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|  Photo courtesy of the Mt. Hood National Forest
When Meta Loftsgaarden, supervisor of the Mt. Hood National
Forest, agreed to give a presentation to my forestry classes as Mt. Hood
Community College, I was thrilled. It’s not often that a forest supervisor
makes time in their busy schedule to spend an hour talking with forestry and
wildlife management students. I was even more pleasantly surprised when she
agreed to sit down for an interview for “The Mountain Times” after the class.
I came prepared with a list of questions for Loftsgaarden
about topics readers of The Woodsman might be interested in: recreation
facilities and trends, the restoration of the area burned by the Riverside fire
in 2020 and other natural resource management topics. But in her presentation
to the class she mentioned a new partnership dedicated to reducing the risk of
wildfire to people, homes and businesses in our area. It’s called the Mt. Hood
Corridor Wildfire Partnership, and, as you know if you’ve been reading my column
over the last few years, that’s right up The Woodsman’s alley.
Loftsgaarden stepped into her role with the Mt. Hood
National Forest in October 2021, working previously as the executive director
of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (oregon.gov/oweb), a state agency
that supports community-based conservation, habitat restoration and improved
water quality. Before that she worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service.
During her presentation to the class, Loftsgaarden asked,
“Why didn’t the Highway 26 corridor burn in 2020?” She pointed out that there
were large fires to the south – Riverside, Beachie Creek, Lionshead – along
with the White River fire to the east and a few small fires to the Southwest of
Sandy. How did we escape? One student replied, “Luck.”
Loftsgaarden replied that luck had a lot to do with it, but
added that PGE implemented their Public Safety Power Shutoff Plan in our area
before the high winds struck – winds that caused the Riverside, Beachie Creek
and Lionshead fires to rage out of control, burning a total of more than
535,000 acres and destroying 1,642 homes and other structures.
“We had smart people [at PGE] in the right place at the
right time who made the call,” Loftsgaarden said.
I’m sure you recall the winds whipping the trees, branches
and trees falling, thick smoke, getting ready to evacuate and a power outage
that lasted four or five days, longer in some areas. I remember complaining
that the outage lasted so long after the winds subsided. In hindsight, it was a
small price to pay for avoiding one of the potential ignition sources that
could have resulted in a catastrophic wildfire.
After the conflagrations of 2020, many fire officials and
others knew that something needed to be done.
“Based on fire history, we know that this is an area that is
prone to infrequent but very severe fires, along with a lot of smaller fires in
between that don’t burn very much – they stay on the ground, and maybe they
happen at the very end of the season and there’s a big rain event,”
Loftsgaarden said. “That’s the premise under which the Mt. Hood Corridor
Wildfire Partnership is set up. We’re looking at how we can mitigate the impact
of wildfire in the corridor, whether that’s working around homes, around
communities, along evacuation routes. We’re looking at informing people about
the challenges ahead and doing what we can to reduce the risk, with an
understanding that we are in a changing climate and that we are in a more
fire-prone area than we had previously assumed.”
The group has been meeting informally since last fall and
settled on its name early this year.
“It has a great range of partners. Everybody from Timberline
and Skibowl, to PGE and the Portland Water Bureau, the county, cities and the
community planning organizations,” she said.
The website, tinyurl.com/4xfnhxns, lists numerous other
partners, including the Hoodland Fire District #74 and the Sandy Fire District
#72.
“In our area, you go quickly from an urban or suburban
setting to rural properties with a little more acreage, to wilderness. For
managing wildfires, that’s a really tough environment to work in. We’re working
with the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station to figure out what
we can do when you go that quickly from the community to wilderness, where our
management approaches are limited,” said Loftsgaarden, who added that research
station staff will help the partnership develop a better understanding of the
history of wildfire in the area.
One option of many that is under discussion: putting power
lines underground.
“Collectively, we are looking at what we can do to get the
power lines that are going to homes underground, including in places like our
recreation residences on the forest,” Loftsgaarden said. The challenges are
that this has a significant environmental impact and it’s incredibly expensive.
So the partnership is looking at how we might be able to afford it. There are
provisions in the recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation
Reduction Act that look like some rays of hope for funding for some of that
work. Definitely for fuels work, and on the Mt. Hood National Forest we’re
really trying to stretch the envelope to use that money in as broad a way as we
possibly can.”
So far, the Mount Hood area has received $4.5 million that
is earmarked for fuels reduction and other work on the east side of the forest.
“Our goal is to take this time that we have and plan for
using funding that is in the pipeline in a way that makes sense for the west
side,” Loftsgaarden said, noting that the partnership is only just getting off
the ground. “We’re looking at areas around communities, areas around homes, and
what role each of the members of the partnership can play in getting that work
done. We have to be really intentional about this.”
The partnership is planning an informational community
meeting from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 13 at Timberline Lodge to look at
the choices and the work ahead. A “simtable” will show how wildfires may
spread, depending on the ignition point, wind speed, topography, fuels and other
factors.
“We avoided a catastrophic situation in 2020 and that was a
wake-up call for us,” Loftsgaarden said. “We have time, but we don’t have all
the time in the world.” |
| Well Adjusted gently restoring healthy joint function by Dr. Melanie Brown on 03/31/2023
Our professor in chiropractic school would say, “We do not
crack backs; we restore healthy joint function!”
Some people shy away from chiropractic because they don't
like the idea of their joints being “cracked.” Most chiropractors don't use
that terminology to describe chiropractic joint manipulation, and some will
cringe at the term, but some of my patients use it fondly and ask me to “crack”
their backs.
Our professor was trying to stress that the end goal in
chiropractic manipulative therapy is to restore function, and there are many
ways to accomplish that goal. Sometimes there is no “crack” needed!
Traditional or “diversified” chiropractic spinal and
extremity adjustments consist of a high velocity low amplitude (HVLA)
correction, with the chiropractor positioning the patient in a specific way to
adjust and restore the normal range of motion in a particular joint using their
hands. During the treatment, as the joint resets, an audible sound often
accompanies the joint's realignment.
Each joint should have a specific amount of movement in each
direction. A restricted vertebral joint can be limited in flexion, extension,
rotation or lateral flexion, affecting the patient's overall active range of
motion.
If not corrected, vertebral and extremity “subluxations” can
cause problems with joints, muscles, nerves and organs and cause pain and loss
of function in the body. Over time, if not corrected, the spine starts to
change shape, and we can become hunched over, lose the ability to move freely,
turn our necks or even stand up straight! We can have pain and loss of function
that will worsen over the rest of our lives.
Chiropractors learn to identify these areas of dysfunction
by examining a patient's posture, range of motion, joints and muscles and
through neurologic and orthopedic examination. Chiropractic subluxations should
not be confused with the traditional medical term for a subluxation which is a
partial joint dislocation. Chiropractic subluxations are more subtle but can
impact the body in profound ways.
When a joint is not functioning as it should, it affects the
area's nerves, muscles, ligaments and blood flow. It can also affect organs and
other tissues as the nerves that exit the spine branch out to the body.
The wide range of impact vertebral subluxations can have on
the body is called the vertebral subluxation complex. Since the nervous system,
which includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, controls the whole body,
regular chiropractic care can positively impact your health!
With spinal health and maintenance so important, what if you
don't like the “popping and cracking” of diversified adjusting?
Many are unaware of gentle methods to restore joint
movement, but most chiropractors have other “tools in the toolbox” that will
help restore a dysfunctional joint. And some patients that don't like
diversified adjusting do much better with the gentler methods.
There are many gentle adjusting techniques. For instance,
chiropractors can use an activator adjusting tool to adjust the spine in a
neutral position, and pelvic blocks will passively restore pelvic and low back
alignment utilizing the weight of the patient's body.
Chiropractors use unique tables with “drops” that allow
comfortable adjustments in a more neutral position or that stretch the spine.
Joint mobilization uses the same setup as a diversified adjustment, but instead
of a quick, shallow movement, you slowly stretch the joint with varying
pressure to restore function.
Other therapies such as cupping, instrument-assisted
massage, kinesiotaping, heat treatment and exercise prescription can address
tissues and joints.
We sometimes say tongue-in-cheek, “Spine in line, feel
fine!” If you want to enjoy the benefits of a functional and pain-free body and
have hesitated to try diversified adjusting, consider some gentle adjusting
methods to restore and maintain your health! |
| Many bills didn't make it through March by Rep. Jeff Helfrich on 03/31/2023
Beware the Ides of March.
The middle of March brought death upon many of the
Legislature's 3,000+ bills. Some of mine were among the fallen, including
legislation that would have made our kids safer at school, supported veteran
services in rural areas and extended protections for victims of violent crime.
I was also disappointed to see Senate Bill 754 die. This
bill would have reformed recreational liability to protect our mountains from
massive lawsuits – the kind that made Mt. Hood Ski Bowl halt all mountain bike
operations last summer. Mitigating all risks in extreme sports like skiing and
mountain biking is impossible, and this bill would have protected Mount Hood
and our region's economy for years to come. I hope we can pass this important
legislation in a future session.
Homelessness Package
I have previously written about the large Housing and
Homelessness Package I worked on as Vice Chair of the Housing and Homelessness
Committee. The package cleared the House and Senate on substantial bipartisan
votes, but ultimately focused more on homelessness than housing.
I was proud to support the legislation because it will get
some of our unsheltered neighbors off the street in the short term. It's a
great step in the right direction. The governor's homelessness emergency
declaration didn't include many rural parts of Oregon, instead focusing on
urban counties. But this package directs more than $26 million for homelessness
services to the remaining counties, which is a great win for House District 52.
In the long term, this bill won't get us to the governor's
housing production goal of 36,000 new homes built per year. Still, I look
forward to serving on the governor's Housing Production Advisory Council to
address issues of red tape, zoning regulations and burdensome appeals processes
that make building homes in Oregon take longer and cost more.
Of course, we cannot ignore addiction's impact on our
homelessness crisis. Measure 110 has made it a free-for-all when it comes to
drugs. Our approach must balance treatment and accountability, but Measure 110
currently provides neither.
Individuals deep in addiction will not make voluntary
decisions to get help. I am proud to chief sponsor House Bill 2645 to bring
accountability to those using and distributing fentanyl. Some of my colleagues
introduced bills to reform Measure 110, such as House Bill 3549, which would
take a tiered approach to drug enforcement with mandatory treatment built in.
Unfortunately, they nearly all were victims of the Ides of March.
Semiconductors and Oregon Jobs
The next big order of business is the Semiconductor Package.
With Intel already based in Oregon, we have a big opportunity to benefit from
the federal government's $52 billion investment into bringing microchip
manufacturing back to America. This semiconductor conversation is an issue of
national security. Our modern economy, our military and critical infrastructure
run on these microchips. We must manufacture microchips here, rather than
relying on other countries.
It's no secret that Oregon has an anti-business climate
because of the policies passed over the last decade. High tax rates, low
incentives and an uncooperative government don't make it attractive for businesses
to employ Oregonians. Just last week, an Oregon-based company that makes
electric vehicle batteries decided to expand its operation in Indiana instead
of Oregon.
The Semiconductor Committee recently passed Senate Bill 4
(SB4). I am skeptical that this current proposal will be big enough to lure
these jobs back to Oregon, but I know more work is being done on additional tax
incentives. Just because we already have Intel here doesn't mean we are a
shoo-in. We are competing with other states.
One concern I have about SB4 is that in its current form, it
gives the governor unprecedented powers to overrule local communities in the
siting of a large-scale manufacturing facility. I am always cautious when
giving the governor more power.
Some Concerning Legislation
This session has been mostly bipartisan thus far. As several
divisive hot-button cultural issues are moving forward, things seem to be
changing.
Most Oregonians agree that our laws regarding abortion are
extreme, permitting abortion up to the moment of birth. House Bill 2002 would
expand those laws even to repealing the crime of concealing the birth of an
infant. Someone commits the crime of concealing the birth of an infant “if the
person conceals the corpse of a newborn child with intent to conceal the fact
of its birth or to prevent a determination of whether it was born dead or
alive.” I have a hard time understanding why we would need to legalize this
activity. House Bill 2002 would also expand taxpayer funding for
“gender-affirming care” for minors.
House Bills 2006 and 2007 would curtail constitutional gun
right. HB 2007 would allow cities, counties and special districts to ban the
carry of firearms on public grounds. The language in this bill would also allow
them to prohibit carrying on “adjacent grounds,” which is very vague.
House Bill 2006 would increase the firearm possession age
from 18 to 21. I think we need to decide the age of responsibility in this
state. If we believe you can alter your gender as a teenager, we should also
trust you with a firearm as a teenager. With these contentious topics, I hope
the legislature proceeds with caution.
I would love your feedback on these controversial pieces of
legislation. As always, you can reach my office at
Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov and at 503-986-1452. I am honored to
serve you.
Jeff Helfrich is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| Big bird the osprey's impact on the Pacific Northwest by Mt. Hood Community College on 03/31/2023
The osprey, also known as the fish hawk or sea hawk, is a
bird of prey highly significant in the Pacific Northwest. These birds are well
known for their unique fishing abilities and are a vital component of the
ecosystem in this region.
The Pacific Northwest is home to many rivers, lakes and
coastal areas that are rich in fish populations.
Ospreys have adapted to this environment and have developed
a unique hunting technique. They fly above the water, scan the surface for fish
and then dive feet first into the water to catch their prey.
This hunting behavior is remarkable to witness for visitors
and residents of the Pacific Northwest and has made the osprey an important
cultural and ecological symbol.
The osprey is also considered a keystone species in our
region. As top predators, they play a critical role in controlling the
population of fish in the region.
Their presence indicates a healthy ecosystem, as their diet
primarily consists of fish that are sensitive to changes in water quality and habitat.
In addition to their ecological significance, the osprey is
also culturally significant to many indigenous communities in the Pacific
Northwest. Some tribes consider the bird a symbol of power and protection, and
have incorporated the osprey into their traditional stories and art.
Overall, the osprey is an important and valued species in
the Pacific Northwest region.
Their hunting abilities, ecological significance and
cultural importance make them a unique and cherished part of the local environment.
|
| Strawberry season by Taeler Butel on 03/31/2023
Turn spring strawberries into a delicious stuffed cake!
Strawberry stuffed
Bundt cake
Cake Batter
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup softened unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
8 oz sour cream
3 eggs room temp
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 1/4 plus 1/4 cup flour
1/2 t vanilla
1 t lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
Filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 T granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 t vanilla
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk or cream
1/4 t vanilla
Heat oven to 365 degrees, grease and flour 10-inch Bundt
pan.
Whip butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy and
pale, about five minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and
then mix in lemon juice and zest.
In a separate bowl whisk dry ingredients together and then
add to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the sour cream.
Mix remaining flour with strawberries and gently fold into
batter.
In another bowl whip filling ingredients until smooth.
Add half of batter to Bundt pan, then smooth filling on top
and finish with remaining batter.
Bake for 70 minutes or until set in middle. Let cool for 20
minutes, then turn out onto plate and let cool completely.
Mix together glaze ingredients and then drizzle over baked
cake.
Rotisserie chicken
pasta
1 rotisserie chicken
1 t garlic salt
1/2 t pepper
One package of fettuccine
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Bring a pot of water to boil, add chicken and garlic salt
and then simmer for 30 minutes until chicken shreds easily.
Remove chicken and boil broth until reduced in half. Boil
noodles until al dente.
Shred chicken and add to noodles, then toss with Parmesan
cheese, pepper, parsley and olive oil. |
|  Photo illustration
The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ushered
in a new era in the realm of digital image production. The technique can
produce photos with greater speed and accuracy than traditional photography,
spanning the spectrum from photorealistic representations of real-world things
to purely abstract imagery. The future of photography could be profoundly
affected by the rapid development of AI-generated images.
It takes advanced algorithms and machine learning methods to
generate an AI-created image. These algorithms are able to generate incredibly
realistic and accurate images because they learn from massive volumes of data.
Photorealistic images, which depict real-world objects and settings with great
realism, and non-photorealistic images, which are completely fictitious and
abstract, are two examples of the various sorts of AI-generated images.
It's possible that the growing popularity of AI-generated
photographs will have a major effect on the market for photographers and
editors. More sophisticated AI-generated photos may eventually make human
photographers and editors obsolete.
The term “photography” itself may need to be rethought in
light of AI-created “photos.” AI generated images and other forms of digital
art may one day be considered “photography” as the practice of taking
photographs becomes increasingly obsolete.
The usage of AI-generated images, however, may also simplify
the generation of images and open the door to fresh forms of expression. There
is potential for more people to express themselves creatively through the
visual arts if AI could make images rapidly and reliably. Moreover,
AI-generated images may allow for previously unimaginable or impractical types
of creativity, including the creation of complete virtual worlds and intricate
digital visual effects.
Ethical questions can arise from the use of AI-generated
images. Realistic and precise picture generation opens the door to manipulation
and deception.
One potential use for AI-generated images is in the
fabrication of fake news or the swaying of public opinion. In light of this, it
is crucial that the AI-generation process be explained in detail, and that the
origin and veracity of the generated images be made clear.
AI Chat GPT is a language model that has been trained to
generate text that is both natural and conversational in tone. It's a tool in
the field of natural language processing (NLP) that helps computers grasp and
make sense of human speech. The development of Chat GPT and similar NLP
technology is paving the way for faster, more precise computer-generated
writing that is indistinguishable from that of a person.
Chat GPT and similar AI language models may one day provide
for improved productivity and accessibility in the writing industry. Chat GPT
could be used to automate the creation of material such as news articles,
product descriptions and more, freeing up human writers' time and energy. Use
of AI-generated text may also help persons who have trouble writing, such as
those with learning difficulties.
Ethical questions are also raised by the use of AI-generated
text. Along with AI-generated images, computer-written text could be used to
spread disinformation or sway public opinion.
In addition, there is the possibility of bias in the
training data used to train AI language models, which could lead to biased or
discriminating writing. As a result, as with AI images, it's crucial that the
AI-generated text production process be explained in detail, and that the
legitimacy and origin of the text be made evident.
Finally, the development of AI-generated images and words is
revolutionizing both the photography and the writing industries. While this
technology may threaten established means of making visual and textual content,
it also has the potential to open up new avenues of expression and
participation. Yet, care needs to be taken when utilizing AI-generated content
to prevent unethical behavior.
Writer’s note: I created this article as a demonstration of
how this technology can be used and to raise awareness of the technology that
will be affecting all our lives, not just writers and artists, in the future.
At this point, after taking on this project, I’ve realized that the algorithm
still needs guidance from a human.
I had to shape the article's subject and continuity, but
with the self-learning that it’s going through, with the internet as its source
of information, who knows when it will no longer need humans to exist and to
operate.
In the future most of, or all of, our infrastructure will be
controlled by AI including things like our highways, communications, water
systems and our electrical grid. Most of what we use that’s automated will be
controlled by AI software.
Self-realization is also something that’s certainly being
considered a possibility in the future, the ramifications of which we have no
idea.
I don’t want to paint a grim picture as the benefits to
humanity, when used responsibly, have the potential to solve a lot of our
problems, but with any tool it can be used to build or to destroy. We need to
accept it but proceed responsibly. |
| Well Adjusted tenacious D: benefits of the vital vitamin by Dr. Melanie Brown on 03/01/2023
When we were in Maui for Christmas this year, we wanted to
“bottle it up” and take it home. Our lingering colds disappeared, our moods
improved and our energy increased. Unfortunately, you can't bring the beach
back with you, but you can give yourself a little “liquid sunshine” to help you
through the winter months in the form of vitamin D.
Typically, the best way to get our nutrients is through a
healthy diet. But since our diets are often lacking in nutrients, and adequate
vitamin D levels are challenging to get through diet or sunshine alone, I
recommend that most patients take a whole-food-based multivitamin, mercury-free
Omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D3.
Vitamin D is vital because it helps your body sustain normal
calcium and phosphorus levels to build bone. It is important for muscle, nerve
and immune function. Vitamin D can reduce inflammation, reduce cancer cell
growth and help control infections. Your muscles, heart, brain and immune
system and tissues have vitamin D receptors, which suggest more essential roles
that are not yet understood.
Adequate vitamin D can significantly lower the risk for the
bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. A recent Mayo Clinic article indicated that
low vitamin D is also associated with falls, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid
arthritis, chronic pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease
and some cancers. Low vitamin D levels can affect the brain and are associated
with schizophrenia, depression and seasonal affective disorder.
When I was little, my mom always told me to go outside and
“get some vitamin D!” That is not as easy as it sounds! When exposed to
sunlight, your skin makes vitamin D from cholesterol. The sun's ultraviolet B
(UVB) rays hit cholesterol in the skin cells, providing the energy for vitamin
D synthesis.
According to Harvard, the further away from the equator you
live, the less vitamin D-producing UVB light reaches the earth's surface. In
the northern latitudes, most of the rays “bounce off” of us, and long sleeves,
sunscreen and darker skin block vitamin D. A Biotics rep once told me that to
get enough vitamin D from the sun, we must lie naked at the equator for 15
minutes daily. Since most of us don't get the pleasure of doing that, and
because it is challenging to get adequate vitamin D from our diet, it is wise
to supplement with vitamin D, especially in the winter months. And because
ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer, we should avoid excessive sun exposure
and tanning beds.
The recommended minimum daily amount of vitamin D is 400
international units (IU) for children up to age 12 months, 600 IU for people
ages one to 70 years old and 800 IU for people more than 70 years old, and it
is based on limited sun exposure. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the
maximum daily dose unlikely to cause harmful effects on health. The UL for vitamin
D for adults and children ages nine and older is 4,000 IU/day (100 mcg).
For adults, 1,000 to 2,000 IU per day of vitamin D from a
supplement is generally safe, should help people achieve an adequate blood
level of vitamin D and may have additional health benefits. For adults, do not
take daily vitamin D supplements containing more than 4,000 IU unless monitored
under the supervision of your doctor.
Baby formula has 400 IU per liter, so babies drinking at
least 32 ounces daily get enough for the minimum amount. If your baby drinks
only breast milk or gets less than 32 ounces of fortified formula each day, ask
your doctor about giving your baby a vitamin D supplement. Babies need vitamin
D to absorb calcium and phosphorus. Too little vitamin D can cause rickets, a
skeletal disorder that results in soft, weak bones.
Vitamin D is not found in many foods but is in egg yolks,
cheese, cod liver oil and fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring
and tuna. The amount of vitamin D in these foods is relatively small. Other
foods and beverages are fortified with vitamin D – such as milk, yogurt and
breakfast cereals.
Since adequate vitamin D intake is challenging through diet
and sun alone, I like to use Biotics Bio-D-Mulsion (400 IU/drop) or Bio-D-Musion
Forte (2,000 IU/ drop). This supplement is made from the fat of lambswool and
offered in an oil-and-water emulsion for better absorption. It comes in a small
dropper bottle, so keeping it next to your toothbrush or in your purse to take
daily is easy.
When you can't make it up to Hood for t-shirt skiing on a
bluebird day, get a little liquid sunshine in the form of a vitamin D
supplement. Your body and your mood will benefit!
|
| Getting down to business this session by Rep. Jeff Helfrich on 03/01/2023
February was a month of celebration. Oregon celebrated its
164th birthday, and we completed our first month of the legislative session in
Salem. Now the priorities are beginning to come into focus.
Housing & Homelessness
Early this year, Governor Tina Kotek declared a homelessness
state of emergency and called on the Legislature to approve $130 million in
funding to address the crisis. The Housing and Homelessness committee, on which
I serve as vice chair, is debating two large housing bills that seek to address
housing costs.
These bills, HB 2001 and HB 2889, are still in draft form
and are undergoing bipartisan negotiation. I look forward to working on these
bills to protect property owners and reduce living costs.
HB 2001 would expand the homelessness state of emergency to
all counties. Governor Kotek's executive order currently only includes
Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion, Polk, Lane, Jackson, Deschutes, Crook
and Jefferson counties.
26 years as a police officer taught me a lot about our
homeless neighbors, and we cannot ignore the impact drugs have on our streets.
I recently spoke on the House Floor about the failures of
Measure 110. The Secretary of State recently released an audit showing what we
already knew, the unelected bureaucrats in charge of implementing the program
are failing, and people are suffering because of it. Oregon is the worst state
in the country for our drug problems, and we are the only state in the nation
to legalize hard drugs. This is not a coincidence.
A case in point: the collection of dirty needles on Portland
streets has increased by 450 percent between 2019 and 2022. We can and must do
better.
Bringing Jobs Back to Oregon
On the Semiconductor Committee, we are discussing options
for incentivizing semiconductor manufacturing businesses in Oregon. A recent
study showed how a $200 million investment from the state could add 35,000 jobs
and nearly $3 billion in new revenue over the next 20 years. We are looking
around the state at the available land stock to build a large-scale
manufacturing facility. We must ensure Oregon is open for business to compete
in the global economy.
Measure 114
If you've followed the news about the recently passed gun
control initiative, Measure 114, you know there have been legal challenges to
the measure's constitutionality. Earlier in February, the Oregon Supreme Court
ruled that the measure can not go into effect until the court issues a final
decision on the suits. I am glad our judicial branch is taking the time to vet
these issues thoroughly. The Department of Justice has spent nearly a quarter
million dollars to defend Measure 114 thus far.
Does the government have your property?
The Oregon State Treasury is again raising awareness about
its Unclaimed Property Program. Over the last 25 years, the Unclaimed Property
Program has returned more than $500 million to individuals. Nearly one in seven
people have unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property is any asset – such as uncashed checks,
forgotten security deposits, tax refunds and more – held by a business,
nonprofit or government entity for which the owner cannot be found. When an
organization cannot contact or return unclaimed property to an owner after some
time, usually one to three years, they must report the property to Treasury to
be held until claimed by its rightful owner.
Go to Unclaimed.Oregon.gov to search for any unclaimed
property under your name. Searching is free and easy; you never know how much
of your money the state might be holding!
Some bills to watch
Before I go, I want to flag a few bills that could impact
you and your community:
– Senate Bill 779 would require police officers in
departments over 50 officers to have a four-year bachelor's degree. For
departments with less than 50 officers, the requirement would be a two-year
degree. It's hard enough to recruit and retain good officers in Oregon, and
this would make it even harder.
– House Bill 2426 allows customers to choose between
self-service and full-service gas in areas where self-service is banned today,
which includes Clackamas County. A gas station may open up to 50 percent of its
pumps for self-service, while the rest will remain full-service. Self-serve in
Oregon can be contentious, but this bill balances between those who like
full-service and those who want to pump their own gas. Recent polling has shown
that nearly two-thirds of Oregonians support this approach.
– House Bill 2645 increased criminal penalties for carrying
certain amounts of fentanyl and updates the law so that fentanyl in pill form
will be treated the same under the law as fentanyl in powder form. I was proud
to chief co-sponsor this bill. It passed the House on a vote of 59-1.
As always, you can reach my office at
Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov and at 503-986-1452. I am honored to
serve you.
Jeff Helfrich is the House District 52 Representative. |
| Let's giggle at the gaggle fun facts on Canada geese by Mt. Hood Community College on 03/01/2023
Like coyotes, Canada geese are extremely adept at living in
human-altered areas. Distinguished with a black head and neck, white cheeks and
a brown body, the Canada goose is native to the artic and temperate regions of
North America; during migration, it can even be found in northern Europe.
Because of its ability to adapt, the bird has thrived in
regions it has been introduced to, including Ireland, New Zealand, Japan and
the Falkland Islands.
Found near fresh bodies of water, the herbivore is sometimes
considered a pest when living in urban habitats where food is plenty for the
geese.
The abundance of droppings and noise, not to mention
behavior, can annoy humans.
Territorial by nature, geese can act aggressive to both
humans and other animals, often stalking and begging for food.
Monogamous, Canada geese find a mate in their second year.
Females lay from two to nine eggs and both parents protect the incubating eggs.
When goslings hatch, they are capable of walking, swimming
and foraging.
Though migratory in nature, Canada geese are frequently
year-round residents in the Pacific Northwest. The permanent populations can be
in the hundreds in places like golf courses, parks and sports fields.
At Mt. Hood Community College, the geese frequent the
grounds around the pond, which can be a picture-perfect setting with a setting
sun background. |
| 'Spring' into cooking by Taeler Butel on 03/01/2023
I took advantage of the lovely, mellow pink pineapples that
are trending – give them a try!
Pineapple upside down cake
4 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 small can pineapple juice
Pineapple rings or chunks (fresh, frozen or canned)
10 frozen dark cherries
Pinch salt
For the cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
2 large eggs
In medium sized pan heat 4 T butter with brown sugar and
salt until bubbling.
Place fruit on bottom of the cake pan in any design. Pour
caramel onto fruit let sit while you make the batter.
Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a springform pan, then
wrap bottom with aluminum foil.
With electric mixer whip butter and sugar, then add eggs one
at a time.
Whisk dry ingredients together in separate bowl and add to
batter in thirds, alternating with juice until well combined.
Fold batter onto caramel/ fruit.
Bake for 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out
clean.
Roasted chicken
1 4 lb. chicken, room temp
1 stick softened unsalted butter
1 T plus 1 t kosher salt
1 t pepper
Lemon wedges
5 cloves garlic crushed
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the crushed garlic, 1 t salt into the butter.
Pull up skin on breasts and thighs/back and stuff chicken
under skin with butter.
Sprinkle I T salt all over chicken including cavity.
Place lemon wedges into cavity and bake back side up in
preheated oven about 45 minutes.
Turn heat to 350 degrees, carefully turn chicken with tongs.
Bake another 20 minutes or until juices run clear when thigh
is pierced.
Let rest and carve. Cover meat with pan juices when serving.
The perfect pan steak
1 lb. sirloin steak, room temp
1t salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 T butter
1 t olive oil
Heat oven to 365 degrees and heat a cast iron skillet on
stovetop over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
Season both sides of steak, coat pan with olive oil, place
steak into pan not moving for nine minutes until crust has formed.
Turn steak over once and place butter on top, then finish in
oven about nine more minutes until the steak is slightly firm to touch but
still with plenty of give, or until meat thermometer reaches 130 for
rare/medium rare.
Let sit ten minutes until slicing. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. I'll know that you're a
true Mount Hood authority if you know where this amazing stained-glass mural is
located.
The Blue Ox Bar, inside the incredible Timberline Lodge on
Mount Hood is, perhaps, my favorite spot in the whole lodge. Situated on the
first floor, in a hidden corner of the historic structure, the Blue Ox Bar was
created as an afterthought when someone realized that there was no bar in the
lodge. Originally designed to be a firewood storage room, it seems to be hidden
as it’s tucked away past the men's restroom in a hall leading to other more
utilitarian parts of the lodge. It’s easily missed if you’re not looking for
it.
The room is pretty incredible, and very cozy. There are no
windows and its walls are decorated with three large handmade glass mosaics
that tell the story of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, the legendary woodsman
of American and Canadian folklore, that were made by the talented artist
Virginia Darce, a watercolorist and artist in Portland, in 1938 for the Oregon
Federal Art Project during the construction of the lodge. The Blue Ox Bar still
has the original hand-built furnishings, tables and benches, with some
interesting graffiti carved into the tops of them, done back before they were
perceived as something special to be preserved. Please don't be tempted to
carve your initials into these historic items.
Timberline Lodge was built during the Great Depression
between 1936 and 1938 when President Roosevelt created the Works Progress
Administration (WPA). The WPA was created to create jobs for those with no
work. It didn't matter if you were young, old, male or female, everyone could
have a job.
The WPA took advantage of the skills that many of the
workers possessed, and many were first generation immigrants that were master
craftsmen in the European countries that they came from. It was also an
opportunity for young people to become apprentices to gain trade skills.
Carpenters, stone masons and blacksmiths built and furnished
the lodge, while fabric workers wove and sewed together the incredibly
beautiful rugs, curtains, bedspreads and other items that finished and
decorated the lodge.
Artists were employed as well, as art was valued as
essential to the character of the lodge. These artists carved wood, forged
iron, wove fabric and created finely painted works of art that fill the lodge
today. These stained-glass panels are some of those art pieces.
I loved the story of Paul Bunyan and his pet and companion
Babe when I was a little boy, perhaps because of being influenced by visits to
the Trees of Mystery in the California Coastal Redwoods where there are large
statues of them that greet the public as they arrive.
I also love Timberline Lodge. Some of my earliest memories
are of my family visiting there when I was just a little boy.
The Blue Ox Bar has been closed over the last couple years
but has been reopened and is welcoming visitors. Remember that the lodge was
constructed by craftsmen with basic tools. It was a different age back then for
sure.
The lodge and its furnishings are all an assembled work of
art. The next time that you’re on Mount Hood visit the lodge and take time to
look at it from an aesthetic point of view. While you're there stop to appreciate
the history and craftsmanship of the construction and decoration of the lodge.
|
|  Contributed image
For newspaper, magazine or blog editors trying to come up
with attention-grabbing headlines (as all editors do) for a story about forest
health (boring!), using the word “Firmageddon” would be a slam dunk. The
Oregonian used the term in a Nov. 25, 2022, article, “Record number of firs
dying in Oregon, Washington in what experts call ‘Firmageddon.’” Other
newspapers far and wide ran similar headlines, including Esquire, Wired and the
U.S. edition of the British newspaper, The Guardian.
Firmageddon, a term based on “armageddon,” was coined by
researchers who had compiled data gleaned from aerial surveys of forest
conditions in Oregon and Washington. According to The Oregonian, the
researchers found that “Fir trees in Oregon and Washington died in
record-breaking numbers in 2022,” and it was “the largest die-off ever recorded
for fir trees in the two states.”
Note that the die-off of firs does not include Douglas-fir,
the most common tree in our area, but so-called “true fir” species grand fir
and noble fir, which are common in the northern Cascades, as well as white fir,
Shasta fir and red fir, which are common in southern Oregon. Douglas-fir is not
a true fir.
In assessing the results of aerial surveys covering about 25
million acres in Oregon, the researchers found that “The fir mortality is
widespread and quite severe in some locations. Fir mortality has been detected
across Oregon and Washington, but the elevated and more severe fir mortality
was observed across the Ochoco, Malheur, Fremont and Winema National Forests
from Central Oregon to the California border. More than 1.2 million acres have
been impacted with fir mortality across the Pacific Northwest, with
(approximately) 1.1 million of those acres all being recorded in Oregon. Nearly
double the acres impacted compared to all the previous year's data on fir mortality
in Oregon.”
The results of the surveys are summarized in “Forest Health
Highlights in Oregon – 2021,” from the Oregon Department of Forestry and the
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) (download it at tinyurl.com/3cmna6hc). The USFS
offers an informative “story map” that looks at data from Oregon and Washington
(tinyurl.com/ywy76erh).
Trees die in our forests every year due to a variety of
natural causes, such as wildfire, insect attacks and diseases. In recent years,
many trees have been weakened by drought stress, which reduces their ability to
defend themselves against insects and diseases. Heat stress, such as during the
unusual “heat dome” we all suffered through in 2021, also weakens trees. The
graph accompanying this article shows that tree deaths from abiotic factors –
drought and heat stress (shown in blue) – were far greater in 2021 than in
previous years. This is not surprising, as much of Oregon has seen drought
conditions in recent years, “most heavily across Oregon from the center of
Oregon around the Ochoco Mountains to the California border,” according to the
report.
To me, as a forester, the high mortality in true firs isn’t
surprising. In many areas, especially in eastern and southwestern Oregon, true
firs have “invaded” forests that had previously been dominated by large, old
ponderosa pines and Douglas-firs. In the past, relatively frequent,
low-intensity fires killed most of the young true firs before they could become
big enough to compete with the larger, older trees. Such fires were caused by
lightning or were intentionally lit by Native Americans for centuries before
European settlers moved in. Today, the invading true firs have become large
enough to compete with larger trees for water and nutrients, and most or all
trees in these overcrowded forests are stressed, leaving them more susceptible
to insects, diseases, drought, heat waves and especially wildfire.
The USFS, the Oregon Department of Forestry, private
landowners and other forest managers have worked for many years to reintroduce
low-intensity fire – prescribed fire that is beneficial in ways similar to the
fires lit by Native Americans. With so many young trees and dead/down woody
debris in these forests, wildfires that otherwise would have been low
intensity, leaving the largest trees unscathed, often become high-intensity
fires that kill many or all of the large trees. Using prescribed fire in these
areas can help clear out the invading firs, but only if the amount of available
fuel is reduced beforehand through mechanical or hand thinning.
Oregon Forest Facts
The “Forest Health Highlights” report makes for interesting
reading for foresters and others who are concerned about die-offs in our
forests. For a more general look at forests, see “Oregon Forest Facts, 2023-24
Edition,” from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, or OFRI (a free download
at tinyurl.com/ya9w6hwu. Teachers, take note: OFRI will mail you hard copies at
no cost).
This 20-page booklet is packed with information. For
example:
– Nearly half of Oregon is forestland. Oregon forests vary
by species composition and ownership. There are more than 30 distinct forest
types, but Douglas-fir dominates in western Oregon, ponderosa pine in eastern
Oregon and mixed conifers in southwest Oregon. In terms of ownership, the
federal government manages 61 percent of Oregon forests; private owners manage
34 percent; state and county governments manage four percent; and Native
American tribes manage two percent.
– Timber harvest levels from public and private forestlands
over the past 20 years have remained relatively stable, although the Great
Recession (2007-09) and the collapse of the housing market brought a severe
contraction in the U.S. demand for lumber. Consequently, Oregon’s timber harvest
reached a modern-era low in 2009, the smallest harvest since the Great
Depression in 1934. By 2013, the harvest had rebounded to roughly pre-recession
levels.
– Oregon has led the nation for many years in producing
softwood lumber and plywood typically used for homebuilding. Oregon’s lumber
output of 6.1 billion board feet in 2021 accounted for about 16.5 percent of
total U.S. production, while Oregon plywood mills accounted for about 28
percent of total U.S. plywood production in 2021.
Oregon also leads the nation in the number of plants that
manufacture engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT),
glue-laminated timber (glulam) and mass plywood panels (MPP). MPP? Think
plywood, but huge: Up to 48 feet long, 10 feet wide and a foot thick. The only
MPP manufacturer in the world, so far, is Freres Engineered Wood, in Lyons,
Oregon.
Have a question about the trees and plants in our forests?
Want to know how much of Oregon is forested now compared to, say, in 1600? Let
me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.
|
| Well Adjusted the dynamic puzzle of your head bones by Dr. Melanie Brown on 02/01/2023
Nancy Sullivan, MD, proclaimed as she taught our
craniosacral class, “Tell your patients, ‘You're not a coconut head!’”
She was talking about the skull's puzzle-like flat bones and
zipper-like connections or “sutures.”
Our anatomy instructor in chiropractic college said that he
only occasionally saw fusion in geriatric cadavers but not in the general
population of adults. A Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT) seminar with Dr.
Crestione, DC, revealed enlarged photos of microscope slides showing blood
vessels and nerve endings going through the cranial sutures.
Our skull bones do not fuse in adulthood; they are dynamic!
They expand and contract with our breath, and the
butterfly-shaped sphenoid bone at the base of the skull moves up and down about
eleven times per minute in concert with our sacrum bone at the bottom of the
spine to circulate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around our brain and spinal cord.
Our skulls are not immune to stress and injury. From
infanthood, we can experience birth trauma, falls, cute but tight hats and
headbands, and sleep preferences creating flat spots.
In childhood, sports and spills and snug helmets stress the
skull, and in adulthood, we sleep with the wrong pillows, occasionally bang our
heads on cabinets and such, and clench our jaws with stress.
As a result, these structures can become misaligned,
creating dysfunction and symptoms of pain, headaches, vertigo, jaw problems,
sleep and breathing disorders, latching difficulties in infants, and more.
Movement patterns of the skull and sacrum can change, and
our CSF flow can be affected.
I like to picture the neurotransmitters “riding the wave” in
the CSF when the system functions correctly. If the sphenoid, sacrum or cranium
is distorted, these systems can stop or move with less efficiency.
My favorite way to bring alignment to these structures is
through hands-on or “manual” cranial work.
The Sacro Occipital Research Society International (SORSI)
teaches chiropractors how to gently restore function the cranial bones to
create symmetry and balance in the skull with gentle but precise slow pressure
and quick release to restore movement and eliminate tension in restricted
areas.
I first became interested in SOT “sutural” work when my
husband and I purchased a practice in 2007 from Dr. Shannon Owen, who now
teaches chiropractors with her chiropractor husband in Chile.
She sent us to seminars and taught us, with more than a
month of shadowing her patient care, what fantastic results you can get by
incorporating this treatment.
Understanding the anatomy and movement patterns of the skull
is essential when doing this work, as some skull bones overlap, and some
sutures are small and sensitive, such as the zygomatic arch or cheekbone, which
Dr. Crestione refers to as the “keystone to the cranium.”
I had a migraine patient years ago who came to our Portland
clinic for several weeks. She suffered debilitating attacks two or three times
per week and could not function. Although her range of motion and muscle tone
improved, her migraines remained.
During a cranial session, we were working on her zygomatic
arch, which was misaligned and restricted, I performed mild bilateral torsion,
and we heard a small “pop!” Her cheekbone shifted into place, the muscles and
ligaments loosened up, and she felt the circulation return to the area. She
reported, after several weeks, that her migraines had disappeared. She had her
life back!
Although it may sound intense, most people fortunately find
cranial work, including jaw and neck release, to be relaxing. I often perform
cranial work when a patient is face down or “prone” on heat and other
therapies, and it feels similar to massage.
After the prone treatment, we remove the heat and therapies,
adjust the spine and extremities, and then have the patient lie face up to
address the facial bones, anterior and posterior neck muscles and jaw.
Along with manual cranial work, jaw exercises, neck
stretches and using a proper pillow can support cranial health.
So, remember, next time you have tension, pain or other
issues in your head, neck, or jaw, “You are not a coconut head!”
Find someone who can perform this relaxing and effective
treatment for you!
|
| 82nd Legislative Assembly begins by Rep. Jeff Helfrich on 02/01/2023
With just two weeks back in Salem, I am reminded how fast
things move. Thus, I won't be able to include everything in these pages.
So I will send regular email updates with the most
up-to-date, in-depth news and ways you can get involved. Please sign up here:
OregonLegislature.gov/Helfrich.
On Jan. 9, the House of Representatives gaveled in the 82nd
Legislative Assembly. I, along with 21 newly elected members, took the oath of
office. I was lucky to have my family by my side.
This session, I will serve as the vice-chair of the House
Committee on Housing and Homelessness. On a statewide level, homelessness is a
crisis and is becoming an increasing problem for rural communities.
We must find real solutions to the underlying issues driving
homelessness, not just bandaids.
In my last column, I mentioned that transportation would be
a big topic in this session. I am serving on the Joint Committee on
Transportation, so I will have a first look at some of the policies that will
be hotly debated this session, like tolling.
I also serve on the Joint Committee on Semiconductors and
the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety.
I have already sponsored several bills and look forward to
working on more in the coming weeks and months. Here are a few:
– Protecting Second Amendment rights with concealed carry
reciprocity (HB 2586).
– Securing funding for the construction of the Hood
River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge (SB 431).
– Expanding parental notification for children's medical
care (HB 2582).
So far, there have been nearly 2,000 bills introduced this
session. That number undoubtedly will continue to grow.
With all the bills being introduced, your input is
essential. Legislators need the voices of our constituents in the process. If you
can testify on legislation we are considering, please do.
The process to sign up to testify in committee has changed.
Previously, you could show up and sign up to testify at the Capitol.
But now, you must register online in advance to provide
verbal testimony during a committee meeting. Registration closes one hour
before the scheduled start time of the meeting.
Visit my website for the complete rundown:
OregonLegislature.gov/Helfrich.
As your Representative, I want to showcase our district at
the Capitol. There are several unique opportunities for your engagement.
– Perform opening ceremonies
At the beginning of each floor session, guests of the
Legislature can present an opening ceremony. These are non-political
performances of prayer, invocation, poetry reading or a musical piece
(typically, the House chamber has a piano for use, but due to construction, it
is in a protective covering and is unavailable this session).
If you are interested in presenting an opening ceremony,
please email my office the type of performance you'd like to share along with
your contact information. We will share the information with the staffer in
charge of scheduling opening ceremonies.
– Display your photos in our office
Do you have a beautiful photo of a sunset behind Mount Hood?
A funny picture of your dog on the river? A quick shot of a delicious meal on
date night? Send it to me!
I want to show off the beauty and charm of our district, and
you can be part of it. Email your photos of the district and we'll display them
on a rotating digital picture frame in the Capitol.
– Showcase your art
Is your kid a crayon master? Are you talented at watercolor?
Share your art (physical or digital) with my office so we can highlight the
artistic talent of House District 52.
As always, you can reach my office at
Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov and at 503-986-1452. Jeff Helfrich is the House District 52 Representative. |
| Surf's up! Sea foam the result of some solid science by Mt. Hood Community College on 02/01/2023
Have you seen the weather reports out of the Oregon coast
lately?
Especially around Cannon Beach, there is an abundance of sea
foam. Not the edible sea foam you find at candy shops, but big blobs of
drifting foam that come in with the waves and linger on the shore.
Sea foam is concerning to many visitors who believe it is
from pollution or an unhealthy ocean, but those suds are actually the opposite:
sea foam is an indication the ocean is healthy.
The ocean is like a churning cauldron rolling in on itself
creating bubbles – friction in water creates bubbles.
Inside the bubbles are tiny skeletons of phytoplankton which
add viscosity into the sea water, creating more air bubbles. These bubbles are
sea foam, and the phytoplankton are the microscopic bottom of the food chain
eaten by marine life, including whales.
But why is there so much sea foam lately? Storms – big winds
and powerful waves churn and swill the waters into sea foam.
Recent windstorms have pounded the Oregon coastline showing
us exactly how nature and science come together.
Moreover, any increased bloom of phytoplankton can surge sea
foam production. So next time you see coastal sea foam, remember it is a
reflection of a healthy organism. |
| Classic French by Taeler Butel on 02/01/2023
French cooking isn’t complicated, the ingredients are simple
and preparation is key. Here are a couple of simple classics perfect to make
for your sweethearts.
Duck with orange sauce
Special days require special ingredients, I prefer to
spatchcock the duck to get the crispiest skin.
1 whole duck room temperature
2 T olive oil
Kosher salt
One onion thinly sliced
Zest and juice of two oranges
1 T cornstarch
1 T unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup brown sugar
Coat duck with olive oil and approximately four tablespoons
of Kosher salt.
Slice skin all over, coat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt
and roast in 400-degree oven for about an hour, turning over once.
Slice onion, sautι in heavy bottom pan (such as Dutch oven)
in olive oil, add in salt and pepper, orange zest, juice and cornstarch.
Whisk while cooking over medium heat until cornstarch is
dissolved, pour over duck slices.
Dark chocolate soufflι
6 eggs, separated
1 cup chopped dark chocolate
2 T unsalted butter (plus more for ramekins)
Pinch salt
1 t vanilla
1/4 cup plus 1 T granulated sugar
Pinch cream of tartar
6 ramekins
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and sugar ramekins.
Melt chocolate with sugar and butter in metal bowl over
steaming water. Let cool slightly and add yolks and vanilla.
In separate bowl, whip up egg whites with cream of tartar
until stiff. Fold 1/4 of whites into chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in egg
whites. Fill ramekins 3/4 full, smooth down top and bake 10 minutes.
|
| Itemizing isn't just for the tax season by Paula Walker on 02/01/2023
‘Tis the season… no not nostalgia for the holidays just
passed, but an acknowledgement of the focus that many of us have during the
first few months of every year to meet or beat that annual April 15 filing
deadline.
And ‘tis not only the season to itemize for taxes but also
to consider what to leave to whom in organizing our affairs for our loved ones
to divide the belongings that we leave. The recognition of memories and
valuables contained in items termed “tangibles” when developing your estate
plan.
Itemizing can be a very important part of keeping family
harmony intact as your belongings are distributed amongst your family. Often
people simply state that their “tangibles” are to be divided in shares of equal
value amongst their children as they agree — and that may be sufficient.
However, there can be particular items of value — emotional,
sentimental, utilitarian, as well as those having financial worth — that may do
you well to specify their distribution to eliminate or reduce the possibility
for disagreement, conflict and stalemate.
One very important aspect of this process of itemizing is
conversation. The best outcomes for your estate administration in the future
are those discussions you have now. Find out who wants what and work out
overlaps for family treasures.
You don’t need to itemize every little thing. Itemize those
tangibles that are meaningful to someone you are close to or that serve some
enduring purpose you want to support as part of your legacy.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
One example of such a seemingly easy distribution lies in
the estate of Audrey Hepburn, who left a storage locker in Los Angeles full of
her memorabilia to be divided equally between her two sons “as they agree.”
But they could not agree for many years. In 2017, 24 years
after her death in 1993 at the age of 63, Hepburn’s two sons settled a two year
legal battle over dividing the possessions kept in that storage-locker.
The settlement encompassed those items that each will keep,
and those items that they will sell and divide the profits. The famous
Christie’s Auction house expected that Hepburn’s photographs from this
collection would have prices ranging from $120 to $101,000.
About Ms. Hepburn, these highly prized memorabilia
represented this enduring icon of style, grace and beauty, and also of
humanity. A remarkable individual in the course of humankind, Hepburn was
renown not only as an actress, but also as a philanthropist and UNICEF goodwill
ambassador.
Born in Ixelles, Belgium, in 1929, Hepburn was a child of
World War II. Of her own recounting, she was “…among those who received food
and medical relief right after World War II.”
She knew firsthand the value of UNICEF’s work to aid
children worldwide, dedicated to the proposition that, “All children have a
right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a
better world.”
Upon becoming a UNICEF ambassador in 1989 she went on a
mission to Ethiopia, a country devastated by famine due to years of civil
strife and famine. That was just the start.
She worked tirelessly, to bring attention to the plight of
children in many countries, earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992
for her work, spending the last years of her life as a UNICEF ambassador though
battling cancer.
Dear reader … we welcome your questions on matters related
to estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance
the potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Please submit your questions to Garth Guibord, at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Mount Hood has been a recreational attraction since tourism
became a part of the people’s lives in the area. In the late 19th Century,
after the western migration over the Oregon Trail, the immigrants returned back
up the old Barlow Trail to Welches and Government Camp to camp, relax, hike,
fish, hunt and to scale the mountain.
In the early 20th century, the activities remained but
skiing was added to the mix. Family vacation cabins were common, with the
families using them on weekends and holidays. Eventually hotels, lodges and
resorts were built to lodge visitors from outside of the area. It’s undeniable.
Mount Hood is attractive.
As time progressed the one constant has been how Mount Hood
still attracts people who want to relax and recreate. The modern era of
computers has completely changed how people stay while they’re visiting. In
addition to the typical methods, the phenomenon of owner managed vacation
rentals has rapidly spread through the area. This is all facilitated by
computers and the ability for potential lodging guests to easily search
websites for listings that suit them.
It all seems pretty simple but there are details that will
make a listing stand out above others or increase their popularity, and thus
the price that they demand. On the internet, people always look first at photos
before they choose to read anything. A property listing is no different. A
beautifully and skillfully photographed listing will always attract attention
first. Having some cell phone photos, even as good as cell phone photos are
these days, aren’t typically aesthetically or technically sufficient.
I spend a lot of my time photographing real estate and
vacation rentals. I thought that I would give those who would like to
photograph their own property a few tips that will help make a difference in
helping to make the best photos possible.
Photograph in a horizontal format. Most slideshows on
Internet website listings use a landscape orientation. If you use a vertical
format, it will reduce the largest dimension of the photo to the smallest
dimension of a horizontal photo. It’s better to use a wide-angle lens that will
include everything that you want to represent in the photo. Even if only for
aesthetic reasons it’s a good policy for the photos to be uniform.
Make sure that your walls are all vertical. The best way to
do that is to ensure that your camera is set completely horizontal and level.
If it is pointed up or down, even slightly, the walls of the room will distort.
If it’s crooked horizontally the walls will lean. The next part of positioning
your camera is to make sure that it's at about waist high or no higher than
chest level. Then you will have an equal distribution of the floor to ceiling.
Getting the exposure right is imperative. I recommend using
a RAW format and to post-process, or develop, your photos in software such as
Adobe Photoshop. Make the interior look bright and make sure that you’re able
to see through the windows to the outdoors. And remove any cars or distractions
that can be seen through them. Today, with modern cameras and software, it’s
simple to bracket and blend three or more exposures into one High Dynamic Range
(HDR) image that will represent both the darker parts of the interior and the
brightest parts of the photos such as the light coming through the windows.
Make sure that you have a proper color balance, or white
balance, that will represent the actual colors of the home, especially the
interior. The color balance can be set in post processing.
The last thing is to make the home look cozy and comfy. Set
out some flowers or a wine bottle with a set of glasses on a counter for
instance. Build a fire in the fireplace. Turn on all the lights no matter the
time of the day. That will also help you expose the interior properly and make
it look brighter and more comfortable.
This can all sound somewhat complicated when we’re just used
to pointing our cell phone cameras at something and snapping a photo, but the
extra effort will pay off in the end. And if this all sounds beyond your
interest or ability I always recommend a professional photographer. Hiring a
pro to do your photos will most always pay in the end. If you have any
questions or if you’d like to talk to me about photographing your property send
me an email. I’m always glad to help.
Gary Randall is a Mountain local professional photographer
and can be contacted via email at precisionartists@gmail.com. |
|  Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Watching the wildlife in our woodsy area is usually a
pleasure. Some years ago, when Lara’s father was visiting, we pointed through a
window at a trio of deer a few feet from the house. Bill, at the time a
resident of a large city in California, was enthralled. He pulled his chair up
to the window, slowly, to avoid startling the deer, and watched them until they
wandered out of sight.
Lara and I like watching the local deer, too. From the
kitchen table we see them grazing the tender tips of a wide range of native
plants, flicking their ears, watching the woods for danger. They are such
graceful, gentle critters. I sometimes put apples or pears along the trail they
often use to cross our property. They leave small black nuggets in return.
The deer are especially fond of apples – and Lara’s hostas,
impatiens and other ornamentals. One summer day the plants are healthy and
green, and the next morning they’re reduced to inch-tall stubs.
The deer also are quite fond of some of the vegetable plants
in my raised-bed garden – green beans, peas, chard, kale, tomatoes, peppers,
lettuce and other greens. Enclosing each of the beds with plastic mesh netting
is the best defense. Products such as Liquid Fence are effective if applied
regularly. (Not Tonight, Deer is a similar product – I love the name). Liquid
Fence is made with rotten eggs (“Putrescent Whole Egg Solids”) and garlic, and
you don’t need to read the label to know that – it’s stinky stuff. Take my
advice, don’t apply it to the plants around your deck or patio just before you
have an outdoor party.
The deer in our area are black-tailed deer, also known as
Columbian black-tailed deer or blacktails. Three other species of deer live in
Oregon. The Columbian white-tailed deer is relatively rare and lives in small
areas along the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, and in the
Umpqua Basin near Roseburg. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the
Columbian white-tailed deer as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in
1968; Oregon and Washington also have listed it as threatened. The main threat
to these deer is habitat loss and fragmentation due to agricultural and
residential development.
White-tailed deer and mule deer live east of the Cascades.
Elk also are deer – much larger ones. Rocky Mountain elk are found in eastern
Oregon and Roosevelt elk live in western Oregon.
You might be surprised to learn that elk live in or pass
through our area, since they are rarely seen here. One winter I followed the
tracks of a cow elk and calf heading up the Sandy River east of Zigzag Village.
The tracks in the snow were fresh – I wish I had seen the critters that made them,
but they no doubt heard me and ran off long before I got close enough.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s
(ODFW) “Living with Wildlife” web site, deer are naturally afraid of people and
will flee when they feel threatened. However, some deer become aggressive and
approach or even attack people.
This usually happens when deer become accustomed to being
fed by people (OK, I plead guilty) and are sometimes treated almost like pets
(no, Lara and I do not let them sleep in the house).
Deer are not pets – they’re wild animals. Sometimes mama
deer (does) become aggressive if they think their fawns are threatened, and
most reports of aggressive deer tend to happen around fawning areas. Attacks by
bucks are rare, but bucks sometimes become aggressive during the “rut,” the
mating season that runs from October through December.
The ODFW offers several tips for living with deer, such as:
– Never, under any circumstance, approach a deer.
– Observe deer from a distance, preferably from inside a
structure or vehicle.
– Keep pets inside when deer are in your yard. Female deer
with fawns may be aggressive with pets, particularly small dogs.
– Invest in a fence to keep deer out of your yard.
I’ve had literal run-ins and close calls with deer. Some
years ago, I was driving on Lolo Pass Road when a doe leapt onto the road and
collided head first with the side of my Ford Explorer. The Explorer merely
suffered a dented fender, but the deer died instantly. That was a blessing, I
suppose – I’ve seen deer that were severely injured by cars hitting them or
vice versa. In one case I came across a doe with smashed hindquarters. It
couldn’t walk and would never recover, so I put it out of its misery.
I felt terrible about the deer on Lolo Pass Road. After the
collision I pulled her off of the pavement, but later I went back, loaded her
body into my truck – she was much heavier that I had imagined – and hauled her
to a peaceful, secluded spot a few miles away. I knew coyotes, a cougar, crows
or other critters would benefit from this unfortunate incident, so at least
some good came from it.
Coyotes, cougars and humans are deer predators. So are dogs.
Many years ago, when I lived in a rural area in the Sierra Nevada in
California, a pack of dogs became notorious for chasing down deer and killing
them. These weren’t wild dogs – they were well-fed pets who were allowed to
roam free, and they joined together in packs to relive their species’ ancient
ways, usually at night.
I recall hearing that when state fish and wildlife officers
approached dog owners in the area to inform them of the problem and urged them
keep their animals leashed or confined, many refused believe that their beloved
best doggie friends forever would be capable of killing. But they are capable
of killing wildlife and even housecats.
That’s one reason most counties, including Clackamas, have
leash laws. In our county, “It is unlawful to permit a dog to be a public
nuisance,” and a dog at large – “a dog
that is off or outside the dog owner’s property and not under the immediate
control of a person” – is a public nuisance, according to the ordinance.
Back to deer. This spring you may see some of our local
blacktails looking shaggy or scruffy. It’s normal. Deer and elk molt twice per
year. They shed their winter coat in the spring and their summer coat in late
summer. Don’t worry, their hair will grow back. Wish I could say that about
mine! In any case, I hope you enjoy watching our blacktails as much as I do.
Have a question about the critters in our forests? Want to
share your tips for keeping deer out of your garden and your garden out of the
deer? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Well Adjusted improving herniated discs without surgery by Dr. Melanie Brown on 01/01/2023
Discs are the shock absorbers of our spine. They hold space
between the bones of the spine, called vertebrae, to allow movement.
If looking at discs from above, they consist of outer
cartilaginous rings, called annular fibers, and a soft inner gelatinous
“nucleus pulposus,” which moves within the disc with changes in posture. It's
kind of like a jelly donut.
When a disk is herniated, there are tears in the annular
fibers, allowing the inner material to bulge out. This can irritate nearby
nerves and create low back pain. And if a herniated disc affects a nerve, you
may feel numbness, tingling, weakness and shooting pain down the leg.
Some think a disc herniation automatically means a trip to
the surgeon, but most herniations can heal with conservative care. And studies
have shown that those who fail conservative care trials have better surgical
outcomes.
When my chiropractor husband and clinic co-owner, Dr. Jason,
was 35, he had a gnarly lumbar disc herniation. His low back had suffered years
of abuse for a young guy, including an intense high school football program and
leaning over vats lifting 50-pound chunks of cheese in his grandpa's string
cheese factory.
He had intermittent low back pain throughout our marriage,
but our 5,000-mile road trip in 2014 to Wisconsin and back pushed him over the
edge. He knew when he put his water bottle behind his back and the “creepy
crawlies” went away in his left leg that he probably had a herniation.
We sent him to our friend Dr. Wei for a lumbar MRI, and he
was kind enough to call before he sent the results. He said, “I want you to
know it’s bad. Jason has one of the biggest disc herniations I've ever seen. So
sorry!”
This was devastating news for a family of two chiropractors,
one (me) who was about to have her fifth child! We sat down to figure out what
we would do, and we said, “OK! I guess we’re going to be a disc clinic!”
We ordered a flexion-distraction table and started him on a
conservative trial of care, including flexion-distraction therapy, chiropractic
adjustments, acupuncture, massage therapy, exercises and nutritional
supplements. His results were fantastic!
Flexion-distraction therapy is an effective treatment used
for lumbar disc herniations. During this treatment, a patient will lie face
down on a table where the legs and feet move up and down, with the table
extending and stretching the back and creating a negative pressure where the
disc material can be drawn back in.
Flexion-distraction therapy can:
– Reduce pressure on your spinal nerves and discs.
– Decrease bulging of herniated discs.
– Improve range of motion and mobility.
– Relieve stiffness.
– Promote good disc health.
– Relieve pain and numbness in the back, buttocks and legs.
– Improve posture.
A year later, he was rear-ended in a car accident and had a
flare-up of his low back pain. We ordered another lumbar MRI and got another
call from Dr. Wei. This time it was better news.
He said, “I don't know what you did, but Jason’s herniation
has healed so well it is almost completely gone!” He asked if he could use his
before and after MRIs in his PowerPoint presentations. We were thrilled!
Now he is the poster child for our clinic. It has been
rewarding to help others in this same predicament over the years. And I am
grateful that we didn't opt for surgery! |
| Ready to serve HD 52 by Rep. Jeff Helfrich on 01/01/2023
On Jan. 9, I will be sworn in as your state representative.
The following week, the 2023 legislative session will begin. I am ready to get
to work and be a strong advocate for our communities.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent you again in
Salem. It is the honor of a lifetime, and something I take extremely seriously.
I wanted to take this first column to share a little bit
about my goals and priorities as your representative this year.
Oregon faces some serious issues. Crime, homelessness,
economic stagnation and the cost of living are impacting all of us. I look
forward to tackling these important issues.
This election, Oregonians voted for more balance. They broke
the Democratic Supermajority in Salem by electing three more Republicans to the
legislature – I was lucky to be one of them.
What does that mean for you? It is good news for your
pocketbook. Democrats no longer have the 3/5th majority needed to automatically
pass tax increases on party lines.
I am hopeful that this will encourage collaboration between
the parties to pass real reforms to our biggest issues instead of relying on
the tired strategy of ‘tax and spend’ which has dominated the last few years.
In this session, I will be looking to work to support
Measure 110 reforms, so those struggling with mental illness and drug addiction
on our streets will get the help they need.
As a former Portland Police officer, I do not believe
letting people suffer on the side of the road is compassionate.
We must get them into treatment and back into a life of
meaning.
On public safety, we need to make it clear to our law
enforcement officers that we respect and value them.
We need a tone change in Salem. We must hold prosecutors who
do not enforce the law and criminals accountable.
I hope to bring a common-sense voice to these policy
discussions as a former law enforcement officer.
With cold weather and snow, comes more power outages.
Outgoing Representative Lori Kuechler has already begun to loop me in on some
of the work she has been doing to get more cell tower receivers in rural areas
to ensure connectivity during power outages.
Many people have reported issues getting connected with
emergency services during these outages. I will continue this important work.
Inflation will continue to be a problem for the foreseeable
future. But a longer, more persistent problem I fear will be economic
stagnation.
The ‘tax and spend’ and ‘regulate first’ policies that have
dominated in Oregon will catch up to us. Inflation is creating a perfect storm
for that to happen. We are already seeing layoffs and businesses hesitant to
hire because of the economic outlook.
To make our state more livable, we need to reform our tax
code so we stop taxing the revenue, rather than the profits, of our small
businesses and we need to get the government out of the way of developing more
affordable housing.
Finally, transportation will be a big topic this year in the
legislature. As I write this column, I’m not in office yet, but I’ve already
begun having conversations about the staffing shortages affecting the Sandy
Department of Motor Vehicles office.
The Oregon Department of Transportation continues to push
forward with tolling on I-5 and I-205. For those of you who commute into the
valley, this will add extra costs to your drive on top of the already high
price of fuel.
I look forward to being an advocate for communities like
Welches which sit alongside Hwy. 26. We must continue to make this route safer.
Of course, I can’t be a good representative without your
input. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me and my office. Until I’m
officially sworn in, you can reach me at
RepElect.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov.
Beginning on Jan. 9, I can be reached at
Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov or at 503-986-1452. If you are ever in
Salem, please stop by.
Although there is a lot of construction going on at the capitol
right now, the building is completely open to the public. Jeff Helfrich is the House District 52 Representative. |
| A mighty wind Columbia River Gorge's impact on air by Mt. Hood Community College on 01/01/2023
We have all felt it on the Mt. Hood Community College
campus: the wind. It can be warm and breezy in the summer, but in the winter,
it can pack a punch. So why is it so windy?
Basically, there is a pressure differential caused by the
colder moist air over Portland and hot, dry air over the desert to the east of
the Cascade Mountains.
When the cold air rushes towards the hot air to equalize
that pressure, it creates wind. The gorge acts like a funnel and wind will take
the easiest route, which is the Columbia River Gorge.
Because of the narrowing of the gorge and the steep incline
of the mountains on both sides of the river, it accelerates the velocity of the
wind. This is called mechanical turbulence.
Wind behaves differently in different settings. Imagine a
flat plain on an overcast day. The wind speed should be steady unless there are
stronger winds aloft.
When a structure is in the plain, the wind accelerates
around the structure, sometimes forming whorls and waves in the downstream
flow.
Now add water to the equation – wind waves can hover over
the water. It’s the reason sail sports are so popular in Hood River!
In the summer, the gorge acts to funnel strong westerly
winds that are mechanical and thermal in nature. Thermal turbulence occurs on a
windy day when the sun heats a surface and patches of air detach from the
surface and rise due to the heat.
Swirl all this together and it’s a blowy day at MHCC and
down the Columbia River Gorge. |
| Well dressed by Taeler Butel on 01/01/2023
Don’t forget to “veg out” this January, done with a
delicious homemade dressing (ort two)!
Ranch dressing
Whisk together:
1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 t each fresh chopped dill and parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 t fresh cracked pepper
Garlic Tahini dressing
Blend or whisk together:
1/2 cup jarred Tahini
1/2 t each salt and pepper
Juice of one lemon
1 t minced garlic
1 T honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup water |
| Residual assets in estate plans by Paula Walker on 01/01/2023
Residue, used in our every-day vernacular, is a word that seems
to indicate something of little importance, a discard, forgotten, of no value.
The definition is, “a small amount of something that remains after the main
part has gone or been taken or used.”
But in the world of estate planning this could not be further
from the truth. A residual clause is of the utmost importance to include in
your estate plan. It is that ‘work horse’ of a clause that handles everything
that you have that you have not specifically given to someone or some
organization in prior provisions of your plan.
When you create your estate plan you have numerous items of
personal property that you specifically want someone you know to benefit by:
works of art, family heirlooms and mementos, tools, vehicles, boats, etc. So,
you are sure to include a list of these things and the persons they will
transfer to.
Then there are specific amounts of financial assets you want
to give to certain persons, or for certain programs you support and want to
donate to. Perhaps you are transferring a piece of real estate to an individual
or organization.
But these represent only a fraction of everything you have
in your estate. Whether your estate, its holdings and their value, is
represented in your estate plan with a cornerstone document of a Revocable
Living Trust, or a Will, you will come to a point where you have the “then
everything else” concept. For example, your house, other real estate, your
retirement plans, your investment accounts, your bank accounts, etc. How will
that be divided and who will receive?
This is the job for that residue clause. It handles all
those “residual assets.” Everything that you have not particularly carved out
and given away in the initial clauses of your plan will be addressed by the
person administering your plan according to this clause, including any gifts
that “lapsed,” i.e., the beneficiary died before you.
The residue is the resulting set of assets and the value of
which that remain after all expenses of administering your estate have been
accounted for and deducted from the total available. It is this clause that
divides up the bulk of your estate to those persons that you want to benefit.
Often this is the clause that handles giving your children equal shares. Or
divides your estate into shares that will go to benefit a charity and those
that will benefit members of your family.
So that word, “residue” or “residual,” most often handles
the lion’s-share of the wealth you want to transfer and contains in depth
details of how to do it. It’s a hefty duty for a word of such seemingly little
consequence ordinarily.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
From the United Kingdom comes an account of an interesting
residuary estate distribution. The writer relays that his parents received a
23rd each for taking an “old lady,” as well as her sister (who had passed away
before her), to church every week for many years. The “old lady” left the other
23rds to various friends and her surviving sister and her sister's daughter.
All beneficiaries received one 23rd, but no more. Though the
family contested the will, they lost. The writer conveys that his parents used
their shares to buy a new car for the first time in their lives.
Dear reader… we welcome your questions on matters related to
estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance the
potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Please submit your questions to Garth Guibord, at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
I’m often asked, “Where are you off to next?” I have a
reputation for seeking out beautiful places to take landscape photos. Many
times, it’s to a place that folks recognize. Places such as Glacier National
Park, the California Redwoods or Denali National Park in Alaska.
But capturing the natural beauty of nature isn’t relegated
to places that we all recognize. Sometimes a place is on my radar that many may
not recognize, so when I was asked recently where my next destination would be
I answered that I was headed to Texas to photograph a swamp. My answer was met
with a little bit of a blank look of confusion. A swamp? In Texas? Yep.
I just returned from that swamp, and I can say that I had to
throw out all of my preconceived ideas about how creepy and icky a swamp was. I
pictured a swamp monster climbing out of the fog, muck and the mire, or animals
that were out to kill or maim me. Alligators, venomous snakes and insects came
to mind instantly. And as for beauty? I’m from the Pacific Northwest where
beauty in nature seems obvious, but a swamp was new to me.
I traveled south and east to the border of Texas and
Louisiana to a place called Uncertain Texas. Being uncertain why a place would
be named Uncertain I researched the history of the name and even those who tell
the stories aren’t completely certain about how it got its name. I like the
story where the folks who lived there in the late 19th century applied for
township. On the form where they were to give the name for their new town was
written: “uncertain.” It seems that the name had yet to be completely decided
upon but the powers that be approved the name and it stuck. Whatever the truth
might be, it's a unique name for a unique place.
Truth be told I had seen a lot of photos that were taken
there recently as this place has popped up on the radar of a lot of modern
landscape photographers. In this age of social media and digital photography a
location can quickly become the next best place to flock to. Photographers seem
to migrate from one popular location to the next each season to try to create a
photograph that will propel them to the top of the social media hierarchy of
exposure.
Caddo Lake is one of those places. Almost completely unheard
of no more than a couple of years ago, today photographers are gathering there
to photograph the Autumn color of the foliage of the Spanish moss laden
submerged bald cypress forests. And I had to join the migration.
I was fortunate enough to be asked to co-lead a photography
workshop by a fellow photographer who lives in Texas and is familiar with the
area. I jumped at the chance. I arrived at the location a few days ahead of the
workshop attendees and spent time to immerse myself in the landscape and the
local culture – I have never been called sir so many times in my life. Folks
who live on the bayou seem to be completely down to earth and so polite that I
felt welcome right away.
Caddo Lake is the largest natural lake in Texas. At 60
square miles it offers varied views, including the lake itself with beautiful
reflections of the sunrises and the sunsets. Lining the lake are swampy areas
that are home to the largest forest of submerged bald cypress trees. The lake
had been flooded naturally at one time by a huge log raft on the Red River,
which provided navigable water for steamboats to access towns such as Jackson,
whose port rivaled the nearby Shreveport in Louisiana.
Near the turn of the 20th century the Army Corp of Engineers
removed the log raft that dammed the river and the lake virtually dried up,
which no longer allowed the river boats to access the towns near the lake. In
time the Army Corp of Engineers built a dam to reflood the lake and the swamps
around it.
The lakebed was once dry enough for the seeds from the bald
cypress to establish themselves in the muddy fields, as many of these trees are
200-300 years old. As the water flooded their bases it created what we now know
as Caddo Lake. These cypress trees are habitat for an incredible variety of
birds such as egrets, blue heron, ibis, owls, eagles and king fishers. The
swamp is also home to snakes, frogs, bobcats, river otters, beavers and
alligators. The lake is a popular fishing destination and offers the angler
crappie, white bass, largemouth bass, catfish, sunfish, carp and bream.
The lake is also home to a throwback to the days of the
dinosaurs, the endangered and very unique paddlefish. It’s a large fish with a
long snout that looks similar to a paddle, thus its name. Caddo Lake is also
home to the Texas Bigfoot, or so I was told.
Sadly, as it seems to be with most places of natural beauty
in this modern age, there are challenges to the lake. 44 of Caddo’s native
species are either endangered, threatened or rare, so it’s managed closely by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition to the challenges of its
wildlife, an invasive non-native species of plant was inadvertently introduced
to the lake. The lake is under siege by a fast-growing aquatic plant called
Salvinia molesta, also known as giant salvinia. The plant covers a large part
of the swamp and will, in time, silt up the lake, lowering the depth of its
water and eventually kill the lake.
Photographing the lake can be done from parts of its shore
but the best way is to get out into the lake and the swamp with a canoe, kayak
or by hiring a local guide with a pontoon boat. Our workshop spent two sunrises
and two sunsets in the Big Cypress Bayou.
During our boat rides we rode through passages and areas of
swamp whose beauty rivaled most any landscape that I’ve seen. Scenes that
included not just the beautiful and colorful autumn cypress, but the birds who
make it their home. The photos of the red and orange trees with a touch of
white from an egret or families of ibis, another white bird who dwells in the
branches of the trees, are striking.
I had heard stories and songs about the bayou country of the
American South but experiencing it for myself gave me a completely different
understanding of it all, and its people. The culture and history are evident
there and is shared by those whose family’s heritage were a part of it through
time. I hope that my photos will show those who have never been to such a place
the beauty that is so hard to describe with words, and how the stereotypical
views of a swamp should be reconsidered. While I was there, I was able to take
some of the most beautiful landscape photos that I’ve ever made, and of that
I’m completely certain.
|
| Water, water everywhere, and plenty of drops to drink by Steve Wilent on 12/01/2022
When people complain about all the rain we get, I often say,
“Great! It’s free water for my well.” It’s water for all of us, whether we have
wells or rely on creeks, springs or a city or community water system for our
H20 supply. It’s life-sustaining water for all critters great and small in our
woods – plants and animals, birds and bees, chanterelles and centipedes, salmon
and stoneflies. It’s precipitation of the frozen sort for skiers, snowboarders,
snowshoers, ice skaters, snowmobile riders and snowball throwers. It’s
floatation for whitewater kayakers and rafters. It’s water for summer iced tea
and lemonade, for iced wine coolers (are they still a thing?), for ice chests
full of soda pop, beer, energy drinks and other beverages that are mostly
water. It’s water for hot coffee and hot cocoa and hot showers at the end of
long winter days. It’s water for a rich chicken soup stock or cooking oatmeal
or pasta. It’s water for our flower and vegetable gardens and for the bird
baths we place in them. It’s water for washing our motor vehicles of dust and
pollen and mud (I wash my truck once a year, whether it needs it or not). It’s
water for the simple joys of swimming in a mountain lake or sitting by a
rushing creek or listening to a spring’s tinkling trickle.
Everyone and every living thing needs water. My dad said he
didn’t. He had the front page of a fake newspaper a friend had had printed for
him with the headline in huge black letters: “Jack Wilent Orders Water –
Bartender Faints.” He preferred his bourbon on the rocks, yet he scoffed at me
because I prefer Scotch whisky with a wee drop of water to help it bloom. How
would one make bourbon or Scotch without water, or Oregon pinot noir or Mt.
Hood Brewing’s excellent Ice Axe India Pale Ale and other brews?
Imagine not having such relatively cheap water that’s as
easy to get as it is here on the Mountain. In a recent essay about the war in
Ukraine and its impacts on ordinary citizens since Russia has been destroying
electric power stations and lines, the reporter, Nicholas Kristof – the
might-have-been governor of Oregon – wrote about a 72-year-old man living in a
bombed-out apartment building near Kharkiv who hikes to a well half a mile away
to fetch water and then hauls it up the stairs to his 10th-floor apartment.
According to the World Health Organization, one in three
people globally do not have access to safe drinking water. Our world’s
population is now more than eight billion, which means that 2.67 billion of us
are water poor.
We on the Mountain are fabulously water wealthy, for better
or worse. We get something like 90 inches of rain in a typical year in Welches
and Brightwood. Portland gets half of that, and Los Angeles gets less than 12
inches per year. I tell my friends from elsewhere that we measure rain in feet:
7.5 feet per year on average. Of course, this can have a downside. During the
1996-97 wet season, we had approximately 136 inches – more than 11 feet of rain.
You may recall the severe flooding and the damage it caused. As in the
Christmas Flood of 1964, the 1996–97 flooding was the result of a sub-tropical
atmospheric river, which are sometimes called pineapple expresses, that brought
a lot of warm rain all at once. That, plus melting low-elevation snow, caused
rivers to rise to record levels.
Our indomitable local journalist, Paul Keller – he once
worked at the Sandy Post and edited The Mountain before there was The Mountain
Times – wrote about the amount of rain an atmospheric river can bring to our
area in the August 2022 edition of his free Beneath Wy’East newsletter. You can
subscribe with a request by email to paulroykeller@msn.com. If you ask, he
might even send you a copy of the August edition.
We had an atmospheric river a few weeks ago that left 3.5
inches in my rain gauge in 24 hours (fortunately, we didn’t have much snow on
the ground).
In technical terms, that’s a whole lot of water.
How much?
Water is commonly measured in acre-feet. One acre-foot
equals enough water to cover one acre of land, one foot deep, or about 326,000
gallons. So that one storm dropped about 95,000 gallons per acre. To put 95,000
gallons into perspective, that’s almost 5,588 showers (according to the Water Research
Foundation, the average U.S. shower uses roughly 17 gallons of water and lasts
eight minutes).
Atmospheric rivers are relatively rare, but it’s not
uncommon to receive an inch of rain in a 24-hour period. If you live on a
quarter-acre lot, a common size in our area, that’s 6,788 gallons of water,
delivered free of charge.
To put it into perspective, that’s almost 400 showers (hot
or cold – your choice). Or almost 4,243 toilet flushes (the standard U.S.
toilet uses 1.6 gallons of water per flush). Or about 12,850 half-liter bottles
of store-bought bottled water from a typical one-inch rainstorm.
As all woodsmen know, trees drink water, too, mostly though
their roots. Leaves (including fir needles) take in carbon dioxide and sunlight
to make sugar – food for the tree – via photosynthesis. Oxygen and water then
evaporate through the leaves in a process called transpiration.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, a typical healthy
100-foot-tall tree can take 11,000 gallons of water from the soil and release
it into the air as oxygen and water vapor during a single growing season.
The trees in our area are anything but typical, since they
have more water available than in most other places, so that figure is probably
low.
Still want to complain about the rain? Go ahead – knock
yourself out. Just remember how much you’d have to complain about if it didn’t
rain.
Have a question about water in our forests? Do you remember
the before times – before you could buy bottled water in every grocery and
convenience store? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Well Adjusted stress and its impact on adrenal health by Dr. Melanie Brown on 12/01/2022
Our body reacts quickly to stress so we can respond
accordingly. This innate survival tool allows us to jump away from a
fast-coming car or fight off a surprise attack.
The adrenal glands, which sit above our kidneys, emit
cortisol when activated by chemicals in the brain. We become alert and ready
for fast action. Our pupils dilate, our heart races, our muscles tense and our
palms sweat. We feel anxious and fearful, sometimes to the point of shaking.
Without this fight-or flight-response, we would be less capable
of survival when in imminent danger.
But life is often fast paced, with too many stressors.
Unfortunately, these daily stressors can also cause this same fight-or-flight
response. Our overstimulated bodies can't tell the difference between an oncoming
hungry tiger or our three-year-old who just knocked over our freshly folded
laundry, or Bob, who called in sick AGAIN and left you in a lurch.
These high levels of circulating cortisol should signal to
the brain to stop the secretion of adrenal signaling hormones. But chronic
stress results in our adrenal glands secreting more and more cortisol. Over
time, our cells become resistant to cortisol, and the negative feedback system
becomes ineffective. Without intervention, the system becomes dysregulated, and
cortisol drops and is too low leading to the symptoms of adrenal fatigue. This
is what is referred to as “Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome.”
This imbalance can take a toll on our bodies, and we feel
worn out. We become less able to handle life's everyday stressors and become
reactionary, jumpy, easily stressed, anxious, depressed, overburdened and in
need of a vacation! We wake up tired, have trouble concentrating and can get
lightheaded when we stand up quickly.
If stress causes adrenal fatigue, going to the source of the
problem is the best way to solve it. Taking care of our physical, mental and
emotional needs is the long-term cure. What can we do to support our adrenal
and overall health?
Eat regularly. Your body doesn't know if you are in a famine
or skipping a meal. Eat protein-rich meals, starting with breakfast, for
consistent energy throughout the day. Avoid hunger, carbs and sugar, which can
create dips and peaks in blood sugar.
Sleep! Approximately eight hours per night at the same time
in a quiet, dark “cave.” Avoid screens for one to two hours before bed.
Find healthy ways to destress. Take that vacation! Call a
friend, pray or meditate, incorporate a daily walk, paint or color, or bring
some friends to karaoke. Hike, ski or swim. Take yoga and do breathing
exercises, make a reading corner and use it. Grow and pickle things or macrame
and sell or gift your wares! Find the things you enjoy and make time for them.
Supplements and testing can be helpful. Under the direction
of your physician, adrenal gland supplements or adaptogenic herbs can give your
adrenal glands temporary rest or support and help restore their optimal
function. The adrenal salivary test measures circadian rhythm, the cortisol
precursor hormones, and cortisol levels. It can tell you where you fall from
adrenal fatigue to high adrenal hormones, and follow-up tests can track whether
you’re successfully managing your condition.
Cortisol helps us wake up and provides us with energy in the
morning. Melatonin brings our bodies down from the day and prepares us for
sleep. These hormones work in tandem with our natural circadian rhythm. A
proper amount of cortisol in the blood in the morning and early afternoon sets
the stage for a healthy melatonin spike at night and, hopefully, a good night's
sleep!
Adrenal health is a litmus test for our mind and body's
overall health and well-being. Optimizing adrenal health can springboard
positive changes in the rest of our lives! |
| Deer found throughout the state, including on campus by Mt. Hood Community College on 12/01/2022
Oregon has multiple species of deer across the state,
including mule deer, Columbian whitetail deer, Eastern whitetail deer and
black-tailed deer.
Mule deer and Columbian black-tailed deer are generally
referred to as black-tailed deer and commonly reside in western Oregon.
Black-tail bucks might stand three feet at the shoulder and
weigh approximately 200 pounds, whereas an adult doe might weigh up to 130
pounds. Their tawny coloring blends into many natural landscapes giving them
camouflage.
Their namesake tail is black with a white underside and
often twitches as a signal to other deer that everything is okay, or danger has
passed and others can come out of hiding. If a deer has their tail at half
mast, lowered, then repeated to half mast, it is a warning sign of trouble and
often accompanied with a rigid stance.
Predators to black-tailed deer include humans, coyotes,
cougars and domestic dogs. Deer are often aware of nearby humans, but they
aren’t usually intimidated by us.
Their hearing is excellent, and they can hear if you are
nearby; moreover, they can spot other animals up to 2,000 feet away, so even if
they don’t hear you, they will have seen you.
