Columbia River Reader APRIL 2024

COLUMBIA RIVER READER PRESS BOOK BOUTIQUE

LEWIS AND CLARK REVOLUTIONIZED

What really — truly — happened during those final wind-blown, rain-soaked thirty days of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s trek to the Pacific? Southwest Washington author and explorer Rex Ziak revolutionized historical scholarship by providing the answers: day by day and week by week.

IN FULL VIEW

Rex Ziak

$29.95

A true and accurate account of Lewis and Clark’s arrival at the Pacific Ocean, and their search for a winter camp along the lower Columbia River.

EYEWITNESS TO ASTORIA

Gabriel Franchére

$21.95

The newly edited and annotated by Rex Ziak version of Franchére’s 1820 journal, Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813 and 1814, or The First American Settlement on the Pacific.

Welcome to the April issue, which marks the beginning of CRR’s 21st Year!

This month’s People+Place feature on Dr. Bill Turner and joint replacement trends was triggered partly by series producer Hal Calbom’s getting a new hip in February. He is still in the rehab phase and progressing well (Note: The surgery didn’t interfere with his writing ability, it appears). After all he’s observed and learned during the process, Hal suggests we offer a (possibly-belated), collective “Thank You” to ALL the health care workers, who during the pandemic — and since — heroically carried on under grave uncertainty and challenging circumstances. We appreciate them all.

It was bittersweet visiting with the HaikuFest 2024 judges after their selection deliberations (see page 9). We miss Founder and Chief Judge Gary Meyers, who faithfully tended and embellished HaikuFest for 15 years. And we remember him fondly, and pledging to keep the same spirit Gary

aexuded, even as the event will begin tomorph somewhat, which is natural when leadership evolves.

Special thanks to Gary’s brother, Ron Meyers, who stepped up as Honorary Chief Judge. We know Gary would be pleased. We appreciate everyone who sent in haikus. Some entrants included notes of remembrance, such as:

“Gary was a faithful friend of mine, and I am proud to send five haikus in honor of his love for and unstinting dedication to haiku.” Keith SimmondS, Rodez, FRance

“I miss Gary. I used to send a short letter to Gary whenever I sent in my haikus. I grew up in Hawaii and lived close to the area where Gary lived. He always responded. He was so very inspirational.”

eStRella BRown, clatSKanie, oRe.

“Thank you for continuing this tradition, I look forward to it every year!”

maRy huBBaRd, St. helenS, oRe.

For a fun garden project with kids or grandkids this season, think about making a Bean Tree Teepee (see story, page 21). The Piper family did a bean teepee after hearing about it from Nancy Chennault some years ago. Perry was in middle school at the time and the project — fun for all ages — was in conjunction with our converting the front lawn to raised beds for a kitchen garden, surrounded by a stepping stone path and sea of pea gravel. The teepee grew tall and lush, was interesting as a yard ornament, and it produced a small harvest of beans, too.

We abandoned plans for a larger garden (a farm?) when we heard the neighbors feared we would next be getting a frontyard cow. I think they liked the bean teepee, though. Maybe you would, too.

Happy Spring. New life is bursting forth!

Jefferson’s slaves empowered his self-education

As always, Michael Perry provides an interesting insight into all things Lewis and Clark. He is spot on regarding the “power of curiosity and scientific study as the selfeducation… empowered the] fertile mind” of their mentor, President Thomas Jefferson. But we need to place our adulation of our only violinist President in the proper context.

As historian Gary Wills writes in Negro President: Jefferson and Slave Power, that bitter 1800 Presidential election Perry mentions was rigged by the Constitution’s extra protection of slave-owners. Usually whitewashed as the three-fifths “compromise,” counting slaves even at a 40 percent discount gave extra electoral votes to slave states, even though slaves were considered property and not eligible to be voters. If one recalculates the Electoral College without the slave “bonus,” John Adams would have been re-elected!

We should never forget that all that “self-education” for the Sage of Monticello was possible only because his slaves were doing the real work on his farm! And unlike President George Washington, Jefferson never freed his slaves, even upon his death.

Dennis Weber Longview, Wash.

It’s a Blast!

Story by David Minthorn

31st annual ride lures cyclists to Mount St. Helens blast zone

Tour de Blast is a cycling spectacle for strong legs and stout hearts. The June 22 ride through the core of the Mount St. Helens volcanic zone isn’t a road race; it’s a test of endurance and a celebration of cycling fellowship in awesome scenery.

LOWER COLUMBIA CURRENTS

Commentary by Andre Stepankowsky

Hundreds of riders from across the Northwest and beyond are expected for the 31st annual Tour de Blast, including many from Portland, Seattle and elsewhere, who do the ride every year. At full length, this edition of TDB is a 66mile (106 kms) round trip with 4,350 feet of elevation gain. That’s 16 miles shorter than in past years because a landslide blocked the upper portion of State Route 504, the Spirit Lake Highway. TDB is a fully supported ride, meaning Rotary Club of Longview organizes food, water, safety pickups, bike tire repair and other services along the route. Riders pay between $90 and $125 to participate.

Former longterm reporter and editor for The Daily News invites you to explore the issues of the day through his free online newsletter.

“Our riders rave about the hospitality of the volunteers and the quality of

food, water, electrolyte, yummy snacks and pasta,” said Rotary’s John Bard, the TDB chair. “It’s worth it and best of all it’s fun.”

Some 100 volunteers, most of them Rotarians, staff the start and finish at Toutle Lake, three rest stops, and other services along the highway. Motorcycle club patrols, ham radio operators and medical aides provide backup.

The curving, ascending highway crosses eerily scenic landscape with views across the Toutle valley to Mount St. Helens’ gaping crater at 8,363 feet elevation. After hours of strenuous pedaling to gain altitude, riders turn around for an exhilarating downhill run to the finish line and a celebratory pasta dinner.

Stark evidence of the 1980 eruption is everywhere along the route

The blast vaporized the top 1,300 feet of St. Helens, setting off landslides and floods, shattering 200 square miles (500 square kms) of timber, and sending an ash cloud around the globe. Fifty-seven people and thousands of wild animals perished.

The terrain was altered forever, seemingly doomed to remain a wasteland. Spirit Lake was left clogged with slide debris and downed timber.

Four decades on, the moonscape is regaining flora and fauna. Trees and vegetation are flourishing, and elk herds and other animals roam the wilderness below the mountain.

“The changes on the mountain since the 1980 blast are remarkable and even better seen from a bike,” Bard said. “Immerse yourself in the epic recovery and sense of wonder that you miss from driving by in a car at 55 mph.”

MWhy Our Founding Father Thomas Jefferson Lied to Congress

By Michael O. Perry

odern day presidents aren’t the only ones who conduct covert operations. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and our third president, helped define and ensure the American way of life.

Yet, if it hadn’t been for his vision and strategy — and his deception of Congress when he sent Lewis and Clark to explore the western lands — those of us living in the Pacific Northwest today might be flying a different flag.

The weakest claim

Lewis and Clark often get credit for being the first white men to cross North America by land, but Canadians know that Alexander Mackenzie earned the honor. He was a member of the North West Company that competed with the Hudson Bay Company to dominate the fur trade in what is now the Pacific Northwest.

Mackenzie followed parts of the Peace and Fraser Rivers to the Pacific Ocean in 1793, publishing a full account of his explorations in 1801. A year later, Thomas Jefferson read Mackenzie’s story.

Michael Perry enjoys local history and travel. His popular 33-installment Lewis & Clark series appeared in Columbia River Reader’s early years and helped shape its identity and zeitgeist. After two encores, the series has been expanded and published in a book. Details, page 2.

While he undoubtedly admired Mackenzie’s accomplishment, Jefferson also knew it strengthened Britain’s claim to the Pacific Northwest. In addition to England, the Oregon Territory was also claimed by Spain, Russia to a lesser degree and the United States — which had the weakest claim, based on Robert Gray’s discovery of the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792.

… deception of Congress …

Jefferson described an expedition confined to the Mississippi River basin and purely for purposes of expanding commerce. ... the weakest claim ...

“

Knowing he must act fast to protect America’s interest, Jefferson aimed to strengthen his country’s claim by launching an expedition to find the most direct water route to the Pacific Ocean.

At the time, two-thirds of the United States’ population lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Ocean and its tidewaters. People living beyond the Appalachian Mountains felt isolated and many favored secession from the United States to form a separate country.

From sea to shining sea However, Jefferson didn’t see the mountains as a dividing line. He had long promoted exploring the lands west of the Mississippi River, with the idea of eventually making the United States reach from coast to coast.

Jefferson believed the massive Columbia River reached inland to the Rocky Mountains. He thought following the Missouri River to its headwaters and taking a short overland portage across the continental divide might lead to the headwaters of the Columbia River.

Sending an American expedition along that route would strengthen America’s claim to the western half of North America. Such a trek, however, was not authorized

The fact that Gray found the inlet of the river was a very important thing but he didn’t explore the river. He didn’t go upstream at all. He just stayed down there in the estuary. The British came in and went all the way up to Portland, basically, within a couple of years.”

by the Constitution and could be considered an armed intrusion into foreign lands — including the Indians’.

Satisfying curiosity

In early 1803, Congress approved the $2,500 Jefferson requested for an expedition promoting commerce, going no farther west than the Mississippi basin. However, Jefferson told his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, that this official explanation “satisfied curiosity” and “masks sufficiently the real destination.”

Congress didn’t know it, but Jefferson had already made plans and picked Lewis to lead the expedition.

While the early Americans had been creating a new country along the east coast, France, Russia, England and Spain had laid claim to the western half of the continent. France ceded its claims to Spain in 1762, so Spain owned everything west of the Mississippi River except the Oregon Territory.

In 1800, Napoleon decided he wanted the land back, and Spain relented since it was no longer a world power. It took two

cont page 6

In AprIl 2021 we Introduced A revIsed versIon of Michael Perry’s popular series which was expanded In the new book, Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, edited by Hal Calbom and published by CRRPress. It includes an in-depth author interview and new illustrations and commentary. This month’s episode begins the series anew.

Lewis

Lewis

from page 5

years for word of that transfer to reach Jefferson and he was not pleased. A few months earlier, he had asked Spain’s permission to travel up the Missouri in an effort to reach the Pacific coast, and they hadn’t mentioned France was the new landlord. Spain did say its explorers had already shown conclusively there was no water route between the Missouri and the Pacific.

Jefferson let Napoleon know the United States would not tolerate

… Jefferson sent an envoy to Paris …

Their instructions were to buy New Orleans and as much of the land between there and Florida as they could. And when they get there, and Napoleon says, ‘I need some money to fight my war, we’ll sell you everything in North America for a few million…’ it was more than they were authorized to spend, but they knew a good deal.” “

Mount St. Helens Hiking Club

(E) - Easier: Usually on relatively flat ground (up to 5 miles and/or less than 500 ft. e.g.)

(M) - Moderate: Longer and more elevation gain (over 5 miles and/or over 500 ft. e.g.)

(S) - Strenuous: Long hikes and/or elevation gain (over 8 miles and/or over 1200 ft. e.g.)

“

... is now Washington and Oregon ... Without the expedition there probably would have been a fight over this territory. Looking back at it, I say Spain had the longest, best claim to it of any of them. France had some fur trappers, and the English had all kinds of outposts and trading activity. Our only claims were Gray at the mouth and Lewis and Clark coming overland.”

French control of land in North America. Before resorting to war, Jefferson sent an envoy to Paris in 1803 to try to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans and as much of the Mississippi Valley as possible.

Meanwhile, Napoleon had his hands full with the resumption of the Anglo-French War, so he decided to cut his losses in America and raise some money to fight his war in Europe.

They knew a good deal

When France offered to sell all its holdings in North America for $15 million, the American envoy accepted although they had only been authorized to spend $10 million. They knew a good deal when they saw one.

May/June/July/Aug

The news reached Jefferson on July 4, 1803: America had doubled in size overnight!

Remember the story about a Dutch merchant buying Manhattan Island from the Indians in 1626 for $24 worth of beads? Well, the purchase of half the continent for three cents an acre was an even bigger steal.

The stage was set! Thanks to Jefferson’s behind-the-scenes efforts, America was ready to send the Corps of Discovery westward to reinforce its claim to what would eventually become the western half of the United States. Without that expedition, it is likely England or Russia would have ended up with what is now Washington and Oregon.

What the Lewis and Clark Expedition set out to accomplish was similar in scope and magnitude to America’s space exploration program. And while the actual trip on the Missouri River began on May 14, 1804, the expedition officially began a year earlier.

