Ocrober 22, 2007 is the day Clastop County Board of Commissioners will sit in session and rule on a critical and controversial decision by Clatsop County Planning Commission to continue to smooth the way for Bradwood Landing/Northern Star Natural Gas' proposed Liquefied Natural Gas Transfer/Storage facility at a critical bottleneck in the shipping channel of The Columbia River at Puget Island, twenty-plus miles upriver from The Columbia Bar as if you did not already know.
The decision these five people, The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, along with their colluding staff, will make could quite possibly drive another nail in the coffin of our lives in this community for many, many decades to come of enslavement to one, just one, of these "Private" Energy Speculators, setting a precedent, as it seems happens in situations like, for more in other areas of our community. Even Oregon LNG, the recipient of the benefits of a bonehead deal between and now defunct Calpine Energy Group and our own Port of Astoria, led at the time by Former Port Director Peter Gearin, is already flaunting a facility on The Skipanon Peninsula of 3 LNG Storage Tanks in lieu of the 2 they claim originally and Bradwood or not they plan to move ahead adding to the deal a multi-County 36" diameter Natural Gas Pipeline.
The way I see it we, the citizens of Clatsop County, no matter how complacent or apathetic any of us may be, cannot afford to sit home on this one.
The last County Census showed a population of around 33,660 citizens in total and minus these players in the decision making that we, presumably, put there to represent our interests, all need to show up that day without exception to the man, woman, child. Its that important to our futures and cannot be ignored and these people need to be held accountable.
We need to fill the hall where that meeting is being held, flow out to the sidewalks, up and down the street in a quiet and orderly vigil, all holding an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper with two opitonal words, boldly in Red, depending on your viewpoint, "Yes" or "No".
I am confident the majority will write the word "NO!!!" and some will write "YES" but, no matter the view and to show our strength in unity, the indiviual views should be respected, no matter.
I'm going to be there and if you've never stood up for anything in your lives, now is the time to do so, man, woman, child, business owner, worker, student, fisherman, logger, carpenter, all, you need to be there.
Hold these people accountable, for putting the lives and life quality of us all on the line based on, yet, unfounded hype and critial questions still unanswered.
