HOOD RIVER,OREGON Pressing issues · Official Newspaper,City of Hood River and Hood River County...
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Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County HOOD RIVER, OREGON ■ WEDNESDAY,APRIL 8, 2015 www.hoodrivernews.com A newcomer eyes the Community Ed catalog – A5 Top Ten ‘Kettles’ of Fun ‘Follies’ return this weekend – B1 Photo by LisaAnn Kawachi BEARING BLUE Quinn Carloss, left, and Casey Beaman, both 9, reach high to attach blue ribbons on trees on Oak Street Saturday, some of 3,000 in Hood River County prepared for the 24th annual Blue Ribbon Campaign during National Child Abuse Awareness Month in April. The Child Abuse Advocacy Center hosts a fundraiser on April 19; learn more about that and the Blue Ribbon Campaign on page A12. ‘Politics of Climate Change’ speaker today “The Politics of Climate Change” will be the focus of a pre- sentation this Wednesday, April 8, featuring former White House staffer Dr. Johannes Loschnigg at Springhouse Cellars in Hood River. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the pre- sentation is at 7:30 p.m., followed by questions and answers. This event is a fundraiser for Hood River County School District middle and high school science pro- grams. A $5 donation will be invit- ed at the door. Dr. Loschnigg served as senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2009 to 2013. As part of the Environment and Energy Divi- sion, he helped develop federal pol- icy for renewable energy, climate change, aerospace and earth satel- lite observations. Previously, he was staff director for the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the Committee on Science in the U.S. House of Representatives, overseeing NASA and U.S. civil space programs. Springhouse Cellars is located at 13 Railroad Street, Hood River. HRVHS cheer holds Clinic Sunday Students 7-14 are invited to Sunday’s cheerleading clinic at HRVHS, 1 to 4 p.m., taught by two juniors on cheer squad, for their Extended Application project. Cost is $10, with all funds going to HRVHS cheerleading. Learn dance, chants, motions, jumps and crowd-working tips. For de- tails call Kelsey at 541-399-6634 or Skylar at 490-7441. The camp is recommended for any eighth- grader planning to try out for fall squad. Four To Go Get Thee to the Library! Hood River Library hosts a passel of events for Shakespeare Week, April 21-24; kids can pick up bookmarks starting April 14. Shoe Box stagecraft hap- pens April 21; assemble your own shoe box theater and all the world’s your stage. Portland’s Original Practice Shakespeare troupe on April 23. Panorama: April 11 Panorama, Hood River News’ four-part annual special section, is coming. Panorama is your guide to Blossom Time events this month as well as the panora- ma of pleasures of living in the Gorge and will be included in the April 11 edition. Stewards seek help on Indian Creek To celebrate Earth Day, Indian Creek Stewards will replace blackberry and other noxious weeds on Indian Creek. Volunteers are needed on April 18 to spread mulch to discourage noxious weed infestation. Meet on Broken Tree, west of Indian Creek Golf Course; work goes from 9 a.m. until about 1 p.m. Bring a wheelbarrow, rake, or shovel; coffee and snacks will be provided. For details, contact Megan Saunders or at 541- 386-6063 or [email protected]. 7 0 5 1 0 5 9 7 6 3 0 3 MIDWEEK EDITION 75 cents Vol. 109, No. 28 2 Sections, 22 Pages Port plans to close on Lower Hanel land buy By PATRICK MULVIHILL News staff writer The Port of Hood River is taking final steps to close on the purchase of a 9-acre property in Odell, the former lower Hanel Mill site. The vacant lot could become a valuable property for the Port as early as July. The property sits just off High- way 35 north of Odell at 3289 Neal Creek Mill, near the tracks of Mt. Hood Railroad — a potential spot for businesses in need of rail and highway access. The Port is inter- ested in subdividing the 9.3 acres into several parcels for light indus- trial use. “We’ve got a pretty clear path to finish the work we need to do to close,” said Port Executive Director Michael McElwee. The Port originally voted to pur- chase the site from Hanel Develop- ment Group in May of 2014 at the price tag of $850,000, subject to a five-month due diligence process. However, the commission decided it needed more time to assess the property for “surprises” such as environmental contaminants, said McElwee. “The commission wasn’t com- fortable with that price with those risks,” said McElwee. “So essential- ly the purchase and sale agreement