April 17 - Wed Capitol Lake (E)

Drive 140 miles RT. Hike 4.6 miles on a level path around lake. Leaders: Julie L. 360-747-1415, Melanie F. (907) 351-8741

April 24 - Wed Burnt Bridge

Creek Greenway (E) Drive 88 miles RT. Hike 6.0 miles out and back on a paved path through open grasslands and heavily wooded areas, with 200’ e.g. Leader: John R. 360- 431-1122.

May 1 - Wed Gillette Lake and Greenleaf Pond via PCT (E/M)

Drive 160 miles RT. Hike 6.5 miles with 1100’ e.g. Leader: Joe H. (360) 430-8447.

May 4 - Sat Lake Sacajawea (E) Walk 4 miles on flat ground around the whole lake or any portion for a shorter walk. **This walk is designed for super seniors and/or people with physical limitations at a slow pace.** Leader: Susan S. 360-430-9914.

May 8 - Wed Council Crest (M)

Drive 98 miles RT. Hike 4.6 miles with 800’ e.g. Excellent view of Portland metro and distant mountains Leader: Bruce M. 360- 425-0256.

May 10 - Fri Cape Horn (M)

Drive 150 miles RT. Hike 7 miles RT with 1,600’ e.g. to the top of a Columbia River “landmark.” Out and back hike with some of the best views of the Columbia Gorge. Leader: Bill D. 503260-6712.

May 15 - Wed Fort to Sea (M)

Drive 120 miles RT. Half of the group will start from the Fort, the other half will drive to Sunset Beach, 7 miles further. We will all do a one-way Hike 6.5 miles, with 340’ e.g. A ‘Key Pass’ will be required. Leader: Bill D. 503260-6712.

May 18 - Sat Forest Park –Maple Loop (S)Drive 90 miles RT. Hike an 8- mile loop with 500 e.g. Explore grotto-like canyons inside Portland’s “urban wilderness.” Leader: Bruce M. 360-425-0256.

It never rains on our hikes. And yes, I always wear a suit. But my socks are from my Boy Scout days.

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have nine beautiful grandchildren, and beginning this year, I will attend high school graduations for the next several consecutive years. My issue is that I am so hard of hearing that I cannot understand the speakers at these ceremonies. For me, it is as though the speeches are in a foreign language. I applaud when others applaud, but don’t laugh at the humor nor feel touched by a sentimental story. I simply cannot understand what is being said. (Yes, I have excellent hearing aids, as well as a microphone I can use when out with a friend. However, these tools are not sufficient for a graduation ceremony.)

The children all go to fairly small schools, and the ceremonies are held in the gym or auditorium, where space is very limited. Under these circumstances, would it be better to forgo the graduation ceremony, letting someone who could appreciate it have the seat I am taking up?

GENTLE READER: You will not be at much of a disadvantage. The valedictorian will vow to fix the world, the principal will express faith that everyone in the class is now equipped to do so, and the prominent parent who is the guest speaker will make some insider jokes gleaned from the family’s graduating senior, which no one except the classmates will get. The other families are laughing out of solidarity with their own graduates.

Miss Manners is not intending to be mean. These rituals have meaning, and departing from them too radically robs them of their emotional value. She only wants to make the point that the

speeches are not the important part — unless one of your grandchildren is the valedictorian.

Rather, the point is the show of family pride in a child’s achievement, the ceremonial recognition of the child’s achievement, and the heralding of a new life stage. Your presence would be an important contribution to all that. It shows the child that you care, and it shows the parents that family bonds survive the growing independence of new generations.

And nobody is going to test you on what was said in the speeches. If that were the case, a lot of people with no hearing problems would flunk.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it polite to blow on your spoon of newly served, very hot soup?

GENTLE READER: No. Sorry. But that does not mean that Miss Manners is fine with your burning your tongue. You need only fill your spoon and hold it aloft for a moment while making a few seconds of charming remarks to your dinner partner.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m a 300-pound woman. I’m funny, friendly and intelligent. I went to a luncheon and was engaged in conversations with many of the strangers there.

One tiny, petite woman had finished part of her lunch and doggy-bagged it along with her dessert when she looked at me and said, “Oh, I was just going to tell you that you could take your dessert to go, but I see you’ve already eaten it.”

I was gonna say, “I’ll try not to judge you if you don’t judge me.” But that didn’t sound good to me. What would you say?

GENTLE READER : “Yes. It was quite good.”

Miss Manners does not dismiss the possibility that there was a criticism implied in what the woman said, but as nothing she actually said was rude, let us instead follow the policy of not looking for trouble.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife and I were invited to a dinner party (for eight people) about one month in advance. We happily accepted, but a few days before the party, I started to experience cold symptoms. By the day of the party, I had definitely come down with a cold, with intermittent coughing and nose-blowing.

My wife insisted that we should still attend because we accepted the invitation (and it was “just a cold”), but I was torn between spoiling our friends’ long-planned dinner party with an 11th-hour cancellation or subjecting the other guests to my cough. She did not want to attend alone.

Where do you draw the line between an annoying late cancellation and keeping a commitment when feeling under the weather?

GENTLE READER: Where germs are involved. Disappointed as your hosts may be at your not attending, they would be more upset later to find that they had entertained those uninvited guests.

Miss Manners hopes that you did not attend and have apologized to the hosts, mentioning that you wish you could have notified them earlier. And that you have skipped pointing out that getting a cold was not your fault.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I just hosted my book club in my home. A member who had never been in my home before whipped out her iPhone and started taking pictures of my artwork, furniture and knickknacks.

She is a nice person, and I don’t own any Leonardos, but it felt like she was planning a heist. Is this photo-snapping acceptable? It felt creepy to me.

GENTLE READER: A generous interpretation, Miss Manners supposes, would be that your guest was admiring your taste. But if you found the phototaking creepy, you could have said, “I’d be happy to tell you the history of these pieces or share information on where to get some of them, but I don’t want any photographs taken. If a home design magazine or auction house comes calling, then we can talk.”

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our granddaughter, who is 5 years old, came up to her grandfather, who was seated at the dinner table, and told him, “Get up! You can’t sit there! That’s my chair!”

Our son and DIL were witnesses. I came into the room, found my husband standing at the breakfast bar, holding his plate and eating his dinner. I said, “For heaven’s sake, you can go and sit down!!!” He replied, “We’ll talk about this later.”

My husband later told me that because our son and DIL were witnesses, he had no desire to say anything. “She’s their daughter, and we have no say in how they choose to raise her.” This is usual for our granddaughter, who had earlier told me, “Be quiet! I want to talk now!”

We left the next day, very early, without bidding our granddaughter and DIL goodbye. He’s done. Might Miss Manners suggest another way to have handled this?

GENTLE READER: Something, you mean, between ignoring the problem entirely and cutting off all ties with your family?

Miss Manners will try. Five years old is awfully young to be declared a lost cause. It is true that, in general, one does not want to correct a child’s behavior in front of the parents. But there are ways around that. And grandparents get special dispensation — especially since the infraction(s) were directed at you.

IcoluMbia rivEr rEadEr

n this, our first HaikuFest since the passing of Gary Meyers, its founder and longtime Chief Judge, we invited Gary’s brother Ron Meyers to serve as Honorary Judge. He was quick to say “Yes!” and gathered a new panel of qualified associate judges to assist him with the task. Submissions arrived at a fast clip, as always, and everyone was thrilled at the number, the geographical range, and the quality of the poems!

Judges carefully read and evaluated all entries, in Traditional, Pop, and Youth categories, casting special consideration to those with emphasis on Birds & Animals, and the Columbia River and Environs.

And they had their work cut out for them! We are pleased to present here the judges’ selections from the 2024 Gary Meyers Memorial HaikuFest.

Note from Ron: I feel honored to have been asked to participate as one of the judges in selecting haikus to feature for CRR’s 2024 HaikuFest in honor of my brother. I’m sure he’s looking down and enjoying every haiku that was submitted, because to him, everyone’s was a “Winner.”

Earlier, Ron said, “It was a pleasure following through with what my brother started. Even though I’m not the brightest light in the room when it comes to Haiku!” he joked. While the judges did count syllables, they mostly “picked on the basis of if they flow,” Ron said. And Gary was right...we appreciate all entrants participating. Everyone’s haiku IS a winner! Thank you for being part of this year’s celebration.

We are happy to continue this tradition!

HaikuFest 2024

2024 SELECTIONS

Moon comes still and bright

Wind sighs amid the fir trees

Shadows creep along Margaret Caron, Toutle, Wash

Frogs croak and owls hoot.

Their nightly woodland chorus

Tells us spring is here

P.J. Peterson, Longview, Wash.

Goldfish in my pond

Know nothing of predators. The blue heron waits.

P.J. Peterson, Longview,Wash.

River’s mirrored face, Raindrops dance, ripples embrace, Nature’s tranquil grace.

Mark Robben

not quiet or shy strong opinions of these crows are never withheld

Mary Hubbard, St. Helens, Ore.

CASH CLUB CARES

We donate $5 to animal shelters for each new youth account opened, up to annually. This brings our cumulative donations since 2017 to $5,000 $28,321! PROGRAM

On top of his rock a yellow-bellied marmot basking in the sun

Keith A. Simmonds Rodez, France

Water drops on trees

Sparkling in the bright sun shine Brighten our winter.

Lois Brudi-Conrod Longview, Wash.

Goldfish in my pond

Know nothing of predators.  The blue heron waits.

PJ Peterson, Longview, Wash.

Sumptuous blossoms

Portend succulent peaches

I drool shamelessly Sulema Zerr, Puget Island, Cathlamet, Wash.

Our deer family comes for another visit

I share my roses

Patti Conley, Longview Wash.

Alone in the slough on his favorite piling the blue heron sits

Patti Conley, Longviewk Wash.

One, two, three, you jump. The parachute might open. If not, then good-bye.

Mike Vrosh, Kalama (a retired military parachutist )

Moon floats in horse trough, Old gray gelding drinks up stars As eclipse begins.

John Ciminello, Naselle, Wash.

Spirit-shaped mist floats Through hemlock, salal, and spruce, Distant raven calls

John Ciminello, Naselle, Wash.

Eagles black and white Regally sit where they want A beautiful sight

Blair Wilson, Longview, Wash.

Feathered wings take flight, In the forest, eyes gleam bright, Creatures dance in moonlight.

LaNay Eastman, Clatskanie, Ore.

Petrichor’s spring smell, To olfactory it comes. Permeation bliss.

Ken V. Thomas, Columbia City, Ore.

dew and moonlight cast a thousand silver moonlets in the forest glade

Marc Imlay, Longview, Wash.

Little jewel patch

skunk cabbage down in a marsh blooming in the mists

G. Adele Armstrong, Raymond, Wash.

peck peck waddle run two girls roam the neighborhood chickens entertain!

Jan Zuccarini, St. Helens, Ore.

sounds of pounding feet

gray and fat with bushy tails squirrels atop the fence.

Jan Zuccarini, St. Helens, Ore.

Original watercolor by G. Adele Armstrong, ofRaymond,Wash.. HaikuFest never formally include artwork, but Gary always enjoyed the spontaneous submissions.

See

Miss Manners from page 7

Your husband could have said to her, “I was not aware that this was your chair, but is there a nicer way you could tell me? And a suggestion of where would be a better place for me to sit?”

And you could have politely told her, “When I’m done speaking, you can have a turn.”

But if you feel that being a parent is a requirement, Miss Manners reminds you that you are one, to your son. Take him aside and tell him that you do not want to interfere in how they rear their child, but you will not be spoken to in that manner.

A third option is to procure some one-onone time with your grandchild, affording an opportunity to teach her the valuable lesson of treating others with respect. While the child may resist this at first, Miss Manners is certain she will come to appreciate it. Because if someone does not teach her manners soon, it will be a far more painful lesson in the future from teachers, peers and the entire service industry.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

HaikuFest from page 9

kitty kitty mine bonded we are all the time glad she rescued me!

Jan Zuccarini, St. Helens, Ore.

Illuminated

Nights soft lights gentle crescent Raven steals the moon

Samuel Berger, Seattle, Wash.

Never ending rain

Pounds on our roof and windows, as we wish for sun.

Karin Kaczmarek, Long Beach, Wash.

Waves keep rolling in, Pushing foam up on the sand. A windy beach day.

Karin Kaczmarek, Long Beach, Wash.

Geese honking above

Coordinated choir

A comforting sound

Pat Richards, Longview, Wash.

Fallen snow shimmers

‘Neath bare branches shivering White-tailed deer huddle.

