Letters to the editor can be submitted to news@chronline.com.
Congresswoman Jaime Hererra Beutler is dutifully taking her cues and talking points from the Trump Republican playbook and pushing to ‘re-open’ her Congressional District.
She’s once again pandering to her base voters who choose not to believe the facts and science of this deadly pandemic and instead want to ‘go back to normal.’ Now she is insisting that the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area be reopened to public access ‘without delay.’ As a resident of a small town in the Columbia Gorge, I find this terrifyingly irresponsible.
The Congresswoman should not be encouraging throngs of tourists to come out to our small, rural areas, congregate at trail heads, parks and beaches and march like cattle up and down Dog Mountain! COVID 19 positive cases are increasing in Gorge counties and Jaime Hererra Beutler insisting that more people leave the cities and travel to the Gorge will intensify the spread of the virus in our area.
This could prove to be devastating, as our rural hospitals are not prepared to sustain an outbreak of this deadly disease. We all want to be able to access our beautiful Gorge trails, waterways and refuges, but not at the expense of the health of our residents. Columbia Gorge residents have been sacrificing for months by staying at home to help stop the spread of this disease in our area. Hererra Beutler should be supporting us in doing that; not sacrificing our health to score political points with her science denying base.
Kirsten Dennis
White Salmon
