Grays River Grange forum shows candidates need to focus on wider range of issues

To The Eagle:

First I want to thank the Grays River Grange for hosting the candidate forum and the generous grangers for providing delectable snacks - the fresh bread was spectacular!

Not surprisingly, the principal local issues addressed by the candidates were the faltering economy and the concomitant loss of jobs, the education of our children, and taxes/budgets. Sadly, none of the candidates offered fresh insights or new solutions. Political party preferences were easily detectable as specific candidates short-sightedly blamed the demise of small business enterprises solely on large government and government over-regulations.

Again, tourism was touted by some as the means of re-vitalizing our area. This fails to take into account that the infrastructure for a vibrant tourism industry is lacking, as are the means to create such an infrastructure (e.g. roads, high-speed uplinks to the internet). This writer has spoken with visitors to Vista Park who decried the lack of tourism-essentials such as high-quality restaurants, shopping venues, emergency medical services, repair shops, laundromats, and evening entertainment. Apparently, the enthusiastic proponents of local tourism have also not considered the already-established and popular competition for tourists [Oregon coast (south) and areas north of Seattle (Puget sound, Canada)], the relatively short tourism season, or the readiness of county residents to compromise their "country" way of life to accommodate the influx of large numbers of visitors.

None of the candidates offered creative, concrete suggestions to improve the education of Wahkiakum county's children. In view of initiative 1240, proposing the state-wide creation of public charter schools, this is indeed surprising!

Lastly, the issue of taxes/budgets received fleeting attention. The candidates advocated the responsible management of county monies without providing concrete examples of current short-comings or suggestions for future improvements.

While Mr. Gordon provided some comic relief, he is well-advised to cease his ad hominem attacks on a local judge. Would he not better serve his cause and Wahkiakum county by spending his energy on finding ways of encouraging qualified judgeship-eligible lawyers to join this community?

This writer was surprised at the almost complete lack of attention to local agriculture. Might a focus on filling the pent-up need for good, safe, and healthy food not be a means of bringing young people and new jobs to our fertile area? How about changing the focus from "tourism" to establishing Wahkiakum county as an area where people want to retire? This would create jobs, for example, for grocers, shopkeepers, restaurateurs, medical professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, caretakers, funeral homes), housekeepers, landscapers, taxi drivers, and repair/construction workers to name a few, without requiring massive outlays for infrastructure. Furthermore, friends and relatives visiting the retirees may take advantage of existing bed-and-breakfast facilities, thereby providing year-round income to these enterprises.

Ursula Petralia

Skamokawa