Estrella Brown, Clatskanie, Ore.

Wimahl or Columbia?

Oh, river, how were you known before the time of names?

Tami Tack, Rainier, Ore.

A walk in the woods

Eyes in a tree testify

I am not alone!

Marie Hatcher, Rainier, Ore.

light as a feather

levitating hummingbird lends us his beauty

Adele Brown, Longview, Wash.

O hallelujah

Before me, and after still My river, yours too

Gretchen Bossio, Lubbock, Texas (formerly Olympia, Wash.)

YOUTH

The magnetic poles

Are we alone in the sky?

Too bad I can’t fly

Kelvin Rose, age 11

Battleground, Wash.

The cold polar wind

It whips my clothes all day long

I love the Arctic

Tristan McClellan, age 13

Battleground, Wash.

Penguins, flightless birds

Instead, they use their wings to Propel through water

Jamie Maurer, age 10

Battleground, Wash.

Sunshine, a thousand

Happy droplets waiting to Burst into flame… Spring!

Lyla Barnick, age 14

Battleground, Wash.

Go downstairs find paint

Find someone there then she turns

Scared out of her wits

Cormac Barnick, age 11 Battleground, Wash.

Silent and patient

Majestic but fierce, claws sharp

I am the bobcat

Max Bossio, age 11

Lubbock, Texas

I see eagles soar

Swoop and dive, a mighty cry

Then fly ever high

Max Bossio, age 11

Lubbock, Texas

In the ground, new life

Buds sprouting towards the sky

Promising fresh starts

Jemma Bossio, age 13

Lubbock, Texas

Osprey’s back again

Bald eagle’s chased off, dismayed

He’ll build a new nest!

Amy Tejcka

Battleground, Wash.

Winter wind blows hard

Maple branches sway and strain

Then crack like old bones

Bob Roth, Longview, Wash.

Astronomy

Looking UP

By Greg Smith

The Evening Sky

A clear sky is needed.

The only planet left in the evening sky to see right now is Jupiter. On April 31st, Jupiter will be low in the west/northwest sky heading into the horizon by 8:45pm. It won’t return to the night sky till June 7th around 3:30 am.

The Morning Sky

A cloudless eastern horizon sky is required. April 9th has Saturn returning to the morning sky in conjunction with Mars just before sunrise. Venus and Mercury are lost in the glare of the rising sun. As April progresses to May, Saturn and Mars will rise earlier and earlier. Unfortunately, Venus and Mercury will eventually be lost to the far side of the sun till late July when they return to the evening sky.

Night Sky Spectacle A NOVA!

A clear sky is a must. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. Sometime this spring in the eastern sky and in summer in the western sky, in the constellation of Corona Borealis (northern crown) a naked eye nova will appear. Currently the star is a very dim 10th magnitude, but when it “goes Nova” it will brighten to a 2nd magnitude star just like the North Star, Polaris.

The constellation Corona Borealis is located between the constellations of Boötes and Hercules. These constellations are now up in the eastern sky. The nova will last a few days for naked eye viewing, or with binoculars maybe a week. This star known as T Coronae Borealis, located about 3,000 light years away, is a star that explodes every

Longview resident Greg Smith is past president of Friends of Galileo. Meet him and other club members at monthly meetings in Longview. For more info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo.com.

All times are Pacific Daylight Savings Time

Moon Phases:

1st Quarter: Mon., April 15

Full: Tues., April 23

Last Quarter: Wed., May 1

New: Tues., May 7

1st Quarter: Wed., May 15

End of twilight - when the brightest stars start to come out. It takes about another hour to see a lot of stars.

Mon., April 15th, 8:31pm Mon., April 22nd, 8:41pm Mopn., May 6th, 9:01pm Mpon,., May 10th, 9:10pm

80 years and is due to blow up this year. It last blew up in 1946. Next time for sure will be about 2105.

“The explosive stellar pair consists of a white dwarf — a relatively small, dense stellar remnant — and a larger red giant star in the late stages of stellar evolution, meaning its outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous. The gravitationally bound stars are close enough that, as the red giant grows unstable from its increasing temperature and pressure, it ejects its outer layers onto the white dwarf. The accumulation of matter heats the white dwarf’s dense atmosphere enough to trigger a thermonuclear reaction that produces the nova we see from Earth.”

By Samantha Mathewson, space.com

So, find out now where Corona Borealis is located and familiarize yourself with the stars that make it up so you can recognize the nova when it appears. It will be in the lower left part of the curve of the corona (crown). I am sure you’ll be hearing about it on the news, as well.

Happenings CHAMBER

Apil Update

SHOP LOCAL

Support your local Businesses & Restaurants!

New Members

Longview Kelso Earlybird Lions

P.O. Box 3

Longview, WA 98632 360-749-0258

Fire Mountain Travel

113 SW 1st Avenue

Castle Rock, WA 98611 360-975-7883

Chamber News

Bonnie Delaney

Kelso Longview Chamber hires CEO

Stop by the Chamber and Say Hello

Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

President Jason Gentemann announces Bonnie Delaney as Chamber CEO.

The board anticipates Delaney’s record in leadership, strategic planning and community engagement will continue the growth and success of the Chamber and its influence to help the Kelso Longview community create a strong and successful business environment.

“She has a background in business ownership so she understands the issues that are important and will create value to members,” Gentemann said. “She also has the skills necessary to manage the Chamber activities and ensure its long-term success.”

“I love business. I’ve lived, breathed and been a part of it my entire life” said Delaney, who holds a certificate of completion from Harvard Business School in Organizational Leadership and brings 25+ years of experience in revenue growth, marketing, budgeting, financial management and community and government relations to the job. Most recently, she served as national marketing director and vice president of sales and marketing at NPW Companies and Baxter Auto Parts / Performance Warehouse.

Watch this space for updates and more events!

www.kelsolongviewchamber.org

360-423-8400

Biz Buzz

What’s Happening Around the River

Biz Buzz notes news in local business and professional circles. As space allows, we will include news of innovations, improvements, new ventures and significant employee milestones of interest to readers. Please email publisher@crreader.com to share the local buzz.

2024 ‘Discover Kalama’ visitors guide rolls out soon

The Port of Kalama, together with the City of Kalama, McMenamins Kalama Harbor Lodge and the Kalama Chamber, is unveiling a new version of the Discover Kalama visitor guide this spring. The 24-page brochure showcases Kalama parks, businesses, shopping/dining options and local history. An area map and information on fishing and exploring the Kalama River are also included.

The Discover Kalama guide was designed to be interactive, allowing readers to scan QR codes with their phone to access historic materials and videos from the Port Interpretive Center and Kalama Library. Other codes will display event calendars at the Port’s parks, Westin Amphitheater and McMenamins. Scan the code to preview online; printed copies will be available starting in April.

Lobbying season brings Port of Kalama staff to Washington D.C. for area advocacy

Annual visit gives opportunity for face time with members of Congress

Call before you go !

Our ticket is one-way. Plan for the exit.

“I make house calls”

In a world full of email and zoom calls, meeting face to face is more valuable than ever, especially when it comes to advocating for our region with state and federal legislators. This is why the Port makes an annual pilgrimage to both Olympia and Washington D.C. with other area ports and Columbia/Snake River stakeholders.

Making the trip in the spring is strategic, as members of Congress — particularly senators — are often too busy to make personal visits during the legislative session. The one-on-one time creates an opportunity for the Port to communicate our needs, keeping our priorities on top of mind with members of Congress as they make determinations on regulatory issues, appropriations and continued funding for Port projects and partner agencies (like the Army Corps of Engineers) whose success has a direct impact on the Port of Kalama.

Technology may have transformed the way in which business is done, but there really is no substitute for a handshake, eye contact and having an in-person conversation. •••

From left: Mark Wilson, Executive Director; Troy Stariha, Randy Sweet, Patrick Harbison, Commissioners; Tabitha Reeder, Director of Environmental Services; Dan Polacek, Government/Public Relations.

Where do you read THE READER?

WHERE DO YOU READ THE READER?

Send your photo reading the Reader (high-resolution JPEG) to publisher@crreader.com.For cell phone photos, choose the largest file size up to 2 MB. Include names and cities of residence. Expect an acknowledgment within 5 days of submission; otherwise, please re-send. Thank you for your participation and patience, as we usually have a small backlog!

Drying out Dan Koenig at Big Bend National Park. He and Teresa Welch, both of Eugene, Ore., reported they were “finding it’s much dryer in Texas national parks than in Washington’s!”

Surrounded by flowers, not pickles!

Jim and Nancy McCoy in Lisbon during their “Pickleball Getaways” trip to Portugal last summer. They visited Lisbon, Sintra and the Douro Valley.

Mazatlan Longview residents Christi Davis and Patty Williams in front of the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mazatlan, Mexico.

What a racket! Longview resident Michelle Waite and her sister Lesley Wright, of Brisbane, Australia, in Capetown, South Africa, to watch the World Netball Championships. “Australia won!” Michelle wrote.

Pacific Culture

Hawai’ian State Museum

Aloha from O’ahu! This month features the Bishop Museum located in Honolulu and founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the royal Kamehamea family.

The museum is the largest in the State of Hawai’i and holds vast collections of natural history and ethnographic items related to Polynesian culture. The museum is designated the State Museum of Natural and Cultural History of Hawai’i, with extensive educational and research programs to share cultural knowledge and history related to this region.

The Hawai’ian islands make up the northern tip of what is known as the

“Polynesian Triangle”, with New Zealand and Easter Island comprising the southwest and southeast corners respectively.

Among the many attributes of Polynesian culture that captivate me is the navigation acumen, which connected the islands across the central Pacific under a unifying cultural and linguistic influence.

My visit focused on the cultural history wing, although there is also a natural history building across the campus quad. Immediately upon entering the historic building, visitors are greeted by friendly docents and detailed craftsmanship of the building. The great hall houses most of the exhibits showing items from all over Polynesia.

Overhead hangs large models of a sperm whale and shark. One of my

favorite displays included models of seafaring vessels which brings a connection to the Pacific Northwest. British vessels (and Russians and others) would winter in Hawai’i, and often return to Northwest ports with a complement of Hawai’ian crew, who were natural seafarers. Fort Nisqually, in contemporary DuPont,Washington, Wash., is an example where Hawai’ians have settled, along with nearby Kalama, named for John Kalama, who was Hawai’ian. If your travels take you to O’ahu, a visit to the Biship Museum will not disappoint.

For more information, please visit www.bishopmuseum.org.

Production notes people+place

Getting Hip

Your daY begins at 4:00am with two successive showers.

You remove any rings or jewelry, dress in loose clothing, drink your permitted four ounces of coffee. Your caregiver drives you to the hospital.

A welcoming nurse guides you to a pre-op bay and comfy chair, asks for your birthdate and gives you a wrist band affirming your identity. You doff clothes, eyeglasses, cell phone and ID into a labeled plastic bag. The too-small hospital gown gapes in the back.

Another nurse drapes you with a metallic space blanket filled with warm air. The anesthesiologist introduces herself and describes her process. You’re given six packets of sterile wipes and asked to sponge yourself clean yet one more time.

The preoccupied surgeon appears briefly, greets you, and autographs your right hip with a felt pen just to make sure he’ll be replacing the correct joint.

At 8:15 you’re wheeled into a room almost blindingly bright, the O.R., and given a spinal anesthetic. When it’s clear it’s working, you’re “put to sleep” for the duration.

The sleep is well advised. Orthopedic surgery can be “a lot of hammering and sawing, like a home renovation project,” according to one nurse. Your arthritic ball and socket and upper femur are cut out. The surgeon installs, with the help of a robot, a metal-ceramic artificial joint in your pelvis. Your new right hip. You awake from sedation in an ICU, oxygen and blood pressure closely monitored, and do breathing exercises to help banish the anesthetic. Teams of therapists outline restrictions on your movements, diet, and sleep posture. Your caregiver fills seven drug prescriptions. You’re helped into your clothes, guided into a wheelchair, and driven home at 4:45pm

Six weeks of rehab and you’ll be dancing the light fantastic.

“Health care workers cited COVID-19 related anxiety or depression, burnout, workload issues, and reaching traditional retirement age as reasons for leaving or intending to leave their jobs.”

Joint Adventure

The medicine of mobility

The imposing offices of Pacific Surgical Institute offer its patients comfortable surroundings and the promise of first class care. But no one, not even one of the region’s elite private surgical centers, escaped COVID-19 unscathed.

