SERVING ALL OF KLICKITAT COUNTY
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
Vol. 142 No. 39
County commissioner flips off constituent
Mason says she has yet to receive an apology for an ‘unacceptable’ act LOU MARZELES EDITOR
This story updates one posted on breaking news Monday, with comment from parties to the incident and corrections of previous information. Klickitat County Commissioner Dan Christopher flipped off a constituent on screen at last week’s commissioners’ meeting, igniting controversy among county residents and notoriety in regional media. Christopher says his action was a mistake and calls it a reaction to high emotions coming from the sharing of a painful past. “I flipped the bird to my screen,” he acknowledges. Lynn Mason, the recipient of Christopher’s gesture, was on Zoom, and Christopher aimed it through his computer camera to her. “Am I sorry? Yes, but I am human. Was I wrong in showing the finger? Absolutely. I was in a very emotional state. Her attacks caught me off guard. In a moment of weakness, I flipped the bird.” The incident arose as he was being criticized by Mason, who was taking issue with his remarks on wearing masks, focusing on Christopher’s reference to masks in the context of sexual abuse. Mason challenged Christopher’s linking of masks with sexual abuse victims whose faces were covered by the hands of their attackers; the masks were potential triggers of pained memories, Christopher said. Mason called Christopher’s comments “gross,”
KLIKCITAT COUNTY ZOOM FEED
REACTION: Klickitat County Commissioner Dan Christopher, right, extends his middle finger to constituent Lynn Mason over Zoom at last Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting. (The gesture is blacked out.) Christopher says he’s sorry he reacted as he did. Mason says he has not aplogized to her. prompting him to raise his middle finger to her. The conversation followed Christopher’s motion to dismiss county health officer Dr. Amy Person because of her advocacy of across-the-board masking to Gov. Jay Inslee. His motion was not seconded and died in the meeting. While Christopher expressed regret over his action, Mason says she hasn’t heard from him. “Dan did not apologize to me,” she
states. “He apologizes to the community, but he will not apologize to me. And he called me a hateful woman.” Mason adds Christopher was conflating several people’s statements together into a single broad comment. “There were other comments that day, and he keeps confusing me with their comments,” she says. She makes mention of Christopher citing her calling his remarks “alligator tears.” “The
‘alligator tears’—it’s supposed to be crocodile tears,” she says. “But I did not say that. It was another commenter. There were several women. He’s lumping all of our comments together and blaming it on me. This was not just in your story, but he’s doing this on social media, on television media. I take issue with that—he’s indiscriminately lumping all these women together as hateful women, and
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to what he saw as the folly of war and make a public statement about the tragedy and futility of the events that led to their deaths. With its altar stone dedicated on July 4, 1918, more than four months prior to armistice, Stonehenge Memorial is among the earliest World War I memorials in the country and provides a lens into Americans’ attitudes toward the war at that time. “We are thrilled that Stonehenge Memorial has been added to the National Register,” said Maryhill Museum of Art’s Executive Director Colleen Schafroth. “The designation recognizes Sam Hill’s singular vision and the enduring significance of the memorial as it relates to local, regional and national history. The museum itself was placed on the National Register in 1974. We are beyond excited to now have Stonehenge Memorial listed as well.” History of Stonehenge Memorial The origins of Stonehenge Memorial lie in a fundamental mis-
MARYHILL MUSEUM OF ART
DEDICATION: Edmund Meany stands on a chair to deliver his address at the dedication of the Stonehenge Memorial in 1918. interpretation of the prehistoric monument on which it is based. Sam Hill visited England’s Stonehenge in April 1915, eight months after the start of World War I. He was the guest of Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for War, who purportedly told him: “Here the ancients 4,000 years ago offered bloody sacrifices to their heathen gods of war,” repeating an interpretation of the ancient monolith that was commonly accepted at
the time. Hill’s understanding of Stonehenge as a site of human sacrifice led him to use the ancient monument as a model for the World War I memorial he later constructed at Maryhill. Hill seems to have conceived the idea for Stonehenge Memorial in early 1918, one year after the United States had entered World War I. He selected a bluff with dramatic views of the Columbia River to
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HonkyTonk Bar & Restaurant gets the Nashville vibe down right TAYLER BRADLEY FOR THE SENTINEL
If you’ve driven down Main Street lately, you may have heard the country tunes playing from one of the newest businesses in our community, The HonkyTonk Bar and Restaurant. Owners Mike and Jennifer Kallio wanted to bring their great love of Nashville to our community. Mike says, “It is our favorite place to visit because we love going to the honkytonks and listening to all the live music.” They
Bishop Services on the front line with Ida RICHARD LEFEVER FOR THE SENTINEL
