Posted on 12/20/2006 2:29:43 PM PST by llevrok
Related Content Fight over mandatory beacons renews Story Published: Dec 20, 2006 at 11:08 AM PST
Story Updated: Dec 20, 2006 at 11:32 AM PST By Anita Kissee and KATU Web Staff Watch the video MOUNT HOOD, Ore. - As the rescue effort continues on Mount Hood, so do the costs, which some critics are saying is way too much.
Sheriff Joe Wampler with the Hood River County Sheriff's Office has said all along that he is not looking at the cost of the rescue, he is looking for the men. One of them, 48-year-old Kelly James, was found dead in a snow cave over the weekend. The two others, 37-year-old Brian Hall and 36-year-old Jerry Cooke, remain missing.
Rosie O'Donnell and her co-hosts kicked off 'The View' Tuesday with the hot topic of the missing climbers on Mount Hood.
Rosie O'Donnell: "I read in the papers that over $2.5 million the search has cost so far to find these three men."
Jacque Reid, Guest Co-Host: "Here they are, they knew the storm was coming and they still opted to go out and who should pay the cost?"
Rosie O'Donnell: "What warrants 27 helicopters and 1,000 people looking? I just don't understand."
Joy Behar: "Send this team over to New Orleans and fix that situation."
Wampler has poured his heart, soul and county's manpower into finding the three climbers and resents the implications that the money would be better spent helping Katrina victims.
"I just want to reach out and grab her neck," he said. "I mean, literally. This is not stupid money. This is important money. This is about people's lives."
At $6,500 a day, many may question the cost of the elaborate rescue effort, but Wampler said the bill is misleading. His crews would be working anyway and 90 percent of the rescuers are volunteers. It is not even costing the military extra money because the mission is being tagged as training.
"We can either spend our time in a simulator or a simulated environment or we can get the best experience in a real world situation like this," said Capt. Mike Braibish with the Oregon National Guard.
"As long as people are climbing mountains, there needs to be people to help them," said Darren Stone, owner of Climb Max.
Stone said that as long as climbers keep coming to Oregon, the state should keep catering to them.
"Kilamanjaro is the most climbed mountain, but more people get on top of Mount Hood," he said.
Economic numbers do not pinpoint how much climbers spend while visiting the mountain, but in general $800 million is spent in our forests every year.
On a side note, Oregon is one of just a few states that can make you pay for your own rescue if you are reckless, and even then it is only $500. The law is the result of three college students who got lost on Mount Hood in 1995, only to be found safe in a tent after $10,000 was spent to search for them. It has only been enforced one time - for a boater. We are told this case would not apply because the men were prepared.
Rosie has shown she's an illiterate a**, who if stuck on a mountain somewhere would expect the national guard, marines, etc to be out looking for her....she can go to He** I know the guy who found the James fellow (I think he's the one who came upon the collapsed snow cave first).....they are risking their lives looking for these guys.....maybe the libs in Hood River will finally figure out liberals and how worthless they are.
I sat next to a 20-something woman on an airplane recently, and she idolizes Rosie O'Donnell. I almost grabbed the barf bag when this otherwise pleasant woman said something glowing about Rosie, as though Rosie were the savior of the world...... I did not bother to argue the point since I pay too little attention to Rosie to say anything specific about her rantings, but I let my seat neighbor know that not everyone shares that opinion.....
If one of Rosie's kids went missing I guess she'd want to pay for the serach and rescue effort on her own dime. After all, who's worth 27 helicopters?(sarc)
.........
That pig has kids? Someone had to fcuk that thing?
WTF is wrong with that pig-orc b*tch!?
Simple solution: Insurance.
Insurance companies can work out a reasonable rate to charge for potential rescue work and under what conditions the insurance will apply. If the insurance companies won't cover Mt. Hood in December then you go at your own risk.
My Bad..... I thought it read Shellfish / Pig
I agree. I am surprised at how many "Nanny State" Advocates are here on FR. The climbers made a mistake and should not expect the "Mama Fed" to come to the rescue.
How come they don't require some kind of global positioning thingy's on these people? At least they and the rescuers would have a better chance of finding them.
Three wenches + national audience = prelude to hell.
This is funny. It's like saying that NASA blasts $15 billion into space every year.
Hard to say.
She is so . . . unnatural.
I bet she'd want them to search for HER, her kid, her mom. What a big jerk.
My guess is these climbers don't fit Rosie's profile of groups that are worth rescuing.
I agree they were stupid to go at this time of the year....but, most of those are volunteers helping in the search (crag rats of Hood River)
Beg to differ.... but he is a bully....
I'd like to see someone STOP a cream pie from going into her face!
Why should I be responsible for the risk the climbers assumed?
Couldn't one apply the same reasoning to the Katrina victims: "they chose to stay so why should we spend money to help them"?
People who choose to go into a dangerous situation without necessity should post a bond before going. The money is returned if they don't need rescue.
Compulsory insurance would be a good idea, but no insurance company will touch that due to the extremely high risk and the cost of rescue. (That should tell people something!)
It is ridiculous to put ones self into a dangerous situation and then expect other people to pay the bill for rescue.
They actually pinpointed their location pretty good from the GPS in the cell phone. It wouldn't have made any difference in the outcome no matter what kind of device they used. The weather was impossible to search in for almost a week.
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