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PAGE 4
FEBRUARY 19,,
M U rl
J
DAN RICHARDSON, PUBLISHER
SAM LOWRY, REPORTER
GREG SKINNER, REPORTER
A PUBUCAmN OF TARTAN PUBUCA ONS, INC. ANDREW J. MCNAB, PRESIDENT
talizing-
umors are tan
! ut our job is information
,,.w1},,y haven't you written about thus and such? Everybody knows
that... ,
Fill in the blank. Everybody knows - well, what, exactly? That they ve
heard some variation of a rumor floating around town?
We get this question from time to time at The Sentinel, courtesy of the
vaunted rumor mill. ,
Sometimes everybody does know. Many s the time I, as a reporter,
have checked on some rumor or supposition or hunch and found a
reportable story at its core. Just as often, rumor turns out to be no more
substantial than smoke.
So why doesn t The Sentinel write a story, from time to time, that
"everybody knows? Perhaps because that rumor, gossip or tidbit is
unproved, unprovable, slanderous or simply untrue.
Our first questions for anything, if there seems to be something news-
worthy, are: Is it, true? Is it important? Can we prove and test what's
being said? What s the source?
If people listening or spreading the word on the street would ask those
questions, of course, rumors, innuendos and gossip wouldn t gain the
traction they so often do. ,
We here at the paper don t get to write every solid, valuable story in
our corner of the world. I ,know for certain that there are a number of
important things we haven t yet written about, due to constraints of staff
and money.
But we will. And when we do, we will be a~curate, thorough and care-
ful -- I hope that, given our efforts each week, that, too, is something
everybody knows.
-- Dan Richardson
Food safety can be an
extremely expensive thing
it all made sense in the beginning: Consumers have a right to know
where their food comes from and how it was. raised. That seems like
common sense.
We may have a fight to know if our coffee was grown in the shade,
whether biotechnology was involved, and how farm animals are treated
before they become meat. Maybe we should
know if our food came from a sustainable /~ Irl~a ,~L"~
farm, a corporate farm, or a corporate-family I ~~1
farm. How about a sustainable farm owned by I RSCl l~l
a family corporation? [ ~~= =~ ~!'::~/I
I d just like to know what kind of dog they [ IrUl|ll ~/[
have. We can't know everything about every- \ ©2004 Roger Pond ~ ]
tlimg, If we label food the way some folks
would like, we re going to have labels that weigh more than the food.
Modern marketing practices have given us Angus Beef, Hereford Beef,
and Natural Beef. What do we get when we cross an Angus with a
Hereford? Beef would be my guess. (And I won't say if that s natural or
not.)
A recent column by AgriAmerica broadcaster Gary Truitt, published in
Farm World newspaper describes the domino effect inherent in the
trend toward increased traceability and labeling of food. What sounds
like a good idea at first could turn into an expensive proposition if car-
ried to extremes.
One extreme Truitt mentions are regulations from the European
Union that would require meat products to be traced back to the animal
they ease from, and those animals traced back to the day they were
born. Similar requirements would apply to processed grains and crops.
Are these safety concerns or trade barriers? A U.S. trade represen-
tative estimates this type of tracking would cost the U.S. soybean indus-
try
36.7 million bushels of soybeans.
Do we really care which field a soybean was born in? Is it possible,
important; or economical to trace each piece of meat back to its birth-
place? We re talking some pretty expensive hot dogs here.
Do we really want to make our food supply as safe as possible, what-
ever the costs? The food supply (especially meat) is so safe now it s hard
to make a big difference, regardless of how much we spend. •
A few years ago syndicated columnist George Will was commenting on
water qua!!ty. "People say we want our water to be as safe as possible,
Will said. We say the same thing about cars.,,If we made cars as safe as
possible, they would only go 5 miles an hour.
The truth is our food supply is extremely safe. Much safer than getting
into a car, unless you drive less than 5 miles per hour.
The U.S.D.A. is reportedly asking Congress for $33 million to work on
a national animal ID system. This doesn t count the expense for individ-
ual producers, processors, and finally consumers. The U.S.D.A. plan
involves an electronic tracking system for beef, dairy cattle, sheep,
swine, horses, and poultry.
Chickens!? How can we keep track of chickens?