They communicate with one another through touch, sight,
sound and scent.
In the frosty mornings of autumn at Mt. Hood Community
College, small groups of black-tailed deer are often seen grazing in grassy
patches while watching the students navigate the 212-acre campus which features
a pristine wooded area and natural wildlife abundant in the Willamette Valley
landscape.
|
| Gifts from the kitchen by Taeler Butel on 12/01/2022
Gifts from the kitchen are homemade gifts that are simply
made and enjoyed throughout the year.
Milk tea bath soak
You’ll need: cheese cloth (sewn into pockets) with
string/ribbon, or small jars.
1 cup loose green tea
1 cup assorted flower petals, such as lavender or rose
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup Himalayan sea salt crystals
1 cup old fashioned oats
Mix ingredients in large bowl and pour into containers or
cheesecloth bundles, then tie with ribbon.
Amish friendship bread mix
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 t salt
1 T baking powder
1/2 cup dry milk
In a large bowl whisk together ingredients. Transfer into a
large glass jar.
Attach with a note, instructing to add 1/4 cup oil and 1/2
cup water, then mix until just combined. Then bake in greased loaf pan in 350-degree
oven for 35 minutes.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall
I thought that I would share something that you're unlikely
to see, and if you've been here to experience the Green Mask in the remote
reaches of Grand Gulch in Utah, we're kin. To be here takes effort that few
will exert, and for a purpose that few will understand. This was a colorful
Ancient Puebloan (~Anasazi) pictograph that I had to see.
Back when I and my friend Mike would take a yearly trek to
solo hike the canyons of Southern Utah we weren’t going for sightseeing
adventures. We both had personal reasons for going. Once we were in the desert
we would separate, and each go our own way until we’d meet again at the end of
the week for the trip back home again.
Back then I was going through a lot of changes that have
affected my life completely. In many ways those trips helped me to reform who I
was into who I really was. I liked to say that I was hiking to lose myself to
find myself. The trips weren’t easy, especially physically, but they tested me.
They gave me confidence in a part of my life that I rarely used. Facing
situations in the wilderness while alone can pull feelings from inside that
were felt more by our primitive ancestors than by most modern humans.
This immersion into the canyons was a wild experience for me
but everywhere that I would turn there was evidence of human activity and
civilizations from hundreds and, sometimes thousands, of years before me. After
spending time in their realm, I found that I was able to relate to a lot of
what they dealt with in their lives and the simple needs that were so important
to their survival, mainly the need for a reliable source of food, water and
shelter.
Prior to spending time in the canyons, my perception of the
ancient people and their culture was far from how I perceived them after I had
spent several visits there. In time, I started trying to speculate as to why a
certain granary or a dwelling was placed in a certain place or in a certain
way. I started trying to see their rock art in more of a practical way than an
artistic expression, not to separate art from it, but I’m sure that there are
times when these rock art pieces were warnings, maps or stories and fables of
the past – but it’s all speculation, even for the most learned scholar of the
ancient past.
I have seen a lot of Native rock art in my travels. A lot of
it here in Oregon and I am always excited to stand in the presence of a panel,
but there are times when one will capture my imagination. And prior to my Utah
trips I would read books about what to expect.
On this particular trip I read about the rock art panels in
Grand Gulch, of which there are many excellent examples, but one in particular
grabbed my attention. It was a colorful face painted high on a canyon wall in a
side canyon from the main route in Grand Gulch. I saw my quest to find it as a
treasure hunt. And when it finally came into view it was even more than I had
expected. In a canyon where there are a lot of petroglyphs hammered or carved
into the canyon walls and pictographs of red ochre, this colorful face staring
at me from the ancient past stopped me instantly in my tracks.
I believe that there's, obviously, a lot of symbolism in the
ancient people’s rock art. Disregarding the depth of meaning, or even the
practical purpose that the artist had for this amazing face, which I wouldn't
dare try to interpret myself, its artistic beauty alone was exceptional, but
why was it there? Does its meaning have anything at all to do with my own
modern life?
Probably not, and so I was left to try to imagine a time in
this place where a painted face, or perhaps a ceremonial mask, meant something
to the artist as well as their contemporaries that would view it. And even
then, who knows if it meant anything to anyone but the one who created it?
Realizing these things allowed me to use my own imagination
to try to give meaning to it. My meaning encompassed my own reason for being
and the journey to get there. Its reason was a part of my journey, both in the
canyon and in my life. I’m not sure if the artist had any awareness of how his
painting would touch someone on a personal level after such a vast amount of
time but my presence there was certainly a consequence of the time that he took
to paint this green mask.
In the end, my visit with this painted representation of a
human face has become symbolic of the superficial layer that I wore over my own
face as I walked through my life trying to please the world. It was my quest to
shed my own mask, and finding this mask was an important part of that process.
I owe a lot to that one native human who spent their time
creating the Green Mask. The bridge of time collapses as it’s crossed, but this
single face bridged the collapse and touched me through time. |
|  Photo courtesy of Oregon State Archives
I’m writing this on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 10. This
is not a federal holiday, though it falls on Columbus Day, which is a holiday.
On Oct. 8, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation recognizing the importance
of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In this month’s column I’ll describe a
serendipitous series of encounters and connections with a Native American tribe
and their history in the Pacific Northwest.
I had been on the road (and in the air) for most of the last
two weeks, mostly for business. I visited the Confederated Tribes and Bands of
the Yakama Nation in south-central Washington State to observe their forestry
work. The Yakama harvest timber from the 640,000 acres of forest on its
1,130,000-acre reservation. The logs go to Yakama Forest Products, which
operates two mills on the reservation that employ more than 130 members of the
tribe.
In my view, the Yakama are managing their lands extremely
well: they don’t look at their lands with a mere long-term view, but a forever
view. In other words, sustainable forest management, in perpetuity.
After visiting the Yakama Nation, Lara and I spent a few
days on vacation in Sunriver on the banks of the 252-mile-long Deschutes River,
a major tributary of the Columbia River, which is the fourth-largest river in
the U.S. by volume. The headwaters of the 1,200-mile-long Columbia River are in
the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia.
In French, “deschutes” means waterfalls or rapids. The river
was so named for Celilo Falls, a large waterfall on the Columbia just
downstream from the mouth of the Deschutes. In 1957, Celilo Falls was inundated
after the construction of The Dalles Lock and Dam, forming Celilo Lake, which
extends upstream for 24 miles. Congress authorized the construction of the dam
and lock for power generation and navigation under the 1950 Flood Control Act.
The dam, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, has 22 turbine units and a total generating capacity of 2,080
megawatts. Also, the lock is the second of eight locks encountered in the
Columbia-Snake Inland Waterway, a 465-mile river highway that allows barge
transport of wheat and other commodities between Lewiston, Idaho, and the
Pacific Ocean. The Dalles lock passes up to 10 million tons of cargo annually.
The dam has two fish ladders – one on each shore – to provide a passage route
for upstream-migrating fish, including adult salmon and steelhead, lamprey,
sturgeon, shad and others.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which
coordinates fisheries management for the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla and Nez
Perce tribes, explains that the falls were of supreme importance to Native
Americans in the region:
“For centuries Indians caught the giant chinook and other
food salmon that struggled to make their way upstream through the rocky barrier
of tumbling waters and swift, narrow channels of the Columbia River known as
Celilo Falls, or Wy-am. During the spring flooding, ten times more water passed
over this spectacular waterfall than passes over Niagara Falls today. The
ancient ones left a record of their lives in the ashes of campfires and buried
sanctuaries of their dead. They left tools and weapons, items of adornment, and
samples of their art. Their record of habitation proves Wy-am to be one of the
longest occupied sites on the continent.”
“For thousands of years, Wy-am was one of history’s great
market places. A half-dozen tribes had permanent villages between the falls and
where the city of The Dalles now stands. As many as 5,000 people would gather
to trade, feast, and participate in games and religious ceremonies.”
According to the Oregon Encyclopedia:
“Archeological records date human occupation of village
sites along the falls to at least 11,000 years ago. The first written
population records come from the journals of Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark, who estimated in 1805-1806 that 7,200 to 10,400 Indian people were
present between the Cascade Rapids and The Dalles. Abundant fish runs drew
Indigenous people to permanent settlements in the area, and village populations
fluctuated with seasonal movement. During the post-contact period, the numbers
of people declined as a result of diseases that dramatically reduced native
populations.”
Although their numbers were much reduced, the region’s
tribes continued to fish, trade and live at Wy-am at the falls. Today, about
100 members of the Yakama and other tribes live in Celilo Village, which is on
a sliver of land between a rocky cliff and the busy Interstate 84; Celilo Lake
is just to the north across the highway. Celilo Village is said to be Oregon’s
oldest continuously inhabited town.
Some tribes and environmental groups say that The Dalles Dam
and others in the Columbia River system ought to be removed, to restore the
free-flowing river and salmon runs. But I think The Dalles Dam is here to stay
– it’s hard to imagine the U.S. government approving the dam’s removal and
forgoing its clean hydropower and the river’s use as a navigable waterway.
I was struck by serendipity of these connections and
interactions with the Yakama Nation, the Deschutes and Columbia Rivers, and
Celilo Falls, all just ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day – it was almost as if
it had all been prearranged. But there was yet another connection: at Vancouver
(B.C.) Vancouver International Airport, between flights in early October, I
viewed several interesting displays of Indigenous history and culture.
One of them was The Rivers Monument, which includes “two
innovative glass-etched poles are a monument to the Columbia River and Fraser
River, which carried a wealth of ancient names from the Indigenous Nations that
fished and managed them. Each pole is a cut through of the river system, with
the top of the column representing the surface and the bottom the riverbed.
Each pole portrays a different history, with pictograph-like images of humans,
fish, wildlife and water. Perched atop both poles are carved and painted red
cedar eagles acting as witnesses.”
A plaque on the Columbia River pole mentions Celilo Falls
and The Dalles Dam.
Our local library has items in its collection about the
falls, such as “Death of Celilo Falls,” a book by Katrine Barber; and “Celilo
Falls and the remaking of the Columbia River,” a DVD.
Want to learn more? You might visit the Yakama Nation Museum
& Cultural Center (yakamamuseum.com) in Toppenish, Wash.; the Museum at
Warm Springs, on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation; and the Columbia Gorge
Discovery Center in The Dalles.
Have a question about Native Americans in our area? Want to
know which famous U.S. vice-president spoke at the dedication of The Dalles
Dam? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.
|
| Well Adjusted welcome autumn with a cleanse by Dr. Melanie Brown on 11/01/2022
We are all feeling the weather shifting these past couple of
weeks. This decrease in sunlight and warmth causes extra strain on our bodies
as we adapt to the changing seasons. Many people will notice that symptoms of
pain, mental sluggishness, fatigue and depression will appear or increase at
this time. It feels more appealing to pull the blankets over your head, stay in
bed, eat comfort foods, escape from the world and hibernate.
This extra strain and tendency toward negative symptoms make
fall a great time to boost your body and mind with a healthy cleanse.
There are a plethora of different cleanses that you can do
for various reasons. Some are so intense that you will have to have a bathroom
nearby at all times. Some are gentler and focus on giving your body a break
from toxins and inflammatory foods, restoring healthy gut and liver function,
and infusing your body with nutrients so it can thrive. The second kind of
cleanse is what I recommend patients do twice yearly during the changing
seasons. Being strict about what you put into your body for 10-14 days gives
your body a needed reset but also can create healthy habits that will last
through the year.
The reason our body needs a reset is evident from what we
are exposed to daily. Our foods are heavily processed, and pesticides and
genetic modification of foods have made some of the everyday food staples
unrecognizable to our bodies. The overuse of sugar has put a strain on our
organ systems and has increased obesity in our society. The air in our home and
work environments is laden with chemicals and molds that accumulate in our
bodies and can cause disease. Our body products contain carcinogenic
ingredients that maximize shelf life and visual appeal.
So how do we cleanse? I have two favorites from the Biotics
Research and Standard Process supplement companies. Both focus on eliminating
inflammatory foods, increasing hydration and healthy food choices, cleansing
the liver and gastrointestinal (GI) systems and reintroducing beneficial
bacteria into the gut. Both come with user-friendly booklets, shopping lists,
recipe ideas, lists of foods to avoid and protein powders and whole food
supplements to aid in liver detoxification and replenishing healthy gut
bacteria.
Why does the liver need support? The liver's main job is to
remove toxins from our body, but over time our liver can get overwhelmed by the
volume of toxins it has to process. When the toxic load in your body becomes
too high, think of your liver as an almost full cup, any extra toxins that
enter your system and need to be processed will instead spill over into your
body. You will feel adverse effects in your muscles, tissues and brain –
everywhere in your body from the toxins that should have been eliminated as
waste.
What is a GI cleanse? Think of your gut as a grassy lawn.
Over time the beneficial bacteria that naturally occur in our gut get
overridden by harmful bacteria, or “weeds,” that prevent normal digestion of
foods. You can't just throw grass seed on a weedy lawn and expect good results.
It's best to remove it all and start fresh. Similarly, a GI cleanse will kill
the good and bad bacteria in the gut and reintroduce healthy strains to reset
the normal gut flora and allow for healthy digestion and absorption of
nutrients.
Get ahead of the winter doldrums! Consider a cleanse to
jumpstart your body for a healthy and energetic rain, snow and ski season.
Consider doing it with a friend, spouse or your whole family, as you can
support each other along the way. Having a healthcare provider on board will
help you choose the right cleanse for your health needs and will help support
you through the process. Adding seasonal cleansing will not only increase your
mood and energy, but it will also increase your overall health and encourage
healthy eating choices. |
| Autumn brings the rain and with it, mushroom hunting by Mt. Hood Community College on 11/01/2022
Fall is a fabulous time for mushroom hunting around Mount
Hood! The return of the rain means that mushrooms will be popping up in forests
and clearings.
Here are just a few of the edible mushrooms that may be
found in the area:
King bolete (Boletus edulis): this is a large mushroom,
often more than six inches in diameter. It looks something like a brown bread
roll or bun on a thick white stalk; the underside of the cap is white or yellow
and has many fine, sponge-like pores. Look on the stalk for a brown net-like
pattern; it grows directly out of the soil.
Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus): one of
several chanterelle species, this one is a bright golden yellow. The cap often
has a wavy edge and the false gills underneath the cap are thicker than the
gills found on many mushrooms (they also often split into forks closer to the
edge of the cap). These only grow on soil, so don’t pick any look-alikes on
rotting wood.
Lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum): this is actually
one fungus parasitizing another! Look for a bright orange to red mushroom that
is white inside when cut; the outside often also has a “crusty” texture. Grows
on soil, often near conifer trees.
Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.): There are a couple of
oyster mushroom species found in the area. Look for disc-shaped, white to light
gray mushrooms with white gills, growing in clusters out of hardwood trees like
alder. Some also smell like licorice!
Check with your local ranger station before foraging on
National Forest land, you may need a permit and there may be a limit on how
many mushrooms you can take. The rangers may also have suggestions on good
places to look.
Rebecca Lexa is a Master Naturalist, nature educator, tour
guide and writer living on the Long Beach Peninsula. More about her work may be
found at RebeccaLexa.com.
|
| Thanksgiving sides by Taeler Butel on 11/01/2022
The best thing to make on Thanksgiving are plans, so here’s
some tasty side dishes and a simple scrumptious dessert you can take with you.
There are no strict rules for Thanksgiving dinner: cake or
pie, squash or sweet potatoes, turkey or not. The main ingredient in
Thanksgiving is the thanks.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
French apple cake with custard sauce
4 large apples any kind, peeled, cored, sliced thin
1 t lemon juice
1 cup plus 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar plus 1 T sugar
1 t vanilla
3/4t kosher salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks separated
1 cup milk
2 t baking powder
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put together spring form pan,
wrapping bottom with aluminum foil. Peel, core and slice apples thin, then
sprinkle with 1 t lemon juice to prevent browning.
In a smaller bowl whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar,
salt and baking soda. In a large bowl whisk together vanilla, one egg, one cup
sugar and oil.
Add the wet and dry ingredients until moistened. Reserve one
cup of this mix. To the large batter, whisk in the egg yolks and fold in
apples. Pour mixture into pan.
Add remaining 2 T flour to reserved batter, then pour over the
apple mixture and sprinkle 2T sugar over the top. Bake for one hour and let
cool.
Custard sauce
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
Heat cream and milk over medium heat until steam forms.
Whisk sugar and egg yolks for five minutes until lightened and thick, then stir
in with warm milk, one spoonful at a time. Return mixture to medium heat and
whisk constantly, adding in salt and vanilla. Cool until steaming and sauce
coats back of spoon, then cover sauce and refrigerate.
Acorn squash stuffed with wild rice
This is a two-in-one dish, portable and freezer friendly.
It’s squash season!
2 large squashes sliced down the middle, seeded
4 T olive oil
1 t of thyme chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1t kosher salt
1 cup cooked wild rice
2T pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 t chopped sage
1/2 t chopped rosemary
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place cut squash, cut side down
onto pan sprinkled with I T olive oil and bake for 45 minutes, until fork
tender. Cool and invert.
In large pan over medium heat, add 2T olive oil and then add
in the veggies and cook, stirring occasionally until softened.
Add in herbs and salt, then the rice and cranberries. Turn
off heat and stir in breadcrumbs.
Scoop mixture into halved squash and sprinkle with remaining
1T olive oil. Roast uncovered for 20 minutes and then sprinkle with seeds. |
| Shelter from estate taxes by Paula Walker on 11/01/2022
Estate taxes are those taxes that the government, whether
federal or state, levies on estates of a person who dies with an estate value
over the amount established by the legislature – referred to as the estate tax
exemption amount. At $12.92 million per person and $25.84 million per couple
federal exemption amounts, few of us will concern ourselves with federal estate
taxes upon our passings.
However, at an estate tax exemption amount strictly of $1
million, whether it be a single person or a couple, many of us face the reality
of our estates incurring estate taxes owing to the state of Oregon.
Oregon estate taxes are calculated for the amount that is in
excess of the state’s estate tax exemption amount. Thus, up to $1 million
passes free of state estate taxes, but the amount over that threshold is taxed
at a graduated rate of 10 percent to 16 percent depending on the amount over.
The fact that Oregon’s estate tax exemption amount is
assessed as a single figure, not like the federal exemption, gives some valuable
estate planning opportunities to maximize the potential for state estate tax
reduction.
With some well-developed strategies during estate planning,
a couple can effectively achieve a $2 million shelter. Some of these
opportunities, for couples, come in the form of credit shelter trusts.
Credit shelter trusts, of which there are a variety, can
place a specified amount of the decedent’s assets, up to the exemption amount,
in a separate trust.
Such trusts can give the surviving spouse the benefit of
using the assets and the income from those assets. Then upon the surviving
spouse’s death, their estate is reduced in its exposure to estate taxes, or
such taxes are eliminated.
And the assets remaining in the credit shelter trust can be
distributed free of estate taxes. In effect this allows up to $1 million in
estate tax exemption for the first to pass, and again another $1 million
exemption at the passing of the surviving spouse.
Creating these types of estate tax planning strategies are
best done through an estate planning approach based on establishing a revocable
living trust that has the relevant provisions for creating a credit shelter
trust when needed.
These provisions and the amount to be directed to the credit
shelter can be controlled by formulas included in the living trust.
Alternatively, such determinations can be built-in to be decided when the time
comes.
An effective estate planning strategy, establishing credit
shelter trusts is best done in concert with and under the guidance of an estate
planning attorney.
If you are considering that “it’s about time” to act on your
intentions to create an estate plan for the benefit of those important to you,
this may be your motivating factor to put that intent into action.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
From “rags-to-riches,” literally.
From the annals of strange and fascinating inheritance
stories it is reported that two brothers, homeless and so poor that they lived
in a cave outside Budapest, Hungary, selling any scrap they may find of some
value for pennies, inherited $6 to $7 billion from their maternal grandmother
who had recently died in Baden-Wurttenberg, Germany.
The brothers learned of the inheritance from homelessness
charity workers in Hungary who had been contacted by the lawyers handling their
maternal grandmother’s estate.
Under German law, direct descendants are entitled to their
share of an estate that would pass to them if their mother had died.
The brothers said that they knew their mother had come from
a wealthy family, but had no idea how rich.
Their mother had severed ties with her birth family and had
abandoned her boys who had no contact with her or their father until the mother
died. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
I’ve noticed that I seem to live my life in eras. I can look
back at my life and it seems like it goes through some sort of significant
change at a common frequency. I can even say that seems to happen about every
15 years or so.
It also seems to coincide with the life of the dogs that
I’ve had. I can remember events in my life and tell you what dog that I had at
the time. It seems that I have come to the end of an era and the start of a new
one.
I recently lost my dog, Betty. Betty lived to be 15 just
like my dog Sadie before her. Betty was certainly present for most of the
photos that I made during the last 15 years. I’m fortunate, and my dogs are
fortunate, that I can have them with me almost all the time. I spend a lot of
time outdoors, hiking and camping and my dog always comes along.
Because I’m so used to having one at my side when I’m in the
field I felt like something was missing. I ended up filling that void, like I
usually do, by bringing in a successor. None of my dogs have had a replacement,
but they’ve had successors. Each dog has been a little different. They have
personalities, and I never judge my newest one by the standard set by my
previous ones.
And so, into our lives came Hazel. Hazel, short for Princess
Hazelnut Pupcake. She has taken over and is in training to be my next canine
hiking partner. Hazel is another Australian Cattle Dog. She’s a Red Heeler.
She’s the fourth heeler that I have had and, for me and my life, are a great
breed. Hazel is 12 weeks old and is in her “terrible twos.” We’re going through
Puppy Bootcamp right now and she has learned so much in the two weeks since
she’s left her litter mates. Right now it’s the basics, but I plan to teach her
to stand and stay for me long enough to allow me to take her photo, something
that Betty never learned.
My last two dogs, Sadie and Betty, came to me at the end of
the puppy stage and so I missed out on their baby times, but everything is new
to Hazel. As a photographer this is great. I’ve been taking some cute photos of
her.
My last dog, Betty, had an aversion to the camera. Every
time that I pointed a camera toward her, she would drop her head and flatten
her ears before walking away. I would have to sneak my photos of her.
Hazel, on the other hand, is totally uninhibited in front of
the lens. She has no clue and just doesn’t even care. I can’t wait to teach her
to strike a pose for a photo while we’re someplace beautiful. I know that I’ll
be able to eventually.
If you are planning to photograph your pet, I can give you
some simple tips that will help you to get some cute photos of your fluffy
friend, and this might also help you to photograph your human child as well.
Get down low. Get down to their level. In the case of Hazel,
I literally have to get down on the ground. That point of view shows their face
and makes the viewer feel like they’re there, playing with the puppy. If you’re
standing while you take the photo their back will be most prominent.
Fill the frame. Make your subject large. There’s always a
case where a small subject tells a story but in portraiture you will want to
make your subject stand out. Use a longer focal length lens. This gives you the
advantage of standing further away from your subject and allows you to zoom in
to your subject.
Narrow your depth of field. If you’re using a camera where
you can adjust your aperture, open it up wide. This will do two things. It will
let in more light which can give you a faster shutter speed, helping to
eliminate motion blur, and it will also help to create a soft, out of focus
background which will help your in-focus subject stand out.
Focus on their eyes. It’s not as important to have their
nose in focus but it is their eyes, and in many cases the nose will be in focus
if the eyes are.
Have an assistant. If you’re working with an animal,
especially a puppy, it helps if you can have an extra pair of hands. For
instance, I like to have someone hold the puppy until I’m ready and then I’ll
have them run the dog toward me so I can get some photos from the front. Also,
if they can hold the leash and walk the dog around then I can get some photos
in different poses.
And, speaking of poses, be patient with your pet. It may
take several sessions with her until she understands what you’re wanting her to
do. Take time to train her to sit and stay. It’s always more of a challenge
photographing a pet if they’re out of control.
And finally take a lot of photos. Even a professional
photographer takes a lot of photos and then picks out the best ones. Set your
camera on a constant shutter and take a series of photos then choose the best.
It adds a little bit of work in the end, but you’ll be glad that you did. |
|  Contributed photo
One night at my brother’s place north of Lincoln City, I
bedded down outside, rather than in the house. Sleeping under the stars is such
a pleasure. Sleeping under the stars with raccoons in the area can be
maddening.
My brother had several acres bordering the Siuslaw National
Forest, an area rich in wildlife. A herd of elk routinely grazed on the
half-acre of meadow around the house, and we often saw deer, bear, coyotes and
other critters in the forest nearby. On the Night of the Raccoon, I had placed
my sleeping bag on the lawn about 30 yards from the garage, just far enough
from the forest to have a clear view of the sky. After stargazing for a while,
I drifted off to sleep, only to be rudely awakened some time later by what
sounded like someone hitting a garbage can with a stick. It wasn’t a stick.
My flashlight revealed a large raccoon on top of my
brother’s plastic garbage can, which was just outside the garage, pulling at
the bungee cord that my brother had installed to keep raccoons out of the can.
The bungee cord was a great idea, but it didn’t stop this one from trying. Did
you know that raccoon paws are a lot like hands, with five fingers? The big
raccoon would grab the bungee cord and pull up with all its might, and when it
slipped through his fingers it slapped down on the can lid. Whap! Stretch….
Whap! Repeat. The raccoon snarled in frustration. After listening to all this
five or six times, I yelled at the raccoon to stop. It didn’t. I threw a stick
to scare it off. It glared at me, annoyed, hopped down, and left. I was asleep
again in minutes.
But the raccoon came back. Did you know that raccoons are
persistent (but cute) little monsters?
Another stick – no effect. Curses – no effect. I got up,
grabbed a larger stick and walked toward the can. The little monster stopped,
gave me a “Really?” look, then hopped down and ambled off. But not far. I could
see its eyes glowing in the dark. A short while later it was back on the can.
Whap! Whap!
Eventually I set a large chuck of firewood on top of the
can. That solved the raccoon problem, at least for the rest of the night. (Why
didn’t my brother put the can in the garage? Because he always left the garage
door partially open so his semi-feral cats could come in and eat the food he
left for them. The raccoons happily ate the cat food, too. It didn’t seem to
bother my brother.)
Raccoons are omnivores. They’ll eat almost anything – even
banana slugs, or so I’ve heard. They don’t seem to like the ones on my
property, unfortunately.
Raccoons live here in our area, as well as throughout North
and Central America. They’re usually nocturnal, but they sometimes appear
during the day.
Cougars, bobcats, coyotes and large domestic dogs are
raccoon predators; large owls and eagles are known to prey on young raccoons.
People prey on them, too, for meat and fur. “Coon hunting” is most common in
the rural Midwest and the southern U.S., often with the aid of specially bred
dogs called coonhounds.
Raccoons, aka urban bandits, also can survive and thrive in
cities, as shown in “Raccoon Nation,” a 2012 episode of the PBS program, “Nature”
(it’s available on DVD from our local library). The episode looks at whether
“human beings’ efforts to outwit raccoons are actually making the animals
smarter.” Wonderful.
An adult raccoon, which averages 24 to 38 inches in length
and can weigh between 14 to 23 pounds or more, is more than a match for most
small or medium-size domestic dogs. Cats, too. My mother-in-law, who lives in
Ashland, lost a cat to a raccoon a few years ago.
The “Living with Wildlife” section of the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife’s web site offers these tips for living with raccoons:
– Don’t leave pet food outside. Feed your pet indoors or
pick up the dish after they finish. Fasten garbage can lids with a rubber strap
(unless you plan on trying to sleep while a raccoons tries to get the strap
off). Don’t place meat products or other attractive foods in uncovered compost
piles.
– Keep surplus bird food cleaned up around feeders. Place
bird feeders out of reach of raccoons.
– Close openings to animal cages and pens.
– Close garage, storage buildings, basement and attic doors
and windows, especially at night.
– Close off all vents or open spaces under buildings with
metal, hardware wire or boards, but be careful not to seal animals inside. If
an animal is present, close off all of the area except for one small 12-inch by
12-inch opening. Wait until after dark, and then close it off. If the animal is
still inside, repeat the process.
– If raccoons or skunks are using the site, be sure not to
lock the young inside. Raccoons and skunks leave their young in the nest for
three to seven weeks. You should wait until they are old enough to travel with
the parents.
– Prevent raccoon access to chimneys by securely fastening a
commercial cap of sheet metal and heavy screen over top of the chimney.
Consider fire safety first.
– Prune all large overhanging tree limbs that animals may
use to gain access to building roof or upper floor windows and vents. If trees
cannot be pruned, tack a metal band, 16-24 inches wide, around the tree trunk
below first limbs but four to eight feet above the ground.
I was surprised to learn from the web site that the
relocation of raccoons is illegal in Oregon. “Raccoons are protected under
state law and relocation of these animals is illegal.
Raccoons may be trapped with a permit from the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife, but they must be released at the same site or
euthanized.”
My brother laughed when I told him about my battle with the
raccoon outside his house. I think maybe he planned it, that he was getting me
back for something I had done to him many years ago.
He and I were camping in the redwoods along the California
coast. We had seen a gang of raccoons in the campground and, being all too
experienced with the critters, locked all of our food and trash away for the
night. We settled into our sleeping bags and watched the moon and stars above
move across the sky.
After my brother fell asleep, I scattered a couple of
handfuls of potato chips on and around his sleeping bag, then settled in to
watch. A short time later, my brother was startled awake by several raccoons
walking on him and crunching the chips.
Did you know that raccoons tend to chew with their mouths
open? I thought it was hilarious. As you can imagine, he didn’t.
Have a question about raccoons? Want to adopt one as a pet?
Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Well Adjusted good health can start with nature by Dr. Melanie Brown on 10/01/2022
We ran into friends at Wildwood Park for the second time a
few weeks ago. When I said, “Fancy seeing you here again,” they asserted that
walks in nature were a part of their healthcare plan. Brilliant! If only more
people would think this way! No “magic pill” exists for good health, but nature
cures! Time in nature is also preventative medicine.
As part of nature, we have a deep sense of connection to the
outdoors. But modern living has taken us inside, and our senses lack
stimulation from the outside world. Most of us know the difference a 20-minute
walk in the woods can make for our body, mind and spirit.
Popularized in the 1980s in Japan, shinrin-yoku, or
“forest-bathing,” is a practice of immersion in nature for physical and mental
well-being.
The idea is to go to a forested area, leave your phone and
worries behind, meander, enjoy wildlife and connect to what is around you.
Enjoying the sights and sounds and inhaling the smells of the forest
rejuvenates our body and resets our psyche.
Science can help us to understand this phenomenon. And we
can look to the air for answers. Trees and plants have natural essential oils
containing volatile organic compounds called phytoncides to protect them from
bacteria and fungi and from being eaten by animals and insects. Trees release
more phytoncides in warm weather and exist in the highest levels in cedars,
conifers, spruces, pine and oak trees. These trees emit a field of protection
around themselves which changes the air we breathe in the forest.
Trees also use these compounds to communicate with each
other. They can release more phytoncides when attacked, warning other trees to secrete
more into their bark to make it less appetizing. Scientists have discovered
that these same compounds hold many health benefits for humans.
Inhaling phytoncides is known to increase the number of
natural killer (NK) cells in the body's circulatory system. NK cells are part
of the body's immune defenses. Part of their job is to seek and destroy tumor
and virus-ridden cells. A 2005 study concluded that three days and two nights
in the woods can translate to a measurable increase of NK cells in the blood
for more than 30 days!
There are thousands of phytoncides with names like sabinene
and camphene, and they have many health benefits. The benefits are vast and
varied, from anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective to immune boosting and
anti-depressive. Time in nature increases mood, decreases stress, decreases
blood pressure and increases mental clarity, concentration, focus, creativity
and energy.
Consider adopting shinrin-yoku as part of your healthcare
plan. As Hippocrates said, “Nature itself is the best physician.” |
| Some of the natural beauty that you can find on MHCC's campus by Mt. Hood Community College on 10/01/2022
Did you know there a miles and miles of walking trails at
Mt. Hood Community College’s (MHCC) Gresham campus? It’s true! These paved
trails offer walkers a visually stimulating and safe opportunity to get their
steps in. With 18 different trail combinations, found on the MHCC website,
residents, faculty and students can find time for a fresh-air stroll throughout
the day.
The Perimeter Trail spans the outer boundaries of the campus
for three miles, taking you past the fishery, the aquatic center, the pond and
both ball diamonds. Walking these trails gives the walker an occasion to see
everything MHCC has to offer like the Visual Arts Theater and Gallery, the
Early Childhood Center, Applied Technologies, the G.E. Building, The Yoshida
Event Center, Head Start and even greenhouses. And if you feel inclined, you
could always walk or run the Earl L. Klapstein Stadium track.
In August, volunteers spent more than ten hours in a
clean-up and enrollment campaign to further beautify the campus. If you’ve
never been on campus, stop by. You’ll be amazed at the beauty of the campus,
complete with majestic Mount Hood standing sentinel in the distance. There’s a
special feeling on campus with students walking to classes and saying hello to
friends as they pass by. Faculty and staff enjoy their walks too.
Just beyond MHCC is College Nature Park at Beaver Creek.
Bordered by Southeast Stark Street, South Troutdale Road and MHCC, this 62-acre
site features an open green area with an historic tree, picnic area, walking
paths and an interpretive sign showcasing the ecology of Beaver Creek.
For more information and to view 18 different trail maps,
visit: www.mhcc.edu/GreshamCampusMaps/. |
| Greetings from Key West by Taeler Butel on 10/01/2022
I find each state has its specialty. Chat up the locals,
they will know the very best places to find local specialties.
When in Florida, we love the key lime pie and of course, the
seafood is top notch and while you can substitute clams for the conch fritters,
but please try the real thing when you can.
Mojo pork is a staple here and the ingredients are easy to
find. I hope you enjoy this taste of the Keys.
Slow roasted mojo pork
(Double marinade recipe and reserve in freezer if you’d
like)
1/4 cup plus 2 T olive oil
2 t Kosher salt
1 t black pepper
4 lb. pork shoulder
1/2 cup orange juice
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 t cumin
2 t dried oregano
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 bay leaves
1 T cornstarch mixed with 1T water
Pierce pork roast all over with fork. Combine all
ingredients except pork, two tablespoons of olive oil and cornstarch slurry in
large bowl. Add to pork and marinade for four hours, turning once. When done,
pat dry and reserve marinade.
In large cast iron skillet add remaining oil over medium
heat. Then add roast and sear on each side. Heat oven to 300.
Add marinade back to skillet with enough water to come 1/2
way up sides of roast. Tent roast with aluminum foil and roast in oven 2.5
hours or until meat pulls apart with fork.
Add cornstarch slurry to marinade and whisk over medium heat
until mixture thickens.
Key lime pie
My version is lighter and requires no cooking. This pie was
originally designed to cure scurvy on ships, and key limes make all of the
difference.
2 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs, divide the yolks and whites into separate
bowls
3/4 cup fresh squeezed key lime juice
1 T lime zest
1 T powdered sugar
Lime slices to garnish
Graham cracker crust
1 cup heavy whipping cream divided
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 t fine sea salt
Whip 1 cup whipped cream with 1 T powdered sugar until stiff
peaks and set aside. Beat egg whites and salt until stiff and set aside.
Beat yolks until light in color, then whisk in condensed
milk, vanilla, juice, zest and sour cream. Next fold in 1/2 of the whipped
cream and all of the egg whites.
Pour filling into crust, place in fridge for four hours and
decorate with remaining whipped cream and lime slices.
Conch (or clam) fritters
1 cup conch/clam meat, diced
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t seasoned salt
1/4 t each salt and pepper
1/4 cup each minced celery, red bell pepper and onion
1 t garlic powder
4 cups canola oil
In a large bowl mix together egg, flour, spices and milk,
then add in chopped vegetables and conch or clam meat.
Heat oil in heavy bottomed medium pot over medium-high heat.
Drop in about 1/4 cup of the mixture into hot oil one or two at a time, turning
once until golden brown on each side. Transfer onto paper towels and enjoy with
a tartar sauce or key lime infused mustard sauce like what is served on the
island.
Key lime mustard sauce: whisk together 1 cup Mayo, 5 T
Dijon, 1 T honey, 1/2 t each sea salt and pepper, 1/4 cup key lime juice, 1/2 t
key lime zest. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Landscape photography has a reputation for requiring travel
to epic corners of the Earth to bring back photos of places that are rarely
seen by most people. Or places that we’ve seen in a National Geographic
magazine or a TV documentary.
But from my point of view landscape photography as an art
form should include the photographer’s personal creative touch. It should be
separate from documentary photography or marketing photos that are seen in
magazines. It shouldn’t always need to depend on a location to send a message.
I think that a beautiful artistic landscape photo can be taken along most any
roadway if we learn how to read the details of the landscape.
A photographer can consider that landscape photography could
be reduced to two basic types: grand landscapes and intimate landscapes. A
grand landscape typically is a territorial view, or one where there’s a view
off into the distance that includes a lot within its frame, whereas an intimate
landscape is typically one that’s a smaller part of a larger scene.
A grand landscape is more apt to include a recognizable
location, is more likely to be location dependent and in a lot of cases also
weather dependent, such as if it’s raining and the clouds obscure the view.
In many cases the composition of such a grand landscape is
basic and simple to find.
I feel that a landscape photographer really spreads their
wings when they embrace intimate landscapes. The photographer isn’t necessarily
looking at an obvious photo. Many times, it requires imagination and a little
time analyzing the scene to be able to look past the obvious to recognize what
is typically overlooked. Be creative in choosing your subjects and be creative
in how you compose and photograph them.
Intimate landscapes typically include a small part of or a
detail within a grander scene such as a small segment of a creek instead of the
whole forest or maybe a section of the scene that is affected by some
atmospheric conditions, think fog and sunlight as it filters through the trees
or maybe sunlight illuminating a curtain of moss that is draped across tree
limbs.
I also look for designs and patterns within the scene, such
as patterns or colors on rocks. An intimate landscape can include a part of the
scene that, when extracted from the larger view and seen separate from the
context of the larger scene, stands alone and on its own merits. Put the
wide-angle lens away and use your zoom lens. Get closer to the scene.
It’s said, in painting as well as photography, that it’s not
what’s included within the frame but what’s excluded that strengthens a
composition. And this is very true in simplifying complex or, at first glance,
generally unappealing scenery.
Analyzing a scene and trying to find an interesting
composition for a photo allows us to look deeper into the scene and to
recognize what more that it has to offer. The first glance at a scene is like
looking at a book’s cover. Looking further into a scene is like reading the
book.
I tell my students that as artists we shouldn’t take the
scenery at its first impression. In most cases we will take all it has to offer
all at once.
Instead take some time to stop and analyze the components of
the scene and separate these smaller scenes and abstracts.
Be creative and I’m confident that you will be able to stop
along most any side road and find a photograph within sight of your car. No
longer will a destination be a requirement to make a beautiful photo. You will
be able to make a beautiful photo in between your forays to far off lands.
Mastering composition of intimate scenes will also help to strengthen the
compositions of your grand landscapes.
And so, take your camera out and start looking deeper into
the scenery that you photograph.
You might be pleasantly surprised by what you will find. |
| Fire risk map withdrawn, plus: that's made from wood? by Steve Wilent on 09/01/2022
By now you’ve probably heard that the wildfire risk map I
wrote about last month has been rescinded. A new state law had required Oregon
State University (OSU) to create the Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer by June 30,
and it did so in partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), the
U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and other stakeholders. Public criticism prompted
the partners to withdraw the map and go back to the drawing board.
“While we met the bill’s initial deadline for delivering on
the map, there wasn’t enough time to allow for the type of local outreach and
engagement that people wanted, needed and deserved,” said Cal Mukumoto, Oregon
State Forester and ODF Director, in a statement issued on Aug. 4.
ODF and OSU plan to refine the map then seek additional
public comments. In the meantime, any appeals of the risk classifications in the
old map are moot.
“Once this round of refinements is complete, we are planning
to bring a draft of the updated map to communities for discussion and input.
After another round of revisions based on local input, the map will be
finalized,” Mukumoto said. “We will then post an updated map on the Oregon
Explorer and issue new notices to property owners in the extreme and high risk
classifications, which will start a new appeal period. We are in the process of
developing a plan and timeline to complete these activities, including public
engagement and outreach opportunities. We will share that publicly as soon as
it is complete.”
A list of public meetings regarding the map revisions is
posted at tinyurl.com/5626mdu2. I had hoped that one would be held in Welches,
but the closest are in Clackamas (Tuesday, Sept. 6) and Hood River (Monday,
Sept. 12); a meeting was held in Madras on Aug. 18.
ODF, OSU and partners will face some of the same criticisms
I’ve heard: on the old map, adjacent lots with similar forest cover had
different risk ratings, and the risk ratings did not account for work property
owners had already done to create defensible space around their homes. What’s
more, the law allows property owners in the High and Extreme Risk categories to
be fined for failing to create defensible space.
As I wrote last month, you ought to act now to create
defensible space that helps your home survive a wildfire, regardless of the
state’s risk map. Hoodland Fire District’s web site is a good place to start.
Go to hoodlandfire.us and click on the “How to Prepare Your Home for Wildfires”
link. A video there, “How to Make Your Home and Property Fire-Safe,” is well
worth watching.
As is the note that, “Fire science suggests that the first 5
feet around structures should be free from all combustible material, including
flammable vegetation and bark mulch.”
And the layer of fir needles that accumulates around many of
our homes. As first steps in creating defensible space, removing that flammable
material and placing gravel around your house, plus keeping your roof and
gutters clean, will go far toward protecting your home.
Beyond Lumber
And now for something completely different….
Mention forest products and most people think of lumber,
paper and other traditional products such as furniture, firewood and even mass
timber buildings. However, there are a range of products that come from wood
but look nothing like wood.
Take rayon, for example, a fiber made (usually) from wood
cellulose fibers. Rayon was invented in the mid-1800s and was manufactured as a
fabric in the U.S. starting in 1911. It was called “artificial silk” until
1924, when the name rayon was adopted. Today, rayon and similar fibers are
often used to make clothing.
The cellulose fibers used to make rayon are produced in a
process similar to those used to make paper. Hardwood or softwood logs are
debarked and chipped and the chips are broken down mechanically or chemically
to separate out the cellulose fibers.
In addition to cellulose, wood also contains hemicellulose,
a minor ingredient in paper, as well as in waxes, oleoresins and ethanol; and
lignin, which is used for making glues, biofuels and other chemicals. Together,
these three elements of wood are called lignocellulose, or lignocellulosic
biomass, which is the most the most abundant organic substance on Earth.
In recent years, scientists have discovered some interesting
uses for cellulose, especially when the fibers are broken down to much smaller
particles, called nanocellullose or cellulose nanomaterials (CNs).
Research by the USFS Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), Purdue
University and Oregon State University has shown that the addition of CNs to
cement makes concrete stronger. This can have a positive climate impact:
because less concrete is required to provide the same strength, less carbon
dioxide is emitted during the production of cement, which accounts for roughly
eight percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Another promising use of CNs is in producing flexible
transparent films that serve as a platform for electronic circuits – flexible
electronics. According to FPL scientists, CNs can be made into a base for
recyclable electronic circuits, circuits that can be used in flexible cell
phones and displays, for example, and in solar panels that can bend.
Stora Enso, a Finnish forest products company, and battery
producer Northvolt are working to use lignin in batteries “for applications
from mobility to stationary energy storage” that will have a lower carbon
footprint (and a lower overall eco-footprint) than traditional batteries. And
according to “Scientific American,” very smart people have developed a method
for making “a new disposable battery [that] is made of paper and other
sustainable materials and is activated with a few drops of water.” Amazing!
CNs have a wide range of other applications, from car parts
to more-efficient fertilizers.
Researchers at Stockholm University and the Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences have developed a way of producing textiles
and biofuels from fast-growing poplars (cousins to our native black
cottonwoods).
By making these products from poplars grown on marginal land
in northern latitudes such as in Scandinavia and Canada, the demand for cotton
can be reduced. Consequently, large areas of productive agricultural land could
be converted from growing cotton and ethanol fuel feedstocks to producing food
crops to help feed a hungry world.
Whether it’s lumber, paper, clothing or futuristic products
made from CNs, all of these products are made from a sustainable, renewable
forest resource: wood. Have a question about cellulose? Need some rayon fashion
advice? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Healthy eating for improving school by Dr. Melanie Brown on 09/01/2022
School is back in session and many parents will get back to
preparing school lunches for their kids. The local universal free lunch program
ending in the public schools gives us another incentive to prepare lunches at
home.
Lunches prepared at home can be fresher and healthier, and
there are some creative ways to make them fun and tasty. They are also faster.
My kids always complain that they don’t have enough time to
eat at school. Without standing in line for food, they have more time to enjoy
and hopefully finish their meal.
In general, we want our kids to eat their palm size of lean
protein, lots of veggies, some fruit and limited healthy carbohydrates and
fats. Limiting refined sugars and processed foods and sticking to fresh
ingredients can be challenging, but even without the ability to reheat, there
are some great protein options for cold lunch.
Teachers will thank you if you don’t send snacks and foods
loaded with sugar. Sugar highs and crashes are responsible for more behavioral
and attention problems than some parents realize!
Lunch ideas:
– Chilled lettuce wraps.
– Cowboy caviar (a mix of black beans, black-eyed peas, corn
and other fresh vegetables) with corn chips.
– Salmon or tuna spread on crackers.
– Cheese and meat with crackers .
– Natural nut butter and jelly on multigrain bread.*
– Homemade soup in a thermos.
*Please check your peanut butter labels and choose wisely.
The common ones add fully hydrogenated vegetable oils and sugar – even some of
the “natural” nut butters. Adam’s is a favorite brand in our household because
it stays creamy and spreadable, and you can buy big ones at Costco.
And younger kids will need a healthy choice for snack time
and sides for their lunch. Here are some of our favorites:
– Baby carrots and hummus.
– Whole banana with peanut butter.
– Nuts and dried fruit.
– Fresh berries or fruit .
– Greek yogurt (watch sugar content!).
– Applesauce (sugar-free).
– Celery or snap peas and nut butter.
– Cottage cheese and crackers.
– Homemade muffins.
– Guacamole and veggies or tortilla chips.
Prepare on the weekends or evenings to make your mornings
easier and try to prep a few days or a school week at a time. Or you can make
up all sides for the week and add the main course daily. Small reusable
containers or bags are easy to fill and store in the corner of your fridge or
pantry.
Hydration is crucial to keep your child energetic and bright
during the day. Be sure to send a full water bottle in the mornings that they
can refill during the day. Add a lemon or some fruit to make it fun and tasty.
And don’t forget to start with a healthy breakfast. Avoid
sugar cereals – granola is a good alternative. The Naked granolas have some fun
flavors.
Smoothies are a great option, as is oatmeal with apples and
cinnamon. Freshly cooked eggs with a side of fruit is quick and easy. Greek
yogurt parfaits with granola and fruit are always a hit.
Sit down with your kids and make a list of all the foods
that they like. Include them in the meal prep. Your kids will feel better, be
healthier and succeed more in school. Healthy eating habits created for your
child will benefit your family for generations!
|
| Many factors contribute to why fire seasons worsen by Mt. Hood Community College on 09/01/2022
Over the past several years, wildfires in the Pacific
Northwest have been getting larger and hotter, and fire season has started
earlier. This means that forests on both sides of the Cascades are seeing
bigger, more frequent burns.
These ecosystems are fire-adapted, meaning that through
millions of years of evolution they have developed ways to survive in spite of
these natural disasters. Historically, periodic low-level fires caused by
lightning strikes or intentionally set by indigenous people would clean out
dead plants and other debris before they could build up to dangerous levels.
With the arrival of industrial timber companies, any fire
was now put out as quickly as possible to avoid damaging the trees (and
profits).
This allowed debris to build up into ladder fuels that
allowed fires to climb higher up toward the tree canopies. Even the thick bark
on tree trunks couldn’t protect the flammable branches above.
Climate change, hotter summers and increased drought in
recent decades has dried out plants in our forests even more, making them more
susceptible to burns. The earlier the rains stop, the sooner wildfires can get
started.
Hotter temperatures also lead to more trees dying from
heat-induced stress or parasites. While dead trees are a normal part of a
healthy forest, the increase in finer fuel like twigs and dead plants creates
all too effective kindling. So, what can we do? Prescribed burns clear out
ladder fuels before they can feed a wildfire.
We can also avoid salvage logging in burned areas that just
leaves behind piles of fine fuels that increase the chance of reburn.
And by supporting technology and legislation that combat
climate change and support resilient forests and other habitats, we can work
toward long-term solutions that include reducing wildfire risk.
Author Rebecca Lexa is a Master Naturalist, nature educator, tour
guide, and writer living on the Long Beach Peninsula. More about her work may
be found at RebeccaLexa.com. |
| School time 'lunchsackables' by Taeler Butel on 09/01/2022
I’m sure my grammar teacher would agree “lunchsackables”
should be a word in our vocabulary and this stuffed bun recipe certainly is
where to start.
Cheese steak stuffed buns
1 pkg frozen bread dough rolls (I used Rhodes), thawed
1 eight-ounce package of thin, sliced steak
1/2 cup minced onion
1 T olive oil
1 t minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 t each salt and pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1 t Worcestershire sauce
Egg wash and sesame seeds (optional)
Oil a large baking sheet, thaw and proof 12 rolls. Preheat
oven to 350 degrees.
Over medium-high heat add oil, steak, salt and pepper cook
three to four minutes, while turning. Add in onion, garlic, onion powder and
Worcestershire, cooking until onions are translucent and meat is done. Set
aside to cool.
Stretch out dough in your palm adding a scant two
tablespoons of meat mixture and one tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese into
center. Fold dough all around and seal with wet fingers. Shape into ball, brush
with egg wash and top with sesame seeds if using.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until tops are golden.
Serve warm with condiments.
Cherry crumb bars
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup plus 1 t sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and sliced in half
1 T cornstarch
1 T lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a square eight-inch baking
pan with parchment.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together cherries, cornstarch
and lemon juice.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and
sugar. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir with a fork
until the mixture resembles crumbs. Reserve 3/4 cup of mixture.
Press remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of prepared
pan. Spread cherry filling over the crust. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture
over cherries, then sprinkle sugar over crumb topping.
Bake for 25 minutes and cool completely. |
| Leaving someone out of your will by Paula Walker on 09/01/2022
There are many reasons why you may decide not to include a
family member or relative to benefit from your will or trust (for this article
referred to generically as “will”). Among them may be that that person does not
need the inheritance, and another that for circumstances considered important
to you they do not deserve an inheritance.
For example, considering children, one child may have a
lucrative profession and another may have chosen of life dedicated to working
with low paying charities in service to certain causes and people in need.
Another example being undeserving, the person may have an
addiction or may not match your values for work ethic. There are many reasons
underlying such a decision.
There are people that you can disinherit and people, given
particular conditions, that you may not be able to disinherit. These include
your spouse, minor children and sometimes adult children.
In Oregon a spouse has the right to up to 33 percent of your
probatable and non probatable estate after expenses for estate administration
are calculated in, depending on a number of factors. Minor children (children
under 18 years of age) have a right to receive the amount they would have
received if you had died intestate.
Adult children may succeed in an attempt to challenge a will
if they can successfully prove to the court that your leaving them out of your
will was the result of undue influence, or that you lacked testamentary
capacity at the time you drafted and signed the will, or that the will was
improperly executed. Not necessarily easy claims on which to prevail, yet there
are numerous cases in the court records of attempts and successes.
The parameters of effectively disinheriting can be detailed
and involved. It is best to seek legal advice where this is your intent in
order to determine whether that person may be entitled by the laws of the state
to inherit; and to determine to what extent you may be able to disinherit
effectively and do so in a manner that will reduce or circumvent entirely the
prospect of a court challenge to your will.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Barbara Piasecka Johnson, “Basia” of the Johnson &
Johnson dynasty, had a victory of winning the lion’s share of her deceased
husband’s estate in a challenge to his will by his adult children. The U.K.’s
Daily Mail describes it as “the largest, costliest, ugliest, most spectacular and
most conspicuous probate battles in U.S history.”
Hired as a chambermaid of the second wife of 32 years of J.
Seward Johnson, Sr. (“Johnson”), heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune,
Basia, 34, and Johnson, 76, struck out together in a newly forged relationship
within nine months of that hire and eventually married.
In 1983, after twelve years of marriage, Johnson died
leaving Basia his entire fortune, estimated at $500 million, in a will executed
a mere 39 days before his death, leaving all but one of his adult children from
his previous two marriages out.
Johnson’s adult children, all multi-millionaires due to
trusts that Johnson had set up for each of them, contested the will under a
claim of undue influence, that Basia had bullied her husband, too weak to resist,
into making these changes.
A court battle ensued. Three years later and $24 million in
legal fees, the court awarded $40 million in total to the six children, $20
million to the oceanographic institute Johnson established that was also party
to the suit and $300 million to Basia. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
It’s summertime on the Mountain. We, and the wildflowers,
have been fortunate to have had a prolonged winter and a mild, wet spring. The
wildflowers here and in the hills around us are healthy and still fresh in many
places. Because of the late snow there are areas in the higher elevations where
the flowers are just starting to bloom.
In my life I get excited about the photos that I can make of
wildflowers. Everything from wide landscapes with a foreground adorned with
their color, to super close macro photos showing overlooked details as well as
images that border on abstract.
For close-up photos using my DSLR camera I love to use my
90mm macro lens, but I will also use my 150-600mm zoom lens. The advantage of
the zoom lens is that I can stand back away from my subject, which comes in
handy when you’re photographing a butterfly or a bee on a beautiful flower.
There are several methods that can be employed in
photographing flowers including a simple 50mm lens and extension tubes to
increase the magnification. The good news is that you don’t need a fancy camera
with an even fancier lens. Most cell phone cameras will take some pretty
incredible close ups as well as beautiful wide-angle views. Photography is
accessible to everyone.
The variety of flowers that I’ve been enjoying this season
is great. Early in the season came the trilliums, of course. They’re always
anxious for spring. Then I always get excited when I start finding orchids,
especially the delicate little fairy slippers. Then the forget-me-nots start
popping up in our yards as well as along the roads. Then come asters, thistle
flowers, thimbleberry blossoms, blackberry blossoms, lupine, columbine, yellow
and purple violets, self-heal, honeysuckle, wild strawberry, white anemone,
fireweed, wild rose, wood sorrel and more.
As the season progresses, I keep an eye open for lilies.
They are always a favorite. I love the tiger lilies as well as the beautiful
Mount Hood lilies that grow at the higher elevations – the blankets of white
avalanche lilies on alpine hikes and the occasional yellow glacier lily.
A hike up in the alpine elevations can bring an even larger
variety, including elephant heads, shooting stars, monkey flowers, Indian
paintbrush and heather. Another flower that’s scarce and a delight to find each
year are the wild irises. We’re blessed to have rhododendrons all around us as
well as the perennial favorite, bear grass.
Even some of the introduced species of plants can make
beautiful photos. Foxglove, daisies, buttercups, red clover flowers and the
prolific cranesbill geranium with its cute little pink flowers are all
photogenic. There are many more that I haven’t mentioned. An added bonus for some of the close-up
photos are the insects that the flowers attract. Bees and butterflies are the
most attractive but there are other insects that enjoy the flowers too. When I
take my camera out to photograph flowers it’s like a mini safari.
As summer progresses the wildflowers will pass, which is why
I try my best to appreciate them while they’re here. Each season my folder of
photos fills with all kinds of images of our local wildflowers.
Before I became a photographer I had an appreciation for
their beauty, but today because they play such a large part in my life as a photographer,
my knowledge about them and appreciation of them has dramatically increased.
The coming of spring and summer is now looked forward to more because of the
expected beauty of our local wildflowers. |
|  Contributed graphic
I’ve written in past editions of The Woodsman about the
importance of being Firewise, of preparing our homes, families and businesses
for surviving a wildfire. That’s because it’s not a matter if we’ll have a
wildfire that destroys homes and endangers lives here on The Mountain, it’s when.
Wildfire here is inevitable.
Most people hear such warnings, but they take no action.
It’s a personal choice to take the risk that you may lose your home. But that
may soon change. Under a new law, Oregon is developing “defensible space”
regulations that may include penalties for not complying. And complying may
require drastic changes to the woods around our homes and businesses.
After devastating wildfires in the state in 2020, Oregon’s
legislature passed Senate Bill 762, which provides more than $220 million to
help Oregon modernize and improve wildfire preparedness through three key
strategies: creating fire-adapted communities, developing safe and effective
response to wildfires, and increasing the resiliency of Oregon’s landscapes. To
accomplish the goal of creating fire-adapted communities, the bill required
Oregon State University (OSU) to create the Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer,
which it did in partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), the
U.S. Forest Service and other stakeholders.
The Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer was made public in June
(see tinyurl.com/4fwmch89). The map’s creators determined that 956,496 tax lots
– about half of the lots in the state – are within the so-called wildland-urban
interface (WUI) zones, or areas with homes and other structures that are at
risk from wildfires. Approximately eight percent of those tax lots – 120,276 –
are classified as at high or extreme risk, and approximately 80,000 of those
lots have homes or other structures on them. As you might expect, many of the
lots with homes in our area are at high or extreme risk.
The map from the earlier page shows a view of the Hwy. 26
corridor from Brightwood to Rhododendron. Orange and red are high and extreme
risk, respectively. Yellow is moderate risk, light green is low risk and green
is no risk.
The online Oregon Wildfire Risk Explorer map lets you find
any tax lot by typing the street address. The map view then zooms to that lot
and lets you download a “homeowner’s report.” (The name of the lot owner is not
given.) I located the lot where Lara and I live and found that it’s within a
WUI zone and is designated as high risk. I downloaded the report, which states
that “there may be required actions to create defensible space and building
code requirements. See the resource links below for more information.”
When I clicked on one of the resource links, “ODF Mapping
and WUI Information,” it led to a web page with a variety of information,
including a link to a helpful list of answers to frequently asked questions. It
also noted that tax lots “that are both within the WUI and classified as high
or extreme risk will receive written notification from ODF and may be subject
to future changes to defensible space and home building codes.”
I received such a notice on July 21, and I hear others have
received theirs. Since I already knew my lot’s risk classification, it didn’t
provide any new information. It states that Lara and I “may be required to take
actions to create defensible space around your home and adhere to changes to
building code requirements both of these regulatory processes are still in
development.”
According to the Fire Marshal, the Oregon Defensible Space
Code will be based on the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code written
by the International Code Council. The International Code contains specific
requirements for the width of a defensible space: 50 feet in high hazard properties
and 100 feet in extreme hazard properties – in other words, 50 or 100 feet
between a home and “unmodified fuels.” This is similar to the Firewise
recommendations, but does not include the Immediate Zone, zero to five feet
around the house, which is the most important for protecting structures. See
Firewise.org for more info. The new defensible space regulations are set to be
effective in 2023.
Within those defensible space zones, the amount and
arrangement of fuels – trees, shrubs and any other vegetation and debris that
can burn – must meet the code’s standards. For example, “Trees are allowed
within the defensible space, provided that the horizontal distance between
crowns of adjacent trees and crowns of trees and structures, overhead
electrical facilities or unmodified fuel is not less than 10 feet.”
In my “high risk” case, trees within 50 feet of my house
must have at least 10 feet between the crowns – the branches on one tree can’t
be touching or close to touching another tree, or overhang the roof of the
house or power lines. To meet this requirement, I would have to remove a
half-dozen large trees. I’m glad my property isn’t in the extreme risk
category, because I’d have to remove many more trees in a 100-foot defensible
space zone. The trees in our area naturally grow close together. Under the new
code, we may have to change that around our homes. For a half-acre “extreme
risk” lot – 50 feet wide by 100 feet deep – as many as one-third of the trees,
perhaps more, might have to be removed.
Keep in mind that the state’s regulations may be different
than the International Code. I hope so, because a requirement for a minimum of
10 feet of space between tree crowns would be very difficult and expensive to
achieve. What’s more, it would have little or no impact on protecting homes
during unusually large, wind-driven fires such as the Riverside Fire and other
large conflagrations in 2020.
The International Code’s language on ground cover is less
than clear. For example: “Deadwood and litter shall be regularly removed from
trees.” I think they meant that branches, leaves and other flammable material
must be regularly cleared from the ground in the entire defensible space zone.
I would add that low-hanging live and dead branches still attached to trees ought
to be removed so that these “ladder fuels” don’t let a ground fire climb up
into the treetops. I hope the Oregon Defensible Space Code will be much easier
to understand. In any case, this is a well-accepted part of creating a
defensible space and would be much more effective at protecting homes from
smaller, lower intensity wildfires.
Senate Bill 762 requires that risk classes be based on
weather, climate, topography and vegetation, and analyses of aerial images was
deemed sufficient for determining wildfire risk (for a detailed explanation,
see tinyurl.com/5n6d3bcr). This process is sound, as far as it goes, but it
does not consider the characteristics of the fuels on individual tax lots.
Owners who have done substantial work to create defensible spaces may have the
same rating or even a higher one than their immediate neighbors. And having
neighbors who haven’t created their own defensible spaces increases the risk to
your home.
In any case, there may be penalties for failing to comply
with the defensible space code. The text of Senate Bill 762 states that the
Fire Marshal “May develop and apply a graduated fee structure for use in
assessing penalties on property owners for noncompliance with the
requirements.”
Property owners may appeal their risk classification,
according to ODF, “if they believe there is an error in the assessment or they
have pertinent facts that may justify a change.” Appeals must be received by
ODF within 60 days of a property owner’s notification of the risk assignment.
See tinyurl.com/2p93ck85. See also tinyurl.com/5626mdu2, where “A list of town
hall meeting locations, dates, and agendas is coming soon.” I’d like to attend
one of the meetings.
I predict that a huge number of appeals will be filed and
that the process of resolving them will be very slow.
Working on an appeal with ODF may turn out to be simple
compared to dealing with insurance companies that use the Oregon Wildfire Risk
Explorer as a basis for adjusting premiums, cancelling policies or simply
refusing to provide coverage. Even before the wildfire risk map was published,
numerous property owners in our area had their policies dropped (including Lara
and me) or their premiums increased.
The vast majority of tax lots in our area are classified as
having moderate risk, so these defensible space requirements won’t apply to
you. However, the risk on many of these lots is actually high or even extreme
for many of the lots along Barlow Trail Road and in parts of Timberline Rim,
for example, and along Hwy. 26, Welches Road and elsewhere. Don’t be complacent
if your lot’s rating is moderate or low.
In any case, whatever your lot’s fire risk rating, you would
be wise to take Firewise precautions as soon as possible. A recent Oregon
Public Broadcasting radio program featured an interview with Chris Chambers is
the wildlife division chief for Ashland Fire & Rescue about the Oregon Wildfire
Risk Explorer.
“The way they looked at fire behavior and the potential for
that fire to affect the community is through the length of the flames, which is
one very legitimate measure of fire intensity,” Chambers said. “But what the
map did not look at is ember travel distance. It is well known … that embers
are the major source of home ignitions. So [the map] may significantly
underestimate community wildfire exposure.”
Regardless of your property’s risk rating, you don’t need to
wait for the state to issue its defensible space regulations. Hoodland Fire
District’s web site (hoodlandfire.us) is a good place to start. Go to
hoodlandfire.us and click on the “How to Prepare Your Home for Wildfires” link.
The text below the link: “Learn how to adapt to living with wildfire and take
action NOW to reduce losses in the FUTURE!”
Amen!
Have a question about wildfire? Want some advice on creating
a defensible space for surviving a zombie apocalypse? Let me know. Email:
SWilent@gmail.com. |
| View Points Salem: leaving HD 52 a better place by Rep. Anna Williams on 08/02/2022
This will be my final Mountain Times column as the State
Representative for House District 52. In March, I announced that I would not be
running for re-election because of the financial strain my position placed on
my family, but that I was committed to continuing my work on behalf of the
people or Oregon.
Today, I’m writing you to let you know that I am stepping
down from my role as your State Representative, effective Aug. 14, in order to
pursue my next step in public service. I have accepted a position as the
Executive Director of Oregon’s System of Care Advisory Council, a nonpartisan
government organization established by the legislature.
The council is charged with overseeing children’s mental
health system planning in Oregon, and helping the state implement the “System
of Care” philosophy, which focuses on inter-agency, community-based and
culturally and linguistically responsive services for youth who face multiple
challenges in receiving quality care. This is closely related to the work I’ve
been most excited about doing in the legislature, and indeed a big part of it
will include making policy recommendations to legislators… so they haven’t seen
the last of me!
It has been the honor of a lifetime serving you in Salem,
but I’m looking forward to no longer needing to work multiple part-time jobs in
order to pay the bills. I’m also really looking forward to being able to focus
all of my attention on a single public position. I will be a much better public
servant when I’m able to spend all of my time working on meaningful policy
change without having to worry so much about making ends meet.
I’m incredibly proud of everything I’ve gotten done in my
time as a legislator. While I’m not always great at self-congratulation, I did
want to take some time, in what will be my final column for this paper, to
reflect on some of my proudest accomplishments.
First, my main focus has been on improving the lives of
abused and neglected children in Oregon. Research tells us that childhood
trauma may be the single biggest contributing factor to an adult’s ability to
lead a healthy and happy life. By increasing the quality and availability of
services for child abuse victims and their families, both in House District 52
and statewide, I will leave office confident that the legislature has vastly
improved the future prospects for hundreds, maybe even thousands of kids.
I managed to get millions of dollars in funding to support
kids who have faced the trauma of abuse, because healing is an essential step
to a happy adulthood. I also got funding for a statewide study on the
prevalence of child abuse (which will help our state make more effective child
abuse policy in the future), and funding to help schools implement child abuse
prevention education curricula.
I passed a significant package of policy and financial
assistance to homeless youth in Oregon, who were previously slipping through
the cracks on a regular basis. I passed laws to review the rate structures and
workloads for some nurses, caseworkers and caregivers who work with kids with
medical fragility or intensive behavior challenges… some of Oregon’s most
beleaguered human services providers that face the highest rates of turnover.
Outside of the realm of human services, I also passed
policies to support search and rescue operations in and around the Columbia
Gorge and Mount Hood regions. I made progress on several transportation issues:
I secured funding and administrative support for the replacement of the Hood
River-White Salmon Bridge, as well as for needed infrastructure repairs in Hood
River and Sandy; and I passed a policy that will help ensure rural downtown
districts are safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Across four legislative
sessions, I was personally responsible for directing well over $30 million in
state and federal funding to House District 52 to support its economy, its
infrastructure and its most vulnerable populations.
I worked closely with state agencies to create an inventory
of public lands that may be available to developers of affordable housing
projects, to examine and fund the expansion of specialty courts for families
dealing with substance use disorders and to ensure that school districts are
able to benefit from agricultural producers in their area through the use of
“Farm to School” grants. I’m also incredibly proud, during a time of increased
bias crimes and heightened racial tensions, to have passed a bill declaring
that every April will be recognized as Arab-American Heritage Month in Oregon.
Of course, I wasn’t successful in all of my efforts, but I’m
also very proud of the important conversations I started that may lead to
future policy reforms. In 2021, I tried to pass a law that would change the way
we sentence survivors of domestic violence who commit crimes at the behest of
their abusers… that effort failed in the final weeks of the legislative
session, but I still think Oregon needs that change, and a lot of my colleagues
who will remain in Salem agree with me. I also led an effort to increase
protections for surface-based drinking water streams, which the timber industry
opposed every step of the way, and which I hope will find new life as we
continue to realize the threat that industry poses to public health.
I could go on, but as I mentioned, I don’t love patting
myself on the back quite this much (it’s part of why I’ve always preferred
doing the hard work of policymaking over the easier work of grandstanding to
score political points!).
In my final month as a state representative, I will keep
working to streamline ongoing conversations about important human services
programs and other policies I’ve worked on in my two years as the chair of the
House Committee on Human Services. So many programs within the state’s social
safety net are really complex.
My goal is to help ensure that the next chair of the Human
Services Committee, as well as the next representative for House District 52,
is up to the challenge of facing a steep learning curve and hitting the ground
running at a time when we most need strong, accountable and level-headed
leaders.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| Hook, line and sinker fishing at the college's stocked pond by Mt. Hood Community College on 08/02/2022
On the western edge of the Mt. Hood Community College in
Gresham, sits a pond of about five acres, and from Sept. 12 through Oct. 14,
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to dump approximately
1,000 legal-sized, hatchery rainbow trout into it.
Trout stocking of the pond usually occurs a couple times in
the early season and again in the fall, when they also add approximately 50
trophy-sized trout. April through August, the pond allows youth fishing only,
for anglers 17 or younger with a juvenile angling license, or for those who
have a disabled fishing permit issued by the state. Kids under 12 fish for
free.
All other months all-aged anglers are welcome to fish.
Because of its small size, easy access and one of the earliest waters to
receive fresh rainbows, it’s a perfect pond to fish in the summer with kids,
especially after a restocking.
When fishing, you might catch bluegill and crappie on your
line – they are a self-sustaining population of the pond. They tend to bite
better in the warm waters of summer, and occasionally you might reel in a
bullhead catfish. In Oregon, more people fish for trout than any other fish.
Hatchery-raised rainbows might not be as wary as wild trout
but be ready to for some quiet moments wondering if you’ll fill your stringer.
For anglers, typical tactics for catching hatchery-reared trout will include
bait fishing and casting plus retrieving spinners and spoons.
Shelley McFarland is a Public Relations and Marketing
Content Specialist at Mt. Hood Community
College. |
| An earful: the endonasal technique by Dr. Melanie Brown on 08/02/2022
Who would like to volunteer? In the room full of
chiropractic students, eyes were down. Dr. Lester Lamm had just explained the
“endonasal technique.” Most students probably thought, “That sounds intense, no
way!”
We had just heard the impactful account of how Dr. Lamm's
hearing and, subsequently, his academic career were saved from this technique.
The story goes that Dr. Lamm was having trouble hearing his teachers in
chiropractic school and, despite sitting in the front row, was so unable to
understand that in frustration and defeat, he decided to withdraw from the
program.
After hearing his reasoning, he was sent to Dr. Appa
Anderson in the student health clinic. She performed the endonasal technique on
him, and his hearing was restored. Later in his career, he had a clinic where
people would come from all over to receive this treatment. When I was a
student, he took time out of his duties as the college's academic dean to teach
it to us.
I hesitantly raised my hand. It was an excellent opportunity
to experience and learn the treatment from one of the best.
I lay on the table in front of a circle of students and
opened my mouth as wide as possible. I felt a gloved finger reach into the back
of my mouth above my tonsils, sweep my eustachian tube and then out again. I
immediately teared up and turned my head back and forth, opening and closing my
jaw, plugging my nose and blowing and feeling things moving and my ears
popping. It was intense, but under the care of a skillful practitioner, it
wasn't too bad!
But why would we perform this technique? Hearing can be
impacted by scar tissue or congestion in the eustachian tube, which connects
the middle ear to the inside of the mouth and is instrumental in pressure and
fluid release of the ear.
The eustachian tube can become partially blocked over time
or after an upper respiratory infection. This blockage can cause the hearing to
sound muffled like you are underwater (rather than the volume being turned
down). It can also cause problems with ears not popping with elevation and
pressure changes when flying, driving or swimming.
Over years of practice, I have seen miraculous results from
this treatment. One patient brought her elderly mother to the office who had
sudden hearing loss after an illness. After this technique, I asked how she was
feeling. She said, “Ok,” and her daughter said, “You could hear that!?!” The
next time I saw the daughter, she told me that her mom was happy that she could
listen to the radio again and that they could walk and talk without having to
stop and turn to each other to understand.
Immediately after treatment, another patient exclaimed, “I
can hear the ceiling fan and people speaking in the lobby!” I am thankful for
doctors like Dr. Appa Anderson and Dr. Lester Lamm, who taught this technique
to next-generation doctors. Even though they have both passed, their
contributions live on! |
| Country inspired cooking by Taeler Butel on 08/02/2022
Bless my country heart. I can’t stay out of these
farmstands, so here are a few ideas if you are like me.
Berry cherry clafoutis
Simple and delicious, a creamy crustless pie type dessert,
just add whipped cream on top!
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups half-and-half
1 t vanilla
2 cups total fruit (1 cup each cherries and berries)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
1/2 t salt
1/2 t orange zest
Butter and flour a nine-inch pie plate and preheat oven to
350 degrees.
Whisk flour, sugar and salt, then set aside.
In another bowl, whisk vanilla, cream, eggs and zest. Then
whisk in the dry ingredients.
Pour batter into pie plate and then dot fruit all around
batter mixture. Place butter cubes on top and bake for 40-50 minutes until just
set. Cool to room temperature before serving.
Creamy skillet corn
2 T unsalted butter
2 T honey
2 cups corn kernels
2 oz cream cheese
1/4 t salt & pepper
Melt butter in cast iron skillet and add corn kernels, honey
and cream cheese until combined.
Season with salt and pepper to taste |
| Gifting to minor children by Paula Walker on 08/02/2022
You may be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. and you
want to leave some of your legacy to a minor child. How do you go about doing
that? Children under the age of 18 (the legal age of becoming an adult aka “age
of majority”), can receive a very small amount of money outright. For the
purposes of this article, we use the term “children” to indicate minor
children.
Children can receive stocks, bonds, real estate, CDs
(certificates of deposit). They can also be on title, or be a joint owner on a
bank account, however they cannot conduct business with these assets or manage
these assets or access these assets on their own. They must have an appointed
custodian of their financial holdings or real property, and this can be the
child’s appointed guardian or a separately appointed person to act as custodian
to manage those assets.
Assigning who is to be the child’s guardian is a most
important part of your estate planning if you are a parent or currently the
guardian of a child. Without such an appointment in your estate plan, it will
fall to the court to appoint, and it may not be a person that you would prefer
or even know.
As well, court appointment of a guardian, i.e., guardianship
proceedings, is costly and time consuming, draining your estate of money you
would prefer to be used for the benefit of your child and not of the legal
system. As well at such a time the last thing that you want for your child is
to be in a state of limbo for any amount of time waiting for the system to
determine who will be the equivalent of their parent from that point until they
legally become an adult.
Assigning who is to be the custodian of the money left is of
concern for anyone leaving an inheritance to a child. Do you trust the guardian
to do this? For a number of valid reasons, you may not. Perhaps the guardian is
not someone you think has good financial practices or is good at managing
money. Legally they may do everything correctly, however they may not be good
at accounting for the expenditures for your child. They may not be good at or
have the time for investing the money prudently, wisely and managing such
investment(s) well. You may know that this is too much of a burden to ask of
someone to be both guardian and custodian. Then again, in other cases, it is a
natural fit for the guardian to also be the custodian because as guardian they
are best in touch with the needs of the child and fulfill the various needs
without coordinating with another person which may introduce unnecessary,
inconvenient, or challenging delays to meeting the needs of the child.
If you are a parent then, or a current guardian for a child,
use your estate plan to appoint the proper succession of persons to fill your
shoes if needed. Whether you are a parent or another member of the family,
loving friend, a generous soul, who has an interest in providing for the
welfare of a child by gifting from your estate, you want to be sure that you
consider who you want to be the custodian of the assets that you leave to that
child.
Children are a treasure, a gift onto themselves. And gifting
to them takes specific accommodations in your estate plan if you want the ease
of mind that what you are leaving will go as you intend, managed by whom you
intend, for whom you care.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
From Australia comes a story of a teenager named Josh, who
inherited a 36-acre island from a grandfather he had met only a few times,
because the grandfather disapproved of his daughter’s marriage for religious
reasons. Nonetheless, apparently the grandfather had a spot in his heart for
his grandson because the story has it that although he had not seen Josh for
years prior to his death in 2007, that in his will the grandfather named Josh the
heir to his estate. That estate included this island and more than 80 acres of
farmland. Also in the will, and here is where the real treasure hunt begins,
there was a description of antique jewelry and loose gems the grandfather had
kept in a thermos that Josh’s mother was confident was somewhere on the island
remembering references her father often made to his “treasure island” when she
was a child. I could not find reports confirming that the family found the
treasure and I do not know how Australian law handles gifts to minors, but here
in the U.S., being 17, Josh could have been on title for the real property but
would have to have a court appointed custodian of his inherited wealth
including that property and the variety of assets until the age of 18.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I remember when I bought my first digital single lens reflex
(DSLR) camera. It was after an era of not really being a purposeful
photographer.
I suppose that my purpose was really nothing more than
capturing icons that represented events and special moments in time, especially
once my children were born. For that purpose, the simpler the camera the better
– something easy to grab and snap a photo. This is what drives the popularity
of today's cellphone cameras.
I started out as a hobby photographer soon after I left high
school. At that time, I had the opportunity to buy my first 35mm single lens
reflex (SLR) camera and learn how to develop, enlarge and print my photos. I
remember how important it was to try to get all the variables, camera
adjustments, focus and composition correct before the shutter was clicked.
Especially when you were limited by how many rolls of film that you brought
with you.
One important realization that I had when I bought my
digital SLR camera was just how little I had retained from when I was using a
film SLR camera. First, after using the new digital camera, it didn’t take long
for me to realize that I wasn’t limited to 12, 24 or 36 photos. A memory card
could hold several hundred photos, which allowed me to do a lot of guessing.
Photographers call it spraying and praying. Taking a whole bunch of photos and
hoping that one, or more if you’re lucky, will turn out.
I remember coming home with a full memory card and sorting
out the best one. I would process it in Photoshop and post it online and
everyone who looked at it thought that I was a master photographer. In all of
those photos there really wasn’t one that really hit the mark, especially
technically, on purpose.
As time passed my mindset started to change in my desire to
create better photos. I changed my approach to one that was more deliberate. I
relearned what I had forgotten when I was using my old 35mm film camera, while
adapting the process to my new digital camera.
I found that in its most basic form the adjustments on each
are the same: shutter speed, aperture and film speed, or ISO in digital. Add
focus and composition and all you have that’s different are the mediums used
for capturing the image, film and a digital sensor.
Once I had gotten to a point where I could go out into the
field, set up my camera and have a good idea of where my settings should be to
at least get me close, my whole approach became completely different. I would
get to a scene early and find several potential compositions so that when the
light was right and the three minutes of sunrise or sunset was happening, I
could take a photo, check my composition, my focus and my exposure and then
move on to the next spot that I had scouted earlier. In the past I was more
prone to stay in one place through the light while taking many photos of the
same composition.
Now that I teach photography, I recognize many other
photographers who have the same approach that I had before I was purposeful in
how I created my photos. I stress how important it is to master the technical
aspects of the equipment so that we can pay less attention to that and more
attention to being creative. Removing the guesswork and allowing yourself to be
more creative is a lot more relaxing and ultimately much more satisfying and
will usually show in the resulting beauty of the image that you capture. |
|  Photo by Steve Hillebrand, USFW.
I’ve had a variety of interesting encounters with wildlife
over the years.
Once had a close call with a big rattlesnake that slithered
between my feet. Woke up one frigid morning in the Ruby Mountains in Nevada to
find fresh mountain lion tracks in the snow next to my tent – tracks about as
wide as my size 12 boots.
On a visit to Yellowstone a few years ago, Lara and I were
driving back to our motel one evening when we went around a curve and suddenly
came across a herd of bison on and around the road. We couldn’t go forward, so
we stopped the car, turned off the engine and rolled the windows down a bit,
and as the big animals slowly wandered around and past the car – some of them
just feet away – we listened to them breathing, grunting, chewing and farting.
It was a memorable experience.
And the one time I left a full garbage can outside of my
shed, a black bear found it. I opened the mudroom door, stepped out onto the
porch and there was the bear, maybe 15 feet away, with her paws on the edge of
the can. She had taken the lid off (it still has tooth marks) and was licking
her chops at the prospect of dining on our gourmet garbage. The bear saw me and
hightailed it back to the woods and I hightailed it back into the house.
We’ve seen bears several other times in and around our
Zigzag neighborhood. Black bears are common in these parts, and this spring it
seemed as if there were more of them around than usual. And more of them are
getting into trouble.
I’ve heard tales about bears pulling down bird and squirrel
feeders, gobbling up dog food and trashing trash cans. It’s not the bears’
fault – they’re just hungry after a long winter, and some folks don’t know how
much bears love human food.
A couple of weeks ago, the people who stayed in one of the
nearby short-term rentals for a long weekend dutifully left their garbage in
plastic bags along Lolo Pass Road. Of course, the garbage ended up strewn up
and down and on the road. Probably a bear got to it, but it could have been
crows, raccoons, dogs or other critters.
Years ago, we had a young couple as neighbors who didn’t
have a place to secure their garbage can. Naturally, the bears were happy –
they’d haul sacks of trash to our side of the road before tearing them open and
having a feast, spreading trash far and wide in the process.
Nice couple, but we were happy when they took their trash
can and moved away.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) “Living
with Wildlife” website has a page devoted to black bears. Among the tips for
homeowners:
– Secure garbage cans in a garage, shed or behind a chain
link or electric fence.
– Put garbage cans out just before pick-up time, not the
night before.
– Purchase bear-proof garbage cans if necessary.
– Keep pet food indoors. Feed pets in the house, garage or
enclosed kennel.
– Hang bird feeders from a wire at least ten feet off the
ground and six to ten feet from the trunk of a tree [or pole/post or anything
else they can climb].
Good advice, except that garbage cans behind a chain link or
any other sort of fence aren’t secure. Black bears are excellent climbers.
My mother-in-law in suburban Ashland had a mess on her hands
recently after a mama bear and her cubs climbed over a seven-foot wooden fence
and got into her garbage can and bird feeders.
This spring a bear scaled the fence around the backyard of
one of my Zigzag neighbors and tore down (and destroyed) their bird feeders.
If you don’t have a secure place for your garbage cans, you
might consider buying a bear proof can or can enclosure – warning: they aren’t
cheap – or building your own enclosure at a much lower cost (Google “build a
bear-proof garbage can enclosure”).
Some folks say that sprinkling ammonia or other strong
disinfectants such as Pine-Sol on or inside garbage cans helps mask the odor of
food. It may be worth a try, but I’d bet that a hungry bear would ignore the
scent and go for the food.
According to ODFW, Oregon is home to 25,000 to 30,000 black
bears. Oregon is not home to any grizzly bears, which is fine by me. Black
bears are “North America’s most common bear species. Generally black in color,
they can also be brown, cinnamon or blond. Fast and agile, they are good
swimmers and climbers who prefer forests, trails and streams. At home
throughout Oregon, black bears are omnivorous and have a diverse diet including
berries, fruit, grasses and plants. Although they will consume small mammals,
insects and amphibians, these bears are not usually active predators.”
ODFW adds that: “Bears should never be allowed access to
human food or garbage; it habituates them to people and increases the chance of
conflict. Once habituated to finding food near homes or campgrounds, bears can
become a threat to human safety and must often be destroyed.”
I’d hate to see one of our local bears shot because they became
a problem bear.
Wild adult male black bears of typically weigh between 125
and 500 pounds, and females usually weigh between 90 and 300 pounds, according
to the North American Bear Center (bear.org). Grizzlies are bigger and can be
much more dangerous: Males can weigh 330 to 1,150 pounds, females 270 to 770
pounds.
BearWise (bearwise.org) has lots of information about what
to do – and not do – if you encounter a black bear. In your yard: from a safe
distance, make loud noises, shout or bang pots and pans together to scare away
the bear.
