Monday, September 07, 2009

From The Daily "A": "The Jay" Editorial From Jewell

Jewell student editorial causes backlash
* Dave Samuelson threatens to ‘come after’ editor
* KAST-AM radio reports(September 9, 2009) Dave Samuelson saying, upon contacting Clatsop County Sheriff's Department and I am paraphrasing..."Clatsop County Chief Deputy Paul Williams stated that the complaint from Jewell School on the implied threat was so silly no report was filed"

By DEEDA SCHROEDER - The Daily Astorian
September 7, 2009

When Jewell High students wrote an editorial for the school's newspaper, The Jay, condemning the Bradwood Landing liquid natural gas project and its political supporters, they had no idea the article would make such a splash when it was published last week.

Now, after former Jewell School Board member Dave Samuelson complained about the story, those same students are afraid to speak about why they wrote the piece...

Full Article



A need for a second look

The following editorial is reprinted from The Jay, the Jewell community newspaper
Don't be fooled by bureaucratic double-speak
The Palomar pipeline that most concerns residents of the Jewell area would transport imported regasified LNG from the Bradwood Landing LNG site, about 10 miles east of Astoria on the Columbia River.This would be 36 inches wide and would wind its way about 110 miles from the terminal to Molalla, Oregon and from there another 100 or so miles to Maupin in eastern Oregon.
From there it could connect to the massive interstate TransCanada pipeline to quench California's huge thirst for natual gas.
Much of the pipeline from the Bradwood facility would go through the Jewell area. Current standards have the pipeline only three feet under ground.
The Jay challenges readers to come up with one, just one concrete advantage of having the LNG pipeline go though the Jewell area.
Over the last several years now there has been a lot of hype and hot air given by company propaganda, local and state politicians, and government bureaucrats.The issue is mired in so much red tape that it may seem to some hard to decipher fact from fiction, but that is just the way Bradwood Landing (the LNG corporation) wants it.
The more they can confuse, obfuscate and bamboozle local residents, the more sway they will have over the (unfortunately few) politicians that have your back. Let's look at some of the myths that Bradwood is foisting upon us and the facts that lie behind them.
Myth No. 1: Bradwood Landing will provide much needed jobs in the area. FALSE. Although a few local excavating and construction companies might get temporary work, once the pipeline is in place, the Bradwood Landing facility on the Columbia River uses just a small crew to operate and inspect the pipeline. The net job growth from the pipeline is close to zero. In fact, the jobs that the LNG company does have (around 40 or so) will all be state jobs and won't (necessarily) involve local people at all.
Myth No. 2: Bradwood Landing will provide much needed tax dollars. FALSE. Because of the loss in property value over land the pipeline will run, the actual projection of tax dollars reaching local schools is revenue negative. Not only that, Oregonians will be forced to subsidize the gas companies through taxes on the gas we would use. Would you buy property that had a three-foot highly explosive pipeline running through it? Property values in the areas anywhere close to the pipelines would plummet even farther than they have during this recession.
Myth No. 3: An LNG pipeline is safe. FALSE. Not only are property values at risk, so are is the safety of our citizens, our families. The final destination for all the LNG going through the Jewell area is California.
We, the citizens, students, teachers, workers of this wonderful rural area are not even taken into consideration. Many of our local politicians think we are a bunch of country bumpkins in Clatsop County and don't know how to read. But we do.
We read the facts about LNG, how it imposes safety issues that include massive explosions like those that have occurred in New York and Maryland. If you are in doubt, look them up.
Finally, California, the state that is to benefit from this LNG, has already rejected five of these proposed LNG regasification plants.
Why should Oregon do California's dirty work?
Why should we tear up our precious soil to feed the insatiable state of California?
Write your newspaper.
Call your representative or senator.
Call Bradwood Landing.
Tell your parents or kids.
Let it be known that we don't want Bradwood Landing and its pipeline running through our land.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obviously, one thing the Jewell teacher did not teach these little wantabe journalists is that some people always won't like what you print. Either get a thicker skin or choose another occupation. In any case, stop whining.

Patrick McGee said...

I would call Dave Samuelson's conduct more than a whine wouldn't you?

A blatantly inferred threat against a teacher and editor of a community newspaper in an attempt to stifle the right of that publication to editorially express its opinion under our right to free speech?

