amendment, women’s issues, minority rights, Islam, the military, the list is longer than Pinocchio’s nose.

Instead of a knight errant, we got a court jester.

Donald, you ridiculed a reporter with arthrogryposis that denies movement in his joints. You mimicked him at a campaign rally, throwing your arms wildly in the air, saying “Now the poor guy, you ought to see the guy.” The next day of course, you said you didn’t even know Serge Kovaleski.

You also told George Stephanopoulos that Vladimir Putin “is not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He’s not going into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down.” You appeared stupefied when reminded that Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Making a pitch to African American voters, you said: “What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump? You’re living in poverty … What the hell do you have to lose?”

Addressing the possibility of a Clinton presidency, you said: “If she gets to pick her judges – nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people. Maybe there is.”

There are plenty more: “Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?” “They don’t write good” (referring to NY Times journalists). “I always wanted to get a Purple Heart. This is much easier.” And we didn’t even mention the wall, deportation police rounding up 11 million undocumented immigrants, or your taxes.

So Donald, it comes down to this: we wouldn’t be able to face ourselves if we woke up the morning after the election and found out we had something to do with Putin You in the White House.

 ‘Just try and stay out of my way. Just try! I'll get you!’  – Wicked Witch of the West

In case you missed it, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) put their heads together June 28 – in their most perfidious manner – in what is referred to as a policy session. This session was supposed to be a slam dunk. County staff, counsel and a mediator had already decided what the BCC should do: reinstate the Villages Board.

Instead, sort of like turning over a rock buried in fetid soil, the true design of the BCC’s intentions was revealed.

The BCC had three choices: disband the Villages Board; put it on hiatus; or reinstate it for the purpose of allowing the Board to move forward with August elections. The latter was agreed on and signatures applied to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) through mediation between county staff and counsel and Board Chair George Wilson, his attorney, and Board Director Carol Burke.

But the BCC had other ideas. It ignored the MOU and placed the Board on “hiatus.” The reasoning: Since the MOU, members of the Mountain community contacted the county staff wishing the Board to not continue.

That’s all the commissioners needed. They jumped through the window of opportunity like a frog on a mayfly. “If we have all these concerns about trust, getting the Board back together would be a mistake,” said BCC Chair Jim Bernard.

Commissioner Paul Savas was the lone voice of reason. “We get an agreement (the MOU), now we go against it … We owe the (Mountain) community some direction, some certainty.” I don’t think a delay without cause is good policy, he added.

Commissioner Tootie Smith was quick to extinguish the flames of reason. “Oh, there’s cause here.” Running away from specifics, she went on to say the record speaks for itself, and there was no reason the BCC needed to “address every little nuance” and there was no need ‘to comment on why we’re doing this.”

We imagine George Wilson has been called lots of things, but “every little nuance” is likely a new one.

It’s now clear. This is not a policy issue for the BCC. It’s a witch hunt.

In the ongoing saga which is the Villages Board versus Clackamas County commissioners and staff, one thing is perfectly clear. Suspending the Villages Board was an act of hubris, one that was initiated by commissioners Jim Bernard and John Ludlow. It served no practical purpose, accomplished nothing, and resembled more an exercise in playground bullying than an act of governing.

The commissioners overreacted to a walkout of three Villages board directors, claimed to have local support which did not seem to exist beyond a handful of disgruntled reactionaries, and sent the local board packing while simultaneously spurring an expensive consultant company survey and forcing county staff into mediation with Board Chair George Wilson and his attorney – which also cost Mr. Wilson money.

Instead of working with the Villages Board members – Wilson, Carol Burke, interim Pat Holbrook and newly elected Ben Bliesner – they tossed them all out. We leave their motivation to flap in the breeze, for now.

However, we applaud the diligence of Wilson and Burke for refusing to fold. We also take note that public and government affairs staff – Gary Schmidt, Amy Kyle and counsel Stephen Madkour – managed to navigate the murky waters and in a combined effort might have reached a new level of cooperation and understanding.

We are hopeful. We will watch and wait.

Who do you root for? The home team faithful, or the visiting Visigoths? Whose side are you on, David or Goliath?