When the bear leaves, remove potential attractants such as
garbage, bird seed or pet food. Ask neighbors to remove attractants. Check your
yard for bears before letting out your dog. In any case, give the bear a clear
escape route – they’ll usually take it.
A bear in your house, garage or shed? Leave any doors open
as you back slowly away from the bear. Do not lock the bear in a room.
Yes, bears sometimes get into houses, often through open
doors and windows (they can easily break though screens). A Rhododendron friend
of ours once was awakened at night by what sounded like a robbery downstairs.
It turned out that a bear had broken into a screened-in porch to get a box of
apples. Fortunately, they frightened the bear off and no one was hurt.
See a bear? Relax. No one is harmed in the vast majority of
black bear encounters. In most cases, the bear will see or smell you first and
run away. Be BearWise and you’ll be safe. And you may have a chance to see an
awesome wild animal.
Have a question about bears? Want to know the difference
between a black bear and a woolly bear? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Well Adjusted don't wait to shed some weight by Dr. Melanie Brown on 07/01/2022
Now that we have some sunshine, some of us are focusing on
weight loss goals after this long winter. What is the best way to track your
weight at home? There can be a lot of variation in weight throughout the day
from hydration, eating, fluid retention, etc. The best time to weigh yourself
is in the morning after you go to the bathroom and before breakfast. If you are
trying to lose weight, weigh yourself daily and write it down. Ideally, you
want to burn about 500 more calories daily than you are consuming and lose
approximately one to three pounds per week. Too much too fast is often
unsustainable and can create a yoyo effect with loss and gain.
After weighing yourself, look at your Body Mass Index (BMI).
You can find online calculators to determine what weight range is healthy for
you. Determine your target weight and how many calories you should consume
daily. You can find weight loss calculators online to help you set goals.
Nutrition apps or a pen and notepad will suffice to help you count calories. Or
if all of that counting drives you crazy, try focusing on nutrient-dense foods
– mainly protein and vegetables, portion control and hydration, and avoid
sugary drinks and foods. Read your labels and stick to the perimeter of the
grocery store. Most women need approximately 2,000 calories per day to maintain
weight and 1,500 calories to lose one pound per week, and men need
approximately 2,500 calories to maintain weight and 2,000 to lose one pound per
week, although it varies.
If you aren’t exercising, try to walk or jog half a mile or
a mile daily and increase the distance as you become more fit. If you love the
gym, go there or make a home workout area. You can keep it simple, lift some
weights and do push-ups, planks, crunches and stretching. You don’t have to
invest in a Tonal to work out (although they are sweet!). Think of warmups in
grade school gym class. Do the basics!
Shedding pounds will help us hike up those switchbacks
without getting winded and will take the extra pressure off our joints and
cardiovascular systems. Look and feel good and start to live at a healthy
weight. The little decisions that we make a lot determine our overall health
and fitness. It takes consistency and dedication, but the payoff is enormous.
You can do it! |
| View Points Salem: Searching for better gun safety by Rep. Anna Williams on 07/01/2022
I’m so tired of gun violence. With every breaking news story
about a new mass shooting, I feel physically and mentally exhausted. But
talking about mass shootings alone discounts the depressingly common individual
gun homicides and suicides that the news doesn’t bother to cover anymore, due
to the common occurrence of these unnecessary deaths.
Still, even in the face of overwhelming public support for
certain kinds of gun safety reforms, lawmakers aren’t brave enough to do what
needs to be done to keep school children, church attendees, mall-walkers and
the public in general safe from guns in our country.
As of 2020, guns are the leading cause of child death in the
United States.
This fact doesn’t just exhaust me; it makes me angry. This
is a choice. Every time state and federal legislators oppose common sense gun
regulations, they choose to allow this. Better gun safety policy could have
prevented many of the 4,638 child deaths caused by guns in America in 2020 (the
last year for which statistics are available).
These were kids with bright futures, kids who should still
be alive, playing with friends and enjoying the warm days of summer. Instead,
they’re gone. Their families and friends are grieving, and no amount of
thoughts and prayers will bring them back.
Oregon has made meaningful efforts toward gun safety
policies in the last ten years. In my time in the legislature, the biggest step
we took toward gun safety was the passage of the safe storage law, which
requires gun owners to store their firearms in a safe or gun room when not in
use, or to use a trigger lock to ensure a gun can’t be fired. Prior to my arrival
in Salem, Oregon already had universal background checks and extreme risk
protection orders, both very effective policies.
Still, there is more we can do. But neither Oregon nor the
U.S. will see meaningful efforts to curb gun violence while the gun lobby has
such a significant influence on politicians whose campaigns they fund.
I make it a habit never to use this space to discuss
politics, because I think it’s more important for elected officials to talk to
their constituents about governance and policy – the stuff that really matters.
This column is no exception. An overwhelming majority of people agree with me
in thinking that we need better gun safety laws. The fact that it has become
such a partisan issue is part and parcel of the larger problem: campaign
finance.
One of the reasons I’m not running for re-election is the
fact that money plays such an outsized role in campaigns. Its role is so
significant that I have sometimes been strongly encouraged by political
consultants not to vocally support good bills (like the assault weapons ban)
due to the fact that I represent a swing district. It’s frustrating to be told
that you will likely lose your next election if you vote your conscience, but
that was a regular occurrence for me on gun policy.
Clearly, the system needs reforms before we can meaningfully
address gun violence. Campaign finance laws and quorum requirements for the
legislature are only two of the many barriers to passing more effective gun
control statewide. In Congress, similar barriers (NRA cash and the filibuster)
lead to the same outcome we’ve seen in Oregon – no meaningful policies to
prevent the catastrophic number of preventable gun deaths across our country.
Reports of a developing bipartisan gun control bill in the U.S. Senate provides
some hope for improvement moving forward. However, a new assault weapons ban
(which was extremely effective in curbing gun violence during the decade it was
in effect) has never been seriously considered by the Senate.
It doesn’t need to, and shouldn’t, be a partisan issue.
We all want to believe that we’re somehow safe from the
scourge of gun violence in our country. We tell ourselves that it only happens
in larger cities, or to schools without School Resource Officers, or to other
people far away who weren’t careful enough in scanning their environment for
safety. It’s time to let go of that fairy tale – nearly everyone I know has had
a brush with gun violence in the past five years. Whether they were threatened
by someone with an AR-15 style firearm at a protest, had to duck and cover at
the local ice cream shop because someone was waving a gun around and shouting
or had to shelter in place due to a police chase of a mass shooter at the local
mall.
We are ALL less free to pursue happiness as a result, no
matter whether we own guns or whether we vote Democrat or Republican.
As we look ahead to elections this fall, I am hopeful that
the public call for improved gun safety across our country will lead to the
election of candidates on both sides of the aisle who support gun safety
policies that will work in their states. Just like my work on preventing child
abuse, this issue is one that appeals to most voters, regardless of party. I
look forward to seeing more bipartisan gun safety conversations as we move into
2023 and beyond.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| Geology course continues to 'rock' on Oregon field trips by Mt. Hood Community College on 07/01/2022
As a geology instructor at Mt. Hood Community College
(MHCC), each spring I take a class field trip to Central Eastern Oregon. This
field trip always brings back memories for me as a teacher, but I was also a
student at MHCC when I took geology from Dave Korwin. Some things stay the same
while some things are drastically different.
When I was a student this field trip was four days long and optional!
In those four days we went to Alvord Desert and up through Burns to John Day
with the final night at Clyde Holliday State Park along the John Day River.
Now, our field trip is only two days long and the furthest east we get is John
Day. We stay at a more primitive camp spot along Fields Creek and the trip is
mandatory for students.
Many of my students take this class for three terms, so it
is a culmination of all the geology they’ve learned. As a student, I remember
swimming in Borax Lake and hunting for thundereggs along Pikes Creek.
On our most recent field trip we hunted for brachiopod and
ammonite fossils along a road near remote Izee. Have you ever heard of Izee?
Behind Wheeler High School in Fossil, one can find the state
fossil of Oregon, the Metasquoia.
As a student, we could find an abundance of fossils
everywhere; today, they are much harder to find, sometimes only bits and pieces
rather than the slabs of fossils from my youth. Hunting for treasure is still
hunting for treasure and still fun, no matter how many years it has been.
There is one gorgeous green Serpentinite outcropping of rock
that belongs to the Canyon Mountain Complex just south of Canyon City that has
been, and still is, the stopping location for nearly all geology field trips,
for other schools, too.
In the mid-80s I don’t think I could imagine a student with
disabilities on a field trip with our geology instructor Korwin – he walked so
fast he usually left many of us in the dust! This year on our overnight trip,
we had Tim, who uses a wheelchair, with us.
I hadn’t thought about this before, but really there was
only one or two places where Tim couldn’t go. But accessibility has improved,
and those places can be augmented with video capabilities.
Times change and improve, certainly for student
accessibility in the field.
Daina Hardisty is a Geology Instructor at Mt. Hood
Community College. |
| What's fresh now by Taeler Butel on 07/01/2022
Cooking in season is the best way to get peak flavors and
nutrition out of produce. Also, in season usually means on sale, so enjoy the
flavors of summer with this delicious chutney over lamb or grilled chicken.
Lamb chops with Rhubarb chutney
2 lb. rack of lamb Marinade:
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 T olive oil
1 T chopped parsley
2 minced garlic cloves
1 t each salt and pepper
1 t Dijon mustard
Marinate rack of lamb for four hours or overnight.
Roast with the fat cap turned up at 375 degrees for 35
minutes or until brown crust forms. Let meat rest 20 minutes before cutting
into chops, then serve with rhubarb chutney.
Rhubarb chutney
5 stalks rhubarb, diced
1/2 chopped red onion
1 cup strawberries chopped
1/2 green apple, chopped
1 T crystallized ginger, minced
Juice and zest of one lemon
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
3 T brown sugar
1 T chopped fresh mint
Cook in medium sized pot over medium-high heat to boiling,
stirring often. Reduce and simmer until it is a jam-like consistency, about ten
minutes. Let cool in pan, transfer to jar and refrigerate. Lasts for seven days
in the fridge. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
With spring and early summer comes transitional weather that
will cause some amazing photography opportunities. Everything from blue skies
with majestic thunderheads, rainbows and lightning. It is lightning that I’m
asked about how to capture the most.
A lightning bolt typically lasts about 10 to 50 microseconds
(0.000050 sec). That’s a lot faster than your ability to react to it so we will
need to discuss methods and conditions that must be understood prior to going
out into the field to get that awesome photo of a bolt of lightning, but I must
preface the information with a warning about safety.
Standing in the rain with a lightning rod in your hand
Of course, when we're trying to get our lightning photo
we’re venturing out into a storm. Be prepared for the weather. Dress
appropriately, but also remember that you are standing out in the storm with a
tripod and a camera. One can’t help but be reminded of the fellows who are
struck by lightning on the 18th hole as they celebrate a great putt with a golf
club in their hand.
When the storm is surrounding you, go inside. Do not stand
in the middle of a thundering tempest and think that you’ll come away with
something more than a quick trip to the hospital, if you’re lucky, to treat you
for the effects of a 100-million-volt electrical shock.
Your best photos of lightning will be when the storm is in
the distance.
Equipment
You will want to use a camera that you are able to control
manually. Many cameras will allow you to switch to manual mode to allow you to
control your shutter speed and the duration of the exposure. You will also want
to use a tripod to establish a platform for you to put your camera on. It’s
easier than trying to hold your camera while you’re working and a necessity for
a longer exposure photograph.
Additional gear which will improve your chances of success
are a 10 stop Neutral Density Filter (ND filter). And another piece of gear
that can be handy is a lightning trigger. I will cover the use of both of these
pieces.
Daytime or nighttime
When photographing lightning there are two basic conditions
that will require different methods to be successful: daytime with a lot of
light and darkness with little or no light.
It’s easier to capture a lightning strike during the night
than during the day. At nighttime it’s easy to set your camera to make a long
exposure, sometimes as long as 30 seconds. Because the light is dim or even
completely dark, your photo won’t be exposed unless there’s a lightning strike
during your exposure. I set my camera up on the tripod and point it in the
direction of the storm, set my exposure to 30 seconds and click the shutter and
wait for a lightning strike while hoping that it will happen in the direction that
I have the camera pointed. If, once you’ve captured some lightning, your photo
is too bright, make your exposure a little shorter or stop down your aperture
(smaller hole, bigger number) and try again. The lightning becomes its own
flash bulb.
Daytime is a bit more challenging. It’s much more difficult
to set your camera up to make a long exposure when there’s so much light that
you will need to use a ND filter. A ND filter is like sunglasses for your
camera; it blocks light and allows you to extend (make longer) your shutter
speed which will let you to photograph the scene using the same method as at
night. Make your exposure as long as possible, click the shutter cross your
fingers and wait.
High tech toys
Of course, there’s always the easy way. Technology is your
friend when it comes to photographing lightning. Many people are just hobbyists
and don’t want to spend a lot of money on a toy that they would rarely use, but
there is that option.
A lightning trigger is the solution. It can react to the flash
of the lightning and click the shutter in time to capture an image. The
mechanism mounts to the hot shoe flash connection on top of your camera.
Although handy a lightning trigger is certainly not required
to capture lightning.
Have fun – be safe
The most important part of capturing lightning in a
photograph for me is the experience. I love being outside and watching severe
weather. To be able to make a beautiful and dramatic photo is a bonus.
I can’t stress enough the safety aspect of doing this. Please
be safe and don’t put yourself in any dangerous situation to try to make any
kind of photograph. There will always be more opportunities in the future.
Give these methods a try. Good luck and as always, have fun
with your photography.
|
| An insect invasion: drought and beetles take a toll on forests by Steve Wilent on 06/01/2022
On my friend’s property in Wasco County, east of Mount Hood,
the signs of an insect invasion are everywhere: dead ponderosa pine trees. My
rough guess is that ten percent of the pines have died in the past decade on
the forested parts of the nearly 400-acre ranch, and numerous trees with green
needles are as good as dead. Why? A combination of drought and insects, a one –
two punch.
As they feast on bark beetles (such as the mountain pine
beetle, the most destructive forest pest in the western U.S., according to the
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)), woodpeckers chip away at the bark to get
at the beetles and their juicy larvae and pupae. Healthy trees with a few
beetles can easily withstand the damage caused be the insects and the small
areas of bark removed by woodpeckers. On my friend’s ranch, most of the bark on
the lower half of many of the dead trees, as well as some with green needles,
has been chipped away by the birds – a sure sign of a severe beetle
infestation.
In Wasco County and much of the inland west, ponderosa pines
are in trouble. During a five-year drought in California, from 2012 to 2016, an
estimated 140 million trees died from moisture stress and subsequent bark
beetle attacks – from young trees to old-growth. When I visited the Sierra
National Forest during the drought, a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) district
ranger told me that ponderosa pines, the most common tree in the western half
of the forest, would be largely eliminated from the area, giving way to oaks
and shrubs better able to withstand dry conditions.
California is now in the third year of another drought. All
58 counties in the state are now under a drought emergency proclamation,
according to California Drought Action, a multi-agency partnership. An
estimated 9.5 million trees died in the state in 2021, and my guess is that the
total number of trees that have died from drought and insects since 2012 may exceed
200 million by the end of this year. That’s 200 million trees in ten years –
and counting. That figure does not include the millions of trees killed by
wildfires in recent years.
An outbreak of mountain pine beetle in British Columbia that
began in the early 1990s killed the majority of the lodgepole pines across
70,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of Oklahoma. The outbreak became
so large because, as the climate warmed, winter temperatures didn’t get cold enough,
for long enough, to control the beetles. Prolonged temperatures of minus 40 or
lower kills most of the beetles, which in the past has limited the severity and
extent of infestations. With warmer, dryer summers and drought-stressed trees,
the BC beetles were able to produce an extra generation or two each year. They
even have crossed the Rocky Mountains for the first time. Previously, mountain
pine beetles were not found in Alberta, home to jack pine, which the beetle is
happy to infest. Jack pine is common from the Canadian Rockies east to Nova
Scotia.
Bark beetles and other forest insects have always been
around, of course. I still have a copy of "Western Forest Insects," a
textbook that I used in forestry school. The 650-page book, published in 1977 by
the USFS, describes hundreds of insect species. The book explains that the
mountain pine beetle lives most of its life under the bark of western pine
species, including ponderosa, lodgepole, jack, western white, sugar, limber and
whitebark pines. Adult beetles bore into the bark and construct tunnel-like egg
galleries in the inner bark. As they excavate, they create small niches where
they deposit eggs, which hatch as larvae in a few days. The larvae, which look
like small white grubs, do a little excavation of their own before they turn
into pupae. The pupae eventually turn into adult bark beetles, which tunnel out
of the tree to start the cycle again, usually by flying to an adjacent tree.
We don’t have many ponderosa pines here on the west side of
the Cascades, where Douglas-fir is the most common conifer species. However, a
cousin of the mountain pine beetle, the Douglas-fir beetle, is common in our
area. Both beetles have similar lifecycles. According to the USFS, Douglas-fir
beetle adults usually emerge in mid to late spring, when the temperature is 60
degrees Fahrenheit and above; some adults that make early spring attacks can
reemerge and make a second attack from late June to August.
A fact sheet from the ODF says that the Douglas-fir beetle
typically infests downed trees ten inches in diameter, and then moves to nearby
standing trees that are stressed, injured or less vigorous: “At normal
population levels, mortality from this pest is scattered on the landscape and
often present in stands weakened by root disease, fire, or wind damage.
Population outbreaks typically follow storm events that cause blowdown, or
defoliation from Douglas-fir tussock moth or western spruce budworm outbreaks.”
Adult beetles are about the size of a grain of rice and
their color varies from all black to black with reddish brown. Once they bore
into a tree, they produce a fine reddish-orange powder called frass, which is
essentially digested bark (poop, in other words). You also may see small
streams of white pitch coming from tiny holes in the bark, or pitch combined
with frass. Trees use pitch to try to push beetles out. If you see two or three
small patches of frass and/or pitch dripping down a tree, it’s likely not a
threat to the tree. If you see lots of pitch and/or frass, or accumulations of
frass on the ground around the tree, the tree may be dead or dying. In that
case, it’s best to consult with a tree service or arborist if the tree is near
structures or roads.
Compared to the severity of the impact of drought and insects
on east-side forests, the threat from drought and insects is quite low in our
area, so far. This year, precipitation in the Sandy River watershed has been
above average – 107 percent, as of this writing. But our climate is changing
and summers are longer and dryer, which means trees will be increasingly
stressed for part of the year. I and my colleagues in forestry are watching
carefully for signs that our trees are in trouble.
Have a question about insects in our forests? Want to know
the difference between insects and bugs? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Well Adjusted the warming sock treatment by Dr. Melanie Brown on 06/01/2022
When you are sick and miserable from a cold, your body
craves care and attention. Whether it is self-treatment, or a parent fussing
over their child, the little things you do to support the body during an
illness can make a big difference in how bad it gets and how long it lasts.
Along with the coloring books from the grocery store and extra “Sesame Street”
time, I appreciated the home remedies that my mom used to soothe my symptoms
and speed up my recovery. I have used the warming sock treatment for myself and
my kids over the years, and it has been a big help!
Add warming sock treatment to your home care arsenal when
you or your child has a cold. This centuries-old hydrotherapy treatment
originated in Europe. It is free and easy to do with materials most people
have.
Warming sock treatment is known as a heating compress. The
body reacts to the cold socks by increasing blood circulation, boosting the
immune system and decreasing congestion in the lungs and sinuses. It is a way
of waking up the immune system to get ready for battle against whatever is
making you sick. If done correctly, this treatment is relaxing and calming. The
improved circulation clears the lungs and sinuses, soothes the nervous system,
alleviates aches and chills, and sets the stage for restful sleep.
Warming sock treatment can be helpful for sore throat, ear
infections, headaches, migraines, upper respiratory infections, coughs,
bronchitis, nasal congestion and sinus infections. It should be discussed with
your doctor and used with caution in people with Raynaud's syndrome, arterial
insufficiency, advanced intermittent claudication or diabetes.
Supplies
– One pair of cotton socks.
– One pair of wool socks.
– One bowl with ice water.
Step one: soak feet in warm water or take a bath for ten
minutes, then towel dry. You can also warm your feet with a heating pad or hot
water bottle. Do not skip this step, as starting with cold feet can make
treatment less effective or detrimental.
Step two: wet cotton socks in ice water, wring out and place
on your feet. You could also run socks under water, wring them out and put them
in the freezer for five to ten minutes.
Step three: put dry wool socks over wet cotton socks and go
to bed immediately wrapped in blankets and dressed warmly to avoid getting
chilled. You will wake up with dry, warm feet.
Your feet will start to warm up within a few minutes and
will totally dry within one to four hours. Congestion will begin to improve
within approximately 30 minutes. If you find that the socks aren't completely
drying in this time frame, you may need to wring them out more before putting
them on.
It's best to start this treatment on the first night of an
illness and repeat it for three nights. Avoid synthetic socks. Use at least 60
percent wool or cotton if using blends. Do not use tight socks that could
impair circulation.
The next time you or a loved one has a cold, give warming
sock treatment a try! Along with hydration, nutritious food and rest, it will
help you minimize symptoms and get better faster.
Although warming sock treatment sounds intense, it is pretty
relaxing. It can work better than a decongestant or antihistamine to relieve
congestion and help you get some sleep. |
| View Points Salem: A larger picture of oversight by Rep. Anna Williams on 06/01/2022
Some of the tasks legislators perform can seem pretty
different from the typical constituent services they provide, the policy and
budget committees they sit on and the bills they pass.
One aspect of being a State Representative that not many
people know about are the dozens of non-legislative boards, commissions, task
forces and committees that are legally required to have legislators as members.
Whether it’s the Oregon-China Sister State Committee, the
Road User Fee Task Force, the Oregon Transparency Advisory Commission or the
Task Force on Resolution of Adverse Health Care Incidents (say that three times
fast!), I believe every legislator sits on at least one such group.
Among others, I’ve served on the Interstate Compact for
Juveniles State Council, the Labor Trafficking Task Force, the North Central
Regional Equity in Recovery Council, the Metro Regional Wildfire Recovery Team
and the Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board.
If that last one caught you by surprise, I’m happy to
explain.
The Hanford National Monument is located well north of the
Oregon border (about a three-hour drive from the farthest northeastern reaches
of our legislative district), but Oregon still plays an important role in its
oversight.
Here’s a quick overview in case you’re not familiar with
Hanford
Dating back to the
1940s, it served as a key part of the Manhattan Project, manufacturing
plutonium for the Trinity Test, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, and many
nuclear weapons developed in the Cold War. By the time it stopped production in
1989, Hanford had produced about two thirds of the plutonium used for U.S.
nuclear warheads.
Unfortunately, in its haste to produce these weapons, the
federal government overlooked some (maybe most) of the environmental and health
effects of this massive and dangerous undertaking. More than 55 million gallons
of radioactive waste are stored at the site. For perspective, that’s more than
83 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth.
Unfortunately, most of the storage tanks and other
infrastructure were built with materials that may not even last for a century,
while the waste they contain will still be dangerous thousands of years from
now. Some of the storage has already failed: there have been countless leaks,
spills and toxic exposures in the decades since Hanford closed.
We will never know the full impact of this radiation, but
cleanup efforts are ongoing, and Oregon plays an important oversight role in
that process.
Although Hanford is located over 150 miles up the Columbia
River from our district, the river is the key connection between our state and
this ongoing cleanup effort. A nuclear plant requires a lot of water and
chemicals in order to avoid a meltdown, and the Columbia River provided a
perfect site to meet all of Hanford’s water demands.
Because the facilities there are so close to the water, the
risk of future leaks of radioactive material poses a potential threat to
everyone and everything downstream.
Therefore, Oregon gets a well-deserved voice in how the
cleanup is handled.
As with so many things, the only way to approach cleanup
perfectly would be to invest about ten times as much as the huge amount the
federal government is already spending at Hanford (which is the largest and
most expensive environmental remediation plan in the world).
I’ll avoid digging into the dry details of nuclear chemistry
that I’ve had to learn as a member of this board, and instead make a broader
point about serving in this role. It has made clear to me that the risk of
environmental disaster should matter to people well beyond the immediate
surroundings of a pollution source.
Whether it’s a data center 30 miles from my house, a nuclear
site 150 miles upstream or a coal plant halfway across the country, Oregon has
a duty to take responsibility and contribute to minimizing the risk of
catastrophe.
I have vocally supported legislation to limit carbon
emissions in our state, I have strived to keep our waterways safe for humans
and animals alike, and I have been proud to have a voice in the conversation about
Hanford’s ongoing, long-term cleanup plans.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| Some tips on trying to cohabitate with those wily coyotes by Mt. Hood Community College on 06/01/2022
Even if you live in a city, you have probably seen a coyote.
For some people, this can be alarming – many residents post online photos of
coyotes boldly walking in neighborhoods. But should you be concerned?
Seeing coyotes in daytime is not uncommon; many people
assume that coyotes are nocturnal, but that isn’t entirely true. Coyotes tend
to be nocturnal when living near humans, but will hunt any time, especially
with pups to feed.
Yes, small pets are often prey for coyotes, but rodents are
their predominant source of food. They generally hunt alone eating birds,
insects, fruit, human garbage and pet food.
Christine Anderson, a biology instructor at Mt. Hood
Community College, explained that eliminating a coyote from its habitat could
have unintended effects.
“When you remove coyotes from their home, the population
immediately reduces but those remaining in the population will reproduce more
often and litter sizes can increase; the population will become larger,”
Anderson said. “Plus, there is a restructuring within their group when coyotes
are removed which can be chaotic when they are trying to find a new territory
or pack. This can push coyotes into more frequent human interactions when they
are looking for new food sources. It actually works against us,”
Coyote attacks to humans are rare and typically result in
scratches, nips or bites. There have only been two documented human deaths
attributed to coyotes.
One case in 1970 involved the death of a three-year-old
child whose parents regularly fed the coyote.
The other incident happened in 2008 when coyotes killed a
woman hiking in Canada; experts were surprised by this attack and consider it
very unusual behavior.
Coyotes are generally monogamous with only one pair in a
group producing one litter a year. For the most part, coyotes shy from humans
and stay hidden, but are habituated in urban settings and will venture out to
find food, especially during puppy season.
Anderson further explained that eliminating any food
sources, including free-roaming pets, will dissuade a coyote from your space.
Providing coyotes with a food source encourages their return and bold behavior.
Anderson noted that hazing works particularly well to reestablish boundaries
for coyotes.
“When people can start a program like hazing, like putting
coins in a pop can and shaking it when a coyote is near, it will help make the
coyote more fearful of the human population without hurting them. If they are
cruising through, that’s normal behavior, but if they are stalking pets, then
hazing is warranted,” Anderson said. “We are putting houses in their habitat
and it’s forcing them to be out in the open more. We are building faster than
they can find new habitat.”
Shelley McFarland is a public relations and content
specialist at Mt. Hood Community College. |
| Berry good! by Taeler Butel on 06/01/2022
It’s a delicious month for fresh berry recipes, black, blue,
straw or raspberry.
Berries are center stage in these recipes:
Strawberry yogurt muffins
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened full fat Greek yogurt
1/4 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup milk
1 t vanilla
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1 t baking powder
1 egg
Mix together vanilla, oil, egg, sugar, milk and yogurt in
medium bowl, set aside.
Whisk dry ingredients together and pour over wet
ingredients, then whisk together until just combined. Fold in chopped
strawberries.
Scoop into lined muffin tin (eight large or 12 medium). Bake
for 20 minutes at 350 F.
Blueberry cookies
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 T cornstarch
1 t baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
Heat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together dry ingredients in medium sized bowl, set
aside.
Cream together butter and sugar on high for two to three
minutes, then add vanilla, egg and mix two minutes more.
Mix in dry ingredients for one minute, then fold in
blueberries.
Drop onto cookie sheet in one tablespoon portions of dough.
Bake for 11 minutes. |
| Safekeeping tangibles by Paula Walker on 06/01/2022
Safe deposit boxes are often used to keep valuable tangible
items and sometimes even cash. What are the implications of this for reporting
on your taxable estate and for distributing your assets according to your
estate plan - trust or will?
The contents of a safe deposit box are part of your estate,
therefore the value of these must be accounted for in reporting on the total
value of your estate for estate tax purposes. Keep an inventory of the contents
of the box for your trustee or personal representative, aka ‘executor,’ to
assist them in accounting for the content and value that those contents
contribute to your estate.
It is important to understand that you are the renter of the
box, and the owner of the contents. You do not own the box, the institution
does. The contents of the box, if you are the sole lessee will pass, or be
distributed, according to the provisions in your estate plan.
Establishing joint ownership of the box to avoid probate
could trigger unintended consequences such as the surviving joint owner taking
all the contents for themselves, regardless of your intended distributions per
your estate plan.
The moral of the story is to carefully consider the handling
of the tangibles that you place in a safe deposit box as part of your estate
planning and managing your assets for distribution to your intended recipients.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
In 2014, the use of a safe-deposit box for storing tangibles
of the decedent came into play with a rather unique and interesting twist. A
court ordered that the Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded in 1964 and the travel
Bible of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. be placed in a safe
deposit box in an ‘undisclosed location’ that only the court could open, while
the suit between King’s daughter Bernice King and her brothers was decided.
Ms. King was not the executor of King’s estate but the
self-appointed gatekeeper of many of the estate’s tangibles. The brothers
wanted to sell those memorabilia to a private bidder.
Ms. King, who was in possession of those items at the time,
said she would not allow the sale of that property of her father. In 2015 with
former President Jimmy Carter acting as a mediator, the court ruled that the
Bible was a possession of the estate, and not the inheritance of any one of the
heirs, but that the status of the Peace Prize would go to trial for decision.
In August of 2016, the three sparring children agreed to end
the lawsuit and the court signed an order releasing both items to Martin Luther
King III who served his siblings as director of their father’s estate. I
presume the court then removed those items from the safe deposit box, wherever
it was located. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Being unique is the best way to stand out in a crowd. It
applies to many things including the art that we create. I remember the first
time that I was told that my photos were immediately recognizable from the many
other photos that are posted and viewed online in photography forums. I was
flattered and it was a confidence builder. It has been in the back of my mind
since I started taking landscape photography seriously that I need to try to
purposely create a certain style that would set my work apart but had no idea
how. Today if I were asked, I think that I’d have some advice to give.
Although my advice comes from the perspective of a
photographer, it can apply to anyone who’s creating art in this age of social
media and the seemingly endless flow of masterful work that’s being done by
other artists. It’s easy to think that the effort to become as good as those
that we admire is beyond our ability, but it’s not something that you develop
all at once. It’s like a skill that needs to be practiced to master. Music
comes to mind as it’s an obvious example of how a skill is developed with
practice. And so first be willing to practice.
Love what you do no matter your skill level. You must enjoy
what you do to be able to want to spend the time creating your art until you
are proud of it, so do it for the love of it.
I’ve been considered someone who has mastered my art, yet I
feel that mastering my art is an always moving goal line. The more that I learn
the more that I realize what I need to learn. I also feel that if one feels as
if they’ve crossed that goal line and have mastered their art they stifle their
progress, because no matter the art form, more can be learned or skills can be
honed that will develop into a personal style. If one stops trying to improve
or stretch the boundaries of their art, they won't fully develop as an artist.
In the beginning it’s natural to find someone whose style is
what you perceive that you’d like to emulate. Learn their techniques but
consider that the beginning of your journey. I see a lot of photographers who
have learned a notable photographer’s style and techniques so well that it’s
difficult to tell the difference between the two. The internet is flooded with
amazing photographs that emulate popular techniques and styles, but they don’t
stand out as being unique.
Learn from more than one artist and mix the techniques.
Before you develop your own techniques mix and mash together
techniques learned from different artists. Stretch the effects that the
techniques create beyond what they did when you learned them. Don’t be afraid
to experiment. I tell students that they can’t break anything by trying
something new. Just go for it. If it fails you won’t do it again, but if it
works for you, you’ll incorporate it into your workflow.
Be patient because no skill happens overnight. It’s true
that some artists are more adept at their art than others but doing what you
love shouldn’t have an urgency that creates a feeling of stress. The feeling
that you should be somewhere else other than where you are creates
disappointment and discouragement. You are where you are because there’s a
lesson to be learned, and once it’s learned you move forward to the next one.
If all of this could be reduced to a single word, it would
be to practice. Just keep practicing. You will have no choice but to improve
and with the experience that practicing gives you, you will also, no doubt,
create your own unique style. |
|  Contributed photo
Every season has its downsides, except for fall, the perfect
season. In summer, it’s the heat. For me, anything over 85 degrees is too hot.
I was not a happy camper during last year’s record-setting heat wave. Winter is
okay, except that even I sometimes get tired of the rain. Spring, with warmer
(but usually not hot) days and bright green new growth on trees and plants, can
be pleasant — unless you have allergies to pollen. I’m one of the lucky ones.
I’m not allergic to pollen at all. But for many of my friends and neighbors who
are, spring is a dreaded season.
Pollen is produced by many plants as part of their
reproduction process. Although individual pollen grains are tiny, they often are
produced in such numbers that they can collectively affect human health when
they get into peoples’ eyes, noses and lungs. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov), roughly 60 million people per year in
the U.S. suffer from pollen-related allergies. The symptoms of allergic
rhinitis, which is sometimes called hay fever, include sneezing, runny nose,
eye irritation, nasal congestion and fatigue. Antihistamines, decongestants and
other medications may offer some relief, but for many pollen allergy sufferers,
the only cure is enduring until pollen season passes.
The Mayo Clinic web site (mayoclinic.org), one of my go-to
sources of medical information, notes that there are three main sources of
pollen: trees, which typically produce pollen in early spring; grasses, in late
spring and summer; and ragweed, most often in fall. According to Pollen.com,
there are 17 widely-distributed species of ragweed in North America, including
Oregon, and the pollen season may last from spring through fall.
In Hoodland, Douglas-fir is not only the most common tree
species in our area, but it’s also a prolific pollen producer. Beginning in
April or May, Doug-fir pollen coats our cars, roofs, patios and other surfaces
with a dusting of yellow pollen grains, and sometimes you may see swirling
clouds of pollen stirred by a breeze or a passing car.
Doug-fir trees are monoecious, meaning that each tree has
both male and female cones — reproductive organs. These small cones, which are
a half-inch long or so, are borne in clusters near the end of the branch, where
you’ll also see similar-looking needle buds that open in spring to reveal light
green new growth. The male cones open in spring and release pollen to fertilize
the female cones on the same or neighboring trees. After the Doug-fir
pollination season, you’ll find numerous spent pollen cones on the ground
around the trees. Once fertilized, the female cones eventually grow into seed
cones that slowly mature and release seeds the following year (just ask any of
our pesky Douglas squirrels).
As irritating as that pollen may be to us humans, we
wouldn’t have Doug-fir forests without it.
Black cottonwood trees also produce pollen, as well as huge
amounts of the “fluff” for which the trees are named. The fluff is composed of
tiny seeds and strands of white cottony fibers that catch the wind and help
spread the seeds. Cottonwood production varies by year, and in heavy years we
Mountain folk see clouds of fluff seemingly everywhere.
Black cottonwood is dioecious: trees have either male or
female flowers, but not both. For a cottonwood to reproduce, a male tree must
be near enough to a female tree so that pollen can be transferred, either by
the wind or by pollinators, to flowers on the female tree. The fertilized
flowers soon produce seeds that drift down or are carried away by a breeze.
Don’t blame your allergies on cottonwood fluff or seeds —
it’s the pollen from the male flowers that’s the culprit.
Doug-fir and cottonwood aren’t the only sources of pollen in
our neck of the woods. Alder, bigleaf and vine maple, grand fir, western
hemlock and western redcedar are pollen producers. Some native flowering plants
such as fireweed and willows can be problems for allergy sufferers, as can some
of the non-native trees and plants that people plant in their yards —
chrysanthemums and daisies, for example. And of our many invasive, non-native
plants, Scotch broom is a significant source of pollen. One more reason to root
it out!
East of the Cascades, lodgepole and ponderosa pines, western
juniper, sagebrush, rabbitbrush and other trees and plants are the bane of
allergy sufferers.
Flowering plants that spread their pollen primarily by
insects, such as rhododendrons and roses, and fruit trees such as cherry and
pear, usually do not cause allergic reactions in people.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA, aafa.org),
a not-for-profit organization founded in 1953, has compiled an Allergy Capitals
report that looks at the top 100 most challenging U.S. cities for seasonal
pollen allergies. All of the top ten worst cities are in the eastern (more or
less) half of the continental U.S. The top three worst cities are Scranton,
Pa., Witchita, Kan., and McAllen, Texas. Portland, San Francisco and Seattle
are amongst the least challenging cities, ranking 96, 98, and 100,
respectively.
The report is interesting, but it doesn’t mention
Brightwood, Welches, Zigzag, Rhododendron or Government Camp. Hmmm, must have
been an oversight.
For pollen allergy sufferers, here’s a bit of good news: The
masks you use to protect yourself against COVID-19 are very effective at
preventing pollen allergy symptoms.
“Masks may stop allergens in the air from getting into your
nose, throat, and lungs,” according to the AAFA. “If allergens like pollen,
mold, and animal dander cause you to have allergy and asthma symptoms, you may
get some relief from wearing a face mask. They can be especially helpful when
pollen and mold counts are high, or on public transportation, such as planes,
where animals may be present. In fact, some studies have shown that people had
fewer allergic rhinitis symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic because of
wearing masks.”
UCLA Health, an arm of the University of California, Los
Angeles, citing a recent study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology, reports that study participants who wore a surgical or N95 mask
consistently over a period of two weeks saw improvement in nasal allergy
symptoms: “Pollen particles (a common cause of seasonal allergies) range from
10 to 100 micrometers in size, depending on the type of pollen. A standard
surgical mask can block particles as small as 3 micrometers. Medical masks,
such as N95 masks, are even more effective, catching particles only 0.04
micrometers in size. Even cloth masks with multiple layers will protect you
from most pollen.”
Planning a spring hike or picnic in the woods? Better pack
your mask.
Have a question about how trees reproduce? Want to buy some
pine pollen? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Well Adjusted your health is in hot water by Dr. Melanie Brown on 05/01/2022
Modern luxuries have made our bodies weaker. Our jobs and
hobbies are becoming more stagnant and our food is unhealthy and abundant. We
are pushing the button on the microwave instead of pulling weeds in our garden,
where we would be getting fresh air, sunshine and physical activity. We live in
a society of overstimulation of the mind and under-stimulation of the body. In
turn, we must intentionally create routines to support a healthy existence. Our
bodies aren’t delicate figurines that should be sitting up on a shelf. We need
to move, walk, lift and sweat to stay in good condition. When our bodies feel
good, our spirit is more vibrant, and we can live our lives more abundantly,
from birth to old age.
Sauna bathing is a relaxing routine that can bring more
health and longevity to your life. Mimicking moderate aerobic exercise, sauna
bathing increases heart rate and body temperature and causes you to sweat.
Frequent sauna use increases brain function and decreases the risk of heart
disease, Alzheimer’s and stroke. Even though exercise is king, sauna use can
improve cardiorespiratory fitness in those who exercise and those who don’t.
Along with the health benefits, most people find saunas relaxing. In the quiet
heat, you can shed your cares of the day and come out refreshed and
rejuvenated.
We rarely think of stress as a positive thing, but eustress
(or positive stress) helps us push through challenges and grow. It helps us
complete our term paper last minute or the final reps of a challenging workout.
Nietzsche said, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” On a cellular level,
this is true. Sauna bathing activates heat shock proteins (HSPs) present in all
cells that respond to stress by activating antistress pathways. Weightlifting,
fasting and cold showers also stimulate HSPs since they all cause a certain
amount of stress or injury to the body.
The body responds to these “injuries” by creating cellular
responses that are good for the body. HSPs repair and assemble protein
complexes, prevent aggregation and plaque formation in the body, and support
immune function. When abundant in the body, they improve our overall health.
After a sauna, they stay elevated for about 48 hours, cleaning up and repairing
the cells in your body. Sweat, in general, helps the body release environmental
toxins such as the heavy metals aluminum and cadmium.
Sauna benefits are “dose-dependent,” so the frequency of use
matters. The sweet spot seems to be about four times per week or more, for
around 20 minutes, at 174 degrees or above (lower for infrared) at 10-20 percent
humidity. A Finnish study showed a 20 percent decreased risk of dementia and
Alzheimer’s disease with sauna bathing two to three times per week, but a 66
percent reduced risk with four to seven times per week. It showed decreased
hypertension by 24 percent with two to three times per week and 46 percent with
four to seven times per week. Similarly striking was the 24 percent decrease in
all-cause mortality with two to three times per week and 40 percent decrease in
all-cause mortality with four to seven times per week.
Hot baths and jacuzzies have some similar benefits if you
don’t have regular access to a sauna. Stay submerged for about 20 minutes with
your shoulders down in 104-degree water. Saunas are healthy for most people. If
you have heart-related or other health concerns, talk to your doctor before
adding saunas to your routine. Pregnant women, infants and young children
should avoid sauna use.
In caring for our bodies, we unlock our life’s potential.
Add sauna bathing to exercise, good sleep and a nutritious diet. The healthy
routines we create empower us to live fully and be an asset to our families and
community! |
| The messy and peaceful life of a pollinator: the Mason Bee by Mt. Hood Community College on 05/01/2022
Have you seen mason bees around lately? Depending on weather
conditions, they are active in Oregon between March and June. Excellent
pollinators for early crops, they are fun to watch and are non-aggressive which
makes it easy to nurture mason bees in your own yard.
To get started, you can plant native species and avoid
pesticides while they are in bloom. Here’s what you will need to know about
these industrious bees.
Amazing native pollinators, scientifically named Osmia
lignaria, these hardworking and gentle bees have pollinated our local plants
long before the European honeybee was introduced to our continent in the 17th
century.
They are also much more effective pollinators; in fact,
according to certain studies, each mason bee provides as much pollination as
200 honeybees! They fly in colder, wetter conditions than honeybees, and do not
require over winter care.
Your blueberries, garden and fruit trees will greatly
benefit from them with very little effort from you.
The mason bee is a solitary bee, which means they do not
form hives, nor do they make honey. For this reason, they are gentle and
non-aggressive and get their name from their lifestyle.
Each female emerges, mates with a male, then goes about
securing the next generation. To do so, she finds a suitable nesting site. This
site may be a hollow reed, hole in bark, or they are delighted to accept the
help of humans who provide suitable nesting tubes.
They do not make their own holes, so they will not drill
into your masonry or house causing damage.
Once a nesting site is located, mason bees search for and
obtain pollen, this is where the pollination effect takes place for the plants.
They are messy and inefficient and that is what makes them
great pollinators. They return with the pollen and make a ball in the nesting
tube. Once enough pollen has been accumulated, the queen lays an egg. She then
goes in search of clay mud and transfers enough of this back to the nesting
tube to form a wall, creating a chamber for the egg she has just laid. This is
where the term “mason” bee originated. She then repeats the process until the
tube is filled. She then searches for another nesting tube and repeats the process.
I hope to provide more information on mason bees in another
article soon. In the meantime, you can find more information available from the
OSU Extension, Xerces Society or CrownBees.com.
Susan Spencer is a science instructor at Mt. Hood Community
College. |
| View Points Salem: between the sessions by Rep. Anna Williams on 05/01/2022
I’ve written here before about how serving in the
legislature is not the part-time job it appears to be. A frequent response I’ve
gotten to that point is that the legislature is only in session for seven
months out of every twenty-four: a six-month session during odd-numbered years
and a 35-day session during even-numbered years. But the beginning and end of a
legislative session don’t mark the beginning and end of a legislator’s
obligations to the people of Oregon. One of the things we do outside of those seven
months of being ‘in session’ is “Legislative Days.”
During the year between sessions, the legislature gathers
periodically in Salem (or, since COVID-19 came on the scene, remotely by video
conference) to hold hearings on topics that may require legislative attention
during the next session.
Even though I’m an outgoing member of the House, I am still
the Chair of the House Committee on Human Services, and will proudly keep that
position until the Speaker of the House appoints my successor. As Chair, it’s
my responsibility to invite guest speakers to address our committee about Human
Services-related topics.
Sometimes, service providers want to tell us how recently
passed bills have impacted their work and the people they serve. Sometimes,
everyday Oregonians want to tell us how future bills may be needed to help
address problems confronting them. Often, quite simply, it’s good for
legislators to invite state agency officials to explain what they do and how
they do it, and to answer questions about whether they’re doing it well enough.
Members of the public, of course, are encouraged to tune
into these hearings. Public testimony isn’t usually heard during Legislative
Days. Instead, these interim conversations are generally used as a time for the
committee to learn about existing programs, hear reports on ongoing problems
and interact with providers and executive agency officials. These hearings are
different from committee meetings during a session about specific bills, where
public testimony is a necessary part of the lawmaking process. But neither type
of hearing is less important than the other, since they’re both aimed toward
the same goal: making sure that the legislature is responsive to the needs of
the people who depend on us.
If you would like to watch these hearings on June 1- 3, you
can email my office at Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov and my staff will
happily point you in the right direction. Although I don’t know yet what each
committee’s agenda will cover, there are certain to be interesting and
important topics discussed.
Tracking these sorts of hearings is a good way to keep in
touch with what your government is doing, and whether they could use your input
to focus on something you think is more important. As I write here often: our
government works best when the people it represents are well-informed about the
challenges confronting our communities, in touch with what the government is
doing to fix them and telling their representatives how to do better. Please
let me know how I can help!
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| Turning recipes around by Taeler Butel on 05/01/2022
Reverse seared Ribeye steaks
I’ve seen this technique quite a bit lately and it promises
a juicy steak. Bring meat to room temperature while preheating oven. I finished
with fresh rosemary and basted with unsalted butter.
2 large ribeye steaks, about 1 lb. each
1 T Olive oil
2 T unsalted butter
2 T steak rub
Place an oven rack over a baking sheet and preheat oven to
400 degrees. Sprinkle steaks with olive oil and coat with seasoning on both
sides, let rest to room temperature. Place steaks on rack over baking sheet in
oven for 15 minutes. Add a little more oil to a skillet (cast iron is best),
then sear steak for two minutes on one side. Flip and add butter and herbs to
pan, coating steak with herb butter, and for cook another 2 mins. Remove from
pan, allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.
White cake using reverse creaming method
I’ve seen this technique lately and my mind was screaming
during the process. I appreciate how easy it is: no creaming butter and sugar,
no whipping egg whites. I made two batches to make a very tall cake, while I
used another simple and easy buttercream recipe. Make sure the ingredients are
at room temperature before you begin.
You’ll need electric mixer, two cake pans sprayed with
nonstick cooking spray, floured with parchment round in the bottom.
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
In large bowl whisk dry ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
Add in 2/3 cup shortening and 1/4 cup unsalted butter. Mix
with electric mixer until crumbly.
In another large bowl whisk:
6 egg whites
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 t vanilla
1 t butter extract
1/2 t almond extract
Add half of egg whites mixture to the dry ingredients
mixture, and mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the egg whites mixture and mix for
10 seconds. Scoop into pans and bake for 35 minutes or until tooth pick comes
out clean.
American buttercream
2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
Using electric mixer, whip butter until light and fluffy.
Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, then add other ingredients. Whip for
about 10 minutes total, until very light in color. |
| Finding fairness with tangibles by Paula Walker on 05/01/2022
The issue of fairness is one that runs deep when it comes to
inheritance and tangibles, those items of personal property given to family and
friends are often at the core of that. Fairness for some is the monetary value
calculated when all is given out, tangibles and other items including real
estate and finances. “Did we all get an equivalent financial share?” Fairness
for others is receiving what was most dear to them, something that held
emotional ties and memories, something they want to pass along to their
children, something that has a sense of tradition and roots and connection.
Fairness for others is a combination of these benchmarks. A complex formula for
a sense of worth derived from a mix of emotional ties and what the (more or
less objective) financial estimate tells.
Your task then in creating your estate plan is to determine
whether tangibles will be distributed in a manner that equates to a financial
balance sheet and/or whether you will try to factor in the meaning of an item
to someone in determining to whom you will leave it. These core ideas then
become a substantial portion of your written estate plan.
Financial evaluation: if this is important to you and you
know it will be important to your family, establish in your plan the process to
be followed to valuate items when your estate is administered and items
distributed. Items of significant financial value should be appraised. If you
already have had them appraised keep those appraisals with your estate records
for your trustee/executor to work with (i.e., jewelry, art, antiques, etc.). If
they have not been appraised or recently appraised and their value may have
changed, include instructions in your estate plan to have those certain items
appraised. For the household items that may not warrant an individual appraisal
fee you may want to instruct hiring a home interior appraiser. Further you may
want to instruct that the value of each item chosen is calculated as part of
the recipient’s total inheritance so that when all is distributed the total
value of inheritance is the same for each person. Or you may simply want to
ensure that the tangibles are divided up as evenly as possible in consideration
of their monetary value, though this can be difficult to achieve.
Emotional and sentimental evaluation: the difficulty
referred to is in part based on the other standard of fairness, the value in the
meaning an item has to one or more persons. The value of an item may have
nothing to do with its marketable worth to each person involved. And when more
than one person has their sights set on the same thing … well … that is “where
the fun begins.” While you may not anticipate every potential battle point,
there are some commonly shared practices that you can employ in your estate
plan that can minimize the potential, level the playing field and reduce or
eliminate conflict.
Here are a few – one approach is to ask your family or
whoever is close to you that you are considering leaving something to what is
dear to them. Use their answers to create a list of what is going to who as you
have these conversations. For some items that you know or learn have particular
value to more than one person, you may leave a letter with your estate plan
that explains how you chose between them and confirm your value and
appreciation of each of them whether they received the desired item or not.
Another approach is to be very careful in your commitments. Do not give an item
casually to more than one person, agreeing in separate conversations at
different times who receives what. Remember, a casual conversation will be
remembered and could be the seed for conflict where you do not explicitly
arrange in your estate plan for the transfer.
Identify a tie breaker – in your estate plan give your
trustee/executor or an independent person the role of tie breaker when the
inheritors themselves cannot come to conclusion on the contested item. Set a
timeframe in which a decision must be made. If that timeframe does not result
in a decision the tie breaker is authorized to make the decision. Help the tie
breaker out with suggested options. These are numerous and can be creative such
as having a lottery, or pick a number, or sell the item(s) and distribute the
proceeds equally, and so on.
Give your trustee/executor your strong support – be sure
that your estate plan establishes that your trustee/executor has no liability
for choices they may make or may not make in distributing tangible items. Seems
like an obvious point, but one that is necessary to state clearly, in writing.
Good advice: one source describes the objective in giving
your tangible personal property to family and friends as “leaving a legacy of
relationships rather than a legacy of conflict.”
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Robin Williams’ widow and the grandfather clock: apparently
inheritance disputes are not the exclusive domain of the celebrities themselves
though such disputes may still occur over property that was once theirs. Robin
Williams’ widow gave verbal commitment to one of his sons ten years prior to
her passing in 2015, in response to his request for the grandfather clock
because it “has always been kind of special.” But six months before she passed
away his daughter requested the clock and his widow agreed to that as well. As
the story has it, a mere three days after Robin Williams’ widow’s death, as the
son was wheeling the grandfather clock out of her house, he was met by Robin
Williams’ daughter claiming the clock was hers. The end result was a
confrontation, a fist fight, a broken grandfather clock, and a shattered
relationship between the two children.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I saw my first trillium of the year today. I always
celebrate the first signs of spring, but I don’t really trust that it has
arrived until I see my first trillium. Trilliums are a favorite native
wildflower to a lot of us who live here on the Mountain for the same reason,
but also for their beauty.
Trilliums (Trillium ovatum), sometimes called Wake Robins,
are a member of the lily family. They grow from rhizomes on a single stalk.
Their parts are divided into thirds, thus the prefix “tri” of the word
trillium, meaning three.
The flower’s petals are white but they will typically turn
purple as they age. They aren’t known to be fragrant and can smell bad or not
at all. They love coniferous forests that are mixed with deciduous trees such
as the maples in the forests around us. They burst through decaying leaves left
on the forest floor the previous autumn at the first sign of spring. The only
flower that beats the trillium to the punch is the small, often-ignored
pendulous white flowers of the Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis) bush.
Because trilliums grow and spread from rhizomes, if left
undisturbed they will grow into a colony of many that can spread to create a
beautiful carpet of flowers on a forest floor, or in your yard if the
conditions are favorable. I’m not a gardener, but I’ve been told that trilliums
can be transplanted, and you can divide the rhizomes to create more trilliums.
Trilliums can be propagated from seeds but take up to seven
years to bloom. In nature the trillium has a trick for spreading their seeds
with the help of ants and other insects. The seeds have a protein-rich part
that is especially appealing to ants. The ants take the seed to their nests
where they eat the desirable part and then leave the seed underground to grow
into a new plant.
Contrary to what is sometimes believed, the trillium is not
the Oregon state flower. That honor goes to the Oregon grape, a plant that also
grows in abundance around us. The Oregon grape has leaves that resemble holly
with small yellow flowers that bloom closer to summer and produce little purple
berries. Trilliums like to hide among the Oregon grape.
One of the reasons that I get excited when I see my first
trillium of the season is because it’s the start of wildflower season, and I
love taking photos of flowers. Everything from a wide-angle photo of a vast
field of balsamroot in the Columbia River Gorge or a macro photo of details of
large flowers or a closeup of some of the smallest flowers that are more likely
to be overlooked. They are all fair game when I’m being creative with
photography.
Photography can be an excellent escape from the pressures of
life. Creating art with a camera is fulfilling to me and many of my friends. I
recommend spending time with some of our local wildflowers this coming season.
And do what I do. Start with a beautiful photo of a trillium. |
|  Photo by George Gentry/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Lara and I have always had one or more hummingbird feeders
outside our house. In our 28-plus years on The Mountain, rufous hummingbirds
have been regular guests, and welcome ones, from spring through fall. Their
aerial acrobatics, fearlessness and tenacity in defending their territory are
admirable – the National Audubon Society says the species is “notably
pugnacious.” These tiny birds can travel nearly 4,000 miles from their summer
breeding grounds as far north as Alaska and northwest Canada to wintering sites
in Mexico.
Each year at least one pair raises a family in our woods, so
we keep a ready supply of sugar for making nectar. Two summers ago, our rufous
hummers were joined by a pair of Anna’s hummingbirds, a slightly larger species.
The two species seemed to get along well enough – they shared our two feeders
and generally ignored each other. That fall, both species left for warmer
climes and returned as usual in the spring. But last fall the Anna’s hummers
stayed on after their cousins headed south – and stayed all winter. I’ve heard
of Anna’s hummers overwintering on The Mountain in recent years. A decade ago
or so, friends who live in Timberline Rim reported that Anna’s came to their
feeders year-round. Now they’ve moved up about 500 feet in elevation to our
home near Lolo Pass Road.
This winter “our” Anna’s hummers survived the cold spells –
we had many nights in the teens and twenties, with a low of 13 degrees one
night. Several times a day I would warm the feeders before the nectar froze and
brought the feeders in each night. When I put the feeders our in the mornings
just after dawn, one or more Anna’s would begin feeding even as I was hanging
the feeder. A couple of times I simply held the feeder while one fed, which gave
me a superb view of these colorful, courageous birds.
An Anna’s typically weighs one- or two-tenths of an ounce.
How do they make it through a week of sub-freezing temperatures and heavy
snowfall, let alone a winter with no flowers to feed from? Or insects to prey
on? Amazing.
Yes, they eat insects of various kinds, from fruit flies to
moths and even bees, which provide a vital source of protein during the
breeding season.
By the way, the bird was reportedly named for Anna Massιna,
Duchess of Rivoli (1802–87), a French duchess who was married to François
Victor Massιna, second Duke of Rivoli, who was an amateur ornithologist.
Anna’s hummers, year-round residents along the Pacific
coast, from British Columbia to Mexico, are expanding their range – with the help
of us humans, though the expansion of urban and suburban areas, climate change
and our willingness to provide free meals. In a 2017 study published in the
“Proceedings of the Royal Society B,” a renowned journal of the biological
sciences, two researchers focused on Anna’s hummers, noting that the
“climate-tempering effect of urbanization” – the so-called heat island effect –
along with the general warming trend in our region and the increased
availability of food throughout the winter, have had a significant impact on
the species’ range.
“We found that Anna’s hummingbirds have colonized colder
locations over time, were more likely to colonize sites with higher housing
density, and were more likely to visit feeders in the expanded range compared
to the historical range,” they wrote. “Additionally, their range expansion
mirrored a corresponding increase over time in the tendency of people to
provide nectar feeders in the expanded range. This work illustrates how humans
may alter the distribution and potentially the migratory behavior of species
through landscape and resource modification.”
Climate change also has had an impact on the rufous hummers.
According to Audubon, the species is “still widespread and very common, but
surveys show continuing declines in numbers during recent decades. Because it
relies on finding the right conditions in so many different habitats at just the
right seasons during the year, it could be especially vulnerable to the effects
of climate change.” Many rufous hummers now winter along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
There is no doubt that humanity has influenced the world’s
climate. We’ve also had an impact on our local climate: as cities and
subdivisions expand and become warmer, wildlife habitat changes. I’m reading a
recently published book that offers a detailed look at this subject: “The
Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities,” by Peter
Alagona. I may write about this book in the future.
People tend to think of feeding birds and other wildlife as
harmless, as beneficial to the wild critters we love, but our well-intended
actions are not entirely benign. In areas like ours, rufous hummers may face
increased competition from Anna’s hummers for food during the mating season.
Those Anna’s hummers might not be here if we didn’t feed them year-round, even
giving them warm nectar on icy days. Perhaps we are unwittingly contributing to
the decline of rufous hummers. And if we are, should we stop?
It is highly unlikely that hummingbird lovers will stop
feeding the birds they love. And even if we did, would it have an appreciable
effect, given the other far more powerful changes now occurring and to come
that will have an impact on hummers?
I don’t know. Answering these questions is way above my pay
grade. I’ll continue to provide nectar to any hungry hummer, and I’ll plant
shrubs and flowers that they feed on and that attract bees and other beneficial
insects.
Sometimes, when a feeder is empty, a hummer will come to the
kitchen window or office and buzz there for a few moments. I can imagine them
saying, “Hey, I’m hungry! Fill the feeder!”
How can I refuse?
Have a question about Anna’s or rufous humming birds? Want
to know how to attract insects for them to feast on? Let me know. Email:
SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Mushroom hunting: spring rains bring a bounty to forage by Mt. Hood Community College on 04/01/2022
Most people grew up eating mushrooms on pizza or in pasta
sauce and calling the mushrooms that sprouted in their backyard “toadstools.”
While you don’t want to pick and eat random mushrooms, foraging for wild,
edible mushrooms is a fun challenge. The Pacific Northwest (PNW), particularly
west of the Cascades, is a wonderful place to find mushrooms.
Mushroom hunting is usually considered an autumn activity,
but here in the Pacific Northwest, mild winters and plenty of rain mean that
mushrooms can be found in the spring as well. Many trees have mycorrhizal relationships
with fungus. “Myco” means fungus and “rhizo” means root, and in mycorrhizal
partnerships the fungus and the tree share nutrients via the tree's roots.
Proper Identification is a Must
Before eating wild mushrooms, it’s crucial you learn to identify
edible, inedible and poisonous mushrooms. Inedible mushrooms might give you a
stomachache, but some poisonous mushrooms are deadly.
Field guides are a must: David Arora's “All That the Rain
Promises and More” is a classic for good reason, and neatly fits in a back
pocket. It’s smart to cross reference with mushroom identification websites and
blogs.
Phone apps like iNaturalist can provide suggested
identifications from photos of your finds. You can contact your local ranger
station as well. If no one on site has a good idea of what you've found, they
can likely direct you to someone who can help.
You can also take a mushroom identification class at a local
community college.
You can pick or cut mushrooms you find; neither practice
will significantly affect the fungus as a whole. Get comfortable identifying
the cap, gills, ring, stem and cup of different kinds of mushrooms. Learning
how to distinguish chanterelles from false chanterelles and morels from elfin
saddles is not only crucial for your health and safety, but also a lot of fun.
What Mushrooms Grow in the Spring?
Spring promises mushrooms for the intrepid forager, most
famously morels (Morchella spp.). Several species of morel can be found in the
Pacific Northwest, and they are among the most highly prized edible mushrooms.
Often growing in places that have burned in recent years, they resemble conical
honeycombs on short stalks, and may be anywhere from yellowish-brown to almost
black. Be sure to familiarize yourself with inedible lookalikes like false
morels (Gyromitra escolenta) and elfin saddles (Helvella lacunosa).
Most local boletes fruit in fall, but the spring king (Boletus
rex-veris) is a vernal favorite. This hefty brown mushroom with a thick stalk
is more likely to be found from May onward.
Although chanterelles (Cantharellus spp.) and yellowfoot
mushrooms (Craterellus tubaeformis) commonly fruit in summer and fall, they may
be found in smaller amounts in the spring. Keep an eye out for the yellow color
of these distinctive mushrooms.
I love teaching people how to identify mushrooms and edible
plants. Being able to identify the plants, trees and mushrooms that surrounds
us here in the Pacific Northwest develops a unique appreciation of nature.
This is the second of three columns about foraging for wild,
edible plants and mushrooms. I’ll cover foraging for autumn mushrooms later in
the year.
Rebecca Lexa is an Oregon Master Naturalist. She teaches how
to forage for edible plants and mushrooms, birdwatching and nature
identification, through Community Education at Mt. Hood Community College. Find
more information and register for a foraging class at: learn.mhcc.edu.
|
| Well Adjusted exactly what is chiropractic? by Dr. Melanie Brown on 04/01/2022
I became interested in chiropractic due to my stepmom's
experience. She had been seeing a neurologist for numbness in her right leg.
After three MRIs and several tests, she had no answers. Her neurologist gave
her two options, exploratory surgery or chiropractic.
She visited a chiropractor who x-rayed her standing up and
found the problem, which did not appear when she was lying down. She had feeling
back in her leg after three adjustments, and after a course of treatments, her
symptoms completely resolved.
After this miraculous recovery, the whole family started
seeing Dr. Sandstrom. We all benefited in different ways from our treatments.
In my hometown in the 1990s, there was a stigma attached to visiting a
chiropractor. At the time, most MDs would not recommend chiropractic. I'm so
glad her neurologist did!
What is a chiropractor? Some people think that chiropractors
just "crack backs," but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) specialize in diagnosing and managing disorders
of the neuromusculoskeletal system (NMS) (nerves, muscles and bones). DCs are
considered portals of entry into the healthcare system, trained to diagnose
whatever ails a patient and treat them if indicated or refer them to an
appropriate specialist.
DCs screen for fractures, cancer, digestive problems and
more. When needed, chiropractors will order MRIs, X-rays, special imaging and
tests, and blood and urine labs. DCs can perform minor surgery and deliver
babies.
The time that medical doctors spend studying pharmacology,
chiropractors spend on going more in-depth into the NMS system and learning how
to adjust the body's joints. Other aspects of our education are very similar.
Some chiropractors work in hospital and clinic systems. However, most
chiropractors work in private practice.
Medical and chiropractic professionals work together to the
benefit of their patients. Oregon Health & Science University has hosted
CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) panels to educate its doctors
about the benefits of alternative medicine. Chiropractors are becoming more
respected for the evidence-based care they provide for complex NMS disorders.
The days are fading where medical doctors and chiropractors
compete with and undermine each other, and I am thankful. Patients benefit when
we work together, which is the whole point of medicine! |
| A few good pies by Taeler Butel on 04/01/2022
I get a produce box once a week, and I chose the surprise
option and try to use whatever they send. This helps me try new ingredients
that I maybe wouldn’t choose for myself.
To my delight this week I had a few pounds of purple sweet
potatoes!
So, I had to make a purple sweet potato pie...
I was expecting something similar to pumpkin pie, but this
is actually a little different, smoother and a little richer – and don’t forget
the whipped cream!
Purple sweet potato pie
2 lbs. purple (or regular sweet potatoes or yams) roasted in
400-degree oven for 45 minutes until very tender, cooled and peeled.
1 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
1 t each: cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract
1/2 t kosher salt
1 regular can evaporated milk
1 pie shell, unbaked
Place pie filling ingredients in mixer and mix on medium for
two minutes until well incorporated.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.
Once you’ve mastered pastry cream you can make a chocolate
cream, coconut cream or this crowd pleaser, banana cream pie. The vanilla wafer
crust is a must.
Pastry cream
3 cups half & half
2 T butter
1 t vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 t salt
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 sliced bananas
Whipped cream to garnish
In large bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale, then
add in cornstarch, salt and vanilla.
In small/medium heavy bottom sauce pan heat half & half
until steaming, ladle one cup of steaming cream into egg yolk mixture whisking
to temper.
Add another cup and whisk, then pour egg/ cream mixture back
into pan whisk continuously until thickened.
Add butter, cover with plastic and cool then refrigerate at
least two hours pour over sliced bananas on cooled crust.
Crust
In large bowl mix:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 stick melted butter
2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs
Press into bottom of pie pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 10
minutes. Cool completely. |
| View Points Sandy: Supporting law enforcement officers by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 04/01/2022
Nestled at the base of Mount Hood, and home to countless
hiking and biking trails, and a plethora of outdoor recreational activities as
the gateway to Mount Hood and Central Oregon, the City of Sandy has become one
of the fastest growing communities in Oregon. This rapid growth in size along
with the well documented troubles in the city of Portland just 25 miles away
and the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have left communities like Sandy reeling
from a growth in crime.
Whether it’s the expansion of our state’s homeless crisis
from our downtown urban cores into our more suburban and rural communities, to
policies that have come recently out of the state legislature tying the hands
of our law enforcement officers, the day-to-day strains and obstacles are
becoming much harder for our officers to deal with.
At our Sandy City Council retreat, our police chief Ernie
Roberts provided an update on crime to our council. The findings were not good.
Whether it was the volume of calls to the police emergency line, arrests or
crimes being committed – the numbers were up across the board. The unfortunate
truth is that these numbers are up throughout the state.
We have always taken public safety seriously in our
community. Shortly after being elected mayor, we learned that our police
department was left nearly a million dollars in debt. We immediately went to
work and made hard budget decisions in order to help back fill our budget and
today, not only did we fill that deficit, we have more officers on the streets
than when we began. In fact, with the swearing in of Sandy’s newest officer
this past month we became one of the only departments across the state to have
a fully staffed department.
Having more officers on the streets will help but we must
continue to do more. Our council formed a Homeless Task Force committee that
has been working over the past year to develop recommendations to our city
leaders and law enforcement agencies on how to both update our practices to
become more effective as well as to strengthen our laws to provide our officers
with the tools they need to be successful. This next month the task force will
be providing their recommendations to our council. Already one of the items that
have come from the taskforce is the creation of a fund to pay to dispose of
these “zombie RVs” that are left abandoned throughout town. In Sandy, we refuse
to sit idle while our community suffers. We must take action.
Taking action also comes with an increased need for
transparency and accountability. That’s why in the support of our officers we
have paid to outfit all of them and their vehicles with cameras. Increased
transparency is good for our officers and our community and helps keep all of
us safe.
From our leadership team on city council to our great staff
at city hall to our police force – the city of Sandy is committed to providing
a safe community to our neighbors; it’s the most important service we provide.
We must remain vigilant in supporting our law enforcement officers who
represent the very best among us and are a crucial part of keeping Sandy
wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Tangibles special handling may be required by Paula Walker on 04/01/2022
Many have an instant and default concept of tangibles as
those things that make up the family traditions, are handed down through the
generations, are the collections of art, or jewelry, etc. These are relatively
straightforward to identify and transfer to the intended recipient.
However, there are categories of tangibles that require much
consideration for the Trustee or Personal Representative to handle according to
the law governing the possession, transportation and transfer of those items.
In this article we will take a look at a few.
Among the items that belong to this category of possessions
whose transfer is our focus are, firearms (likely no surprise there), alcohol,
artifacts from endangered species (the heirloom ivory), aircraft, boats, animal
companions (aka “pets”) and livestock including horses.
There are strict controls at the federal, state and local
levels on who may be in possession of a firearm and the type of firearm they
may possess, as well as the transportation and transfer of those. As well
certain firearms must be registered. There are a number of federal acts
governing varying types of firearms.
A Trustee or Personal Representative should consult the
local firearms dealer for assistance locating and taking possession of firearms
in the estate they are administering, making certain that they have the right
forms and follow the most recent regulations in handling these tangible assets.
The transfer of alcohol is governed by state law, and it is
possible that the transfer of some collections of liquor or a prized wine
collection could require a license.
Now we come to ‘many things animal’ from the remains or
parts of an animal, to the live and breathing creature. Endangered species:
Federal law and international treaties restrict trade in items derived from
endangered species. Some products carry with them the potential for huge fines
for possession and/or sale or transfer of certain items.
While the 2016 U.S. ivory ban does allow residents to keep
or transfer inherited items of ivory, the sale of such may be a different
matter and Asian versus African ivory have different regulations – very
complex. If you have the documents of ownership and origins of ivory heirlooms
you own, make this part of your organized documents for your Trustee or
Personal Representative.
Your treasured furry, winged, or finned animal companions
(“pets”) are considered tangibles. They require your special attention in
providing for their care after your passing.
Some people create pet trusts to manage an amount of funds
for the care of their loved companions. Others set aside money for persons they
have designated to provide the home and care their pets will need. Others
simply name a family member who they know will be willing to take their
‘furry-purrers’ without question. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, be sure to
include those non human members of your family in your estate plan so that the
well being of this “tangible” is not left strictly to fate.
Continuing with animal tangibles, livestock includes horses
by legal definition. For their welfare, your estate plan should contain
provisions for the proper care and management of these tangibles that can take
immediate effect upon your passing. This requires the development of a thorough
plan established well in advance that assures their transfer to and by
knowledgeable persons with the expertise and experience to manage such a
transfer.
Another category of tangible, the final for this article,
but not by any means the limit of those many, varied and unique items that come
into the fold of “tangible”, are airplanes and boats. Transfer and ownership of
these come under the regulations of various federal and/or state agencies. Planning
for these may include considering liability protection as well.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Have you heard the one about the multi-millionaire hen? No,
not a bar room joke. But a real-life case of planning for your favorite “pet.”
And this one inheritance is not ‘chicken-feed’ – idiom defined as a ‘paltry
sum,’ or is that a ‘poultry sum’?
Well… British publishing magnate, Miles Blackwell, who
passed away in 2002, at the age of 56, just three weeks after his wife who was
46, made his favorite pet Gigoo a multi-millionaire hen, leaving $15 million
(₤10 million) for her care.
Dear Reader … We welcome your questions on matters related
to estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance
the potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Submit your questions to Garth Guibord, at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I took a drive the other day. It’s a drive that I’ve
probably taken hundreds of times and is most likely my favorite place to go and
play.
It was an impromptu trip with no preparation other than
grabbing a water bottle and my camera, but those days seem to be numbered, at
least during peak season in the gorge.
The Historic Columbia River Highway, with its lush forests,
waterfalls and epic hiking trails, has always felt like home to me. After a
lifetime of spending time there I feel so familiar with it that I feel like I
have a share in ownership and feel a sense of responsibility for its care.
Before I lived on the Mountain, I and my young family lived
for a while in the little town of Bridal Veil, in the heart of the Columbia
River Gorge. Like the Mountain, the Columbia River Gorge is home to me.
Those of us who live up here on the Mountain can relate to
the increase of visitors to our area that is also affecting the Gorge. The
increase in automobile traffic on the old Historic Columbia River Highway has
gotten so bad during peak season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, that the old
road has been experiencing gridlock, especially at the iconic Multnomah Falls.
I experienced a 20-minute delay there while a traffic jam was untangled one beautiful
summer day.
This is a situation that seems to have been exasperated by
the coronavirus crisis. There was an immediate surge in outdoor activities,
especially hiking, after the pandemic hit.
Parking at popular trailheads overflowed onto the edges of
the roads and highways.
The increased amount of foot traffic on trails has increased
the wear and tear on existing trails and has caused new side trails to be worn
through areas where a trail shouldn’t be.
With this increased amount of traffic, litter and vandalism
has increased as well.
The responsibility for addressing these problems falls on
the backs of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). New rules and regulations are
being considered including permits systems for the most heavily visited places.
It’s unfortunate but a permit system is the only way that
the USFS has to try to regulate the crowds to these sensitive places. Although
new rules have yet to be put in place here in the Mount Hood National Forest, new
regulations are actively being issued in the Columbia River Gorge, primarily
for the Historic Columbia River Highway waterfall corridor between Vista House
and Ainsworth State Park.
Starting May 24 through to Sept. 5, travelers on the old
road will be required to purchase a timed vehicle permit, available online
prior to a visit, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The permits available will be limited
each day. This is only during peak season and peak hours.
According to my experience in the gorge, most of the hikes that
I’ve been on are pretty peaceful until mid-morning when the crowds arrive -
they’re usually coming in as I’m headed back out again.
This permit system seems like the most practical way to
address the overcrowding on the old highway especially. It’s quite obvious to
me, a frequent visitor to the gorge, that something must be done to avoid good
people loving these places to death, or bad people vandalizing them to a point
of destruction.
It’s the job of the USFS to manage and maintain these places
and these new regulations seem to be the only practical method for doing that
considering the monumental task that they’re confronted with.
In my business as a professional guide, with permits to
conduct business in the gorge, I can live with the new rules. I’m glad to plan
ahead and apply for a permit ahead of time, or to go early enough to avoid the
permits, and the crowds.
I always think “Earth First” when I use these public lands.
This seems like a small price to pay to help protect these
special places. |
| Wood ash makes fine fertilizer for the garden and woods by Steve Wilent on 03/01/2022
I don’t know about you, but a few days of sunny, “warm”
weather has me thinking of my vegetable garden. But it’s been in the low 30s at
night and there are still big ridges of snow under the eaves on my house.
Crazy, right? But I try to be optimistic.
I have nine raised beds of various sizes for herbs,
tomatoes, green beans, kale, chard, lettuce, summer squash and other veggies.
March is too early to plant most veggies here, as I’ve learned the hard way.
But our native plants – Indian plum, red elderberry, red-flowering currant –
usually bloom in March, and other trees and shrubs will soon follow. More
sunshine and truly warm days aren’t far away. It’s time to prepare the garden
for planting season.
To prepare the soil to receive seeds and veggie starts, I
like to add fertilizers with strains of beneficial soil microbes and
mycorrhizae, such as the Dr. Earth brand. I also till in a bit of ash from my
woodstove, because ash is an excellent fertilizer. And since I have a
woodstove, it’s free.
Ashes? Yes. Wood ash contains significant amounts of
potassium, one of the three essential fertilizers. The N-P-K on commercial
fertilizer containers stand for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).
Wood ash is also high in calcium and has small amounts of phosphorus, magnesium
and other nutrients, but no nitrogen.
As a fertilizer, potassium is also known as potash, a word
that, according to Wikipedia, comes from the Middle Dutch potaschen, or “pot
ashes.” Centuries ago, potassium carbonate fertilizer was made by burning wood,
mixing the ashes with water and then boiling the solution in large iron pots,
which leaves a white residue, or “pot ash.”
Potash in its natural crystalline form is mined in huge
qualities around the world for use as fertilizer. Canada is by far the world’s
leader in potash mining, followed by Russia, Belarus and China. The political
turmoil in and around Russia and Belarus, along with the threat of a Russian
invasion of Ukraine, have led to a worldwide shortage of potash and other
fertilizers. Of course, that translates to higher prices for the potash and,
ultimately, food.
Fortunately, if you burn wood in a wood stove or fireplace,
you have a ready source of potassium – and you don’t need to boil ashes in a
huge pot to get it. Just work some ash into your garden soil. It won’t take
much to supply your garden with ample potassium, but you’ll need to be careful
not to overdo it. The Oregon State University Extension Service cautions
against using too much ash: “As with all things… the dose makes the poison.”
Too much ash can increase the soil pH to levels that interfere with plant
growth. Here are OSU’s recommendations:
– Limit ash applications to no more than 10 pounds per 100
square feet per year.
– Apply about 2 weeks before you plant. Don’t apply during
the winter, as the potassium and phosphorus, which is highly soluble, may leach
away before there are growing plants to take it up.
– If you use wood ash on an annual basis, be sure to check
the pH of the soil before applying it.
To figure out how much ash to use in my raised beds, I used
a postal scale to weigh some cool ash from my woodstove and found that one
gallon weighs about four pounds. When my three-gallon steel bucket is full, it
holds about 12 pounds of ash, an amount that would be too much for three of my
four-by-eight garden beds, or 96 square feet. Spreading that bucketful over all
nine of my beds, with a total of 250 square feet, would be fine. In any case,
the wise gardener will test their soil before adding any fertilizer. An
inexpensive soil test kit or meter will show the levels of nutrients in the
soil as well as its pH (acidity or alkalinity). OSU explains why testing the pH
is important (see tinyurl.com/2p99ppk4):
“When wood burns, nitrogen and sulfur are lost as gas, but
calcium, potassium, magnesium and other trace elements remain. The carbonates
and oxides in the ash are valuable liming agents that can raise pH and help
neutralize acid soils. Where soils are acidic and low in potassium, wood ash is
useful to most garden plants. Do not use ash if your soil pH is alkaline (more
than 7.0). Do not apply wood ash to acid-loving plants such as blueberries,
rhododendrons, and azaleas. Lawns that need lime and potassium also can benefit
from wood ash. Apply no more than 10 to 15 pounds of ash per 1,000 square feet
of lawn.”
Most native soils in our area are acidic, so raising the
soil pH will be beneficial. For most vegetable plants, a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0
(slightly acidic to neutral) is ideal.
The OSU Extension Service and some other sources suggest
sifting ash before applying it, to remove chunks of unburned wood. However,
these black bits are a form of biochar, which can help retain nutrients and water
in soil. I suggest leaving the chunks in – and adding more. You can increase
the amount of biochar in your woodstove or fireplace ash by covering a bed of
coals with a think layer of fine ash. The blanket of ash smothers the red-hot
coals, allowing them to cool before completely burning. Your veggie and
landscaping plants will appreciate the extra biochar.
Some gardeners pay big bucks for biochar in bags from garden
centers or online retailers. I bought a 10-pound bag years ago and mixed it
with the soil in several of my raised beds. It’s still there, because biochar
doesn’t break down – it’s a “forever” soil amendment.
And because biochar is mostly carbon taken up by trees as
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it’s a “climate friendly” soil amendment:
biochar not only locks carbon in the soil, it also absorbs and slowly releases
fertilizers. In other words, instead of leaching away, the potassium and other
nutrients in ash are available to plants for a longer time than without
biochar. I may write about biochar in a future column.
I have a fire going in my woodstove from October through
May, except for brief periods when I sweep the chimney and clean out the ash.
At a guess, I produce 50 or 60 pounds of ash per year — far too much for my
small garden. I usually scatter the excess in the woods around my house, using
a garden trowel to fling it amongst the trees while avoiding the rhodies. Wood
ash is beneficial for our forests. After wildfires, the ash provides a big shot
of nutrients to the soil, except for nitrogen, most of which is vaporized.
So, to sum up: is wood ash good for your soil? You bet your
ash it is.
Have a question about wood ash? Want to learn how to make
more biochar than your woodstove will produce? Let me know. Email:
SWilent@gmail.com |
|  Contributed photos.
Many people get excited when their favorite vegetables and
fruit are in season in the grocery store, but did you know you can forage for
fresh produce too?
When the days lengthen and the first hints of warming set
the stage for spring, it’s the perfect time to get outside and start exploring
what wild edible plants are available to add to your table. Here are a few of
my favorites.
Forage for Wild Salad Greens
Easiest to find are spring greens. The leaves of young
edible plants are most tender. Look for non-native weeds like common dandelion
(Taraxacum officinale) or broadleaf plantain (Plantago major). Search for
native greens like miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) and stinging nettle (Urtica
dioica).
Springtime Berries Make a Sweet Treat
Berries usually don't show up until summer. Salmonberries (Rubus
spectabilis) are the exception to the rule. They resemble blackberries but they
are bright orange or red. Salmonberries grow on bushes that are often found in
riparian zones by rivers and other fresh water. Be cautious when picking
salmonberries in more rural areas, as black bears also love these sweet treats.
Make some noise as you forage so you don't accidentally startle your ursine
neighbors!
No Additives, All the Nutrients
Foraging for wild foods has health benefits. Most edible
plants are full of vitamins and nutrients, as well as plenty of fiber. Like
other whole foods, foraged edible plants don't have a bunch of salt, artificial
sweeteners or additives. Unless you have an allergy or sensitivity to a
particular edible plant, you shouldn't have any problems eating it.
How to Forage Edible Plants Safely
Always try a small amount of any new plant first, and make
sure you’ve researched to confirm:
– All or only part of the plant is edible.
– If this species needs to be cooked before it can be safely
eaten.
– You have correctly identified the plant, and it is in
fact, edible.
There are many resources to help you safely forage for
edible plants. Check multiple sources like field guides, reputable websites and
other foragers.
It gives me joy to teach people about edible plants. Many
people are surprised by how many delicious plants are right outside their front
door.
Author Rebecca Lexa is an Oregon Master Naturalist. She teaches how
to forage for edible plants and mushrooms, as well as birdwatching and nature
identification, through Community Education at Mt. Hood Community College. Find
more information and register for a foraging class at: Learn.mhcc.edu.
|
| Well Adjusted some steps for healthier feet by Dr. Melanie Brown on 03/01/2022
With all of the options for footwear and orthotics, it is
hard to know what to buy. When in chiropractic school and more conscious than
ever to make good decisions for my joints and muscles, I splurged on a pair of
trendy but orthopedic clogs. I had previously worked as a certified nursing
assistant in a hospital, and I noticed that the nurses always wore them, so I
assumed they would be the best. Unfortunately, I was wrong!
As humans, we tend to overengineer even the simplest things,
including shoes. What is the purpose of footwear? It protects our feet from
hot, cold and sharp things. It should not change the way that the foot was
designed to work. I haven't met anyone yet who was born with shoes! The goal
should be to protect the feet, not change how they function.
Most feet thrive in flat and flexible shoes that are wide in
the toe box with minimal or no arch support and no toe spring (described
below). Unfortunately, this does not represent most shoes. Our poor feet have
been squeezed, deconditioned and deformed by our footwear, and pain and
dysfunction follow. How can we move in a better direction?
Many of you have heard of the minimalist foot movement that
is happening. Let's break it down:
Flat shoes – this is the most obvious one. We all know high
heels are a poor choice because we can feel it! And for those who don't wear
heels, we can see the pain in others when they kick them off at the end of the
day, rubbing their feet in pain. We should also avoid slight heels and reverse
heels. Toe spring, where the front of the shoe is up from the ground, is also a
common problem.
Flexible soles – when you bend your shoe, it should move
easily. You will find rigid soles in clogs, dress shoes, and some boots and
tennis shoes. Flexibility is paramount, as it allows the foot to move naturally
as it hits the ground. We don't want to be walking on two-by-fours or
teeter-totters.