expired but we remained interested in it.” The port underwent extensive environmental analyses before agreeing to renew their sale con- Blossom Time: Cider Fest, Studio Tour and more By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor Blossom Time bubbles up this weekend with the kickoff event, the second annual Hard Pressed Cider Fest, at Mt. Defiance Fruit on Stadelman Drive in Odell, noon to 7 p.m. Saturday. Also happening this weekend is the annual Gorge Artists Open Stu- dio Tour, April 10-12, throughout the Gorge. This self-guided tour provides visitors the chance to meet and talk with artists in their studios. A total of 38 artists will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Detailed maps are available at www.gorgeartistist.org and at area Chambers of Commerce, and Co- lumbia Center for the Arts. This year’s artists feature works in a variety of media including painting, drawing, jewelry, glass, sculpture, photography, textless, fiber, and more. Hard Pressed Cider Fest is open to all ages. Admission is $5 (ages 18 and under are free), and $5 for a tasting cup and four tokens. Look for more parking this year; admis- sion is limited to 3,000 mug holders. A total of 21 cideries from Hood River and the Gorge as well as Port- land and Washington state are ex- pected (see list, page A11), and there will be food, music, and a kids’ area. The monthly Second Saturday at Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum will host a mini-car show featuring Dodge Brothers automobiles on April 11. WAAAM will have its 1916 Dodge Brothers Roadster out to take part in the retrospective of Dodge Brothers vehicles. The restoration shop will also be open for a tour at 1 p.m. and some airplanes from the museum’s collection will be out get- ting some exercise too. Three weekends make up Blos- som Time. The centerpiece on April 18-19 will be the Blossom Craft Show and the Blossom Fest Quilt Show, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fairgrounds are located in the midst of orchard country at 3020 Wy’east Road, near the community of Odell. Admission and parking are free. See BLOSSOM, Page A11 Submitted photos OPEN STUDIOS tour: works in- cluding photographer Leah Hed- burg (cherries) and ceramist Aimee Herring Brewer (vase) highlight the April 10-12 event. Pressing issues In town hall, Merkley blasts budget, calls for ‘action now’ over climate change By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor High school students had the first and last words at Sen. Jeff Merkley’s town hall Monday night at Hood River Middle School, call- ing for action on immigration and climate change. Merkley, a Eugene Democrat, told HRVHS senior Christina Gar- cia he would keep work- ing to revive immigration reform, say- ing “our sys- tem is bro- ken,” and he returned to j u n i o r Charley Boonstra’s concern by speaking to climate change in his summing up before the au- dience of 75 people. “We all have to tackle this to- gether,” he said, pointing to a new carbon reduction agreement with China that he finds encouraging. In the town hall, Merkley said he supports the Iran nuclear frame- work agreement and will work to prevent Congressional opponents from stopping it, and said revisions are on the horizon in federal educa- tion law, replacing No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Hood River Education Associa- tion President Kelvin Calkins told Merkley, “There are many ways to assess (student progress). We don’t have to test every student, every grade, every year.” Merkley told him, “No Child Left Behind went way off track with high stakes testing and the sham- ing of schools, rather than support- ing schools that need help. The shaming of schools has not worked, anywhere,” he said of See PORT, Page A11 See MERKLEY, Page A11 Jeff Merkley
Transcript of HOOD RIVER,OREGON Pressing issues · Official Newspaper,City of Hood River and Hood River County...
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County HOOD RIVER, OREGON � WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015 www.hoodrivernews.com
A newcomer eyes theCommunity Ed catalog – A5
Top Ten‘Kettles’ of Fun
‘Follies’return thisweekend
– B1
Photo by LisaAnn Kawachi
BEARING BLUEQuinn Carloss, left, and Casey Beaman, both 9, reach high to attach blue ribbons on trees on Oak Street Saturday,some of 3,000 in Hood River County prepared for the 24th annual Blue Ribbon Campaign during National Child AbuseAwareness Month in April. The Child Abuse Advocacy Center hosts a fundraiser on April 19; learn more about that andthe Blue Ribbon Campaign on page A12.