We can t even agree on when a chicken becomes a chicken. One day
it's an egg and the next it's a chicken? We're right backto Rowe vs. Wade
it seems to me. "
IHave something to say? Write us a letter/
ISend it to our editorial page at gspublisher@gorge.net
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1lie oldendale Sentinel
M THE
School district : .=D,
THANX TO [~le
gave me support ~.lS COL[;, sPI~LL BUT
OUR PIPES ARI~ FROZE, IT SMRE IS
To the Editor: OUR HEAl'IN' BILL IS PEACC-FUL- .NO,! Ls 1:
SIO(ROCK~--TIN'--AN' A FAIR:WE~ATH R I I,t(~
I would like to express my grat- OUR CAR WON'T . TI~RRORIST IN /i~0q
itude to the Goldendale School ~ START... .~ ~..GNT~,,~
District for giving me the opportu- ~._..kx¢~ ~11
nity to earn my associates degree ~V I . D
and special education certificate, i
Yakima Valley Community "oo i
College offered classes by s~,~
telecommunications at ,. _ • - ~.
Goldendale School District, which ' . s~
made it possible for me to work i i"~a~
and earn credits towards my
degree.
When I first began my studies ~
spring quarter of 1999 there were d it
only a few adults enrolled. As the mu
community became more aware m~
of ITV availability, enrollment ~ [ha
increased. By the school year ~ ~ '31
2001-2002 there were 47 adults s~
and 27 high school students tak-
ing college classes, w~.~=rry~=rtoo~.=~, ~('k~
Even though I paid my own
tuition, room and board was Northwest. We have major freeway do we know we ea, n run one ofi ha l
immense. I was able to work full access. We have land available that er size? If we can t, we can lo~ ha(
time and still be at home for my ram- both Maryhill Museum or Brett can be shut down for financiJ , in,
ily. I would not have been able to Wilcox would be thrilled to make use sons, not structural ones.
attain my first step of becoming a of, we have an ideal climate, we live Brim is developing a budg( Low
in an area ,of superb recreational need solid financial facts to ~ hu~
opportunity.certified teacher if it was not for this potential, it s time for the movers sound decision. Is rem~
Telecommunications classes have and shakers to move and shake, viable? Can we afford a new'
And run it? Promoting a P
nologyall been fundingmade possiblebasedthroughupon schooltech- Lets bring NASCAR to Goldendale.Jim Link without dk~iowing how the debti Er
levies. I would like the voters of Goldendale ma ge is financiaUyirrespo~ ~alk
Goldendale School District to con- This is like our family liv~ ask
tinue to support this worthy oppor- Protectyour local maxed-out credit cards, with $ l
tunity for the high school students lion set aside by Great Aunt 1~ t. S
and our community, hot sprmgs build a new home. We re ~] tot
Sue Sartain looking at going in more de 'or~
Goldendale To the Editor: build one for $1o million; we nat
know if we can afford furnitt 95~
It came as a grave shock for me to the utility bill, let alone the! tI~
Development is travel to Carson Hot Springs in the gage. . as
Columbia Gorge National Scenic
Alice t~ .~
good for us Area recently to find the historic Gold¢ lye:
guest cabins next to Hotel St. ra(r
To the Editor: Martin had been torn down. It felt ~ e.Sia!
I live out of state but own land in like a personal violation and dese- The persevera a
IG°ldendalegrew up inanda smallPlan tOruralretiretownhere.in cratiOnry.~ of Pacific Northwest histo- ofa champion wo:
Ohio that was probably a little bit For over 18 years I have enjoyed ire!
smaller than Goldendale but also the the affordable hot baths, wraps, To the Editor: j k~
county seat. I love the small town massages and wonderful, attentive Dad, could you brin~
atragsphexe.aad have subcribed tO staff. However, one of the biggest wrestling bag to school for me~
attractions of the resort has been get it this miSrning, my son,
Tlf6of the~ntinelarea, tO keep up 0fi~the news the historic nature of its buildings, asked when I answered the pl~
I continue to read about the Driving down the hill to the HotelSt. You got it, champ, what
depressed economy and hope you Martin was able to recapture days in does the tournament start to~i
the Northwest long past. I asked,,hoping for more of a cO
GoldendaleCan resolVehasthiSa wonderfult°Ugh problem.atmos_ I relish memories of staying in sation. 3:3o, gotta go, bye. di
phere and I would like to see it grow those "funky' old cabins and hotel I walked into his room an ~
and prosper, rooms. Carson s bare simplicity and ered up what he needed, whi~ ~al'
But The Sentinel has also pub- lack of modern amenities has been n't hard, since his bag is ~ t M
lished yet another article I do not one of the big draws for me. packed. Not always full ofl ~ds,
understand. Granted I do not I have asked about the fate of the clothes, but always packed, n0~ ~1(
understand all the issues but why is remaining structures; one person less. i
a group stonewalling the Cold said the hotel would be preserved; Slinging his pack over my~ rna
another said the bath house would der, I stopped when his latesP
Hollow gravel quarry? Good griefl
This will help the economy, folks, be moved to another site as part of caught my eye. I glanced
These issues are tied together, a museum. However, the majority medals hanging on not or~ len
No one business is going to turn of people I spoke with are con- three of his bedroom walls, la~ a~.:
Goldendale around. It is going to vinced the bath house and hotel had medals lianging off an ol~ rm
take a lot of new ventures along face the same end as the cabins, antler rack. i started countin~J ¢ac
In my mind the only acceptable I stopped then saw two Outsr~ s, ¢
with encouraging existing business fate for these structures is to pre- Washington State wrestler t~ [or~
growth.