“We shut down for seven weeks, immediately,” said Dr. Bill Turner, one of Pacific’s six surgeon-partners. “Never experienced anything quite like it. Then reopening, but operating with all kinds of extra precautions. People didn’t stop breaking their legs and limbs just because of COVID.”

– American Academy of Family Physicians the pandemic, but beleaguered ERs and primary care providers suffered full-on. According to U.S. News, one in five health care professionals lost their jobs during the first two months of the crisis, as caregivers mobilized, improvised, quit or fled. Even today hiring has not yet brought professional staffing back to pre-COVID levels.

“There was a lot of psychological trauma,” said Turner, “and remember, a lot of people just refused to believe it was real. And often by then it was too late.”

Wellness Comes of Age

Specialty practices like Pacific were out of the direct line of fire during

Today, healthcare struggles to return to normalcy. Staffing is still a big issue (see

ONE IN FIVE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS LOST THEIR JOBS

Dr. Bill Turner

sidebar, pg. 19). Patient demographics are changing, with an aging population dominating demand.

On the positive side, the continuing emphasis on wellness — preventative care and medical interventions improving quality of life, not just treating illness — offers benefits for both patients and caregivers. But this too is dramatically changing the healthcare landscape.

As Baby Boomers enter the so-called Golden Years, their extended life expectancies and active lifestyles put more pressure on their aging bodies. The result is not only more attention to diet and fitness, but also increasing demand for “elective”medical procedures.

cont page 18

A monthly feature written and photographed by Southwest Washington native and Emmy Award-winning journalist Hal Calbom

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other sophisticated technologies have revolutionized health care, especially imaging. (above) Dr. Bill Turner reviews an MRI image with MRI Manager Pat Burns at Pacific Surgical Institute; MRI machine in the background.

from page 17

Hence the rise of specialty practices, and freestanding surgery centers that can offer more nimbleness and focus than large multi-service hospitals.

The Diagnosis Difference

“We have about 50,000 patient visits per year,” Dr. Turner told us, “That’s orthopedics, physical therapy, urology, the surgery center and MRI.” The complex hosts a busy imaging business, dominated by the colossal MRI — Magnetic Resonance Imaging — machine. We are advised to keep our distance from the powerful magnet, which can literally pull metal jewelry from wrists and fingers.

“We have access to much better images now,” said Turner. The MRI and other powerful technologies have accelerated the revolution in the way physicians diagnose, treat and rehabilitate their patients. Pacific even employs the services of specialist medical consultants to interpret their sophisticated images and confirm their own diagnoses.

The result is unprecedented awareness of patient problems, accuracy and efficiency in their treatment, and improved outcomes, often with shorter patient stays and less overall health impact.

‘When I got out of med school, you had a pretty basic response to a potential heart attack,” Turner told us, “morphine, oxygen, aspirin, and maybe catheterization.” Today symptoms can be confirmed almost instantly, a clot busting injection administered, a stent installed if needed, “and the patient goes home the next day.”

Even the veteran surgeon marvels at the changes in technology. “I’m still learning every day.”

Boomer Blues

“The great thing about orthopedics is I get to work with a three year old one day and a ninety-year old the next,” said Bill Turner. But that can be both good and bad news.

At left: Dr. Turner with longtime patient John Searing, who has had both shoulder and knee surgeries at Pacific Surgical Institute. “The surgeries have allowed me to still enjoy an active lifestyle,” said Searing. PSI employs more than 70 people under the direction of six surgeon-partners, broadening their surgical business with imaging, physical therapy and urology services.

WE HAVE ACCESS TO MUCH BETTER IMAGES NOW

Good news because business is potentially booming in health care, but costs, staffing, regulatory policies and insurance hassles remain troubling. And, as with so many other social phenomena we’ve followed over the last six decades, the Baby Boom Generation is exacerbating these problems.

“There are so many ridiculously healthy eighty-year-olds out there you wouldn’t believe it,” said Turner. But like dependable old cars that run well beyond their expected mileage and life span, there’s a maintenance burden, too. “Joint replacements get a lot of attention,” he added, “and we did around 900 of them last year.” But the bigger burden by far is more mundane:

cont pg. 19

Since 1936

Northwest hydropower produces no carbon emissions, thereby significantly reducing the total carbon footprint of the region’s energy production.

basic maintenance like strains, pulls, trauma, sports medicine, hands and feet, broken bones.

Physician, Heal Thyself

Simply put, we are losing doctors and nurses faster than this accelerating demand. So much so that healthcare organizations and observers see great stresses on existing systems through the rest of this decade and well into the 2030s.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses this “physician” maxim ironically: Many interpreters suggest he’s foreshadowing a life devoted to saving others when in the end he cannot save himself.

Such would seem to be the case with healthcare professionals and the Baby Boom: the majority of them are baby boomers themselves. According to the American Medical Association 55

Healthcare in Crisis

Don’t blame the pandemic

—

entirely

The crisis in U.S. Healthcare has deeper roots and ramifications than the staffing strains crippling the system and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New England Journal of Medicine highlights four intertwined root causes eroding our healthcare system.

CRISIS CAUSES

Insurance Coverage

•30+ million Americans uninsured

•40+ million Americans under-insured

Financial Losses for Providers

•Hospitals and private practices

•Changes in demand

•Reduction in routine services

Racial & Ethnic Disparities

•Urban ethnic poor suffer more sickness

•Minorities are chronically under-insured Crisis in Public Health

•U.S. has poor health outcomes

•4% of world’s population

•25% of COVID cases

The New England Journal of Medicine

By Hal Calbom

percent of practicing physicians are over age 55; and the New York Times reports that over 650,000 nurses are boomers nearing retirement.

Hence the irony — the Baby Boom wreaks demographic havoc two ways: pressing up demand thanks to their collective aging, and decimating the ranks of healthcare providers thanks to their own imminent retirements.

Despite spending exorbitant amounts on care, ours ranks among the world’s poorest compared with other so-called developed nations. A recent Gallup Survey shows consumer confidence in the U.S. healthcare system the lowest it’s been in a decade: in answer to the question “who provides good or excellent medical care?” respondents said 8 of 10 nurses; 7 of 10 physicians; fewer than 6 of 10 hospitals; and only 5 of 10 providers of “virtual care” or tele-medicine.

It’s impossible to over-estimate the accumulated effects of stress, burnout and low morale on the system and its practitioners. “The journey to becoming a physician has always been a challenge,” said AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, but now he says there are a host of societal factors coming into play.

Concerned planners and healthcare leaders point to a potential shortage of 30,000 to 100,000 physicians in 10 years, by 2034.

Mark Morris Foundation Annual Golf Tournament! JOIN THE FUN!

Saturday, May 18

Longview Country Club

To donate to the Scholarship Fund, please mail your check payable to:

Mark Morris High School Foundation, P.O. Box 1674, Longview, WA 98632

Or donate online at mmhsfoundation.org

All proceeds go for scholarships

Form your team and sign up NOW!

Info/registration:

mmhsfoundation.org or Facebook

The Evans Kelly Family

One Of LOngview’s piOneer famiLies.

Proud Sponsor of People+Place

Planners and health professionals call this a “looming public health crisis” and are encouraging a next generation to embrace the profession. “Imagine walking into an emergency room in your moment of pain,” said AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld in a recent speech, “in desperate need of a physician’s care, and finding no one there to take care of you. That’s what we’re up against.”

The pandemic did not create a crisis in US. healthcare. For many in the United States, crisis was already a pre-condition of care, delivered in emergency rooms and negotiated through denied insurance claims.”

Dwaipayhan Banerjee, MIT

PHYSICIAN STRESSORS

•Increased administrative burdens

•Attacks on science

•Healthcare consolidation

•Broken Medicare payment system

•Cost of education, fewer med school openings American Medical Association

In the meantime the rest of us, demanding more and better healthcare all the time, can expect rising costs, crowded ERs not meant to triage the world, and temporary “travelers” filling in for nurses and technicians at exorbitant rates.

And we can hope for aspiring physicians like Dr. Bill Turner, who still considers his noble profession “the best job in the world.”

•••

Kobe Parlin Lower Columbia College Men’s Basketball “

I glorify God as a Christian athlete by playing my sport for him. I pray before games and practices and focus on growing my relationship away from the game of basketball. I go to FCA on Monday nights, and I am committed to read scripture daily. I give God thanks for the opportunity to play college basketball and seek to glorify Him by the way I play the game.”

Proud Sponsor of People+Place

Weatherguard supports the FCA vision: To see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes.

from page19

The Quality Community

Bill Turner is not ringing the alarm bell yet, thanks to the strength of his client base and the desirability of life in Longview. “When I started out, people used to see a place like LongviewKelso as a stepping stone to Seattle or Portland,” he told us. “But now, thanks in some ways to what’s going on in Seattle and Portland, they’re doing just the opposite and wanting to be here.”

Turner and his partners recruit physicians and staff typically from three places: fresh from medical schools and residencies; from the military; and from disaffected professionals who simply want to re-locate. “Quality of life is incredibly important,” he said, citing the ubiquitous wellness philosophy applied to health care doctors and staff. People want a community they can participate in, educate their kids in, improve their lives.

“Medicine is such a rewarding profession,” he said, “the good you can do, the way you can transform lives.”

Turner encourages young people to pursue medicine as a career every chance he gets. “There are so many different kinds of opportunities. And it’s such a privilege to be an important part of someone’s life. I honestly consider myself the luckiest guy in the world.”

Interviews are edited for clarity and concision.

Hal

Longview

Proud Sponsor of People+Place

Calbom, a third-generation

native and author of Empire of Trees: America’s Planned City and the Last Frontier, produces CRR’s People+Place monthly feature, and is CRRPress associate publisher.

Besides offering diagnostic help, detailed images lend precision to procedures, increasing efficiency and minimizing patient impact. Top photo: Dr. Turner consults with Pat Burns, MRI manager at Pacific Surgical Institute.

Above right: John Searing considers Dr. Turner “a friend as well as a doctor. His care is pretty personalized,” he said. “It’s like having your next-door neighbor as your doctor.”

Proud Sponsor of People+Place

Brian Fleming

Watch ‘em grow!

Cultivate young gardeners with an impressive “bean teepee” ~ a simple project with dramatic results.

Sharing your love of gardening with young children will encourage them to blossom into eager participants in many outdoor activities. Besides creating a positive family experience and learning how plants grow, kids often gain an appreciation for the nutritional benefits of fresh vegetables and are willing to taste something new. They may also learn that working with your hands can be fun! When children are physically active, they sleep well, wake up refreshed and have a great attitude. Most intuitively desire nutritious food when it is made available and will make healthy choices. Good food for developing bodies can be grown at home. Make this your year to get growing!

BEAN TEEPEE HOW-TO

1. Mid-April: Plant seeds into small pots to sprout indoors. In photo, lower right, a 3-year-old pokes three seeds each into 2-inch pots, using Scarlet Runner beans harvested the previous fall and stored in a zip-lock bag in the refrigerator. Water well, cover with plastic and place in a warm spot with good light.

2. Within a week, the seeds will sprout. Remove the plastic and maintain good soil moisture. Avoid overwatering. Excited children may want to water every few minutes.

3. Remarkable growth can be observed each day This is a good time to read the children’s version of the classic tale, Jack and the Beanstalk. Kids can label their plants and even add a self-portrait with a picture of the anticipated “teepee.”

4. Mid-May the beans and the weather should be perfect for planting. About a week before, gradually begin giving the plants some time outside. When there is no danger of frost, they can be left outdoors overnight. Place 10-foot poles (bamboo works well) in a circle (about 6 feet across) and tie at the top

with twine, forming the teepee shape (the more poles, the more support). Zigzag twine or string up and down and around the pole frame to give the beans something to climb. Don’t forget to leave a “door.” Plant the beans around the perimeter of the teepee, using about 1/4 cup of an organic vegetable garden fertilizer in the hole. Help the young plants find the twine and the poles by twisting them gently onto the lowest level.

Young gardeners find the cool interior of the bean “teepee” the ultimate retreat on hot summer days, perfect for afternoon snacks or just “hanging out.”

5. By mid-summer the beans will have vigorously covered the teepee structure. Scarlet Runner beans offer bright flowers, as well as good eating (see photo, above left.

6. Water your teepee regularly and fertilize once a month with an organic vegetable garden fertilizer. As the plants grow, they will require more water and more fertilizer. The first of September, fertilize for the last time and in late September, reduce water as the vines begin to decline.

GOOD TO EAT!

Beans are rich in a number of important micronutrients, including potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, and zinc and are important sources of protein in vegetarian diets. In particular, they are among the only plant foods that provide significant amounts of the indispensable amino acid lysine.