Wide toe box – Most shoes are too narrow in the front, which
squishes our toes together and permanently changes them. If you look at babies'
feet or cultures that don't wear shoes, you will see spaces between each toe.
That is what we want! Suppose your toes have been squished over time. You will
lose that spacing, contributing to pain, dysfunction, bunion formation and
lower arches.
No or minimal arch support – Wait, WHAT! When you wear arch
support, your foot is supported, which can feel good in the short term, but
that negative space is supposed to be there when we walk. If you continuously
wear arch support, you will weaken the muscles of the foot, including the
tibialis anterior. This important muscle comes around like a stirrup and pulls
up the arch. The muscle belly is in the lower leg. Too much arch support will
turn this muscle into a wet noodle, and your arch will collapse.
Most minimalist shoes hit the points above. Here are some
tips when shoe shopping or evaluating your shoe collection.
Remove the shoe's insole and stand on it. If your foot
spills over the edge, the shoe is too narrow.
Inspect the arch of the shoe. Sometimes you can remove the
insole. If it has arch support, leave it out or replace it with a flat insole
for comfort or shock absorption.
If your shoes are just a little too narrow in the front, you
can make two one-inch cuts in a tennis shoe above the first lace, pointing out
at a 45-degree angle to widen the toe box. You can use a shoe stretcher or put
a bag of water in the shoe and put it in the freezer, where it will expand and
stretch the shoe. If you look at your shoe from the side and the toe is
springing upward, fold your shoe in half the other way and stick it under your
sofa for the day. It may reduce the toe spring.
Go barefoot or wear slippers, crocs or flip-flops when you
can. A prominent Portland podiatrist ran the Portland Marathon in crocs! Wear
toe socks or shoes and use silicone toe spacers to spread the toes over time.
My favorite are Correct Toes (CorrectToes.com). Start slowly and increase
wearing time for a gradual change.
If you have hammertoes, where your toes are playing the
piano, put a metatarsal pad directly under the toes on the part that sticks out
and see if it flattens the toes. If so, you can wear them in your shoes. Size
and placement are essential. Consult with your doctor if you have questions.
Look at your feet in the mirror and notice your arches. How
many nickels can you stack under there? Are they the same from side to side? If
one is flatter than the other, a chiropractic adjustment can help restore the
fallen arch.
After an ankle sprain, the heel bone gets pushed back and
cannot realign on its own due to the bony anatomy. At Mountain Life Clinic, we
have a specific adjustment to restore the arch, which is usually an immediate
and lasting improvement unless you re-sprain the foot. Toe spreading and
short-foot exercises can help strengthen the feet and restore the space between
the toes.
Toe Spreading: Look down at the feet, spread the toes as far
as possible, hold for ten seconds and repeat five times. Perform several times
throughout the day.
Short Foot Arch Exercise: Put a hand towel on the floor and
put your heel at the edge of the long end. Use your toes to scrunch the towel
up under your foot. Repeat five to ten times.
As gravity-dependent creatures, all the joints of our bodies
are affected from the ground up. Foot problems can be a big problem on their
own but can also create knee, hip, back and even neck problems. Keep these
principles in mind and create better health for your whole skeletal system! Melanie Brown is a Chiropractic Physician with the Mountain Life Clinic. |
| View Points Salem: Remembering history by Rep. Anna Williams on 03/01/2022
I start a lot of columns this way because of how quickly
things move in the legislature, but: as of the time I’m writing this (Feb. 24),
I’m not sure what major headlines will have come out of this legislative
session. But I do know that one small bill that relates directly to our lovely
mountain communities will have passed, because it passed the day before I wrote
this column.
Senate Bill 1509 will rename Route 35, which runs from
Government Camp to Hood River, the Oregon Nisei Veterans World War II Memorial
Highway. This is a simple act to commemorate the contributions of those brave
veterans, but it deserves to be highlighted, just as they do.
To provide some context: Feb. 20 was the 80th anniversary of
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s executive order that caused the unjust
internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. In addition to being a
shameful act on its own, that incarceration led to permanent repercussions for
many Americans, including in our own communities.
Before the war, many Japanese immigrants settled in the Hood
River Valley and became farmers. In February 1942, those Japanese farmers and
their families were removed from their lands and sent to internment camps.
Many Oregonians who were incarcerated as a result were
confined at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming. I grew up in the
shadow of Heart Mountain. I went on to become a social worker, where I learned
that it was primarily social workers who facilitated and administered the mass
incarceration of so many Japanese Americans.
In short, the issue of Japanese-American internment is
personal to me, even though it took place 40 years before I was born. In Hood
River, where I live, we have our own sad history around this issue: Japanese
Americans from the area, despite the fact that their families were locked up at
home, bravely fought for our nation overseas. When the war ended, many in the
Mt. Hood area sought to prevent them from returning to the area because of
their country of origin. When the local American Legion post erected a war
memorial that listed the names of more than 1,600 residents serving their
country, the post then removed the names of sixteen Japanese American
servicemen from the memorial.
But the contributions of those patriotic Oregonians did not
go unseen. There were those in our communities who stood by their neighbors
following internment, who returned those lands to some of the families that
were forced to vacate them, who shopped for them in stores that put up signs
excluding people of Japanese descent.
Thank goodness those families found support in the midst of
so much discrimination. Our communities around the mountain have been home to
countless Japanese Americans that have helped us become the vibrant community
that we are today. Many of them had family members that served in the war: the
famous Nisei veterans. I won’t walk you through all the battalions those
veterans served in, or the many acts of heroism credited to them, or the
immense value they provided the U.S. during the war; fighting in every major
battle on the Pacific front, translating intercepted documents and
interrogating Japanese prisoners of war.
I’d encourage you all to read up on this history if you
aren’t already familiar, or at least to watch the excellent, thorough and inspirational
testimony presented at both public hearings on this bill. (Email me at
Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov and I’ll happily share links to that
testimony!) Instead, I will simply note that the Nisei Veterans served a nation
that imprisoned them based on their heritage, and they did so with great honor.
So yes, Senate Bill 1509 is an acknowledgment of a shameful
time in our history, and it’s important that we address that. But more
importantly, it is a recognition of an under-appreciated part of Oregon’s
wartime history, a commemoration of the sacrifices one group of veterans made,
and a celebration of the way that some people’s belief in American ideals can
overcome the deeply painful parts of American history.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: Goals and planning by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 03/01/2022
We may be two months into the year, but we’re at the halfway
point of this City Council’s term. We’ve faced challenges and successes
together. We approved a budget that included support of our local police
through the funding of body and vehicle cameras for our law enforcement
officers. We adopted our Transit and Transportation Systems Plans and a new
Parks Master Plan. And we implemented the covered structures program to assist
our local small business owners through the final leg of the pandemic and
beyond.
At this halfway point, it is important for our Council to
gather and review the successes of the past year, as well as to plan and
provide our city staff with the direction of the year ahead. With this in mind,
our Sandy City Council will meet for a goal setting and planning retreat the
first week of March. This continues to be a critical time for our community
with major projects still ahead, and I’m looking forward to addressing these
challenges as a team.
One of the first items we will be discussing at our retreat
is the Sandy Community Campus. As many are aware, the City of Sandy purchased
the old Cedar Ridge Middle School, the surrounding properties as well as the
Aquatic Center, a little more than 10 years ago for a little more than $3
million. Since that time, the pool has been closed as a result of much needed
prolonged maintenance and repairs in the upwards of tens of millions of dollars
and was running at a loss of over half a million dollars per year in operating
expenses.
Obviously, the closure of the pool has been a great hole
left in our community that we have been working hard to fill. For the past year
a group of community members, along with Sandy City Councilors Don Hokanson,
Carl Exner and Kathleen Walker, have worked to analyze the current conditions
of both the property and the pool, as well as recommend to the council paths
forward. Several months ago, our council approved the committee to continue
work with a private consulting firm to develop these proposed paths forward
along with anticipated cost parameters. We look forward to reviewing and
discussing these possible path’s forwards at the retreat.
Additionally, we need to determine the future of our
proposed local bypass project. One of my biggest agenda items when I first ran
for Mayor was advocating for a feasibility study for a local bypass for our
community. It had been nearly two decades since our leaders looked at the
viability of such a project. When you consider the current strains on our local
roads from our rapid growth in size juxtaposed with the growth of the Mount
Hood recreational area and explosion of tourism in central Oregon, along with
the many years it takes from beginning to end for a project of this size –
starting this process was immensely important. One of my first accomplishments
after being elected mayor was negotiating a joint study with the Oregon
Department of Transportation (ODOT).
A couple of months ago, ODOT presented the findings of the
study and it was found to be much less expensive than we originally expected.
That said, there are many steps and many years before such a project can begin
construction. In fact, even in its fastest terms this project would not happen
until the year 2040. Think about how much further we will be behind if we don’t
even begin that process now.
As a result, at our retreat our council will be discussing
the next steps we can take to both adopt these findings into our transportation
planning efforts, as well as what steps we can take now to coordinate with both
regional and state partners.
As I’ve mentioned, this is a pivotal time for Sandy. These
projects and others will heavily dictate our identity for generations into the
future. Your engagement in this process is not just important for you, but your
children and grandchildren. Please continue to join us for upcoming community
meetings and happenings by signing up for our newsletter and finding other
resources available on our city website www.ci.sandy.or.us as well as our city
social media pages. It is imperative that all of our neighbors to get engaged
and help us reach our overarching goal to keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy
|
| March Madness Munchies by Taeler Butel on 03/01/2022
It’s March Madness time, try these recipes as you cheer on
your favorite team!
Five Pepper Wings
3 lbs. chicken wings
1/4 cup each diced red and green bell pepper
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 chopped jalapeño, seeds removed
1 T chopped garlic
1/4 cup minced onion
1 t avocado oil
Chili rub:
1 T chili powder
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t each salt and pepper
1 T cornstarch
Oil spray
Add wings and rub ingredients into a large zipper bag – toss
to coat.
Heat oven to 400 F and sautι peppers and garlic with avocado
oil in a skillet over medium heat until tender. Add in chili sauce.
Bake wings on a large baking sheet sprayed with olive oil,
turning over after 20 minutes. Bake additional ten minutes, until crispy. Toss
with pepper mixture. Serve over rice or on their own.
Queso
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
1 t each garlic powder, onion powder
1/2 t each salt, pepper, chili powder
1 cup half-and-half mixed with 1 T cornstarch
1 T butter
Add all ingredients to medium size pot. Cook over medium
heat, whisk until smooth and bubbly. Serve hot.
|
| Tangibles, flexibility and clarity by Paula Walker on 03/01/2022
Tangibles require attention not necessarily called for with
real property and financials. You may need a degree of flexibility in
describing and assigning such things because over time you may acquire new
items, dispose of others and the person you initially thought would want to
receive an item does not want or need it.
One way to accommodate the need for flexibility is to use a
separate list rather than, or in addition to, identifying certain items in the
body of the trust or will.Often referred to as a personal property memorandum,
this is a list that the trust or will incorporates by reference. Hence, it must
be referred to in the trust or will.
This list can be changed by you over time as you acquire new
items or understand better who should receive particular item(s).
The list must contain a clear, precise description of the
tangible(s) to be transferred and clearly identify each recipient. You must
date and sign the list. Overtime, you may choose to replace the list or change
an item on the list. Each change or replacement must be dated and signed by you
so that the person administering your trust or will has clear direction for
your intention according to the most recent version of your list.
Clarity can be had through initiating discussions. Discussions
now for giving later can initiate valuable conversations that can greatly
benefit you in your planning for giving later.
You may think you know what a family member or friend would
like and in discussing it with them find that it is not at all what they want
or need and would prefer something else.
You may decide to consider giving now. Depending on your
situation, you may want to give certain items away now which could give you the
pleasure of seeing the gift received and appreciated.
Where the gift has significance for the family history, this
may also give an opportunity to your family members to ask questions and for
you to share the stories that attach to it. These may be stories that only you
know. As well, discussions now can identify and allow you to address areas that
could be sources of family squabbles and give you the opportunity to address
them before they develop over what you intended as a loving bequest.
Discussing your ideas for who receives certain of your
personal belongings now may reveal things that you did not realize could be
sources of contention; areas where family members might be surprised at how and
what you choose to distribute and to whom. You can, if you wish, take action
now to explain why you are making certain decisions.
Recognize that discussions now do not deprive you of making
different decisions later. They simply provide you with information that may be
of use to you and those dear to you.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
About the value of discussions, from the University of
Minnesota Extension Service “Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?,” one woman
recounts that when discussing with her family her ideas for giving to them
those items with sentimental value and family history, she was surprised to
learn that three of her seven adult children each wanted a Christmas ornament
purchased for a mere 25 cents when they were kids. It had held special
sentimental value for each of them.
She concluded that she had not yet decided what to do, but
that without having had the discussion she would never have known that this
item held such important value – period – never mind that it would have such
value to a number of her children. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
In last month’s The View Finder I shared some of my favorite
views of Mount Hood. This month I want to share more of my favorite views but
this time I thought that I would share my favorite vistas of the Columbia River
Gorge.
I have always thought that all of the areas that the Mount
Hood Loop Highway passes through to be Mount Hood territory. “The Loop” is a
great way to spend a Sunday drive with a camera in hand. All along the way
there are views of Mount Hood, but from different directions. As the crow
flies, the Columbia River Gorge is only 21 miles from the peak of Mount Hood.
The incredible Columbia River Gorge is known first for its
epic waterfalls, creeks and forests but my list will concentrate on sweeping
vistas and views and not on waterfalls. My recommendation for anyone who wants
to experience the waterfalls of “The Gorge” is to simply spend a day driving
along the Historic Columbia River Highway and stop at the waterfalls along the
way. Most are Oregon State Parks and are great places for a picnic on a
beautiful day.
My list will include a couple of spots on the Washington
side of the Columbia River. Washington State Hwy. 14, along the north side of
the Columbia River, is sometimes forgotten because most people visit the spots
on the Oregon side, mostly due to the waterfalls.
The Woman’s Forum at Chanticleer Point – Chanticleer Point
is an east facing promontory that overlooks the Columbia River Gorge and Crown
Point, topped by the iconic Vista House. Further into the distance is Beacon
Rock and the overlapping hills and bluffs of the gorge. This is a great place
to visit for a sunrise.
Viento – Viento is a great place to get a view of the gorge
at river level. There’s an Oregon State Park there and easy access to the
river’s edge. From the river you can get a view of either east or west, so this
is a great spot for both a sunrise and a sunset.
Rowena Crest – Rowena is another elevated view of the gorge
from the top of the bluffs of the east end of The Gorge. Rowena is situated
between the towns of Mosier and The Dalles. The climate there is dryer than in
the heart of the Columbia River Gorge. There are fewer trees to obstruct views,
with trails to a variety of places that will provide a view in either
direction, but the main parking area has views toward the north and to the
east. Rowena is a great place for wildflowers in the springtime. The Tom McCall
Preserve has trails through fields of wildflowers.
Cape Horn – When I’m in the gorge there are many times when
I will spend a day on the Washington side of the river. A drive along Hwy. 14
is a great way to get views of the Columbia River with views toward the Oregon
side. Cape Horn is directly across the river from the historic Oregon town of
Bridal Veil. Cape Horn is a massive wall of basalt that dives directly into the
waters of the river. The view from Cape Horn Lookout is beautiful toward the
east. I love this view any time but a sunrise from there is epic.
Underwood – While in Washington a great view of Mount Hood
and the town of Hood River can be seen from the bluffs above the Columbia River
at the little town of Underwood. From Hwy. 14 take the Cook-Underwood Road and
follow it approximately three miles until you see a pull off on the south side
of the road. This view is incredible and includes a great view of Mount Hood.
|
|  Photo by Steve Wilent.
Lara gave me a dandy present for Christmas in 2021:
“American Axe: The Tool That Shaped a Continent,” by Brett McLeod. What else
would The Woodsman want? I already have a half-dozen chain saws (some of which
run), a peavey (a tool for rolling logs), three splitting mauls, three or four
splitting wedges, a handful of felling wedges and, naturally, and several axes.
Plus a couple of hatchets. And a Pulaski, the famed wildland firefighting tool,
which is a combination axe and grubbing tool.
Lara might have bought me a new axe, but that’s such a
personal choice. I mean, I would never buy her blue jeans, shoes or a jacket.
Sure, it’s the thought that counts, but the odds of me buying something she
likes and that fits are longer than winning the Powerball jackpot.
By now you may be thinking, what’s the big deal about axes?
You want to chop wood, get an axe. Who cares where or how it was made, as long
as it’s sharp, right?
Wrong. Just ask McLeod, who owns more than 200 axes — he’s
been collecting them since he was five years old and is always looking for
more.
And it’s axe with a “e” — ax is an inferior variant.
“The American landscape has been altered more by the axe
than by any other tool,” he writes in “American Axe.” “Because the axe is such
a simple tool — it’s essentially a wedge with an edge — it was affordable to
produce and acquire, enabling early settlers to carve out an agrarian existence
from the forest. The axe was their ticket to a strong shelter, open ground for
cultivation, a heat source, and even personal protection.”
Wedges with edges — and handles, of course — were used to
fell timber on more than 300 million acres prior to the advent of the chainsaw
in the mid-1920s, McLeod writes, and to split uncounted millions of cords of
firewood and to cut and shape fence posts, logs for cabins and sheds, timbers
for bridges and sailing vessels, and anything else that could be made from
wood.
“Over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
there were more than 1,000 different North American axe makers who engaged in a
fiercely competitive market selling axes to lumberjacks, homesteaders, farmers,
and foresters.
What resulted from this lumberjack fever was a seemingly
endless array of axe designs with impressive names such as The Wood Slasher,
Champion, Best Axe, Legitimus, Keen Kutter, Northern King, and the True Temper
Perfect Axe. Owners of these tools would proudly polish their axes to a mirror
shine and argue the superiority of their chosen maker,” writes McLeod.
I’m ashamed that my axes shown in the photograph
accompanying this article aren’t polished to a mirror shine, but they do their
jobs. The boy’s axe has a keen edge, though it is marred by a nick from when I
hit a nail many years ago. Boy’s axes are fairly light and have shorter handles
than felling axes. I use mine mostly for splitting kindling and small logs, and
as a hammer for setting felling wedges and driving the occasional tent peg.
The throwing axe is designed specifically for the sport of
axe throwing, and the edges aren’t as sharp as the boy’s axe, since the keen-ness
of the edge doesn’t have much to do with getting it to stick in a target. In
fact, a relatively dull edge sticks better. And according to McLeod, playing
with a dull axe is safer than using a sharp one. I have thrown many axes at
targets, which are usually made with a heavy round cut from a log and painted
with rings and a bull’s-eye.
As a forestry student many years ago, I participated in an
axe-throwing contest at Humboldt State University in a conclave of forestry
students from around the western U.S. Instead of painted bull’s-eyes, the
centers of the targets were holes just the right size for holding cans of beer.
The cans were shaken up before being placed in the targets, so a bullseye hit
made a fine spray of foam. Alas, I didn’t do very well in the contest.
Double-bitted throwing axes look similar to the
double-bitted axes used by loggers back in the day when they felled timber by
hand. The latter have a different shaped head and longer handles. I have a
photo on the wall in my office of three lumberjacks standing in front of a huge
Sitka spruce in the Oregon Coast Range a century ago or so, with a
double-bitted axe stuck in the tree. The tree is wider than the three men
together. The men aren’t smiling, probably because they knew they were about to
spend hours chopping — before moving on to the next tree.
“American Axe” offers six chapters: Ancient Axes That
Spawned an American Industry, Axes for the Art of Homesteading, Axes From the
Golden Age of Axe-Making, Modern Axes, Restoring Vintage Axes and Playing With
Sharp Objects. The book contains hundreds of photos and drawings of axes and
people making, using and restoring them.
In Chapter 1, McLeod notes that axes made of stone were used
more than a million years ago. In 1991, when the body of Ötzi, the so-called
Iceman, was discovered frozen in a glacier in the Alps between Austria and
Italy, an axe was among his belongings. Ötzi, who lived about 5,300 years ago,
carried an axe with a head fashioned from copper, a metal soft enough to be
sharpened with a stone.
The chapter on the golden age of axe-making provides a
wealth of photos of restored axes, including a Lincoln Axe, along with its
manufacturing history, beginning in 1893, and its intricate etched logo. It
wasn’t an axe used by Abraham Lincoln, but its makers wanted customers to know
that the axe was as trustworthy and authentic as Honest Abe himself. “To many,”
writes McLeod, “the Lincoln Axe is considered the holy grail of axe
collecting.”
The book includes a quote from ol’ Abe: “Give me six hours
to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Seems
like good advice for doing lots of things.
McLeod is chair of the forestry department at Paul Smith’s
College, a private college in upstate New York. His essay, “The Evolution of
the North American Axe,” is an excellent companion to “American Axe.” It’s
available for free at tinyurl.com/yckpdw5z, which has a link to the publisher’s
web page for the book and purchasing options ($24.95 in hardback at the usual
online bookstores, $9.99 to $13.99 for e-book versions).
Thinking about restoring that old axe in your shed? And
maybe collecting more old axes? When I emailed McLeod to offer praise for
“American Axe,” he added this to his reply: “Be warned, picking up an axe here
and there has a way of spiraling out of control.”
Have a question about axes? Want to buy a high-quality axe
made in Oregon? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.
|
| Well Adjusted how hygge can help your life by Dr. Melanie Brown on 02/01/2022
It has been refreshing to get some winter sunshine on the
mountain lately! But what can we do when the days are dark, gloomy and cold and
the winter doldrums take hold. The Danes have a lifestyle concept called
“hygge” (hyoo-guh). And despite their cold and dark winters, they are generally
happier than other countries.
According to recent United Nations Happiness Reports, Nordic
countries ranked highest in all six areas of life satisfaction regularly. This
report, which started in 2012, was inspired by the King of Bhutan in the
Himalayas. He coined the phrase “Gross National Happiness” in contrast with Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in 1972. So how can WE tap into this Danish concept to
improve our quality of life, especially in the winter months?
First is the attempt to define and understand hygge. You
will get different answers if you ask different folks, but the general idea is
a quiet happiness or stillness. It is being satisfied with how one’s life is
going and taking small steps to insert comfort and coziness into your daily
routine.
You can find objects and practices that are hyggelig or
“hygge-like.” You can also have a hyggelig mentality. What hygge is not: being
on your phone all day, being hard on yourself for past mistakes, trying to be
perfect, staying indoors all winter, harsh chemicals, fluorescent lighting,
having strict rules, clutter, excessive spending and purchasing products to be
on-trend.
Although countries with higher GDP are generally happier, a
LACK of wealth causes unhappiness. Once our basic needs are met, the
correlation stops, and the smiles don’t follow the dollar signs. Oliver Enne of
Denmark said, “If you have no money, you worry about money, but if you have
money, you worry about other stuff!”
Hygge is the opposite of living outside our means. With all
the keeping up with the Jones’s, we can create more chaos and the need for more
work in our lives. Instead of focusing on more and more money, the focus is on
life balance. Overachievers are often hailed in the U.S., but in Nordic
countries, they may look at you sideways and wonder what’s wrong with you. Life
balance is the goal – not to be best. To be average is considered good, and
more hyggelig.
A large part of hygge is the art of creating a pleasant
atmosphere. How do we achieve this comfort and coziness? You cannot talk about
hygge without talking about lighting. The warmer, the better. Candles and salt
lamps give us a warm glow.
With closed rooms, stick with unscented or naturally scented
candles and air the room regularly. Good food, books, fireplaces, music, cozy
drinks, small indulgences, the smell of soup cooking on the stove, wool socks,
cozy sweaters are all very hygge! Take some time to hygge your home or pick a
spot and make a hyggekrog or hygge corner. Tidy your space for a clear mind.
You don’t have to go to the extremes of Marie Kondo. There is no need to get
rid of everything, but see that it has a purpose, even if you just love to look
at it.
Nature is essential. You can bring wood and natural fibers,
plants and cut flowers into your home – anything to bring the outside in. Also,
going outside is very hygge! There is a sense that we must accept the weather
rather than hide from it. Get the gear on and meander quietly in nature every
day. Move along slowly and try to spot the small details. Inhale the fresh
scent of pine needles and listen to the soothing sounds of the forest. After
meals is a great time to take a walk as it also aids in digestion! Time in
nature reduces anxiety, promotes wellbeing and is generally inspiring.
Here is an excellent hygge concept: have a lazy day, and
instead of feeling guilty about it, feel good! Be gentle with yourself. Don’t
ruminate about past occurrences, and don’t put yourself down. Be happy with who
you are and with the accomplishments you have made. Work hard when you need to,
but also rest and honor and nurture your body and mind.
Nightly dinner is a great place to start your hygge
practice. Eat together, encourage everyone to participate in the conversation,
light a candle, set the table nicely and leave the phones in the other room. Or
enjoy the sights and flavors of a purposefully set table if you dine alone.
Take a walk after dinner, come back and light a fire, pray or meditate, call a
friend or read a book with a cozy blanket.
Even though these may seem like small things, naming them
and recognizing them gives them power. L.T. Baits summed it up nicely when she
said, “Hygge is about having less, enjoying more: the pleasure of simply being.
It is generous and celebratory, a way to remember the importance of the simple
act of living itself.” Melanie Brown is a Chiropractic Physician with the Mountain
Life Clinic. |
| Earth is the best classroom when it comes to geology by Mt. Hood Community College on 02/01/2022
The best geology textbook on Earth is… the Earth! That’s
what I tell my students at Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC). As one recent
student said at the end of a rainy field trip to Mount St. Helens, “You cannot
get this same experience just in the classroom.”
Field trips are a necessary part of geology science, for
students, scientists and professional geologists. To learn about the Earth and
to study the Earth, one needs to look at the Earth. Virtual field trips are an
option. However, I find that they are most useful when you already know
something about geology or about the area. There is no substitute for the real
thing! Field trips help geology students:
– Develop general field skills.
– Improve rock and mineral identification.
– Learn to look at the Earth in a different way.
– Sharpen observation skills.
This year field trips are planned for 200 level geology
classes. In the winter we are going to Silver Falls State Park and the northern
Oregon coast, where we will be staying in yurts. I also lead field trips
throughout the rest of the year to Mount St. Helens, the southside of the
Columbia River Gorge, the John Day Fossil Beds and the Newberry Volcano, where
we camp inside the caldera.
I like using the Earth to teach geology because of the
impact a field trip can make on a student’s comprehension. When I was a student
at MHCC, way back in the 1980s, my favorite part of geology class was going on
field trips. I still remember those trips! I remembered them better than any
other part of the course.
Using these amazing places to illustrate, discuss and
experience geology is beneficial to learning. For some students, it’s a once in
a lifetime experience. Even students who have visited these locations before
learn a lot because they see these amazing places through the eyes of a
geologist. I often say in my classes, “you’ll never look at the Earth the same
again.”
Daina Hardisty is a Geology Instructor at MHCC. |
| View Points Salem: Legislative session begins by Rep. Anna Williams on 02/01/2022
If you are reading this column, that probably means it is
February, and the 2022 Regular Legislative Session is underway. Sessions aren’t
such a rare thing these days... we’ve had six of them since COVID-19 first
reached Oregon, where normally we would only have had one in that same
timespan. Still, a regular session is a much larger event than the mostly
single-day special sessions that have brought me to Salem so many times over
the last two years.
As I write this, there is a flurry of activity in
preparation for the session: legislators and community members alike are
hustling to get the final changes to bills ready to go. I personally am working
on five different concepts: two of my personal bills and three for the
committee I chair. These are difficult conversations due to a variety of
factors: communication lapses due to the pandemic, a decentralized process as
so many people continue to work from home rather than coming together in the
Capitol and changing priorities while many crises (health care, workforce,
housing and more) continue to evolve every day.
The legislature alternates the length of its regular
sessions every other year: in odd-numbered years, a session is six months long.
In even-numbered years like this one, we only get five to six weeks to finish
our work. This compressed timeline means that every bill needs to be in its
final form, ready to pass and free from any unintended consequences before the
session even starts. That makes the last week of January (the week in which I
am writing) especially intense!
Among the bills I’m working on are a few very complex
issues. One, for example, deals with residential treatment facilities for
children with psychiatric and other therapeutic needs. Another deals with
victims of domestic violence who need access to police reports about the crimes
committed against them. As you can imagine, when you’re dealing with such
weighty subjects, there are a lot of people with a lot of different
perspectives and opinions who need to be consulted. As session draws closer, no
matter how much advanced planning a legislator has done, there seem to always
be last-minute issues, disagreements, objections and changes to these sorts of
bills. (One of my bills will likely be rewritten entirely in the next five
days!)
There’s an old saying, that “a camel is a horse designed by
a committee.” In other words, when you try to accomplish something simple, the
inclusion of too many conflicting perspectives and creative solutions can
result in something that only barely resembles what you were originally trying
to create. That’s a good summary of the legislative process, too.
But, in stressful periods like these while I’m working hard
to find compromise, to take stakeholder and expert voices into account, and to
create something that will actually work without causing unintended harm, I try
to remind myself that every addition, subtraction and change to a bill is potentially
important, and every complicating factor (and the headaches that each one may
cause) is worth examining as fully as possible.
After all, every strange trait that a camel possesses serves
a purpose. Without humps to retain fat for energy, without wide and spreadable
feet to walk on sand and without long eyelashes and thin nostrils to keep them
safe from blowing sand, a horse wouldn’t stand a chance in the desert. It’s my
hope that every complicated, minute and sometimes stress-inducing adaptation to
each legislative bill makes it uniquely suited to meeting Oregon’s needs.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: Mountain Festival will be back by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 02/01/2022
For the last 25+ years, I have refused to miss a single
Sandy Mountain Festival. With that said, I’m proud to announce that after a
two-year hiatus, the Sandy Mountain Festival will return for it’s 60th year
anniversary celebration on its traditional weekend following the Fourth of
July.
After two long years of missing out on so many special
events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandy Mountain Festival weekend
will be back in all its glory. From the parade on Thursday night to the
carnival at its traditional spot along Hwy. 26, to vendors and music in the
park and long lines for elephant ears, corn dogs and noodles. Our neighbors and
visitors alike will again rub shoulders in the park while looking at crafts or
over a beer at the Music, Fair & Feast.
There will again be a kids parade with brothers, sisters and
cousins. Teenagers will catch up on stories from their summer vacation while
sitting on a carnival ride. Adults will again enjoy a barbeque or sitting down
at one of our wonderful main street businesses before meeting up with the rest
of our neighbors in Centennial Plaza. There will inevitably be the best music
at Ria’s, long lines and great people watching at No Place and someone is going
to drive their Harley into the Gateway. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We owe such a debt of gratitude to the army of volunteers
and public servants that put on this special event each year, not to mention
the grit and determination displayed to revive it after this hiatus. This event
is a full community effort. The Sandy Mountain Festival Board of Directors is
composed of all volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of work preparing for,
conducting and cleaning up each year. Additionally, our team members at the
city really go the extra mile on Mountain Festival weekend. From our law
enforcement officers keeping us safe, to our transit and public works staff,
library services, parks and recreation, planning and city hall, everyone puts
in the extra time and helps make the weekend what it is. That’s not to forget
the volunteers of all the community, civic and athletic organizations that turn
out for the events and work the incredible food and beverage vendor booths.
The Sandy Mountain Festival is one of the largest festival
events in Oregon and attracts thousands of people to town each year. According
to the festival's website, its purpose is to enhance Sandy's business climate
by showcasing products, allowing local nonprofit organizations to raise funds,
providing artists a forum for their talents and promoting community pride and
participation.
Basically, the Sandy Mountain Festival provides citizens
opportunities and allows our city to put its best foot forward. This is only
the first step in our efforts to create the best possible Mountain Festival
experience for both our neighbors here in Sandy, as well as our visitors.
We want both our neighbors and visitors to have an
experience when interacting with our community that leaves them wanting more
and coming back to support our community and our local business owners. The
Sandy Mountain Festival is a unique and outstanding opportunity to do just
that.
The Sandy Mountain Festival is back! What a crucial piece to
reaching our overarching goal – To Keep Sandy Wonderful!
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Why tangibles are separate by Paula Walker on 02/01/2022
Why are tangibles called out in their own section in your
estate plan? As stated in the December 2021 article, what means more may not
always have high financial value. Such is the case for those items referred to
as “tangibles.” But also, tangibles may in fact have high financial value. All
of this takes careful planning on your part and requires that your estate plan
cover certain aspects of this planning specifically. Considerations follow for
you as you plan out which of your personal belongings go to a particular person.
Include a specific definition of tangibles in your estate
plan: to set a proper understanding for your own planning and for the execution
of your estate plan after your passing, your estate plan should contain a
definition of what constitutes ‘tangible items,’ identifying what is included
in that category.
Terms for the division of tangibles are unique to that
category: some of the terms for the division and distribution of financial
assets may not, likely will not, be well suited to tangibles. For instance, the
common phrase specifying that assets are to be divided equally, or in shares of
substantially equal value, among the beneficiaries, is not as easily
accomplished with tangibles as it is with a mathematical calculation of
financial assets. Tangibles are of disparate financial value, but how they are
valued by any of the family members may exceed any financial worth.
Fairness is an important consideration: per my opening
paragraph, the value of a tangible may be in the mind and heart of the beholder,
not worth that can be objectively appraised. And even when the latter is the
case, that may not determine the desirableness of that item to several family
members. Then again, an item of high financial value may leave others feeling
that they were given less than someone else when considering overall the
financial worth each received. Distribution of tangibles is a sensitive pursuit
that requires your understanding and attention to your family dynamics if you
want to do now what you can to avoid family member conflicts in the future.
Tangibles are called out and handled specifically and
separately from your real property or your remaining financial assets, those
being intangibles, in large part because their very nature is a complex mixture
of financial value and emotional attachment, wherein lies a potential challenge
in specifying precisely the item(s) that merit specific distribution,
addressing who receives them and the potential for family conflict where
several members have a desire for a particular item. We will continue to
develop this area of estate planning in subsequent articles.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
We are all Stars… we all share common dynamics of family
relationships, and such is the case when it comes to the actions and reactions
when deciding who receives personal belongings after the death of loved ones.
The following is a link to a video published by the University of Minnesota
Extension Service to help families make good decisions for distributing
personal belongings that have sometimes financial value and sometimes personal
and sentimental value, with a sensitivity to their family’s particular and
unique circumstances, “Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?” It is an excellent
guide in planning for distributing your personal belongings with understanding
and sensitivity to avoid conflicts over your well intended inheritance. Here’s
the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3NNoVRQpI8.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Here in the Mount Hood community, we’re closer to Mount Hood
than it seems. Being located within a valley our views of the peak are blocked
by Zigzag Ridge. As the crow flies, it’s only 13 miles directly from the town
of Welches to the peak of Mount Hood.
For being so close to the mountain we have few places to
stand to view it. Because of that I thought that I would list some of my
favorite places to photograph Mount Hood that don’t require a hike to get to.
Timberline Lodge – Timberline Lodge is at 6,000-feet of
elevation on Mount Hood. Timberline Lodge can give some of the most epic views
on Mount Hood’s south face. A bonus is being able to stand inside of the
historic Timberline Lodge while looking out the massive windows that face the
mountain, sipping a warm cup of your favorite beverage.
Lolo Pass Road – Lower Lolo Pass Road has an epic view of
Mount Hood’s west face. This is the most iconic side as it faces Portland. Lolo
Pass Road is not plowed in the Winter so be cautious, but at the lower end of
Lolo Pass Road one can usually drive up for a view without worrying about snow.
In the summer months it’s a great drive from Zigzag to Hood River Valley. It’s
a great route to visit Lost Lake, which has its own iconic view of the mountain
as well.
White River – White River West Sno-park is a great place to
view Mount Hood’s east side. The White River passes by a large parking area
with access to some excellent hiking or snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in
the winter. Be cautious if you wander down into the floodplain where the river
winds its way down the mountain, creating varying river routes depending on the
level of water. The whole area can be susceptible to flash floods, especially
in the springtime when the mountain begins to thaw. Although it's not a
frequent occurrence I’m always cautious when I’m near the river. Don’t let that
deter you as there are plenty of safe places to stand for a photograph of Mount
Hood with the river in the foreground.
Jonsrud Viewpoint – Jonsrud Viewpoint is one of my (and a
great many photographers) favorite view. It’s a location that folks from all
parts of the country, and many times around the world, come to photograph,
especially at sunrise. Jonsrud Viewpoint is located on Bluff Road just past the
high school. There’s a small park and limited parking there so get there early
if you want to photograph a sunrise. The view at the overlook spreads out in
front of you with the Sandy River below as it flows west from Mount Hood in the
distance.
Trillium Lake – of course a list like this can’t exclude
Trillium Lake. Trillium Lake is another view that photographers from all around
the world come to photograph. And it’s easy to understand why. Trillium Lake
was created in 1960 when wetlands were dammed creating the reflective lake that
we call Trillium today. On the best windless days at Trillium Lake Mount Hood
is reflected as if it were in a mirror. Because the mountain is so near, it is
prominent in the photograph. It’s easily one of Oregon’s top iconic locations
for a beautiful photograph.
Cloud Cap Inn – Cloud Cap Inn is on the north face of Mount
Hood and is only accessible in the summer when the winding dirt road is clear
of snow. I added Cloud Cap Inn for a couple of reasons. First is the view of
Mount Hood’s north face from there. And Cloud Cap Inn is Mount Hood’s oldest
building. Built in 1889 the hand-hewn log structure was once an inn for hearty
souls that wanted to enjoy the hiking and snowshoeing that the area around the
inn provides but is now maintained and preserved as a clubhouse for the Crag
Rats climbing club. The inn is located at the 6,000-foot level, the same as
Timberline on the south side, and gives you a short route to access above the
tree line views of the mountain.
This is a short list, but I think that these are the best
views that are accessible without much of a hike. Once one hits a few of the
trails that we have available to us, a whole new world of epic views can be
found.
|
|  Contributed photo by Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District
I hate to start out the new year by writing about love –
hate relationships, but that’s what comes to mind when I think of certain
invasive plants. I love the way English ivy looks on the walls of university
buildings, churches and other buildings, but I hate ivy when I see it in the
forests in our area. I love picking and eating the delicious fruit of the
Himalayan blackberry, aka Armenian blackberry, but I hate the dense mats of it
in old pastures or other formerly open areas and along roadsides, streams, and
trails. I love the glorious masses of yellow blossoms of Scotch broom in the
springtime, but I hate the way it outcompetes native plants and takes over
natural habitats.
These three plants were imported for what seemed like good
reasons at the time, but now they are major problems.
According to the Oregon State Extension Service, English ivy
is “a major invasive villain in the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia to
California.” It also is a baddie along the eastern seaboard from Georgia to New
York. The Inavsive.org website explains that European colonists introduced
English ivy as early as 1727 and since then it has been widely planted for its
evergreen foliage and dependability as a year-round “carefree” groundcover. I’m
ashamed to admit that in the two nursery operations classes I took on my way to
a degree in forestry, I and my fellow students potted hundreds of ivy starts
and sold them to raise funds for maintaining the greenhouse. We knew not what
we were doing. This ivy has many forms: there are more than 400 varieties, or
cultivars, that are grown in home gardens and even indoors. You may find ivy in
retail nurseries, despite its reputation as an invasive plant.
“As a vine, it can completely engulf shrubs and encircles
tree trunks of all sizes, leaving nothing uncovered,” wrote OSU Extension
Service horticulturist Linda McMahan. “Shrubs shrouded in ivy may eventually
die because light can’t reach their leaves. The sheer weight of the extra
vegetation also weakens the plant it grows on, making it more susceptible to
disease and blowdown. Trees usually survive ivy invasion, even though weakened
by retaining a ‘broccoli head’ of foliage at the very top.”
Not only does English ivy blanket large portions of
Portland’s 5,000-acre Forest Park, it also occupies beachheads in our area,
such as along Barlow Trail Road just east and west of Brightwood Bridge Road.
Please don’t plant English ivy in your yard, and if you do have it, don’t throw
cuttings onto your compost pile or toss them into the woods or streams – these
bits and pieces are likely to take root and then take over. Burn any trimmings,
or seal them in plastic garbage bags and leave them in the sun for a few weeks.
The same goes for ivy grown as houseplants. I once found an ivy plant growing
in the woods along a road in Rhododendron — a variety with small, variegated
leaves, that is often grown indoors. There were no other ivy plants nearby.
Perhaps someone threw out some cuttings from a potted plant and a sprig fell
off of the garbage truck and took root. That’s all it would take to start a new
infestation of ivy.
Like ivy, our non-native Himalayan blackberry easily takes
over any native vegetation wherever it gains a foothold. It was introduced into
the U.S. by Luther Burbank, the famed American botanist, horticulturist and
pioneer in agricultural science. In the 1880s, Burbank was working to improve
berry taste and color by cross-pollinating different varieties. He imported the
seeds of what he would call Himalayan blackberry from Eurasia and found that
they produced vigorous plants and large crops of fruit. Unfortunately, birds
found the berries tasty and spread the seeds far and wide though their
droppings.
Today the thorny vines are found throughout most of the COW
states – California, Oregon and Washington – as well as in isolated (so far)
areas across the nation.
Himalayan blackberry tends to form monocultures that are
difficult to eradicate. The plants can produce up to 13,000 seeds per square
meter, and seeds can remain viable in the soil for several years. The sturdy
canes and sharp thorns make the blackberry difficult to remove – I have the
scars to prove it – and any bits of root left in the soil are likely to
resprout. Mt. Hood Community College and the Metro regional government have
been battling Himalayan blackberry on the campus and adjacent greenspace for
years, and repeated mowing, followed by the application of herbicides when
spouts emerge, seem to be keeping the plant at bay. They’re also battling garlic
mustard, another nasty invasive, but that’s another story.
Scotch broom, too, competes with native plants and forms
dense stands that are difficult to remove. A mature plant can produce up to
20,000 seeds per year, and those seeds can remain viable in the ground for as
long as 60 to 80 years, allowing Scotch broom to quickly re-occupy a site after
trees or native plants and grasses are removed.
Scotch broom, which is native to northern Africa and parts
of Europe, was planted as an ornamental in the US starting in the 1850s and was
later used the Pacific Northwest for dune stabilization, erosion control and as
an ornamental along highway corridors. According to OSU Extension, it is now
well established throughout western Oregon and is the state’s most extensive
forest weed species. It also is a significant source of the pollen that effects
allergy sufferers.
To remove Scotch broom, OSU Extension recommends digging up
mature plants, including the root crown, or cutting them close to the ground
each year before they produce seed pods, and in the spring pulling up any
sprouts, roots and all, while they are small. Small Scotch broom plants that
grow from seed can easily be pulled by hand; those springing from mature root
systems usually break off, leaving the roots intact.
English ivy, Himalayan blackberry and Scotch broom are all
noxious non-native weeds. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines noxious as
physically harmful or destructive to living beings. We have enough noxious-ness
in the world today, so how about making a New Year’s resolution to do something
about these weeds when and where we can?
Have a question about invasive plants? Want to know how
removing them can improve your mental health? Let me know. Email:
SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Leafless wonders how plants survive the winter by Mt. Hood Community College on 01/01/2022
Plants are experts at responding to their surroundings. They
may not be able to fly away from blustery conditions or sleep through the
winter blues as many birds and mammals do, but plants react to the cold in
other spectacular ways.
Some plants respond to dropping temperatures by:
– Hoarding sugars, making cells less prone to freezing. One
example is the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), the plant that gives us maple
syrup.
– Bulking up on fats and lipids, but instead of insulating
themselves as we do, plant fats are used to alter the fluidity of cell
membranes in an effort to prevent frost damage.
– Producing antifreeze proteins that bind to developing ice
crystals, stalling ice growth before major damage can be done.
– Dying back to below ground hideouts, waiting until the
weather warms to reemerge.
– Dropping their leaves, a process known as abscission. The
word abscission comes from combining the Latin words "to cut” and “off.”
It has the same root as the word “scissors.” Plants that lose their leaves are
making the calculated decision to abandon the organs that are most likely to
cause them winter harm.
Plants that shed their leaves are referred to as deciduous.
The leaves they drop are often thin, flat and wide, much like pieces of paper.
Thin flat leaves have a greater surface area to volume ratio than thick round
leaves do. This makes them better at picking up sunlight for photosynthesis,
which is the process plants use to make food.
Thin flat leaves are more likely to sustain freeze damage.
Leaves are also the site of respiration and water loss. In areas with freezing
winter temperatures, plants experience a time of drought because the water in
the environment is frozen and unavailable. If a plant were to keep its leaves
attached through winter, it could become deathly dehydrated while surrounded by
snow.
The process of dropping leaves means a plant can retain
water and avoid frostbite during the dry winter months, even if it means making
do with less food.
Next time you look at your wintery garden or take a frosty
hike through the woods, take a moment to reflect on the amazing survival skills
of the plants that share our communities and wilderness with us.
Catherine Creech is a Biology Instructor at Mt. Hood
Community College. |
| View Points Salem: Addressing agriculture by Rep. Anna Williams on 01/01/2022
I won’t mince words: as a rural Democrat, I am no stranger
to the fact that rural Oregonians’ interests sometimes get lost in the shuffle
of statewide policy conversations. That’s why I was thrilled that the
legislature, convening last month in a special session, passed a $100 million drought
relief package with overwhelming bipartisan support.
In addition to Clackamas County’s Mountain communities, I
represent all of Hood River County, where eight percent of privately owned land
is dedicated to agriculture, and well over 75 percent of the irrigated cropland
consists of pear and apple orchards. The majority of those orchards are
family-owned, and they produce the bulk of our state’s 200,000 tons of pears
each year (almost 300 pears per Oregonian!). Because this industry is such a
major part of our shared regional economy, I have worked hard to ensure
legislation we pass works to support the growers and farmworkers in the Mount
Hood and Columbia Gorge regions.
Expanding my focus to the entire state, I am dismayed we
don’t talk enough about Oregon’s role as an agricultural powerhouse. Over a
quarter of our state by acreage is dedicated to agriculture, and these farms
generate over $2.5 billion in annual exports from our state – 13 percent of the
state’s gross product. Over 600,000 jobs in the state are ag- and food-related,
paying about $30 billion in annual household wages.
But the future of agriculture in the Hood River Valley,
Oregon and throughout the American West is uncertain, as 92 percent of our
state is now facing severe drought. Back at home in Hood River, over 90 percent
of the land is facing severe drought, and about ten percent of that land is
classified as facing “extreme drought,” meaning even reservoirs and lakes are
low. Clackamas County doesn’t fare much better, with 100 percent of the county
rated “moderate drought” or worse. This points to potential trouble in 2022 for
Oregon’s pear crops, not to mention the cherry and caneberry crops that are
even more sensitive to heat and drought (and which suffered historically low
harvests last year due to the heat dome).
As we confront climate change, Oregon is on the precipice of
an agricultural emergency. Growers of major international commodities like corn
and soy – crops primarily grown in central states – have the luxury of relying
on federal subsidies to get them through spare years. Oregon’s specialty crops
can’t fall back on any such relief. They need their state government to see
them through, and I’m so happy that we answered their call.
This drought relief package includes $10 million in direct
payments to farmworkers who have to miss work due to extreme heat or wildfire
smoke – both of which are unfortunately likely to occur during the 2022 growing
season. It also includes $40 million for an agricultural forgivable disaster loan
program, in addition to other targeted investments in drought relief and
resiliency our state so desperately needs.
When we protect the security of small farms in our state, we
also protect the reliable jobs and incomes of almost 200,000 farmworkers. As we
continue important and difficult conversations about historic injustices and
the challenging work of correcting them, let’s not cause new problems for the
farmworker community by allowing family farms to go under because of drought.
I’m proud that much-needed drought relief was among the few
pressing priorities that were addressed by the legislature in this special
session.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please
reach out to me at Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: Tackling traffic by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 01/01/2022
When talking to neighbors in Sandy, it usually doesn’t take
very long for the issue of traffic to come up. In fact, when I first announced
my candidacy for mayor three years ago, I ran on a platform of addressing our
communities’ transportations system and building new roads. As one of the
fastest growing communities in Oregon, Sandy is at a critical juncture with our
transportation system.
With the drastic growth in popularity of Central Oregon and
the Mount Hood recreational area, what was once seasonal winter traffic, is now
a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year thoroughfare right through heart
of our community.
As a result, I challenged our local leaders to think both
long term and big. Having worked in the state senate in the early 2000s, I was
keenly aware of how long large infrastructure projects take to come to
fruition. Back in 2005 we were in the middle of planning the Newberg-Dundee
bypass. In 2016 only phase 1 of that project was completed with no plans to
start the second phase.
Knowing this, I proposed that Sandy begin our process of
looking at our own bypass options. We just couldn’t wait to begin our planning
any longer. A community of our size needs to start early and be strategic in
such a project. In my first term as mayor, I succeeded in negotiating a joint
venture between the city and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to
conduct a feasibility study.
Getting this study is a huge development for our community.
It’s been more than a decade since there’s been any research, and never a full
study, on the viability of an alternate route to alleviate traffic congestion.
City leaders have been left in the dark on the potential cost, location, impact
on local businesses or even public opinion on such a project. This study will
allow us to finally begin to develop a long-term plan for our transportations
system, while also taking important steps to enhance the commute through our
town in the immediate future.
That study came back and was presented to our City Council
in December. The results are incredibly hopeful. It found that not only is a
bypass possible, but it’s much more affordable than originally expected.
Additionally, the study found that if the bypass is not completed, certain
intersections in Sandy on Hwy. 26 would exceed mobility targets, even with
local street improvements.
According to the study, the target date for such a project
would be 2040 and would include four lanes (two eastbound and two westbound)
and would intersect with Hwy. 26 at Orient Rd and Shorty’s corner.
In today's dollars, the cost is estimated at approximately
$250 million and nearly a $1 billion in 2040 dollars.
Additionally, the report found that currently 30 percent of
traffic that goes through Sandy never stops in our town. The bypass would
divert approximately 40 percent of commuters leaving a much more
shopper-friendly and walkable downtown for both our neighbors and visitors
alike.
To put the impact this project could have on future
residents in perspective, it only takes a couple of minutes to dive through
Sandy today. This study projects it would take nearly 12 minutes on average to
get through Sandy in the year 2040. While 20 years feels like a long time now,
imagine how long it will take if we wait 20 years from now to begin the
process.
Infrastructure projects for streets, roads and bridges take
a significant amount of planning and can often take years, if not decades, to
complete. Leaders must develop a plan that is supported by local residents,
business owners and local stakeholders, and then advocate on behalf of that
plan to other elected leaders at the state and national level to secure
financing, as well as land for such projects.
This is the first step in that process. Sandy needs to take
our destiny into our own hands and look out for our future, which is currently
headed towards worsening gridlock. Building a bypass will make Sandy an even
more attractive destination, not just a passthrough.
Our city is committed to moving forward and addressing our
major traffic congestion needs. We will carefully review the presented data and
take action in the near future. We must, as it is always our overarching goal
to keep Sandy wonderful now and long into the future.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Simmer down by Taeler Butel on 01/01/2022
Have you ever made stock? Made from scratch, it is delicious
as a base to a soup or sauce, or just sip and savor in a mug.
Stock in a pot or a crock is perfect for a winter day.
Beef stock
2 lbs. soup bones with marrow
2 cups rough-chop onions
3 large stalks of celery, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
3 sprigs rosemary, thyme, parsley
3 cloves garlic
1T peppercorns
1T kosher salt
Water to cover
1 T olive or avocado oil
Sear bones on each side with oil in large stock pot, then
add garlic, onions, peppercorns and salt. Cook about five minutes and then add
remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook at least
four hours. Strain and let cool,
spooning off excess fat. Cool completely, freeze flat in large container.
Pappardelle with beef ragu
1 lb. chuck roast cut into chunks
2 cups beef stock
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 t salt and pepper
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 T chopped parsley
1 lb. cooked pappardelle pasta reserve 1 cup pasta water
I thinly sliced small onion
1 T olive oil
Brown beef on all sides in olive oil with salt and pepper on
medium-high heat, then add remaining ingredients, except cheese, parsley and
pasta water.
Reduce heat to low and simmer two hours. Pull meat from
mixture, shred and place back in pot, then add pasta, cheese, parsley and toss
and a few tablespoons of the pasta water if needed to moisten. |
| Well Adjusted New Year's tips for your back by Dr. Melanie Brown on 01/01/2022
Ever since my teen years painting roads, I notice the
stripes as I travel. I never really saw them before. Never thought about how
they got there. I didn't notice whether a re-trace was done well or if the bead
coat still had its luster.
Similarly, being a chiropractor, I am in a constant state of
gait and posture analysis, drastically changing my people-watching habits. I
consistently observe a predominance of poor head posture in patients and the
general population, specifically, an anterior head carriage. Like roads that
need re-striping, I see necks that need rehabilitation.
Why is this such a common occurrence? What is causing this
poor posture pandemic? Our neck vertebrae have a lot "stacked"
against them:
– A bowling ball-sized head that needs support
– Phone use creating flexed positions for long periods
– A high incidence of whiplash injuries from sports and auto
injuries
What can we do? We can start by looking at our posture. We
tend to elevate our shoulders and jut our heads forward, creating a slumped
position. When we are stressed, we wear our shoulders as earrings. Some of us
were taught to have a ballet or military posture with the upper back arched
backward, which can jam the upper back. There is a better way to create a
neutral stance in the body:
– Start with a neutral pelvis.
– Activate your abdominal and low back muscles slightly to
hold a good lower body posture.
– Bring your shoulders down like you are carrying heavy
grocery bags, and then bring your chin and forehead back evenly, retracting the
head.
– Picture a string on top of your head pulling up,
stretching and elongating the spine, then wiggle a little to relax into that
stance.
We can work on our posture when on our phones. A new phrase
called "tech neck" describes what is happening to us. A ten-pound
head turns into a 50-pounder with a four-inch forward lean, causing the muscles
designed to move your body to become stabilizers. This creates an imbalance in
the neck and upper back muscles. Try to bring your phone up when looking at it
to save your neck and try to be on your phone less. Your neck AND your brain
will thank you!
I was giving a talk to about 50 people and I asked how many
had been in a car accident. Only one had not and most had been in more than
one. Our bodies were not made to withstand these auto impacts and our neck is
usually the weakest link. If you were one of the unlucky ones in the demolition
derby that was Timberline Road on the 20th, you might be feeling the effects of
whiplash.
The neck's sudden back and forth movement even at low speeds
can cause neck pain and stiffness, shoulder pain and headaches. Without proper
treatment and exercise, the damaged muscles and ligaments can lead to
imbalances that result in a straightening of the cervical lordotic curve that
should bring the head back on top of the body.
Chiropractic adjustments as you heal will help restore your
alignment, mobility and function. In Oregon, your auto insurance pays for your
treatments after an injury. Many people do not know that and miss the care they
need.
Be sure to be evaluated by a chiropractor after an accident
for damage "under the hood." We often remember to fix our cars and
neglect to fix our bodies. If you do not get these injuries appropriately
addressed, it can lead to long-term pain, degeneration and dysfunction.
Sleep and work positions are important to look at for a
healthy neck. When sleeping on your back, make sure you have cervical support.
I like the memory foam contour pillows, but really anything that fits you well
and pushes into the dead space to support the neck curve works - even a
rolled-up towel. See what feels good to you.
When side sleeping, your head should be neutral and your
nose should align with your navel. Avoid raising your arm above your head when
side sleeping. Instead, keep your arms in front, hugging a pillow (or your
sweetie) or in a prayer position. Check your work ergonomics and use a
sit-stand desk with frequent breaks to move and stretch if stationary. If your
post-pandemic job situation finds you at home, make sure you aren't spending
the day on the couch with your laptop. You can make a laptop ergonomic with a
wireless mouse, keyboard and thick books to prop up the computer. Eyes should
be about even with the top of the screen.
Stretching and strengthening the neck feels good and can
make a significant difference if done consistently. Avoid bouncing when
stretching. Go into the stretch slowly and then hold for 10-20 seconds while
breathing.
Starting in a standing or seated position, bring your ear to
your shoulder each way, next look to the right over your shoulder and then to
the left. You can end with gentle slow neck circles both ways.
Lie on your back with your chin tucked and lift your head
slightly from the pillow to strengthen the neck. Hold. Increase holding time as
your neck becomes stronger. You feel good when you are more upright, but you
also look and feel more confident.
As I people-watch in our mountain community this month, I
hope to see some taller, straighter spines. Happy New Year, everyone! |
| Well Adjusted hydration is one key to health by Dr. Melanie Brown on 01/01/2022
As we settle into winter, it is much more appealing to stay under the covers in the cold mornings as we start to feel those aches and pains and mental sluggishness. One thing that is often forgotten to ease this transition, and improve your overall health, is hydration. We often think of thirst as our only indicator of dehydration. But 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated, and in 37 percent, the thirst sensation is so impaired that they might mistake thirst for feelings of hunger. The elderly start to lose their thirst sensation and may drink less than in their younger years, decreasing strength and memory function. Kids are dependent on their parents to make sure they are consistently drinking enough water to feel their best and function well in life and school. For you aquaphiles out there, good for you! For the many people who don’t inherently crave water, it is more important to strategize about your daily consumption. I’m not sure if it’s the salty well water I grew up with or the fact that I’m “too busy” to pee all the time, but I have never enjoyed drinking water regularly. Being health-conscious, I try to focus on the “whys” to keep me motivated. For starters, we can change the old adage to say, “An ounce of water is worth a pound of pills.” You can decrease your risk factors for disease by staying hydrated. Water is a cleansing agent that helps the kidneys to eliminate toxins from the body via the bladder. Water also helps with constipation. “The solution to pollution is dilution.” You should not have a book in the bathroom (unless you are hiding from your kids). And if you eat every day, you should poop every day! Water helps the fiber clean the intestines like a broom. My great-grandpa lived to be 100 years old. I believe it was because he drank adequate water and ate oatmeal every morning, cleansing his body regularly of disease-causing toxins. In a study with 20,000 participants, consuming only five glasses of water per day decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 46 percent in men and 59 percent in women. A significant reduction in breast and bladder cancers was also shown. Hydration prevents headaches, can improve mood and energy. Water is a natural Botox alternative. You will turn from a raisin into a grape with smoother, more glowing skin! Now to put this hydration plan into action, where to start? First, when people offer you water, always say YES! Fill your bottles in the morning or have a favorite water bottle that you fill a few times per day. Drink a little a lot, don’t flood your body all at once. I set my timer to squawk at me every hour from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to help me get a jump-start on changing my habit. My kids enjoyed hearing the alarm and bringing me my water. Start the day with a glass of warm lemon water. Not only will you be hydrating, but you will be supporting your liver and digestive systems too! You can’t talk about hydration without discussing water quality, so let’s dive into that for a minute. So, the H2O has arrived at your sink, but what came with it? It is essential to know your water because not all water is the same. Depending on your location, there could be prescription drugs, radon, arsenic, aluminum, mercury, asbestos, coliform bacteria, nitrates/nitrites, lead or other contaminants. But hold on, we want to hydrate to detoxify here, not to increase our toxic exposure! With the state of our world and, subsequently, our environment, we must try our best not to contaminate our bodies as we hydrate them! Most of our water comes from lakes, rivers, reservoirs and from groundwater. If you have city water, water then flows from intake points to a treatment plant, a storage tank and then to our houses through various pipe systems. Water reports are available to the public for your review. If you get your water from a private well, there is no “treatment plant” - you handle maintenance, testing and operation. Wells should be checked and tested annually for mechanical problems, cleanliness and the presence of contaminants. Whole house filters need to be changed regularly. There are many ways to purify water beyond what comes from our city or from our well. The most common are fridge filters, for which you can upgrade your cartridge. There are pitcher-style purifiers, reverse osmosis filtration systems for under your sink and various other methods. Find what works best for you to get closer to pure H2O. If you have perfected your home filtration system, take water on the go instead of investing in expensive bottled water. Most bottled water comes in bottles made of plastic #1, deemed the safest by the FDA. Still, some contain #7, which may contain BPA, the most dangerous form of plastic which is banned in many countries. Reusable water bottles can be made of these plastics, so check the codes stamped on the bottom. Some metal water bottles have BPA lining, so be diligent. My favorite water bottle is my glass bottle with a felt cover with a carrying clip. Works great for me since my hands are always full, and no plastic or metal aftertaste! The hydration challenge comes with a reward. Whether you are drinking half your body’s weight in ounces, or eight glasses per day, just get it in there! You will feel more energized, and you will receive endless health benefits. It’s simple, it’s free and your body will thank you! |
| Where Theres a Will: Tangibles... continued by Paula Walker on 01/01/2022
You know what is tangible and intangible… or do you?
As conveyed in the prior article, assets are defined as
either real property or personal property.
Tangibles are those items classified by law as ‘personal
property’ that can be felt or touched and are moveable, i.e., can be physically
relocated. Further these items have intrinsic value, rather than representative
value.
Intangibles are defined as personal property, in comparison,
as those assets that cannot be directly felt or touched e.g., stocks, bonds, bank
accounts etc. regardless that they may have a paper embodiment, i.e.,
representative value.
“I’ve got it,” you say. But there are items that are not so
immediately discernable that can leave the administrator of your estate looking
to the legal definitions, or the counsel of an attorney, to determine how to
account for, report on and distribute certain items.
Items like the grandfather clock, the wedding ring, the
furniture in the home and the jewelry are obvious contenders as tangibles. But
others may not be so clear cut.
Where do items like cash, coins, gold bullion and gold bars
fall? The cash and coins used for currency or normal legal tender belong in the
category of intangibles, along with the value of your bank accounts, stocks
etc. But what about that coin collection? In general, that is often considered
a ‘tangible’ asset. And what about gold bullion and gold bars. These are not
used for normal legal tender. You cannot go to the local grocery store and
present them to the teller to pay at the checkout stand. Nonetheless, at times
these are considered tangible items, and at others intangible. By example, if
the gold bullion is part of a coin collection, they may be considered tangible
items. However, in one ruling the IRS declared that South African Krugerrands,
one of the best-known types of gold bullion coin, are more akin to money than
the coins of a coin collection. So, the money in the cookie jar, the dollar
bills stashed under the bed or stuffed in the mattress and the bills and change
in the deceased’s wallet are all intangible personal property to be accounted
for and distributed according to the terms of the residuary estate generally
speaking. The other assets mentioned in the paragraph can be handled either as
tangible or intangible assets in developing the estate plan according to more
complex determinations.
And here is another interesting one to contemplate. What
about that front door to the homestead home, hand carved by your grandfather?
As mentioned, real property, realty, is distinct from personal property,
personally. Realty is defined as real estate and as property that is attached
or fixed to real estate. Could the door be bequeathed as a ‘tangible item’ to a
member of the family, because of the family value it holds? Bearing in mind
that laws governing real property and therefore the definitions of such are
dependent on the jurisdiction in which they are located, it is possible. The
door is attached to the house; therefore, one could say it is realty. However,
it might come under the definition of ‘fixture,’ i.e., that which can be
removed without damaging the building to which it is attached. Therefore, it
could be possible to designate the transfer of the homestead under the realty
distributions of your estate plan, and designate the door as a separate
transfer to a great-grand-nephew who would value having the door for his own
home, under the tangibles distributions of your plan.
Interesting to consider and to know that tangibles hold more
in the considerations of your estate planning than might meet the eye.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Thinking about the reference to the ‘old school practice’ of
stashing cash and coins in hidden places, here are a few interesting accounts
in response to a journalist’s research on the topic conducted by the Chicago
Tribune:
One police chief reported that his mother kept cash and
valuables in an empty ice cream container in the freezer.
This intrigued the chief so much that he conducted his own
straw poll of the department’s staff and found most everyone had a story. One
officer's grandmother tucked $100 bills inside sweatbands of old hats; others
had relatives who stashed sums in a plastic container in the bottom of a dog
food canister, phony outlets or toilet tanks.
Another person reported his 83-year-old mother had $13,000
in an envelope taped to the back of an antique bedroom mirror.
And then there was the person whose father had “a wad of
emergency cash” stashed inside his central air-conditioning system.
All those intangible assets sequestered away in what the
Chicago Tribune dubbed “inheritance hide and seek.”
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall
It’s that time of the year here in Oregon when the days are
short and the cloud-covered skies block the light from the sun that’s filtered
through the tall trees. Temperatures drop and the rain comes. If you don’t walk
the dog before 5 p.m. you’re walking in the darkness.
I accept it and don’t usually complain until around the end
of March. I acknowledge that the cool rainy season that we get is what provides
the beauty in the forest that surrounds us here around Mount Hood, but that
doesn’t keep me from trying to plan an escape to open roads and open skies. In
my mind spring and fall are the best times for road trips. Summer is too hot
and winter too cold, but spring and fall provide temperate weather with spring
flowers and fall leaves an added gift.
My natural inclination when I want to find open space and
solitude is to head to the desert. I have spent a lot of time solo hiking in
the deserts of Eastern Oregon, Southern Utah and Arizona including a trip down
the rugged Tanner Canyon to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I think that living
in the forests of Oregon most of my life has made me appreciate the dryness and
openness of the desert. Conditions that are completely opposite of the Mount
Hood National Forest.
A couple of weeks ago my friend Bruce and I carpooled to
Utah to spend some time camping in the desert. We explored some unique places
and created some beautiful desert landscape photos. As fulfilling as creating
beautiful photos at beautiful places is, spending time with a good friend with
a common interest is even better.
Bruce and I are philosophically similar but politically
dissimilar, which makes some interesting conversation while travelling 80 MPH
down a road that stretches from one horizon to the other, but we respect each
other and through conversations that last for miles and miles, have found that
we’re not that far from common ground than the world that we escape on these
trips wants to make us believe.
Day one started at daybreak in Bend at Bruce’s home and by
sunset we were camped at a Bureau of Land Management campground in the no-where
land of Nevada called Illipah Creek Reservoir. As we sat there around our
propane fueled campfire, we could see a herd of wild horse grazing and drinking
down by the shore of the reservoir while we were being serenaded by coyotes in
the near distance. The next morning was frosty. We hit the road right away for
our next stop, Hanksville, Utah.
Hanksville is an incredible place. It lies in the red rock
country near Capitol Reef National Park, an amazing place full of canyons,
cliffs, domes and natural bridges. Capitol Reef is a huge “wrinkle” in the
earth that extends almost 100 miles.
Geologically it’s both breathtakingly beautiful and
fascinating at the same time. The landscapes that have been weathered by time
have no moss or forests to cover them. The erosion exposes layers of sediment
of different colors and textures. When the sun rises or sets it casts a
horizontal light across the land revealing the textures and patterns of the
desert.
Our campsite was pretty epic as it sat on the edge of a
400-foot cliff that gave us a view of a landscape reminiscent of the moon. It
was a stark contrast to the red rocks as it was primarily grey in color.
Canyons and arroyos formed by thousands of years of scant rain created a scene
that was simply beautiful to just sit on the edge of the cliff and observe as
the light passed over it. During the daytime the sky was dappled with cotton
ball clouds which made beautiful patches of shadow that moved through the
scene.
The next morning, we were able to fly our drones around
Factory Butte at sunrise which provided some incredible aerial landscape
photos. After which we took an off-highway trip on primitive roads through
Capitol Reef.
Through the grapevine several other landscape photographers
that we know, who were in the area, stopped by camp to say hello. After some
good conversation and a cold beverage or two, we ended the day with a sunset
before getting ready to travel to Bryce Canyon National Park the next morning.
Ever since I was a boy looking through my View-Master at the
incredible orange layers and towering spires I've wanted to visit Bryce Canyon.
After spending a day and a half there, including photographing the canyon by
moonlight, I’m planning my return to spend a week hiking the trails that wind
through a geology fantasy land.
After a sunrise at the appropriately named Sunrise Viewpoint
we headed back into Nevada and stopped by an incredible place that I had never
heard of; Cathedral Gorge State Park, an interesting Bentonite mud formation
weathered by time into amazing castellated formations and slot canyons that one
can explore. This place showed me that there’s a lot more out there to see than
just National Parks for those who take the time to explore the less travelled
roads.
We ended our trip with a stop for lunch at Fields Station
near the rugged Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert, and by nightfall we were
back in Bend. In all we spent a week making a loop seeing some beautiful desert
scenery.
I must say this though, once I was back home here on the
Mountain the damp, moist air and the beautiful conifer forests were welcomed. I
think that I’m prepared now for winter.
Ask me again how that’s going come March. |
| Well Adjusted hydration is one key to health by on 12/01/2021
As we settle into winter, it is much more appealing to stay
under the covers in the cold mornings as we start to feel those aches and pains
and mental sluggishness. One thing that is often forgotten to ease this
transition, and improve your overall health, is hydration.
We often think of thirst as our only indicator of dehydration.
But 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated, and in 37 percent, the
thirst sensation is so impaired that they might mistake thirst for feelings of
hunger. The elderly start to lose their thirst sensation and may drink less
than in their younger years, decreasing strength and memory function. Kids are
dependent on their parents to make sure they are consistently drinking enough
water to feel their best and function well in life and school.
For you aquaphiles out there, good for you! For the many
people who don’t inherently crave water, it is more important to strategize
about your daily consumption. I’m not sure if it’s the salty well water I grew
up with or the fact that I’m “too busy” to pee all the time, but I have never
enjoyed drinking water regularly. Being health-conscious, I try to focus on the
“whys” to keep me motivated.
For starters, we can change the old adage to say, “An ounce
of water is worth a pound of pills.” You can decrease your risk factors for
disease by staying hydrated. Water is a cleansing agent that helps the kidneys
to eliminate toxins from the body via the bladder. Water also helps with
constipation. “The solution to pollution is dilution.” You should not have a
book in the bathroom (unless you are hiding from your kids).
And if you eat every day, you should poop every day! Water
helps the fiber clean the intestines like a broom. My great-grandpa lived to be
100 years old. I believe it was because he drank adequate water and ate oatmeal
every morning, cleansing his body regularly of disease-causing toxins. In a
study with 20,000 participants, consuming only five glasses of water per day
decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 46 percent in men and 59
percent in women. A significant reduction in breast and bladder cancers was
also shown. Hydration prevents headaches, can improve mood and energy. Water is
a natural Botox alternative. You will turn from a raisin into a grape with
smoother, more glowing skin!
Now to put this hydration plan into action, where to start?
First, when people offer you water, always say YES! Fill your bottles in the
morning or have a favorite water bottle that you fill a few times per day.
Drink a little a lot, don’t flood your body all at once. I set my timer to
squawk at me every hour from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to help me get a jump-start on
changing my habit. My kids enjoyed hearing the alarm and bringing me my water.
Start the day with a glass of warm lemon water. Not only will you be hydrating,
but you will be supporting your liver and digestive systems too!
You can’t talk about hydration without discussing water
quality, so let’s dive into that for a minute. So, the H2O has arrived at your
sink, but what came with it? It is essential to know your water because not all
water is the same. Depending on your location, there could be prescription
drugs, radon, arsenic, aluminum, mercury, asbestos, coliform bacteria,
nitrates/nitrites, lead or other contaminants. But hold on, we want to hydrate
to detoxify here, not to increase our toxic exposure! With the state of our
world and, subsequently, our environment, we must try our best not to
contaminate our bodies as we hydrate them!
Most of our water comes from lakes, rivers, reservoirs and
from groundwater. If you have city water, water then flows from intake points
to a treatment plant, a storage tank and then to our houses through various
pipe systems. Water reports are available to the public for your review. If you
get your water from a private well, there is no “treatment plant” - you handle
maintenance, testing and operation. Wells should be checked and tested annually
for mechanical problems, cleanliness and the presence of contaminants. Whole
house filters need to be changed regularly.
There are many ways to purify water beyond what comes from
our city or from our well. The most common are fridge filters, for which you
can upgrade your cartridge. There are pitcher-style purifiers, reverse osmosis
filtration systems for under your sink and various other methods. Find what
works best for you to get closer to pure H2O.
If you have perfected your home filtration system, take
water on the go instead of investing in expensive bottled water. Most bottled
water comes in bottles made of plastic #1, deemed the safest by the FDA. Still,
some contain #7, which may contain BPA, the most dangerous form of plastic
which is banned in many countries. Reusable water bottles can be made of these
plastics, so check the codes stamped on the bottom. Some metal water bottles
have BPA lining, so be diligent. My favorite water bottle is my glass bottle
with a felt cover with a carrying clip. Works great for me since my hands are
always full, and no plastic or metal aftertaste!
The hydration challenge comes with a reward. Whether you are
drinking half your body’s weight in ounces, or eight glasses per day, just get
it in there! You will feel more energized, and you will receive endless health
benefits. It’s simple, it’s free and your body will thank you! |
|  Photo by Steve Wilent
Do you think we had enough rain in mid-November? The
atmospheric river that flowed across our region from Nov. 10-13 dropped 6.25
inches of liquid Oregon sunshine in my Mountain rain gauge (a flat-bottomed
bucket), and another 1.5 inches from Nov. 15-16. That’s about two-thirds of the
12 inches Bend gets in an entire year. When I tell folks from outside of the
wet side of the Pacific Northwest about how much rain we get, I mention the 10+
feet of rain we got in the winter of 1996-97. They ask how I can stand living
in a rainforest. I love the rain, I say, because it’s free water for my well
and it keeps the moss on my back green and luxuriant.
Mosses are everywhere in our area – on trees and shrubs, on
the ground, on bare rock, on roofs and automobiles and in the cracks between
paving stones and bricks. In winter, while the oxalis and bracken are in the
midst of their winter slumber, the mosses keep the forest floor green and
vibrant.
Not only mosses, but liverworts and hornworts, too, all of
which are bryophytes. And which are not to be confused with lichens, some of
which are commonly called mosses. The long light-green old man’s beard or
Methuselah’s beard that we see hanging in long tendrils from tree branches are
not “Spanish moss,” but types of lichen. Lichens are not plants, but a
symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, fungi and algae.
Estimates of the number of bryophyte species in the world
range from 18,000 to 25,000. They live almost everywhere on Earth, including
Antarctica. A publication by the U.S. Geological Survey, “Bryophytes and
lichens: Small but indispensable forest dwellers,” explains that bryophytes are
small green plants that, compared to flowering trees and plants, “have
primitive tissues for conducting food and water, and they lack a protective
outer surface to maintain water balance. Most bryophytes, because they lack
tissues such as roots, obtain their water through direct surface contact with
their environment. During dry weather they have the capacity to withstand
complete dehydration. Bryophytes that are dry may appear dead but will regain
normal function when moisture is available. Instead of producing seeds,
bryophytes can either reproduce sexually by means of spores, or asexually when
small pieces break off and grow into new individuals” (see
tinyurl.com/dvw48ecx).
A book I’ve recommended in previous columns, “Plants of the
Pacific Northwest Coast,” by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon, has sections devoted
to mosses, liverworts and lichens. The iNaturalist web site has a wealth of
photographs of mosses and liverworts and the locations where people have found
them (tinyurl.com/3k6vhs4x). Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between
mosses, liverworts and hornworts – to the untrained eye, they’re very similar
in appearance.
“Living with Mosses,” an online publication produced by
Oregon State University students and faculty (Go Beavs!), notes that mosses
have important uses:
“Unknown to most of us, mosses actually have many uses, from
ecological to medical with a suite of common household uses in between. One of
the better known ecological uses of moss is as bioindicators of air pollution,
such as those caused by factory emissions. They are very good indicators of acid
rain damage to an ecosystem as well. Mosses are also used as erosion control
agents as they aid in moisture control and stabilization of soil that would
either be wind blown or washed away by water. Mosses occupy an important
ecological niche in arctic and subarctic ecosystems where moss symbionts
provide most nitrogen fixation in these ecosystems, as compared to the
leguminous associations that are responsible for this job in temperate regions.
Mosses can also be used as bioindicators of water pollution and treatment of
wastewater. Throughout history mosses have been used in horticulture because
they are beneficial to the soil. Mosses increase the amount of water soil can
store and improve soil’s nutrient holding capacity.”
The publication also has information about controlling
mosses where people don’t want them, such as on roofs and in lawns, as well as
how to encourage mosses where people do want them, such as in residential
gardens and formal moss gardens. The Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island,
Wash., has a moss garden with 40 species.
One thing I love about bryophytes are that many of them have
interesting names. For example, crisped pincushion moss, goblin’s gold moss and
hanging millipede liverwort. Lichens, do, too: bloody beard, pimpled kidney,
punctured rocktripe and questionable rock-frog. No, I did not make up those
names.
Go outside and look around you, even get down on your hands
and knees sometime when it’s not so wet, and take a close-up look at the world
of the bryophytes. These underappreciated plants are as beautiful and varied,
if not more so, as the forests around and above them.
More on Resilience
A follow-up to last month’s column on forest resilience and
climate change. I love the headline of this Nov. 5 article in the Sacramento
Bee: “Beetles have more sex when it’s hot – and it’s killing pine trees in CA,
study finds” (see tinyurl.com/yt5fffff). The article explains that “Hot
temperatures usually make people tired and lazy, but for the western bark
beetle, the heat just makes them want to have a lot of sex – and that’s bad
news for giant pine trees scattered across the West Coast.” It’s actually the
western pine beetle, which is one of many bark beetles.
Do beetles that prefer Douglas-fir also get randy when it’s
hot? I don’t know, but if it turns out that they do, I’ll want to use “Beetles
having more sex in Mountain trees!” as a headline in a Woodsman column.
Have a question about bryophytes? Want to know how to safely
remove moss from your back? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| View Points Salem: The proactive approach by Rep. Anna Williams on 12/01/2021
In government, it’s important to strike a balance between
responding to current crises and making policies that will avoid future ones. I
think of these as “reactive policies” and “proactive policies,” and in a
perfect and predictable world, we would only have to worry about the latter. Of
course, this world is far from perfect, and it’s even less predictable.
As a result, a lot of decisions the people make (whether by
electing legislators or by voting directly on ballot measures) are between
reactive and proactive policies. Oregon’s housing crisis provides a good
example: in order to address homelessness, we are working reactively to find
temporary shelter for unhoused people with no better option than to camp
outdoors. At the same time, we are establishing better services and economic
support for people who may potentially face homelessness in the future, so we
can avoid the need for even more emergency shelter.
It’s a tough decision, though, because for every dollar we
spend on preventing future homelessness, we have one less dollar to put toward
immediate shelter funding to address the current crisis. In so many cases, this
one-to-one balance is the best we can do: to fix issues we’re confronting now,
we have to turn a blind eye to the prevention of future ones, and vice versa.
But what if we could do both at once?
Adult homelessness is complicated. There are a lot of
factors that can lead to a person’s inability to find or maintain affordable
housing: medical expenses, loss of employment, domestic violence, lack of
access to mental health care, extensive debt or any of hundreds of other
things. Above all else, though, the number one factor that leads to adult
homelessness is youth homelessness. Deprived of the safety and security of a
roof over their heads and stable family relationships, kids who experience
homelessness are more likely than not to experience homelessness as adults.
In 2021, I was proud to support a bill that made significant
investments to address youth homelessness. That bill provided $4.4 million to
the Oregon Department of Human Services to award grants to service providers
for homeless youth, as well as “host homes,” which provide unaccompanied
homeless minors with safe housing without involving them in the already
strained foster care system. Still, though, these resources aren’t nearly
enough to address the full scope of the problem. The limited resources that
were provided will be focused in areas with established service providers and
host home networks, meaning homeless youth who live outside of major population
centers may literally be left out in the cold.
For 2022, I have proposed a follow-up bill to direct funding
specifically to parts of the state where few or no service providers for
homeless youth exist. This new bill will also take existing support that’s
available to foster youth, such as tuition support and funding for independent
housing, and extend those same supports to homeless youth as well. Finally, it
will establish an eviction prevention program within the Department of
Education, to help school districts provide housing support to students
experiencing homelessness or families that are about to lose their housing. A
similar program that was recently piloted in Portland was able to keep 113
students housed with an investment of only $20,000. Directing funding for a
similar program to areas with cheaper housing markets will go even further
toward improving stability for students on the edge of homelessness.
These sound like small fixes, but they will have huge
impacts. Every homeless child who is able to get a roof over their head is a
child whose lower stress might lead to better educational outcomes, who can
have a stable social life, who can grow up into a successful and self-reliant
adult. It could make the difference in whether they get involved with the
criminal justice system. It will reduce the likelihood they will struggle with
drug abuse. This is the purpose of proactive policy: that small investments now
can avoid bigger costs in the future. If that sort of proactive policy also has
the direct and immediate result of getting a homeless child off of the streets,
then that’s a win-win for Oregon.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: The holidays are back by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 12/01/2021
Every year I look the most forward to this annual December
holiday season column. The holiday season in Sandy is always my favorite time
of the year. From our city’s annual tree lighting to our charitable giving
traditions, the holiday season is where Sandy really shines as the wonderful
community we are.
Thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic, many of our most
cherished traditions have been drastically impacted over the last couple of
years. While some of this year’s activities are of a “hybrid” nature, allowing
for individuals to choose what works best for their personal comfort level, I
am proud to say that our holiday traditions are back and for the most part will
feel as special as ever.
Considering our current national supply chain logistics
issues and the fact that many of our local businesses are still recovering from
the pandemic, it has never been a better and more convenient time to both shop
and dine local. It is said that a single dollar spent locally gets spent four
additional times here in our community. Whether it be shopping for your gifts
or a gift card at a local store or grabbing some food on your way to get the
tree, Sandy has everything you need to spread holiday cheer.
Perhaps the most popular holiday tradition in Sandy is the
annual Sandy Community Christmas Basket Program sponsored by the Sandy Kiwanis
Club. Planning is already underway for their 66th anniversary of the program!
Last year 350 families were able to be assisted. The Sandy High School Key Club
is back up and going and will have their traditional canned food drives this
year as well. To help the Kiwanis purchase food or to donate, please send
checks to Sandy Community Christmas Baskets, P.O. Box 1261, Sandy, OR 97055 or
find them online at sandykiwanis.org/ChristmasBasket.html.
This year each basket will have the same items as in the
past for a holiday meal: a ham and all the sides to go with it.
Our annual Holiday Tree Lighting will be in person this year
with a hybrid drive-through option as well. This year’s event will be held from
6-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3. The lighting will also be a live streamed event with
holiday messages from well-known community members. Please visit the event
Facebook page for the latest details for this incredibly special event.
Sandy’s Helping Hands is doing their annual “Christmas in
the Community” program, where they provide Christmas dinner and gifts to local
families in need. If you’re interested in helping, please visit the Sandy’s
Helping Hands Facebook page to purchase gifts off of their Amazon list. This
year, they’re hoping to give the gift of Christmas to nearly 25 families.
While the past couple of years has brought its share of
challenges, sometimes we need these moments in our lives to remind us of how
truly special this place we live truly is. Whether it’s our community
gatherings, charitable opportunities or just wishing each other “Merry
Christmas” while passing each other at the grocery store – this time of year
reminds us why it’s so important to have our eye on our united mission, to
always keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Wilderness training can help in life-or-death situations by Mt. Hood Community College on 12/01/2021
Standing on the summit of Mount St. Helens, my long-time
friend and climbing partner beside me, I looked down into the horseshoe-shaped
crater caused by the eruption in 1980. From our vantage point, we could see
Mount Rainier to the north and Mount Hood to the south.
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend New Year’s Day
2014. Summitting the mountain felt like the most memorable chapter of the day.
Soon a scream for help would prove me wrong.