The ongoing scuffle between the Villages at Mt. Hood – assuming they exist – and the Clackamas County officials in Oregon City – consuming though they are – is without doubt an Us versus Them scenario.

First, a little perspective (and we emphasize “little”). The most glaring feature of the Mountain community’s relationship with the county is that there seldom is one. Perhaps we foster this somewhat with our air of self-reliance. So be it. But if we are to be held at arms’ length by the county for any reason, then don’t suddenly come meddling.

The rationale of the county’s decision to suspend the Villages Board and cancel a Villages election is specious at best. Public and Government Affairs Manager Gary Schmidt cites citizen complaints for suspending the Board. When pinned down, he admitted there were three, then backtracked admitting to a mistake and that there were only two – one of which was the late Bob Reeves. That left Fran Mazzara, wife of resigned Villages Board member Joe Mazzara – whose resignation was over disagreements with the Board chair. Whatever the complaint, find something in county statutes or Villages by-laws that indicates ONE person can launch such a county invasion.

Then, with the convenient suspension of the election, County counsel indicates the Board is no longer legitimate due to a lack of a quorum – convenient being the operative word.

Because the home team did not take this lying down, the county has agreed to mediation sometime later this month. It is our hope that cooler heads will prevail and the Villages Board will be reconstituted.

But admittedly, we are putting a lot of faith in a sling shot.

Everyone has an opinion, and we all know the homily that usually follows.

But that opinion is nothing more than a tree falling in the forest if you don't vote.

The Oregon primary election is set for May 17. This is not a face off. Democrats, Republicans and Independents must wait until the November general election to lock horns. But the primary will decide the contestants. To that end, we offer the following endorsements:

Democrat for President: Bernie Sanders

Republican for President: not Donald Trump; not Ted Cruz; that leaves the other guy who won't win anyway. It's the worst field we've ever seen. It's been referred to as the clown car. We've searched, but have found no evidence to refute the referral. The floppy feet fit all.

U.S. Senate: This is not, nor will it become, a race. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have served us well, and will continue to do so.

"All politics is local" in the inimitable words of Tip O'Neill. And despite evidence to the contrary (the "distance" between the Mountain and Oregon City), the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners is having an election and we have a window of opportunity to cut down on the disconnect.

In order of importance: (1) John Ludlow must be removed from his position of Chair. There's no great replacement but we give the edge to Paul Savas. (2) Tootie Smith must be removed from the board and Position 4. Ken Humberston is a good choice, so is Sandy Mayor Bill King. But let's not do Tootie a favor and split our vote. King is local. Vote for him. (3) Martha Schrader is our only true ally on the Board and she should be reelected in Position 3.

And finally, we urge passage of Measure 26-170, the Mount Hood Community College Bond. The college was established in 1965 and after 50 years has served more than 1 million students, and has not had a community approved general obligation bond in the past 40 years. On track record alone, MHCC deserves your vote of approval.

Your opinion has value. Your vote has power.

Well, we finally got their attention. It might not have been a cozy Christmas card that got it done, but at least their heads whirled as if attached to a swivel.

This government body, newly in the whirling, heretofore more tedious than illustrative, has, in their own words, come to our "rescue."

It took a highly contentious Feb. 2 meeting of the Villages at Mt. Hood board of directors to turn the trick. (Story in this issue.) Granted, it was less a meeting than a palace coup. There were more than 200 local residents as witnesses and participants.

What happened? One half of the board of directors revolted against the other half. We suppose it was a fair fight, three against three, but in this case the tie went to those in revolt. What remained was three members of the board (Board Chair George Wilson, and directors Carol Burk and Marilan Anderson) left standing. But not for long. The board no longer had a quorum to conduct business.

What followed was the "rescue" orchestrated by members of that governing body, the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners -- specifically, in this case, Board Chair John Ludlow and member Jim Bernard.

Their solution: disband the Villages at Mt. Hood. Doubtlessly, we had their attention.