Don’t forget to reserve some beans from your harvest for planting the following year.

Nancy Chennault is a member of “Castle Rock Blooms’” team of volunteers. She and her husband Jim operated a landscaping business and independent nursery/garden center for 20+ years. She wrote CRR’s Northwest Gardener column with great spirit and pizazz from 2006 until early 2017. After a seven-year hiatus she has come out of “retirement” to reconnect us with some of her favorite gardening topics.

Story & Photos by Nancy Chennault

RAYMOND CARVER WRITING FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, May 17:

5pm Publishers and Writers Fair

Clatskanie Cultural Center, 75 S. Nehalem Street, Clatskanie, Ore.

6pm Reception featuring Chad Wrigelsworth, associate editor of The Raymond Carver Review, and keynote presenter Portland poet and essayist Kim Stafford, former Oregon Poet Laureate, and the son of the late William Stafford, also a renowned poet and a U.S. Poet Laureate. Robert Michael Pyle, an ecologist and writer, author of 28 book, and featured poet for the festival, will lead a poetry reading at Flowers ’n Fluff, 45 E. Columbia River Highway. Story-telling at Fultano’s, 770 E. Columbia River Highway. The evening will conclude with readings and open mic at Colvin’s Pub & Grill, 135 N. Nehalem Street.

Saturday, May 18:

Kim Stafford will open the second day with a morning writing warm-up at the Clatskanie Cultural Center, followed by workshops organized by novelist Marianne Monson, of the Astoria Writers Guild.

Saturday afternoon:

Explore Carver in Clatskanie Several locations around the community will host readings and presentations. In commemoration of Carver’s visit to Clatskanie 40 years ago, Parking Lot Poetry will be read at the Evergreen Shopping Center/Safeway parking lot, 401 W. Columbia River Highway. The Clatskanie Library, 11 Lillich Street, will offer writing prompts for those who wish to steal time for writing.

4:30pm Readings of their poetry by the youth winners of the Raymond Carver Writing Festival Poetry Contest is set for 4:30 p.m. in the Birkenfeld Theatre at the Clatskanie Cultural Center. (see sidebar) 6pm A dinner will be hosted by the Clatskanie Farmer Collective at 6pm at the Food Hub, 80 NE Steele Street. Cost is $20 per plate. Dessert will be a potluck of pies — Carver’s favorite dessert.

After dinner

Winners of the adult poetry contest will present their poems, followed by an open mic poetry session hosted by Joseph Green, a Longview poet and retired Lower Columbia College professor.

“Where I’m Calling From” theme of festival and poetry contest

“Where I’m Calling From,” the title of both a short story and a collection of stories by Raymond Carver, the world-renowned writer born in Clatskanie, and is this year’s theme of the 2024 Raymond Carver Writing Festival.

Raymond Carver, who novelist Stephen King described as “surely the most influential writer of American short stories in the second half of the 20th century,” was born on May 25, 1938 in the brick building on Clatskanie’s North Nehalem Street, which served then as Dr. James Wooden’s hospital. Named Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr., after his father who worked as a saw filer at the Wauna paper mill, Ray spent only the first two years of his life in the Clatskanie area before the family moved to Yakima, Wash.

Carver returned to Clatskanie only once, in 1984, the same year he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Cathedral. Accompanied by Tess Gallagher, who would become his second wife, Carver stopped at the Clatskanie Library where he signed copies of his book. He also visited the Flippin House (known as “The Castle”) and signed the Dr. Wooden Baby Book, lunched at Hump’s Restaurant before he and Tess read some of their poems aloud in the Evergreen Shopping Center/ Safeway parking lot. Carver died of lung cancer in 1988 at the age of 50.

POETRY CONTEST

Prior to the Festival, during April “Poetry Month,” the Clatskanie Library is sponsoring a poetry contest; entry deadline: April 30.

Poems brought to the Clatskanie Library at 11 Lillich Street, or emailed to admin@ clatskanielibrary.org by April 30, will be judged in the following categories:

1) Young people who live within the Clatskanie School District in four age group divisions, 8-10; 11-12; 13-15; 16-18.

2) Adults living throughout the Lower Columbia River region. Cash prizes for the first two places in each category will be awarded.

More information: www.clatskanielibrary.org.

The Havens are now hiring

Patients Praise Quality Care at Longview Ortho

The experienced staff at Longview Orthopedic Associates takes pride in providing the best possible care to area patients. From fingers to toes, we can provide the help you need. Call today to schedule an appointment with one of our skilled physicians.

Dr. Turner, MD

“Dr. Turner was very patient in responding to my questions. I left the appointment feeling totally satisfied. I would recommend him to anyone who is having hip or knee problems.”

- J.S.

Dr. McLeod, DPM

“I have been very pleased with my visits. Doctor McLeod is nice, and I would definitely recommend him to my friends and family.”

- A.B.

Dr. Kung, MD

“Dr. Kung is very caring and has helped me in many ways. I highly recommend him to anyone having shoulder problems.”

- N.D.

Dr. Lin, MD

“Dr. Lin was superb. He was kind, personable, and straightforward.”

Dr. Lauder, MD

“Dr. Lauder is awesome. He provided full explanations of the process, impacts, and expectations. He also has great bedside manner.”

- G.K.

Dr. Kinney, MD

“All went very well, and I felt good about Dr. Kinney and his recommendations.”

- KK.

- H.R. www.longvieworthopedics.com 360.501.3400

We welcome Kaiser patients with a referral!

Alaskan Halibut or Cod Fish ‘N’ Chips Award-Winning Clam Chowder

Seafood, Burgers, Steaks & Pasta

Beer, Wine, Spirits & Cocktails

Call ahead

360-414-3288

360-431-6286 1110 Commerce Ave. Longview

ServiceMaster by JTS–Longview, WA • www.servicemasterjts.com

Where to find the new Reader

It’s delivered all around the River by the 15th of each month. Here’s the handy, regularly-refilled sidewalk box and rack locations, where you can pick up a copy any time of day and even in your bathrobe:

LONGVIEW

U.S. Bank

Post Office

Bob’s (rack, main check-out)

In front of 1232 Commerce Ave

In front of 1323 Commerce Ave

In front of Elam’s 1413 Commerce

In front of Freddy’s 1110 Comm.

YMCA

Fred Meyer (rack, service desk)

Teri’s on Broadway

Grocery Outlet, OB Hwy

The Gifted Kitchen (711 Vandercook Way)

Fibre Fed’l CU - Commerce Ave

Monticello Hotel (front entrance)

Kaiser Permanente

St. John Medical Center (rack, Park Lake Café)

LCC Student Center

Indy Way Diner

Columbia River Reader Office

1333 14th Ave. (box at door)

Omelettes & More (entry rack)

Stuffy’s II (entry rack)

KELSO

Visitors’ Center / Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce

KALAMA

Etc Mercantile

Fibre Fed’l CU

Kalama Shopping Center corner of First & Fir

Columbia Inn

McMenamin’s Harbor Lodge (rack)

Luckman’s Coffee, Mountain Timber Market, Port of Kalama

WOODLAND

The Oak Tree

Visitors’ Center

Grocery Outlet

Luckman Coffee

CASTLE ROCK

Lacie Rha’s Cafe (32 Cowlitz W.)

Parker’s Restaurant (box, entry)

Visitors’ Ctr 890 Huntington Ave.

N., Exit 49, west side of I-5

Cascade Select Market

VADER

Little Crane Café

RYDERWOOD

Café porch

TOUTLE

Drew’s Grocery & Service

CLATSKANIE

Post Office

Mobil / Mini-Mart

Fultano’s Pizza

WESTPORT

Berry Patch (entry rack)

RAINIER

Post Office

Cornerstone Café

Rainier Hardware (rack, entry)

Earth ‘n’ Sun (on Hwy 30)

El Tapatio (entry rack)

Grocery Outlet

Senior Center (rack at front door)

DEER ISLAND

Deer Island Store

COLUMBIA CITY

Post Office

WARREN

Warren Country Inn

ST HELENS

Chamber of Commerce

Sunshine Pizza

St. Helens Market Fresh

Olde Town: Wild Currant, Big River Tap Room

Safeway

SCAPPOOSE

Post Office

Road Runner

Fultano’s

Ace Hardware

WARRENTON, OR

Fred Meyer

CATHLAMET

Cathlamet Pharmacy

Tsuga Gallery

Realty West

Puget Island Ferry Landing

SKAMOKAWA

Skamokawa General Store

NASELLE

Appelo Archives & Café

Johnson’s One-Stop

ILWACO

Time Enough Books (entry table)

COMMUNITY THEATRE

Dial M for Murder April 26–May 12

In the heart of London, 1952, Tony Wendice is ensnared in a web of his own making. Convinced of his wife Margot's infidelity, Tony's jealousy ignites a dangerous game of deceit. As the affair ends, the plot thickens, drawing both Tony and Margot into a vortex of danger, recrimination, and murder. Will the truth set them free, or will their secrets be their undoing?

Clatskanie Mini-Storage

Temperature conditioned units -15 sizes!

“Even if you’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film adaptation, of the Frederick Knott teleplay, you’ll want to see this smartly updated adaptation that has many surprise twists...”

–San Diego Union-Tribune

Performed April 26 through May 12, Stageworks Northwest Theatre, 1433 Commerce Ave., Longview, Wash. www.stageworksnorthwest.com

Thanks for reading CRR!

SNOTES FROM MY LIVES

by Andre Stepankowsky

Unlocking the DNA of genius shouldn’t limit our ambitions

cientists just went searching for the source of Beethoven’s genius in a lock of his hair.

They didn’t find it — at least where they looked for it in his DNA sequence. Good. I’d hate to believe that whatever we become is predetermined or, worse, that we are squandering a gift if we steer in a different direction.

According to a recent online story in Popular Mechanics, European geneticists analyzed Beethoven’s DNA sequences from strands of his hair. They sought a polygenic score—an indicator of an individual’s genetic predisposition for a trait or behavior —in this case “beat synchronization” ability, a trait related to musicality.

One distinctive aspect of Beethoven’s music is its propulsive rhythm, which give his scores a feeling of great force and inevitability. So you’d expect his synchronization score to zoom off the chart.

Not so. The study found them unremarkable. His genius must be rooted somewhere else in his DNA. There’s no doubt that genius and talent have genetic roots. The Bach family produced generation after generation of talented musicians. Canada’s Sutter family has sent several generations of players into the National Hockey League.

However, so much more goes into what we call genius. Talent must be recognized, for sure. But it must be coupled with guidance and dedication and incubated in a culture that values it. Given how their families nurtured

them, it’s no surprise that the Bachs and Sutters carried on their clans’ legacies of excellence.

The ability of modern DNA research to pry out the roots of behavior is remarkable and valuable. But as the science is refined, might there be a temptation to inevitably steer children where their DNA indicates they may best succeed?

Science could put undue pressure on kids. There’s a danger here captured in the Robin Williams movie Dead Poets’ Society. The young prep student commits suicide because his father insists he become a lawyer instead of an actor.

This is personal for me. My late father thought I had a gift for playing the piano. I was good. But over time I came to doubt that I had the commitment to become a concert pianist. I struggled with this for a year before admitting this to my dad, who was crushed.

I entered college not knowing what career to pursue. I found it after falling in love with the English language under the guidance of two literature professors. I had never previously considered becoming a journalist, although my grandfather was. Up to that point I certainly had not shown any special aptitude for writing.

So where would a DNA test on my hair have steered me? Perhaps neither the piano nor journalism, or perhaps both. Many other forces were steering my life then, as others do now.

Regardless of our DNA, we are not “locked in.” Our genes shouldn’t limit our dreams and aspirations. Perhaps that’s the most valuable lesson found in Beethoven’s locks.

WROLAND ON WINE

by Marc Roland

Wine, rituals, form conduit for spiritual connection

e could rightly say that Spring, more than any other season, catches the imagination of cultures all around the world. Spring also holds a significant place in ritual and religion, symbolizing renewal, rebirth, and the awakening of life after the dormancy of winter. Spring is celebrated in festivals, and customs reflecting the cultural, agricultural, and spiritual dimensions of this season.

Wine has played a role in these rituals, from ancient times to modern-day ceremonies, the symbolic significance of wine transcending mere drinking. It is an intertwining with spiritual practices, communal bonds, and divine connection.