We started our descent from the 8,365-foot peak on schedule,
with plenty of daylight left. Crampons strapped to our feet and ice picks in
hand, we worked our way down the rugged snow and ice-covered route to the
seismic station at 6,200 feet. There we removed our crampons and chatted about
the weather with a man and woman heading up the mountain. They continue up and
we began hiking down. A few minutes later, a cry for help rang out.
Wilderness Responder Training Kicks In
I am a Wilderness First Responder instructor. I teach people
how to respond to emergency medical issues in remote settings where help is not
readily available and perform evacuations.
When my friend and I reached the couple, the woman was
sitting on the ground holding her leg. They had not donned their crampons yet,
and during her ascent, she had stepped on an icy patch, twisted her left leg
and fell. I quickly assessed her to make sure she did not have any
life-threatening injuries.
Her left leg was unstable and any movement caused agony. I
took stock of the materials we had on hand: one pair of trekking poles, ice
axes, a small first aid kit, a tarp and some duct tape. Using trekking poles
and straps from our backpacks I created a sandwich splint. Once the splint was
in place, it relieved some of her pain.
Even with the splint on, any abrupt movement of her legs
caused pain. The trailhead was three miles away, three miles of snow and ice.
911 is no Guarantee in the Wilderness
Many people assume 911 can come to the rescue, that wherever
they are help is a phone call away. Aside from the risk of no cell phone
service, most people don't realize that much of the Pacific Northwest’s rural
areas have greatly reduced access to lifesaving medical care. If someone is
severely injured in a rural area, their chance of dying is three to four times
higher than in an urban area.
We did have cell coverage and called 911. The news was not
good. Search and rescue would take at least six hours to reach us. Hypothermia
was a serious risk if we waited for the rescue team on the cold barren
mountainside. With the assistance of a large group of climbers who were on their
way down the mountain, we decided to evacuate her ourselves and meet the rescue
team during the descent.
Descent Toward Chocolate Falls
We created an improvised litter/stretcher using the tarp and
some trekking poles to carry the injured woman. This type of litter allows six
to eight people to carry it at the same time. Due to icy uneven terrain, it
took us five hours to descend 2,500 feet to the top of Chocolate Falls, a
40-foot frozen and snow-covered waterfall hanging above Swift Creek. The sun
was setting, stealing the last of our light.
In the growing darkness, I explained a method that allows
rescuers to carry a litter up or down steep terrain. We carefully lowered the
litter down the falls. Most of the group had been awake and climbing for more
than 16 hours, but spirits were high after making it past this final obstacle.
We rounded a corner and met the search and rescue team and
mountain paramedics. We learned that she sustained two fractures of her tibia,
one just below the knee and the other above the ankle. Thankfully she made a
full recovery and did not have any lasting injuries.
After a long and challenging day, I was grateful for my
training and knowledge. I encourage everyone who ventures outside to take a
course in wilderness medicine. As part of my course at MHCC, I teach all the
life-saving techniques I used in this evacuation and many other wilderness
medical skills. I always hope my students never have to use the training, but
if they need it, I know they will be thankful for it.
Mt. Hood Community College offers a Wilderness First
Responder course during the winter term. Contact Josh Stratman at 503-491-7201
or josh.stratman@mhcc.edu for more information. Find a full list of Community
Education classes at learn.mhcc.edu.
By Josh Stratman/For the Mountain Times |
| Hot chocolate melts by Taeler Butel on 12/01/2021
Marshmallows
Grease a 9x9-inch square baking dish
2.5 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup water
7 t gelatin (about 3 packets)
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat combine
granulated sugar with one cup water. Cook swirling pan often until candy
thermometer reaches 245 degrees and set aside.
In a stand mixer add the 1/2 cup water and gelatin. Let
proof 10 minutes with whisk attachment. Slowly pour sugar syrup into gelatin
mixture. Whip on medium high about 6 minutes, add salt and vanilla and then whip until thickened. Spread out in
greased pan.
Whisk together powdered sugar and cornstarch, sprinkle 1/2
on top (you can add sprinkles at this time if you’d like) leave out on counter
overnight to cure – cut in squares, toss with cornstarch mixture.
Hot chocolate melts
The idea is to melt one into a mug of hot milk. Gift a few
in a nice mug with a few homemade marshmallows!
Over double boiler melt: 2 cups dark chocolate with 1 T
coconut oil.
Pour half of mixture into bottom of greased loaf pan lined
with parchment paper, allow to set for at least 45 minutes, then spread with
cooled milk chocolate ganache:
Stir together over a double broiler until melted: 1/2 cup
milk chocolate chips, 1/2 t vanilla extract and 1/4 cup evaporated milk until
smooth.
Set until thickened in fridge.
Heat and pour other half of chocolate on top, top with
sprinkles, peppermint candies, mini chocolate chips, etc. Let set and cut with
sharp knife into rectangular shapes.
Heat 8 oz milk and drop in a chocolate bar, stir until
melted! |
| Tangibles and arcane language by Paula Walker on 12/01/2021
What means more may not always have high financial value…
When sitting down with clients for an estate planning
session I often find that discussing their plans for 'tangibles' can bring out
questioning looks at first but, in the end, may occupy the conversation more
than higher valued assets like their home or their financial accounts. Your
assets, property that comprises your wealth, those things that you will gift at
your passing, consist of two broad categories, real property and personal
property. Personal property is divided into tangible and intangible property.
Estate planning is filled with arcane terms, persistent
remnants of our legal roots in English common law, as in, common to the king's
courts throughout England. This system of law, hailing from the time of the
Norman Conquest circa 1066, gives us such terms as “tangibles” and “chattels,”
the latter included in the first.
In general, tangibles are personal property that can be felt
or touched, and are moveable, i.e., can be physically relocated. These as
opposed to intangibles, those assets that cannot be directly felt or touched
e.g., stocks, bonds, bank accounts etc. regardless that they may have a paper
embodiment.
Per Oregon law, the term tangibles includes, but is not limited
to, all chattels and movables. The term chattel is a catch-all phrase in law
that includes all movable assets that are not real estate and not attached to
real estate. Tangibles can include everything from furniture, collectibles and
personal effects in a home; boats, movable machinery, manufactured homes and
vehicles; to living creatures such as livestock and our treasured animal
companions, i.e., pets.
Frequently the planning for distributing tangibles consists
of discussing many common every day objects in our lives such as clothing,
jewelry, art, musical instruments, writings, furnishings, tools and other
household goods. Very often a client's focus is on those items that are of
relatively little monetary value, but of great sentimental worth. At times the
discussion of this type of personal property eclipses discussing the transfer
of financial assets. That favorite painting or antique chest, the tea set
handed down from grandmother or that may have come with her from another
country in emigrating to the U.S. The core value contained in these are many
true-to-heart connections that bear intense consideration for their care and
their passage
Stories of the Stars… If Only
In this case an item of sincere sentimental and nostalgic
value collides with real monetary value as is discovered.
Not a celebrity story but a story of family and real life
for the many of us. A BBC article offered a collection of people’s experiences
of “being remembered” with a gift from a dear one upon their passing, and the
unexpected turns such gifts can take - one person wrote that a small, seemingly
insignificant item “almost caused a war within the family.” The grandmother
left to the person writing to the BBC a cruet that she had kept on her dining
table the many years. She left that cruet to the writer specifically because as
a teenager the writer had told her grandmother that when they came to visit,
seeing that cruet was the sign that they were “at Grandmas House.” This
innocent comment made for no other particular purpose than its straightforward
message resulted in the gift. The issue arose because, as it turned out
unbeknown to the writer, the cruet was a valuable antique. The writer's uncle,
who collected such things, knew its value and wanted it. Apparently, the writer's
tenacious desire to keep the memento won the day. The writer closed with the
comment that that cruet is still on her dining table “to this day.”
Who’s to know what you set in motion with those tangibles
that you leave to someone that appear to have little in monetary value but are
great in sentimental connection? |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Preparing for a trip, even a simple day trip, should be
pretty basic when it comes to packing your camera gear, or so it would seem.
It’s easy to throw your gear in the backpack, grab it and go.
You must know that photographers take their backpacks pretty
serious. For those who aren’t aware, I should explain that a photography
backpack is very much like a typical rucksack, but they have little padded
dividers that are fastened with Velcro in an arrangement decided upon by the
owner of the backpack to hold their various camera bodies, lenses and other
assorted accoutrement.
With these dividers it’s easy to take a quick inventory of
your gear prior to heading out into the field. Zip open a panel, look inside
and zip the panel back up and off you go.
Taking quick inventory in this way is typically straight
forward. It’s easy to see if you have your camera and your lenses, but there
are always those little details that will trip you up as this little story will
show.
After taking my quick inventory on one day, I grabbed my
gear for a hike to a waterfall that I had been meaning to photograph for a
while.
The hike was going to be about a five-mile trip in, ten
miles altogether. A good day hike but still a bit more laborious due to my
backpack full of gear.
It’s usually like me to pull my camera from my backpack at
the trailhead and carry it separately and take snaps along the way, but on this
day the hike was familiar and I figured that I would just wait until I arrived
at the spot that I had in mind. Besides, it would make the hike easier without
carrying something in my hands.
I hiked with certain urgency as I was on a mission. I walked
the five miles with no break for rest as I knew that where I was going would be
a great spot to snack on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the apple
that I had brought along with me.
How perfect. A beautiful waterfall to photograph and a nice
little picnic all at the same time.
After the morning hike I arrived at my destination. The spot
that I had in mind for the photograph that I had imagined since my last hike
there. I walked to the creekside, peeled off my backpack, set up my tripod,
unpacked my camera, set it up on the tripod and turned it on to check my
settings.
As I look at the digital display, which shows me everything
that I need to know to adjust my camera, I notice the available exposure count.
It reads 0. Zero??? What?
As I stood there looking at the display, the cold
realization hit that I forgot to check that I had put the memory cards back in
after I had pulled them out to reformat and clear them to prepare for more photos
of this trip. I was literally standing there with a camera without “film” in
it.
All at once I felt emotions welling up inside. I’m not sure
if they were feelings of frustration, anger or dismay or a combination of them
all. It really didn’t matter as they weren’t good.
I dug through my pack to see if I had stashed a spare card,
but found nothing. I felt pretty dumb. Without much more than a thought or two
about what more that I could do, I packed my gear back into the backpack and
sat down to eat my sandwich.
As I sat there, I lectured myself. I berated myself for
forgetting to reinstall the card, and again for not checking when I packed the
backpack, but in time I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to take
a single photograph, and that I was in an incredibly amazingly beautiful place
in a terrible state of mind and that I just needed to realize how my priorities
were out of order.
I had to ask myself how taking the photo became more
important than the experience of being there and experiencing the tangible part
of the hike that a photo can never capture.
At that moment I closed my eyes and paid attention to those
non-visual components of this beautiful location that make the experience
complete.
I listened to the water as it tumbled over rocks. I listened
to the breeze in the trees above my head. I felt the moss under me.
Once I did this, I started to pay attention to things that I
may have ignored. I heard birds singing and squirrels quarreling. I smelled the
fresh fragrance of a forest in the morning. I felt the mist from the falls on
my face.
I could feel the stress leave as I concentrated. My feeling
of frustration changed to resignation and then to a feeling of satisfaction as
I realized the complete beauty of my surroundings.
In time I stood back up, grabbed my backpack and started
back down the trail with the thought in my mind about lessons learned.
Practical thoughts about how to prevent forgetting memory cards or batteries,
but even more the thoughts and wonder if I would have taken the time to enjoy
the experience of the waterfall if I had remembered to bring them.
To this day when I head out to hike to a waterfall, I will
check everything, including the details. I haven’t left a card or a battery at
home since, but more importantly after this experience, the first thing that I
do when I arrive at a location is to close my eyes and experience everything
that being there has to offer, and I think that it shows through the photos
that I take afterward. |
|  Photo by Steve Wilent
I was happy to hear from several readers that they found my
October column on Douglas squirrels informative. However, the International
Douglas Squirrel Appreciation Society was not amused. In an unsigned email,
they said that these squirrels are certainly not evil, are absolutely adorable
and would never throw fir cones at people or their houses. Obviously, these
well-intentioned folks don’t know the crafty critters as well as they think.
One reader responded to my September column on the likely
effects of climate change on natural resources in our area with an excellent
question: What did I mean when I wrote that, “foresters and fishery and
wildlife managers will need to focus on increasing the resilience of these
natural resources to ensure their health and survival.”
As you may recall, I wrote that, “With higher temperatures,
more heat waves, and drier summers, our native trees and shrubs will be under
more stress. Trees and plants that are weakened by drought and high
temperatures are more susceptible to insect attack, so we may see more of them
dying. Fish and wildlife will be affected, too. The earlier arrival of spring
conditions and warmer, drier summers and early autumns may change the timing of
salmon and steelhead migration and reproduction, for example.”
How can forests be made more resilient to higher
temperatures, more heat waves and drier summers?
Imagine an acre of forest that has 50 conifer trees, most of
which are 100 years old or more, with an understory of salal and sword fern –
typical for our area. Over the last century, these trees and shrubs have
thrived with relatively steady amounts of rain and snow during the fall, winter
and spring, with little rain during the summer.
How will they respond to getting about the same amount of
annual rainfall, but more of it coming in winter, with warmer, dryer summers
that last a month or two longer than in the past? They may do fine during the
wet season, but during the dry season the trees and shrubs will increasingly
compete with each other for water. In nature, the strong survive: the trees and
shrubs with root systems able to draw in enough water will survive, and others
may not. At first, the weaker trees will have less energy to expend on
defending themselves from insects and disease, and they may weaken and
eventually die.
As summers continue to become longer, dryer and hotter, even
the largest, most robust trees may struggle to survive, and a drought they
might otherwise have survived could kill some or all of them.
That’s what happened in California over the past decade. An
estimated 163 million trees – many of them well over 100 years old – died
during a drought and subsequent bark beetle infestations. This figure does not
include the millions of trees killed in recent years by wildfire. I visited the
central Sierras in 2016 and saw huge numbers of dead ponderosa pines and sugar
pines on the Sierra National Forest and Sequoia National Park, and the
beginnings of a die-off in Yosemite National Park.
Trees in Oregon, too, are dying, as “The Oregonian” reported
in a Sept. 17 article, “Climate change and hot, dry summers mean big trouble
for Oregon’s trees.”
In California, the die-off began suddenly and progressed so
quickly that little could be done but to remove the dead trees that posed the
greatest threat to homes, businesses, power lines and so on.
What can be done here, other than waiting for a few or many
of our trees to die?
On the example acre, removing some of the 50 trees would
reduce the stress on the remaining trees. It wouldn’t guarantee their survival,
but it would give them a better chance at living through the coming longer,
dryer summers, as well as the occasional extraordinary heat wave, like the one
we had this summer. In other words, it would help the trees become more resilient
to the changes ahead. Landowners also might consider planting Douglas-fir trees
grown from seed from trees in southern Oregon or Northern California, where
summers are now similar to future summers here. Even now, some landowners in
northwest Oregon are thinking about planting ponderosa pines, Oregon white oaks
or other species accustomed to long, dry summers.
I am not saying that you ought to start thinning trees on
your Hoodland property, at least not yet. I’m not planning to thin the trees on
my Rhododendron land, other than to remove one or two that have a root disease,
but I’m keeping a close eye on them and watching for advice from respected
sources of information such as Oregon State University and the Oregon Forest
Resources Institute.
East of the Cascades, I’ve observed many ponderosa pines at
lower elevations that are dying or dead. Drive Dufur Valley Road between Dufur
and Camp Baldwin and you’ll see lots of ponderosas that are fading or are
already dead. If I had property in that area, I would consider cutting some of
the remaining pines and thinning the Oregon white oaks and grand fir, which
would reduce moisture stress on the remaining trees.
As for wildlife in our area, there will be winners and
losers in the coming decades. Woodpeckers and other insect-eating birds may
thrive, as more trees are infested by bark beetles and other insects, but frogs
and other amphibians may struggle as the timing of their mating and
reproduction seasons change and as springs and wetlands dry up. Working to help
forests adapt to the changes ahead would assure that forest-dwelling animals
have resilient habitat. Active forest management can be done with an eye toward
improving habitat, such as by creating openings in the forest canopy that offer
food, shelter, and other benefits to wildlife.
Enhancing habitat for our native fish will be important,
too. The U.S. Forest Service, the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council and other
organizations have worked for years to improve fish habitat by reopening old
side channels and adding large logs and root wads to steams, which has several
benefits to fish, such as creating deep pools that provide refuges during heat
waves. This work is now more important than ever.
Oregon’s climate, along with the world’s, will continue to
change for decades, regardless of what humanity does to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Here in Hoodland, we can either stand by hope that our forests
remain healthy, or prepare to take measured, science-based action to increase
forest health and resilience before we have a mass die-off like California’s.
Have a question about forest health and resilience? Want to
know how forests promote human health and resilience? Let me know. Email:
SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Rain gardens improve water quality and protect salmon by Mt. Hood Community College on 11/01/2021
Every fall, students in the Mt. Hood Community College
(MHCC) Fisheries Technology Program conduct spawning surveys in Beaver Creek.
During these surveys, students often discover pre-spawn mortality – salmon that
have died from exposure to pollution before they could lay their eggs. The MHCC
Salmon Safe Clean Water Retrofit aims to change that trend.
In 2016, MHCC became the first community college in the U.S.
to be certified Salmon Safe. The Salmon Safe Clean Water Retrofit decreases the
college campus’ impact on salmon and improves water quality downstream.
For thousands of years, salmon have been a crucial part of
the ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest, spending part of their lives far up
rivers, mountain streams and even creeks that now flow by residential and
commercial areas like Beaver Creek, which passes through the MHCC campus.
Much of the campus was constructed in the 1960s and expanded
as the college grew. Large parking lots are a necessity for students and staff,
but runoff from these lots and roofs drive pollution into nearby creeks. Once
the college discovered this impact on the environment, leadership explored ways
to decrease the pollution.
The Salmon Safe Clean Water Retrofit captures runoff before
it reaches the creeks through drywells, rain gardens and naturescapes that cool
runoff and naturally filter pollutants. These changes capture 95 percent of
pollution in retrofitted parking lots. MHCC is committed to being a steward of
the environment, as well as a good neighbor.
Beaver Creek is a crucial part of our local ecosystem. Four
to nine percent of Sandy River coho salmon pass through Beaver Creek each year.
The Beaver Creek watershed is home to salamanders, herons, eagles, otters and
lamprey. Beaver Creek starts as a spring near Dodge Park Blvd., flows through
farms and nurseries and empties into the Sandy River near Glenn Otto Park.
The retrofit is just one part of a larger effort to restore
the creek through a partnership between Sandy River Watershed Council, City of
Gresham, East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District, Metro and MHCC.
Learn more and discover volunteer opportunities at Sandyriver.org/beavercreek.
Jenny Furniss is the public relations and marketing content
strategist at MHCC. |
| View Points Salem: Third step against child abuse by Rep. Anna Williams on 11/01/2021
One of the main things that short legislative sessions,
which take place during even-numbered years, tend to focus on is unfinished
business from previous sessions. The main piece of unfinished business that I
hope to complete in the 2022 session is the last remaining piece of a
three-part child abuse prevention and response bill that I sponsored in my
first year as a State Representative. (When I commit to getting something done,
I don’t give up!)
Since then, I have successfully convinced the Legislature to
dedicate $3 million per year to Children’s Advocacy Centers, which provide
victim services and collaborate with law enforcement to help kids recover from
abuse and help ensure abusers in our communities face accountability (that was
part one of my bill). I have also successfully directed and funded the
Department of Education to hire additional staff who can help Oregon schools
teach child abuse prevention curriculum to K-12 students (that’s part two).
With these two policy wins, Oregon children will now be better equipped to
identify, report and escape abuse. They will also be better supported if they
are subjected to abuse in their households or communities.
The missing piece of this puzzle, though, is a lack of
information about how big the problem of child abuse in Oregon truly is. The
third part of my child abuse agenda would change that. Our state’s response to
child abuse depends on understanding where and when abuse is taking place.
During the pandemic, we saw a huge decrease in abuse reports because the
majority of those reports come from mandatory reporters who encounter kids in a
school setting. Those mandatory reports, however, are only filed when a
teacher, counselor or other mandatory reporter comes across evidence that a
child is suffering abuse. Many child abuse survivors are experts at hiding
their abuse - for their own safety. Reporting specific abusive behavior, after
all, could lead to even worse abuse. This leads to a situation where our data
on the prevalence of child abuse shows potentially far fewer instances of abuse
than what is actually taking place in Oregon. We need a better way of talking
directly to kids who are experiencing abuse, and we need to be able to
anonymously collect information in case some victims and survivors are afraid
to identify their abusers.
Within the University of Oregon, a research team has
developed and tested a new way of gathering data on child abuse. The Oregon
Child Abuse Prevalence Study has already been conducted in Lane County, but my
bill would expand it statewide. This study gives us a trauma-informed way to go
talk to high school students in Oregon classrooms and learn whether they have
experienced any abuse during their childhood years.
As an important part of the process, the research team also
performs a post-survey debrief with students to acknowledge and help process
any feelings they may have about the questions they’ve been asked. This
discussion also helps us gather students’ thoughts on how the survey could be
improved or how abuse issues could better be addressed or discussed, whether in
classrooms or through state policy.
This survey would provide much-needed improvement in the
child abuse data Oregon collects, which will help us provide appropriate
prevention and response services. It would also empower Oregon’s kids to talk
about a challenging (and potentially life-saving) topic that too often gets
swept under the rug because it makes us all deeply uncomfortable. This final
piece of my child abuse prevention and response agenda could dramatically
change the ways we work to prevent and end child abuse in our state.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: November's helping events by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 11/01/2021
Sandy is well known for our great pioneering spirit as that
final stop for so many of our courageous ancestors who traveled across the west
on the Oregon Trail. It’s this pioneering spirit that has seen our community
continually lead the way. From our national leading high speed broadband
internet service with SandyNet, world class transit system in Sandy Area Metro
or our community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic – Sandy is a place where
neighbors come together, dare to innovate, dream big and lead the way.
During the course of the pandemic, we have watched as our
city government, sports leagues and charitable and civic organizations forged ahead
with a can-do attitude that allowed us to continue on with many of our
traditions and sense of community. Whether it was the city's drive-by Christmas
tree lighting to last year's Sandy Chamber drive-by trick or treat trail, our
community members showed tremendous leadership over the course of these past
two years.
I’m excited to say that this tradition in Sandy of a
pioneering spirit continues going into this year's holiday season. From the
traditional Trick or Treat Trail with the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce to the
return of Sandy Helping Hands iconic Sandy Camo Con and the Sandy Community
Center’s Thanksgiving Morning Tickle Trot, Sandy is finally starting to feel
normal again and get back to the wonderful place we cherish so much.
I cannot begin to express my gratitude to the community
leaders who are working diligently behind the scenes to make these events
happen. It is always amazing to see neighbors roll up their sleeves to put on
these great events, and to forge ahead in the times we currently live is truly
inspiring.
In addition to the benefits these events bring to the
culture and vibrancy of our great city, these events also allow these
organizations to do a tremendous amount of good throughout the year.
The Camo Con pub crawl for example has traditionally helped
pay for the Christmas in the Community program that Sandy Helping Hands puts on
each holiday season. The annual Tickle Trot Trail helps pay for many of the
resources the Sandy Action Center offers to some of our most disadvantaged and
vulnerable neighbors.
Below is additional information on these upcoming events.
The holiday season is always a special time in Sandy, watching as community
members place a premium on our traditions and special way of life is quite
special. It’s amazing to live at a place where so many people work so hard to
keep Sandy wonderful.
November events
What: Sandy Helping Hands Camo Con ‘21.
When: 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, Nov. 20.
For more info, visit
http://sandyshelpinghands.com/camo-con/.
What: Sandy Community Action Center Tickle Trot
When: 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 25, in the Sandy Fred Meyer
parking lot, 16625 SE 362nd Drive in Sandy.
For more information, search for the Sandy Tickle Trot on
Facebook.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Flavors of fall by Taeler Butel on 11/01/2021
Time to get cozy with the sights, smells and especially the
flavors of fall.
As far as Thanksgiving goes, do what I do and get invited to
another home for dinner.
May I suggest bringing one of these fall-inspired recipes as
a hostess gift?
Let’s cook!
Butternut squash carbonara
1/4 cup purιed butternut squash
1/4 cup diced butternut squash, roasted
1 lb. cooked pasta with 1 cup of the pasta water reserved (I
used ravioli)
1/2 cup diced bacon, cooked tender crisp
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/2 t salt and fresh-cracked pepper
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (or 1 t dried)
2 T softened cream cheese
2 eggs, beaten
Put pasta, bacon, shallot and diced squash in large pot. Mix
other ingredients in separate bowl. Gently toss sauce mixture into pot with
pasta, cook over medium heat tossing constantly with two wooden spoons until
sauce thickens.
Persimmon pound cake
This cake is dense, moist, bejeweled with fresh fruit and
crowned with a simple icing.
2 large Fuyu persimmons peeled, cored and chopped
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/2 t each salt, baking soda and baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 sticks (1/2 cup) softened unsalted butter (I use European
or Irish)
1 t vanilla
1 t butter flavoring (optional)
Glaze
2 T cream
1/2 t vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
Whisk together glaze ingredients.
Grease and flour large Bundt pan (I had extra batter and
made cupcakes) and heat oven to 375.
In a large electric mixer bowl cream butter, then slowly add
the sugar and then eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add
in the extract.
Whisk dry ingredients in another bowl, then add mixture by
thirds to the batter, alternating eaach time with the buttermilk.
Fold in persimmon chunks and bake for 50 minutes or until
large toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I have a new camera. It’s become my favorite camera. If not
my favorite, it is certainly the one that I’ve been using the most. It even
makes phone calls.
If you haven’t figured it out already, I have reached the
annual and inevitable point of obsolescence of my cell phone. I fight the
thought of this being a ploy to sell me a new phone every four years, but if
I’m being honest, it’s something that I always look forward to. It’s not
because the manufacturers have improved reception or call quality on the phone.
Both aspects seem to be no different than they were four years prior when I
upgraded to my previous phone. What I always look forward to is how the latest
camera upgrades perform.
I’ve owned a cell phone for practically their whole
existence. I used a Motorola brick at work in the early 1990s and then
progressed through the flip phone era to the modern-day smartphones. I remember
when the first camera came out as a feature in the better flip phones. It was a
terrible little camera that took very small, out of focus and grainy photos. It
was impractical and more of a novelty than a practical camera. At that time,
point and shoot cameras were popular for taking snapshots. Today very few
people have or need a point and shoot camera as our phones have easily replaced
them.
My first cell phone camera created an image that was 484
pixels x 364 pixels, 14 KB file which yielded a 1 ¼-inch x 1 5/8-inch photo. My
newest cell phone has a 9,000 x 12,000-pixel, 14 MB image that will print a
30-inch x 40-inch photo. The device features a 108 megapixel (MP) primary
camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, two 10MP telephoto cameras (3X and 10X
optical zoom) and a 40MP selfie camera that makes use of multiple lenses. This
means that if you zoom in the image will be made using a lens to magnify the
scene and not digitally, which tends to break the image apart. This particular
cell phone that I’m using has three lenses.
Another feature that cell phones have these days is the
ability to use what’s called Pro Mode. Pro Mode will allow you to switch the
phone camera to manual which gives you the ability to adjust all of the
settings – primarily shutter speed and ISO, and to save the file in a raw
format. When set on automatic, the camera will take the photo and process it
according to presets that are programmed into your camera. When it’s set to
manual you can create and process your photo in the method that gives you the look
that you want. After which there are programs/applications that you can use on
your camera to process and save the photo.
You might ask why you would need a camera if a cell phone
can take such incredible photos? The answer is that it’s about sensor size and
not about megapixels. The pixel size on the cell phone is .8 micrometers while
the pixel size on my professional camera is 4.35 micrometers. Why is this
important? It’s important in dim lighting. Larger pixels gather more light. A
cell phone will do fine for photos in optimal light but once the lighting
becomes a challenge the camera will be challenged. As a matter of fact, when
the cell phone camera is in night or low light mode it will use what's called
binning to merge nine pixels into one, effectively making it a 12 MP sensor.
And furthermore, a larger sensor will be able to gather more information which
will make a sharper and clearer image. The simple answer is that it’s not
realistic to expect a sensor the size of 8mm to perform as well as a camera
with a 35mm.
I haven’t mentioned the video capability of the cell phone.
It could be a whole separate article. It boasts the ability to record 8K video.
It can record 3840 x 2160 at 30p but can also record 1920 x 1080 at up to 120p
which can give you the ability to record super slow motion.
I’m finally excited about the camera on my cell phone. I
have been having fun with it. In the past I would try but the image quality
when I was through was discouraging. I relegated the cell phone to snap shots
of friends and family and snaps of times that I wanted reminders of. Because
the photos and the video from this camera are so good, I’m more willing to try
to be creative with it. Will it replace my professional camera? Not at all, but
it will allow me to get rid of all of the point and shoot cameras as well as
all of the various video cameras that I have accumulated over the last few
years. Cell phone cameras are starting to stand on their own as a viable option
for quality imagery. |
| Autumn on the Mountain means squirrels are happy by Steve Wilent on 10/01/2021
I’d like to say that the Douglas squirrels that inhabit our
Mountain woods are friendly little critters, but they’re not. I think they’re
evil. I can’t tell you how many times Lara and I have been startled awake at
dawn on September and October mornings by the sound of green fir cones hitting
our metal roof. A gang of the dern squirrels scrambles up to the tops of
several big Douglas-fir trees near our house, harvesting green cones for the
winter. They nip the stem and let the cones fall – or throw them so they hit
the roof – to be later gathered up and stripped of their nutritious seeds.
You wouldn’t think a little fir cone could make such noise –
BAM! – but they do – BAM! BAM! The cones are green and solid as rocks – though
not quite so hard as the gluten-free biscuits I made. Once. The cones fall (or
are thrown) well over 100 feet from our 150-foot trees, and you can almost hear
them hissing in the air, as when you when you’re a batter standing at the plate
facing a pitcher throwing a baseball at 100 miles per hour. Hisssss – POP into
the catcher’s mitt. At least the batter is supposedly awake. A fir cone hitting
a metal roof while one is sound asleep much louder, especially just before
sunrise, which is the squirrels’ prime time.
I’ve told Lara that I can hear the little monsters up there
giggling as they aim for the roof, that I imagine them holding their bellies
because they laugh so hard when they hear my cursing. Of course, curses only
encourage the little devils. Lara, who says she can’t hear them giggling, has
words for them that are not so mild as “dern” and that are unprintable in a
family newspaper.
An aside: “dern,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,
is as a variant of “darn,” which is a polite substitute for “damn,” but dern
also can mean crafty or underhanded – all of which apply when speaking of
Douglas squirrels. “Dern” was used eloquently by Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae,
as played by Robert Duvall, in Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove.” I ask you: Has
there ever been a better American actor? But I digress.
The Douglas squirrel, aka chickaree or pine squirrel,
measures 11 to 14 inches in length, including its tail, according to Tamara
Eder’s excellent book, “Mammals of Washington and Oregon.” Its upper parts are
reddish- or brownish-gray, and its underparts are orange-ish to yellowish.
These pesky rodents are native to the Pacific Northwest coast, from British
Columbia to northern California, including the Cascades. They eat mainly
conifer seeds, but I’ve seen them eat vine maple and bigleaf maple seeds when
Doug-fir seeds are scarce. At least maple trees don’t have cones. Their seeds
are samaras, meaning they have wings that help them helicopter to the ground.
Most conifer seeds have such wings, too, which lets the wind help disperse them
after the cones open when they are ripe. I wouldn’t mind at all if the
squirrels let the Doug-fir seeds loose from high in the trees – they’d spin
slowly down and land without a sound. But no, that wouldn’t be much fun for the
varmints, would it?
According to Oregon State University, in addition to seeds,
including the seeds in bird feeders, chickarees will also devour berries,
leaves, twigs, fungi, insects and even bird eggs and nestlings – I have seen
evidence that they will chew their way into bird houses to get them. These
squirrels are “known for their highly vocal (noisy) sputterings and scoldings.”
OSU says they use distinctive calls during courtship, when defending their
territory and as an alarm. Great. Couldn’t they raise an alarm before bombing
my house? Douglas squirrels are prey for raptors, coyotes, bobcats. Well, good.
Those critters need to eat, too, right? Domestic cats and dogs will eat them,
too.
Eder’s books says chickarees have one litter per year,
averaging four per litter – and as many of eight of the little rapscallions –
but some references say they can have two litters per year, in early spring or
summer and in August or September. They build their nests from moss, leaves,
shredded western redcedar bark, bits of cloth or cardboard, wads of fiberglass
house insulation or anything else that they can get their greedy little paws
on. The nests are round or oblong and can be as large as a soccer ball or
football, and they’re hollow inside, making a nice, cozy home. Chickarees have
built nests in nooks and crannies in my well shed and woodpiles. I’ve explained
to them that they aren’t welcome and even tried placing “No Squirrels!” signs,
but that, too, seems only to egg them on.
You may have noticed that the squirrel and the tree share
the name “Douglas.” That’s because both were “discovered” by David Douglas, the
Scotsman who explored the Pacific Northwest in 1825 and 1826, studying trees
and plants and collecting seeds and cuttings for England’s Horticultural
Society. I may have mentioned a book about Douglas in a previous Woodsman
column, “The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the
Northwest.” Of course, the plants and animals of the Pacific Northwest were
discovered by humans more than 14,000 years ago, long before there was anything
like an England or a Horticultural Society.
Another aside: if this ancient history interests you, read
“The Search for America’s Atlantis: Did People First Come to this Continent by
Land or By Sea?” recently published in “The Atlantic” (see
tinyurl.com/2mj9wx9p). Oregon is mentioned as the location of some of the
earliest evidence that these Paleoindian people lived in the western U.S. about
14,300 years ago. Me, I think they came by land and sea.
Back to those dern squirrels…
If you don’t live directly under a big Doug-fir, you may
think “cute” when you see a Douglas squirrel sitting on a branch and chewing
its way through a cone, leaving piles of bracts, scales and stems below. A
mature Douglas-fir tree can bear thousands of cones, but fortunately they
usually do so only every five to seven years. Judging by the sagging branches
on our trees, this is one of those years. The squirrels are rejoicing. I’m not.
Have a question about forest wildlife? Need a sure-fire way
to get Douglas squirrels out of your shed or attic? Let me know. Email:
SWilent@gmail.com. |
| View Finder Salem: Battling addiction by Rep. Anna Williams on 10/01/2021
Long before COVID-19, Oregon was already suffering from an
epidemic: according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, one in ten Oregonians struggles with substance use disorder.
And, since the War on Drugs led to increased drug penalty laws in the early
1980s, Oregon has had laws on the books that could make criminals of 10 percent
of its residents.
In November 2020, Oregonians overwhelmingly voted to pass
Ballot Measure 110, which changed possession of drugs for personal use from a
crime to a violation. In other words, a person will no longer be arrested if
they are found to have small quantities of drugs. They will instead face a fine
of no more than $100, which can be waived if they agree to complete a health
assessment with an addiction treatment provider. This is a creative solution to
the addiction crisis in our state, but it will require us to make major
investments in social services and behavioral health care.
People in many parts of Oregon have very little access to
addiction recovery services, even though our state has the fourth-highest
addiction rate in the nation. This lack of access to treatment has caused our
state’s houselessness crisis to grow out of control, straining our ability to
provide housing assistance to people when evictions are spiking. Measure 110
was a clear demand from Oregon’s voters for new strategies to intervene with
the addiction crisis, so the state legislature had to find a way to make
Measure 110 a reality.
That’s where Senate Bill (SB) 755 comes in.
SB 755, which passed during the 2021 session and is now in
the process of being implemented, is a massive bill (both in terms of its page
count and in terms of what it does!). It creates a way to ensure – and require
– that all 36 counties will have addiction recovery, harm reduction and other
services. It funds these services to the tune of $100 million per year, which
seems like a hefty price tag until you compare it to the long-term savings we
will see as we stop funneling people with substance use disorders into
expensive jails and prisons, treating overdoses in emergency rooms and
struggling to keep people housed when their underlying problem is substance use
disorder.
SB 755 also removes youth from adult courts for drug-related
cases, meaning they can get targeted help from experts in juvenile development
and treatment.
The law requires adult courts to refer adults to behavioral
health and addiction screenings that will help identify their treatment needs.
Courts will also establish a streamlined process for confirming those adults
have fulfilled their addiction assessments, meaning fewer people will slip
through the cracks of our overburdened justice system. Finally, the state will
collect data to help us better understand how each county and city in Oregon
can improve its response to the addiction epidemic in its own communities
(rather than having the same statewide solution applied to every community
regardless of each town’s unique strengths and struggles).
It’s worth noting that neither Measure 110 nor SB 755
legalized any drugs. Illegal drugs are (of course!) still illegal, and the
resources we pour into law enforcement will now be focused on those who
manufacture and sell those drugs, which is a more efficient and effective use
of those limited resources. It will also not soften the penalties for crimes
related to drug use, such as theft or driving under the influence of an
intoxicant.
As a former social worker, I was proud to be able to use my
background and expertise to counsel my colleagues on how this bill should be
implemented. Readers won’t be surprised to learn that I was one of its most
vocal supporters during the last legislative session.
I am thrilled to see our state finally prioritizing
treatment over punishment, expanding access to recovery resources and moving
away from the extremely harsh drug possession penalties to which we have been
subjecting people with addictions for decades.
While this policy will require oversight and adjustment as
time passes, I am confident that we have taken a meaningful (and massive) first
step toward building a responsive service delivery model for treating
Oregonians with substance use disorder. I am excited to help continue
developing these systems and I look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can
best do that.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: Addressing homelessness by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 10/01/2021
Years ago, homelessness was a mostly “downtown” issue. The
cost of homelessness was concentrated in the city centers, which meant that
service providers could concentrate their efforts in a relatively small area.
Today, homelessness is a crisis that plagues every corner of
our state. From our community of Sandy to Ontario to Coos Bay, from Portland to
Ashland, just about every community in our state has a homeless problem. Ten
years ago, 40 percent of the homeless lived downtown. Today, it’s only 20
percent. Many homeless individuals have left the downtowns for the outskirts,
residential areas and parks and natural areas.
The spread of homeless camps throughout the state has taken
a toll on many of the natural wonders that Oregonians treasure. Locally in
Sandy we’ve watched as camps have begun to show up in our more cherished
locations like Tickle Creek Trail, the Sandy Community Campus and Meinig
Memorial Park. And while not coming close to the crisis in neighboring
communities, we have begun to see more homeless walking our sidewalks.
It’s easy to see this destruction and blight as a failure of
federal, state and local governments to provide basic public safety and health
services. It’s easy to see it as a breakdown in social norms that value private
property and public welfare. We need policies to focus on restoring community
livability and safety by moving the homeless off the streets and out of the
parks to more sustainable and humane housing.
At the same time, homelessness is a deeply personal crisis
for those experiencing it. Everyone who loses housing has his or her own unique
circumstances: job loss, mental illness, physical disability, substance abuse,
domestic violence, rising rent or eviction. Close to two-thirds of those who
are homeless have mental health or substance abuse issues.
In many ways, homelessness is a breakdown in the social
safety net. We need policies to help our homeless population find and obtain
affordable housing and stay housed.
Addressing homelessness is not an either/or proposition.
Homelessness presents a personal crisis, but a large and growing homeless
population imposes incredible financial and quality-of-life costs on the
community at large. While many unsheltered people would like nothing more than
to be housed, there are also many who have little interest in their own – or
their community’s – well-being. In Sandy, we’re striving to find policies that
reach out to those who want help, be firm with those who don’t, and create an
environment where residents can feel safe.
First, we need to help those who want it. Recently our Sandy
City Council established the Sandy Social Services Taskforce. The taskforce and
its leader, Maggie Holm, are tasked with surveying our community on the types
of services needed and then to develop a strategic plan on how to work with
private, public and local nonprofit organizations to address such needs. In the
long-term, it is our hope that this taskforce allows our existing organizations
such as the Sandy Community Action Center, Ant Farm and others to be more
effective in their delivering of services through a strategic and holistic
plan.
Second, we need to be firm with those who don’t want help.
Sandy City Councilors Laurie Smallwood and Richard Sheldon are leading our
newly formed homelessness taskforce. One of the immediate recommendations
coming out of that group is strengthening our city ordinances to provide more
tools to our police officers when working with our homeless population. While
we should continue to be compassionate and willing to assist, we must also
proceed with conviction as to what are acceptable and unacceptable camping and
living conditions for our community.
Finally, we must create an environment where residents can
feel safe. Our city council has done a lot in recent years to bolster the
resources of our local police department. This has gone a long way in keeping
our community safe. That said, we need the continued help of all of you – our
neighbors. Last month, city councilor Kathleen Walker and I joined several
other Sandy residents in a camp cleanup at the Sandy Community Campus. It’s an
incredible feeling to see the difference one can make after just a couple of
hours of work. We are all affected by the homeless issue, and it will take all
of us taking action to fix it.
People are often taken aback when I say that I’m encouraged
by our homeless problem. The reason I’m encouraged is the problem has risen to
a level in our community where people must take notice but is not to a point
where we can’t do anything about it. Now is the time for our local leaders and
community members to raise our level of commitment to addressing our
homelessness issue and taking it head on. It’s what will keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Party food by Taeler Butel on 10/01/2021
It’s time, you can do this. Beef Wellington only looks
complex, this is what we’ve been practicing for.
Beef Wellington
2 lbs tenderloin tails (1 lb each), at room temperature
1 box frozen puff pastry
1 egg beaten with 1 t water
2 cloves garlic minced
2 T minced shallot (use onion if no shallot)
1/4 cup red wine (or beef stock)
2 cups diced mushrooms
1 T butter
Olive Oil for pan
Flour for dusting
1/2 t each of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, all
mixed together
Heat oven to 400 F and thaw pastry until mailable.
Heat large skillet over medium-high, and rub spices all over
tenderloin tails. Sear meat for one to two minutes on each side, then set
aside.
Add the butter, mushrooms, shallot and garlic and cook,
stirring often, until mushrooms are tender and shallot is carmelized.
De-glaze the pan by pouring the wine in (be careful of alcohol flare up), scraping
the bottom and cook on low until most liquid is evaporated. Set aside.
Cut pastry in half. Spread mushroom mixture around
tenderloin and then roll dough around tenderloin/mushroom mixture. Seal and
brush with egg wash.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20
minutes.
|
| You are never too young by Paula Walker on 10/01/2021
The adage “You are never too old…” has a reverse corollary
in Estate Planning: “You are never too young.”
And in some circumstances better young than old. With many
families sending their college bound children off this fall – finally rounding
the corner to college in person, not just Zoom. Or maybe, finally, your child
is off to explore parts known and unknown using this as a “gap year” before
college or in between college semesters, this is a very timely topic. A topic
that surprises many, if not most parents.
Turning 18, your child is legally an adult. This imposes
legal requirements you’ve likely not yet considered. Although still their
parents, and even perhaps they still live at home, you no longer have legal
access to your 18-year old’s medical records or information about their medical
condition; nor can you transact business on their behalf should they need you
to do so.
This becomes especially relevant as your child heads for
college, or that gap year of travel between high school and entering college;
or otherwise ventures forth, independent and ready to be so, but, in
emergencies, still looking to you for support and help.
Four documents each emerging young adult should have, are:
1) Healthcare Power of Attorney; 2) HIPAA Authorization; 3) Advance Directive;
and 4) Durable Power of Attorney.
With these instruments in place, whomever the young adult
appoints in those instruments can intervene on their behalf in cases of medical
emergency, can support them with medical care, can have access to medical
records as needed, can make life and death decisions and can manage financial
affairs as needed.
Without these, even though you are paying the medical bills,
you may not be able to speak with medical staff about medical conditions,
prescriptions, handle insurance claims etc.
While the parent may be the best person to appoint in many
cases, the young adult may appoint another trusted adult, aunt, uncle or older
sibling instead of or in addition to a parent. It is advisable to appoint
alternates in case the first choice is unable or unwilling to serve.
How long do these four documents remain in effect? Two
answers to that. First, each document is ‘durable,’ meaning that they remain in
effect during a time of incapacity. Second, the appointment lasts as long as
the young adult wants.
They can revoke or amend the documents at any time appointing
other persons to serve as their agent as they move into other stages of their
lives and relationships, such as marriage.
Not only for medical events, having these proxy authorities
in place can be useful in a variety of situations as your child ventures forth,
perhaps travels overseas for a gap year or study, such as your ability to wire
money from child’s bank account, contact the local embassy, sign a legal
document for your child in their absence such as their lease, sign tax returns
and pay bills. As well, a young adult may not want their parents to have access
to certain information. They can stipulate not to disclose information they
want to keep private.
Where forms may be state specific, it is advisable to
prepare the forms for the state in which you live as well as those for the
state of the school attended, and the school’s forms if they have their own.
Once executed, scan and save the documents so that they are readily available
on a computer or by smartphone.
Attending to these documents is a good investment; part of
your back-to-school or next-stage-of-life support. This can give peace of mind
to your child as well as you as they venture forth, that in those fledgling
years between childhood and fully independent adulthood, you can still be there
for them if they need you. |
|  Photo by Francene Grew.
Alaska is a special place for my wife Darlene and me. We
return as often as possible. We recently had the opportunity to return to spend
five days with a small group of photographers to show them the beauty of the
state.
We visited the Kenai Peninsula in our search for wildlife,
especially bears, and we spent time at the Kenai and the Russian Rivers. We saw
huge red-sided Coho salmon making their way upriver to spawn. We also
photographed loons at Skilak Lake. We were disappointed that we saw no bears,
but it was a day full of adventure and breathtaking scenery. The Chugach
Mountains, Kenai Mountains and the scenic Turnagain Arm dominated the scenery
that we enjoyed as we travelled the Seward Highway.
On our second day we took an excursion boat out of the
coastal town of Seward. We cruised through Resurrection Bay into the ocean. It
was drizzling with some fog, but it didn’t keep us from standing out in the
clean ocean air photographing dreamscape-like images of the rugged, forested
Alaska shoreline and the Kenai Fjord's towering, rocky Chiswell Islands. We saw
wildlife including sea lions and a myriad of sea birds, puffins and bald
eagles. We even had a humpback whale surface right next to our boat, raising
its tail above the water. We then travelled to the face of the Aialik Glacier
to watch the calving of the ice into the sea, while harbor seals floated on the
dislodged chunks of ancient ice in an attempt to avoid being eaten by orca
whales.
On day three we travelled north into the massive Talkeetna
Mountains with their jagged peaks and glacial scoured valleys, green with
tundra and decorated by the scattered late season wildflowers. We explored
Hatcher Pass and the dilapidated Independence Mines. As we travelled through,
we photographed sweeping vistas and aqua blue-green glacier fed rivers.
We eventually met the Parks Highway and turned north to our
second lodge located in Talkeetna, an eclectic little tourist town south of our
ultimate destination, Denali National Park and Preserve.
As we drove north, we passed through Broad Pass with forests
stunted from the harsh winter conditions that they must endure to survive. The
incredible scenery was dotted with beaver ponds that mirrored the foothills of
the Alaska Range on their still surfaces.
On our last day we arrived at Denali National Park and
Preserve early to another wet, drizzly day. We boarded the park bus and started
our journey through the park, enjoying some of the most majestic scenery in the
world in spite of the clouds and fog that came and went through our journey. We
saw and photographed ptarmigan, caribou and grizzly bears in the distance along
the way. We eventually made it to the Eielson Visitor Center deep in the park
where we watched two grizzlies grazing on the tundra in the fog on a high ridge
above us. When we left the visitor center the bears had made their way down the
ridge to a hillside very near the road. Our bus stopped and we photographed
them until they crossed over the hillside and out of our view. We were able to take
some incredible Denali grizzly bear photos.
After an uneventful but scenic ride back to the park
entrance we left the bus and then went to have a warm meal. As we ate, we
talked about the two things that the group wanted to photograph but wasn't able
to, a moose and the massive Denali, the third most prominent peak in the world.
We finished dinner and made our way south on the Parks
Highway toward our lodge in Talkeetna. We had gone approximately ten miles when
we came across a bull moose near the side of the highway, munching on the
vegetation. We pulled over and carefully positioned ourselves to get the moose
photos that the group had hoped for. We didn’t mind that it was along the side
of the road.
The weather had been mostly clouds, drizzle and some rain
throughout the week. Not enough rain to spoil our fun but enough to obscure the
view of "The High One," Denali. We all went to bed on the last night
of the workshop feeling satisfied for the amazing week, but a bit disappointed
in not being able to see the mountain, our last piece of the puzzle.
The next morning was one of reflection on the week that we
had just spent. Tired but satisfied. We packed our luggage in the van and
proceeded to leave our lodge and make our way back to Anchorage. We left under
a clear blue sky that morning. We drove up the road to a viewpoint with a clear
view toward the Alaska Range, the home of the elusive Denali. We stood in front
of a majestic crystal-clear view of a pure white snow-covered Alaska Range and
standing head and shoulders over its neighboring peaks we finally saw Denali.
Our Alaska adventure was complete. My friends could hardly
believe the week that we had. They left for home on their flights filled with
memories that will last a lifetime and camera memory cards full of reminders. |
|  Contributed photo.
In last month’s column I wrote about the June heat wave that
scorched many trees and plants in our area and posed health risks to people and
pets. We’re in the midst of another hot spell as I write this, though not so
severe as the June event. I don’t know anyone who enjoys heat like this. On the
other hand, my tomato plants are thrilled. In previous years I was lucky to get
a few ripe cherry tomatoes by September, sometimes even one or two medium-size
tomatoes, but I’ve never had a large one ripen. I’ve learned that there are
lots of ways to cook green tomatoes.
This year I picked the first ripe cherry tomatoes and a
medium-size one in late July, and a fat three-inch tomato will be ready to pick
in a day or two. Beans, squash, basil and peppers are thriving, though
lettuces, mustards and other delicate greens are not faring so well. Growing
any vegetables at all in a small clearing in the middle of a western Oregon
rainforest – a quarter-acre clearcut! – is difficult at best. Or at least it
has been until recently. Maybe there is a silver lining to climate change.
You’ve probably read about the recent report from the
International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, a United Nations organization
that analyzes research on climate change and periodically issues Assessment
Reports on the topic. “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis,”
released last month, is part of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. Three other
parts are due in 2022: “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability;” “Mitigation of
Climate Change;” and a “Synthesis Report.”
The Physical Science Basis report “provides a high-level
summary of the understanding of the current state of the climate, including how
it is changing and the role of human influence, the state of knowledge about
possible climate futures, climate information relevant to regions and sectors,
and limiting human-induced climate change.” The report was produced by 234
authors from 65 countries, who collectively assessed about 14,000 scientific
publications.
United Nations Secretary-General Antσnio Guterres said the
report is a “code red for humanity.” In my opinion, that’s overly sensational.
More on that later, but here’s a brief look at some of the key findings from
the Physical Science Basis and the potential impacts on our area:
– “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the
atmosphere, ocean, and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere,
ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.”
– “The scale of recent changes across the climate system as
a whole and the present state of many aspects of the climate system are
unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years.”
– “Human-induced climate change is already affecting many
weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Evidence of
observed changes in extremes such as heat waves, heavy precipitation, droughts,
and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human
influence, has strengthened since AR5 [the Fifth Assessment Report, issued in
2014].”
I don’t disagree with these statements. On Aug. 13, the U.S.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that July 2021 was
“the world’s hottest month ever recorded.”
What about our region? The Physical Science Basis report
gives some information about the changes ahead at the broad regional level, but
not the state or county level. In Western North America – essentially the
western third of the continental U.S. – the report says we’ll see:
– Higher average temperatures and more extreme high
temperatures (heat waves).
– Increases in drought and fire weather (hot, dry, windy
conditions like we had during last September’s wildfires).
– More extreme precipitation events.
– More flooding.
Note that higher temperatures and more heat waves doesn’t
necessarily mean extreme fire danger. During the mid-August heat wave, winds in
our area were relatively light and humidity was fairly high. According to my
home weather station, relative humidity ranged from 30 percent during the day to
65 percent at night. With that much moisture in the air, fir needles, small
branches, and other fine fuels – the main carrier of wildfire – quickly absorb
moisture from the air. During this humid period, fine fuels certainly would
have burned if ignited, but relatively slowly – a large, destructive wildfire
was unlikely, especially absent high winds. During the September 2020
wildfires, relative humidity was much lower – single digits at times – so fuels
caught fire easily and burned quickly.
Whether the Sandy River basin sees more flooding remains to
be seen. According to the Physical Science Basis report, our area of the
western US is likely to have an overall increase in precipitation, but with
drier summers and wetter winters with less snow. Most of the severe flood
events in our area are caused by rain falling on substantial amounts of
low-elevation snow. In my reading of the IPCC’s projections, this scenario may
be less likely in the future.
With higher temperatures, more heat waves and drier summers,
our native trees and shrubs will be under more stress. Trees and plants
weakened by drought and high temperatures are more susceptible to insect
attack, so we may see more of them dying. Fish and wildlife will be affected,
too. The earlier arrival of spring conditions and warmer, drier summers and
early autumns may change the timing of salmon and steelhead migration and
reproduction, for example.
A caveat to the IPCC’s projections: the authors of the
Physical Science Basis report used models of several different scenarios of the
future, based on various levels of greenhouse gas emissions and other factors.
This is a reasonable approach. However, the authors relied heavily on what has
been shown to be a highly unlikely worst-case scenario. Modeling such a scenario
is worthwhile, of course, but many news articles have focused on the worst-case
scenario without putting it into context though comparisons to likely and even
best-case scenarios.
UN Secretary-General Antσnio Guterres’s “code red for
humanity” may have been sincere, but wasn’t helpful, in my opinion. Either way,
foresters and fishery and wildlife managers will need to focus on increasing
the resilience of these natural resources to ensure their health and survival.
Have a question about forests and climate change? Want a
recipe for green tomato pico de gallo? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Feeling fortunate to be here in this day and age by Mt. Hood Community College on 09/01/2021
At the college, we teach several courses that deal
specifically with the causes and consequences of climate change. A common
question from students is “how do we know [insert most recent extreme weather
event – hurricane, heat wave, flood] is the result of climate change?”
The answer is relatively straightforward, though slightly
re-directed. This heat wave, drought-fueled fire, hurricane or flood is not the
direct result of a warmer planet. But the frequency and intensity are a direct
outcome of more energy in a closed system.
We can illustrate this on our own stove top — turn the dial
up on a pot of water and the boil increases, eventually bubbling and splashing
and, if starch is involved, spilling over onto the range. For climate change, the
simple science is this: a hotter atmosphere from increased carbon pollution is
like turning up the dial.
There is more energy moving more hot air around the earth.
More moisture is sucked out of the ground in one place and dropped in another.
More heat means more lightning strikes in a storm (and more fire starts on the
ground). More energy means changes in established weather patterns so rare
events become commonplace.
Another useful comparison for sports fans is looking at a
drug-enhanced athlete. This particular home run is not the result of steroid
use, but the pattern is. The increased power and frequency of the hits would
not have happened without the extra juice.
The second most common question of students also has a
straightforward answer. “Is it too late to do anything about it?” The accurate
reply is, “No, not yet!” As the most recent report from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) details, alongside the dire warnings there is a
message of hope.
The humans of earth have our collective hands on the dial of
the atmospheric stove. We can stop turning the dial up and we can even start
turning it down. We can stop the pot from boiling over, but we must act quickly
and decisively and together.
At this point in the class discussion, there is often a
noticeable hush in the room. It’s sobering to recognize that we have entered a
time of climate chaos. This reality must be acknowledged, but we also point out
that we are lucky to be alive right now.
Our actions matter more than ever. What we do as
individuals, communities, companies and countries in the next few years will
determine whether we experience the current level of chaos, or it gets truly
bad. There have been only a few times in history where we could so clearly see
the need for, and the results of, our actions. It’s never been truer that what
we do today and tomorrow will determine the future for our children and their
children.
So, like so many things, there is good news and bad news.
The bad news is that the science is certain that the path of “business as
usual” is toward an inhospitable world. The good news is that we can say with
more certainty than ever that achieving net zero CO2 will end further warming,
that our actions will make a difference.
It’s not yes or no, but rather how bad. The choice is ours.
And if hope is the antidote to despair, then action is the path to hope. Now is
not the time for indifference. Now is the time for action.
Walter M. Shringer, PhD, is an instructor of biology at Mt.
Hood Community College. |
| Getting Sandy back to work by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 09/01/2021
We’re all too aware what a challenging past couple of years
it’s been for our local Main Street small businesses. Countless lockdowns,
problems with stimulus and unemployment checks for our most vulnerable
neighbors and now a workforce sluggish to return in many ways thanks to the
unprecedented amount of federal money being funneled into a system that
encourages many to not return to work.
Since the beginning of this pandemic, Sandy has been
committed to taking bold and decisive action to help our neighbors and local
small businesses in their greatest time of need. In the early months of the
pandemic shutdowns, we implemented two rounds of our small business relief
program which provided grants of $3,000 to several local businesses in need. We
acted quickly and boldly utilizing Urban Renewal Funds to get the money into
the hands of our small business owners almost immediately. After Congress
passed and President Trump signed the CARES act to provide relief to those
impacted by the pandemic, we learned we would be able to use those dollars to
provide additional grants but also to reimburse our urban renewal fund for the
funds we had already distributed. That ended up being an important lesson for
us.
With this new knowledge, I worked with our economic development
manager and our planning department to introduce a new program that became our
Covered Structures Grant Program. This program allowed business owners to apply
for a grant with the city to build beautiful “Sandy Style” outdoor structures
at their business location to allow for additional capacity to serve patrons
during a lockdown scenario and in the future. Under the program, the city’s
Urban Renewal Fund would provide 80 percent of the investment, with the
business owner being responsible for the remaining 20 percent upon completion
of the project.
Recognizing that times are hard and that cash flow could be
an issue, the city provided an option of a three-year, interest-free
installment program. We moved quickly to implement this program because we knew
our local businesses could not wait. The first round of covered structures is
almost complete with many already being enjoyed by neighbors during the summer
months. At our next city council and Urban Renewal Board meeting in September,
we will be discussing the possibility of funding a second round of outdoor
structures.
While our community has a lot to be proud of in our efforts
to prop up our local Main Street – there is still much more left to do.
In 2020 we heard that it was direct financial assistance
that was needed to help Main Street small businesses survive. We then heard
that businesses needed help with re-investments to become more resilient
against both the current and possible future pandemic shutdowns so we created
our first of its kind Covered Structure Program. We now hear that the demand
for business is growing, that our Main Street small businesses are ready to hit
the ground running but simply cannot find employees who are readily available
to return to work or are making far too much money on unemployment insurance
and other government subsidies to be adequately incentivized to do so.
As a result, I am working with our city staff to create a
Main Street Employee Incentive Program that I like to call, “Let’s get back to
work.” While still in its early stages, we will look to incentivize employees
to return to work through a signing bonus program for our Sandy businesses. By
being the first to offer such a program for our community, we can provide local
businesses with the opportunity to grab prospective talent from surrounding
communities before other cities offer a similar incentive.
We are additionally discussing what can be offered as a tool
for local businesses to onboard new employees in addition to a signing bonus.
Perhaps assistance with paid childcare or even free access to SandyNet could
provide good incentive to help our Main Street small business owners get
employees to help share the workload.
Since our founding, Sandy has always had great pride in our
pioneering spirit of boldness and innovation. We have continued this tradition
with our response to this pandemic and lifting fellow neighbors and Main Street
small businesses in the process. All part of our overarching goal to always
keep Sandy wonderful. Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
| Easy does it by Taeler Butel on 09/01/2021
Fast, delicious recipes that need only a few minutes and
readymade ingredients. Viola!
Easy peach cobbler
1 can biscuit dough (I use Annie’s Organic)
4 peaches chopped
1/2 cup peach nectar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 t vanilla
In heavy bottomed saucepan, add all ingredients except
biscuits and peaches. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often until
thickened. Spread peaches out into 9” baking dish, cover with sugar syrup
mixture and then place biscuits on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until
biscuits are done and peaches are soft. Serve warm with whipped cream.
Chicken over rice
1 small rotisserie chicken
4 cups cooked jasmine rice
1/4 cup minced onion
2 T chicken granules
1/4 cup cornstarch
Salt & pepper
2 T chopped parsley
4 cups cooking liquid
In large pot, cover rotisserie chicken with water and add in
1 T kosher salt. Put on a lid, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer
chicken for 45 minutes, then take out chicken. Let cool a little, shred and set
aside. Strain cooking liquid into large bowl and set aside.
In same pot add butter and onions, then whisk cornstarch
into cooking liquid with chicken granules. Add cornstarch mixture and shredded
chicken to pot, and bring to boil stirring constantly until the gravy is thick.
Add salt and pepper to taste, serve over rice. |
| Review and revise by Paula Walker on 09/01/2021
So, it’s done. Finally. After the many years you’ve had it
in your mind to create that will or trust as the gift it’s meant to be to help
your family take care of your affairs as cleanly and simply as possible after
you’ve passed, you’ve done it. There now. Nothing more to do with it! Right?
Well… not so fast.
One thing for certain, life doesn’t stand still. Your
family, your circumstances and don’t forget the government are constantly on
the move, growing, changing and imposing new laws respectively.
Too often people tuck their estate plan away and 20 years or
more later, when the time comes to rely on the plan, it is discovered
inadequate or inflexible to their current needs. Their life’s circumstances
changed and the plan in many places is no longer relevant, or worse, undermines
their intentions. While your estate plan may not be your favorite bedtime story
every evening, as a practical matter for your benefit, it is best to review the
plan you have in place every three to five years. Some circumstances that
should trigger a review on that boundary or before, potentially as
circumstances arise, follow:
– Moving to another state. Estate planning laws vary state
to state; for example some states have an inheritance tax and/or an estate tax,
others do not. The requirements for advance directives and durable powers of
attorney vary, as another example.
– Births, those new family members: you may have a place in
your heart that you want reflected in your estate plan.
– The three D’s: death, divorce and disinheritance. Major
shifts in life that alter the way you originally intended to distribute your
wealth and belongings impose a need to review and revise.
– Marriage: your own or one of your beneficiaries can impact
your plan.
– Charitable giving: there is a cause you want to support
that did not have your attention when you first created your plan.
– Your executor or successor trustee may need to be changed.
They are no longer able or willing to serve in that capacity, or they are no
longer a good fit for your life’s circumstances.
– Children reach the age of majority: i.e., they turn
eighteen.
– Changes in the law: tax law and laws that govern aspects
of your estate plan, like laws governing the durable power of attorney or
advance directive.
This is just a sampling of the events that should trigger
you to review your estate plan. Some of these, like changes in the law, you may
not be aware of, which is why it is a good practice to review your estate plan
regularly; every three to five years review your plan with your estate planner
so that you can identify impacts - the obvious and the not so obvious.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Robin Williams, comedian extraordinaire, with his estate
planning and revamping of that plan likely reduced the battle between his third
wife and his children from becoming a wildfire out of control, to a mediated
settlement that concluded in a relatively short amount of time by creating a
prenuptial agreement with his third wife and then updating his revocable living
trust in line with that agreement.
Paul Walker, The Fast & The Furious, in contrast to
Williams stands as an example of missed opportunities by leaving his estate
plan untouched for twelve years, omitting to review and revise. With forward
thinking he created a revocable living trust to provide for his three-year old
daughter, Meadow. Kudos. But in the twelve years intervening between that event
and his untimely death, many of the life changes mentioned in this article
occurred that went unattended to in his plan. At the time he created his plan
his career was just taking off. He amassed significant wealth, an estate
estimated to be in excess of $25 million at his death. And then there was his
seven-year relationship with the person that many thought was destined to be
his future spouse. None of these significant life changes were incorporated.
Much to speculate on that could have better served his estate and his
intentions for those that he provided for or may have wanted to provide for had
he reviewed and revised his estate plan. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I remember a quote that I read when I was a boy that has
stayed with me my whole life. Robert Baden-Powell is quoted as saying, “Try and
leave this world a little better than you found it…” He was referring to being
a good human, but in this day and age of increased recreational use of the
outdoors, it is being used more as a way to increase the awareness of the
proper care and use of our public lands. “Leave it better than you found it” is
the new “Leave No Trace.” Those of us who care must do more than leave no
trace. We need to try to offset the effects of those who won’t.
When the coronavirus came it changed almost every aspect of
our lives. People started working from home. The travel restrictions cancelled
a lot of people’s vacation plans. Cruise ship and air travel became
impractical, as did hotel and resort stays. Even movie theaters and public
places such as restaurants saw a dramatic decrease in business or were closed
completely.
With these restrictions came a new form of vacation trend,
visiting the open outdoors. Everyone, including many who had never spent time
in nature, headed out to hike and camp, seeking something other than sitting
inside until the coast is clear.
Hiking and camping have seen a huge surge. Lawrence Lujan,
the United States Forest Service (USFS) public affairs specialist said, “The
visitation that we typically saw on the weekend, we were seeing during the
week. And the visitation that we typically saw during a holiday weekend, like
the Fourth of July, we were seeing on weekends.”
What once was a weekend activity became one that was being
done any day of the week.
The inevitable problems that come with the increased use of
recreational lands are mostly wear and tear, but there are those who aren’t
familiar with how to care for the outdoors, or just don’t care, that create
other problems. Off trail hiking in sensitive terrain, off road driving or
parking in restricted areas, trampling vegetation, illegal or abandoned
campfires, vandalism and leaving trash behind have all increased.
The increase of visitation to the outdoors isn’t all bad
news. With more people coming out to these beautiful natural places comes the
appreciation of these places by more people. Typically, when someone visits a
special place, one that they connect with and fall in love with, they are more
apt to put forth an effort to preserve it. Volunteerism has increased with the
increase in visitation, but it’s not enough to offset the effects of the public
loving these places to death. Everyone needs to accept the responsibility to help
care for the land that we use as we use it.
So how can we leave these places better? Many times, it’s
just a matter of carrying a trash bag in your pack to gather trash and litter
others leave behind. Volunteering with organizations that help to develop and
maintain these places is becoming essential and popular. If you’re unable to
volunteer, donating to these organizations helps them greatly – I support
groups such as Trailkeepers of Oregon. We need to teach our children by setting
an example for them to follow. Also raising the awareness of those that you
associate with to adopt the “Leave It Better” principle of outdoor use.
Ultimately, it’s our responsibility to care for these
special places. It’s up to us to assume that responsibility and apply it to how
we use our shared public lands.
The seven Leave No Trace Principles
1. Plan ahead and prepare.
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
3. Dispose of waste properly.
4. Leave what you find.
5. Minimize campfire impacts.
6. Respect wildlife.
7. Be considerate of other visitors. |
|  Photo by Steve Wilent.
So, was it hot enough for you during the June heat wave?
Just kidding. It was way too hot, even for the folks I know who relish our
typical warm summer weather. And it’s no joking matter. More than 100 people
died in Oregon from the heat and its complications. No wonder. The record high
in our northwest corner of the state was 116 degrees Fahrenheit in the Portland
metro area on June 29, a temperature we usually associate with places like
Phoenix, Ariz. or Death Valley National Park, Calif. On July 9, the temperature
at the park’s Furnace Creek Visitor Center hit 130 degrees Fahrenheit, a new
world record.
The highest temperature at our place in Rhododendron was
“only” 105 on June 29. Lara and I have never been so grateful for the shade of
the tall conifers around our house. But still, 105! 100 degrees warmer than the
lowest temperature we’ve had here in the last 30 years, five degrees. We’ve hit
the 100-degree mark once or twice in recent memory. I sure hope our new record
is an outlier.
For most people, the heat wave caused discomfort at best.
For some of our trees and plants, the heat caused significant stress. You’ve
probably seen brown needles on western hemlock, Douglas-fir and western
redcedar, usually on the side of the tree facing the afternoon sun. I’ve heard
from forestry colleagues that they’ve seen such browning throughout the region.
It wasn’t just trees that were damaged. On our property,
some of the leaves on rhododendron, sword fern, false Solomon’s seal, Oregon
grape and other shrubs and plants also were scorched. It appears that the heat
of direct sunlight was enough to cook all or parts of leaves. But some trees
and shrubs seem to have been unaffected. The vine maple, bigleaf maple and
golden chinquapin seem to have weathered the heat, as did my non-native cherry
trees. However, in areas where these trees and shrubs were exposed to greater
heat and more sunlight, these, too, may exhibit signs of damage.
The good news is that most of these trees and plants will
survive. The conifers are already shedding the newly killed needles. Next year,
with new green growth in the spring, they’ll look much better, despite a few
bare branches. I’ve seen similar damage caused to conifers by very cold
temperatures, low humidity and strong winds. About 20 years ago, a handful of
Douglas-fir trees on the campus of Mt. Hood Community College, exposed to a
very cold, dry east wind that whipped down the Columbia River Gorge, lost
significant numbers of needles on the side of the trees facing the wind.
However, most of the affected trees survived and today look undamaged.
Why did the heat and sunlight kill all those leaves? Trees
need water to cool their leaf surfaces, and on a very hot day, a tree may not
be able to move and evaporate enough water to keep its leaves cool, resulting
in leaf stress and damage. And when the blazing sun hits stressed leaves, it
can be scorched. See this The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service
web page for more information: tinyurl.com/p7jzje83.
Another OSU Extension page, tinyurl.com/2536aytr, explains
that, “Mature trees are generally resilient. A loss of some foliage is a
setback, but not typically fatal. Once they leaf out again next year, they
should probably look much the same as before. But we will have to wait for some
time to see the actual effects of the heat to leaves, and maybe buds. It is
certainly possible that some individual branches or branch tips might be lost,
without it being a danger to the tree.”
The bigger question is the severity of the current drought
and how long it lasts. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor
(tinyurl.com/zf39tj7u), most of Clackamas County is experiencing severe
drought, a category halfway between no drought and exceptional drought. Much of
central Oregon, including the area where the Bootleg Fire is burning, is
currently in extreme or exceptional drought.
Droughts have always occurred in Oregon, but as the global
climate gradually warms, it is expected that our state may experience more of
them, and that they may be more severe, on average, than they have been in the
past.
What about heat waves in the future? Will they be as severe
as our recent one? No one knows the answer with certainty, but it seems likely
that they will.
In paper published in mid-July, “Rapid Attribution Analysis
of the Extraordinary Heat Wave on the Pacific Coast of the US and Canada, June
2021,” a group of 27 scientists from around the world concluded that:
“Looking into the future, in a world with 2°C of global
warming (0.8°C warmer than today which at current emission levels would be
reached as early as the 2040s), this event would have been another degree
hotter. An event like this – currently estimated to occur only once every 1,000
years, would occur roughly every 5 to 10 years in that future world with 2°C of
global warming. In summary, an event such as the Pacific Northwest 2021 heat
wave is still rare or extremely rare in today’s climate, yet would be virtually
impossible without human-caused climate change. As warming continues, it will
become a lot less rare.”
The paper is available for free at tinyurl.com/bz92br6h.
How will our beloved Pacific Northwest forests fare in this
potential future? That topic will have to wait for a future edition of this
column.
Have a question about forests and drought? Want to know how
to conduct a successful rain dance? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.
|
| A life lesson: learning to cast one's eyes on nature by Mt. Hood Community College on 08/01/2021
Some of the best writing advice I ever got turned out to
also be some of the best life advice: learn the names of the plants and animals
around you. Don’t write “tree” when you can write “Douglas fir;” don’t write
“bird” when you can write “black-capped chickadee” or “sandhill crane.”
My poetry teacher was wrong about a lot of the things (her
suggestions that I was too young to write certain kinds of poems, or that
writing about my life as a young woman wasn’t interesting, for example, are
both instances of very bad advice) but she was right about how important it was
to learn the names of the landscape around me.
I realized this also had practical implications when I was
driving to pick my son up from his elementary school, down a long-wooded road
in southwest lower Michigan. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, something fell
out of the trees above the road and directly onto the hood of my car. I pulled
over, expecting to see a giant boulder, tree limb or very large mammal and was
confused when I saw a strange, bald-necked bird slide off my hood, shake itself
off and waddle into the woods.
When I got to work at the college where I was teaching and
walked into my first English class, I was still rattled and told my students
what had happened. After struggling to describe what I’d seen, one of the boys
started laughing – “Rivara,” he said, “that was a wild turkey!” He seemed
shocked and aghast that not only did I not know how to identify a wild turkey,
but I had no idea they even existed outside of the frozen turkeys at the
grocery store.
I was raised in the sprawling suburbs outside of Chicago. I
didn’t know how to identify almost any of the world around me that wasn’t in a
strip mall. Whatever the “wilderness” was, it was somewhere else, not in
Deerfield, Ill., where all of the lawns were manicured and antiseptic, or, I
thought later, in Michigan where there were more trees, but they were just
trees, right? What’s the difference between one or another?
But in my late 20s, I started learning. “Dude, if you know
where to look for turkeys, you’ll see a bunch of them, they’re everywhere,” my
student told me. He was right: once I started looking, there they were. As were
grouse and woodcocks, white tailed deer and sandhill cranes, and there too,
were beech-maple forests and marram grass along the Lake Michigan dunes. It
turned out, there was a whole universe of living things I had never seen
before. I had never cared to look.
Now, years and thousands of miles later, I find myself
repeating the names I have learned on my walks through my neighborhood in
northeast Portland, around the campus of Mt. Hood Community College, and on
hikes with my family: western red cedar, Douglas fir, salal, sword fern,
evergreen huckleberry. Vine maples grow near the kitchen window, the cotton
from black cottonwoods dots the riverbank and I am greeted every morning by the
song of the Swainson’s thrush, by Steller’s jays arguing and the regular
thrumming of a sapsucker high in a snag above my head. Bushtits and house
finches flock to the birdfeeders. They aren’t yet old friends – I’ve only been
here eight years – but being able to call them by name, to recognize a few bars
of birdsong, the waxy leaves of salal, salmonberry along the trail – helps to
root me in my new home-place. That poetry teacher got a lot of things wrong,
but she and my student definitely got this right: the world got a lot bigger,
and wilder, once I committed myself to looking – and learning.
Sara Rivara is the Dean of Humanities and Social Science at
Mt. Hood Community College.
|
| View Points Salem: Behavioral health investment by Rep. Anna Williams on 08/01/2021
There are a lot of things I could talk about in this column
now that the 2021 legislative session has ended: historic funding for wildfire
preparation, racial equity, education reform and more. I’ll certainly be using
this space to discuss some of those topics in the months to come, but this
month I’d like to discuss some of the work that was nearest and dearest to my
heart: the groundbreaking investments our state has made in behavioral health.
Oregon has been deep in a behavioral health crisis since
before the pandemic and COVID-19 has only made it worse. Whether people are
waiting for beds in the Oregon State Hospital, in the State Hospital and
waiting for care opportunities to open up elsewhere or homeless and unable to
access services at all, countless Oregonians are struggling in our current
behavioral health system.
As a result, we continue to face unprecedented rates of
substance abuse, overdose deaths and suicide. It was already well past time for
the state to take action when, at the end of the 2021 legislative session, my
colleagues and I approved more than $500 million in funding for substance use
disorder treatment and other behavioral health investments and reforms. I’m
immensely proud of what we put forward, and I’m excited to tell you about some
of the details.
Approximately $200 million will go toward implementing
Ballot Measure 110, passed by voters last November. While the big news about
Measure 110 was that it decriminalized the possession of small amounts of
controlled substances under state law, the other changes it made were much more
difficult (and much more expensive) to implement. This is an unprecedented
investment into a first-in-the-nation system that prioritizes treatment over
prosecution, and it could revolutionize how other states respond to the
national addiction crisis.
Senate Bill 755, the bill that implements Measure 110,
establishes that each county will have a “Behavioral Health Resource Network”
(BHRN), which can be made up of one or several treatment-focused organizations.
These BHRNs will fulfill screening, assessment and recovery needs for the
people who receive citations for drug possession. With the significant funding
we have provided, BHRNs will help with harm reduction, addiction counseling,
peer support, mobile outreach and even transitional or supportive housing for
those who need it. The thing I love about this program is that it acknowledges
how intertwined addiction, mental health and housing are... again, this is a
new approach and long overdue.
In addition to that funding for substance use disorder
treatment and associated services, we invested $130 million into local
in-patient and residential facilities. This will help ensure that people with
behavioral health needs anywhere in the state can find appropriate levels of
care in their communities when they need them. We also invested $80 million to
increase the behavioral health workforce in Oregon, attracting new workers who
can provide culturally- and linguistically-appropriate care for their
communities. Very often, even when someone can access behavioral health
services, they aren’t able to communicate with the service provider in their
native language, or that service provider is unfamiliar with their cultural
norms and traditions.
$90 million will go to peer respite, crisis services and
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, all vital services that will
increase our state’s capacity to treat people in need of care. A further $50
million will go toward aligning and transforming this newly expanded behavioral
health system to ensure greater accountability, outcomes and sustainability.
Often, a big influx of money, like the federal funding we
received through the American Rescue Plan, has only led to temporary
improvements. With that in mind, this $50 million investment is focused on streamlining
the system and making all of the other improvements cost-effective and
long-lasting.
These funds will improve timely access to behavioral health
care, reduce hospitalizations, reduce overdoses and ensure that physical and
behavioral health care providers can work together to improve their services.
Most importantly, I spoke up throughout the session to
ensure that these benefits reach patients across Oregon, including in rural and
frontier areas. The behavioral health budget was designed to allow as few gaps
as possible (geographic or otherwise), while maximizing entry points into the
system.
This will be long-term work, certainly, but we should start
seeing benefits in the very near future. As always, I remain committed to
making improvements wherever they’re needed.
If you have any behavioral health policy concerns, or any
questions about these investments, never hesitate to reach out to me at
Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov or 503-986-1452.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: Bipartisan success by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 08/01/2021
I’m incredibly excited to announce that the City of Sandy
has been awarded a $14.7 million grant for wastewater system improvements by
the Oregon Legislature. This grant is the largest ever provided to our
community in our history.
As many of you are aware, the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) is requiring that the City of Sandy update our
wastewater treatment process. This venture has an extremely expensive price tag
of over $80 million.
As a result, our city has been forging ahead on a new
wastewater treatment process that’s more environmentally-friendly and
cost-effective.
Many may remember that the last Oregon Legislature provided
the city with $500,000 for additional Sandy River water quality studies and
green alternative analysis.
Those studies came back extremely positive and we’re looking
to forge ahead with an innovative, environmentally friendly and cost-efficient
plan – in the Sandy way.
A couple of years ago, our council and staff toured other
communities’ water treatment facilities. We all came away excited about the
possibilities of treatment alternatives after visiting the 700+ acre Fernhill
facility in Forest Grove.
Fernhill is owned by Clean Water Services and uses natural
treatment systems, or wetlands, to improve water quality by removing nutrients
and then cooling and naturalizing the water after conventional treatment.
Fernhill is designated as an important bird area and is also
home to beavers, frogs, coyote and other wildlife. The old Roslyn Lake park
location has been selected as a viable staging area for such a project and
we’re excited about what the future has in store both for the site, as well as
partnerships with Trackers Earth that could provide invaluable learning
opportunities for youth in our area.
I’d like to thank our state legislative delegation of State
Representative Anna Williams and State Senator Chuck Thomsen for their
leadership in making this happen.
Thanks to our collective efforts, this has been the most
successful stretch of legislative advocacy in memory for our community. Their
bipartisan and cooperative efforts on our behalf are greatly appreciated.
This is all on the heels of exciting news regarding our
city’s application process to obtain a $63.8 million Water Infrastructure and
Financing Act (WIFIA) loan administered by the federal government.
Our congressional delegation of Congressman Earl Blumenauer
and Senators Greg Walden and Jeff Merkley have worked diligently to help us
secure WIFIA financing and as a result we have been told recently that there’s
an extremely high likelihood that we’ll secure it.
In addition to a competitive interest rate, the first
payment on WIFA loans can be deferred up to five years after completion of the
project with a maximum term of 35 years. This allows us the time to continue to
advocate for additional state and federal dollars for this project.
It also helps reduce the impact on ratepayers by allowing us
to make small gradual increases in rates, rather than a large initial increase.
WIFIA financing can be used for up to 80 percent of the project so we will have
to seek out other financing sources for the remainder of the costs.
Our financial consultant has determined that ratepayers in
Sandy would save more than $1.2 million a year with WIFIA financing as opposed
to a conventional revenue bond, or approximately $25 million over the 20-year
term of a revenue bond.
I’d like to thank our federal delegation for their critical
assistance in working to make this a reality. Our community of Sandy faces a
huge monetary challenge with meeting the DEQ requirements.
I have been humbled by the willingness of both our state and
federal lawmakers’ willingness to set partisan politics to the side and work
side by side with others to go to work for our community. This is both a
critical and special time in Sandy’s wonderful story.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
| A cook's day off by Taeler Butel on 08/01/2021
I’m off to my local co-op and it’s only getting lazier from
there.
I still want something homemade and delicious, just with
little effort.
Easy Strawberry pie
1 lb. strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup strawberry jam mixed with 1 T warm water
1 baked cooked pastry pie shell
"1-pot pastry cream":
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Pinch of kosher salt
2 cups half and half
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whisk all ingredients for the cream in a heavy-bottomed
saucepan cook, stirring constantly over medium/high heat until boiling.
Remove from heat, pass through sieve into bowl and cover
with plastic wrap. Cool completely, scoop into pie shell, level filing, cover
with sliced strawberries, brush with warmed strawberry jam.
Ham & cheese croissant calzones
2 tubes croissant dough
1 8 oz package sliced ham
8 oz shredded Swiss cheese
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T melted butter mixed with 1/2 t each: salt, dry parsley
Garlic powder
Heat oven to 375 degrees and unroll one tube of dough onto a
parchment lined baking sheet.
Spread mustard on dough, then layer cheese and ham. Unroll
the other tube of dough. Seal the sides with a fork. Pour butter mixture over
top. Bake 35 mins until cooked through (35 minutes).
|
| Minors as beneficiaries by Paula Walker on 08/01/2021
You are starting a family or maybe your children are in
first grade, middle school or just entering high school and you realize the
importance of making sure they have what they need to carry them through to
their emerging adulthood and beyond, should something happen to both you and
your spouse.
Who that you trust will care for them? Who that you trust
will manage all the many expenses and choices for their care? How to leave
finances enough for that care and how to ensure that those finances are spent
well in ways you consider in your children’s best interest if you are not there
to make those decisions? Weighty considerations. As a parent you know these concerns
to your core.
Except for a very small amount, minor children cannot
receive monies directly. They can be named on various financial accounts, be
beneficiaries of financial accounts, life insurance, be named on the title of
real property, but until they reach the age of majority (in Oregon 18 years of
age), they cannot take possession or receive the value themselves. Someone must
be appointed to receive for them and manage that wealth, those assets for them
and use those assets for their benefit and on their behalf.
And what of turning 18? What maturity is on-board at that
age to manage an inheritance of significant value? How can you help your
children in such circumstances, provide them with guidance that may involve
receiving their inheritance over time? How can you help them achieve ‘maturity
milestones’ before a final release of the remaining funds and therefore benefit
from the guidance you have crafted to help them mature to be ready to fully
receive and manage such assets as financial instruments and real property, or
receive a significant amount of money in a lump sum?