At this point, it matters less on which side of the purge your sentiments are directed. What matters is the county commissioners, those same ones who tried initially to stop legal marijuana sales on the Mountain because of a lack of sheriff's patrols and oversight, those same ones who said they had effective sheriff's patrols against recent break-ins in parking lots of local restaurants when in fact they did not (there's that whirling thing again), have now stepped in and removed the only advisory access we have to the county.

Whether you support the walkout of the three board members, or are in favor of the three left standing, we are the less for it. And it makes one wonder about the distance between the Mountain and Oregon City.

'Men who caught and sang the sun in flight ...

Do not go gentle into that good night.'

                                                -- Dylan Thomas

We're quite certain Bill Johnson did not go gentle.

He was 55 years old. He lifted off Jan. 21. He departed from an assisted living facility in Gresham, ravaged by a massive stroke that struck him down three years ago.

Bill Johnson's story was epic. A living tragic character of Shakespearean proportions. His desire to go faster than any other human being was the force that drove him to, indeed, be the fastest, and to ultimately lead to his destruction.

His skis weren't the only edge he caught. He lived his life there. He was rebellious, a shameless braggart, had a tattoo that read "Ski to die," and drove his competitors nuts. He told the world he was going to win the Olympic gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Games, and he did.

In 2001 he attempted a comeback at the age of 40. He wiped out on a practice run, suffering a brain injury. He fought through the injury only to suffer a stroke in 2010 that led him down a hill he never wanted to travel,

David Ligatich, a Mountain resident forever, remembers him well. "I met Bill in sixth grade at Welches Grade School," Ligatich wrote to The Mountain Times. "I thought I was protecting a long-haired blonde girl from a bully when he raised his hand and said 'I am not a girl.' That started a laugh-filled friendship that never ended. The term 'Bad Billy' did not apply to those he considered friends. I broke my leg, my big toe and my back following him skiing, to the point he finally said with a big belly laugh 'you go first from now on, I don't want you to get hurt.' He had a heart as big as the mountain."

Holiday cheer comes in many colors. The overturned truck was an unfortunate incident on the Mountain, but the pallets of pears provided a cornucopia of delights for the community.

The snow came, with all the flavors of the season: slippery roads, studs on tires, shovels liberated from the garage, crackling fires, but most important the snow brought a much needed winter wonderland to our ski resorts. And local businesses bustled with activity brought by the skiers and boarders.

Finally, the Mountain got its just desserts. An honest winter. And a glorious start to a new year.

While we are all going about wishing everyone Happy New Year, making resolutions we'll probably never keep (I promise to lose weight but never give up my penchant for self-indulgence), let us all resolve in this new year to:

1. Play at peace like a constant concerto;

2. Spread human kindness like an unstoppable virus;

3. Remember all those who have passed and hold their memories close.

Happy New Year from The Mountain Times to all our friends. And our wish is that we may all find ourselves back here, in this beautiful place, in another year's turning.

Larry, Fanny, Garth, Peggy, Tom & Fay

The carnage that was France's touched the entire world. Like a searing sword it cut into civilization and the blood will not soon pass from our midst.

There have been the usual responses by world leaders. In a nut shell: "We will not tolerate this." Well, thanks for that.

And there have been the usual saber rattlers -- mostly from grumpy old men who never carried a saber -- exhorting our need to send in the troops. There's just one problem. Killing Muslim terrorists solves nothing. Hell, they blow THEMSELVES up. You can't bomb an idea, and their idea is that anyone who isn't them is a target.

So what do we do? We fight ideas with ideals. Enlist in the army of greatness. After all, it's that time of year; a time of good cheer.

Want marching orders? Try helping a neighbor with firewood. Take food to the local food bank -- Neighborhood Missions awaits your soldiers. Get the rich uncle who has everything a Christmas present of an adoption of a hungry child in Africa. Go to someone less fortunate and set another place at the table.

All the hijacked planes and suicide bombers are useless against this army. So lock and load with good cheer. The ideals that make us free are unassailable.

Be strong. Be hopeful. Someone very clever once said: "The opposite of war is not peace. It's creation."

This holiday season we will take up the flag of idealism. Consider yourself drafted.