The use of wine in religious rituals goes beyond the confines of established religions. It encompasses indigenous traditions, as well. Fermented beverages were known to Native Americans, usually made from local fruits and grains, but only for sacred rituals honoring ancestors, spirits, and the natural world. These rituals often involve communal gatherings, chanting, dancing, and storytelling. I love this. It is a universal language that is somehow connected to wine.

Mystics imbibe wine as a sacrament to induce altered states of consciousness and to facilitate visionary experiences. In Christianity, wine holds profound significance as a central element of the Eucharist, also known as the Holy Communion. During this sacrament, wine symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for the redemption of humanity. The act of partaking in wine and bread represents spiritual nourishment and communion with the body of Christ. Through the ritual of the Eucharist, believers affirm their faith and participate in the divine mystery of salvation.

Early documented instances of wine in religious rituals date back to ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. In these cultures, wine was a staple of daily life. Wine was a way to preserve fruit as a drink in a world where the water supply was less than pure and healthy. But it also continued to be an essential component of religious ceremonies, symbolizing abundance, fertility, and the divine essence. Libations of wine were offered to gods and goddesses as a gesture of reverence and gratitude, believed to facilitate communication with the divine realm.

Moreover, wine has been embraced by various mystical traditions as a catalyst for spiritual awakening and inner exploration. In the context of alchemy, wine symbolizes the union of opposites and the changing of base elements into spiritual mystery.

Wine is no less significant in Judaism, where it plays a prominent role in religious observance, particularly during the Passover Seder. The four cups of wine consumed during the Seder symbolize different aspects of the Exodus story, such as freedom, redemption, and deliverance. Each cup is accompanied by specific prayers and readings, fostering a profound connection to Jewish identity, history, and faith. Wine serves as a tangible reminder of God’s promises and the enduring resilience of the Jewish people.

In Hinduism, wine is associated with the worship of the deity Shiva, who is often depicted with a goblet of intoxicating drink in hand. Devotees offer wine to Shiva as a gesture of devotion, seeking his blessings for spiritual transformation and enlightenment. Wine, in this context, represents the ecstatic state of transcendence on the path to spiritual liberation.

Despite the diverse interpretations and practices surrounding the use of wine in religious rituals, certain themes resonate. Wine symbolizes the sacred marriage of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, divinity and humanity. Its intoxicating properties serve as a metaphor for the ecstasy of divine union.

Award winning journalist Andre Stepankowsky is a former reporter and editor for The Daily News. His CRR columns spring from his many interests, including hiking, rose gardening, music, and woodworking. More of his writing can be found under “Lower Columbia Currents” on substack.com

Longview resident and former Kelso teacher Marc Roland started making wine in 2008 in his garage. He and his wife, Nancy, now operate Roland Wines at 1106 Florida Street in Longview’s new “barrel district.” For wine tasting hours, call 360-8467304.

In the solemn rites of established religions or the ecstatic ceremonies of mystical traditions, wine continues to evoke awe, reverence, and transcendence, affirming our innate longing for connection. But let’s not get too spiritual here.

A good glass of wine on a warm Spring day is a ritual that enhances our lives and opens up sweet fellowship between us in a tangible way that we all understand.

QUIPS & QUOTES

Selected by Debra Tweedy

The end is nothing, the road is all. --Willa Cather, American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, 1873-1947

The best music, you can seek some shelter in it momentarily, but it’s essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.--Bruce Springsteen, American rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, 1949-

I’m proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money. --Arthur Godfrey, American radio and TV broadcaster, 1903-1983

I quote others only the better to express myself. --Michel de Montaigne, French author and statesman, 15331592

Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts. --Sigmund Freud, Austrian founder of psychoanalysis, 1856-1939

Develop interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music—The world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. --Henry Miller, American writer, 1891-1980

There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them. --Sylvia Plath, American poet and writer, 1932-1963

Every spring is the only spring, a perpetual astonishment. --Ellis Peters (pen name of Edith Pargeter), English author, 1913-1995

Great beauty, great strength, and great riches are really and truly of no great use; a right heart exceeds all. --Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and statesman, 1706-1790

Knowledge is limitless. Therefore, there is a minuscule difference between those who know a lot and those who know very little. --Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer, 1828-1910

by Debra Elisa Wöhrmann

We often read and write poetry to work things out. People who may seldom turn to poetry find themselves scratching lines of verse onto napkins or scanning the web for soothing stanzas during difficult times.

Sherri Levine began writing poetry decades ago during a hard time in her own life. When her mother, the artist Kay Levine, died in 2020, she found herself turning to poetry in a new way: To honor her mother’s memory and artwork, Sherri invited 27 prominent poets, mostly Oregonians, to write a poem in response to one of her mother’s paintings. The poets include Matthew Dickman, Paulann Petersen, Andrea Hollander, and Emmett Wheatfield. Several poems are in Spanish—one by an Argentinian, another by a Peruvian writer. Each poem is presented alongside one of Kay Levine’s watercolor or oil paintings. These ekphrastic poems—poems that respond to other works of art—will inspire readers themselves to create and to reflect. Many of us struggle to honor the memory of someone we’ve loved and who has loved us. With this book, Sherri and the contributing poets have created a public memorial that we can hold in our hands, inviting the readers to connect with their own lives and losses.

At Powell’s book launch on Youtube (“A Joy to See,” June 2023), you can view the poems and paintings, side-by-side, as the poets breathe their words into life. This anthology is an eloquent memorial and a lovely tribute from poetdaughter to artist-mother.

Longview native Debra Tweedy has lived on four continents. She and her husband decided to return to her hometown and bought a house facing Lake Sacajawea.“We came back because of the Lake and the Longview Public Library,” she says.

PAPERBACK FICTION

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

2. Dune

Frank Herbert, Ace, $18

3. A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara, Anchor, $18

4. Bride

Ali Hazelwood, Berkley, $19

5. A Court of Mist and Fury

Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

6. The Three-Body Problem

Cixin Liu, Ken Liu (Transl.), Tor, $18.99

7. Throne of Glass

Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

8. Everyone in My Family

Has Killed Someone

Benjamin Stevenson, Mariner Books, $18.99

9. Happy Place

Emily Henry, Berkley, $19

10. House of Earth and Blood Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $19

PAPERBACK NON-FICTION

1. Killers of the Flower

Moon

David Grann, Vintage, $18

2. The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19

3. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine

Rashid Khalidi, Metropolitan Books, $19.99

4. Braiding Sweetgrass

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $20

5. All About Love

bell hooks, Morrow, $16.99

6. Poverty, by America

Matthew Desmond, Crown, $20

7. On Island Time

Chandler O’Leary, Sasquatch Books, $24.95

8. Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner, Vintage, $17

9. Everything I Know About Love

Dolly Alderton, Harper Perennial, $18.99

10. Four Thousand Weeks

Oliver Burkeman, Picador, $19

BOOK REVIEW

ABy Alan Rose

Poetry

Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World

Pádraig Ó Tuama

W.W.

pril is National Poetry Month, and a good friend, knowing that I possess the poetic sensibility of a potato, gave me this book. It was a wonderful and wise choice. Unlike many poetry collections where you read one incomprehensible poem after another (What in the heck was that about?), this book acts as an interpretive guide to poems, exploring and unpacking them, revealing the power and the truth layered between their lines and in their vast open spaces.

Top 10 Bestsellers

HARDCOVER FICTION HARDCOVER NON-FICTION

1. James Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28

2. The Women

Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s Press, $30

3. Remarkably Bright

Creatures Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $29.99

4. The Hunter

Tana French, Viking, $32

5. Demon Copperhead

Barbara Kingsolver, Harper, $32.50

6. Fourth Wing

Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books, $29.99

7. Wandering Stars

Tommy Orange, Knopf, $29

8. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

James McBride, Riverhead Books, $28

9. Iron Flame

Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books, $29.99

10. North Woods

Daniel Mason, Random House, $28

1. The Creative Act

Rick Rubin, Penguin Press, $32

2. There’s Always This

Year Hanif Abdurraqib, Random House, $32

3. The Anxious Generation

Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Press, $30

4. The Wager

David Grann, Doubleday, $30

5. Atomic Habits

James Clear, Avery, $27,

6. Secrets of the Octopus

Sy Montgomery, National Geographic, $30,

7. Who’s Afraid of Gender?

Judith Butler, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $30

8. Supercommunicators

Charles Duhigg, Random House, $30

9. How to Know a Person

David Brooks, Random House, $30

10. Burn Book

Kara Swisher, Simon & Schuster, $3

Brought to you by Book Sense and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, for week ending Mar 31, 2024, based on reporting from the independent bookstores of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. For the Book Sense store nearest you, visit www.booksense.com

CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATED EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS

1. Bluey: Easter

Penguin Young Readers, $5.99

2. I Am a Bunny

Ole Risom, Richard Scarry (Illus.), Golden Books, $7.99

3. Grumpy Monkey

Suzanne Lang, Max Lang (Illus.), Random House Studio, $8.99

4. Pat the Bunny

Dorothy Kunhardt, Golden Books, $9.99

5. Little Blue Truck Feeling

Happy

Alice Schertle, Clarion Books, $14.99

6. Bluey: Butterflies

Penguin Young Readers, $5.99

7. Little Blue Truck’s Springtime

Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), HMH Books for Young Readers, $13.99

8. Taylor Swift

Wendy Loggia, Elisa Chavarri (Illus.), Golden Books, $5.99

9. Big Vashti Harrison, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $19.99

10. Bluey: The Pool

Penguin Young Readers, $4.99

Poetry for the hopelessly unpoetic

The Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama, presenter of the podcast “Poetry Unbound,” presents a selection of 50 poems that have been special to him, reflecting on each poem and helping us, the unpoetic, understand how to approach and engage a poem. This not the dry “explication” of poems many of us endured in high school English “that seemed to flatten the life of any poem,” the literary equivalent of dissecting worms in biology class. Instead, Ó Tuama uses each poem to wonder, to muse, to remember and dream out loud. The poem becomes an invitation, a prompt, a means of sounding the depths of one’s own soul. The point is less to figure out what the poet “meant,” than to see what the words spark within oneself, less solving a riddle than entering into a dialogue.

Many of these poems are written by “marginalized people,” people whose views and voices are not often heard. Some of the poems challenge us to “get uncomfortable about (our) comfort.”

For example, Ilya Kaminsky’s collection, Deaf Republic, could be speaking of Gaza, Sudan or Ukraine, or of any time: “In the sixth month/ of a disastrous reign in the

Alan’s haunting novel of the AIDS epidemic, As If Death Summoned, won the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award (LGBT category.) He can be reached at www.alan-rose.com.

There are poems I repeat to myself, almost like a hum, or a prayer, or a spell. I’ve said them so often they trip off my tongue. It feels like they’ve gone into my body. I know some people who learn many poems off by heart, and I keep trying to start up that habit again. I haven’t yet been successful. So I return to the ones I’ve been repeating for years, again, and again, and again. They’re comforts, a little bit of home carried in sound.

– from Poetry Unbound

house of money/ in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,/ our great country of money, we (forgive us)/ lived happily during the war.” It concludes, “we/ protested/ but not enough.”

Some poems are very brief, packing an emotional punch in their brevity, such as Rafiq Kathwari’s touching “On Receiving Father at JFK after his Long Flight from Kashmir”: “As I fling my arms wide, he extends his hand.” Ten words that capture a generational divide, a cultural divide, an emotional gulf between father and émigré son.

1. Hatchet

Gary Paulsen, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $9.99

2. The Eyes and the Impossible

Dave Eggers, Shawn Harris (Illus.), Knopf Books for Young Readers, $19.99

3. Heroes

Alan Gratz, Scholastic Press, $18.99

4. A Guide to the Dragon World

Tui T. Sutherland, Joy Ang (Illus.), Scholastic Press, $24.99

5. Frizzy

Claribel A. Ortega, Rose Bousamra (Illus.), First Second,$14.99

6. Working Boats

Tom Crestodina, Little Bigfoot, $19.99

7. Finally Heard

Kelly Yang, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $18.99

8. Olivetti

Allie Millington, Feiwel & Friends, $17.99

9. Ferris

Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $18.99

10. The Moth Keeper

K. O’Neill, Random House Graphic, $13.99

I found it helpful to read a poem, then read Ó Tuama’s ruminations on it, then read the poem again, which often set off my own ruminations. This interactive approach to poetry has opened me, deepened me, revealed me to the world in new ways. As Ó Tuama observes, poems remind us “what it means to be in this world.”

(Note: Inspired to give poetry a second chance? The Academy of American Poets will send a Poem-A-Day to your email inbox. Subscribe free at their website: poets.org.)

Clatskanie, Ore.

Fultano’s Pizza

770 E. Columbia River Hwy

Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more!