This begins a series of articles addressing the ways in
which you can designate your minor children and emerging adults the
beneficiaries of your estate, and provide the guidance in managing the assets
that you would want them to have to assist in meeting their needs; aid in
shaping their lives and protecting what you have left to them from unwise
spending or claims resulting from a variety of potential legal action. We will
look at the types of vehicles and mechanisms that you can use and what your
options are for putting in place the persons you trust to manage those assets
until your minor children reach certain ages when, per your determination, they
will be ready to handle the assets themselves.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
From the founding of the Constitution as controls against
undue foreign influence, to the considerations of estate planning, this
historic recount looks at what is given and how might it be managed according
to the purpose the gifter intended.
Benjamin Franklin – perhaps you’ve heard the name – deployed
to France as diplomat in October, 1776, settled in well with the French
aristocracy, a sterling example of “New World Enlightenment,” among many other
favorable traits. Nearing the time of Franklin taking leave of France and his
return to Philadelphia in 1785, King Louis XVI, as was the custom, offered a
token of his appreciation — a snuff box with the image of the monarch encircled
by and the lid encrusted (literally) with 408 diamonds.
This set off two events, one honored and bound, the other
not. The first, the establishment of the Emoluments clause of the Constitution,
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, carried over from the Articles of Confederation
that preceded the Constitution, which prohibits the federal government, members
thereof, from receiving gifts or "emoluments," i.e. salary, fee or
profits, from the country in which they served diplomatically, in order to
prevent the “corruption of the monarchies” that our young nation was severing
ties to.
The second event, was the gifting of the box by Franklin in
his will to his daughter, Sarah Bache, under the condition that neither she nor
her daughters make jewelry of the diamonds, “thereby introduce or countenance
the expensive, vain and useless Fashion of wearing Jewels in this Country.”
The Emoluments clause persisted. The snuff box – alas –
under Sarah’s keeping and her generations that followed, was slowly dismantled
to fund various undertakings (an excursion to France by Sarah for one) until in
the mid 20th century only one diamond remained.
Perhaps had Franklin utilized some of the methods we are
embarking on discussing, his intent may have held… at least for Sarah’s life.
As a bit more background: caught between a dual conflict of
political proportions weighty to the new nation: 1) that of returning the gift
thereby offending the French leader and potentially harming relations with a
country of critical support in our war of Independence, and 2) that of keeping
the gift and therefore, to this newly forming Congress, appearing to be
indebted to the monarchy, Franklin took the dilemma to Congress.
With the approval of Congress, he was allowed to keep the
gift and he then passed it on to his daughter in a special line item in his
will. The Jefferson Papers include a letter from William Temple Franklin, a
grandson of Ben Franklin, and himself also a diplomat to France in his
lifetime, accounting for the value of the snuff box and the custom of giving
and receiving gifts as part of the engagement of diplomacy by the emissary and
the head of state in the country to which the envoy was deployed. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
I was host recently to a group of landscape photographers
who had come from several parts of the United States; from New York to Florida
to Texas and California. I was extolling the virtues of Oregon as a landscape
photographer’s paradise and why I’m less apt to travel far to photograph epic
landscapes than people who live elsewhere.
Now that I have taken the past 20 years to look at my state
from the eyes of a landscape photographer, it makes me realize that Oregon has
virtually anything that I could ever want to photograph in one form or another.
The diversity of the landscapes available to us within a day's drive is
incredible, especially considering the relatively small area that Oregon
encompasses.
I can start at the Oregon coastline with its fabulous rocky
shoreline and sea stacks to its sandy beaches and the lush forests that grow to
the water's edge. I think that it’s the most scenic shoreline in the world. A
sunset over the ocean on the Oregon coast is unparalleled.
There are the fertile valleys and rolling hills that meet
glaciated mountain peaks of the Cascade Mountain Range. And speaking of
mountains, the Wallowas, in the extreme northeastern corner of the state are
nicknamed the Oregon Alps, and for good reason. Steens Mountain in the
Southeastern corner of the state is almost 10,000 feet in elevation, more than
50 miles long and is surrounded by some of the most scenic and remote
countryside in the state.
Oregon is covered by beautiful forests from coastal redwoods
to Douglas firs in the Cascades to the incredible Ponderosa Pines of the
Ochocos. There are many creeks that wind through moss filled rainforests and an
uncountable number of waterfalls. The amazing Columbia River Gorge with its
epic concentration of creeks and waterfalls are world-renowned for their
unrivaled beauty.
Oregon has deserts similar in many ways to Death Valley,
with a mud cracked playa, sandstorms and scorpions. A large part of Oregon is
covered by sage and juniper with hundreds of hidden geological wonders,
including massive rock formations like Smith Rock and the Painted Hills.
Oregon’s rivers are vast and varied and include one of the
largest navigable rivers in the USA, the Columbia River. The John Day and the
Deschutes River, tributaries to this incredible river, travel through many
scenic areas in central Oregon. And don’t forget the canyons these rivers form,
from the beautiful Owyhee to the Crooked River canyon in central Oregon. Many
people are surprised to hear that Oregon and Idaho share a border that contains
a canyon that’s deeper than the Grand Canyon, the epic Hells Canyon on the
Snake River. This article only covers a small fraction of what can be found by
explorers of this incredible state. There are so many more places that I could
mention.
Take some time and explore for yourself. Take a camera along
with you to capture your journey. And as always, while travelling to these
Oregon gems, assume the responsibility to help to protect and to preserve them
for those who will come after us.
|
| 'Slugging' it out with the benefits of a natural pest by Mt. Hood Community College on 07/01/2021
It is the time of year again where each morning I groggily
stalk my vegetable garden hunting for my nemesis – slugs.
Grumbling as I pull their slimy booger bodies off my
previously pristine lettuce, I wonder why I have not figured out a better
solution to keep them away. As an ecologist, I am hesitant to add pesticides to
my garden. I know all too well that every system is connected and that whatever
I sprinkle below my kale will end up in the soil and water, as well as take out
other unintended victims.
Our planet is a closed system, and what I do in my backyard
may seem innocuous but can have far reaching effects. I have tried to quell the
army of hungry mollusks that destroy my bok choy each spring using more benign
approaches, such as eggshells, coffee grounds and beer traps. But each of the
almanac’s suggestions have failed me, and I in return have failed my chard for
yet another season.
Thinking like an ecologist often has unexpected benefits,
and I feel my mindset shift as I stare at the muscular foot of the slug in my
hand, its sinuous tentacles slowly extending. This hearty gastropod, albeit a
nuisance in my garden, is an unsung hero of the soil.
Slugs play an important role in the ecosystem by recycling
nutrients and removing decay. Their voracious appetite means that those old
lettuce leaves will be transformed into nutrient rich fertilizer instead of
becoming rot and leading to infection.
Most slugs are generalists, happy to consume plant and
animal material alike. Some slugs will selectively seek out and consume fungi,
as I do, and are referred to as fungivores. This sweet fact is enough for me to
feel an affinity towards them. Not enough of an affinity that I will let them
ruin my collards, but enough that I humanely collect them each morning instead
of poisoning them to death. Once my cup is full of slugs and the radishes are
safe from being nibbled for the day, I take my mucus covered cousins over to
the compost pile and dump them out.
I know full well that by not killing them I am dooming my
mustard greens to be munched again by tomorrow morning, but it is hard to hate
something that plays such an important role in the world. My discomfort with a
disfigured spinach leaf is a small price to pay for continued soil generation
and fertilizer production.
If we take the time to look closely at the things that we
dislike, there is a good chance we will find an unexpected benefit hidden in
there as well.
Catherine Creech is an instructor of biology at Mt. Hood
Community College. |
| Inside the flames: a look at wildfire behavior by Steve Wilent on 07/01/2021
With all the talk about last year’s wildfires and the
potential for more large, destructive fires this year – not to mention the big
one burning on the Warm Springs reservation at this writing – I thought this
might be a good time to look at why wildfires burn the way they do. Some people
say they sometimes seem to have minds of their own, or that wildfires “rage”
across a forest or are “ferocious,” that “he” will burn all the way up that
canyon, or “she” will burn until the rains come. Such personifications are
understandable reflections of our human emotions, our awe and fear of the power
of wildfire. But wildfire behavior is entirely based on three main physical
factors, as illustrated in the so-called wildland fire triangle: weather,
fuels, and topography.
As you might expect, weather has the most influence over
wildfires – especially wind. The Tillamook Burn, a series of four fires in the
Coast Range west of Portland that covered a total area of 350,000 acres, were
wind-driven fires (and, oddly, the fires occurred about six years apart, in
1933, 1939, 1945, 1951). These coastal forests are often far too wet to burn,
the air too moist. Last year’s Riverside Fire also was a wind-driven fire.
About 125,000 acres of the total of 138,000 acres affected by the fire burned
in the first three days, Sept. 8 to 10, as strong winds from the east pushed
the fire toward Estacada.
I’ve seen mature conifer trees “torch” during calm weather,
when a relatively low-intensity fire around the tree heats and dries the green
needles to the point that the lower branches catch fire, which heats and dries
the branches higher up, and in a matter of moments the entire tree is aflame.
In this situation, neighboring trees may be merely scorched on one side, if
they are affected at all. However, when a tree torches on a warm day with winds
of 25 to 50 miles per hour winds, with stronger gusts – the kind of winds that
caused the Riverside Fire to spread so rapidly – its neighbors also catch fire
and a fast-moving crown fire erupts. Crown fires are very difficult or
impossible to put out, even by the most advanced firefighting crews, equipment
and aircraft.
Wind can sometimes carry hot embers for miles. During the
2017 Eagle Creek Fire east of Portland, large embers were blown across the
Columbia River, where they started spot fires in Washington.
Low relative humidity – very dry air – contributed to the
Riverside Fire’s rapid spread. When the air is dry, the moisture in fuels
quickly evaporates, especially in fine fuels such as fir needles and small
branches, including those dead and on the ground and live, green leaves and
twigs in shrubs and trees.
When relative humidity is expected to be 15 percent or less
and sustained surface winds or frequent gusts of 25 miles per hour or greater
are in the forecast, a “Red Flag Warning” is issued when both conditions are
expected to occur simultaneously for at least three hours in a 12-hour period.
On the Riverside Fire, those conditions existed for most of several days.
Fuel for the Fire
The amount, arrangement and moisture content of live and
dead fuels also are important factors in fire behavior. Calls for thinning and
fuels removal or reduction projects are heard frequently these days, because
reducing the amount of fuel reduces a wildfire’s intensity and its ability to
spread. Imaging putting a handful of dry wood shavings into an otherwise empty
campfire ring in your back yard. Once lit, the tiny amount of fuel will burn
for a minute or two and then go out, producing little heat and flame. Start
again with shavings and pile of a dozen pieces of kindling and a small log or
two, and leave some space between the pieces of fuel, and you have the
beginnings of a cozy campfire.
Try building a fire with, say, 200 pounds of dry kindling
and logs, and you have the makings of a large, hot fire. Make such a fire on a
dry, windy summer day, and it may spread to the woods – and then maybe your
house, too, if an ember falls into a gutter clogged with dry fir needles. Or
your neighbor’s house.
This illustrates the fuel situation in many, but not all,
forests in Oregon, where large amounts of fuel have built up over decades,
including small trees that act as “ladder fuels” that carry fire into the tops
of larger trees. Removing some dead and down fuel helps keep fires less
intense. Making fuel breaks, or areas where most or all of the fuels have been
removed except the largest trees, can slow or stop a fire. Thinning – removing
some of the live trees in a crowded area of forest – helps prevent crown fires.
Without ladder fuels, individual trees are less likely to torch, and with more
space between the trees, fire is less likely to jump from one tree to the next.
Some people say thinning allows more sunlight to reach the
forest floor, drying fuels on the ground and making them more flammable, and
that winds can more easily penetrate more-open stands and thus can increase a
fire’s rate of spread. This may be true in some cases. However, with less fuel
to burn and more space between the trees, fires will be less intense and crown
fires less likely.
There’s much more to the science of fire behavior and the
forest management practices that influence the way wildfires burn, but I’m out
of space for this month. Have a question about wildfire? Want to know what a
fire whirl is? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| View Points Salem: The finish line for bills by Rep. Anna Williams on 07/01/2021
This month, I’m writing this column in the final few days of
the 2021 regular legislative session, which will have ended by the time you
read this. I don’t know exactly what bills will and won’t pass in the rush to
finish our work before the constitutional deadline on June 27, but I want to
highlight a few of the policies that I expect to make it across the finish
line... with the caveat that sometimes there are surprises along the path a
bill takes to becoming law.
House Bill 2927, which I cosponsored, passed the House
unanimously. I expect it to pass the Senate with near-unanimous support (one
Senator has voted no on every bill this pandemic-impacted session as a protest to
COVID-related restrictions). The bill will streamline Oregon’s emergency
response and recovery programs by consolidating them under a new agency, the
Oregon Department of Emergency Management (ODEM). As we struggled through the
overlapping disasters of COVID-19 and the Labor Day wildfires, we learned that
our state needs to re-examine our emergency preparation and response, focusing
more on preparation and planning so that our response can be more effective.
ODEM will do just that.
The bill will also make the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM)
an independent agency, which will help focus wildfire funding locally to
improve fire-prone areas’ resiliency and defenses. That change will pair well
with Senate Bill 762, a much more contentious bill that I hope will pass, even
if it does so with a narrower majority. That bill is intended to identify areas
of risk within the Wildland Urban Interface areas (WUI) and help landowners
create defensible space around their properties – areas free of potential fuel
for spreading wildfires. It will provide funding to local fire districts and
departments to assist landowners in creating defensible space and will also
require those departments to do their own planning and preparation for the
future wildfires that we are certain to see across our state. One of my
colleagues in the House, Rep. Dacia Grayber, is also a firefighter. She, along
with firefighters from the most impacted areas of the state, are urging the
legislature to pass SB 762 as soon as possible so they can better prepare for
the 2021 fire season that has already gotten an early start.
My years-long priority of increasing state funding to
Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) appears to be set for passage. These
non-profit organizations support our communities’ most vulnerable children as
they work to heal from abuse. These agencies also work with law enforcement,
the Department of Human Services and other nonprofit service providers to
secure convictions against child abusers and coordinate services to traumatized
children. Although state law requires CACs to conduct medical examinations of
victims, the state provides only 17 percent of the funding they need to fulfill
that requirement. This has been a personal priority of mine since I was
elected. The funding increase of $6 million will provide services to hundreds
of additional child victims. Additionally, it will save untold millions on
future health care, criminal justice and economic costs, when you consider the
lifelong impacts of childhood trauma that goes unaddressed when services such
as these are underfunded.
Among the hundreds of other bills and funding packages that
will pass, I will only mention one more: my search and rescue funding bill.
I’ve written about this bill here before, but it’s finally becoming a law! The
Clackamas and Hood River County Sheriffs’ Departments are required by law to
perform search and rescue (SAR) duties when people go missing or get injured on
trails, ski slopes or waterways. Yet, as with the CACs I already mentioned, the
state doesn’t fund sheriffs to do this work. What this means is that counties
are stuck with the bill to keep recreationists safe. In communities like ours,
most of the people in need of rescue aren’t paying taxes in our counties, where
they’re getting lost or injured. My bill will create a voluntary program that
allows people to purchase a SAR Card at the same outlets where hunting and
fishing licenses are available, and the proceeds of those cards will fund
grants to reimburse county sheriffs’ offices for the costs of search and rescue
operations and to help them pay for training and equipment.
Of course, these are only a few of the important bills and
funding packages that will be coming out of Salem as this legislative session
wraps up. If you would like to hear about more of them, email me at
Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov and ask to sign up for my newsletter. I
will be sending out an end-of-session edition that covers many more policies
than I have room to address here!
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: Getting reacquainted by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 07/01/2021
The time is finally upon us. The clouds are parting and the
sun is out, and it’s not just because summer has finally arrived. After over a
year and a half of what feels like endless lockdowns, social distancing and not
seeing each other’s faces, the time has finally come to open.
Just yesterday, I was able to attend the first Sandy Area
Chamber of Commerce REACH event in over a year over at Ria’s Bar. We also
hosted a ribbon cutting for the completion of our first outdoor covered
structure during the Chamber event. Coincidently, Ria’s is the last location
the chamber hosted a REACH event in the evening before the first lockdowns
started.
What has always made Sandy so wonderful is our people. And
with Sandy finally opening, along with the rest of Oregon, there will be many
community events and gatherings for us to attend to get reacquainted with our
neighbors again.
In addition to their monthly REACH happy hour networking
events, the Sandy Chamber is bringing back their Good Morning Sandy and Lunch
& Learn events. This fall on Sept. 10 and 11 Sandy will also see the return
of the Chamber’s Music Fair & Feast. While this event is traditionally held
on the same weekend as the Sandy Mountain Festival, this year it will come at
the end of summer to give them adequate time to plan. The chamber felt it
important to provide our community with this special event that so many of us
look forward to each year and haven’t been able to enjoy in 2020 and 2021.
The City of Sandy is also preparing quite the celebration in
August. 2021 marks Sandy’s 110 birthday and we’re throwing a party! Starting on
Saturday, Aug. 14 with city-wide Bingo there will be a variety of events during
the following two weeks that include a parade, ice cream trolley sponsored by
Sandy Helping Hands, music and movies in the park and several other
family-centric events.
We can’t of course forget to mention Sandy’s weekly Farmers
Market hosted by AntFarm every Friday throughout the summer.
We have also started back with in-person meetings at the
city. Our Sandy City Council, Planning Commission, advisory boards and
committees are all returning to in-person meetings. One silver lining of this
pandemic has been the adoption of advances in technology and how they can
enhance our communication with the public. That’s why all of our meetings are
set up to allow for virtual participation by both meeting participants as well
as members of the public who wish to testify from their own homes. Our city
government will be more accessible to our neighbors than ever before.
As I mentioned, we recently celebrated the completion of our
first covered structure at a local Main Street restaurant. You’ll begin seeing
structures like the one outside of Ria’s popping up at Le Happy, Sandlandia,
Boring Brewing, Red Shed and No Place Saloon later this summer.
What an incredible opportunity for our citizens to get out
and enjoy interacting with their neighbors while supporting a local business
trying to get back on their feet after the prolonged lockdowns.
This has certainly been a trying year and a half. As a
community we remained united, our unique independent pioneering spirit was on
full display for all to see. We lifted each other and we made it through. Now
let’s go enjoy all of the things that keeps Sandy wonderful – each other.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
| Sweet summer by Taeler Butel on 07/01/2021
Berries, melons and corn, oh my! Here are a couple of my
favorite ways to prepare what’s fresh right now.
Happy Independence Day!
Berries & rhubarb cobbler
In a large bowl combine:
5 cups strawberries, chopped
1 cup rhubarb, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
1/2 t salt
2 T cornstarch
Spoon into 9x13 baking dish
For cobbler:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 T cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup cold buttermilk (regular milk & 1 tbsp of lemon
juice)
1-2 T of cold water
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, salt and
baking powder.
Add in the cold butter using a pastry cutter, then add
buttermilk.
If still dry, add in a 1-2 tbsp of cold water.
Spoon over fruit mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 35
minutes.
Mexican Corn salad
4 ears corn, kernels removed and set aside
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup heavy cream
Juice of 1 lime
Zest of one lime
1 t chili
1/2 t cumin
1/2 cup cotija cheese
1 T butter
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 T chopped jalapeño
1/2 t salt & pepper
In large skillet melt butter and sautι corn, jalapeño, salt
and pepper until charred slightly. Remove from heat.
Mix in all other ingredients into a bowl, fold in corn. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I'll never forget this day. I decided to drive over to the
Painted Hills on a day that would seem to be unlikely regarding the potential
for epic conditions, but I decided to go anyway.
On the drive over the skies never cleared up. I had rain off
and on during the whole trip over. When I arrived not a lot had changed. I was
resigned to photographing the hills in even light, with no shadows, which can
produce some excellent images but are more composition dependent than some with
something in them like, ohhh I don't know... maybe a beautiful sunset with a
rainbow, but that seemed completely unlikely.
I had packed a sandwich, some chips and a bottle of a nice
malty beverage to enjoy while I was there. I like picnics as well as anyone...
rain or shine. Betty and I roamed around and enjoyed the place in solitude. I
decided that if I was going to drive all the way over there I wasn't going to
just turn around and leave.
As it got close to sundown, I stood there in a soft rain
contemplating my next move. I noticed the park ranger's truck driving up the
road. He turned into the overlook parking area, got out of his truck and walked
over to where Betty and I were standing. We had some small talk and I explained
that I was waiting to see how the sunset would shape up. He looked at me,
turned and looked at the horizon behind us in the distance, smiled and said,
"Well, it looks unlikely today, but stranger things have happened.” He
turned to leave while wishing me luck in my venture.
I went back to my vigil wondering if it was going to be a
photographic loss, but still feeling grateful that I was there no matter the
weather conditions. Just before sunset I was watching the western horizon with
my attention completely 180 degrees away from the hills. I was noticing a thin
opening in the clouds just above the horizon. As I watched the clouds it
started to rain again. I crossed my fingers to help increase my luck.
With my attention off the Painted Hills, I watched as the
sun came into the opening in the clouds projecting the most beautiful orange
light onto the clouds in front and above me. I started taking photos but felt
disappointment that the light show appeared to be in the wrong darned place.
Just as I was starting to think about my misfortune I turned
around and looked at the hills behind me and what I saw just about made me fall
over backwards.
The light from the opposite horizon was blasting its
colorful bright orange light onto the hills and the clouds above them. I
literally ran to set up at the spots that I had planned to be if something
unlikely as this happened.
I love it when the unlikely become likely. It makes me feel
lucky.
I was photographing the hills while I was watching this
incredible light show when all of a sudden, I saw a rainbow starting to form. I
was beside myself while standing there in the rain enjoying the gift that was
presented to me.
I learned a huge lesson that day. One that I had always
known but now had been reinforced in my mind. The lesson was to just go. Go and
see what happens. Even on a miserable rainy day something special can happen.
Even if the light had not shown up, I still would have had a good time having a
picnic, in the rain, with my dog at a breathtaking location.
It is a law of nature that your luck will increase with
action on your part. The landscape photographers with the best images have
worked for them. They have had more disappointing days than they have had
brilliant days. Even when success is unlikely, they're there when it becomes
so, which makes them so incredibly lucky.
|
|  Photo by Steve Wilent.
Here on the Mountain, the weather is often unreliable as an
indicator of the season, but you can be sure that we are well into spring when
our native rhododendrons begin to bloom.
At this writing, the rhodies outside my home-office in
Rhododendron are in full splendor. In Sandy the blooms are past their prime by
now, but at higher elevations the flower buds have yet to break.
Our local native rhody flowers are usually pink, but can
range from pale pink to pale purple. The rhodies with bright red, orange or
deep purple flowers, which are very likely not native to this area, usually
bloom at about the same time.
Native and nonnative rhodies alike are valued garden and
landscape shrubs, as are azaleas, a closely related shrub. Wild azaleas grow in
forests along the Oregon and California coasts.
Our ubiquitous native rhodies are Rhododendron macrophyllum,
or Pacific rhododendron, sometimes called California rhododendron, coast
rhododendron or California rosebay. Another native rhody, the white-flowered
rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum), grows from British Columbia south to
Oregon and east to Western Montana. Have you seen one of these shrubs in our
area? I haven’t.
Rhododendron maximum – also known as American rhododendron,
big rhododendron, great rhododendron, rosebay rhododendron and great laurel –
is native to the Appalachians of eastern North America, from Alabama north to
coastal Nova Scotia.
“Rhododendron” comes from the Greek words rhodo, meaning
rose, and dendron, for tree. “Macrophyllum” is derived from the Greek macro,
for large, and phyllum, for leaf, which is why another common name for
Rhododendron macrophyllum is big leaf rhododendron. These shrubs, which can
sometimes grow to the size of small trees, are native in coastal forests from
British Columbia to northern California.
In 1959, the Washington state legislature officially named
the Pacific rhododendron as the state flower. The Rhododendron Species
Botanical Garden in Federal Way, Wash. (rhodygarden.org), has one of the
largest collections of rhododendrons in the world.
The Zigzag Ranger Station has a small but impressive
collection of large, old rhodies.
According to the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden,
there are more than 1,000 species in the genus Rhododendron as well as numerous
hybrids. Wild rhodies are found in the temperate regions of Asia, North America
and Europe, as well as the tropical regions of southeast Asia and northern
Australia; none are indigenous to Africa or South America.
Asia is home to the largest number of wild rhododendron
species. Wild rhododendrons grow from sea level to 16,000 feet in elevation,
and they occur in a variety of habitats, including alpine regions, coniferous
and broadleaved woodlands, temperate rain forests and even tropical jungles.
Rhododendrons range in size from low ground covers growing
no more than a few inches high to trees more than 100 feet tall. Leaf sizes
range from less than a quarter inch to almost three feet long.
If you want to know everything about rhodies, visit the
website of the American Rhododendron Society (ARS, rhododendron.org). ARS
publishes the Journal of the American Rhododendron Society, which has been in
print since 1947.
A 1993 Journal article, “Concerning the Origin and
Distribution of Rhododendrons,” by E. Irving and R. Hebda, offers a fascinating
look at the history of the rhododendron over millions of years, which was
profoundly affected by changes in earth’s climate:
“We propose that, during their early history, rhododendrons
were much more evenly spread than they are now, and that their present
discontinuous distribution was caused by the encroachment, in comparatively
recent times, of conditions hostile to their existence, namely the extensions
of glacial ice and of modern grassland and deserts. We also argue that the
present remarkable concentration of species in southeastern Asia has arisen
because it is there that habitats were developed in which rhododendrons found
not only shelter from climatic vicissitudes, but in which they could flourish
and speciate; apparently they were able to do this at a time when rhododendrons
elsewhere were being driven from much of their former range.”
As beautiful as the modern-day plants and flowers are,
rhodies and azaleas contain a toxin that can be harmful to people, pets and
livestock. The National Capital Poison Center notes that it often receives
calls in the spring and early summer “about children who put the flowers or
leaves in their mouths or try to eat them, or when children mistake the flowers
for honeysuckle and suck on the nectar of the azalea flower. Generally, only
mild symptoms such as mouth irritation, nausea, and vomiting are expected from
such cases. Still, it is important to keep a close eye on children and pets
when they play outdoors to be sure they do not eat any flowers, leaves, fruits,
or seeds.”
We call the village of Rhododendron “Rhody” for short. When
I have to give my address information by phone, I say “Rhododendron,” which
usually throws the person on the line for a loop. “Uh, how do you spell that?”
they say. Although I have been tempted to reply, “Just like it sounds,” I
usually spell it out for them, slowly. But sometimes I say, “Just use Zigzag,
it has the same ZIP code.”
Have a question about rhodies? Want to know what “mad honey”
is? Let me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com.
|
| Take a lesson from nature about the power of change by Mt. Hood Community College on 06/01/2021
The power of photosynthesis has been on display this month.
With plenty of the three essential ingredients – water, air and light – life’s
alchemy has changed invisible gas into verdant growth. Cellular factories and
leaf structures have absorbed, captured and transformed. The result is
astounding – tree canopies have gone from mostly bare to nearly opaque, garden
seeds sprout and double in size daily, and lawns require (what seems like)
constant cutting.
Animal alchemy surrounds us too. Doting parent birds stuff
bug after bug into gaping mouths of chicks and, as if by magic, feathers appear
and muscles gain the strength to fly. And perhaps, the most amazing of all,
caterpillars feast on the new growth, then spin their covers of protection,
dissolve into goo and reappear as the butterflies that flit in this month’s
early summer sun.
Amazing transformations, but not always without mistakes.
One of the blessings of “stay-at-home” is that I have been able to follow
individuals as they perform the magic of growth and development. I’ve watched
the squirrel in my backyard navigate its world with a partially furred tail,
insects with wings that never fully formed, spiders with missing legs and a
crow that walks our sidewalks because his injured wing drags behind. Damaged
beings, making do. Reminders of our common fragility – that we walk a knife’s
edge between success and failure. Oddly comforting as I navigate this moment in
time when so much seems in need of repair, from people to policies, places to
planet.
Observations of the crow provides other insights as well. It
does not walk alone. Its crow family walks with it, keeps watch from the power
lines above and as a group carries on as crows do. Whether their support will
be enough to avoid the neighbor’s cat or a speeding car, I don’t know, but I
hope. Just as I hope but remain unsure that our fellow humans will stand
together, not apart. Our ancestors stood as one. Walking on two legs provided
great advantages, but also great limitations. Successful clans must have
provided for their sick and injured. Stand together or fall alone, literally.
Our survival to this time is evidence that care and compassion are ancient
strengths, some might say defining, providing the promise of our own alchemic
transformation of hardship to triumph. Let’s make it so.
Walter M. Shriner, PhD is an instructor of biology at Mt.
Hood Community College. |
| View Points Salem: Bills and 'fizz-rizz' by Rep. Anna Williams on 06/01/2021
In the legislature, around this time in the long session,
the phrase "Hurry up and wait" gets thrown around a lot. Many things
are pending at any given time, but when they start moving, they move quickly...
and, more or less, all at once.
Late in May, you may have heard, the governor’s council of
economic advisors provided their quarterly revenue forecast. The news was good
(“stunning” was a word some legislators used), but that’s not the subject of my
column this month. Instead, I’ve decided to explain what that forecast
signifies in the legislative process.
Throughout the session, my colleagues and I propose, discuss
and debate policy concepts. Those policy concepts get written into bills, which
are referred to policy committees. I chair the House Committee on Human
Services, but there are many others: committees on finance, revenue, economic
recovery and prosperity, health care, housing, behavioral health,
transportation and more.
When these committees debate bills, one of the steps in
their process is to review each policy’s “fiscal impact statement” and “revenue
impact statement” (or, in Capitol speak, the “FIS/RIS,” pronounced
“fizz-rizz”). These reports are intended to answer the question, “What impact
will each bill have on our state budget?”
As a weird quirk of the legislative process, policy
committees are provided these “fizz-rizz” reports, but not really asked to
consider budget impacts in their decision about whether a bill should or should
not become law. Instead, any bill that a policy committee passes is referred to
the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, where it sits until the last month or so
of the session.
Then comes the May revenue forecast (cue dramatic music).
Once the legislators who sit on the Ways and Means Committee have a good idea
of how much money they can expect to flow into the state, they can start
deciding which bills we can and can’t afford to pass.
There’s a broad array of very challenging decisions to be
made here, regarding bills of all sizes. One of my priorities, which would
require the Department of Human Services to reimburse caregivers at 150 percent
of minimum wage, is slated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Another of
my priorities, which would create an inventory of publicly owned lands for
potential use as affordable housing sites, would only cost about $34,000 a year
for the first two years, then $8,000 a year ongoing. Yet there are dozens of
legislators listing the hugely expensive bill as their priorities, where the
land inventory is a pet project of my own that may not have many other
legislators pushing for it. At this point, whether a bill gets funded is
largely a question of how many people advocate for it, and how effectively they
can pester (I mean, persuade) the co-chairs of the Ways and Means Committee.
Now that the revenue forecast has been released, the
hundreds upon hundreds of bills currently sitting in the Ways and Means
Committee will start to have their budget hearings, decisions will be made
about whether those bills should be given a vote on the House and Senate floors
will be made, and we will hopefully pass the most worthy policies and leave
those least urgent, as well as those least deserving of taxpayer funding, on
the cutting room floor.
In other words, May was a bit of a slow month, but we are
about to see a torrent of legislative activity, and some of the most
consequential decisions that will be made in our state for the next two years
will be made in the next few weeks. I look forward to hearing from you about
any policies that you’d like to see me support or oppose... as always, please
reach out to Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov to make your voice heard!
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: Budgeting for the future by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 06/01/2021
As I talk about often in this monthly column as well as in
my remarks that I make while traveling around the state, my time as Mayor has
left me with the belief that the biggest decisions should be made at the local
level here in Oregon. This past budget planning cycle has instilled this belief
in me now more than ever.
It is no secret that we have a diverse number of opinions,
backgrounds and beliefs on our Sandy City Council. Every budget season, we
enlist the help of our neighbors to participate on the budget committee along
with members of the City Council in a process that brings our community
together. This year every member of the Sandy community who applied was able to
participate on the budget committee. It’s been said that a budget reflects your
values. It is my belief that we can all be proud of Sandy’s 2021-23 fiscal
budget.
The immediate past council showed true leadership by making
the decision to tighten our budget and invest in our core functions of
government, which led to one of the biggest budget surpluses in our community’s
history. This allowed for our current budget committee to hear presentations
from all of our city department heads about the status of their departments, as
well as their planned investments over the next two years. After questioning,
analyzing and approving those budgets our committee then had the opportunity to
decide where to invest the $308,000 surplus from the previous budget cycle.
It has always amazed me how much the City of Sandy and its
employees are responsible for managing our cities growth and infrastructure.
While many cities choose to contract out to other government agencies like the
county for services such as police, sewer, water, parks, parks maintenance and
library services – Sandy handles all of these services ourselves. When you
consider that we have also led the way with our own world class transit system
(Sandy Area Metro) and our first of its kind, national leading broadband
internet service (SandyNet), it truly is amazing how much the city government
here in Sandy does for our size. Sandy really is the little engine that could.
The discussions our budget committee engaged in with our
department heads was very insightful. As the result of our growth in size and a
vastly changing world, all of our departments are at a state of transition with
the ability to dream what the future of services for our neighbors could look
like in the coming years.
There was also a lot of community dialogue concerning the
future of the Sandy Aquatics Center during our budget sessions. As many of you
may remember, our past city council committed to finding a plan for aquatics in
Sandy, and our new city council remains committed to this goal. The budget
committee approved the creation of an aquatics exploratory committee to
continue exploring the future of aquatics in our community. We need to discuss
the community’s vision for an aquatic center as well as a funding mechanism for
such a project. I feel that it’s important that any plan for the aquatics
center must be put in front of Sandy voters for approval.
After much debate, the budget committee allocated $152,000
to police training, body and vehicle cameras, and vehicle purchases; $75,000 to
parks maintenance and repairs; and $81,000 to the aquatics center budget.
These recommendations go to our most needed areas and that
is exactly why I support our state’s biggest decisions being made at the local
level. As neighbors, we come together, set priorities and invest in our
community. It’s all part of our overarching goal to keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| Why do I need an estate plan? by Paula Walker on 06/01/2021
Seems like grandiose term “Estate Plan.” You say, “ I
consider my wealth and belongings minimal and my intentions for who I will give
these to, simple. Do I need an estate plan? And who does need an estate plan?”
The answer is yes and anyone 18 years of age and older needs
one; before 18, you need one to protect them if you are the parent of children
under that age.
Why do I need an estate plan? An estate plan is not only for
those you consider to be wealthy. The term ‘estate’ refers to all you own,
belongings and real property, and all that you have as financial assets. These
will need to be transferred when you die, someone will have to manage that
transfer and someone will in the end receive that transfer, no matter how
little or how much; and the “simple” dispersal you have in mind will not be
simple without an estate plan.
So, what does an estate plan do then? A proper estate plan
is a comprehensive estate plan. Comprehensive refers to including not only a
will or a trust as the cornerstone document but also those documents that
provide for your care while you are living. Should you have a need for that
support, you have the persons you trust in place to provide it or direct it. A
comprehensive estate plan then provides for your own needs while you are
living; gives clear, legally supportable directions for the transfer of your
belongings and finances to those you choose, not those the state chooses, after
your passing; can maximize the amount of wealth you have to transfer by
minimizing costs associated with that transfer including transfer taxes such as
estate taxes and capital gains; provide for supporting charities and non
profits that you want to support and promote which in turn can contribute to
reducing the potential taxes that may be owing in estate taxes; provides for
transitional distribution of your assets, i.e. providing financial support to
the young adults in your life helping them to manage the receipt of money by
incremental distributions; and naming guardians for young children you have so
that they are well-cared for by those you trust should you not be able to do
so, and with your terms for such a transition to another home, if it was
needed.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Not exactly a story of a current celebrity, but certainly
one of the more interesting uses of a will. Reportedly a Bermuda Tycoon, named
Henry Durell, in 1921 left to the roll of the dice the designation of his heir,
the one who would receive the transfer of his grand estate, grounds and manor
overlooking Hamilton Harbor, the natural harbor serving the city of Hamilton,
the capital of Bermuda. Being equally fond of three nephews his will stipulated
that the estate would be given to the winner of the three nephews of a game of
dice. The three nephews followed through, passing around a pair of dice and the
winner, Richard Durrell, within minutes, emerged the owner of the palatial estate.
And for the others, it was ‘paradise lost.’ Perhaps not a good idea though to
leave your estate to the whims of fate and the outcome of chance.
Dear Reader… we welcome your questions on matters related to
estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance the
potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you. |
| Simple suppers by Taeler Butel on 06/01/2021
Crazy Bread
Use a couple of different breads and topping combinations,
add a salad to make an easy summer supper.
I’m thinking these will be a hit at my daughter’s graduation
party! Speaking of... congratulations to the grads of 2021!
The sky is the limit for the crazy bread filling, and this
is an excellent way to use up leftovers.
Shrimp & Artichoke
1 loaf ciabatta bread
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/2 t each salt, pepper, garlic powder
1 T chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped artichoke hearts
1 cup bay or cooked chopped shrimp
Olive oil
Slice bread in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil toast
lightly, mix all other ingredients and pile on top of bread. Bake at 350
degrees for 20 minutes.
Ricotta, ham & asparagus
1 loaf focaccia bread
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup asparagus tips pan roasted with olive oil salt and
pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
4 oz shaved ham
Spread ricotta over bread, layer on ham, Parmesan,
mozzarella and asparagus. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Scratch Butterscotch Pudding
This is easy guys, just keep stirring, stirring, stirring…
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 T unsalted butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Whisk everything in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat
until steaming. Switch to a wooden spoon and continue stirring until thickened.
Place plastic wrap directly onto pudding and chill completely. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
The subject and composition of a photograph or a painting is
the most important component in creating an impactful image. Composition is
something that is difficult for me to explain as it is something that feels as
if it comes to me naturally. It is certainly something that can be taught but I
had never studied composition at all until I tried to advance my photographic
skills.
I was aware of the Rule of Thirds, as I was an artist prior
to becoming serious with my landscape photography, but that was as far as my
knowledge went. I am not a trained artist, at least not in the formal sense.
I've always considered my artistic endeavors as a hobby. It’s only since I’ve
made efforts to improve my photography that I have really become aware of the
rules of composition.
Before I became aware of compositional guides and
guidelines, I would be in the field creating a photograph without even thinking
of compositional rules or formulas. I was just letting the scene speak to me.
Imagine how surprised and satisfied in my skill I was when I laid a Golden
Ratio over one of my photos and it lined up perfectly. How did I develop this
skill? Was I born with it or was it something that I had somehow learned in my
life? Can someone be born with the eye for composition?
I have wondered about this in my case and I think that I may
have a clue. As a child I had this little mental and visual game that I would
play, especially when I was idle or bored, where I would reduce my
surroundings, be it outdoors in nature or indoors in a room filled with
furniture. I would see steps, sections, spaces and shapes, and I used to try to
line everything up in an order of symmetry and alignments and then find the
center of it all.
I think that that obsessive mind game that I played was a
way for my brain to develop a way for me to find order that would translate to
artistic compositions in the photos that I make today of the chaotic nature of
nature.
After I became aware of the rules of composition it allowed
me to understand more of how my style of composition was developing. The most
skilled artists develop their eye for composition. It is rare when an artist’s
style does not change with practice and an increased awareness of their craft.
Through my experience as a landscape photographer there are
a few tips that I can pass on to help those who want to develop their own eye
for composition and to develop their own unique style. Some of these
suggestions are directed toward photographers but the principles can be applied
to drawing or painting, mostly landscapes.
Start with a wide view of the scene and then start to reduce
it to the most important components of the scene. Many times, it is not what
you include in a scene but what you choose to exclude that will make the
biggest difference. Simple can be impactful to the viewer.
Find your subject or the reason for the photo and make it
the focal point. A strong focal point is important and less frustrating for the
viewer of your art who is trying to understand the message that you are
conveying through your image.
Direct your viewer's eye through the scene toward your focal
point with foreground elements, especially those that create leading lines.
Foreground objects and leading lines will also create depth. Leading lines can
be straight in or they can be diagonal lines, but their purpose is to lead the
viewer’s eyes toward your focal point.
Next is to create depth or a sense of distance from the
front to the back. As I have alluded to previously, a leading line can be a
great way to create depth in a photo but there are other ways that can be used.
An element like a rock or a flower anchors the foreground and establishes a
base for distance. A scene that goes from a darker area toward light gives a
sense of depth. A gateway, perhaps through branches or an arch to a distant
focal point is an excellent way to create depth. Another way to create a sense
of depth is a shallow depth of field, meaning a sharp focus on a subject with a
soft, out of focus background.
The next is balance; create a balance in your composition. Make
sure that your elements are distributed through the scene as evenly as you
possibly can. If your focal point is centered it helps the balance if it is
symmetric. If it’s offset to the side fill the opposing area. If you have
movement into and out of your frame, try to take it from a back corner to the
opposing front area in a diagonal direction. The best example that I can think
of is a creek. I like photos in which a creek moves from the back, where light
is brightest, to the front opposite corner and to a darker area where it leaves
the frame. The diagonal line that it makes crosses through your photo and
maintains a balance.
Try to limit negative space, especially in a clear and
cloudless sky. I find negative space uninteresting, and it is my practice to
try to eliminate it the best that I can in my compositions. I love cloudy skies
as clouds fill blank skies nicely. If I do not have clouds but have a blank
sky, I may place a branch from a tree or something similar in that area. There
are certainly exceptions to this rule, which would include a scene that’s
balanced to the side of your composition. Minimalistic images benefit from
large areas of negative space. Picture a couple of people walking alone in the
distance on a vast and empty beach on an overcast day.
Understand the rules but, like is commonly said, feel free
to break the rules because we make our own rules when we are standing in front
of a beautiful scene. Understand the rule of thirds but stretch its boundaries.
It is rare when the natural world aligns with a grid. Understand the Golden
Ratio. I will not spend a lot of time explaining these rules as you can
research their purpose but, in my opinion, they are the two most important
guidelines in composition. The Golden Ratio is magic.
As with any craft or skill the most important rule to follow
is to follow your heart and your instincts. You are an artist, and you are
original. And to be original you are the one who chooses which rules to follow,
which rules to break and which rules to create for yourself. In that way your
work becomes your own. It becomes original. It becomes your style. |
|  Graphic by NFPA.
My column one year ago this month started out like this:
“Imagine watching news and social media reports of a forest
fire in Clackamas County – say, in the Bull Run watershed or between
Rhododendron and Government Camp. There’s smoke in the air. You’re concerned,
but the fire is a couple of miles away and firefighters are working to control
it. And then burning embers start raining down. Your worry turns to panic as
the embers ignite fir needles and dead leaves around your house – and the
bone-dry debris in your gutters. Your only choice is to escape while you can as
your house burns to the ground.
Sounds a bit melodramatic, doesn’t it? Something like a
scene from a movie? Something that can’t happen here in wet, green Oregon?”
We now know that this was far from melodramatic. We don’t
have to imagine watching news and social media reports of a forest fire in
Clackamas County or preparing to evacuate. Starting just after Labor Day 2020,
the Riverside Fire, driven by strong winds from the east, burned 138,000 acres
southeast of Estacada and destroyed more than 50 homes. Many of us in Hoodland
packed our most important belongings and prepared to bug out as we breathed
smoke from the fire and other conflagrations burning to the south. We watched
the sky for falling embers. We listened to the radio and checked social media
for the evacuation order. The power was off for most of a week, more in some
areas. We were fortunate that the fire did not spread into our area.
Mid-April brought gusty east winds and unusually dry conditions
to our neck of the woods. Hoodland Fire District banned open fires. The danger
of a large wildfire was relatively low, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one
thinking back to last September’s fire.
As those winds were blowing small branches from my trees, I
received a press release about a recent study of the effects of removing
vegetation around homes on the chances of those homes surviving a wildfire. The
study was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
(IBHS) and Zesty.ai, a company that “uses artificial intelligence to understand
the impact of climate risk to each and every building.” (Editorial aside: Hmmm,
I wonder if Zesty.ai is related to Ziply Fiber….)
The study is entitled “Wildfire Fuel Management and Risk
Mitigation: Where to Start?” Here’s the main point: the researchers looked at
71,000 properties involved in wildfires between 2016 and 2019 and found that
“buildings with a high amount of vegetation within five feet of the structure
were destroyed in a wildfire 78 percent of the time – a rate nearly twice as
high as those with small amounts of perimeter vegetation.
Five feet – that’s it! Walk around your home with your arms
outstretched, touching the house with one hand. How many trees, branches, and
shrubs fall within that span, above and below you? How much flammable
bark/mulch, grass, and groundcover plants are within those five feet? Can you
live without that? Can you live with decorative gravel and stepping stones, a
brick walkway, or simply bare soil? Remove that flammable material and your
home has a much better chance of surviving a wildfire.
There are some important caveats, of course. Five feet of
space won’t make much of a difference if red-hot embers fall into gutters or
roof valleys filled with dry fir needles. And five feet won’t matter much
during a wind-whipped fire like the Riverside Fire. But with a lower-intensity,
slower-moving fire burning through low-lying vegetation – the kind of fires
that are much more common here – that five feet could make all the difference.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has much
more information about managing flammable vegetation and materials around
houses, in three zones: Immediate (five feet), Intermediate (five to 30 feet)
and Extended (30-100 feet or more).
Here’s what the NFPA says about that first five feet and the
home itself:
Immediate zone: The home and the area zero to five feet from
the furthest attached exterior point of the home; defined as a non-combustible
area. Science tells us this is the most important zone to take immediate action
on as it is the most vulnerable to embers. START WITH THE HOUSE ITSELF then
move into the landscaping section of the Immediate Zone:
– Move any flammable material away from wall exteriors
(mulch, flammable plants, leaves and needles, firewood piles), anything that
can burn. Remove anything stored underneath decks or porches.
– Clean roofs and gutters of dead leaves and debris.
– Replace or repair any loose or missing shingles or roof
tiles to prevent embers from getting in.
– Install 1/8-inch metal mesh screen in exterior attic and
eaves vents to reduce the chance of embers passing through.
– Screen or box-in areas below patios and decks with wire
mesh to prevent debris and combustible materials from accumulating. Repair or
replace damaged or loose window screens and any broken windows.
The NFPA also offers tips on reducing fire hazards in the
Intermediate and Extended zones at tinyurl.com/3ecp8c3r.
Start with the first five feet (and keep your roof and
gutters clean), then tackle the other zones. It’s a measure of peace of mind.
Even if you have to evacuate, there’ll be a much better chance that you’ll have
a house to come home to.
Have a question about protecting your home from wildfire?
Want to know why you ought to convince your neighbors to take action, too? Let
me know. Email: SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Nature serves a reminder of what connects us all by Mt. Hood Community College on 05/01/2021
On campus, in our greenspaces and in our backyards, each day
in May brings new additions to our community. Yesterday a Wilson’s Warbler,
with his cap of black and his staccato song, joined the chorus of finches and
towhees. Today a Black-headed Grosbeak lands on the top of a Douglas Fir, 2,500
miles from its winter home in the pine forests of Nayarit, Mexico.
These and other newcomers join a spectacle in full swing.
The college backdrop is one of mixed conifer-deciduous forest, but the drama of
spring plays in many venues. Here in Gresham, above the campus trails, the
canopy closes as ashes and maples reach full splendor. Their broad leaves hide
a tiny Ruby-Crowned Kinglet on her nest, protected from predators by height and
camouflage. In the brambles below, a Song Sparrow disappears into a
thorn-guarded home. Lower still, the Dark-eyed Juncos nest, deep in the grass
on the forest edge — just as invisible to casual passersby as any bird in the
canopy.
All around us the anticipation builds, and we are far from
the final act! Each day new flowers burst into color and eggs transform into
begging birds. Mothers (and fathers) fly forays back and forth, using every
minute of the lengthening days to feed their future.
As this new life grows, we can look to the sky for what tomorrow’s
wind brings*, perhaps a warbler from the jungles of Nicaragua or a swallow from
the mangrove forests of Costa Rica. We can rejoice in the heartening message of
each new arrival. These international travelers, who recognize no government’s
boundary, but who are affected none-the-less by our human laws and practices,
speak of the global community to which we all belong, of the shared planet we
call home.
And we can pull a hopeful message from their presence. It
tells us that their winter grounds still provide ample food and that our long
spring days still bring an abundance of resources to sustain them here again.
May we all rejoice in this message of hope and find the energy to carry it into
our intertwined and shared future. May we use their arrival to commit (or
commit anew) to doing what we must, collectively and individually, to ensure
that they can continue to safely travel back and forth across our borders to
bring color to our world.
(*Author's note: for a high-tech exploration of migration in
real-time with daily forecasts for your area, check out BirdCast at
https://birdcast.info.)
By Walter M. Shriner, PhD, an instructor of biology at Mt.
Hood Community College. |
| Inside Salem: considering trauma by Rep. Anna Williams on 05/01/2021
In every legislative session, there are a couple of
difficult days in which bills that haven’t made enough progress through their
respective committees are deemed “dead” for the year. This last “Deadline Day,”
April 13, I had to say goodbye to a few important policies that didn’t quite
have enough support to pass out of their committees in time. I’d like to tell
you about one of them, since I plan on continuing to work on it in future
sessions.
House Bill 2825 would have required courts to consider
evidence of a criminal defendant’s having been subjected to domestic violence
before sentencing them for their crimes. It would also have allowed people who
were already in custody (including those serving mandatory minimum sentences)
to petition for resentencing if they had committed their crimes as a result of
coercion from an abusive partner.
It’s extremely important to me that our criminal justice
system be more trauma-informed, and that survivors of domestic violence have
their trauma acknowledged before we lock them up for crimes that they may have
been coerced into committing. After hearing from brave women who shared their
stories with the public (including my recent appearance alongside one survivor
on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud”), this work feels even more
urgent than when I started.
Our criminal justice system, by ignoring the impact that
domestic violence can have on a person’s decision to commit or assist in
committing a crime, in many ways feeds into and becomes a part of the cycle of
abuse experienced by survivors. Survivors – primarily women – are sometimes
punished for heinous acts that they did not want to participate in, but had
little to no power to refuse. Other survivors are punished under harsh
mandatory sentencing schemes for what could amount to self-defense against
their abusers: proving self-defense in court is sometimes a high bar and often
survivors are unable to convince juries that their actions were necessary.
Survivors who get wrapped up in our prison system as a
result of these sentencing laws sometimes spend decades behind bars. That’s
decades of missed birthdays, decades of not being there for those crucial
developmental milestones with their kids: first steps, back to school nights,
parent-teacher conferences, game-winning home runs, wiping away tears.
Each of us can try to imagine what that toll is like for the
mothers, for the kids, for the family left behind. But most of us can’t fully
relate to a nightmare of this magnitude. This system of “justice” is continuing
to re-abuse and re-traumatize these women and their families. It’s
destabilizing communities and further proliferating cycles of violence and
pain.
Unfortunately, HB 2825 would have required a two-thirds
majority vote in order to pass, because it would make a narrow exception to
Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws. (The state constitution requires
that any sentences passed by ballot measure – which includes our mandatory
minimum sentences – can only be changed by a two-thirds legislative vote,
otherwise the question has to be decided by voters on the ballot.)
Because of the high hurdle of getting 40 Representatives’
and 20 Senators’ support in order to pass HB 2825, legislative leadership
encouraged me to work a bit longer on gathering more robust bipartisan support
for my idea. Now, the bill will go to an “interim workgroup,” where I can
collaborate with defense attorneys, prosecutors and judicial experts to craft a
bill that can pass in 2022. It’s past time for us to make this change, so I’m
determined to make it happen next year. If you have any thoughts on how I might
be able to improve this policy, or if you’d like more information, please let
me know at Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| Spring into comfort by Taeler Butel on 05/01/2021
Cheesy spring risotto
You can use vegetable stock and omit the cream and cheese to
make this a vegan dish if you’d like. Frozen artichoke hearts chopped work
great for this, or substitute vegetables.
2 cups Arborio rice
6 cups chicken stock
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/4 cup fine chopped shallot
1/4 cup fine chopped fennel bulb
1/4 cup shaved asparagus
1/4 cup chopped artichoke hearts
1 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese - cubed or shredded
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2T chopped parsley
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
In a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, warm the butter
and oil, add rice and stir, coating and toasting for one minute (rice will
sound like glass beads). Add in seasonings, shallot, garlic and fennel and keep
stirring.
Add wine, keep stirring when wine has reduced by half and
add one cup of stock, stir until thickened. Add another cup of stock and
repeat. Once rice is tender add in the other ingredients and stir until creamy,
adding more stock if it's dry.
Comfortable Food – Apple Bread
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 ½ t ground cinnamon
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ t baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 large apple, peeled and finely chopped
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder
and set aside. In a large bowl or stand mixer cream sugars and butter, adding
in vanilla and eggs one at a time.
Add the flour mixture, then milk. Fold in apples in a
prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center
comes out clean.
You can make a delicious crumb topping and/or glaze but this
bread is perfect as is!
|
| How a will directs an estate by Paula Walker on 05/01/2021
Probate; many think that with a will their estate will not
be subject to the court controlled procedure called ‘probate,’ however that is
a misconception. with or without a will an estate is subject to probate. A
Revocable Living Trust is the one estate planning instrument that renders
probate unnecessary. However, as stated in other articles, better a will than
no will and no plan at all. Let’s look at what happens when you pass and a will
is your main estate planning instrument.
First and foremost, with a well-done will, the key is that
you have left family and friends with a solid plan of action. You have
appointed someone to administer your estate. You have made clear who receives
what and how the many things that you have – from household furnishings and
family mementos to charitable gifts and the disposal of your house and your
various financial holdings – are to be distributed. If you have minor children,
you have appointed their guardian(s). If you have animal companions you have
identified who will take them and care for them. In both the last two
situations, you have left money for their care and directions for their
transition. All this is subject to court review, and in the case of the
children subject to court through guardianship proceedings to review, confirm
and approve the guardians.
Even though you have taken the solid step to designate the
person you want to administer your estate, that person must be approved and
officially appointed by the court. In Oregon that person is called your
Personal Representative. For an estate with combined assets in real estate and
financial holdings that equal or exceed $275,000 ($200,000 in real estate and
$75,000 in financial assets), this petition to the court initiates a year-long
engagement, perhaps longer but seldom shorter, with an attorney to navigate the
complex process of court filings, which begin with petitioning the court to
appoint the designated person as the Personal Representative for your estate.
Once the approval is made, the Personal Representative
receives the necessary documents from the court to act on your estate’s behalf,
proof to the many entities, banks, county, etc. that that person has such
authority. That court approval initiates the arduous process of accounting for
all that is in your estate that must be probated, communicating to the
beneficiaries of the estate of your role and their place in your will,
notifying a variety of state agencies for purposes of paying healthcare debts,
paying taxes, recording your death, transferring title to real estate and
identifying creditors to pay final debts.
This is just a glimpse of the duties and the many entities
involved to give you a sense of the breadth and reach of what is to be
undertaken by your Personal Representative. Providing finances to your Personal
Representative to accomplish these tasks is an essential part of your planning
in creating a will because your assets will be tied up for a year, or possibly
more, from your passing until the court gives its final approval that your will
has been properly interpreted, the distributions exactly prepared according to
those terms, is ready to execute when that approval is received and that all
creditors have been identified and all debts and taxes paid.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Tales of the interesting and unusual, from Vermont to New
York and the beyond… Warren County, New York celebrated its bicentennial in
2013 with the tale of John Bowman the tanner-made-magnate, a legend in the area
owing to the tannery business started in 1852 that spawned whole towns now in
existence in that Adirondack region. Cuttingsville, Vt. Chamber of Commerce and
state of Vermont promote Bowman to current-day tourists as a native son and
legend in the area for the mansion and mausoleum he built for his family and
the instructions in his will.
Having lost his first daughter in infancy and grief stricken
at the early loss of his beloved wife and second daughter, both dying less than
a year apart, he made plans for the construction of a mausoleum and a mansion,
in his home state of Vermont where he had begun his work in the tannery
business and returned to after the death of his wife. There, in Cuttingsville,
he had the mansion built across the street from the mausoleum so that he could
have a constant view of the place where he himself would finally, eventually
rest. Convinced of reincarnation, with his will he established a trust fund for
the maintenance of both his mansion and the mausoleum, with the instructions
that the servants were to prepare a nightly dinner in case the Bowman family
returned hungry. Mr. Bowman died in 1891, 12 years after his wife and daughter.
The preparation of the nightly repast continued until the trust was depleted in
1950 – almost 60 years!
Note – should you visit Cuttingsville, in the town of
Shrewsbury you can see the mausoleum in the Laurel Glen cemetery with the
statue of Mr. Bowman, as he had constructed, eternally climbing the outer
stairs of the mausoleum to rejoin his beloved family.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
I am glad to be known more for my landscape photography than
I am for any other photography style or genre that I dabble in, although I
certainly do not limit myself strictly to landscapes, it’s what drew me back to
photography in the beginning. This brings clients to me who want a unique
heirloom portrait of themselves in the outdoors.
I seem to have created a niche for myself. As a landscape
photographer I have many locations that I have visited in the past in the back
of my mind that would work for the photos that my clients expect from me.
These photos are an example of one such session. The clients
wanted a photo of themselves with Mount Hood behind them as a formal wedding
photo. That would be a dream shot considering that it’s March and the Oregon
rains can be pretty predictable. I did promise them some beautiful forest
photos though.
We were fortunate to have a window of time when the skies
would be clear, and a view of the mountain could be had. I chose White River
Snow Park on the east side of Mount Hood. The park is busy, but we did well,
and I can always take out the errant person in the distance with a clone brush
tool in Photoshop during post processing.
We walked up to an area with some trees which gave the photo
the feel of being at the edge of a wilderness forest with the incredible
mountain in the distance. The scene gave a sense of solitude to the feel of the
photos even though there were people all around us.
I took a series of photos varying my focal length from 24
millimeter to 35 millimeter according to the composition that I was trying to
achieve. They all turned out fine, but I had a vision in my head of a photo
with the couple in the foreground with Mount Hood looming large in the
background – an effect that I could not achieve with a wide-angle lens.
I had this idea before we arrived, and as we drove into the
parking area I surveyed the location to find a place to get the shot. I know
this location very well and so I drove right to where I knew that I would have
the best luck in creating the photo. We did not have to walk far, fortunately,
as the couple were surrounded by snow and dressed in their wedding clothes. I
was prepared so we didn’t waste a lot of time standing in the cold.
Once we had finished the photos and were about to return to
our cars, I asked my clients to stay behind with my assistant while I returned
to my car to change lenses and take a photo of them from there. They were up on
a ridge of snow above where I had parked with Mount Hood positioned perfectly
behind them.
As I stood in the distance, I mounted my 200 mm lens to my
Nikon D850 and then zoomed in to 160 mm to compose the frame. I then stopped
the aperture down to f/14 for a clear depth of field. Once my assistant had
posed the couple, I took the shot.
I had used a method of enlarging the mountain, in this case
five miles distant, to fill the frame to give the illusion that the subject is
much closer to the background than they were. It’s a technique called lens
compression. All of us were pleased with the outcome.
The second portrait was made with another composition that I
had in mind prior to arriving. This huge root ball seemed like a good prospect
for a photo when I was scouting this location. Once I had the wedding couple
stand in front of the natural vignetting that the roots created, I knew that it
was a good choice.
Understanding your location and the capability of your gear
makes it easier to visualize a photo prior to arriving at the location. And
visualizing your photoshoot prior to the day of the event will allow you to be
more prepared and to be more relaxed once you get to work.
In addition, knowing the capabilities of your equipment will
allow you to understand basic concepts or methods such as lens compression to
create more compelling photographs.
Gary Randall is an award-winning professional photographer,
artist, writer, traveler and adventure seeker who lives in Brightwood. |
|  Sunstrip Campground.
Depending on who you talk to, salvage logging is either a
reasonable response after trees have been killed by wildfires (or insects,
disease or other damaging event), or a recipe for environmental destruction.
The latter point of view is especially true when it comes to harvesting
fire-killed trees on federal public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Here are some of the arguments against post-fire salvage harvests
offered by Bark (bark-out.org), an environmental advocacy group that focuses on
the Mount Hood National Forest:
“Even the most severely burned forests are teeming with
native biodiversity and rich wildlife habitats. As soon as the fire goes out, animal
and plant species begin to return to the forest.”
True. I’ve seen plants sprouting within a couple of weeks of
a wildfire, and these plants offer important food and habitat for a range of
critters. Birds are happy to nest in and pick insects from charred trees. Even
if some trees are harvested, there are usually lots of others that aren’t.
“Post-fire logging projects convert complex fire-impacted
forests into monoculture tree plantations.”
Most land managers plant two, three or more species of tree
seedlings after a fire, whether they harvest any of the dead trees or not. Once
the trees grow up above the grasses and brush that sprout after a fire, the
forest isn’t a monoculture.
In our area, in addition to planted Douglas-fir, western
hemlock and western redcedar seedlings, you’ll likely see alder, bigleaf maple
and other trees and shrubs. In fact, these new forests would look very much
like most of the forests that surround the Hoodland area, which grew naturally
after large wildfires a century ago. If these are “monocultures,” they are
natural ones.
Logging harms water quality and degrades our drinking
watersheds.
Post-fire timber harvesting operations can lead to runoff,
especially if care isn’t taken to minimize soil disturbance. Bark cites studies
that document this. However, modern logging equipment and practices are much
better at reducing soil disturbance than in the past. In most cases, burned
areas are more prone to erosion than unburned areas, because wildfires consume
all or most of the organic material that otherwise protects soils from rain and
runoff.
The three fires that burned in our neck of the woods last
year killed millions of trees on federal, state, private and tribal lands.
Together, the fires scorched more than 536,000 acres — the Riverside Fire
(138,000 acres), which was closest to Hoodland; the Beachie Creek Fire (193,573
acres); and the Lionshead Fire (204,469 acres). Most of the forest burned by
the Riverside Fire was Forest Service and BLM land, but about 42,000 acres of
private land also burned. The Beachie Creek Fire burned more than 78,000 acres
of private lands and more than half of the 48,000-acre Santiam State Forest.
The Lionshead Fire burned primarily on the Willamette National Forest and the
Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
On some private lands, salvage harvesting began before the
smoke cleared. Many landowners are racing the clock to remove dead timber
before it rots and becomes worthless for milling into lumber or other products.
Safety also is a concern after fires.
The Oregon Department of Transportation began removing dead
and dying trees along Hwy. 22 and other highways affected by the 2020 wildfires
last fall, before the fires were out, and is still working to remove them. The
Forest Service and BLM routinely remove hazard trees from along roadsides, near
campgrounds and picnic areas and other places where falling trees might pose a
risk to people.
In mid-March, I visited Mill City and Detroit to see some of
the salvage logging for myself. I visited with loggers harvesting blackened
trees on land owned by Freres Lumber Co., which manufactures veneer, plywood,
lumber and mass plywood panels, or MPPs. Think of MPPS as plywood on steroids.
Freres can make panels up to 12 feet wide, 48 feet long and
24 inches thick, for use as structural panels in construction and as industrial
mats that are used as bases for cranes and other very large, heavy machines.
I watched as one logging crew used small MPP panels as pads
that allowed a large, tracked harvesting machine to cross a paved county road
without damaging the asphalt. The logs the crews were harvesting were destined
for Freres’s mills in Lyons, where they might be made into MPPs or other
products.
The Beachie Creek Fire burned about 7,500 acres of timber on
Freres’s land, more than one-third of the nearly 20,000 acres it owns in the
area. A Freres forester told me that they may be able to harvest about
three-quarters of the dead timber on its land; about one-quarter were trees too
small to be useful as lumber and too expensive to harvest for producing chips
and other products.
Some of the trees killed were only a few years old. From
what I could see, the loggers were being careful to minimize soil disturbance.
Freres has a vested interest in keeping its soils healthy and productive to
assure future harvests.
Crews hired by the company began replanting the burned area
last fall. Freres plans to plant 700,000 seedlings by this spring, perhaps 4.5
million more in the next two years.
For Freres and other companies, harvesting dead trees and
replanting is essential to their long-term survival as businesses. For federal
and state agencies, salvage harvesting is not essential to their long-term
survival, but they do have a mandate to provide timber for producing forest
products, and timber revenue can help pay for other post-fire restoration work.
For example, the Mount Hood National Forest might harvest
dead trees along key roads east of Estacada, to remove the hazards to
travelers. Income from selling the timber might be used to pay for restoring
burned recreation sites along the Clackamas River.
My view is that salvage harvesting is appropriate in some
areas, for a variety of reasons, but not in others – certainly not in
wilderness areas. The Oregon division of the Society of American Foresters –
I’ve been a member for 40 years – has an informative policy statement on the
topic, “Salvage Harvesting on Public Forestlands in Oregon,” at
tinyurl.com/4ykcd62s.
Want to know more about salvage logging? Want to know why
deer and elk sometimes roll in the ash after a wildfire? Let me know.
SWilent@gmail.com.
|
| View Points Salem: Advancement in healthcare by Rep. Anna Williams on 04/01/2021
After over a year of pandemic legislating, it’s interesting
to see how far we’ve come. There are many non-COVID-specific issues that we’ve
learned a lot about because of how the law has functioned over the last year.
One such issue is telemedicine – virtual healthcare provided
through remote technology like video-conferencing. Since long before the
pandemic, my colleague Representative Rachel Prusak and I have been talking
about the importance of using technology to help overcome access and justice
issues in healthcare. Why, we wondered, was it so hard to get the healthcare
industry to adopt fast-growing technologies like video-chat into their daily
practice?
Some healthcare providers were resistant to the concept for
years. They had concerns about the quality of care that could be provided,
about whether patient privacy could be protected and about whether patients
could access and navigate the technology needed for a quality telehealth
experience. Some resisted the
interruption into their normal course of business, while others worried it
could add to their costs without any real benefit. Most of all, though, many
physicians and nurses who would be willing to adopt telemedicine into their
practice were worried that insurance would not reimburse them for the time they
spent “FaceTiming” with their patients.
Enter COVID-19. The pandemic has forced us to run the
experiment that my colleagues and I were having trouble getting started: both
public and private insurance providers have had to, by necessity, reimburse
remote visits with medical providers. It turns out, not only were the providers
able to provide quality care using technology, we also learned that it
dramatically changed their ability to engage with their patients!
People are often uncomfortable in doctors’ offices, so
having the option to see a doctor in the comfort of someone’s own home makes
some people more able to be open about their medical issues. Providers can also
get a sense of the patient’s home environment, which is often an important part
of the context of their overall health. And for mental health visits, patients
have expressed significant increases in their comfort with tough conversations
when they’re able to do so over the phone from their own homes, as opposed to
“on the provider’s turf,” in the clinical setting of a doctor’s office.
Perhaps most importantly, telehealth is a matter of equity
and justice. It’s a matter of rural justice because it helps people see doctors
and specialists without having to make long drives to visit them. It’s a matter
of elder and disability justice because people who aren’t able to find easy
transport to medical providers can get the help they need without having to
request special accommodations. It’s a matter of racial and ethnic justice
because people who may not speak English or feel comfortable visiting just any
provider are able to more easily get in touch with the culturally appropriate
care that they need.
Finally, it turns out to be a cost-saver: people who don’t
need to visit a medical provider are better able to be screened through remote
visits, which improves efficiency by allowing doctors to focus their in-office
time on people who truly need to be there.
In such a challenging year, it’s refreshing that we’ve
learned so much about what’s possible, and it’s great to see the leaps and
bounds we have taken in policy while we’ve tried to creatively work around the
pandemic. What else has COVID shown us was possible that we previously thought
was impossible? Let me know your thoughts at
Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: Stimulating businesses by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 04/01/2021
In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, we, like so
many small communities, looked for ways to provide small business relief to our
neighbors who were severely impacted by the Governor’s shutdowns. In Sandy, we
utilized some flexibility within our urban renewal budget to help support these
businesses. It was an easy decision to invest in both our local small
businesses in their time of need, as well as the future of our community.
Shortly after we implemented our small business relief program,
Congress passed and President Trump signed the CARES act to provide relief to
those impacted by the pandemic. We learned we would be able to use those
dollars to provide additional grants but also to reimburse our urban renewal
fund for the funds we had already distributed. That ended up being an important
lesson.
Shortly after the Governor’s second shut down, it became
evident that our local restaurants and businesses needed help to provide
outdoor seating options in the short term, but also a need to increase their
square footage to comply with capacity requirements in a way that allowed their
business to keep their lights on.
Having learned the lesson from our earlier relief efforts, I
worked with our economic development manager and our planning department to
introduce a new program that became our Covered Structures Grant Program. In
this program business owners could apply for a grant with the City to build
beautiful “Sandy Style” outdoor structures at their businesses. Under the
program, the city’s Urban Renewal Fund would provide 80 percent of the
investment with the business owner being responsible for the remaining 20
percent upon completion of the project. Recognizing that times are hard and
that cash flow could be an issue, the city provided an option of a 3-year,
interest-free installment program. We moved quickly to implement this program
because we knew our local businesses could not wait.
Just like the lesson we learned with the small business
relief program, we decided to use our Urban Renewal budget for the funds. I did
not want to wait for Congress to act on a new relief package, but any passive
observer could predict that we would be receiving another funding bill shortly
that would most likely let us reimburse our fund again. So, we took the gamble
and funded seven projects. The next week, Congress and President Biden passed
the stimulus package and we discovered we’d be able to reimburse the program
again. A huge victory for Sandy.
This program is a win for our struggling Main Street
businesses during the tail end of this pandemic, but it also has long term
benefits for our community. These restaurants now have a greater capacity for
customers, which will hopefully help them recover faster. One local restaurant
owner felt it would help grow their sales over 30 percent!
Some might remember that earlier in the year, our Sandy City
Council removed additional System Development charges for local businesses who
want to expand their outdoor seating and bolstered our economic tenant
improvement program to help assist our businesses’ financial success.
Now is the time to invest in our Main Street businesses so
that they can serve the public and employ our neighbors now and in the future.
This program supports our local businesses, their employees
and will create a special dining experience for our community for years to
come. It is things like this that will put Sandy on the map. This program is
the first of its kind. We used to do bold, innovative things in Oregon, we
still do those things in Sandy. It’s the Sandy way. All part of our overarching
goal to keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
| Oyster mushrooms a delicious decomposer by Mt. Hood Community College on 04/01/2021
Fungi generally fill one of two roles in an ecosystem. The
first option is to be closely associated with living organisms, such as plants
or insects. These liaisons are essential to our natural habitats, and the
health of the fungi often determines the health of all those living around it.
The second role available for fungi is to make a living off
the dead. These fungi are often called recyclers or decomposers, and true to
their name they break down complex molecules releasing nutrients back to the
soil so life can begin anew. These macabre fungi are vital for the ecosystem
and are also a staple of the dinner table during the winter months when many
plants reduce their photosynthesis output and many insects over winter until
the weather warms.
This means that the fungi who chose the first role,
association with the living, are forced to lay low while their friends take it
easy. Decomposing fungi do not have such a barrier. As long as moisture is
available, they will continue their work and if conditions are appropriate,
they will produce a fruiting body which we call a mushroom.
The oyster mushroom, found in the genus Pleurotus, is one
such decomposer that is also a wonderful edible. There are several species of
oyster mushrooms, but all exhibit the following characteristics. They like
rotting wood, which means you will find them on trees, logs, or branches. They
have gills on the lower surface, and they are lacking a stem or the stem is
short and off centered. The mushroom will be fleshy instead of hard, and white,
gray or brown.
These delicious fungi tend to grow in clusters, and once
properly identified, can make a wonderful addition to soups, pizza, pasta and
stir fry.
Catherine Creech is an instructor of biology at Mt. Hood Community College. |
| Happy spring! by Taeler Butel on 04/01/2021
The bunnies are hopping and so am I, to get the first fresh
tendrils of spring onto our plates! Asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb and berries
are fresh produce right now and lamb is just as easy as chicken.
Herbed rack of lamb
1-2 1b rack of Lamb roast (lamb chops)
Mix together 2 T olive oil
1/2 t each dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper,
garlic granules
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Salt and pepper roast (or chops)
to taste and place in roasting pan.
Roast uncovered for 30 minutes (1/2 that time if using cut chops),
then spoon bread crumb mixture evenly over the fat cap for the roast, or spoon
on individually if using chops. Roast another 10 minutes for chops, or 25
minutes for roast, then let each rest. Meat should be rare.
Lemon Cream coffee cake with fresh berries
One pint fresh seasonal or 1 cup frozen berries
1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds
4 large eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T lemon zest
16 oz container sour cream
1 cup plus 4 T unsalted softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 T baking powder
2 t baking soda
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup plus 2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar
Spray a large springform pan with cooking spray, cut a
circle of parchment paper to cover the bottom and spray the parchment paper.
Mix streusel topping: combine 4 T butter with brown sugar,
flour and toasted almonds and set aside.
In a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed beat
butter with sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, add sour cream,
vanilla and eggs.
In another large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda
and salt. Combine dry ingredients with the wet by folding in gently.
Pour half of the mixture into prepared pan, scatter berries
all over the batter and top with half of the streusel and then with remaining
batter. Top with remaining batter and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55
minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Icing : make the icing by combining the lemon juice and
powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
If too watery add more sugar and if too thick add more lemon
juice. Drizzle over cooled cake. |
| 'Trusting' the outcome by Paula Walker on 04/01/2021
We’ve looked at the calamity of dying without even the most
basic plan, a will, in place. We’ve looked at the process when you have a will.
In this article we’ll look at the option of creating a type of trust, a
Revocable Living Trust (Trust), as the cornerstone instrument to manage the
transfer of your assets after your passing. It has many advantages and
depending on your circumstances and your objectives it can be superior to a
will.
What are the advantages? For starters, the Trust serves you
during your life as well as providing the orderly transfer of assets after you
die, where a will is only effective after your death. Other advantages: 1) The
Trust, and only a Trust, avoids probate, i.e., the costly, time-consuming,
lengthy and complex process of court oversight of the transfer of assets, tying
up your assets until receiving the court’s approval of the accounting of the
estate thence allowing actual distribution. Most often assets are tied up a
year or more for this laborious process to grind its way to completion. With
the Trust, your appointed person steps right in to do the administration as
directed. Distribution and final accounting are a matter of completing the job,
not additionally waiting on the court to approve the accounting and intended
distribution. 2) Ensuring your and your family’s privacy. A Trust is private.
Unlike a will. No one is privy to the contents of the Trust or the value of
your estate. 3) Many other things can be accomplished with a Trust depending on
the particulars of your goals, like keeping some parts of the estate’s asset in
Trust to benefit minor children, or help emerging adult recipients manage the
assets over a period of ‘maturity milestones’ or keeping safe a recipient’s
public needs benefits. 4) Sheltering your estate from the potential for estate
taxes. 5) In a blended family safeguard that your children will receive their
inheritance if you should pass first; changes to the estate plan cannot
displace what you initially designated for them by a rewrite of the estate plan
after your passing.
These and more can be discussed with your estate planning
attorney to create a Trust that serves you and your estate during your life as
well as during the lives of those you intend to benefit.
What are the requirements? For a Trust to provide the
advantages listed above, it requires that you place your assets in the Trust.
This is an extra step not required by a will. For some this may be an extra
step not worth the effort, however once done it is in place and needs no more
tending to except if new assets are acquired, at which time those new assets
must be placed into the Trust. With the assistance and guidance of your estate
planning attorney this process, initially and on-going is straightforward and
simple.
Cost – a disadvantage? Creating a Trust does cost more than
creating a will, however the initial investment overall is significantly less
than the cost of probate to your estate. The value in simplicity and ease of
effort and the benefit in time taken and the immediate access to managing your
assets for the person(s) on whom you place the huge responsibility of
administering your estate provides a calculable return on investment that, in
general, justifies that investment in cost up-front. The investment in time to
create the Trust is marginally more, if at all.
Stories of the Stars… If only
Stars who did it right… the extraordinary extinguishing of
two stars in close proximity provides a study of some of the benefits of
establishing a Trust as the vehicle for managing your estate. When “Star Wars”
star Carrie Fisher died on Dec. 27, 2016 at age 60 from following a sudden
cardiac arrest on a transatlantic flight London to Los Angeles, her fans were
shocked. But then the passing of her iconic mother Debbie Reynolds within a
mere 24 hours presented a time of loss and grief to their family difficult to
imagine.
It is possible that that time was somewhat assisted by the
fact that this mother and daughter each had the foresight to establish Trusts
for their respective estates. Because one of the many advantages of a Trust is
privacy, the estate does not go through probate and hence does not become
accessible as public record and we will never know precisely the amount of the
decedents’ estates and the terms of distribution.
From statements made by Carrie Fisher’s brother, Todd
Fisher, following the death of their mother, we know that they each had
established Trusts and that Carrie’s daughter, actress Billie Lourd, would be a
primary beneficiary. It is estimated that the combined estates transferred in
the neighborhood of $30 million.
Whatever the value, whatever the particular assets, whatever
the distribution, the two stars ensured that the person(s) they appointed to
fulfill their Trusts could simply step in immediately and accomplish the work
to be done without delay waiting for the startup of court proceedings and the
lengthy process required to come to court approval. The time of grief and loss
thus separated from the practical matter of transferring the gifts left behind
to their intended recipients.
Dear reader, we welcome your questions on matters related to
estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance the
potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
One of the most asked questions of me is one concerning lens
filters. So, let’s talk about filters for a minute.
Filters are round glass elements that screw onto the end of
your lens, or in some cases glass or resin panels that are placed on front of
the lens. The purpose of these filters is to affect several different things
when you’re taking a photo.
During the era of film photography many colored filters were
used, mostly used with black and white film. These colored filters would block
or cancel certain colors of light causing corresponding areas of color to
respond in different ways. An orange or red filter will darken blue tones and
lighten reds, while a blue one will darken reds and lighten blues. In digital photography
these colored filters are not needed as the sensor can filter red, green and
blue light.
In digital photography the most commonly used filters are a
circular polarizer and neutral density filters.
A circular polarizer, or a CP filter, will do a couple of
things to your photo according to how it’s used. The primary purpose is to
reduce glare and reflections on things such as the surface of water or even wet
leaves. It will also turn the sky a deeper blue. It is made with two elements,
one which you can turn to adjust the amount or place of polarization. The
filter glass will be somewhat dark, so it will stop light and the amount varies
depending on the darkness of the particular filter, but a typical CP filter
will stop about two f/stops.
The next filter that is most commonly used in digital
photography is a neutral density filter. A neutral density filter modifies the
intensity of all wavelengths of color. In short, its purpose is to block or
stop light. The purpose typically is to extend or lengthen one’s shutter speed
during bright light such as a sunny day. When a photographer mentions neutral
density filters, they typically call them NDs or ND filters. ND filters come in
a variety of “darknesses,” stopping different levels of light. They can vary in
optical density from almost clear to nearly solid dark. The most common NDs are
ND2, ND4 and ND8 with a corresponding 1, 2 and 3 f/stop reduction. Another
common ND used for extreme stops of light is a 10 stop ND filter.
Neutral density filters also come in what is called a
graduated neutral density filter. This filter has a graduation from top to
bottom making half of the filter dark and the other half clear. This is used in
neutralizing the exposure when you have an extremely bright sky and a dark
foreground. It stops the light of the sky making the exposure more even.
As mentioned previously I use my circular polarizer to
affect the blueness of the sky, to remove glare and reflections from water
surfaces and wet foliage which will allow the color and texture to show. I love
using it for creeks and waterfalls, especially on a rainy day or a day where
it’s recently rained as the water will typically reflect the bright light from
the sky. So too will the leaves and plants reflect this light from the sky.
Once you polarize them the shine goes away and color and textures start to show
through. An important thing to remember is that a CP filter works best when the
light is coming from 90 degrees from the direction that you’re shooting. As the
angle changes so does the amount of affect that the filter has on the photo.
Also, the filter will allow me to extend my shutter speed to smooth the water a
little more to give it a feeling of movement or flow.
My primary purpose for ND filters is to allow me to extend
my shutter even longer under extremely bright light. They come in handy if you
show up to a creek or a waterfall during midday sun.
As for graduated ND filters, I use them as little as
possible as they tend to darken areas that don’t necessarily don't need to be.
A good example is if you want to darken the sky but there are trees or
buildings that extend into this area. The most ideal case for the use of one
would be at the coast in a photo of the ocean with an even horizon line.
This can all sound a bit complicated, but once you use them
it will become easy. If you use your camera on the Manual setting it’s also
easier to understand as you probably have encountered some of these problems
while trying to get that shot at less than an ideal time. If I want to extend
my shutter at a creek or a waterfall I find it best to show up when the light
is right. Good light from a creek or a waterfall is subdued light with little
or no glare or reflection on the surfaces in your photo. I find it best early
in the morning or later in the afternoon, but I love it best when it’s
drizzling or an even overcast cloudy sky. Bright light is not your friend in
these cases. Surprisingly, the CP works under cloudy skies too.
On a trip a couple years ago to visit Ricketts Glen and photograph some waterfalls, I hiked in to get
some photos but wasn't able to enter the park until 9 a.m. At that time of the
day the light was harsh and was shining directly on the falls. I had to block
light in any way that I could. I lowered my ISO, stopped down (narrowed) my
aperture and applied my CP for two more stops of light. By doing this I was
able to get some decent shots. Otherwise I would have gotten shots of crusty
sharp water with blown out highlights. Instead I was able to extend my shutter
enough to get the water to flow a little in the photo and get a better
exposure.
I hope that this helps clear up this subject a little. If
you’re serious about your photography put a CP and some NDs in your bag. |
| Preparing for the return of feathered friends by Mt. Hood Community College on 03/01/2021
Last month, students and staff from Mt. Hood Community
College joined thousands of others from around the world to count birds. The
Great Backyard Bird Count began in 1998 as a community-science project to
encourage regular folks to count the birds (as the name suggests) in their
backyards over a four-day winter period.
It has since expanded to the world and any habitat, but the
goal of welcoming new bird enthusiasts to the flock remains. The data are
valuable, but even more important is the recruitment of more advocates for
birds.
And birds need our support. Like all wild things, their
populations are in decline, hit hard by loss of habitat and poisoned by the
toxic biproducts of a consumption economy.
They are also finding it harder and harder to navigate their
human-altered world. Like us, they have been impacted by increasingly
unpredictable weather events – the outcome of an Earth warmed by the burning of
fossil fuels. Migratory birds face additional problems, literal navigation
obstacles.
And here we, as individuals and communities, can take steps
to clear a path for our returning feathered friends. We can reduce the risks of
windows and lights.
Light pollution is a reality easily appreciated by those
living where it still gets dark. Light at night is disorienting for us all, but
especially for nocturnal migrants, and several good options for reducing its
impact can be found online at https://bit.ly/3aU9pVG.
