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In Our View: Cheers & Jeers

I-5 returns to normal after landslide, but officials should heighten vigilance

The Columbian
Published: January 30, 2016, 6:01am

Cheers: To normalcy for Interstate 5. Work crews have completed the cleanup from a landslide that had closed a portion of the northbound lanes near Woodland since a landslide last month. Initially, the slide caused all of northbound I-5 to be closed, creating a traffic nightmare for thousands. Since then, one of the three lanes had been closed, resulting in little more than a nuisance, but on Thursday, all lanes were open again for northbound traffic.

While workers have diligently cleared the mess and have worked to shore up the hillside that collapsed onto the road, the situation likely is one that will become more common. With weather patterns becoming more severe, extreme rainfall and unstable hills will grow more troublesome. For now, this particular problem has been resolved, but officials should continue measures to better assess the risk of landslides throughout the state.

Jeers: To revived plans for mining near Mount St. Helens. A Canadian company has renewed its efforts to perform exploratory drilling for copper, silver, gold, and other minerals just north of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, a plan that was struck down by the courts in 2014.

As The Columbian wrote editorially in 2012: “The area is a unique, ever-evolving laboratory for scientific research related to the May 18, 1980, explosion of the volcano. … Any threats to interrupt this ongoing research must be thwarted.” That analyses still rings true regarding proposed mining in the area.

Cheers: To the state House of Representatives. Lawmakers have moved forward with efforts to address a teacher shortage in the state, passing a bill that would allow retired instructors to work as substitute teachers. The current prohibition is understandable, as a reasonable argument can be made that those who are receiving a pension from the state should not be allowed to double-dip by returning to work, but schools are in need of qualified teachers.

A survey of public-school principals last year revealed that 98 percent said they struggle to find substitute teachers, and 80 percent said they have had to hire under-qualified teachers for jobs. The bill, which now moves to the Senate, would allow retired teachers to work up to 630 hours a year without losing retirement benefits. It is a reasonable solution to a pressing problem.

Jeers: To random crime. Vancouver mayor Tim Leavitt recently became a victim, as his car was broken into overnight in Portland. Thieves smashed a window with a concrete block and took the car’s owner’s manual, some cash, prepaid car wash certificates, and a phone charger.

This would not be newsworthy if the victim were not the mayor, but the prevalence of petty crime makes victims of us all. As Leavitt said, “At one time or another we all become victims to individuals who don’t respect other people’s property and are desperate enough to commit crimes.”

Cheers: To ancient history being uncovered in the Pacific Northwest. Construction crews at Oregon State University’s football stadium this week unearthed bones from a mammoth, as well as remains of a bison and a camel, while digging under the north end zone. A university anthropologist said mammoths died out about 10,000 years ago, and the bones could be “tens of thousands of years old.”

Oregon’s Willamette Valley once was roamed by mammoths, which somewhat resembled modern elephants and stood about 10 feet tall at the shoulder. Scientists say the site at what is now Reser Stadium might have been a watering hole where animals often would go to die. Which brings up an obvious joke: Why did mammoths go to the OSU end zone to die? They wanted a place that was rarely visited.

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