Dine-in,Take-out and Home Delivery. Visit Fultanos.com for streamlined menu. 503-728-2922

Ixtapa Fine Mexican Restaurant

640 E. Columbia River Hwy

Fine Mexican cuisine. Daily specials.

The best margarita in town. Daily drink specials. Dine-in, curbside pickup. M-Th 11am–9:30pm; Fri & Sat 11am–11:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. 503-728-3344

Rainier. Ore.

102 East “A” Street

Microbrews, wines & spirits 7am–8pm Daily. Inside dining. Interstate Tavern

119 E. “B” St., (Hwy 30)

Crab Louie/Crab cocktails, crab-stuffed avocados. 17 hot and cold sandwiches. Amazing crab sandwiches. Full bar service. Catering for groups. 503-556-9950. interstatetavern@yahoo.com

El Tapatio

117 W. ‘A’ Street

Mexican Family Restaurant. Open Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, rest of week 11am-10pm. Full bar. Karaoke Fri-Sat 8-11pm. Patio seating. 503-556-8323.

Longview, Wash.

1335 14th Avenue

18 rotating craft brews, pub fare.

M-Th 11am–8pm. Fri-Sat 11am–10pm; Sunday 11am–6pm. Local music coming soon. 360-232-8283.

Wine Wednesdays: $5 pours.

Bruno’s Pizza 1108 Washington Way. Pizza, breadsticks, wings, salads, fish & chips. WE DELIVER. Four beers on tap. 360-636-4970 or 360-425-5220,

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge

The Carriage Restaurant & Lounge (formerly located on 14th Ave).

New location: 3353 Washington Way (formerly Regents) Chinese & American cuisine. New menu in the future. Full bar, banquet room available for groups, special events. Restaurant: 11am–9pm, Lounge 11am–1:00am. 360-423-8680.

The Corner Cafe

796 Commerce Ave. Breakfast & Lunch.

Daily Soup & Sandwich, breakfast specials. Tues-Sat 7am-3pm. Closed Sun-Mon. 360353-5420.

Email: sndcoffeeshop@comcast.net

COLUMBIA RIVER dining guide

Country Steak House

936 Ocean Beach Hwy. Lunch & Dinner. Great steaks, pot roast, burgers, Friday night smoke BBQ, banquet room. Open Mon-Thurs 11am–8pm, Fri-Sat 9am–10pm. 564-217-4129.

Eclipse Coffee & Tea

In the Merk (1339 Commerce Ave., #113) 360-998-2139. Mon-Fri 8am–4pm. Specialty coffees, teas, bubble teas and pastries....drinks with a smile. Takeout and on-site.

Freddy’s Just for the Halibut

1110 Commerce Ave.

Cod, Alaskan halibut fish and chips, awardwinning clam chowder. Burgers, steaks, pasta. Beer and wine. M-Sat 10am–8pm, Sunday 11am–8pm. Inside dining, Drive-thru, outdoor seating. 360-414-3288. See ad, page 25.

Hop N Grape

924 15th Ave., Longview Tues–Thurs 11am–7pm; Fri & Sat 11am–8pm. BBQ meat slowcooked on site. Pulled pork, chicken, brisket, ribs, turkey, salmon. World-famous mac & cheese. 360-577-1541.

Kyoto Sushi Steakhouse

760 Ocean Beach Hwy, Suite J 360-425-9696. Japanese food, i.e. hibachi, Bento boxes, Teppanyaki; Sushi (half-price Wednesdays); Kids Meal 50% Off Sundays. Mon-Th 11-2:30, 4:30-9:30. Fri-Sat 11am10pm. Sun 11am-9pm.

Lynn’s Deli & Catering

1133 14th Ave.

Soups & sandwiches, specializing in paninis, box lunches, deli sandwiches and party platters. Mon-Fri 8-3, Saturday 10-2. 360-577-5656

Roland Wines

1106 Florida St., Longview. Authentic Italian wood-fired pizza, wine, and beer. Casual ambience. 5–9pm Wed-Fri, Sat. 1–9. 360-846-7304 See ad, pg 28.

Scythe Brewing Company

1217 3rd Avenue #150 360-353-3851

Sun-Thurs 11:30am -8pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am -10pm. Family-friendly brewery/ restaurant with upscale, casual dining, lunch and dinner.

Stuffy’s 804 Ocean Beach Hwy

360-423-6356

8am–8pm. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. American style food. Free giant cinnamon roll with meal purchase on your birthday with proof of ID. Facebook: Stuffy’s II Restaurant, or Instagram @stuffys2.

Teri’s Café on Broadway

1133 Broadway. Lunch and Dinner, full bar. Mon-Sat 11am–8pm. 360-577-0717

Castle Rock, Wash

Luckman’s Coffee Company 239 Huntington Ave. North, Drive-thru. Pastries, sandwiches, salads, quiche.

Parker’s Steak House & Brewery

1300 Mt. St. Helens Way. I-5 Exit 49. Lunch, Dinner. Burgers, hand-cut steak; seafood and pasta. Restaurant open 1-8pm Tue-Th, 1-9pm, F-Sat. Lounge Happy Hours 4pm. 360-967-2333. Call for status/options.

Vault Books & Brew

20 Cowlitz Street West, Castle Rock. Coffee and specialty drinks, quick eats & sweet treats. See ad, page 28.

Kalama, Wash.

LUCKMAN’S COFFEE Market Timber Market, Port of Kalama. Open 11–7.

215 N. Hendrickson Dr., Port of Kalama. A Northwest pub and unique bars serving breakfast, lunch & dinner daily. Info & reservations, bar hours at mcmenamins.com. 8am–midnight daily. 360673-9210. Indoor dining, covered outdoor seating, curbside take-out

Antique Deli 413N. First. M-F, 10–3. Call for daily sandwich special. 360-6733310. See ad, page 35.

FIRESIDE CAFE

Open Wed-Sun, 9–4. See ad, pg. 35

Birrieria La Vaquin

The best Birria Tacos! Mountain Timber Market, Port of Kalama. 360-431-7732. Open 11–7. See ad, pg. 35

St. Helens, Ore.

Sunshine Pizza & Catering

2124 Columbia Blvd. Hot pizza, cool salad bar. Beer & wine. Limited inside seating, curbside pickup and delivery. 503-397-3211 See ad, page 26.

Scappoose, Ore.

Fultano’s Pizza

51511 SE 2nd. Family style with unique pizza offerings, hot grill items & more! “Best pizza around!” Sun–Th 11am–9pm; Fri-Sat 11am–10pm. Full bar service ‘til 10pm Fri & Sat. Deliveries in Scappoose. 503-543-5100. Inside Dining.

Ixtapa Fine Mexican Restaurant

33452 Havlik Rd. Fine Mexican cuisine. Daily specials. The best margarita in town. Daily drink specials. M-Th 11am–9:30pm; Fri & Sat 11am–11:30pm; Sun 11am–9pm. 503-543-3017

Warren, Ore.

Warren Country Inn

56575 Columbia River Hwy. Fine family dining. Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Full bar. Call for hours.503-410-5479. Check Facebook for updates. Dine-in.

Toutle, Wash.

DREW’S GROCERY & SERVICE

5304 Spirit Lake Hwy (10 mi. fr Exit 49) 24-hour fueling (gas & diesel, card at pump, cash at Jule’s Snack Shack (when open). Red Leaf Organic Coffee. See ad, page 23.

Woodland, Wash.

1350

Luckman

Coffee Company

1230 Lewis River Rd. Small batch on-site roasted coffee, breakfast, lunch. Inside seating. M-F 5:30am–6pm, Sat 6am–5pm, Sun 7am–3pm.

THE OAK TREE

1020 Atlantic Ave.

Breakfast served all day.

Big River Tap Room 313 Strand Street on the Riverfront. Lunch/Dinner TueThurs 12–8pm; FriSat 12–9pm. Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, pastrami. Weekend Burrito Breakfast, Sat 8-11, Sun 8am-3pm.

Restaurant operators: To advertise in Columbia River Dining Guide, call 360-749-2632

A Different Way of Seeing

THE TIDEWATER REACH FIELD GUIDE TO THE LOWER COLUMBIA IN POEMS AND PICTURES

Poem by Robert Michael Pyle Photograph by Judy VanderMaten

Field Note by Hal Calbom

EMPIRE OF TREES

by Hal Calbom

AMERICA’S PLANNED CITY AND THE LAST FRONTIER

Almost Finished

More than 10,000 people showed up for the event, culminating two days later with a huge banquet. Generally, everything went down according to plan.

Well, most everything. In reality, the fledgling town’s sanitary sewer lines had yet to be connected. The waste draining from the toilets and bathrooms above (a selling point for the grand palace was that each of the 200 rooms had its own bathroom) was dumping directly into the hotel basement, and did so throughout the gala celebration and christening.

WORDS AND WOOD

by Debby Neely

PACIFIC NORTHWEST WOODCUTS AND HAIKU

BOAT CRADLE BOOKS

Located on the waterfront near the Astoria-Megler Bridge, this decaying boat cradle is among the last in the region. Designed to ramp a boat up and down into the river, it’s a variation on a device ubiquitous among mariners — usually employed to either lift, travel with, or store a boat. Just as it sounds, rather than en-folding the boat the cradle simply provides a form-fitting resting place, with or without lifts, wheels or locomotion.

The Book Boat

He bought a good old tub named Lorraine off an old salt gone to shore on Sauvie Island. Barely knew navigation, let alone diesel, so come spring and still afloat, he found a mate — a worse-off soak, never dried out, in a tavern off lower Burnside on Water Street — to caulk decks, pump bilge, romance the fickle engine into life.

When it began to look like Lorraine might not sink, he built shelves in the hold, and started buying books wherever he could: Good Wills and thrifts in The Dalles and St. Helens, library sales in Rainier and White Salmon, the remainder tables at Powell’s. Then, recalling bookmobiles from his boyhood on the plains, he hung his shingle on the bridge, and took The Book Boat on the road — on the river.

cont page 34

Their wings bring them joy

Three in Flight

Winds and clouds add interest

Pause for rain and snow

This page and page 5 feature samples from CRRPress’s four books.

CRRPRESS was founded in 2020, with the first printing of Tidewater Reach, followed by Dispatches from the Discovery Trail, Empire of Trees, and Words and Wood. For purchase info, see page 2.

The Monticello Hotel. Photo courtEsy of loNgviEw Public library

HOW TO PUBLICIZE YOUR NON-PROFIT EVENT IN CRR

Send your non-commercial community event info (name of event, beneficiary, sponsor, date & time, location, brief description and contact info) to publisher@crreader.com

Or mail or hand-deliver (in person or via mail slot) to: Columbia River Reader 1333-14th, Longview, WA 98632

Submission Deadlines

Events occurring:

May 15–June 20 by April 25 for May 15 issue.

June 15–July 20 by May 25 for June 15 issue.

Calendar submissions are considered for inclusion, subject to lead time, relevance to readers, and space limitations.

See Submission Guidelines below

Submission Guidelines

CLATSKANIE ARTS COMMISSION

Performances at Birkenfeld Theatre, 75 S. Nehalem, Clatskanie, Ore.

Tickets / Info: www.clatskaniearts.org

THE MINTHORN COLLECTION OF CHINESE ART

may

considered, provided they are consistent with the publication’s purpose. Advance contact with the editor is recommended. Information of general interest submitted by readers may be used as background or incorporated in future articles. Outings & Events calendar (free listing): Events must be open to the public. Non-profit organizations and the arts, entertainment, educational and recreational opportunities and community cultural events will receive listing priority. Fundraisers must be sanctioned/sponsored by the benefiting non-profit organization. Commercial projects, businesses and organizations wishing to promote their particular products or services are invited to purchase advertising.

A gift from Dr. and Mrs. H. Minthorn to the community via Lower Columbia College Foundation, The Minthorn Collection of Chinese Art encompasses a wide range of styles and is displayed in the upper level of the art gallery in LCC’s Rose Center, open M-Th 10–3 during current Forsberg Exhibition only. Free.

Outings & Events

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

One Night, Two Plays “Laughing Stock,” by Bradley Hayward; “I Hate Shakespeare,” by Steph Deferie. April 12-20, Fri 7pm, Sat 2pm. $15 Adults, $10 Students. Roxy Theatre. 233 Main Ave., Morton, Wash. Tickets: mortonroxy.org

Celebrating Poetry Open mic, Tues., April 16, 6pm. Anyone can perform a poem they’ve written, read open-source poems provided by the Library, and more. Light snacks and drinks provided by the Friends of the Longview Public Library. 1600 Louisiana St., Longview, Wash.. Info :360-442-5300.