Window-strikes are another major risk for both migrant and
resident birds as they mistake reflections of trees as passages to safety and
crash fatally into the glass.
We can all help here. At the College we are working toward a
“bird-safe campus” and have begun applying paints and stickers to the windows
that cause the most problems.
You can join our efforts in your own homes and businesses.
The solutions range from D.I.Y. and inexpensive to comprehensive and high-tech.
At my own home, I use gift-wrap curling ribbon (salvaged from holiday packages)
taped in strands that dangle and sparkle across a picture window – they don’t
disrupt my view, but they break up the reflection for the birds.
Paint pens work well too (vertical lines) and can involve
young painters who might be home (and underfoot!). Ultra-violet reflective stickers
can be purchased from online venders.
Small changes multiplied by communities who care. Little
efforts that pay large dividends for our feathered friends and those who watch
them.
Walter Shriner, PhD is an instructor of biology at Mt. Hood
Community College. |
| View Points Salem: A bill's journey by Rep. Anna Williams on 03/01/2021
This month, I decided to use this column to walk readers
through how the legislative process is working during the COVID era, using a
bill that arose out of the mountain area as an example.
In late 2019, shortly before “coronavirus” was a familiar
term, I was approached by a community water system manager in my district. He
had concerns about how to ensure that private landowners were aware of the
impacts their timber-related activities can have on drinking water quality. His
hope was that I could sponsor a bill to require landowners to negotiate in good
faith around offers from the state to purchase privately-owned land for what is
called “source water protection (SWP) land acquisition.”
I thought it sounded reasonable to require landowners to
participate in good faith with the negotiation process. I expected the SWP
program wouldn’t be too burdensome – it would only apply to the areas
immediately surrounding a stream used for drinking water. Also, the landowners
would be handsomely rewarded for their land using public funds, which suggested
to me that they would have good incentives to negotiate. So, I requested the
bill from the attorneys who draft legislative concepts (early drafts of bills).
In a typical legislative session, I would have discussed
this bill extensively with my colleagues in our frequent conversations in the
hallways and meeting rooms in the Capitol, but because the pandemic has us all
working remotely, every encounter with my colleagues is scheduled, time-limited
and narrowly focused. So when I introduced the bill at the beginning of the
2021 session, I hadn’t talked through the full implications of what the bill as
drafted directed the state to do: essentially, the outcome of a “requirement to
negotiate” would be that the state could exercise eminent domain (i.e., paying
a landowner and taking the land regardless of whether the landowner agreed),
which was FAR more power than I was comfortable giving the state, and far more
than the state agencies involved in this process even wanted!
Thankfully, everyone who had concerns about the bill I’d
requested understood that it was a simple misunderstanding (legislators make
mistakes, too!), and were happy to discuss other options for a more measured approach.
So, going back to the drawing board, I consulted with experts in water
conservation, forestry and environmental protection, and came up with a few
minor tweaks to current laws that will go a long way toward keeping the water
we drink safe. In short, my amended bill will allow community water system
managers to petition the state to make specific rules for water quality
protection for a single stream or watershed, if there is a risk of drinking
water being polluted or cut off due to private landowners’ activities.
This new policy will strike the balance that I always try to
find in the legislature: it will be narrowly tailored instead of broadly
applied (since broad application can lead to unintended negative consequences);
it will not be overly burdensome on private landowners’ rights, but it could
have huge impacts for the public’s health; and it will directly address my
constituent’s concern, while also giving communities in other parts of the
state a new tool to keep their constituents safe and healthy.
I look forward to continuing to work with the people in the
mountain community, state agencies and in our natural resources economy to find
appropriate solutions to big problems, and to protect the people who are most
vulnerable from harm. If you have any ideas for bills that I might propose to
support struggling Oregonians or improve public health, please let me know at
Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: Coming together by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 03/01/2021
President Ronald Reagan once said, “The person who agrees
with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent
traitor.” President Reagan was right, and I believe that was the major theme
coming out of our recent 2021-22 Sandy City Council retreat this past month.
Our Sandy neighbors have never been more engaged in our
local civics process than they are now. As a result, we had one of the most
highly contested elections for Sandy City Council positions in recent memory.
The results provide our council with three new councilors that bring our
community a diversity of ideas, viewpoints and backgrounds for the better.
At our recent council retreat, we were able to bring
together our councils’ collected experience mixed with new ideas and fresh
perspectives. As a result, we found that Reagan’s adage is true, those that
agree 80 percent of the time are friends.
We developed an aggressive agenda for Sandy that puts our
community first and plans for the long-term opportunity and prosperity we all
believe is possible for Sandy.
We will be addressing traffic congestion by completing our
Transportation System Plan that will include a feasibility study on the cost
benefit of a local bypass in our future.
We will look to break ground on the extension of Bell Street
to 362nd to alleviate the morning and afternoon school commutes and open up an
exciting future of economic opportunity in that part of town.
As one of Oregon’s fastest growing cities, we will blaze
ahead on a comprehensive plan for smart growth with extensive community
outreach and direction.
Because of our growth in size along with side effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest in Portland, Sandy has seen an increase in
homelessness and petty crime. Our City Council will be appointing a task force
to find innovative solutions to these issues in the Sandy way.
As many of our neighbors know, because of our rapid growth
in size and improper planning by past leaders and staff, our sewer water
treatment process is simply no longer viable. Our City Council is committed to
working with our elected state and federal delegations to build upon the past
successes of the previous council. In the next year we have a major ask in
front of the state legislature and we also will be implementing WIFIA financing
on the project.
We’ll also look to update our council policies, rules and
processes. Finally, we’ll be providing our community with a visioning process
for the Sandy Community Campus and aquatics center that will revitalize the
Pleasant Street Neighborhood, provide opportunities for our residents and allow
us to grow from our main street core, which is bisected by a state highway.
Additionally, in the year ahead our council will be holding
a series of work sessions on a variety of major topics including public safety,
homelessness, urban renewal, parks and enhancements to our business climate.
I know that our Sandy City Council is committed to heeding
the words of Reagan, putting our community first and planning for our
prosperous future. We’re already busy working together to reach our common goal
– to keep Sandy wonderful!
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
|  Contributed graphic.
The big clearcut south of Hwy. 26 near Arrah Wanna Blvd.
generated quite a bit of buzz in recent weeks. No wonder. All of a sudden, it
seemed, there was a big hole where there had always been trees. Two parcels
were cleared: 21.25 acres and 5.65. Call it 27 acres.
The smaller of the two parcels is slated to be developed for
housing – see the article on Page 3 in this edition – but I don’t have any
information about plans for development of the other one. Both parcels are
zoned Hoodland Residential (HR), which has a minimum lot size of 1/4-acre.
Development would make sense, since the parcels are flat and
have access to existing roads and the highway, and both are adjacent to the
Welches sewer plant (the Hoodland Water Resource Recovery Facility) on Bright
Avenue. And both parcels are surrounded by existing housing.
But the parcels may not be developed. The timber on a
11-acre property on Lolo Pass Road near my home was harvested in 2010, and the
scuttlebutt was that homes would be built there. That rumor turned out to be
untrue, so far. The 11 acres were planted with Douglas-fir seedlings that seem
to be happy there.
Back then, I heard through the forestry grapevine that the
owners had sold the 11 acres worth of timber to a logger (not from our area)
who told them that timber prices were high (they were) and that prices were
sure to drop like a rock in the near future (they didn’t). Not only did prices
not drop, they reached new highs the following year. I’d like to think that the
logger honestly believed that timber prices were about to drop.
It could be that the owner of the two Hwy. 26/Arrah Wanna
parcels wanted to take advantage of the current high prices for timber. Perhaps
they saw a headline such as “Relentless Home-Renovation Boom Sends Lumber
Prices to Record” (Bloomberg, February 18). In mid-February, the National
Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported that the price of lumber and
panels (such as plywood and oriented strand board, or OSB) hit a record high
and had increased by more than 170 percent over the past 10 months.
Prices for logs and lumber will fall, eventually, but while
prices are high, some landowners will decide to harvest their timber. My
ballpark guestimate is that the timber on the Hwy. 26/Arrah Wanna parcels was
worth at least $500,000, perhaps $600,000 or more. If you owned timber worth a
half-million bucks, would you sell it?
What Happens Next?
In the old days, many landowners did little or no
replanting. Fortunately, the forests in our area are very productive and, given
time, they usually reestablish themselves. Most of the trees we see around us
are less than 120 years old, having regrown after fires and harvesting. The Wildwood
Recreation Site, which is managed by the US Bureau of Land Management, wasn’t
always thick with timber. The BLM’s site brochure explains:
“Between 1926 and 1944, Wildwood and the surrounding areas
were logged. In 1930, the Bruns and Jensrud Logging Company built a sawmill
complex at Wildwood. The Salmon River was diverted to make holding ponds (now
Wildwood wetlands) for timber. The logging company also built a steam-powered
sawmill, a bridge, two homes, a machine shop, a cone burner, a cookhouse and
three bunkhouses near the Old Mill Trail. Two families and 45-50 employees
lived on the site. The steam boilers for the mill were fueled by sawdust. The
mill burned down in 1932, but was rebuilt. It operated for several more years
before being sold in 1937 to Bell Lumber Company. A year later, it closed and
the county auctioned the property for unpaid taxes. The machinery and
structures were subsequently removed and the bridge washed out in the 1964
flood.”
Even today you can see the remnants of the mill along the
Old Mill Trail amidst large Douglas-fir, grand fir, western redcedar, alder and
other trees that grew naturally after the logging ended.
Fortunately, Oregon has a law called the Forest Practices
Act that requires replanting after a harvest. The law and the associated Forest
Practices Administrative Rules also regulate logging along streams, road and
stream crossings, the protection of wetlands, and so on. Oregon’s Forest
Practices Act, which became law in 1971, was the first such law in the nation.
The Oregon Forest Resources Institute has a wealth of information about the law
and rules, including “Oregon’s Forest Protection Laws: An Illustrated Manual,”
which I used as a textbook when I taught timber harvesting at Mount Hood Community
College. You can download a free copy at oregonforests.org.
Under the law, the owner of the Hwy. 26/Arrah Wanna parcels
must begin reforestation activities within 12 months of the harvest and
complete the planting of seedling or seeds within 24 months of the harvest.
By Dec. 31 of the sixth year after the harvest, the
harvested area must be an “adequately stocked, free-to-grow stand” – meaning
that there will be lots of young, healthy trees.
As you know from reading this column, I generally support the
use of clearcutting in Oregon. I’d prefer that large-scale clearcutting not be
used in residential areas, and when harvesting is done in communities like
ours, I’d prefer that landowners leave some trees, especially along property
boundaries and roads. Leaving scattered trees and groups of trees throughout
large parcels would probably make residential lots more valuable, if they are
to be sold.
Want to know more about timber harvesting and reforestation?
Want to know why deer and elk love clearcuts? Let me know. SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Irish breakfast by Taeler Butel on 03/01/2021
I’m so intrigued by this recipe, not only because it’s got
beer and it’s for breakfast, but the story is that it’s from the 1700s and said
to be made and set on a stove by the wives to simmer until the men came home
from the pub.
As a former barmaid I appreciate this. Everything you need
to make it you’ll probably have on hand. This is best made in a deep Dutch
oven.
4 potatoes peeled and sliced thick (I use Yukon Gold)
4 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and chopped (drippings
reserved)
1 lb sausages, such as bangers (I use kielbasa)
1 cup Irish beer
1 large yellow onion sliced thick
Salt and pepper
4 T chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs washed well and left whole (optional)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a Dutch oven over medium high
heat crisp the bacon, remove and chop, brown sausages in bacon fat and set the
sausages aside. Turn off heat.
Add beer to deglaze, carefully layer in the potatoes,
onions, sausages, parsley, 1/2 t salt and pepper, place the eggs in whole and
pour broth on the top. Put the lid on. Place in the oven for 45 minutes, remove
the eggs with tongs, set them aside and peel when cool enough (they should be
soft boiled).
Remove the lid, continue to cook 20 minutes more and serve
hot with the soft eggs.
Irish Soda Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
4 T unsalted Irish style butter (1/4 cup)
1 cup raisins or currants
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Zest of one orange (optional)
Coarse sugar for the top
Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to
400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda
and salt and stir well to mix.
Cut in the butter using a fork or pastry cutter. Stir in the
orange zest if used and the raisins or currants. In a small bowl, whisk the
buttermilk and egg together and mix into the dough mixture with a rubber
spatula.
Turn the dough out on a floured work surface and fold it
over on itself several times, shaping it into a round loaf. Transfer the loaf
to one cookie sheet or jelly roll pan covered with parchment or foil and cut a
cross in the top. Sprinkle top with sanding sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and cook for
about 15 to 20 minutes more until lightly browned and a toothpick in the center
comes out clean. Cool the soda bread on a rack and serve with plenty of Irish
butter and orange marmalade.
|
| No will could be a mess of stress by Paula Walker on 03/01/2021
“I will do it tomorrow.” How many times have you said that?
Here’s why you may actually do it tomorrow…
When you die without a will the state’s laws of intestacy
kick in and among the many things they do is make the determination of who will
receive your assets. But that is the least of it. Because of leaving this
decision making to the state, the mess to be sorted out is made the more
costly, more burdensome and more stressful on those who are close to you, your
spouse and your children, your friends.
First, through the court the state will name a representative,
aka executor or personal representative, i.e., the person who will account for,
manage and finally distribute your assets. However, many times that is not a
job to envy - all responsibility, little payback and no glory to say the least.
A lot of hard work with lots of liability, headache and dubious reward. Without
a plan the drawbacks of this responsibility are amplified and will likely fall
to your spouse or children, but maybe not. It may fall to someone you or your
family would prefer not to be involved, or to a total stranger.
Who asks the court to appoint this critical role? If you
have family, likely one of them will and even if one of them wants to take on
the daunting job, they must make the case to the court that they are the right
and rightful individual for the role. To the court they are generically
“interested persons.” Their closeness to you as spouse or child lends no legal
stature as the rightful one who should take on this responsibility. Maybe the
court decides they are, maybe it decides they are not. And maybe someone else
contests this appointment. Let the strife begin… But maybe nobody wants to take
on this heavy load or no one in the ordinary line up of intestacy for
representing your estate is available, then the state takes on the role.
And this process of deciding who will represent your estate
takes time. All your assets are frozen until the state can decide. Real estate
cannot be sold; bank accounts cannot be accessed. No matter that you intended
for certain people to handle things for you or certain people to receive from
what you have left behind, none of that can occur until the state can decide on
a representative. That representative may be a total stranger. And the laws of
intestacy may not recognize the people you had intended to receive from your
estate as the rightful recipients even when it gets to the point of
distributing assets, which will be a long time in coming.
And what about those precious ones in your life who depend
on you – for everything. Children – the court will decide the guardian. It will
likely be a family member, but it may not be the family member you would have
preferred. It may be the member you would have avoided. And if there is no
family member willing and able… who then? And what about animal companions/pets?
Well, hopefully you have someone in your circle of family or friends who likes
dogs, cats etc. who wants to give them a good new home. And for either children
or pets, without a plan laid out and communicated, of which the will is a part,
who will be there in the immediate if your passing is the result of an
emergency?
And everything takes time, even with a plan, i.e., a will at
minimum. Without a plan the nature of things is for these processes to drag on
– identifying the right candidate to act as executor, filing for appointing an
executor, securing the court’s appointment. An inordinate amount of time,
especially when things are in the balance, assets frozen, creditors demanding,
children moving through trauma, treasured animal companions shifted to
who-knows-where.
The stress of the mess. No, you will not be around to care,
but assuredly there are those who will.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Bringing the Stars down to earth. An account of someone you
might know, or who could be you. Regarding the time-consuming and expensive
process of handling the estate of someone who had not the simplest of estate
plans – a will; and the toll it takes on those closest to that person. A Forbes
financial advisor reports that it took many months and many court filings to
get court approval to appoint the husband as the executor for the estate of his
wife of 35 years who died suddenly in an accident and to get her assets
transferred to his name. All the time the assets were locked up. Neither the
financial managers nor the husband could touch or manage them.
Dear Reader, we welcome your questions. These will provide
grist for future articles and enhance the potential for those articles to be of
interest and value to you.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
What did we ever do without our cell phones? In this era of
miraculous technology, it's hard to remember how it was to wait until we got
home to make a call or to search for a phone booth along the way, and there are
some of us who have never had to. Cell phones have revolutionized
communication, but these little devices have also revolutionized photography.
Gone are the days of limiting the number of photographs that
you take or the need for delayed gratification due to having to send the film
out to be developed. We just snap, smile, share with our friends on social
media or email and then forget about them as we continue to record in more
pictorial detail our day to day lives.
As cell phone camera technology has improved, the pictures
have become better and better. They have become so good that they have replaced
the point and shoot camera. They are all the average person will ever require
for their personal photography needs and even though they have become
incredibly capable, they still take a little experience to master, especially
in challenging light. A few tricks can make your photos even better.
Clean your lens. As we carry our phone here and there, we
can put them through a lot. Dust and dirt can collect on the lens of the
camera. A little lens cleaner on a soft cloth will help to keep your photos
clear and crisp.
Pay close attention to composition. Composition will make or
break a photo. A photo can be technically flawed but if the subject and
composition are interesting the photo will be interesting.
Don’t miss the shot. Cell phone cameras won’t give you an
instant shutter actuation. They take a second or two to find and focus your
subject. This is referred to as “shutter lag.” Anticipate this shutter lag and
be prepared to get the shot a few moments prior to the moment. This is
especially true with moving objects.
Don’t use direct sunlight when photographing people. Find
bright shade to eliminate sharp contrast of glare and shadows. Your subject's
eye won’t be as apt to be squinting.
Don’t use your flash. The stark light of your flash will
wash out your photos. There’s an HDR (high dynamic range) setting - use it. And
of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. I like to use a flash when
my subjects are back lit, such as at sunset.
Don’t zoom. Zooming with your cell phone camera is not an
optical zoom but it is an electronic enlargement of the image. The image
quality suffers when you zoom in. Choose to move forward or back to fill the
frame. If you have a cluttered background move in to fill the frame to make
your subject dominate the scene.
Don’t use harsh light. If you are going to do portraits
choose to do them in either mid-morning or late afternoon. The light during
these times has a less harsh feel and is warmer and more welcoming. The camera
will struggle less with the light and the photos will turn out nicer.
Don’t settle for straight out of the camera; post-process
them. Your camera does, why not you? Download applications such as Snapseed or
Lightroom Mobile to adjust the photo to make it look its best. Most camera
phones come with their own image editing application.
Don’t be selective in what you shoot. Film is cheap when
you’re shooting digital. You increase your odds of getting a great photo if you
take more of them.
Don’t forget about your photos. In the past we would take
our photos, print them and put them into a photo album. We can still do that
today even though we’re no longer using film. You can either print them
yourself if you have a printer, go to the drugstore and use their kiosk or you
can send your digital file to a company online who can print them and send them
back. Even better is that you can now self-publish your own book in any
quantity, including a single issue of your vacation photos.
Do have fun with it. It’s always with us. In the past we
would leave our cameras at home while today it’s usually within arm’s reach at
any time. You have a much better chance these days to get a unique photo of
life as it happens around us. With these few little tricks, you can make your
photos better, but it takes practice and the willingness to tell your camera
what to do. |
|  Contributed photo courtesy of the National Archives
As we Hoodlanders know all too well, living amongst very
tall trees can be – interesting. When the winds howl through the branches, the
beauty we enjoy every day is forgotten and fear sets in – the dread that a tree
will fall onto our homes, cars, well sheds and powerlines. My house was spared
during the windstorm of Jan. 13–14, but those of some of our neighbors were
not.
As far as I have seen, most of the downed trees are
Douglas-fir, which is by far the most common species in our area. In calm
weather, it is easy to see that Doug-fir is a remarkable species. A new book by
Stephen F. Arno and Carl E. Fiedler explains why: “Douglas-Fir: The Story of
the West’s Most Remarkable Tree.”
Arno and Fielder, who are highly experienced foresters as
well as accomplished writers, also authored “Ponderosa: People, Fire, and the
West’s Most Iconic Tree,” published in 2015. They have a gift for storytelling
in a way that is interesting and informative to foresters and the general
public alike.
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is named for two
botanists, the authors write: David Douglas, who came to the U.S. from Scotland
in 1823, and Archibald Menzies, who served as naturalist on a British voyage to
the Pacific Northwest and collected a specimen of Douglas-fir twigs and needles
on Vancouver Island in 1791. A 2009 book by Jack Nisbet, “The Collector: David
Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest,” offers a fascinating account
of Douglas’s travels in the region, including his interactions with Native
Americans.
Of course, the native peoples of the western U.S. knew and
valued the tree for millennia before Europeans arrived.
“North American Indian tribes have lived in relationship
with Douglas-fir since the earliest of times, based on both folklore and
archaeological evidence. The Tewa people of New Mexico, for example, claim that
humankind first came to Earth by climbing up a tall Douglas-fir tree from under
a lake,” Arno and Fiedler wrote.
Douglas-fir is an enigma:
“Its mix of distinctive structural features and
physiological attributes produces a tree that is puzzling, exceptional, and in
ways a marvel of nature. World class in height, geographic distribution, and
wood quality, and unique in architecture and genetic composition, Douglas-fir
also acquires nitrogen in novel ways, and at times even irrigates itself.
Though this tree has long played an integral role in the lives of humans and
animals, many of its secrets are only now being understood through modern
science.”
Today, the world’s tallest trees are coast redwoods (Sequoia
sempervirens) – the tallest known is a hair over 380 feet tall – but in the
past Douglas-fir has topped the redwoods:
“An article in a 1910 issue of the Western Lumberman
reported a huge Douglas-fir east of Seattle that had grown to over 400 feet
tall and 17.8 feet in diameter. A 1970 article in the MacMillan Bloedel News
reported a Douglas-fir felled near Tacoma in early-day logging that measured
412 feet long, plus a stump five feet tall, for a total height of 417 feet. Al
Carder, who was perhaps the world authority on big trees before he died in
2014, firmly believed that scattered Douglas-firs in the Pacific Northwest were
the tallest trees that ever lived prior to heavy logging in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.”
Many of the giant Douglas-firs are gone now, having been
harvested for their valuable lumber, which is still today a highly useful and
valuable product:
“Douglas-fir’s many desirable attributes account for its
lofty status as the most economically important tree species in the world. Its
wood is strong, stiff, stable in drying, and relatively durable. It can be
machined well and is suitable for a very broad range of uses, including its
superior application for construction lumber, high-quality boards, and large
timbers. Douglas-fir constitutes about one-eighth of all commercial timber
volume in the United States, dwarfing the volume of any other species.”
Doug-fir has been planted widely in Europe, South America,
and New Zealand:
“In New Zealand, Douglas-fir doesn’t grow at the same
phenomenal speed as Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), but at higher elevations it
exceeds the pine’s growth rate. In some areas of New Zealand, Douglas-fir
regenerates so well that it spreads into native grasslands and is considered a
weed that threatens these habitats.”
Doug-Fir Forest Health
A decline in forest health throughout the western U.S. has
been an issue of much concern to foresters and other land managers for decades.
Much of the focus has been on ponderosa pine ecosystems, where fire suppression
over the last decade has left vast areas overcrowded and with high levels of
fuels. However, write Arno and Fiedler, Douglas-fir forests also have been
profoundly affected.
“By the mid-twentieth century, most of the West’s Douglas-fir
forests were out of sync with primeval conditions, which became obvious in
overcrowded inland forests that had gone without burning for periods much
longer than any pre-1900 intervals between fires. The historically dominant
fire-resistant or fire-dependent conifers were being largely displaced by more
shade-tolerant Douglas-fir or true firs. Douglas-fir was also starting to crowd
out aspen groves, which provide key wildlife habitat. By the late 1900s, old,
thick-barked, fire-resistant Douglas-firs were being killed by wildfires in
high-elevation lodgepole pine and mixed conifer forests. The wetter coastal
Douglas-fir forests that once went centuries between fires also came to exhibit
effects of fire exclusion. Remaining virgin forests now have few young
fire-generated Douglas-fir communities, and the historically dominant
Douglas-fir is slowly being replaced by shade-tolerant western hemlock, Pacific
silver fir (Abies amabilis), grand fir, and white fir. Despite this seemingly
bleak situation, there are some management alternatives for restoring greater
resilience and sustainability in both inland and coastal Douglas-fir forests
based on the historical role of fire. However, this “ecology-based forest
management” cannot be carried out at any significant scale unless it garners
strong public support, and its advocates can only succeed if they understand
the public’s perception of forests.”
You need not live in Hoodland to appreciate “Douglas-Fir.”
Arno and Fiedler’s story makes for fascinating reading. An appendix, “A
Visitor’s Guide to Notable Douglas-Firs,” may inspire you to see more of these
remarkable trees for yourself.
“Douglas-Fir: The Story of the West’s Most Remarkable
Tree" is available in hardback from Mountaineers Books for $21.95
(tinyurl.com/y5jv65r7) and other retailers. |
| Song sparrows serenade as a preview to spring by Mt. Hood Community College on 02/01/2021
The darkness of winter, while felt deeply, is fleeting.
Already we notice the day extending past mid-afternoon and even early risers
can detect light on the horizon. Certainly, cold days lie ahead, heavy rains
will play their percussive symphony on our roofs and snow will fall in the
mountains for weeks to come, but the first bulbs have broken ground in our
gardens and Melospiza melodia (song sparrows) have begun their early season
singing.
Song sparrows are aptly named. They serenade our
neighborhoods for much of the year. Like most songbirds, they learn their song
through practice and song-matching – a process of taking snippets they have
memorized and assembling them until they have created a full song. But unlike
many birds, these troubadours add to and modify the basic tune throughout the
season and from year to year. The variations are recognizable to other birds
(and bird watchers) as “song sparrow,” but the length and complexity varies
within and between individuals. Indeed, evidence suggests that the males with
larger repertoires are more attractive as mates – the length of song serving as
an indicator, perhaps, of keener genes to be passed on to young.
We don’t always hear the full song at this time of year,
however. These early tunes are likely just practice, a warm-up, so to speak. It
is still early for romance, after all. Hormones flow at rates matched to the
length of day and we are still in the season when dark rules over light. Still,
the sweet sound of spring is near, and a forest walk will gift you not only the
sparrow’s partial song, but also the year-round melody of a Pacific wren and
the contact calls of kinglets and chickadees. February wet does not deter those
who winter here.
Nonetheless, partial or complete, the sounds have me looking
ahead. I know that soon these birds will be joined by colorful warblers who are
undoubtedly getting restless in their tropical wintering grounds – catching
insects as fast as they can, laying on fat to fuel the long flight north, eager
to join the symphony of a temperate spring. Eager, but not ready. A message to
us all to rejoice in the current season of waterfalls, the re-filling of
reservoirs and the peace and joy of snow-covered slopes that dampen sound as
well as land and create the space for symphonies to come.
Walter Shriner, PhD is an instructor of biology at Mt. Hood
Community College. |
| View Points Salem: How committees work by Rep. Anna Williams on 02/01/2021
Among the duties I’ve taken on during the 2021 legislative
session, I am honored to have been appointed as Chair of the House Human
Services Committee. If you’re not familiar with the legislative process, a
policy committee is a bill’s first stop on its way to passage.
Committees are where we hear testimony about the need for
and problems with proposed bills, whether from experts, lobbyists, fellow
legislators or (most importantly) members of the public who want to weigh in.
Committees are where we debate and adopt amendments to bills after compromises
have been worked out, or after serious flaws in the original bills have been
identified.
A committee’s most important job is its final vote. Without
passing through a committee, a bill never gets to the full House of Representatives
for a floor vote... put more simply, the bill “dies” without the support of a
majority of committee members. Because of the critical role that a committee
has in the legislative process, and because of the leadership responsibilities
that I have as this committee’s chair, I have some important ideas about how
the House Human Services Committee should operate.
For one thing, I think the most successful legislation is
that which has been deeply considered, thoroughly debated and amended as
necessary. Put simply, I will focus on ensuring that this committee does things
well, rather than simply tallying up as many accomplishments as possible.
When election season rolls around, it’s helpful in politics
to have a long list of the topics you have addressed through your work, but
that comes with a cost. For every additional policy we work to pass, it means
we have spent less time on all the other policies we also put into effect. In
my two years of serving this community in Salem, I’ve noticed a lot of the work
of the Oregon Legislature involves revisiting past bills to tweak issues that
should have been identified and fixed the first time around -- not an ideal way
to spend our time. My hope is that bills passing through my committee will not
need adjustments in the near future, except for perhaps adjusting to
unforeseeable circumstances.
Another focus for my committee will be transparency and
access. Among its many terrible impacts, the pandemic has provided us at least
one positive change. The legislature has finally adopted what I’ve been asking
for since I started my political career: the ability for everyone to testify
remotely if they are unable to make it to a committee hearing in Salem! This is
especially valuable for rural communities in Oregon. If you live in a mountain
community and wish to testify on a bill, there is absolutely no reason you
should be required to spend more than four hours in your car (assuming there
are no traffic delays!) to sit in a chair in the Capitol and testify for a few
minutes. The era of “work from home” has finally provided us with an improved
opportunity for rural voices to be heard, and I look forward to inviting as
many people from my district as possible to testify in the Human Services
Committee.
Lately, some of my colleagues across the aisle have been
claiming that it is unjust for the Capitol to be closed to the public due to
the pandemic, but our new ability to hear remote testimony has in fact
exponentially increased how accessible the legislative process is, and in my
role as a committee chair, I will constantly encourage those from outside of
the I-5 corridor to use this new opportunity to weigh in.
My personal priorities in the human services arena will
focus on access to pandemic-related relief, services and prevention for
domestic abuse and child abuse, improving Oregon’s foster care system for kids
and parents alike and long-term care services. Regardless, my personal
priorities may take a backseat to other legislators’ in the committee, because
I am committed to serving Oregonians as best I can, even if it means admitting
my colleagues’ legislative ideas might sometimes be better than my own!
I hope you’ll all engage with the legislative process
throughout this session, however you see fit. If you’d like to get an overview
of bills we’re working on in my committee, or if you’d like to testify on those
or any other bills at a committee hearing, please write to my office at
Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov and my staff will teach you how to
receive notifications about hearings, to review the text and testimony of
specific bills and of course how to sign up for my newsletter and learn about
my “virtual open office hours” and constituent town hall events. Having engaged
and informed constituents makes my job significantly easier, and a whole lot
more fun!
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: Wastewater update by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 02/01/2021
I am excited to share some great news for the Sandy
community. Midway through last month, the EPA announced that the City of Sandy
has been invited to apply for a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act
(WIFIA) loan for assistance with our long-overdue wastewater treatment facility
upgrades. The vast majority of communities that receive this invitation obtain
the requested financing.
As many of you are aware, we’re facing the largest public
infrastructure project in our city’s history with our DEQ-mandated wastewater
treatment process upgrades. This venture has an extremely expensive price tag
of $60-$80 million.
In addition to a competitive interest rate, the first
payment on WIFIA loans can be deferred up to five years after completion of the
project, with a maximum term of 35 years. This allows us the time to continue
to advocate for additional state and federal dollars for this project. It also
helps reduce the impact on ratepayers. WIFIA financing can only be used for up
to 49 percent of the project so we will have to seek other financing sources
for the remainder of the costs. Our financial consultant has determined that
ratepayers in Sandy would save just over $800,000 per year with WIFIA financing
as opposed to a conventional revenue bond, or about $16M over the 20-year term
of a revenue bond.
I would like to thank our team at the City of Sandy for all
of their hard work to help bring this to fruition, as well as our federal
congressional delegation and their staff for all of your advocacy and help in
achieving this invitation. Our previous City Council engaged early on with U.S.
Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden’s offices, and several of us had a
face-to-face meeting with Congressman Earl Blumenauer. I was also able to meet
with Senators Merkley and Wyden during a visit to Washington D.C. early last
year. Our entire congressional delegation also signed a letter and advocated
for our community to obtain this critical financing. A large thanks goes to
Senator Jeff Merkley and his team for leading and coordinating our efforts at
the national level, as well as providing guidance and expertise throughout the
application process.
This news is in addition to the exciting conclusions our
Green Alternatives Analysis is starting to show. Some may remember that the
previous Oregon State Legislature approved a budget that included an earmarked
$500,000 for additional Sandy River water quality studies and green alternative
analysis.
In 2019, our council and staff toured other communities’
water treatment facilities. We all came away excited about the possibilities of
treatment alternatives after visiting the more than 700-acre Fernhill facility
in Forest Grove. Fernhill is owned by Clean Water Services and uses natural
treatment systems, or wetlands, to improve water quality by removing nutrients,
cooling and naturalizing the water after conventional treatment. Fernhill is
designated as an important bird area and is also home to beavers, frogs,
coyotes and other wildlife.
Thoroughly vetting alternative options is crucial for our
community. If one of these options is viable, it would cut the cost of the
current plan in half and would be much better for our environment.
The conclusions of our green alternative analysis are
starting to point towards this being a very viable option for our community. We
have already reached out, engaged with and come to mutual understandings with
key stakeholders to make this become a reality. We look forward to exciting
announcements in the years ahead.
When Sandy faces major challenges, we work together,
innovate and lead, much like the pioneers that settled this area years ago.
It’s the Sandy way in our overarching goal of keeping Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
| The downside of not having a will by Paula Walker on 02/01/2021
Dying without a will – dying intestate – is a huge topic
touching every aspect of our loved ones lives from the legal technicalities of
the laws governing who gets what and how much, and who may get nothing even
though they may have been your closest relationship of many, many years.
In continuation of the article published in January let us look
at the basics of what occurs when you die intestate – that is, without having
even a at minimum a will – from a ‘down to earth’ perspective of how these
events play out in lives like yours and mine.
At its most basic, a will is a plan. A plan is not a foreign
concept. We resort to planning for even the most routine functions of our
lives, like buying groceries or going out to dinner. For bigger events like
weddings or a vacation, we definitely plan because we know that a lack of
planning leads to uncertain outcomes at the least and potentially all-time
disasters of various sorts – missed destinations, frustrations, friction,
disappointments. Add to this the untold weighty element of grief and loss in
the mix, and you have a sense of what dying without even a will visits upon
your closest relationships.
Fighting, confusion, unfair disbursement of belongings and
wealth, unresolvable grief, distress, excessive red tape claiming rightful
benefits and on. Sibling or family fighting over who makes the decisions about
even the most basic things like the burial or cremation. Family friction over
who receives what that can result in lifetime wounds to long-time
relationships. The ex gets all the life insurance because the beneficiaries
were never changed and maybe even still holds title to the house. While the
existing spouse is entitled to some percentage of the assets’ value by law, it
may not be at all the division the deceased intended. Obstacles to claiming
spousal Veterans Administration (VA) benefits because proper beneficiary
designations were never registered. The inability to gain rightful title to
property because unbeknownst it was titled only in the deceased’s name.
And on.
The technical laws of intestate distributions are a topic I
will cover in subsequent articles.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Do not wait till the “last minute.” Those minutes may be
fewer than you would like.
In many of these articles I feature the battles of the
Titans; those high-profile, dramatic, beyond real life warring over assets of
dynasties. So remote, so interesting, so engaging – because it is not us and
never will be. It is the stuff of modern Shakespearean drama.
But for this article, inspired by the many stories of Rhonda
Green, whose book, “My Exit Plan,” provided material for my last article, I
present you with a sobering account, close to home, in a land not-so-far-away
and circumstances any one of us may face, and many of us do face with alarming
predictability.
Dying intestate… the couple had been meaning for the last
many years to create a trust so that the passing of the five pieces of real
estate property, valuable acreage (some developed, some not) would be a smooth
transfer without unnecessary red tape. At the least, ensure that all the
property would pass without issue to the surviving spouse. At best, ensure that
the property and all financial assets would be rightly transferred equitably to
the cherished adult children upon the passing of both of them; no probate, no
lengthy, costly administration through the court system.
One thing however, they never got around to it. The husband
had one stroke. A wake-up call. Intent was re-kindled. But in close succession,
without further action on the intended estate plan, the husband has a second
severe stroke. Children are called from other parts of the country as “it may
not be long.” An attorney is called to create that trust while there is still
time. The problem is that there is not much time. Cognizance is declining
rapidly. There is no time, really for the ideal probate avoidance by creating a
trust, so the decision is to at minimum create a will to ensure that everything
transfers to the dying man’s wife. The issues unfortunately that loom are: 1)
is all the property in both their names? No way to know because no time to
research and the paperwork is somewhere? Where? 2) no time to create deed
transfers to ensure joint ownership if needed. 3) will mental clarity reside
long enough for the husband to be able to sign a will? One of the key elements
to a valid will is that the principal ( the person who’s will it is) has the
mental capacity to know what they are doing and what the contents are; 4) will
death be staved off long enough to execute the valid will so that at minimum,
the surviving spouse will not incur additional time and expense proving to the
court system that the interim document, written hastily with two neighbors as
witness to the “everything to my wife” statement, is in fact her husband’s Last
Will and Testament…?
In the end, death was not staved off. Although the attorney
puts everything else on hold and draws up the basic documents, the attorney
arrives at the house to find the husband has already begun to transition. There
will be no interaction with ‘sufficient mental clarity’ much less a signing of
legal documents. Two of the five properties are only in the husband’s name, so
even if the court accepts the neighbor-witnessed ‘will’ as valid, the wife will
need to go through a full and costly probate for a proper transfer of title to
her of the properties bequeathed.
Dear Reader, we welcome your questions on matters related to
estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance the
potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Please submit your questions to Garth Guibord, at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com. |
| Low-fat food doesn't add up by Victoria Larson on 02/01/2021
Many have tried every single low-fat food and drink
available to no avail. From planned meals to low-cal cocktails, nothing really
worked, right? Well, you've been sold a bill of goods, about a billion dollars’
worth of foods that clearly don't lead to healthy weight management, or a
healthy heart for that matter. Diabetes, heart disease and obesity continue to
rise. What's wrong with this picture.
To this day the American Heart Association, in good faith
I'm sure, advocates avoiding butter, cream, eggs and whole milk as the way to
avoid heart attacks. Instead, you've been told to consume chicken without the
skin, egg whites (but no yolks), margarine, skim milk and low-fat salad
dressings made with questionable vegetable oils. If you followed this advice
you are probably the first to say, "ugh," in addition to not losing
any weight or maybe even not avoiding a heart attack. Why is this?
We tend to believe advertising. What we need to know is this:
our human bodies are made of protein. These proteins are composed of amino
acids, of which several are considered "essential.” That means they must
be consumed in the diet as they cannot be manufactured by our bodies. And our
bodies don't function well without these essential amino acids. Proteins are
needed for all enzymatic processes that happen in daily life - like digestion,
energy and heart function! The following is a list of several amino acids that
must come from foods and which foods they come from:
Histidine comes from dairy, eggs, meat, poultry; Isoleucine
from the same sources; Leucine from dairy, meat, poultry and wheat germ; Lysine
from dairy, eggs, fish, meat, poultry; Methionine from dairy, eggs, nuts,
seeds; Phenylalanine from dairy, eggs, meat, wheat germ; Threonine from beans,
dairy, eggs, meat; Tryptophan from dairy, meat, nuts, poultry (especially
turkey); and finally, Valine from dairy, eggs, meat poultry and wheat germ.
Well, you get the idea...
Vegetables and fruits are wonderful for providing vitamins
and minerals, but other sources of protein are important to keep us healthy.
But wait, those amino acid, protein building blocks, are the very foods you've
been told for the last few decades to avoid! While diabetes, heart disease and
obesity have continued to skyrocket. What's going on here? We've been
advertised to near death. Sold a bill of goods. Crisco, fake eggs, margarine
and vegetable oils were 'sold' to us, via advertising, for heart health and
weight loss. These things were touted as being better for you than real food!
Yet for thousands of years before advertising, humans have
been consuming a traditional diet of dairy, eggs, meat and poultry. These are
the foods that bring us amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, and the
good fats. The foods that don't make you fat (unless over-consumed) but have an
important role in keeping you healthy with a managed weight.
If you still believe that fats raise your cholesterol,
you're partially right. Bad fats and simple carbs do raise blood sugar,
cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood. The "bad fats" are
things like hydrogenated fats found in baked goods, crackers and chips, any of
the myriad of manipulated, colored, manufactured and preservative foodstuffs
that advertisers push you to consider to be healthy food! But they're not.
The good fats don't make you fat or raise your cholesterol.
Avocadoes, nuts oils, olive oil, sesame oil and even butter are not only real
foods, but they are also foods (fats if you will) that are good for you! Most
cholesterol is manufactured by your body and recycled. Surprised? That must
mean that your body needs cholesterol. And that, in fact, is true. But why do
we need cholesterol?
You have trillions of cells in your body and each and every
cell has a membrane composed of lipids. Lipids are fats. Good fats keep those
cell membranes fluid and "squishy" so they can move around your body
and do their "chores.” The chores of a cell include taking in nutrients,
building enzymes for metabolic processes and releasing waste materials. Each
and every cell. If those cell membranes are composed of trans fats (from the
above mentioned sources) the cells become stiff and unable to function
properly, leading to illnesses and the inevitable endpoint.
The bottom line - get the trans fats out of your diet, put
the good fats back in. Stop stressing about cholesterol, your body's going to
make it anyway and you need it for cellular health. Eat real food, not fake
food. Don't be cajoled or scared by advertising. Use your brain and think it
through. Your brain, by the way, is composed of 40 percent fat, so that should
convince you of the need for good fats. But more on that another time. |
| New Orleans cooking by Taeler Butel on 02/01/2021
Any time I travel I take in local flavors as much as the
scenery.
The food in Louisiana is influenced from Native American,
African and European cultures as well as the regional seafood and agriculture.
This month of course celebrates Mardi Gras, which in French
translates to “Fat Tuesday.”
Jambalaya is the quintessential Cajun dish, is scrumptious
and can be made in one pot!
Beignets deserve a National holiday all their own!
Jambalaya
In a large pot over medium heat add:
1 diced green bell pepper
4 sliced green onions
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 lb. sliced andouille sausage
2 garlic cloves
2 T butter
Sautee until sausage is browned and then add in:
1 t salt, plus 1/2 t each black pepper, cumin, chili powder,
paprika
1 small can chopped tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 cup long grain rice
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Add in 1/2 lb. raw,
cleaned shrimp once the rice is tender. Cover and cook for five minutes. Serve
warm with chopped parsley and hot sauce.
Beignets
In large bowl of an electric mixer bloom 2 tsp yeast in 1
cup warm water with 2 T granulated sugar. Set aside until its frothy.
Whisk in 1/2 t salt, 1/2 cup sugar, two eggs, one cup milk,
1/4 cup melted butter then add hook attachment and fold in 4 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
Knead for five minutes, then cover and let rise.
Roll dough on well-floured surface to 1/2-inch and cut into
squares of 3x3” for large beignets.
In a large pot over medium/high, heat 4” of vegetable oil.
Test the oil: throw in a little flour – did it bubble? Ok,
it’s ready.
Fry a few at a time for two minutes a side or until golden.
Serve warm with powdered sugar, jam, chocolate sauce.
|
|  Composite image by Gary Randall.
The year 2020 will not be forgotten. It will be one of those
years that when it’s mentioned we will all remember how our ability to simply
go about our daily routines without taking precautions was curtailed.
For landscape photographers, that can severely limit how
productive they are when it comes to producing new images. The year 2020 will
also be remembered as the year when computers started to take control of many
aspects of our lives, including photography.
Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, has finally
arrived in the world of digital photography. There are now several programs
that have started to use AI to process digital photos in a single click of a
button. This also includes the ability to send one’s digital photography into
the realm of graphic art.
These programs have the ability to add components of an
image that didn’t happen. They also have the ability to create a sunset, a blue
cloud-dotted sky or to even add a mountain onto the horizon. These programs do
this by feeding a computer with thousands of sample images. This allows the
computer to learn how to create these conditions in your photos.
There is a bit of a debate within the photographic community
that discusses the ethics behind this kind of digital manipulation. It is not a
new discussion, as photographers have been manipulating photos since
photography was invented. The discussion is not as much about the action of
making these composited images as it is considered art and nobody has a right
to tell anyone how to create their art, and most people agree with that.
The discussion centers more around honesty and clarity. It
is argued that when someone views a photo there is a certain expectation for
the image to be real. This expectation is not applied to painting as much as it
is a photograph as artistic license is expected in a painting.
Many people look at a photograph and do not expect to wonder
if it actually happened. Therefore, many people feel that there should be
clarity and honesty from the photographer when asked about their photo.
Especially when asked if it is real.
There is a lot of ego in the art world, especially
photography these days. Websites like Instagram promote the narrative above the
image itself which can tempt a photographer to exaggerate the story of their
lives, and digital manipulation of images can support this exaggeration with
exaggerated images. Therein lies the question concerning truth and ethics.
I am certainly not opposed to manipulating photos. It can be
fun and can produce some striking images, but what I am a proponent for is
honesty. If an image is not real, I would like to know. I would simply like to
know if it is a photo or a graphic art piece as I feel that these digital
manipulations are no longer photographs once they are created in or by a
computer program.
Maybe I am a photography snob but that is how I see this
situation. I would like to differentiate between someone who has actually
fought hard and lost more times than they’ve won to get an epic image, and one
who didn't leave home. I’d like to know if someone sat at their desk and took
numerous stock photography images and mashed them together or if they actually
experienced what the image shows.
For me photography is not just about the image. It is also
about the story and the experience behind the image. Reading about an actual
experience is exciting and inspiring. Viewing a digital recreation of a scene
just is not the same and should not be presented as such.
This trend has been exacerbated more this year than in
previous years due to the inability of many to travel, further exaggerated by
the advance of artificial intelligence in photo software. It’s my hope that we
all can resume our lives and the ability to roam free once more and to be
inspired to be at a location when the magic happens and not be tempted to
create this false narrative supported by unreal computer created images.
The photograph that I have included with this article is an
example of what a computer will do if you let it. I removed Mount Hood from
this scene and then asked the computer program’s artificial intelligence to add
clouds and a mountain. I ended up with Mount Fuji over Timberline Lodge. As you
can see by this photo one can take a trip and never leave the farm.
Let's all hope that 2021 reverses many trends that were
established as normal in 2020 and that truth is valued over vanity once more. |
|  Contributed photo.
A change of pace from last month’s article on holiday trees
– a much more serious issue.
The COVID-19 pandemic dominated the national news in 2020,
with the presidential election coming in a close second. The pandemic and
presidential politics are sure to dominate 2021, too. Without so many barrels
of ink and so many gigabytes of digital news devoted to the two topics, another
pandemic might have drawn much more attention: wildfires in the western U.S.
From 2010 to 2019, wildfires burned an average of 6,613,017
acres in the first 11 months and 12 days of the year, according to the National
Interagency Fire Center – an area nearly the size of the state of
Massachusetts. As of this writing on Dec. 15, fires this year have burned more
than 9.5 million acres, 145 percent of the 10-year average – an area about the
size of New Hampshire and Connecticut combined.
Some local perspective: 9.5 million acres is an area eight
times the area of Clackamas County, or about the area of the 14 counties in
northwest Oregon – Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Lane,
Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington and Yamhill.
A study published in “Geophysical Research Letters” in November
found that wildfires in the West are more severe than in the past. The authors,
Sean Parks, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Rocky
Mountain Research Station, and John Abatzoglou, a professor at the University
of California, Merced, calculate that the area burned by severe fire – areas
where more than 95 percent of trees are killed – has increased eight-fold in
western U.S. forests over the past four decades.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, infectious disease experts such
as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, urge us to wear masks, wash our hands frequently, avoid
public places and take other measures to slow the spread of the disease and
help reduce the burden on hospitals and medical personnel. Likewise, simple,
common-sense measures can help reduce the frequency and intensity of wildfires.
If there were a Dr. Anthony Fauci of forest and wildfire management, he or she
would undoubtedly promote fuels reduction, both by mechanical removal and with
prescribed fire, and other forest management activities.
The need “to get good fire on the ground” was the subject of
an Aug. 28 article in “Propublica,” “They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why
Won’t Anybody Listen?”
Some people and governments are listening. In August, the
USFS and the State of California signed a Shared Stewardship Agreement aimed at
addressing “a cycle of catastrophic wildfires, longer fire seasons, severe
drought, intense wind, tree mortality, invasive species, and human population
pressure threaten to convert conifer forests to shrublands and shrublands to
invasive grasses.” The two partners plan to spend $1 billion on fuels reduction
and watershed restoration, with a goal of treating one million acres annually by
2025. Oregon and the USFS signed a Shared Stewardship Agreement in 2019, and
recently Gov. Kate Brown and the state legislature have been considering $50
million in spending to help reduce the risk of wildfire – a drop in the bucket.
Even with adequate funding, the prospect of treating vast
areas in the west is daunting.
“Two of the basic problems with the current regime of prescribed
fire are resources and staffing,” Amanda Monthei wrote in “Land Managers Can’t
Burn the West Fast Enough,” an Oct. 28 article in “The Atlantic”
(tinyurl.com/y5dognvo). “Federal lands often require qualified federal
firefighters to perform a majority of the burning. These firefighters must
understand the intricacies of prescribed burns – they must know the right
weather conditions for a successful burn, understand the terrain, and
anticipate how fire might interact with that landscape.”
“However, the greater part of federal funding and resources
are allocated to suppression in the late summer and early fall, when fires are
burning under more extreme conditions and communities are most at risk. Many
federal firefighters are seasonal employees, hired primarily to battle the heat
of the summer. They work from April to October or November and are then laid
off until the following spring, for almost the entire window when the weather
is mild and prescribed burning is most effective and safe. Permanent federal
employees are capable of this work, but are small in number and often busy with
administrative tasks.”
Articles like this are important insofar as they help
educate the public and policymakers, but education isn’t enough. A plan of
action is needed. Two prominent figures in forestry and wildland fire
management – the equivalent of two Dr. Anthony Faucis – have written one. Dale
N. Bosworth, a former chief of the USFS, and Jerry T. Williams, formerly the
agency’s national director fire management, have outlined a comprehensive
effort to address the wildfire problem in a recent paper, “The West’s Wildfire
Crisis and the Urgency to Restore Safer, More Resilient Conditions in its Dry
Forest Types.” The paper acknowledges the recent fires in the wetter forests in
our area, west of the Cascades, but focuses primarily on drier east-side
forests, such as the ponderosa pine-dominated forests around Bend and Sisters.
I would argue that the Riverside Fire (more than 138,000 acres), Beachie Creek
Fire (193,573 acres) and Lionshead Fire (204,469 acres) on the Mount Hood and
Willamette National Forests show that addressing fire danger and promoting
safer, more resilient conditions in these forests also is needed.
“Fundamentally, the crisis is not a fire operations
failure,” Bosworth and Williams wrote. “It is a land management and land use
failure abetted by regulations and policies that don’t reflect the realities of
climate change or the ecologies of fire disturbance regimes. It is a failure to
adequately manage fire-adapted, fire-dependent, fire-prone ecosystems. The
onset of climate change has made manifest the deteriorated condition of the
West’s dry forest types. It is a condition that history and science tell us
bears the hand of man. At its core, the West’s wildfire crisis is also a
failure of imagination. We seem unable to imagine that things can get much
worse, when almost every year they do. We seem unwilling to imagine a whole new
approach to wildfire protection; one rooted in how we might better manage the
land.”
Bosworth and Williams propose looking at the issue through
three lenses:
– Regulatory: most of the country’s environmental
regulations were conceived and enacted before the onset of climate change and
before the science of disturbance ecology emerged.
– Fiscal: fiscal policies are heavily weighted to reacting
to disaster, rather than preventing disaster.
– Markets: there are few markets currently available for the
kinds of material that, once removed, can reduce the severity of wildfires.
Among their proposed actions is “a rigorous cost-benefit
assessment among the range of wildfire protection alternatives and conduct a
trajectory analysis of where each alternative is headed, forecasting the
social, economic, and ecological effects over time for each option.”
This is precisely the kind of approach that is needed – that
has been needed for many years. The question is, “Will anybody listen?” If
policymakers hear often from their constituents – people like you and me –
about Bosworth and Williams’ blueprint for addressing the wildfire pandemic,
perhaps they’ll do more than listen.
Want to know more about how to make forests more resilient
to wildfire? Need a drone to deliver a copy of the Bosworth/Williams paper to
Congress? Let me know. SWilent@gmail.com.
A copy of the Bosworth/Williams paper is available for
downloading from the National Association of Forest Service Retiree’s web site,
tinyurl.com/yy8jfm5z. |
| A wonder of the season the winter chanterelle by Mt. Hood Community College on 01/01/2021
Welcome to a new year and a new Our Community, Our Earth,
where instructors from Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) will continue to
provide insight on subjects related to our environment, ecology and more. We
look forward to another fantastic year sharing our knowledge with the
community.
Like many of us, fall is my favorite season. I adore the
crisp bite in the air and the marvelous golds and reds of falling leaves. I
look forward to filling our pantry with a rainbow of squashes and pulling on my
galoshes for wet weekends foraging in the forest.
Fall lovers may feel a bit of despair creep in as the crispy
air turns downright chilly and the days grow shorter, limiting our time
outdoors. However, there is a cure for the winter blues, and it is mushrooms.
There are several species of fungi that continue to fruit as the winter takes
hold, and finding these brilliant creatures nestled amongst the frosty twigs
may be the thrill we need to turn that winter frown upside down.
One such species is the winter chanterelle. This beautiful
fungus has many common names; it is also called the yellow foot, the funnel
chanterelle and (unhelpfully) the winter mushroom. The inexact nature of common
names can lead to confusion, and in the worst-case scenarios can lead to
misidentifications, so using scientific names is helpful when discussing our
fungal friends.
The scientific name of this species is Craterellus
neotubaeformis. Until recently it was called Craterellus tubaeformis, but
molecular evidence indicates that our west coast variety is unique when
compared to the east coast or European varieties, and thus it deserves a new
name (hence “neo” which means “new”).
Craterellus neotubaeformis is a joy to find in the wild! It
has a brown cap that is funnel shaped and sometimes the funnel extends all the
way through the stem toward the forest floor. The stem is yellow and hollow,
which contrasts beautifully with the brown hues of the cap.
The whole body of the fungus has a distinctive flexibility
and pliability to it. You could practically bend it in half before it snaps in
two, and it keeps this nice texture when cooked.
The gills of this fungi are important when it comes to
correctly identifying it, as they are blunt ridges instead of sharp plates.
These ridges are often forked, widely spaced, running down the stem and should
be a shade of yellow to pale brown.
This fabulous edible is associated with conifers, which in
our area means it is plentiful under Douglas fir trees. I love to eat these
mushrooms fresh, although they may be dried or frozen if you find an abundance
of them. A quick sautι with some oil is all you need, then this fabulous fungus
is ready to be a welcome addition to eggs, pasta, tarts or your favorite winter
stew.
Recipe suggestion:
http://chocolateandmarrow.com/2014/10/19/chanterelle-and-gruyere-frittata/
Catherine Creech is an Instructor of Biology at Mt. Hood
Community College. |
| View Points Salem: 2021 session starts soon by Rep. Anna Williams on 01/01/2021
In the final ten days of a very chaotic year, my colleagues
in the Oregon State Legislature and I came together for the third and final
special legislative session of 2020. I wanted to take this opportunity to
summarize the emergency policies we put into place. Although there were hours
of public testimony and months of debate and compromise that went into the
bills we passed, this is just a broad overview. As always, if you have any
questions or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to me at the email address
below.
First, I was thrilled that the legislature finally passed a
bill that I have been pushing for as a priority since the summer: a bill to
allow restaurants to serve “cocktails to go.” I’ve heard from restaurant owners
in every community I represent about how they need more income to make it
through the winter. Because our state constitution requires the legislature to
raise revenue to pay for all its policies, the state isn’t able to provide the
billions of dollars that would be needed to keep restaurants afloat - we need
federal support to do that. But the legislature is able to loosen regulations
to help restaurants make more income, and that’s what I tried to do when I
joined a colleague from Portland in spearheading this bill.
Second, we passed a bill to protect school districts from frivolous
lawsuits related to the pandemic, providing limited liability in order for
schools to be able to re-open and get our kids back into the classroom. I
supported this bill because I thought it was a reasonable compromise between
people on both sides of the issue: it requires schools to follow all public
health guidance in order to keep educators, students and students’ families
safe and healthy, but it prevents a flood of litigation that could bankrupt our
schools. People can still sue schools for reckless, wanton and intentional
misconduct that puts them or their kids at risk.
Third, and maybe most importantly, we passed a bill to
prevent the pandemic from worsening our state’s housing crisis any more than it
already has. Our state’s eviction moratorium was set to expire Dec. 31 if the
legislature did not extend it. But simply extending the eviction would have
left landlords high and dry: many have not collected any rent from their
tenants since last March and are suffering serious financial hardship as a
result. The bill we passed (which I was proud to support) will create a fund
for landlords to access state money on behalf of their tenants whose inability
to pay rent is due to the pandemic.
The landlords will only be able to recover 80 percent of
what they are owed, which is of course not ideal for them. Still, every
landlord I’ve spoken to has said that the cost of collecting back-rent (through
courts or collections agencies) would have left them with far less than 80
percent. Also, this bill allows landlords to forgo the 80 percent from the
state and pursue 100 percent of the back-rent through their own legal means, or
to encourage their renters to obtain rental support (up to 100 percent) through
their local rental assistance programs. By providing both resources and choices
for landlords and renters, the Oregon Legislature will protect people’s housing
while offering much-needed support to the small landlords who depend on rental
payments to make ends meet.
Finally, we passed a budget bill that allows $600 million
from the state’s general fund to be released in the months to come. These funds
may be needed to respond to emergency expenses related to the pandemic and
wildfire recovery. Because the new congressional stimulus package does not
include direct aid for states or local governments, we unfortunately need to
continue to rely on our state’s revenue to be flexible as the pandemic evolves.
Preparations are still underway for the 2021 session that
will begin later this month, but these issues urgently needed to be addressed
before the end of the year. As I prepare to head back to Salem for the long
haul of a six-month session, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and
welcome you to reach out to me at Rep.AnnaWilliams@oregonlegislature.gov if you
have any issues that you’d like to discuss.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative.
|
| View Points Sandy: City Council's accomplishments by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 01/01/2021
This past month, our 2018-20 Sandy City Council met for the
final time. Sadly, three councilors will be stepping off of council after doing
truly amazing things for this community.
When I was sworn in as Mayor two years ago, I had no idea
how much I would grow both as a person and a leader through my experiences
serving our great city. The individual members of our Sandy City Council and
our ability to work together as a team is likely the biggest factor in my
personal growth.
These community leaders, all coming from diverse backgrounds
and opinions, showed me that it’s still possible for people to come together,
put their community first and accomplish bold solutions to difficult
challenges.
Despite a global pandemic, national civil unrest and an
unprecedented wildfire season in our region, the work we’ve done as a city to
enrich the lives of our neighbors, improve traffic congestion and keep our
citizens safe is something I’m truly proud of.
To help keep Sandy moving, we negotiated a joint venture
with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to conduct a feasibility
study for a local bypass for our citizens. Additionally, we received approval
for synchronized traffic lights from ODOT on Hwy. 26, secured funding for 362nd
to Bell Street to alleviate the school time commute off Bluff Road, won county
transportation funds for paved shoulders along 362nd Avenue and took over
control from ODOT of a vital stretch of Hwy. 211, allowing our community to
control our destiny on one of our most important stretches of road.
Our local Sandy Main Street small businesses are the
heartbeat of our community and as promised, we stood up for them! We
spearheaded two separate COVID-19 relief funds to provide $3,000 in aid to
local small businesses. We slashed red tape by removing System Development
Charges for patio seating at local restaurants and burdensome parking
requirements. We also increased funding for the Tenant Improvement Program for
local businesses.
Additionally, at our last meeting, we approved a new program
for small businesses. The city will partner with local business owners to
provide funds to build permanent outdoor structures like this one displayed in
our Centennial Plaza. This will help our local restaurants and pubs provide
outdoor dining options in compliance with current COVID-19 restrictions. This
will have the added benefit of being a long-term addition to our Sandy
community for years after this pandemic is over.
Now is the time to invest in our Main Street businesses so
that they can serve the public and employ our neighbors now and in the future.
This program is the first of its kind. We used to do bold, innovative things in
Oregon, we still do those things in Sandy.
Finally, one of my most important responsibilities as your
Mayor and council is to protect your pocketbook and your family. These past two
years we’ve been enormously successful in doing precisely that. We adopted the
Wastewater Treatment Facilities Plan Study that included $500,000 in funds from
the State. If successful, this study could help us cut the facility costs in
half. Perhaps even more importantly, we provided our Sandy Police Department
with not only increased funding, but also a stable funding source that should
pay huge dividends for the department in the years ahead.
These are just a few of our major accomplishments, and yet
there is still so much left to do. We’ve done a terrific job laying the
foundation for Sandy to flourish into the future.
Our Sandy City Council has a lot to be proud of. We’ve left
a legacy that shows what can be accomplished by putting differences aside,
working together as a team and putting your community first.
These next two years as your Mayor, I look forward to
working with our new incoming City Councilors to continue to stand up for you
and your family. I look forward to interacting with you over these coming years
as we dream big about Sandy’s future. Let us together continue to keep Sandy
wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy.
|
| It's not about you, it's about them by Paula Walker on 01/01/2021
As we head into this New Year it is a good time to reflect
on those who have been the fabric of your life; those you will turn to for help
and support should you ever need to do so in your lifetime; those you will ask
to take care of your affairs when you pass.
A stark reality I know, but a truth undeniable, we all die
eventually. We cannot avoid that outcome. What we can control and ensure, is
what we leave as we exit… a legacy or a mess. We won’t be around to deal with
it but someone, and often those most dear to us, will.
Creating a proper estate plan is about creating your “exit
strategy.” And the results of that are a loving gift for the ones you love.
Preparing a proper estate plan is not only for the wealthy,
it is about a process that applies to each of us. We all will have final bills
to pay, taxes to settle, funerals to arrange, creditors to settle with,
finances to distribute, property possibly to sell and personal belongings to
disperse upon our passing. Depending on what we have accumulated in our life
these functions can take on greater complexity, warrant more effort, be the
source of conflict and lead to unnecessary cost and confusion when we leave
with no directions to follow.
A proper estate plan provides sound instructions on helping
us during our lives as well.
As this year starts, consider the following:
Do you have someone you know and trust to take care of you
and your well being, if you should have the need, because you cannot do all for
yourself?
Do you have someone you know and trust to take care of your
children if you are not able to do so?
Do you have someone you know and trust to take care of and
provide a home for your treasured animal companions should you suddenly be
unable to do so?
Have you appointed someone to settle with the state and the
federal government (the two certainties of death and taxes)?
Was there someone or something you wanted to provide for
with what you leave behind? Have you put that in writing? Have you appointed
the right person to make that happen?
Do you care if everything you have and everything you own
falls to the state to decide who benefits from your life’s work and legacy?
Will your leaving be a source of potential conflict in the
family you treasure, or have you given the gift of certainty to guide them and
avoid the pitfalls confusion can generate?
Will the persons most dear to you inherit a “hot mess” for
lack of planning or the benefits of clear direction so that they can take the
time to honor your memory and attend to their own grief?
A proper estate plan does not have to be an insurmountable
undertaking, it just has not to be put off. In that proper plan you want to
create the documents that take care of your assets on your passing — a Will or
a Trust — and that take care of you during your life — your Durable Powers of
Attorney for finances and health, and your Advance Directive for critical life
support decision making.
Remember, as you reflect on the many things important to
you, that an estate plan in its essence is not only about you, it is really
about those you love because with or without your direction they will be the
ones called upon.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
I thought that I would kick of this year’s Stories of the
Stars with a very down to earth star, Rhonda Green, and really, the people
whose stories she represents are the Stars, as we all are.
Ms. Green’s book “My Exit Plan: Getting My House in Order”
was developed from her many years as funeral services manager, acting — more
often than one would like to think — as mediator for embattled families. Her
book provides many sobering accounts of everyday people, you and I, whose lives
are turned to turmoil when a family member dies without leaving even the most
simple of valid wills.
And those stories are not all about rifts over riches; they can
be more heart wrenching. By example, there is the account of the mother whose
four adult children fought bitterly after her passing about burial versus
cremation. Two wanted cremation to save on burial expenses. Two wanted to honor
her wishes for burial. In the court battle that ensued it was discovered that
their mother had purchased a burial plot for herself. Though in the end her
wishes were consummated, and her decision made clear, the rift was without
repair.
Ms. Green’s words at a recent symposium are a good way to
end this article and start the year: “If you really love your family, then put
your wishes in writing and make it legal.”
Dear reader, we welcome your questions on matters related to
estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance the
potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Please submit your questions to Garth Guibord, at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com.
|
| Who's got Roast Beast? by Taeler Butel on 01/01/2021
I’m going to do it. It’s time, I’m an adult now, I’m going
to cook a real prime rib with Au Jus (awe juuz) and horseradish sauce. This is
the roast that prime rib steaks are cut from.
Why is this meat so intimidating? I’m guessing it’s the
price and reputation as a special dish reserved for special occasions.
Talk to your butcher – ask them to help you find the perfect
prime rib roast (also known as standing rib roast) for your needs. They can
pick one with nice marbling and a fat cap that’s not too thick.
Let the meat sit uncovered in the fridge 24 hours ahead of
time to ensure crust.
Let the meat come to room temperature (leave on the counter,
wrapped for two hours)
General cooking time is five minutes per pound. 10 lbs.
equals 50 minutes.
Get your digital meat thermometer ready - you’ll need to do
an internal temp check to make sure meat is 135 degrees which is med/rare
inside.
Rest the meat. Take the pan out and let it rest for 20
minutes minimum before cutting.
What you’ll need
1 10 lb prime rib roast, bone in or out
Prime rib rub: mix 1 T each, salt, brown sugar, pepper,
paprika, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder
3 large onions, sliced
1 head garlic cloves, peeled
Rub the mixture all over meat. Let it sit in fridge
uncovered overnight then cover and let it sit at room temp for 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 500 degrees. In the bottom of a large
roasting pan place onions and garlic. Place the roast on top and add 1/2 inch
of water. Place roast in oven and roast at 500 degrees for 50 minutes. Turn the
oven off and let it sit for 2 hours with the door shut! Take out the meat and
set on a cutting board to rest.
Au jus
Strain pan drippings into a large measuring cup. In saucepan
add in: 1 cup water mixed with 1 T cornstarch and 1 cup of pan drippings. Add
in 1 t Worcestershire and 4 cubes of beef bouillon - whisk until thickened.
Horseradish sauce
Mix together:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipped cream
1 T Worcestershire
2 T Grated horseradish
1 T brown mustard
1 T white wine vinegar |
| Monthly resolutions can help the burden by Victoria Larson on 01/01/2021
A new day, a new week, a new year! Though many start a new
year with resolutions, I've always found them either too stringent, too vague
or just too overwhelming. So this year, let's try something different. Since it
takes 28 to 30 days to make or change a habit, we actually have twelve chances
to improve our lives!
In order to not be too stringent, we can pick only the ones
that apply to our individual lives. But we won't be so vague as to let the new
knowledge or habit fade out of consciousness. And by choosing only the ones
that apply to each individual, it will not be so overwhelming.
Twelve months to make changes, somewhere:
1. Let's start with forgiveness. Forgiveness comes from
within the forgiver and benefits that person just as much as the person being
forgiven. And remember, the forgiven person is you, the one who ultimately
needs it.
2. On a more practical side, avoid trans fats and vegetable
oils as much as possible. Trans fats and vegetable oils are in all fast foods
and virtually all packaged foods, including cakes, chips, crackers, cookies,
breads, etc. Unless you are gluten sensitive, concern yourself more with trans
fats and vegetable oils than gluten content. Oils such as coconut oil, fish
oils, flax oil, nut oils and olive oil are all better for you than canola, corn
and soy oils.
3. Fish – now there are new worries about plastics in
seafood. A very valid concern. Ultimately, it's our fault. Many plastics are
not recyclable, so we need to stop using them so much lest they end up in the
ocean. Think plastic grocery bags, straws and cups, take-home containers from
restaurants.
4. Turmeric needs to be warmed in order to be of benefit
(antioxidant, arthritis). Warm your spices in a pan before using to make meals
or tea. Pills taken cold just won't do the trick.
5. If you prefer coffee to tea, drink no more than two to
three cups per day. At that amount coffee appears to be protective against
diabetes. Take your coffee with a smidgen of butter and some coconut oil, but
no sugar. It's called "bullet coffee" and helps your brain to
function because of the good fats in it.
6. Try to avoid sugar as much as possible. Sugar is the
preferred fuel for cancer cells to grow. This also means only one or two
servings of fruit per day. You may have more in the summer as it will keep you
cooler.
7. Back to the good fats. Don't bother with low-fat
anything. It's a longtime experiment that didn't work and many people bought
into it. So many Americans bought into it that it undoubtedly contributes to
the near epidemic of Alzheimer's that we now have in our nation. Though
lowering fat intake is not the only cause, it's looking like a definite poor
choice. Be like the French - enjoy anniversaries, birthdays, feast days and
holidays. Then go back to avoiding sugar. Knowing that you can have some sugar
in small amounts on special occasions will make avoidance more tolerable.
8. Detox. Your skin is the largest organ of your body. It
takes 15-30 days for skin cells to reach the epidermis layer to be sloughed
off. Try skin brushing, using perhaps a baby hairbrush or a soft clothes brush,
to help remove those top layers of already deceased skin cells. You don't need
them, and this will help you to detoxify through your largest organ.
9. Then get into a detoxifying, relaxing bath of Epsom salts
to which you may gently add a few drops of a favorite essential oil. Depending
on the oil, start with four to five drops and don't go over 12 drops as it may
burn, sending you running down the hall in your altogether!
10. If you are a smoker, STOP. It is the single worst thing
you can do for your health, guaranteed to shorten your life. Any smoking.
Period.
11. The second worst thing you can do for your health is
sitting, just sitting. Couch potatoes get up. If you're already up, do
something. Every hour. If you are in a wheelchair, wave your arms, lift
weights, wiggle your feet every hour. Get rid of your "clickers"
except the dog training one. That will get you off the couch as it is. In fact,
get a dog. Also guaranteed to make you move.
12. Get more rest. Lack of sleep raises the possibility of
illnesses, reduces efficiency and is estimated to cost our economy $280 billion
per year. Employers, get tough. Employees, listen to your body. Quit the
frazzle-dazzle which often leads to late nights and increased alcohol
consumption. Before electricity people slept ten to twelve hours a night. They
had less cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
I've left out the really obvious changes we all know about
like eat more vegetables (six to ten servings per day), drink more water (to
reduce risk of headaches and stroke), exercise more (or at least move more).
But those ones you already know. Just pick one of the above to work on each
month, adding a new challenge the next month. In a year you will be healthier.
Just remember #1 and forgive yourself if you fall back. You've got a whole year
to make changes! |
| The View Finder: Sharing your peace by Gary Randall on 12/01/2020
It's funny how a photographer can plan and plan to be at a
location in hopes of capturing a beautiful sunset or even just an epic scene in
nature just to have airplanes decide to fly through it casting a contrail as it
goes. Most of the time it will ruin your epic photo, but sometimes... albeit
very rarely, it works.
This is one of those photos where I really wanted a shot of the
lenticular clouds thrown up into the sky by Mount Hood at Trillium Lake and
just as I was ready here came an airplane. It's kind of funny how it headed
straight for the mountain and then circled around it and kept flying. I'd like
to think that it was giving the passengers a view of the mountain.
I remember back when I was in the military in the late 1970s
when I took a United Airlines flight from Portland to San Diego. I took what
was called a West Coaster flight, which was one where the aircraft purposely
flew along the Cascade and the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in a way that gave
everyone on the flight a view. As we flew the pilot would name mountains and geographic
scenes as we passed them. I'm sure that in this day and age a flight like that
would be completely impractical, but I think it's a shame.
On this particular day when the aircraft came into view, I
cussed a bit, but after I took the photo and noticed the symmetry of the lines
and the reflections of them in the water. I decided that I liked it. I actually
liked a photo of a sky with contrails in it.
I remember a day in the Columbia River Gorge when the whole
gorge froze solid. I wanted to go out and document it. I arrived at Latourell
Falls and was alone. As soon as I was set to take a shot I noticed a guy
walking down the trail. He walked into the scene and stood on the edge of a
small cliff edge and stood there. He was in stark contrast with the frozen
scene with his red jacket. I stood there for a minute thinking. At first, I was
irritated but I decided to snap a couple photos. I looked at the photos that I
took and realized just how much of a story the photo told with this man
standing there taking in such an amazing scene. I learned a bit of a lesson
from the experience.
I have spent time in the field with a lot of photographers
in my days and have witnessed a lot of people who get so upset when something
happens to "ruin" their photo. It could be one of many things from
another photographer walking into the scene or an airplane flying through the
sky, but it is what it is. We don't go out to get frustrated or to be unhappy.
We can't change the conditions that we're dealt.
We go out to be chill and be happy. That particular day or
evening isn't the only one that you'll photograph. It's not the end of all
sunrises or sunsets. It's just another one and whatever happens happens, and in
some cases you end up with a unique photo.
We must remember why we are landscape photographers. In most
cases we are landscape photographers because we love to capture peace and
beauty in our images. It is my experience that the more that we’re in peace
personally the more that it will show through in the images that we create. |
|  Photo by Audrey Addison.
The season of darkness. Nature slides inexorably toward its
shortest day.
Though, as with all things, point-of-view matters. For some,
the shortest day is the longest night. Do nocturnal animals rejoice in the gift
of time? Does December’s dark provide a bounty for an owl? Like the silent
creatures that move through the night, these answers remain unheard.
For the light-bound souls the reality of shorter days means
scarcer and more widely spaced food. The economic benefits of holding
territories breaks down, but the benefits of more eyes looking for food, and
out for predators, increases. As a result, birds who were competitors in June
are traveling companions in December.
Mixed flocks of chickadees, kinglets, nuthatches and
woodpeckers, move through the trees in search of quiescent bugs immobilized by
cold. Bushels of Dark-eyed Juncos have gathered from northern environs or have
been chased down the mountain by newly fallen snow. In the “lowland”
neighborhoods and our college campus, they join noisy gatherings of robins who,
themselves, may have summered in the far reaches of the Arctic.
These “snowbirds” likely move unnoticed by their human
counterparts heading up the hill for winter recreation. Pity for them (the
humans) for winter brings with it a chance for closer observation of a smaller
set of species, gathered in larger numbers. Though a bird feeder helps, it
isn’t required to watch the antics of a group of quarrelling crows, the
frenetic foraging of finches or the strident declaration of ownership by a
wintering hummingbird. Their intense concentration on gathering food means that
they often allow longer inspection of their behaviors.
For me, these winter companions also bring light to the gray
skies and provide a worthy distraction from the political darkness of our
world. With their constant motion and attention to the task at hand, they
remind us that the trade-off for year-round activity is an almost constant
search for fuel.
As a fellow endotherm, I feel the urge myself, craving rich
foods and finding myself wanting to eat even when not hungry, still stuffing
myself with turkey dinners. Perhaps the darkness tugs at a primeval instinct to
keep the furnace stoked, connecting me not only to the natural world, but also
to a time long past when our ancestors lived closer to the edge…
Sitting in a warm house, I allow my mind to drift backwards
in time, thankful for the option of inside, fire and blankets, and content to
wait for future days and the light they bring.
Walter Shriner is an instructor of Biology and Natural
Resources Technology at Mt. Hood Community College. |
| Going out on a limb to celebrate the Christmas tree by Steve Wilent on 12/01/2020
My family has had Christmas trees in the house during the
holidays for as long as I can remember. Finding the perfect Christmas tree was
an annual event, almost as fun as the holiday itself. From the time we were old
enough to walk, my parents took my brother and me on tree-hunting expeditions,
regardless of the weather or the amount of snow on the ground. Hot chocolate
and cookies were administered to keep our energy and spirits up. My mother and
grandmother would spend hours decorating the tree with lights, ornaments of all
colors and shapes, and long strands of lead tinsel.
Lara and I continued the tradition. I have a photograph of
me cutting a tree while a one-year-old Jeff, the first of our two sons, looked
on from a kid-carrier backpack. As teenagers, the boys would argue over which
one of them had found the best tree and which was strong enough to carry it to
the truck. We’ve been empty nesters for many years now, but I still look
forward to the annual tree hunt, the smell of fresh evergreens in the house and
recalling happy memories as we hang lights and ornaments.
We’ve had a variety of Christmas tree species over the
years. I prefer noble fir or the similar Pacific silver fir, because the wide
space between the branches lets ornaments hang straight and you can see them
from all sides. Both species are native to the higher elevations of the
Cascades. We’ve had Douglas-fir and grand fir from lower elevations, too, and
one year had a Nordmann fir from a tree farm near Sandy. The Nordmann fir, or
Caucasian fir, is a tree native to the mountains along the Black Sea, in
Georgia, Russia and Turkey.
One year we had a lodgepole pine as our holiday tree. We
found it growing under the power lines near Lolo Pass, and it was unusually
full and symmetrical for a lodgepole. Years ago it was easy to find nice trees
to cut in the cleared area under those power lines, but somebody let the secret
out and today you’ll find few trees, if any, worthy of the holiday.
Another year we had an Englemann spruce, a species that grows
widely in the mountains of the western U.S. and Canada. I found this particular
tree growing not far from the Top Spur trailhead, and it was perfectly
symmetrical. This and some other spruces are known not only for their beauty,
but also for their sharp, stiff needles. I carried the tree gingerly into the
house, where Lara praised it — until she encountered the needles. But it turned
out that the prickliness of the needles solved a problem: for years, one of our
cats had the habit of playing with the decorations on the lower branches of our
trees, and even managed to break a few treasured ornaments. But one swipe at
that spiny spruce and she was cured of her penchant for creating Christmas tree
mayhem.
I favor natural, unpruned trees, while some folks like the
dense, heavily sheared, cone-like trees that some tree farms and stores sell.
Don’t ask me what I think of artificial trees.
Speaking of stores and farms, we have purchased some very
nice Christmas trees at Mountain Building Supply and at tree farms in the area,
when snow kept us from finding a wild tree in the Mount Hood National Forest.
We cut a nice grand fir one year at Harrison Farms (48080 SE Coalman Rd, Sandy,
503-668-9769, tinyurl.com/y34a6s23). In past years, Harrison’s has had a sign
at its entrance off of Hwy. 26 just west of Cherryville. Rainy Mountain Farms
also has nice trees (49400 Southeast Marmot Rd., Sandy, 503-351-0965,
rainymountainfarms.com). Call or check the farms’ web sites before you go, as
hours of operation may have changed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 25 to
30 million Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year. Oregon farms cut
and sell more holiday trees than any other state – 4.7 million trees in 2017,
according to the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association. Most of them
were Noble fir (54 percent) and Douglas-fir (32 percent).
Nationwide, the average price of a Christmas tree in 2019
was nearly $77. At Rainy Mountain Farms, all trees regardless of size are $40
each, according to its web site. If you’re willing to put some effort into
finding a tree on the Mount Hood National Forest, you can buy a permit to cut a
tree up to 15 feet tall for $5. To buy a permit online, see
tinyurl.com/y4luzdfj for information, along with a list of locations where you
can buy permits in person, including the Zigzag Ranger District office and area
stores.
Whatever the source of your tree, do it a favor and put the
cut end in a bucket of water as soon as you get home. And keep the tree outside
until you’re ready to bring it in to decorate it. Once it’s inside, keep the
tree stand’s reservoir full of water. Take good care of your Christmas tree and
you can reuse it as a Valentine’s Day tree and maybe even an Easter tree.
Want to know more about Christmas trees? Want to know how to
tell the difference between a regular Christmas tree and an organic Christmas
tree? Let me know. SWilent@gmail.com. |
| View Points Salem: Don't give up by Rep. Anna Williams on 12/01/2020
This pandemic cannot end soon enough. No matter our
political alignments, belief systems or how directly the coronavirus has
impacted our lives, every Oregonian can agree on one thing: we are all tired of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’re tired of the risk of illness. We’re tired of the
changes in our daily lives. We’re tired of worrying about the economic, social
and emotional toll that business restrictions, remote learning and social
distancing are taking on our communities.
But here’s the thing: we’re now seeing the result of what
happens when we start giving up. When people get tired of missing out on
connecting with friends and loved ones, they start gathering indoors again and
case counts increase. When people stop wearing face coverings while spending time
around their friends, case counts increase. When people ignore the advice of
public health experts and host a dozen friends to celebrate a special occasion,
case counts increase.
This latest “freeze” may feel like an overreaction until the
pandemic touches your life. You may have asked yourself what right the
government had to limit the size of your Thanksgiving gathering – after all,
your family and friends should have been allowed to weigh the risks and decide
for themselves whether they wanted to chance it, right? But these days,
decisions like how to celebrate with friends and loved ones don’t just impact
the people who attended that one event.
They may impact every person who interacts with anyone who
attended that meal for days or weeks after the celebration – every fellow
shopper in the grocery store you visit in December, every server in every
restaurant at which you order takeout, every friend who you miss spending time
with enough to feel it is worth the risk of exposure to visit.
This is why it feels like we are losing our hard-fought
battle against the coronavirus: we are failing to appreciate that each decision
we make can have profound impacts over long periods of time and huge geographic
areas.
When we think about the people we may risk infecting with
the virus, we often think of them as well-informed, rational people who have
the power to decide how comfortable they are with risking exposure to the
virus... but in fact, each of us may end up sharing this virus with a large
number of people, some of them vulnerable to the worst impacts of COVID-19,
before we’re even aware of our own infection.
It may seem compelling when influential voices – elected
leaders, media figures or community members – tell us not to worry, that the
virus isn’t a big deal. These voices may remind us that young people are much
safer from tragic impacts of COVID-19 than the elderly and infirm, or that 98
percent of people infected will survive. But, as we know, young people can
easily transmit the virus to their older and more susceptible neighbors and
loved ones. If we were to allow the disease to spread freely through our state,
a 98 percent survival rate would mean we all suffer as we witness the deaths of
over 80,000 Oregonians.
Maybe you feel frustrated that the restrictions have gone on
so long, and that’s reasonable. At the root of our temptation to stop following
these guidelines is exhaustion. I feel it, too. It has been such a long year,
and such a stressful month, filled with loss and trauma and chaos. But with
encouraging news about vaccines, I can see an end in sight. Like marathon
runners in their final mile, we need to dig deep, find the same kind of energy
we applied at the beginning of this challenging pandemic, and take the
necessary steps to keep our friends, families, neighbors and communities safe.
My mother in law, who lives in a tornado-prone area of the
country, often calls to remind us to “hunker down” when the weather is bad. By
this, she means stay inside, eat high-calorie foods and watch movies or do
puzzles together.
Please, join me this holiday season in hunkering down, one
more time, to protect our neighbors, healthcare workers and elders, from the
worst impacts of this disease.
We may have to slim down our holiday celebrations, but at
the end of it all, we will have so much to be grateful for – one another, the
shared sense of community that comes from doing hard things together and the
knowledge that whatever comes our way, we can weather the storm in partnership
with our neighbors across the state.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
| View Points Sandy: Keep the holidays wonderful by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 12/01/2020
With the winter chill in the air and a blanket of snow
covering Mount Hood, it is once again the most wonderful time of the year here
in Sandy. As I have said before, there’s no time more special in our community
than the holidays.