Stonehenge named to National Register of Historic Places Maryhill Museum of Art has announced that Stonehenge Memorial, the iconic replica of England’s ancient original, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places following its nomination earlier this year. The National Register records the tangible reminders of the history of the United States and is the official repository for documentation of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Located three miles east of the museum on a bluff above the Columbia River, Stonehenge Memorial was constructed by Maryhill Museum of Art’s founder, businessman and philanthropist Samuel Hill, between 1918 and 1929. Stonehenge Memorial is significant as both a close replica of ancient Stonehenge and as a memorial to Klickitat County men who died in World War I. Although he clearly supported the Allied cause, Hill was a Quaker and a pacifist. In constructing the memorial, he wished to honor soldiers who gave their lives
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have also always been interested in the bar/restaurant scene, so when the space came available to purchase, they jumped right on it, and their idea began to come to life. After completing their purchase, they began the renovation to create that Nashville vibe. This remodel took about five months, and thanks to some local contractors, the job went very smoothly. The vibe inside is perfect Nashville. When you walk in, you see some pictures of some amazing artists on the walls, a long beautiful bar, and the perfect seating area for a family meal. The setting is perfect right down to all the little details. The official open date was August 15, and there was no turning back—which is great because it has been busy and successful
thanks to the great support of the community and returning customers. The menu offers some great choices from appetizers, salads, steaks, pasta, burgers, and so many other great options. You can come in starting at 11 a.m. for lunch or any time after 4 p.m. when the dinner menu comes out. There is a divider down the middle that allows children to be inside until 8 p.m. After 8 p.m. the atmosphere changes from restaurant to more of a bar feel. To add to the Nashville vibe, they are trying to have live music at least twice a month. Their first experience with live music was bringing David Graham and The Eskimo Brothers while they were on their nationwide tour. They are a very popular band in Nashville and with a lot of success.
They have also had some great local talent that have played such as Ray Lemley, Restrung, and The Wandering Outlaws. Each have enjoyed their experience there and look forward to returning to the stage. As other great talents arise, Mike and Jennifer will add them to the calendar to come and provide live music. The overall goal of the HonkyTonk Bar and Restaurant is to provide good quality meals with a great overall customer service, to enjoy live music, and to be able to have good time with family and friends. I had the chance drop in for some dinner and all I can is, wow! The people were very nice, meals were great, and the atmosphere was inviting. So if you haven’t had the chance to go, be sure to make time.
Richard Lefever of Bishop Services tells this remarkable story of his company called to help in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Hurricane Ida made landfall on the Gulf Coast August 29, leaving a path of destruction from Louisiana to New York. Ida’s destructive forces within Louisiana have been equated to those of the Last Island Hurricane in 1856, 165 years ago. The last hurricane to approach this magnitude in the state was Katerina in 2005. Ida left one million customers in Louisiana without power. Five days after landfall, 500,000 customers were still without power. Resources from Bishop Services was dispatched to the City of Thibodaux, in Lafourche Parish, 49 miles southwest of New Orleans, to help with restoration. Lafourche was one of the five hardest hit parishes in Louisiana. It was initially estimated to take weeks for power to be fully restored because of the remoteness and swampy conditions in this area. The storm had damaged more than 22,000 power poles, 26,000 spans of wire, and 5,261 transformers. That number represents more poles damaged by Ida than by Katerina 16 years ago. Restoration work had been hampered by 96-degree plus temperatures, extremely high humidity, and shortages of critical supplies. Electrical workers were brought in from all parts of the country and experienced drenching rain throughout the day. Bishop Services arrived in Thibodaux Friday evening, five days following the storm. It was eerily dark during the last 20mile drive to our assigned base camp at Nicholls State University. The few lights working were powered by portable generators. Streetlights and stop lights were still non-existent. Temporary streetlights powered by portable generators would be installed a week after the storm at major intersections. By morning the day after our arrival, we realized our assigned route into Thibodaux was the only road in the entire area cleared of downed power poles, wires, trees, and building debris. A week later, most side roads were still impassable. FEMA’s disaster support camp at Thibodaux was designed to provide the housing needs for up to 2,000 contractors, first responders, military, and security personnel. Bishop Services traditionally provides the sanitation needs at these disasters. FEMA guidelines require a minimum of 100 plus shower heads for a camp this size. We provided half the required number and the staff to adequately sanitize and clean all 107 stalls. With municipal infrastructure still off-line, Bishop is also providing the potable water and grey water needs for the entire support facility. Over six inches of rain battered down on us the three days leading up to Tropical Storm Nicholas. It is hard to visualize how electrical contractors are able to work in such conditions. On the evening of September 14, sirens and horns started blaring, announcing a possible tornado approaching. Our team headed for safety in a secure campus building. Daniel Lefever made sure our crew of 12 were accounted for and safe. Fortunately, the high winds missed our camp, and by 1 a.m. the all-clear was sounded. It is
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