Northwest Voices “Poetry and Zines,” with Dayle Olson. April 18. Longview Public Library. See ad, pg 28. Tulips with Terri April 21, 1–4pm. Paint ‘n Sip. $40. Kalama Community Building with Kalama artist Terri Van Matre. Paint a colorful composition to take home. Benefits KAMA (Kalama Artists & Makers Assn.) Supplies, soft drinks, and dessert included. OK to BYOB. Info/sign up kalamaarts.org

Ireland’s Greatest Showman Tues, April 23, 7:30pm. See Community Concert ad, below.

Dial M for Murder April 26–May 26. Stageworks Northwest. 1433 Commerce Ave., Longview, Wash. www.stageworksnorthwest.org. See page 26.

54th Annual Coin Show

April 27, 10–4. AWPPW Hall, 724 15th Ave.,Longview Wash. Free admission, parking, dealer appraisals. Buy, sell, trade coins, currency, tokens and medals from Pacific NW dealers. Drawings, raffle for a half-ounce American Gold Eagle coin and five one-ounce American Silver Eagle coins. Need not be present to win. The Cowlitz Coin Club, a member of the American Numismatic Association, is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting, extending and protecting the interests of numismatics and fostering and

Outings & Events

encouraging the study of numismatics in all its forms and branches. The Club meets at 7pm on the third Saturday of each month at the Kelso Senior Center, located at 106 NW 8th Ave. in Kelso, Wash. (adjacent to the Kelso Spray Park). Info: cowlitzcoinclublongview@gmail.com.

Jazz at the PAC North Coast Big Band 3pm, April 28. $15. Performing Arts Center, 16th and Franklin, Astoria, Ore. Info: 503-861-1328

Light the Night Community House on Broadway Gala dinner & silent auction. 14th Annual Cares Campaign. Tues, April 30, 5:30–8:30pm. Cowlitz Expo Center, 1900 7th Ave., Longview, Wash. Formal attire encouraged. $50 per person; table of 8 $350. Tickets/sponsorship info www.choblv.org. For questions: Leahp@choblv.org,

Spring Author Series Appelo Archives & Museum Thurs, May 16, 1pm. Book reading, sales, signing by Hal Calbom (Empire of Trees) and Debby Neely (Words and Wood). Book info, page 2. Browse archive exhibits featuring old logging photos and memorabilia. Refreshments. Free. Info: appeloarchives.org

HIKES see page 6

BROADWAY GALLERY

1418 Commerce Avenue, Longview Mon thru Sat, 11–4. Visit the Gallery to see new work. For event updates check our website: the-broadway-gallery. com, at Broadway Gallery on Facebook, and broadway gallery longview on Instagram.

FEATURED ARTISTS

APRIL: Gallery member

Beth Bailey, painting & welding art; Guest artist Julia Martin, painting. MAY: Guest artists Jammie Axon, ceramics; Victoria Cooper, painting,

First Thursday May 2nd• 5:30–7pm

Join us for refreshments, live music with John S. Crocker, and New Art!

OPEN Tues - Sat 11–4

* Classes & Workshops are back!

Check our website or come into the Gallery for details.

We are a great place to buy gifts! Free Gift Wrap on request. Gift Cards for sale!

Find a unique gift! We have beautiful artisan cards, jewelry, books by local authors, wearable art, original paintings, pottery, sculpture, photographs and so much more.

Interested in singing in an all-women’s Chorus?

Dr. Denise Reed, former regional choral ensemble conductor and currently a local church keyboard musician and choir director, is exploring interest in establishing a new community group. All girls and women ages 12–112, of all nationalities and races, who are interested in singing traditional music composed for women’s voices, by woman composers — along with repertoire containing lyrics that address diversity, truth and justice — are invited to contact her at 503-338-8403, or cantorey47@comcast.net.

Eventual rehearsal and performance location(s) to be determined, within CRR readership area.

Longview-Kelso 2024-2005

Community Concert Association

Male Ensemble Northwest

Sun, October 5, 2024 - 3:00 pm

This tenor and bass ensemble, on a mission to spread joy through music, demonstrates a high level of music-making by choral conductors from across the Pacific Northwest.

Window in a Wall by Tajci Cameron & Sanya Mateyas

Tues, February 11, 2025 - 7:30 pm

A unique blend of light Jazz, show tunes, classic pop standards, European ethnic, and gypsy-influenced music. The show features music beloved around the world, with costumes and dance highlighting the sibling’s Croatian heritage..

Jason Lyle Black presents 100 Hits of Stage & Screen Sun, Mar 16, 2025 - 3:00 pm

Iconic songs from rock legends like Queen, ACDC, and the Rolling Stones; musicals like Wicked, Sweeney Todd, and Phantom of the Opera; soundtracks like Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and many more.

Acoustic Eidolon

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 - 7:30 pm

A unique sound that is both new and nostalgic, a show described as “genre-bending,” draws from Celtic, Americana, Folk and Flamenco. features stunning renditions of popular songs like“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Hallelujah,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and so much more!

2024 - 2025 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

ORDER BY MAY 5 FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT WITH BONUS ’IRELAND’S GREATEST SHOWMAN’ DAVID SHANNON TUES APRIL 23, 2024, 7:30PM

SINGLE TICKETS $40 ADULTS - $20 STUDENTS

Early Bird and all new subscribers prices: Adults $110 • Students $45

Season prices after May 5: Adults $125 • Students $55

Performances at The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts

www.lkcca.org

watErcolorizEd skEtch by thE latE dEENa MartiNsEN,

The Book Boat from page 31 325 words

And so it went, up and down the tidal reach, Bonneville to Baker Bay and back again. Sometimes through the locks, all the way to Lewiston. Laying his wares before the boaters, the fishers, the workers, the loafers, all of them hungry for good books, though they might not know it. He sold them cheap, gave them away, or — his favorite — bartered, for fish, fruit, or laundry. Swapped a late Brian Doyle for a sturgeon, Middlemarch for Maryhill wine. Made enough for ground beef, beer, and diesel. Even the cat got fed and the mate paid enough for drunken leave ashore. Lorraine became a legend, up and down the river. Marinas vied for her, gave free moorage for a night or three. Until he started to wonder about the islands, the Inside Passage, and beyond. So he took Lorraine across the bar, and didn’t die. Put in at LaPush, where he sold all of his Pushkin to a Russian emigré, and a set of Twilight to a wannabe werewolf. Then east up the Straits: Neah Bay, Sekiu, P.A., P.T., and Points North. Last rumors came from Kodiak. But even now the Columbia remembers. And there’s always a slip open, just in case.

April 23: GiveBIG launches, early giving opens.

May 7 and 8: GiveBIG online giving event to support all your favorite local causes.

Check with your favorite local nonprofits — such as Lower Columbia School Gardens, Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, SW Washington Symphony — they will be organizing events. General info: wagives.org

Info about Lower Col. School Gardens: ian@lcschoolgardens.org, 360-431-6725

Here’s your chance to help nurture local musicians and bring FREE, LIVE concerts to the community.

Donate to the Southwest Washington Symphony at swwsymphony.org during the GiveBig 2024 event.

Othe spectator by

ned piper

PLUGGED IN TO Carver comes home

nly a few years ago, I’m almost embarrassed to admit, a friend introduced me to the works of author Raymond Carver. Carver has over the years accumulated the reputation of being a consummate practitioner of the contemporary short story. As someone who loves the form and has put pen to paper for four decades trying to distill the essence of this classic form myself, I’m humbled by our proximity to this modern master.

I purchased one of Carver’s collections and became enchanted by the style and content of his stories. I ended up buying all of his collections and even watched a full length film that combined nine of his stories into one.

I became even more interested in Carver and his work when I learned that he had been born in Clatskanie, Oregon, one of my favorite river communities where I deliver the Columbia River Reader monthly.

Two years ago I drove with my two sons, Perry and Rees, along with my best buddy, retired attorney Don Frey, across the river to attend Clatskanie’s annual Raymond Carver Writing Festival. We heard from scholars and writers who touted the genius of Carver’s works.

It occurred to me then, and recurs now, how significant it is to be a part of a community of readers and writers. They say the northwest is especially attractive to those breeds, who deny themselves the temptations of sunshine and beaches and hunker down on gray rainy days over a littered desk or a sodden tavern table.

Carver didn’t spend a lot of time in Clatskanie, but he seems to fit this Northwest persona well. I highly recommend the Carver Writing Festival, whether you are a reader or a writer. Maybe I’ll see you there.

COWLITZ PUD

By Alice Dietz, Cowlitz PUD Communications/ Public Relations Manager

Utility earns Tree Line Utility rank five years running

Cowlitz PUD was named a 2024 Tree Line USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, for dedication delivering safe and reliable electricity while maintaining healthy community forests. We strive continually to maintain our title by meeting the program standards:

•Quality Tree Care Practices.

•Annual employee training.

•Educating the public about planting trees for energy conservation, and helping homeowners plant appropriate trees near utility lines, which provides beautiful trees for the future and yields long-term savings for PUD customers.

•Participate in an Arbor Day celebration. In celebration of Arbor Day on April 26th, we are giving away, in partnership with Tsugawa’s Nursery, 20 powerline-safe trees with a mature height less than 25 feet. Winners may select their tree at the nursery. Enter at cowlitzpud. org by 5pm, April 30, 2024.

•Plant your new tree in the right place to conserve energy and reduce your energy bills.

•Properly placed trees save energy by providing summer shade, winter warmth and winter windbreaks. For more information visit https://www.cowlitzpud.org/outages/ vegetation-management/ SPRING PROJECTS? PLAN AHEAD!

If you are planning to do some landscaping, or even plant a tree, we ask that you keep some things in mind.

• Call 811 before you dig

• Trees and shrubs can be a problem for overhead and underground facilities.

• Look up to see if there are overhead lines above or near your planting site.

•Trees planted directly under or within 20 feet of the power lines should have a mature height less than 25 feet

• Trees that mature to 25 to 45 feet should be planted 20 to 50 feet away

• Trees greater than 45 feet at maturity should be planted more than 50 feet away

Our readers are: Reasonable Kind Open-minded Curious Good neighbors

Thanks for reading CRR!

• Check for green metal or fiberglass boxes and don’t plant near them, due to underground facilities.

Who do I contact if I have tree pruning questions or issues? Submit an online tree trimming form at https://www.cowlitzpud. org/outages/tree-trimming-request/ or call 360-501-9367. •••

Alice Dietz is Cowlitz PUD’s Communications/Public Relations Manager. Reach her at adietz@cowlitzpud. org, or 360-501-9146.

Longview resident Ned Piper coordinates CRR’s advertising and distribution, and enjoys meeting/greeting friends, both old and new.

Tour de Blast from page 4

The volcanic zone was already a big tourist attraction when Rotary Club of Longview began staging Tour de Blast in the early 1990s as a fund-raiser for community projects.

The ride became famous among recreational cyclists, but participation was always subject to fickle weather in the Cascade range. Bard expects 500 to 700 riders this year if the weather stays mild, up from 300 riders at the rainy 2023 event.

Starting and finishing at Toutle Lake High School, 10 miles east of Interstate 5, the highway course has three rest stops equating to levels of difficulty.

Bridgeview overlooking Hoffstadt Bridge over a deep ravine, a 38-mile round trip (61 kms), with 1,500-foot elevation gain from the starting line.

Elk Rock 54-mile (87 kms) round trip, with 3,300-foot elevation gain.

Coldwater Ridge 66-mile (106 kms) roundtrip with 4,350-foot elevation gain.

The Johnson Ridge Observatory, final rest stop of previous years 16 miles up the highway, had to be scratched due to a landslide on the route. Repairs won’t be completed until 2026, officials said.

IF YOU GO

31st Tour de Blast

Saturday, June 22

Bicycle along the Spirit Lake Highway; maximum route is a 66-mile round trip through the heart of the Mount St. Helens volcanic zone.

Online registration with commemorative shirt $115 through May 31. Riding without a souvenir shirt costs $90 through June 19, thereafter $125. Participants get a numbered bib for identification.

Start time: 6:30am. Riders need to be off the course by 5pm.

Event office is at Toutle Lake High School. Parking is free. Overnight camping fee: $10.

Register online: tourdeblast.com

Info also on Facebook.

After a career with the Associated Press, David Minthorn, shown here with faithful companion Buttercup, and his wife Veronika retired in David’s hometown, Longview. He is an active member of the Longview Rotary Club.