Anonymous said...

Did you, McGee, see or hear Mr. Samuleson threaten or attempt to stifle anyone, or do you just believe everything the Daily A prints because it promotes the anti LNG agenda?

Patrick McGee said...

Anonymous said...
Did you, McGee, see or hear Mr. Samuleson threaten or attempt to stifle anyone, or do you just believe everything the Daily A prints because it promotes the anti LNG agenda?


Uh-Oh! I can already see that this is headed for yet, another conspiracy aimed at the reason Ann Samuelson could quite possibly be recalled but, catch words like, "Transcript of", "Voicemail", The Sheriff reviewed the call" would lead one to believe that call was legitimate.

How about you?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Samuelson's comments are not unlike the kind of things said by many people to public officials and to folks in the media (and by the media about other people). In fact, Mr. McGee has even made very nasty comments to people, presumably to stiffle their further comments. Mr. Samuelson did nothing more than exercise his 1st Amendment right to say what he thinks. He did not physically assault the public official responsible for the newspaper and he did not harass him about things that the public official was not responsible for. Of course, teachers do not generally consider themselves public officials (although they are) and they have learned to whine about everything. So, no news here.

Patrick McGee said...

If you ever read any implication of physical harm to anybody by me,
you just let me know.

You spin what Dave Samuelson said any way you wish but, the Sheriff of Clatsop County cited no indication that Samuelson violated any law.

Ted said...

Think Ann's vision of a cushey seat for her and her....ah....aides down in Salem is getting cloudier by the day?

Patrick McGee said...

Noun
Singular - editorial
Plural - editorials

* An article in a publication giving the opinion of its editors on a given topic or current event.

*A similar commentary on radio or television.

And for every person that agrees with it there will likely be one that disagrees, as we all know but, to threaten the writer for any reason or to try to leverage influence because of it, is wrong no matter how one tries to twist it.

Now, I hear Dave Samuelson this morning state that Deputy Sheriff Paul Williams said to him,on his query about the departments view on the issue of complaint by Mr. Anderson that and paraphrasing, "The matter was so silly that they, the Sheriff's Department, didn't respond to it"?

That's kind of careless and irresponsible on the part of this part of our Publis Safety isn't it?

Did Williams really say this?

Anonymous said...

If anyone else would gave made this phone call, it would be a non-issue. What has happened to this community? It's sad really. Astoria was a great place to grow up, now it is merely a negative and divisive environment. Anyone who knows Dave Samuelson knows how much he has done for Jewell School and his community. Anyone that actually knows him also knows that he would never threaten anyone. I find it funny that rather than talk with Samuelson or the Superintendent first, Mr. Anderson ran to the Daily Astorian. Talk about a situation being completely blown out of proportion. It amazes me that anyone would focus on something like this, when there are many more dire issues facing our community and our world.

Ed said...

Are you kidding?
If the Sheriff's wife called someone (which she'd never do) and told a teacher "I'll come after you" because a student had said something negative about cops there would be hell to pay.
The Samuelsons think they are above criticism, even though this editorial didn't even mention the commissioners.
All this crap about "respecting our politicians" rings hollow when the LNGers have nothing but dirt to say about Commissioner Rhone.
The real story is that the Samuelsons are bullies and I guess we'll see what the voters think.

Marc said...

Samuelson says on her website somebody came up to her to ask her to sign her own political death warant, the recall petition and Samuelson was shocked the petitioner didn't know who she was.

I bet that was a real insult.

That kind of betrays the bullshit she's slinging about how hard she works for the people in her district doesn't it? They don't even know who the hell she is when they see her face to face?

What the hell kinda circus is she going to put on down at McKeown's?

Anonymous said...

the petitioner didn't know who she was.

thats probably because the "petitioner" just moved here from California and drank the anti Kool-Aid.

Anonymous said...

The Samuelson's are bullies? Grow up Ed!!! I personally know the Samuelson's and that has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Bullies? I mean, really......

Marc said...

So, who are you then if we must consider the source as to who knows the Samuelson's personally and knows they are not bullies?

Why must you remain anonymous if you know them so well? I mean, really......

I know the Samuelsons too and I am not so impressed.

Ann Samuelson said...

I invite you all to come down to McKeowns, it's always good for people to come together and discuss what they have in common and don't have in common.