Political Quotes

“rural Oregonians who have long worried about trains rumbling through our treasured Columbia River Gorge had their fears realized last Friday when a mile-long oil train derailed and caught fire in the heart of one of our State's crown jewels, the Columbia River Gorge. Our State is rich with breathtaking places, and we believe the Columbia River Gorge is right at the top of the list. Local tribes consider the area sacred ground, and it took the breath away from Meriwether Lewis, who wrote in his journal of ``beautiful cascades which fell from a great height over stupendous rocks. . . .''. In addition to being a haven for wildlife, the gorge is the lifeblood for tens of thousands of residents in the Pacific Northwest, a critical transportation corridor, and a center for outdoor recreation and tourism. Those who visit the gorge do so to windsurf, kiteboard, and parasail, fish, hike, and camp. It boasts the most visited recreation site in the Pacific Northwest, the thundering Multnomah Falls that Meriwether Lewis wrote about. In this pristine area, trains carrying flammable liquids barrel through the gorge on tracks that were built in the first half of the 20th century. On Friday, just a stone's throw from our region's lifeblood, the Columbia River, one of those trains fell off the tracks. Sixteen cars hauling crude oil crashed within view of a community school in the small town of Mosier.…”