Things like a race track and wind serve and restore them in their cur- sitting on his dresser. My eyeS~ ern
power turbines can only help your rent location. Any new buildings up to the shelf above his I]
economy and will bring in even should be constructed so as to there sat four achievement a~
more business. I read about the respect, honor and enhance the his- Not bad for a 14-year-old kid.]
resistance to the Home Depot in The torie nature of the site. . My boy has won and)ost hi~l
Dalles and special interests are fight- I hope the residents of the region of wrestling meets. He s cried] It
ing Wal-Mart expanding in Hood will join together to prevent the he lost and boasted when la~
River and I shake my head. How possible loss of this local, regional but never have I seen him ~ nC
many jobs are lost if those two ven- and national treasure, window of our moving vehicle] ),
tures do not happen,? How many Bruce Amsbaq and scream to passing carS] ['at
more small shops won t be built next Fairbanks, Alaska holding up his thirty-second] gh~
to these anchor stores. I am sure still dangling from his neck:1 s 1(
ffo'd state champion!" j .~rn
there are pros and cons to all these Can we a ,. a We were in Portland, soS~ till
ventures but with progress also
must come sacrifice, larger hospital7 wasthe motoristSbrandishingprobablYa gun,aSstt~bt~!j rn,aer
If you continue to resist growth,
sooner or later the word will be out To the Editor: saw it for what it was: A preY] ga4
that the area is not friendly to new We do not criticize our hospital's exuberant youth, shouting]
world, I am somebody! j
ventures and then you will get your health care! We want to keep a hos- Six years he s been trying ] rn=
wish and the opportunities will go pital in Goldendale! the Oregon state champions~, ~i
somewhere else. When I retire I Recently the board had a short six times he's come home wit~ tda
ra;
hope to be able to come to the presentation from the architect of Is seven a lucky number, oJ1 r i,
friendly small town of Goldendale the new wing, and the project man-
where the economy is prospering ager. The board chairman, skill play a part? Mitc~
and welcoming new business. Commissioner Carver, allowed 15 ,.,..~n~ in
Progress is not going to come minutes forquestions.Adisappoint- .~'"-! n~
overnight, progress comes with one ing time limit; this was the first time
step at a time. we had seen the plans. I am here
Bruce Kelly Paul Dunn asked: Would the hos:
• Tucson, Ariz. pital's deficiencies be met? "Yes.' 30 years, peep
Werecies? "No.these state-identified deficien- To the Editor: ~
NASCAR. We re In 1995 an architectural firm was The Chamber of Commer~t
ready for a track asked to come assess our building's much-needed survey from tl] !~
deficiencies. They noted several, and zeus of Goldendale. I was t~
To the Editor: thus the plan for a new building was one knew that the Little g~ 9t
born. Remember four years ago Health Foods existed. Come~,~ ~1~
Goldendale wants auto racing? On (when bond passage, was promoted) had an ad in the Goldendale ~¢]
the Sunday evening news the big
event was President Bush showing the rallying crywas We are going to Business Directory for 30 Ye~I IC
up at NASCARs kickoff event to be shut downbythestate. We have on the radio, ads on the TV~ ~1~
make the announcement written proof this was not so. it was here, ads in The MenlO.
"Gentlemen, start your engines." Dr. Ferch and Dr. Garnett are con- The Goldendale 130~
During the newscast a brief cerned: Only $400,000 is allocated Directory is located with ~e$
made that to medical equipment. Dr. Fetch fieds in The ,Sentinel, a
large. You can t miss it. |
announcement was
NASCAR was looking to expand into said "The board is suffering a credi-
the Northwest. Now how about that? bility problem; we need to see accu-
Why not here in the Gorge? We're rate figures on the table."
We haven't run the existing hospi-
midway from everywhere in the tal in the black for over a year; how
30 years -- come on!
Shirley Nl.#I
Little Red Hen Heal~.'.j