Every year our neighbors in Sandy gather for festivities and
charities that lift the spirits of our community. After a year like no other,
the need of our community has never been greater. In the wake of Governor
Brown’s COVID-19 “freeze” restrictions, we have local small business owners
along with their employees and their families who also need us now more than
ever.
Never has it been more important to both shop and dine
local. It is said that a single dollar spent locally gets spent four additional
times here in our community. Whether it be shopping for your gifts or a gift
card at a local store or grabbing some food on your way to get the tree, Sandy
has everything you need.
We will be proceeding with many of our annual traditions,
though they look a little different this year. One of my family’s favorite
traditions is the annual Sandy Community Christmas Basket Program sponsored by
the Sandy Kiwanis Club. Planning is already underway for their 65th anniversary
of the program! Last year 300 families were assisted, and this year with
increased needs the goal is to help over 350 local families. As many know, in
addition to community and local business support the Sandy Kiwanis depends
heavily on the Sandy High School food drive that will not be able to happen
this year. As a result, they need our help with donations more than ever.
This year each basket will have the same items as in the
past that will provide a holiday meal: a ham and all the sides to go with it.
The cost of each basket is $50. Please go to their website
sandykiwanis.org/christmasbasket.html to donate to this amazing program.
Something else that will be a little different than previous
years is our annual Holiday Tree Lighting. This year’s event will be held
Friday, Dec. 4 from 6-8 p.m. The lighting will be a drive-thru and live streamed
event with holiday messages from well-known community members. Please visit the
event Facebook page for the latest details for this incredibly special event.
One event that doesn’t have to change this year is the Sandy
Light Show! One of our favorite local traditions is to put the kids in the car
on Christmas Eve and head over to the Scenic Meadows neighborhood to enjoy the
lights. One of our local City Councilors, John Hamblin, and his family put on
this amazing light show each year for our community. Because of the growing
need for families to find activities during the holidays, they’ve decided to
start even earlier this year and begin the show on Thanksgiving night. We
greatly appreciate their efforts as the holidays in our community would not be
the same without it!
While 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges, it has
served as a stark reminder of the people and moments that are so important in
making our lives meaningful. No other time in Sandy’s history has it been so
important for our community to come together and look out for one another. We
must remain vigilant in our united mission to keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor if the City of Sandy. |
| Relax and have fun for the holiday season by Victoria Larson on 12/01/2020
There is no question that this has been a most challenging
year. Since March of this year, we’ve all been facing the challenges of
COVID-19 – hardship, loss, stress. We are still in the “season of the lungs,”
which is known for grief and sadness. Now we all have a greater awareness of
health – the greatest gift of all – for the trend is not yet behind us. We must
still take precautions to reduce exposure.
Just because a neighbor or co-worker still travels often by
airplane does not mean you should. To be extra careful, stay home as much as
possible. Wear your mask when in groups. And build up your immune system. The
elderly and some young people already have compromised lung function. Yet there
are still many things we can do to work together to conquer these deficiencies.
Epidemics have connected societies despite race, class, ethnicity and religion.
The past year has brought us closer together; families
bonded, neighbors have gotten to know each other, our community has come
together to help those in need in countless ways. We have survived in ways we
never thought possible – through power outages, evacuations due to smoke and
threats of fire, food shortages, loss of businesses, jobs or income. The
evacuations are when I met my most excellent neighbor. He unloads my groceries
from the car, takes out my garbage and recycling, even helps with the yard
work.
Fungi, microbes, viruses, all want to survive in an
inhospitable environment. Pandemics are on the rise because of our increasing
population and unhealthy environment. The way to prevent epidemics (besides
masks and social distancing) is to provide clean air, food and environment.
The Earth will abide, along with the bugs, because the sun
keeps showing up, though in Oregon we may call it “liquid sunshine.” The
seasons will return, tulips and daisies will come up again and won’t we be most
thrilled. There will even come a day when we will complain about the heat. In
the meantime, we need to stay warm. Especially keep your feet and neck warm.
Wool socks work nicely. Cover your ears from a “cold wind invasion.” Wrap a
scarf or some article of clothing around your neck as you head out the door.
Wrapping your midriff with a large scarf or small blanket will help keep your
kidneys warmer. Have a cup of hot tea or even a second cup of coffee, cider or
hot milk with molasses. Invite your cats or dog onto your bed. Get out one
cookbook and your favorite seed catalog and plan, or at least dream about, next
year’s garden.
Taking care of your immune system takes a little more work
during the holiday season, mostly because of the extra stress. When I was a
schoolgirl, I always got sick as soon as the holiday break happened. My mom
would let me take a sleeping bag and sleep under the holiday tree. I swear the
pretty colorful lights cured me, or at least had me feeling better. Of course,
maybe it was just the rest.
We tend to automatically lean towards the more warming foods
during the cold weather, yin foods like soups, stews, root vegetables and the
seasonal mushrooms, especially reishi, which block the uptake of viral
particles. Not the teeny, tiny reishi pills, but foods. Or powders stirred into
hot drinks. Since our source of Vitamins A and D are diminished in winter, we should
eat more fish and seaweeds. Elderberry is helpful, too. Keep a diet diary so
you can try to decrease sugar. It always used to amaze me that patients
couldn’t recall what they’d eaten for that day’s breakfast or what they’d eaten
for dinner the night before. A diet diary keeps you honest and helps you know
when you’re veering off track.
Eating properly will help you to sleep better. Sleep is the
best anxiety reducer there is. Try sauteed mushrooms over toast for breakfast.
For a no-dishes-cleanup dinner, cook fish in foil packets with onions and
peppers and tomatoes, if you still have some on the windowsill. Add lemon
juice, olive oil and capers if you can afford them.
While the parents recuperate, perhaps with a glass of warm
red wine with a splash of elderflower and slices of orange or lemon floating in
it, have some fun with the kids. Let them make blanket forts in their rooms or
the living room. Kids love to do this, and you’ll get a kick out of watching
them. Take old wrapping paper or cards and make paper chains for the tree.
String popcorn (better if stale for this) into chains for an outdoor
remembrance of birds and critters that need our help, too. Make it the best
season you possibly can. Have fun. Enjoy. I love you all. |
| Homemade goodies by Taeler Butel on 12/01/2020
Spoil the people on your list with thoughtful and creative
homemade goodies.
Hot fudge sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T corn syrup
2 T butter
2 t vanilla extract
In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan heat 1 cup heavy cream
with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 T light corn
syrup.
Cook until boiling and continue to boil four to five
minutes, stirring constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat, stir in 2 T butter and 2 t vanilla. Let
cool uncovered in glass jars. Refrigerate until completely cooled then add
lids.
Keeps well for about a week but won’t last that long! Reheat
before serving.
Squirrel stash
1 cup corn kernels popped
4 cups mixed nuts
1 cup bite sized pretzels
1/2 cup corn syrup
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1-1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 t shortening
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
In a large bowl toss nuts, pretzels and popcorn.
In a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat stir together
the sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt. Cook stirring constantly until mixture
comes to a gentle simmer, about four minutes.
Stop stirring and continue cooking five minutes more until
mixture turns pale. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.
Pour sugar mixture over the popcorn and nut mixture and toss
to coat. Pour onto rimmed baking sheets and bake, stirring every 15 minutes
until almost dry (about one hour). Let cool completely.
In a medium sized glass bowl over a pot of simmering water,
melt the chocolate and shortening together - drizzle over popcorn mixture.
Mulling Spices
Peel of 2 oranges and two lemons
Whole cardamom
Whole cloves
Whole allspice
Whole star anise
Cinnamon sticks
Candied ginger
Bay leaves
4 x 2x9-1/2-inch treat bags (from the craft store)
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Using a vegetable peeler,
peel oranges and lemons in long strips avoiding as much of the pith as possible.
Bake peels until dehydrated for about one hour – place in bags with two
cinnamon sticks, 1/2 t each of cloves, allspice, star anise and cardamom. Add
one bay leaf and a piece of candied ginger.
To make the cider: in a large pot set over medium heat add one
gallon of unfiltered apple juice, one cup orange juice and the mulling spices.
Heat to a gentle simmer and serve with a cinnamon stick.
|
| The season of good will(s) by Paula Walker on 12/01/2020
In this age of convenience and efficiencies of effort, many
products advertise “set it and forget it.” Sounds so good in our busy,
sometimes harried lifestyles with family, work and social obligations to
lighten the load of things to attend to with “do-it-for-you products.”
But estate planning is not one of those. Not set it and
forget it but set it and tend to it – over time.
One of the many advantages in creating an estate plan, Trust
or Will is providing the basis for family harmony as part of your legacy. The
certainty and clear direction that you provide with a well-thought out and
executed estate plan is one of the greatest gifts to those who will support you
and fulfill your directives, as well as to the family and friends your plan
encompasses. When it comes to who you will rely on to support you or your
estate, this is not something to wait for an “unveiling” after you pass, or a
plan to be discovered in a time of emergency. It is a plan whose intended
outcome is best assured if you talk with those involved about it now.
The holiday season is a prime opportunity to have such a
talk, with many/most of the family already gathered. Be thoughtful in planning
for and launching into such a talk, for your sake and theirs. Tell them in
advance that you want to have this discussion. Set aside a quiet time and
space, a brief spell apart from the flurry of festivities. Create an agenda for
yourself to help organize your thoughts and to be sure that you cover what you
want in the way you want to express yourself. Keep this first foray short. Its
purpose is to convey that you have a plan. Allot time for this discussion and
stick to the time. Maybe this first foray, having broken the ice, may lead to
follow up discussion. Allow yourself the benefit of discovery and see how this
unfolds and what more you and yours may benefit from in further discussion if
such seems the case. Explain your intentions, i.e. to provide clear direction
and guidance to help them help you at some future date.
Talk process and framework, not content which is your
private affair. Though discussions of death and incapacity can be awkward to
initiate, often such conversations serve to bring the family closer. As well,
you provide a model for your family to follow that can benefit them as they
travel a similar path.
So, this season, whether you are having your holidays shared
by Zoom or can gather in person, consider asking your family to set aside time
to have this conversation with you.
Ask your estate planning attorney for guidance in preparing
for a family discussion.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
We'll be back in the New Year with stories of the foibles,
follies and fantastic tales of prominent persons, celebrities – stunning
stories highlighting “things gone wrong” that you can avoid by doing things
right in your estate plan.
For this article I leave you with my wishes for a joyous
season of warm friendship and family, sharing in every innovative way this 2020
has called upon us to invent. For all its challenges, 2020 has also deepened
our sense of the importance of our connection to friends, family, cherished
times and cherished moments.
We will be on the other side of the difficulties and
distances this time of social distancing and quarantine has imposed on us and
when we do, as we breathe a sigh of relief, let us celebrate our resilience and
preserve the good that emerged. And in the value we placed in the unmatchable
source of well being that we have in the wellspring of our bond with each
other, friends and family, and the joy
of hearing “that” voice, the purr of a snuggled cat, the never daunted wagging
tail of the pup that accompanied us on our walks and kept our minds calm –
those moments and many more that provided us some serenity when all else seemed
up-for-grabs.
As this year comes to a close and you step forward into a
new year, may your life grow in ways meaningful and fulfilling. Be well. Stay
well. And thrive. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall.
We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We
are blessed with many scenic locations that attract millions of people each
year. Most of these locations are found by searching for the photos that we
take and share on the World Wide Web. In most cases we don’t realize the
potential for harm of the places that we love and photograph. It is natural for
us to want to share the photos of these incredible places but I feel that we
need to be aware of and to share with others how to protect the environment
which, in most cases, is the reason that these places are so special.
In the years that I have spent as a full-time working
landscape photographer I've been able to see the gradual damage that's being
done to some of the most beautiful spots in the Pacific Northwest by its
overuse. Most of the erosion and the denuding of the grasses, ferns and mosses
is from repeated footfalls onto areas beside and beyond designated paths and
fences.
I spend a lot of time in the field visiting these beautiful
places and am a witness to so many people who shun the posted signs or fences
that are placed to keep people from fragile environments or those that are
being reclaimed due to the traffic that has ruined them. I feel that it’s easy
for most people to think that it won’t hurt if they go because as an individual
they won’t cause any harm. I personally feel that it’s a form of selfishness
and greed to think that the signs and rules are for everyone else but them.
Although it is true that as individuals, we have little
impact on the areas that we tread, we’re not individuals when we visit these
areas. We are a part of a collective of humanity that causes an accumulative,
damaging effect. It is not just the one person but the effects of us all
wearing these places down. I feel that it is imperative that we develop a
collective consciousness that instils a want to preserve these places. We each
should develop a personal code of environmental ethics and to encourage others
to do the same. We need to take responsibility for these places. We need to
take care of them. Not doing so will further erode them to a point where access
will be limited or closed completely.
As photographers who share photos of these places, we can
take the lead in raising the awareness of the fragility of the places that we
photograph. I think that every landscape photographer who shares their work
online should create and adhere to their own photography code of ethics. One
that addresses how we conduct ourselves while in the field. We can also add a
short plea in the description of the photos that we share that urges those who
go to be careful where they trod.
My personal code of ethics includes three parts:
environment, social and self. I adopted the code from the League of Landscape
Photographers, a group formed to urge photographers to become responsible
stewards to the places that they visit and share online. If we all adopt a code
of ethics and encourage others to do the same, perhaps we can turn this trend of
abuse around and make it cool to protect the beauty of these photogenic places. |
|  Photo by Nicole Ward.
Welcome to Our Community, Our Earth, which will be taking
over the space where the Green Scene was previously published. This column will
now be authored by instructors from Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) who teach
subjects related to our environment, ecology and more.
We are excited to begin contributing to The Mountain Times
and look forward to sharing the knowledge and observations of MHCC's faculty
with the community.
The annual transition from fall to winter, while always
dependable, brings its uniqueness each year. The day of first frost, salmon
sighting or departure of a favorite warbler comes with a plus or minus date on
the calendar, and collectively these events color the season (sometimes
literally) with their own hues.
For some, myself included, this year’s transition has been
muted and less dramatic than some. After a summer of natural drama and daily
political theatre perhaps our senses are simply tired. Yet, as always, nature
has a way of reaching us, surprising us, lifting our experience with color and
life.
With our transition to remote learning, the Mt. Hood campus
is uncharacteristically quiet. Only a few academic programs, where face-to-face
instruction is essential, are located physically in classrooms. Not surprisingly,
the campus wildlife has expanded their use of the grounds, a pattern many of us
have noticed in our own backyards – deer browse on the lawns and coyotes pad
along the drives.
This unique “COVID expansion” imitates the usual seasonal
shift we see in bird communities. Many of our migrant birds have left our
forests and the year-long residents have stopped defending territories.
Dark-eyed Juncos come together, then disband, as they search
conifers and ground cover for insects and seeds. Bushtits, in their extended
family groups chatter non-stop as they dart in and out of trees. If you hear
them coming, stop and wait by the closest tree or bush and you may be blessed
with a close-up view of these smallest of passerines. Standing still, you are
just another obstacle to fly around, and they will enter the tree, one after
another, like so many feathered puff balls blown by the wind.
Other creatures are spreading out as well, taking advantage
of the changing moisture levels and stream flows from early rains. Salmon, of
course, are coursing through the streams, in their contest for immortality.
Rough-skinned newts creep through the moistened leaf litter.
Recent rain showers and morning fog creates paths for roaming tree frogs. They
have begun moving away from their wetland reserves, calling now from vegetation
far from ponds and pools. The trills of their calls are in tune with the
cackling of geese overhead – classic sights and sounds of autumn.
The transition in visual landscape is also mirrored in the
acoustic environment. The rustle of steps through dry leaves and the crackle of
autumn’s wood fires will soon yield to the silence of the first winter snow.
And as the yellows and reds of summer’s birds have gone from our yards and
forests, so have the whistles and trills of their summer melodies. Left behind
are the chits and chats of grey-scale nuthatches and chickadees, and the caws
and croaks of the monochromatic crows and ravens.
From bright and noisy to cool and subdued – both sound and
light shift in hue and spectrum, yielding novelty to season-adjusted lenses and
allowing us to see and hear anew. Encouragement enough to open our eyes wide to
absorb the last warm rays of autumn sunshine and the intensity of sight, then
close our eyes and soak in the soothing sound of rain, the quiet of a resting
forest and the serenity of silence in a noisy world.
Written by Walter Shriner, instructor of Biology and Natural
Resources Technology at Mt. Hood Community College. |
| View Points Salem: Recovery work has begun by Rep. Anna Williams on 11/01/2020
In his column last month, Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam wrote
about the importance of community in times of chaos, calling for wildfire
response through “a holistic approach that involves partners at every level of
government, as well as local businesses and charitable service organizations.”
“This is a time that we must all work together,” he wrote. I
couldn't agree more.
In that spirit, I want to tell you about some of the ways
I’ve been working with partners at the federal, state and local levels to lay
the groundwork for our region to recover from the overlapping disasters of
COVID-19 and the wildfires.
As more than one million acres across the state of Oregon
have burned (including more than 100,000 acres in Clackamas County),
Representative Mark Meek (D-Gladstone) and I have co-convened the Metro Region
Wildfire Economic Recovery Team. This group includes state and local leaders,
as well as representatives from community-based organizations and non-profits.
We are identifying the needs of different Clackamas County communities and
working to ensure that the resources which are available get where they most
need to go. Whether we’re discussing assistance for individuals and businesses,
hazardous waste cleanup, infrastructure investments, restoring natural
resources or rebuilding lost housing, we are working together to identify and
solve problems.
So far, we have heard from the Oregon Housing and Community
Services about the need for long-term temporary shelter for people to stay in
while their homes are cleaned up and rebuilt. We have heard from county
commissioners about the unique challenges faced by farmworkers who lost their
homes due to the fires. Community-based organizations have pointed out the
difficulties faced by displaced people who speak languages other than English,
and the concerns many people share about relying on the government for support.
One of the fundamental goals of the Economic Recovery Teams is to focus on the
fact that rural and low-income Oregonians, as well as Oregon’s Black,
Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities have been hardest hit by both
COVID-19 and the fires. No matter our political alliances, every member of this
team understands that our region’s recovery should focus on helping those who
are suffering the most as our top priority.
On the other side of the mountain, I am doing similar work
for the North Central Region’s Equity in Recovery Council, focusing on
recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic in coordination with the Governor’s
Office. Just like the wildfires’ impacts, Oregon’s BIPOC communities have been
hit hardest by the pandemic and will have the steepest climb in recovering from
its health and economic impacts. The Equity in Recovery Council aims to improve
access for all Oregonians to the basic resources they need to survive and
thrive, so that a person’s success in life is not determined by their race.
We’ll be looking at how the state can prioritize equity as it responds to the
many COVID-related crises that are all happening at the same time: housing and
homelessness, education and business recovery are only the most pressing
concerns on a much longer list.
There are a number of different voices on each of these
teams, and a number of opinions about how we should approach the challenges we
face as a state. Yet we are focused on the same goals, and we are committed to
achieving them through cooperation. I plan to approach the rest of my time in
office with this same attitude, because our community and the people depending
on my leadership, expect nothing less.
Recovering from this difficult year, in all the many ways
that we will need to recover, will require all of us to work together in good
faith. We don't have to agree which problems are most pressing or on how each
of them should be solved, but we do need to see each other as neighbors who are
in this together. In the midst of all the problems confronting us, I remain
hopeful. I believe in our community – in Oregon, in House District 52 and in
every member of these two groups I’m working with – to disagree with respect,
to work together in good faith and to accomplish something good together that
will leave Oregonians better off in the long run.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative |
| View Points Sandy: Thanksgiving unity by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 11/01/2020
As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel of a
long and divisive election season, we have a lot to be thankful for this
holiday season! As Mayor, this holiday season has taken on an even stronger
meaning to me.
While December brings many of Sandy’s more high-profile
events, November also offers many ways for our community to come together and
help our fellow neighbors.
In preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Sandy
Community Action Center always springs into action with their annual food box
program. As in previous years, the Action Center is partnering with Suburban
Auto Group to fund the box program. Over 200 local families are helped each
Thanksgiving holiday thanks to their efforts. Please keep an eye on the Sandy Community
Action Center Facebook page for updates on how to get involved with this
wonderful program.
One annual tradition that will be a little different this
year is the Action Center’s annual Tickle Trot. Each year on Thanksgiving
morning our family joins other neighbors in the parking lot of the Sandy Fred
Meyer and then take to Tickle Creek Trail for our kinda, sorta run. Perhaps,
that is why they call it a “Trot.” This year due to COVID-19 restrictions the
Tickle Trot is going virtual! There will be “swag” offered to anyone who
registers and all are encouraged to participate on the Facebook event page and
take the time to share you participating in this annual event with your family
and friends.
COVID-19, civil unrest, wildfires and perhaps the most divisive
election in our nation’s history has led to an incredibly difficult year. This
past year has tested us and like all times of great challenge it has also shown
us the things that are most important to us in our lives. This holiday season
provides us with an opportunity to remember those things and to come together
with our loved ones and neighbors in solidarity.
The story of the first Thanksgiving is one of hope and
unity. It is about people with different backgrounds and cultures coming
together for the common good. In times like these, we can all take solace in
such a story. Last month, I reminded readers to remember what we learned over
this past wildfire season. That it will be important to remember how much more
unites us than divides us. How, like family, at our time of greatest need, it
was our neighbors who stood with us. We did not ask what your political party
was or who you were going to vote for as President, neighbors only asked other
neighbors if they needed help.
As Sandy turns into a more optimistic season and as we leave
the election behind and turn towards the holidays, let us continue to remember
the important message that far more unites us than divides us. We have all
chosen this community of Sandy as our home. Most of us for the same reasons.
Together let us unite to put our community first. Let us continue to put our
people before politics. Let us keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy
|
| Divorce and Separation by Paula Walker on 11/01/2020
A difficult time under any circumstances, separation and
divorce are rife evidence of the instability at hand. Estate planning attorneys
advise clients to review their estate plans for necessary revisions upon the
experience of a variety of “life events” and the process of separation and
divorce factor in those.
In fact, this imposes two important milestones: you want to
take stock of your estate plan during the divorce proceeding or separation and
after your divorce settlement. You have the ability to amend or revoke your
estate plan documents at any time.
Notes of caution to consider during a divorce involve the
asset restraining order in place during every divorce. This may limit your
ability to change the nature of assets held by a trust during the divorce.
Once the divorce is settled, Oregon law revokes provisions
in the estate plan that favor the ex spouse as beneficiary or personal
representative.
However, because during the divorce those provisions remain
effective, you may consider amending those provisions during the divorce
proceedings. Be certain to consider your pre nuptial agreement, if one exists,
such that any changes you make to your estate plan are aligned with its terms.
As well, during and after the divorce settlement you will
want to consider the appointments you have made in your Healthcare Power of
Attorney, your Advance Directive and your Durable Power of Attorney.
Keep in mind as you consider the legal effects of a
separation or divorce on your estate plan the “spousal elective share.” This
law seeks to provide a measure of financial protection to a surviving spouse,
saving them from financial destitution.
The elective share provides that a surviving spouse may make
a claim on the assets of the deceased spouse regardless if the spouse was left
out as a beneficiary or disinherited.
Ex-spouses may also make a claim which the court will
consider conditional to a number of criteria in determining whether and to what
extent to authorize such a claim.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
A battle raging in Manhattan … Ric Ocasek - lead singer of
The Cars, at age 45 married Sport Illustrated swimsuit model Paulina Porizkova,
age 24, in 1989. A marriage many thought would be short-lived given their
twenty-year disparity in age lasted 30 years. When Ocasek passed away on Sept.
15, 2019, they were in the midst of divorce proceedings since May 2018. As a
result, upon Ocasek’s death, they would be considered still married which
ordinarily would have accorded Porizkova certain rights to the estate as
spouse. However, weeks before he died, Ocasek took steps to cut off Porizkova’s
rights by redoing his will, appointing a new personal representative (aka
executor), disinheriting Porizkova and taking extra steps to also eliminate her
right to the elective share by stating in the will that even if he died before
the divorce was finalized, Porizkova had “abandoned” him and therefore should
not have a rightful claim to an elective share. Although a disinherited spouse
generally still has a right to claim an elective share, the court may deny such
a claim upon finding that the spouse abandoned the decedent.
Dear Reader, we welcome your questions on matters related to
estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance the
potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Please submit your questions to Garth Guibord at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com. |
| Edible resources in the forest are our treasures by Steve Wilent on 11/01/2020
I wish we could start the year on October 1 and end it on
the last day of November. When the maple and cottonwood leaves turn to gold,
the nights get chilly, the smell of wood smoke and damp earth is in the air,
and a quilt on the bed brings comfort, I think I could learn to live without
the other seasons. These are small pleasures, to be sure, but in times like
these, we need them more than ever.
Our forests hold many such pleasures. If you’re old enough
to remember television from the 1970s — I sure am — then you may recall the
famous 1974 television commercial for Grape-Nuts cereal featuring Euell
Gibbons, author of books such as “A Wild Way to Eat” and “Euell Gibbons'
Handbook of Edible Wild Plants.” In the ad, Gibbons says, “Ever eat a pine
tree? Many parts are edible.”
Indeed they are, and some parts of pine trees (and other
conifers) taste a lot better than Grape-Nuts. This summer I made a big batch of
pesto, with fresh basil and parsley from Hood Hills Farm in Sandy, olive oil,
garlic (of course), parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Most of the pine nuts
available in stores these days come from Asia or Europe, but pinyon (piñon)
pine nuts from high-desert states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah
are an excellent — some say better — alternative. For Native Americans in these
areas, pine nuts have long been a staple food. The seeds of western white pine
and sugar pine also are delicious, as is the inner bark. I once had a job in a
US Forest Service nursery that involved inspecting seeds and picking out nonviable
ones. This was extremely boring work, but eating sugar pine seeds help pass the
time. Until my supervisor reprimanded me for eating up the inventory.
Western white pine was once fairly common in our area, but
white pine blister rust, a disease native to Asia that was introduced
separately into North America early in the 20th century, has killed most of
them off. The last one on my property died in the late 1990s.
I’ve never heard of anyone eating the seeds of the
Douglas-fir, the most common tree in our area, but a tasty tea can be made from
the needles. Pull a handful of fresh needles from the branches (young,
light-green spring growth is best, but fall foliage is fine), coarsely chop
them, and add about two tablespoons to a mug of hot water. Let the needles
steep for a few minutes, add a bit of honey if you like, and you have a
satisfying tea that is rich in vitamin C. Who needs fancy tea from a bottle, or
Emergen-C “daily immune support” drink mix, when you can make your own?
Native huckleberries also are loaded with vitamin C. The
picking season is over at our elevation, but you might find some up higher —
say, 4,500 feet and above. On a late-October camping trip a few years ago in
the vicinity of Ollalie Lake, I found a huckleberry patch loaded with sweet,
dark-purple berries. I had planned to bring a bunch of them home, but none of
them lasted that long. What tastes better than fresh huckleberry pancakes on a
crisp mountain morning?
Up at that elevation, you’ll likely see brilliant yellow
conifer trees. These are western larch, one of the handful of deciduous
conifers in the world, most of which are larches. When the needles on these
majestic trees turn bright yellow, they can rival our maples and cottonwoods
for fall color.
Vine maple, so common in our area, often displays brilliant
fall colors, too, especially when we have an early fall cold snap. If you see a
tree that looks very similar to a vine maple, but with vibrant red and orange
fall foliage, that’s probably a Rocky Mountain maple. You’ll see lots of these
trees along Highway 35 between Mt. Hood Meadows and Parkdale. Vine maple leaves
have five to nine lobes or points, while Rocky Mountain maple leaves have
three.
Autumn is the main wild mushroom season on the Mountain. A
friend recently gave us a big bag full of morels that he’d picked in a
super-secret location — delicious. Lara knows the location of a prolific
chanterelle patch, but she won’t tell me — her own husband — where it is. I offered
to tell her where my favorite huckleberry patch is, in exchange for the
coordinates of the chanterelle patch, but no deal. Look, I said, we’ll need
this kind of information about wild foods so we can survive the zombie
apocalypse. She agreed, and said she’d reveal the coordinates as soon as the
zombie apocalypse starts.
Speaking of zombies, while on a woods wander the other day,
I met a couple of mushroom hunters. No, they weren’t zombies, though their eyes
were glazed from focusing on the ground. Maybe I looked like a woodsman, so
they asked me about the large, bright orange fungi they’d found, and whether
they are edible.
Zombie mushrooms, I said.
They looked askance at me.
Seriously, I said, those are lobster “mushrooms.” They’re
not really mushrooms, but a parasitic fungus that grows on other mushrooms,
turning them a reddish orange color that looks like the shell of a cooked
lobster. Are they edible? I've heard that, unless one knows what type of
mushroom they’ve parasitized, you can’t be sure.
However, according to the University of Washington's Burke
Museum Herbarium, “Hypomyces lactifluorum, the lobster mushroom, grows in the
tissue of certain russulas and lactariuses in the PNW, especially R. brevipes,
and turns the host mushroom into a dense mass of mummified tissue.”
Okay, mummies, not zombies.
And in our area, they’re safe to eat: “Lobster mushrooms are
edible and can often be found at PNW produce stands and farmers’ markets. The
warnings against eating them usually are based on the assumed uncertainty of
the host mushroom’s identity. However, we are not aware of any serious
poisonings caused by it.” That’s sort of comforting.
Doug-fir tea, huckleberries, fall color. Autumn’s small
pleasures. Winter’s are on the way.
Want to know more about our Mountain trees? Need a strategy
for surviving the zombie apocalypse? Let me know. SWilent@gmail.com. |
| Leftover magic! by Taeler Butel on 11/01/2020
Some amazing meals can be made with the scraps. I'm so
thankful to share a few recipes with you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Leftover mashed potatoes pierogies
(makes about 20 large pierogies)
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup whole milk
1 t kosher salt
2 T cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T unsalted butter
1 T chopped green onion
2 cups mashed potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Make the dough: in a large bowl whisk together eggs and salt
until frothy, add milk. Whisk in flour one cup at a time and switch to a spoon
to incorporate and knead for one minute, adding the flour to make a tacky
dough.
Spray dough with nonstick oil spray or coat top with thin
layer.
Boil large pot of salted water. In a large skillet, brown butter lightly, and
put skillet aside.
Mix together the mashed potatoes, sour cream, onion, cream
cheese and salt and pepper with a wooden spoon.
Roll the rested dough on a floured surface and cut circles
three inches in diameter using a biscuit cutter or glass.
Wrap the pierogi dough around 1 T of potato filling, pinch
the sides together and boil in salted water until floating.
Warm the browned butter and carefully remove the boiled
dumplings from the water and put into the skillet. Toast on one side in butter,
then turn and toast the other side until light brown. Serve hot.
Cranberry chutney
A chutney is a chunky fruit-based sauce that contains
different textures and pairs wonderfully with savory. Try this with a cheese
plate or charcuterie.
1 1/2 cups whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup apple cider
2 oranges zested, then peeled and chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnuts chopped large
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 to 1 t ground ginger
1/4 t cloves ground
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice ground
Splash of vinegar
Place everything into a medium saucepan, bring to the boil,
and reduce to simmer for 20 mins until thickened.
|
| Vote with your grocery dollars and support local businesses by Victoria Larson on 11/01/2020
You’ve probably heard of a one-horse town, though I must
admit even I am not old enough to envision that. But two-stoplight towns I know
and love… and support. They are friendlier and keep your dollars out of the
hands of big corporations.
When you buy cheap, industrial food from a Big Box Store, a
large portion of your dollars are going to support the already wealthy
corporate head honchos, not those doing the work of harvesting. One out of
every four dollars goes for your healthcare because I see many of you still
buying the same foods always purchased – sugary drinks and packaged snack
foods.
My favorite small two-stoplight town has opportunity for
human connection and keeps your money local. For more than ten years I’ve taken
my car to a locally owned auto mechanic for everything from oil changes to
“what’s that noise.”
The people there know me so when checks were stolen from my
mailbox they readily accepted my temporary checks from my bank a mile away. Run
by a very friendly family, they and their workers bring their dogs to work.
Across the street is a locally owned soup, sandwich and
coffee shop, not an international chain of unhealthy industrial fast foods.
Tastes way better, too. The local auto mechanic suggested I try it as they
often get their lunches there.
Next door to the sandwich stop is a garden center – also
locally owned for many, many years. I spend one nice moment gazing at the koi
fish that live in their pond year round, discussing with a nice young man how
I’d once had koi that I trained to come up out of the water to eat out of my
hand. This human connection is somewhat rare during COVID-19.
If you do not want to, or cannot, grow your own food, next
door to the local garden center is a local fruit stand. Go early enough and
you’ll see berries from the surrounding fields coming in. Talk about fresh –
not from out of state or the county and sitting on a grocery shelf until almost
dead!
But there are other reasons to buy locally too. While in
Costa Rica driving through a banana plantation, they were spraying pesticides
on the bananas while workers’ kids were playing in the streets of the housing
development in the middle of the plantation. I don’t and cannot abide that… so
I don’t buy bananas.
Then there are the animal welfare protagonists. Do you
really support de-beaked chickens being raised in tiny cages? A ratio of omega
6 to omega 3 should be about four-to-one or less. Industrial chickens have more
than 1,000 omega 6 factors, which causes inflammation. Pastured eggs have more
than 1,000 omega 3 factors for a ratio of one-to-one.
Industrial meat (especially burger) has more than 1,000
omega 6, while pasture-raised and finished meat has 4,000 omega 3, leading to a
ratio of two-to-one. Much healthier. Most omega 6 comes from soy or corn oils,
which lead to obesity and inflammation. Margarine has a ratio of six-to-one,
while pastured butter is closer to one-to-one.
We don’t need more food so much as we need more nutrition!
Our kids and grandkids are likely to die younger than we are. Maybe that’s why
their lives are so busy, busy, busy. No time to cook. We tend to believe that
“busy” makes us important, with Facebook and technology.
There was a time when life was governed by people, not
technology. Do you know that huge warehouses containing huge computers know
everything you buy or look at online? Remember the book “1984?” It’s here now.
I’m not comfortable splatting my life out there for strangers to see- hence I
have no computer or credit cards.
What we need is more integrity, hard work, knowledge. So,
vote with your grocery dollars. If you really do want organic food, then buy
it. Put your money where your mouth is. We have 20 years of voting by mail in
Oregon with only 15 instances of voter fraud! So vote early and then continue
to vote daily with your grocery money! |
|  Contributed photos.
Living on The Mountain has always been a matter of pride for
me and many of my friends and neighbors. I have always felt a part of this
community through good times and bad times. We have always considered ourselves
as being of heartier stock than most “Flatlanders.”
For the most part our lives seem simpler and a bit more
primitive but living here has its own set of problems. The results of natural
disasters seem just a little bit more severe up here. Trees fall over roads,
power lines and homes. Floods can come from the rivers or from rapid snow melt
from the mountain tops, and both can destroy homes. We consider losing our
electricity for days if a wind blows a somewhat common event. It is often the
case that the power will go out during freezing weather and then once the power
is out the water lines freeze which, once thawed, can result in broken pipes
and water leaks.
I can remember several times in the past when our community
would gather at the firehouse for sandbags during a flood. I remember relief
efforts and food distribution for those who had lost everything. When these
times come, our Mountain neighbors have always stepped up to the challenge to
help each other. And after living through this latest challenge I’m proud to
say that our community unity is still intact.
I can recall several bad situations since I’ve lived here
but this is the first time that I can remember where we had to consider
evacuating the complete community to escape a forest fire. And seeing other
rural communities devastated by the fires and a map showing how close the fires
and evacuation zones were coming to us, it felt like an absolute real
possibility. Looking back now that the rains have returned, we are all
fortunate that our community is still whole.
Traditionally communication during these storms or floods is
disabled due to fallen phone and electrical lines and most of the news we would
hear at the post office or at the Thriftway store. These days we have the
Internet and our battery powered cell phones equipped with a camera with us at
all times. Even though connecting to the web during these disasters can be a
bit dodgy, the connectivity can usually be found. Websites such as Facebook and
the NextDoor app allows us all to not only check in for information but they
also allow us to document these events and share them with each other. I was
fascinated, heartbroken, inspired and encouraged by the images that my
neighbors were posting up online. I was seeing everything from tragedy, broken
homes and dense unhealthy smoke-filled air to kindness and charity.
I wanted to share just a small portion of some of the photos
that tell the story of how our community dealt with an event that we will all
remember for a very long time. I am proud to be a part of our Mountain
community family. |
| View Points Sandy: We are all together by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 10/01/2020
Like so many of our fellow neighbors, this past month we
were forced to make the unimaginable decision to decide what personal
belongings we would take when evacuating our homes in the event of an
emergency. Many people in neighboring communities like Estacada and Molalla had
to evacuate quickly without many personal belongings and will return home to
find their houses destroyed and their lives forever changed.
The needs of these neighbors will not end when the smoke
clears on their burnt properties. It will take a holistic approach that
involves partners at every level of government, as well as local businesses and
charitable service organizations. This is a time that we must all work
together.
In the case of a natural disaster, one does not have to look
hard to find stories of unity and heroism. I’ve been humbled by local public
servants putting political differences to the side and instead putting
community first. The first morning after the evacuations started in our
community, our congressman Earl Blumenauer reached out to offer help.
The next morning, we were sitting in Sandy along with
Estacada Mayor Sean Drinkwine. Mayor Drinkwine and I both left encouraged with
the congressman’s eagerness to work with us as we rebuild and plan for
necessary federal resources for disaster relief in the future.
We are already beginning to hear the tales of valor and
courage. Stories of siblings, parents, children, friends and neighbors with
their tanker truck of water and heavy equipment working side by side to save
their communities.
Speaking of local heroes, the relief efforts offering fresh
food, water and other supplies that began shortly after the evacuation notices
were simply incredible. Sandy local Brad Magden sprang into action and enlisted
the help of Sandy Les Schwab and nonprofits Sunshine Division along with
Hood-To-Coast. By Thursday they had a full Fresh Food Relief Center up and
going for local evacuees. Soon after they had the board members from Sandy
Helping Hands mobilizing volunteers, while local businesses, service
organizations and citizens donated much needed items.
Within days, with help from Estacada Neighborhood Watch and
local officials, Brad set up a much needed secondary relief center in the heart
of Estacada located at the Cazadero.
I’ve been asked why, as the Mayor of Sandy, was I so
involved in relief efforts for other neighboring communities. My answer was
simple, the communities of east Clackamas County are more than neighbors, we’re
like family and family takes care of each other. Like so many families
throughout Oregon who have helped relatives this wildfire season, we are also
taking care of our relatives in their great time of need.
2020 has been a year of challenges, and as with most
election years, this next month looks to be contentious, perhaps the most
contentious in our nation’s history. It will be important to remember what we
learned over these past several weeks. It will be important to remember how
much more unites us then divides us. How, like family, at our time of greatest
need, it was our neighbors who stood with us. We did not ask what your
political party was or who you were going to vote for as President, neighbors
only asked other neighbors if they needed help. As long as we stay united,
we’ll keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy. |
| View Points Salem: Disagree with kindness by Rep. Anna Williams on 10/01/2020
This month, I am writing my column not only as your state
representative, but also as a community member, a mother and an educator in a
polarized time. Most of all, though, I’m writing as a social worker who
believes that a strong sense of community and solidarity will get each of us
further than division and self-interest.
Compared to any other year of my life, 2020 has presented
unheard of challenges: a pandemic that has caused more deaths in America than
in any other nation, a resulting economic crisis that has left millions
struggling, a national protest movement and reckoning over racial justice and
now unprecedented wildfires devastating entire communities and leaving
thousands of our fellow Oregonians without a place to call home. Even people in
our community who have remained healthy, employed and safe throughout this
difficult year are reeling from the stress of so many compounding crises piling
on top of one another and affecting their neighbors.
My background as a social worker tells me that we all need
to give ourselves permission to process everything we’re feeling right now.
Even if you’ve been largely untouched by these crises, you’re allowed to be
sad. You’re allowed to be tired. You’re allowed to be grumpy and frustrated
and, yes, each of us has good reason to be angry about the challenges and
uncertainty we’re facing.
Let’s also be mindful of the reasons for those feelings and
express them in healthy ways. Let’s not resort to scapegoating when it comes to
the complex problems that are confronting us, and let’s avoid directing our
anger at our neighbors simply because they may hold different values than we
do.
As your state legislator, I have always governed in an
independent, open-minded way that puts the needs of our community first. I’m
not afraid to stand up for what I believe in or what my constituents ask of me,
even if it means deviating from party lines. I am always looking for ways to
support small businesses, to invest in and improve our education systems, and
have fought for our essential workers to have access to adequate PPE during the
COVID-19 crisis. I believe in the power of working together and finding common
ground.
During these trying times, I encourage everyone to pursue
their conversations with the same critical approach as I pursue my work in the
legislature. Before you cement your opinion about a topic you’re learning more
about, think about other perspectives on the issue. Before you believe
something you read on social media, consider its source and do your own
research.
Our brains are designed to believe information that confirms
our pre-existing opinions and to agree with people we care about without
thinking critically about their perspectives. That’s human nature. However, in
an effort to work together to heal the divides that have grown in our
communities in recent years, we need to learn to discern between opinion and
fact, and to speak respectfully and honestly with one another when we disagree.
Disagreement and debate are essential in a democratic
republic like ours, but compassion and understanding are just as fundamental.
Today, I challenge you to be kind to someone who you
disagree with – in person, online, or in your home. It is in our most spirited
debates that we learn the most, and in our kindest moments when we heal the
most. Let’s come together to listen to one another, for the sake of our
struggling neighbors, for the sake of our great state and for the sake of our
collective future.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative. |
|  Contributed map.
We dodged a bullet in September. The Riverside Fire sent us
thick smoke and gave us plenty of reason to worry, but no homes in Hoodland
were damaged or destroyed, no one here was killed by the fire. Other
communities in Oregon weren’t so fortunate, and I grieve for those who have
lost homes and loved ones.
As I write this, our forests are damp from recent light
rain, and heavy rain is in the forecast for Sept. 23. These rains will very
likely douse the Riverside Fire with enough moisture to stop it in its tracks
until the snow flies. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few smokes pop up next
spring, as happened after the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, but the threat to our
community is probably over.
Probably? Yes, because hot spots will remain even after a
soaking, and another east wind event could whip the embers into a raging
wildfire. Even so, the flames would have a long way to run before they could
get here. The northeast side of the fire is a bit more than 12 miles as the raven
flies from Welches.
Even if the chances of a flareup are miniscule, it is wise
to remember how frightening the fire was only a couple of weeks ago when the
skies were filled with smoke and we were under Level 1 of the three “Ready,
Set, GO!” alerts: Be ready to evacuate. Sandy was at Level 2 for a few days: Be
set to leave at a moment’s notice. Level 3 means Go NOW!
During the Level 1 alert, Lara and I had two of our vehicles
packed with our most treasured possessions, pet supplies, sleeping bags, food
and water. We planned to load our cats and computer gear at the last minute.
The two cars were gassed up and ready to go. My faithful old Ford pickup would
have stayed, along with so many things in the house and sheds, a lifetime’s
worth of stuff. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to get ready. What if we had
suddenly been given the Go NOW! order?
What would you have done?
Years ago, when I taught wildland fire management classes at
Mt. Hood Community College, one of the videos I showed to students captured a
scene of panic inside a home in southern Oregon. As flames approached, a woman
ran around inside her house with a framed photograph in one hand and an antique
chair in another, trying to decide which of her valuables to take. She was in a
panic and couldn’t think straight. The captain of a fire engine stationed
nearby, but ready to bug out while they still could, ran into the house and
shouted to the woman, “Leave now! Those things aren’t worth your life! Get out
NOW!”
It could come to that, for us. You may not have believed it
before, thinking that you were safe here on the wet west side of the Cascades.
Now that you know you’re not, take time to prepare for the worst.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(Cal Fire) has an excellent web site with guidelines for preparing to evacuate
during a wildfire. It offers a range of tips for creating a comprehensive Wildfire
Action Plan, which includes a Family Communication Plan (designation of an
out-of-area friend or relative as a point of contact to act as a single source
of communication among family members in case of separation) and an Emergency
Supply Kit for each person. Cal Fire urges you to remember the six “P’s”:
people and pets; papers, phone numbers and important documents; prescriptions,
vitamins and eyeglasses, pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia; personal computer
hard drive and disks; and “plastic” (credit cards, ATM cards) and cash.
If you’d like to learn about how to help your family, your
neighbors and the community prepare for wildfire, think about joining Hoodland
Fire’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Go to www.hoodlandfire.us and
click Join.
As I wrote in the January 2020 installment of “The
Woodsman,” the forests we live in are sure to burn. It’s a question of when,
not if. Some dry summer day, a campfire or burn pile will escape, an arsonist
will do his evil work or lightning will strike dry fuels and we’ll have a
wildfire. Maybe a campfire on Old Maid Flat will escape and east wind will push
it down the Sandy River valley toward Zigzag and Welches. The Riverside Fire
was human caused, according to the U.S. Forest Service; an investigation is
under way. Regardless of the cause, take a look at the map that accompanies
this article and note the size of fire compared to Hoodland. Most of the
138,000 acres scorched by the fire burned in just 24 hours after the fire
started on Sept. 8, pushed by a dry wind from the east.
Are you prepared to evacuate within 24 hours? What will you
do if you get the Go NOW! alert? Read those Cal Fire web pages while you have
time to get ready.
Want to know more about preparing for wildfire? Want to hear
about a great way to reuse, repurpose and recycle our Oregon wildfire smoke?
Let me know. SWilent@gmail.com. |
| The season for scary, wacky and always interesting by Victoria Larson on 10/01/2020
We all get a thrill out of being scared sometimes. Hence the
popularity of Ferris wheels, zip lines and even Halloween. Though this year may
“take the cake” for scariness, let’s look at some of those things – some you
may have heard before and some you may not know.
In no particular order here are some things that are scary,
wacky and weird… but always interesting.
We don’t always use good moral judgement – the goal of our
society has become commerce, the god of greenbacks. If large corporations don’t
make money, the shareholders abandon it! Next month how to vote with your
dollars.
Did you know that wooden cutting boards and spoons are less
“germy” than glass or especially plastic? Wood “self-heals” any cuts, whereas
plastic takes longer to do so.
Whether you live in an area that went to Level 3 during the
fires or not, pay attention to your community. Any firefighter will tell you
that in any major disaster, you will undoubtedly have to rely on neighbors for
help. Our heroes will be overwhelmed with the big stuff.
Here are a few things that may seem counter-intuitive:
tearing up your lettuce before you store it may double its antioxidant value.
Just remember to dry it before storing or it will rot faster. Apricots that
have been sulfured actually have more antioxidants than the dark, unsulfured
ones (be sure you are not allergic to sulfur).
You probably already
know that purple carrots, radishes, cabbage, etc. have more antioxidants than
the orange ones, but did you know that carrots should always be cooked in oil or
butter or a good fat source (never margarine) so they will have a better source
of beta carotene than raw carrots? Buy carrots with the tops still on to make sure they are fresh, but remove the tops
before storing so they don’t dry out.Cook carrots whole and slice them later to
get eight times more beta carotene. Don’t bother getting those little bags of
carrot nubbins. They’ve simply been whittled down and the most nutrient dense
part thrown away, to the point where they have zero flavor.
Whether your kids are doing online school or taking the bus,
in Chinese medicine we say that now is the time to “close the gates,” stay home
as much as possible. Perhaps you’ve noticed the “cold wind invasion.” When it’s
windy out, cover your ears with flap hats, stocking caps or earmuffs. Stay
well.
Remember that spiritual values will always out-trump
monetary ones. If you need more food, learn about foraging and look to your own
back yard. Those “weeds” are quite edible (some are tastier than spinach) and
those weeds can become part of your diet.
Europeans routinely eat dandelions in their salads. Good for
the liver.
The water you cook your green leafies in has almost 300
antioxidants compared to the spinach itself, which has less than 100. Drink the
spinach water or at the very least cool it to water your plants.
We currently live in a world of wastefulness. The “clean
your plate club” began between WWI and WWII. Now Americans throw out almost
half of the food we purchase, while children are starving throughout the globe.
This is shameful.
The reasons we want to maintain biodiversity are because if
one crop fails utterly, we have a chance that the seeds of another crop won’t.
If we are all eating the same few foods, and that one fails, it won’t be
pretty.
The potato famine in Ireland happened because only one
strain of potato was being grown. When that crop failed, all of Ireland was in
trouble and mostly abandoned.
Buy your garden seeds from a company that signs the “safe
seed pledge,” vowing to avoid genetically modified (GM) seeds. Local companies
may have seeds better adapted to your environment. Most of the world refuses to
buy GM foods. But in the U.S. it’s a growing monetary concern. Aren’t we at
least as smart as the rest of the world? Buy organic.
Read up on Jeffery Smith’s works on GM foods – it’s very
scary. I was once at a seminar of 300 physicians and numerous speakers from
around the world. Smith was the only speaker who got a standing ovation. Three
hundred healthcare workers stood to applaud Smith, who had no fancy letters
behind his name. Information comes from many sources.
It’s not that we don’t have hope. If we all start doing our
part, we will survive to leave a workable Earth for generations to come. We own
a lot of stuff and we make a lot of garbage. We use up 70 percent of the
world’s resources though we’re only 40 percent of its make up. But we can
change. Are you up for the challenge? |
| The role of an inventory by Paula Walker on 10/01/2020
Perhaps it seems so commonplace, as to be surprising, that
something as basic as a list of items could be so important to the legal
system, when you are acting as Personal Representative (PR), aka “Executor,” of
a will. But such is the case that your key responsibility after being appointed
to this position by the court is to turn your efforts to begin creating a list
of the decedent’s property that has fallen to you to manage, account for, value
and some of which eventually to distribute.
As court-appointed PR, once you have thoroughly reviewed the
will with legal counsel and before anything is removed from the home, take
stock of the decedent’s personal belongings. Some of those will possibly be
designated as a gift to someone in particular. You must track those to account
that they were distributed as designated in the will.
Your inventory is the start of that final accounting. You
want to know what the home holds: e.g. jewelry, clothing, household furniture,
furnishings and fixtures, chinaware, silver, photographs, works of art, books,
sporting goods, electronic equipment, musical instruments, etc., and those
assets not directly in the home that are part of the house and property,
including boats, automobiles, shop tools, yard equipment, etc. Each are listed
with your estimated or appraised value of a particular item or a category of
items.
In addition to household items, personal effects and other
personal property as listed prior, your inventory will contain a listing of the
decedent’s real property and personal property: e.g. bank accounts, contracts
and loans with balances outstanding, investment accounts, stocks, bonds, and
could include other financial accounts such as life insurance and retirement
accounts, depending on the provisions in the will.
There is a universe of items that must be included in your
inventory unique to the holdings and possessions of the decedent.
This provides just an example of the task before you as PR
to account to the court and manage transfers to the designated beneficiaries.
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Anthony Bourdain, international chef, provides insight into
the likely contents of an estate inventory that would have been prepared for
the court by his PR/Executor, his estranged wife Ottavia Busia. The contents of
his will that directed the distribution and management of his $1.21M estate
upon his death by suicide in the Hotel Le Chambard in the Alsace region of
France in June 2018, account for items that fall along the lines described in
the prior section.
According to court papers his assets included: personal
property cash and savings of $425,000, a brokerage account of $35,000, other
personal property valued at $250,000 and intangible property including
royalties and residuals valued at $500,000. The court documents did not list
real property, such as Bourdain’s East 94th Street New York City condo, purchased
for $3.35M in 2014 and listed for sale three months after his death for $3.7M.
Wonder how that missed the court records? Well, in addition to his will,
Bourdain did also have a trust. Trusts are not a matter of public record.
Something to keep in mind as you make your decisions on your own estate plan. |
| Break out the stock pot by Taeler Butel on 10/01/2020
Goodbye summer, you were... something. We will need some
comfort this fall. Here's some piping hot recipes that will feel like a
cashmere sweater for your soul.
Sausage and potato beer cheese soup
I love to use ale for this soup. If you'd like to switch out
potatoes for cauliflower you would make it keto friendly.
1/2 package kielbasa sausage diced
2 cups peeled, diced Yukon gold potatoes
1 small onion minced
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
1t Italian seasoning
1t salt
1/2t pepper (white pepper is best here)
1T butter
2T all-purpose flour
1T olive oil
1 cup good quality ale
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese
Over medium high heat in a large pot add the oil and butter,
then add in the sausage. Cook until the edges are crisp. Use a slotted spoon to
remove and set aside, add the veggies including potatoes and seasonings. Cook,
stirring often until veggies are almost tender.
Add beer (it will bubble) and the stock. Bring to a boil,
reduce and simmer covered for 30 minutes, remove from heat and let cool
slightly - ladle the soup one cup at a time into blender, pouring back into the
pot until the soup is chunky smooth. Whisk together the cheese, cream and
flour, add mixture to soup and bring to a simmer stirring constantly until
thickened. Garnish with sausage.
Apple pie cookie skillet
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
4 Grannie Smith apples peeled and diced
1t corn starch
1T lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2t cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
One recipe of homemade or prepared sugar or oatmeal cookie
dough. Press into the cast iron skillet and set aside.
Optional toppings:
Chopped pecans
Caramel sauce
Ice cream
Whipped cream
Mix juice and cornstarch and set aside. Add the remaining
ingredients to skillet and cook over medium heat until apples are tender. Add
juice mixture adding some water if too dry (consistency should be syrupy). Add
corn starch if too much liquid.
Pour apples over cookie dough, bake for 20 minutes and serve
warm topped with ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream and chopped pecans. |
|  Photo by Gary Randall
I enjoy being a landscape photographer. Being a landscape
photographer allows me opportunities to be out within nature to photograph its
beauty, many times in breathtaking conditions. Being out in nature also allows
me to enjoy encounters with the creatures that inhabit these beautiful
sceneries.
Landscape photographers are typically unprepared to
photograph an encounter with a deer, a squirrel or even an occasional bear,
primarily since a landscape lens is a wide-angle focal length. A wide-angle
lens will not do justice to any kind of wildlife photography. Most of the
creatures will be small and obscure within the scene. A typical focal length
for a landscape scene will be somewhere around 18mm/24mm. In the world of
wildlife photography life begins at 600mm and so an investment in a long focal
length zoom lens must be made. I use a 150mm – 600mm lens.
Photographing wildlife takes a different approach as well. A
landscape photographer will set their camera up on a tripod and, basically,
take their time constructing the shot. There is usually no rush at all, and the
shot is usually made with manual settings. But with wildlife, the animals do
not pose for you and they are usually fleeting in their appearance. Your photos
usually must be made in a blink of an eye and handheld.
My method for photographing wildlife is to set my camera up
on either Aperture Priority or even Shutter Priority. I then will set my ISO to
Auto and make sure that the range will cover all lighting conditions. In
Aperture Priority you will set the aperture and the camera will choose the best
shutter speed and ISO, again making sure that the shutter speed is quick enough
to get a shot without any kind of motion blur. Open the aperture all the way
and push the ISO. Some photographers prefer to set the shutter speed and not
the aperture to make sure that it is always fast enough. In that case you set
the shutter speed and the camera adjusts the aperture and ISO. Either method
works and depends on personal preference or conditions. But it is important to
make sure that you have a fast enough shutter speed. Either way these settings
will be preferred over manual operation as it allows you to make a shot quickly
without having to manually adjust as the animal is moving. Give it a try.
I had the opportunity to photograph wildlife in Alaska
recently. Black bears, grizzly bears, moose, harbor seals, sea lions, sea
otters, eagles and other animals, but the grizzly bears were the most
thrilling. This allowed me to use these techniques to nail the photos as the
bears were going about their business feeding on fish in the river. Grizzly
bears are very focused on fishing and are not aggressive toward humans in this
situation unless they were to feel threatened. Using a 600mm focal length
allowed plenty of room between us and the bears and allowed them to go about
their business as we went about ours. We sat on the opposite side of the Kenai
River and watched them as they pulled fish from the river.
Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority works well in other
situations as well. Photographing people in quick moving situations, such as
candid photos of wedding guests for example, will allow you to pay attention to
your subjects and not have to deal with the camera settings. Also, a longer
focal length zoom lens works well for that too as you don’t have to get up
close to your subject, allowing for more candid photos.
I recommend any photographer that wants to photograph
wildlife to invest in a “long lens” and practice. Try the automatic settings
Aperture and Shutter Priority. Use it in your yard on squirrels and birds and
then go out to a wildlife refuge or a natural place frequented by animals and
become a wildlife photographer. While you are out in the wild please be careful
of your safety as well as being respectful of the animal’s space and safety.
And as always when in nature, leave it better than you found it. |
| Clearcuts are ugly but they can also be useful by Steve Wilent on 09/01/2020
What’s wrong with clearcuts? I’ll tell you what I think:
They’re ugly. A patch of trees is prettier than a patch of stumps.
Some clearcuts are done in the wrong place, such as on steep
slopes with houses or roads downhill. Sometimes runoff from clearcuts gets into
streams and fouls habitat for fish and other aquatic critters. There are other
valid objections to clearcutting. However, clearcutting in our western Oregon
forests often is an appropriate forest-management practice.
I’m a forester, and I’ve objected to clearcuts in some
cases. Many years ago, when I worked for the US Forest Service on the El Dorado
National Forest in California, part of my job was measuring and marking timber
to be harvested. Sometimes I objected to the use of clearcutting. For example,
one 20-acre parcel had a few large, old-growth Ponderosa pine trees and lots of
relatively young pines and firs, the result of a seed-tree harvest 40 years
previously. The Forest Service’s prescription was to cut everything and plant
seedlings. My opinion was that a better option would have been to leave most or
all of the large trees and cut about half of the younger ones, since many of
them were too close together and not growing well. Such a thinning would have
allowed the remaining young trees to grow faster and taller. The next harvest,
say in 20 or 30 years, might have been another seed-tree harvest, where all but
the largest trees were left to scatter their seeds to start a new generation of
young trees.
In other cases, the use of clearcutting was justified. My
colleagues and I mapped and marked trees on many areas with 60- to 80-year-old
Douglas-fir, white fir and other species. Logs from these clearcuts were sent
to lumber mills and seedlings were planted. Today, those seedlings are close to
40 years old, and most visitors wouldn’t know that the site had been clearcut
decades ago. Yes, a seed-tree cut or a thinning could also have been
implemented, but in this case timber production was the primary goal. I’m okay
with that. I live in a house made from lumber from clearcuts, and I’m okay with
that, too.
Many people object to the use of clearcutting, period.
That’s understandable, since they’re ugly and, if used improperly, can cause
environmental damage. But consider this: just about everyone who lives in the
Hoodland area lives in a clearcut. Trees once stood where your home is. The
same goes for Welches school, Hoodland Plaza and other businesses and
restaurants – and the roads we use to get to them. If you use Hwy. 26, you
drive on a clearcut. The city of Portland was first known as Stumptown, and
most of the metro area was once covered in forest. Sandy, too.
Do you enjoy the delicious apples, pears and cherries grown
in the Hood River area? What was on the land before the orchards were planted?
Much of it was timbered.
Do you enjoy the superb wines made by Oregon wineries? Last
year, according to the Oregon Wine Board, nearly 2,000 acres of new vineyards
were planted in our state, bringing the total number of acres of wine grapes to
nearly 36,000. Before they were vineyards, most of those acres were covered
with trees, grass and other vegetation.
Do you use electricity? The Bonneville Power Administration
power line corridor that runs from The Dalles to Troutdale, known as Big
Eddy–Troutdale No. 1, cuts across the Mt. Hood National Forest and a bit of
private land from Parkdale to Sandy, then heads north to Corbett, a distance of
about 43 miles (measured via Google Earth Pro). Drive up Lolo Pass Road and
you’ll see miles of the corridor. Most of the corridor was cleared of timber
when it was built in the 1950s; these days, BPA crews regularly cut seedlings
cut and/or use herbicides on the brush before it grows tall enough to interfere
with the lines. At roughly 375 feet wide, this section of the corridor is
essentially a clearcut that covers about three square miles. (For what it’s
worth, I hope that someday we’ll get our electricity from small, local, solar
arrays or generators that use hydrogen as a fuel, making such powerline
corridors unnecessary.)
Clearcuts to make way for housing and commercial
development, orchards, vineyards and power lines are permanent clearcuts.
They’ll never be forest again. Clearcutting for timber production and other
purposes – yes, there are other purposes – almost always become forest again.
Under Oregon law, all areas where timber is harvested must be replanted or have
certain levels of natural regeneration within a few years.
Believe it or not, clearcutting can have positive impacts on
wildlife habitat. I’ve been following a story from the Sparta Mountain Wildlife
Management Area in New Jersey, where the state Division of Fish and Wildlife
and partner New Jersey Audubon have harvested small areas of mature timber in
the 3,500-acre reserve. One of their main goals was to create habitat for bird
species that need brushy areas, not dense timber. At least one of those birds,
a golden-winged warbler – a candidate for the federal endangered species list –
showed up in June, and it may have a mate and a nest. This was six years after
the harvest – a clearcut that had drawn loud protests from people who object to
the use of clearcutting, period. New Jersey Audubon reports that bird diversity
increased almost twofold in the clearcut, to an average of about 30 species,
including 10 species of concern. The same sort of thing happens here in Oregon.
Clearcuts are ugly, sure, but sometimes some good comes from
them. I’m okay with that.
Have a question about clearcutting? Want to take a walk in a
clearcut area to see birds and other critters? Let me know. SWilent@gmail.com. |
| View Points Salem: Wildfire season by Rep. Anna Williams on 09/01/2020
As I navigate the uncharted territory of representing our
communities during a pandemic, I’ve been spending a lot of time calling people
throughout Sandy, the mountain communities and the Hood River Valley, asking
them what they’re concerned about. A few things have understandably been coming
up over and over again since spring: unemployment, racial justice and public
health. One thing I’ve only just begun to hear about, though, is something
people in our part of the state should all be aware of: wildfire season is upon
us.
Since fire season began in early July, dry conditions, high
heat and wind have led to fires throughout Oregon. As I write this, the Mosier
Creek Fire, a nearly 1,000-acre fire that ignited mere miles outside of the
boundaries of my legislative district, has only just been contained after
spreading rapidly and burning for days. Despite that single success in our
state’s wildfire response, Governor Brown has declared a state of emergency due
to the imminent threat of wildfires throughout the state.
Wildfire is a serious concern for people in this part of the
state. I’ve heard the same sentence uttered by many people in our mountain
communities: “I’m afraid we could be the next Paradise, California.” With one
road into these communities and one road out, atop a mountain covered with
wildfire fuel, it is clearer to people in the Sandy and Hoodland area than to
most others throughout the state that we need to invest significantly in our
wildland firefighting programs.
The first bill I signed on to co-sponsor when I was sworn
into the legislature was aimed at increasing our state’s preparedness for fire
season. Community resiliency in the face of fire threats has been a top
priority for me after hearing from so many people who were impacted by the
Eagle Creek fire in 2017. Unfortunately, political gamesmanship – namely, the
repeated walkouts by my Republican colleagues – have kept us from passing
several bills that would have provided crucial assistance to Oregon’s fire
response efforts.
Thankfully, in April, the legislature’s Emergency Board
approved a spending increase of $3.6 million to assist crews in fire
suppression efforts. However, this investment pales in comparison to the
roughly $4 billion that our state will spend over the next 20 years to adapt to
the new fire management challenges that climate change has forced upon us.
That’s why, no matter what other disagreements we may have, I am committed to
working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to provide robust
wildfire prevention funding.
Rest assured, we have seen successes despite our limited
resources. In the Mosier Creek Fire, for example, the state’s pandemic-ready
fire response teams had their first successful deployment. The “COVID fire
module,” a new tool for firefighting during the pandemic, allows the men and
women at the fire line to do their brave and essential work with reduced risk
of spreading illness to their colleagues. Thanks to the deployment of this
state resource, the Mosier Creek fire was quickly and safely contained, and I
remain optimistic that any other fires that may flare up in the months to come
will be managed quickly and effectively.
That said, we all need to do our part. This year, a higher
than usual percentage of fires have been human caused. So please, if you’re
visiting a campground to safely distance while getting outside, be sure to
completely extinguish any campfires you set (and, of course, follow all fire
bans if they are in place). If you smoke, put your cigarettes out completely
and be sure you toss them in a trash can when you’re done. Finally, make sure
your car is in good condition if you’re driving through dry areas: metal
dragging from cars, worn brake pads that throw off sparks and even hot exhaust
pipes or mufflers (if driven through dry brush), can start wildfires.
If we all do our part – on an individual and statewide level
– we can confront the threat of wildfires even with limited resources to invest
in prevention and preparedness.
Anna Williams is the House District 52 Representative |
| View Points Sandy: Planning for Sandy's future by Mayor Stan Pulliam on 09/01/2020
As a precocious teenager interested in civics and public
service at Sandy High School, my Civics teacher nominated me for a “shadow
councilor” position for the Sandy City Council. As a shadow councilor, we would
receive meeting briefing packets in the mail at school, meet with our City
Councilor and sit behind them during council meetings. At the end of the
meeting we would even get to participate in councilor reports and provide our
own as a shadow councilor.
I would sit there as a young high school student and watch
as our local leaders debated issues and planned for the future of our city.
During that time and over the next 20 years, I would often think about the
actions I would take and the kind of leader I would be if I were ever to have
that kind of responsibility to the city that so many of us love so dearly.
These past two years as your Mayor has been one of the
greatest highlights of my life. To serve the community that I both grew up in
and then later decided to raise my own family in has been a true honor. The
only better feeling is knowing how much we have accomplished with the help of
my fellow Sandy City Councilors!
Despite a global pandemic, the work we’ve done as a city to
enrich the lives of our neighbors, improve traffic congestion and keep our
citizens safe is something I’m truly proud of.
I made a lot of promises two years ago, and as your Mayor
I’ve been able to keep every one of them.
To help keep Sandy moving, we negotiated a joint venture
with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to conduct a feasibility
study for a local bypass for our citizens. Additionally, we received approval
for synchronized traffic lights from ODOT on Hwy. 26, secured funding for 362nd
to Bell Street to alleviate the school time commute off Bluff Road and won
county transportation funds for paved shoulders along 362nd Ave.
Our local Sandy small businesses are the heartbeat of our
community and as promised, we stood up for them! We spearheaded a COVID-19
relief fund to provide $3,000 in aid to local small businesses. We slashed red
tape by removing System Development Charges for patio seating at local
restaurants and burdensome parking requirements, and we increased funding for
the Tenant Improvement Program for local businesses.
Finally, one of my most important responsibilities as your
Mayor is to protect your pocketbook and your family. These past two years we’ve
been enormously successful in doing precisely that. We adopted the Wastewater
Treatment Facilities Plan that included $500,000 in funds from the State. If
successful, this study could help us cut the facility costs in half. Perhaps
even more importantly, we provided our Sandy Police Department with not only
increased funding, but also a stable funding source that should pay huge dividends
for the department in the years ahead.
These are just a few of our major accomplishments and yet
there is still so much left to do. We’ve done a terrific job laying the
foundation for Sandy to flourish into the future. Now is the time to work with
our neighbors to collectively plan for our future as a community.
As one of Oregon’s fastest growing cities, now is the time
to properly plan for our potential. These next two years need to be about
making good on my promise for a community-led effort to plan for what we want
Sandy to look like in the years ahead. This coming year, I want our Sandy City
Council to make it a goal to both identify funding for and officially kick-off
our comprehensive planning efforts for growth. This endeavor should include a
community outreach and engagement effort. Every neighbor, small business owner
and community volunteer or activist should have the opportunity to participate
in the planning of our community.
We will also look to this same kind of community-led effort
for the Sandy Community Campus. Now is the time for our neighbors to engage and
collectively develop a long-term plan and strategy for this major project.
Let us together continue to keep Sandy wonderful.
Stan Pulliam is the Mayor of the City of Sandy |
| Fantastic flavors by Taeler Butel on 09/01/2020
Crab Boil
A whole meal in a pot, fit for a crowd. Sausage, potatoes,
corn and shellfish simmering in a spicy broth. Add a loaf of crusty bread and
you'll have the perfect summer meal alfresco!
2-3 lbs crab legs
2 lbs shell on shrimp
4 ears of corn, each cut into four pieces
1 lb baby potatoes
1 lb andouille sausage
1 onion, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 stick unsalted butter
Bay leaf
1/4 cup Cajun seasoning
Grab a large pot, and over medium heat melt the butter, then
add the seasoning. To the pot add onion, celery and garlic. Sautee for a few
minutes then add the sausage, corn, potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce
to a summer, add the shellfish and cook for five minutes more.
Key lime bars
A cool citrus desert is the perfect ending to a hot summer
night.
For the crust:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 t salt
Process in a food processor or mix with a pastry cutter.
Press into square pan and bake for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool while you make
the filling.
For the filling:
6 oz soft cream cheese
4 egg yolks
1 T key lime zest
1 t vanilla
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
Mix all the ingredients together using a whisk or electric
mixer. Pour onto the cooled crust and bake for 20-25 minutes until set. Cool
completely. |
| Even the smallest garden can offer empowerment by Victoria Larson on 09/01/2020
The most rewarding money and stress reliever is gardening,
empowering your food security. I gave my son-in-law a tomato plant for Father’s
Day. Hie lives in an apartment and was thrilled when he got his first tomato!
Even if you only grow one plant on your porch, you empower
yourself. Even if you only grew one zucchini you probably ended up with a lot
of food. One eight-inch zucchini shredded will fill a one-quart freezer
container. A quart of frozen zucchini mixed with cooked rice or quinoa makes
lovely fritters for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or there’s always zucchini
chocolate cake!
Of course, if you had/have a larger garden, you may need to
lock your car door at church to avoid anyone dropping a baseball-bat-sized
zucchini into your car. Though they may be sliced lengthwise for lasagna or
crosswise for sautιing.
Never waste food. In addition to the Victory Gardens being
promoted between WWI and WWII, there was the “clean your plate” endeavor as
part of those global efforts. Now we’ve somehow come back as almost half of all
food in America is tossed as “garbage.” No wonder starving nations think we are
wasteful. Start a compost heap, get chickens or even pet Guinea pigs to eat
your vegetable “waste.”
If you have a larger garden, it’s not too late to preserve
food for winter. Canning, freezing, dehydrating, fermenting may consume your
time, but if you’re currently out of work it’s a good way to empower yourself.
And it feels great to look at those filled pantry shelves. You’ll be “prepared”
for surprises.
There’s still a lot coming out of the garden – cukes,
peppers, tomatoes, beans and of course, kale. Make kale chips or kale
guacamole, or zucchini hummus. Simply substitute whatever you have a lot of in
your favorite recipes.
And forage – actually pick all those apples on your or your
neighbor’s apple trees (with permission, of course). When I lived on my five-acre
homestead, I owned Clackamas County’s oldest living Gravenstein apple tree.
After applesauce, juice and dried cinnamon apples, my four
donkeys and two llamas got the rest. Chickens cleaned up any pests under the
trees. Alas, while also something of a homesteader, the new owner of that farm
has cut down that tree, as well as the pear tree next to it (which once gave me
96 quarts of pears in one year). Is buying applesauce in little plastic
containers a better option? Not any more.
That new farmer also tore down the old cabin that was always
cool, under that historical apple tree. It was built in the 1930s as a place to
live, with an outhouse and no electricity or running water. I had used it as a
guest house, a bunkhouse for farm workers and my ex-husband wrote several books
there. Now it’s history that is gone forever.
But my new property, while not even an acre, may have one of
the last free-standing fruit rooms around. Eight-foot by nine-foot, all four
walls are fifteen inches thick. A perfect place to store my home-canned goods,
potatoes, squash, onions, fruit and eggs. Even t.p. in case of the next
unforeseen disaster.
I am no longer part of the “consume all you can” society,
thought I’ll admit that previously living alone in a 2,200 square foot house
left lots of room for “acquiring.” Maybe the pendulum is now swinging back to
“less is More” – even my 12-year-old grandson requested no gifts for his
birthday party. Buying things for a moment’s pleasure that end their lives in
the landfill is no longer sustainable. Let’s build up spiritual abundance and
peace instead of “stuff.”
As the time to “gather up” the garden nears, remember to
tithe to the soil which provides for you. While continuing to plant lettuce and
other green leafies, every couple of weeks, you can still plant starts of
cabbage, kale, garlic, onions, potatoes and root crops to see you through the
winter. With store squashes, that’s a lot of food. So you can maybe stop buying
industrial and packaged food and eating out so often.
We each need enough food to see us through the “lean months”
of February and March. Those home-canned tomatoes become the “fast food” of the
end of the year – think soup, sauces, casseroles. Many grocery stores still
don’t have fully filled shelves and may never again! What if our next crisis is
over oil and gas? Transportation will become different. Though we’re all
getting used to staying home more, it never hurts to be prepared.
The cooler air of September makes us restless, we know
change is in the air. Time to gather up sweatshirts and blankets for we know
cooler times are coming. Learn new skills and teach the children. Publications
like Mother Earth News, the New Pioneer and this newspaper will help you learn
– and empower yourselves! Even if I never make a bone needle or hook up my own
solar heating, I like knowing where to find acorns and black walnuts and which
plants on my own property are useful for medicine or food. I feel empowered. |
| Aren't all trusts revocable? by Paula Walker on 09/01/2020
When we talk about a Trust as opposed to a Will as your
basic estate plan document, we are in general referring to a Revocable Living
Trust. A ‘brain-ful’ to remember and a mouthful to repeat. But why the term
“revocable” and what about the term “living?” And are all trusts “revocable?”
First off what is a Trust? It is a legal entity you set up
to manage your assets and possessions, such as investment accounts, real
estate, qualified tax accounts, cars, art, jewelry etc. You place your assets
inside the Trust to manage them during your life and to provide the means to
manage them and/or their distribution upon your death. There are two types of
“living trusts,” i.e. trusts made effective during your lifetime. They are
revocable and irrevocable.
A Revocable Living Trust provides you the means to change
the terms of the trust, retain control of your assets or cancel the trust
altogether, i.e. ‘revoke’ it. Powers over the trust include adding and removing
assets, naming beneficiaries, changing, adding and/or removing beneficiaries,
changing what and how much is distributed to each beneficiary, dictating how
distributions occur and when. This is in contrast to an Irrevocable Trust,
which can also be a ‘living’ trust that is by contrast cast in stone. Except
for rare circumstances, the terms of an irrevocable trust are set upon signing
the agreement. Once signed, the Irrevocable Trust may not be changed, altered,
modified or revoked after its creation.
Some of the key advantages to a Revocable Living Trust as
the main estate planning document include avoiding probate, eliminating or
minimizing estate taxes, eliminating or minimizing other tax consequences and
other advantages to assist you in passing the value in your estate to those you
intend to benefit from all that you worked to achieve.
More to come in subsequent articles on types of trusts and how
they might work together or independently to meet your estate planning goal(s)
Stories of the Stars… If Only
Just for fun… an interesting story about a pair of jeans.
Who would think that an old pair of jeans would be a treasure found and a
valuable inheritance? Well such was the case for Jock Taylor. When rummaging in
an old wooden trunk handed down in the family, Taylor—the great great grandson
of Arizona pioneer Solomon Warner, a storekeeper in the Arizona Territory –
found an old pair of jeans that dated back to the 19th century. The design of
the jeans showed that they were made by Levi Strauss & Co. before 1901, in
part because they had just one back pocket. Like archaeological finds, the size
of the jeans, indicate that Solomon Warner was a “larger than-life character”
as the jeans had a size 44 waist and 36-inch inseam; and because their pristine
condition indicates that he had worn them very few times before his death. Not
accepting the eager offer from Levi Strauss of $50,000 for the artifact jeans,
Taylor eventually sold these jeans—a replica from the American Old west, sold
in Maine, to a buyer living somewhere in Southeast Asia whose representative
purchased them on May 15, 2018 – for nearly $100,000. Could a storekeeper in
pioneer territory ever imagine that his practical purchase of a pair of jeans
in 1893 would fetch a small fortune nearly 125 years later and travel the
country and the globe in winding their way to a new owner?
Dear Reader … We welcome your questions on matters related
to estate planning. These will provide grist for future articles and enhance
the potential for those articles to be of interest and value to you.
Please submit your questions to Garth Guibord, at
garth@mountaintimesoregon.com.
|
|  Photo by Gary Randall
Focus and clarity in a photograph is something that we try
our best to achieve when making a photograph. It’s a part of the process that
takes time and practice to study and to understand. It’s important to be able
to understand how to focus properly and to direct that focus to where it will
benefit the impact and quality of the photo. But does the photo need to be
completely “tack sharp” in its focus and clarity? Let’s discuss how to use
focus and depth of field to create better images.
There are two ways to eliminate, or cause, areas in your
photograph that are not in focus, but only one can be affected by focusing.
Focus typically affects the whole photograph while a shallow depth of field
will cause softness and clarity in areas of the photo. Focus is easily
explained and affected by the action of turning the focus ring to bring the
image into clear focus. The next that I’ll discuss is more complicated.
Affecting the depth of field, or the depth of the focused area in the photo is
controlled by the aperture.
A lens aperture will have the effect of deeper depth of
field when the lens is “stopped down.” The action of stopping down a lens is
simply changing the aperture opening to a smaller hole (a larger number on the
aperture ring). When you reduce the size of the aperture opening you are
stopping more light from entering the lens, but you are also increasing the
depth of field - the amount of area in focus. Stopping down will usually create
more focus from front to back in the photograph. Conversely opening up the
aperture will cause a shallower focused area.
One element of focusing that must be understood is that the
closer an object that’s being focused on will also create a shallower depth of
field. Every lens has a minimum focus distance.
This minimum focus distance is the area when the lens can no
longer focus as the foreground of the object that needs to be focused is too
close to the lens. And the closer that you get to this minimum focus distance,
the shallower your depth of focus will be, causing things in the distance to be
less clear.
There are calculations that can be used, called hyperfocal
distance, but just understanding how this works will allow you to use it to
better understand how to maximize or control your focus. Just keep in mind that
if you stop down, you maximize the depth of field and if you open your aperture
up you will minimize the depth of field. In addition, your depth of field will
narrow the closer that the subject gets to the lens.
Now, how can we use this knowledge to make better photos?
It’s pretty simple really when you understand that it can be used to separate
the subject from a background, for instance.
You can open up the aperture, creating a narrow depth of
field, to focus just on a flower or a person while blurring out the background.
Or if you’re struggling with keeping as much as possible in focus,
understanding that you need to stop down and/or back up a little bit from the
foreground will help you achieve that.
Having a camera that allows you to control the settings
gives one the ability to craft better photos. Understanding how to achieve
focus or soft out of focused areas according to the effect that one wants to
achieve will elevate your photography to a whole new level.
|
| MHGS: the end of an environmentally excellent era by on 07/30/2020
It all began five years ago. I had responded to a classified
ad in The Mountain Times, and soon I found myself having coffee and listening
to a man share a vision he had for creating sustainability opportunities on the
mountain. Doug Saldivar had cut his teeth with the pioneering nonprofit
organization Portland Recycling Team that operated at a time when recycling was
far from the norm.
Now through his position as President of The Villages board,
he had recruited Dave Fulton and they were seeking others to join their
efforts. The new organization had launched five years earlier by holding a
contest for the Welches school children to choose a name. Second-grader Benny's
entry won, and the Mt. Hood Green Scene was born.
The Mt. Hood Green Scene later merged with the Portland
Recycling Team, becoming a 501(c) non-profit organization. Through our efforts
on the mountain, we were able to bring the community a number of collection
events for items that are not recyclable curbside, thus preventing much toxic
waste from going into the landfills.
We are proud of the partnerships we formed with the Hoodland
community. Page’s Auto & Tire collected used tires. We worked with the
Hoodland Thriftway to bring about used plastic bag collection.
Together with the Welches Mountain Building Supply Company,
we initiated a used paint collection program. We collaborated with youth from
the Ant Farm to clear the land at the Welches School for use in their outdoor
school program.
We worked with some local lodging facilities to collect bath
soap for donation to homeless shelters in Portland. With the support of
Clackamas County Environmental Services, we collected things such as used
fluorescent lightbulbs and batteries to keep toxic elements from seeping into
the groundwater. We cleared English Ivy, an invasive species, from a local
community.
Much of our work has focused in the area of community
education. We held a movie series at the Wraptitude, various lectures at
Wy’East Book Store & Art Gallery. We worked with the Sandy High School
Science Department to involve kids in our events in hopes of inspiring them.
They developed a drama version of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” long before the film
came out. And of course, for the past five years a monthly column thanks to the
wonderful support of the Mountain Times.
The Mt. Hood Green Scene has been embraced by the community
and even had some detractors. In spite of it, we persevered and are proud of
the work we have done. Now the time has come for us to pass the baton. Our
non-profit organization is closing its doors.
The remaining funds have been “recycled” to the
Environmental Learning Center at Clackamas Community College. It is intended to
support their work of teaching the youth to become stewards and defenders of
the planet they will inhabit.
In the name of all of the Board of Directors and myself, thank
you for the years of community support and please continue to tread lightly on
our Mother Earth.
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| View Points Salem: One voice can make a difference by Rep. Anna Williams on 07/30/2020
Civil unrest in our state and the constantly evolving
pandemic brings about new, major public health measures every week. With all
this going on, it’s easy to lose sight of some of the small but important
policy changes taking place in Oregon, and it can be hard to feel like one
person’s voice can really make a difference. Recently one of my constituents
contacted me, leading to small change that could have vast impacts on the
quality of tens of thousands of Oregonians’ lives.
I received an email from a Hood River resident asking about
a program put in place by Colorado’s state health department. The department’s
guidance allowed for outdoor visitation at residential care facilities –
putting an end to the state’s ban on any visitation to long-term care residents
that had been in place since the beginning of the pandemic.
My constituent wondered whether Oregon could implement a
similar program. At the time, long-term care residents in Oregon had been
almost completely isolated for months and I’d fielded several messages from
long-term care residents’ frustrated family members about the psychological
impacts of loneliness and spoken to older constituents who were suffering from
isolation in their care homes. Earlier in the pandemic, the science on viral
transmission indoors versus outdoors was not as clear as it is now, so outdoor
visitation didn’t seem like a safe solution to the issue.
However, by June, all it took was an email. I reached out to
the director of the Division on Aging and People with Disabilities within the
Department of Human Services (DHS). He got back to me, emphasizing that the
agency had been struggling with how to approach resumption of visitation. He
said he would look into whether Oregon could implement such a program in the
near future and agreed with my constituent and me that it would probably be
low-risk for residents and family members alike.
Less than three weeks later, I’m proud to say Oregon
released new guidelines that are nearly identical to Colorado’s. Starting July
21, long-term care facilities are now permitted to offer outdoor visitation as
long as they put required safeguards in place. This will make a huge
difference. Although visits to loved ones do carry some risk, they are also
essential to well-being and I’m thrilled at this quick action to provide our
long-term care residents some much-needed support.
While the policy itself is worth celebrating, I also share
this story to highlight something that many people may have forgotten at a time
when so much seems out of our hands: your voice matters. Whether it’s
testifying at a sc |
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