No casino
To the editor:
Recently in Cascade Locks a sign was erected that states: “Saving our School-Welcome Warm Springs-Welcome Jobs.” Along with the sign on port property east of Cascade Locks that reads “Future site of 1,700 jobs,” the propaganda train for the proposed gargantuan Warm Springs tribal casino chugs on. Both of these signs need to come down. The misinformation needs to stop.
I would like to clarify a few things. First, the high school is no longer, and starting next year the Cascade Locks high school students will have to be bused to Hood River.
What did the Warm Springs tribe do to prevent this? Nothing. Secondly, the majority of the supposed “1,700 jobs” will go to outsiders, not locals. Approximately 400 of those jobs will be construction related, which will be temporary and contracted out.
According to the compact agreement, which the tribe needs approval, but was in fact, denied by then Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, less than 50 jobs would go to locals. That doesn't exactly help out the residents of Cascade Locks.
Also, the only money for schools is for college level students throughout the entire state of Oregon. There is no money guaranteed to specifically help the students of Cascade Locks who need it most.
If the casino goes in, how many jobs and businesses will be lost because they can't compete with the casino? The footprint of the casino would equal three Super Wal-Marts, far too large in scale for the Columbia River Gorge.
The proposed site is over 100 miles one-way from the majority of the Warm Springs' tribal members. Driving highway 26 in the winter can be treacherous and 100-plus miles one way is not a “commutable distance.”
The Warm Springs need to keep the casino on-reservation, relocate it closer to highway 26, and focus on helping tribal members quality of life instead of trying to locate a casino as close to the Portland gambling market as possible. Oh, and let the college students throughout the state find their own money.
Paul Smith
Washougal
Buckets
To the editor:
In the recent water report I read that if we have questionable pipes and the water has been sitting for several hours (overnight?) we should flush the tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using.
Since none of us wants to waste water by running it down the drain, it could be saved in buckets to water lawn, flowers or shrubs. Can you imagine how many buckets we would have sitting around the kitchen and bathroom waiting to be carried out?
During my childhood we carried water in by the bucketsfull. Now in order to have water piped in, we need to carry it out by the bucketsfull.
Nora McNab Drescher
The Dalles
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