‘Politics ofClimateChange’speakertoday“The Politics of Climate
Change” will be the focus of a pre-sentation this Wednesday, April8, featuring former White Housestaffer Dr. Johannes Loschnigg atSpringhouse Cellars in Hood River.Doors open at 7 p.m., and the pre-sentation is at 7:30 p.m., followed byquestions and answers.This event is a fundraiser for
Hood River County School Districtmiddle and high school science pro-grams. A $5 donation will be invit-ed at the door.Dr. Loschnigg served as senior
policy analyst at the White HouseOffice of Science and TechnologyPolicy from 2009 to 2013. As part ofthe Environment and Energy Divi-sion, he helped develop federal pol-icy for renewable energy, climatechange, aerospace and earth satel-lite observations.Previously, he was staff director
for the Subcommittee on Space andAeronautics of the Committeeon Science in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, overseeing NASAand U.S. civil space programs.Springhouse Cellars is located at
13 Railroad Street, Hood River.
HRVHS cheerholds Clinic SundayStudents 7-14 are invited to
Sunday’s cheerleading clinic atHRVHS, 1 to 4 p.m., taught by twojuniors on cheer squad, for theirExtended Application project.Cost is $10, with all funds goingto HRVHS cheerleading. Learndance, chants, motions, jumpsand crowd-working tips. For de-tails call Kelsey at 541-399-6634 orSkylar at 490-7441. The camp isrecommended for any eighth-grader planning to try out for fallsquad.
Four To Go
Get Theeto the Library!Hood River Library
hosts a passel of events forShakespeare Week, April21-24; kids can pick upbookmarks starting April14.Shoe Box stagecraft hap-
pens April 21; assembleyour own shoe box theaterand all the world’s yourstage. Portland’s OriginalPractice Shakespearetroupe on April 23.
Panorama: April 11Panorama, Hood River News’
four-part annual special section,is coming. Panorama is yourguide to Blossom Time eventsthis month as well as the panora-ma of pleasures of living in theGorge and will be included in theApril 11 edition.
Stewards seek helpon Indian CreekTo celebrate Earth Day, Indian Creek
Stewards will replace blackberry andother noxious weeds on Indian Creek.Volunteers are needed on April 18 tospread mulch to discourage noxious weedinfestation.Meet on Broken Tree, west of Indian
Creek Golf Course; work goes from 9 a.m.until about 1 p.m.Bring a wheelbarrow, rake, or shovel;
coffee and snacks will be provided. Fordetails, contact Megan Saunders or at 541-386-6063 or [email protected].
7 0 5 1 05 97630 3
MIDWEEK EDITION 75 centsVol. 109, No. 28 2 Sections, 22 Pages
Port plans toclose on LowerHanel land buy
By PATRICK MULVIHILLNews staff writer
The Port of Hood River is takingfinal steps to close on the purchaseof a 9-acre property in Odell, theformer lower Hanel Mill site. Thevacant lot could become a valuableproperty for the Port as early asJuly.The property sits just off High-
way 35 north of Odell at 3289 NealCreek Mill, near the tracks of Mt.Hood Railroad — a potential spotfor businesses in need of rail andhighway access. The Port is inter-ested in subdividing the 9.3 acresinto several parcels for light indus-trial use.“We’ve got a pretty clear path to
finish the work we need to do toclose,” said Port Executive DirectorMichael McElwee.The Port originally voted to pur-
chase the site from Hanel Develop-ment Group in May of 2014 at theprice tag of $850,000, subject to afive-month due diligence process.However, the commission decidedit needed more time to assess theproperty for “surprises” such asenvironmental contaminants, saidMcElwee.“The commission wasn’t com-
fortable with that price with thoserisks,” said McElwee. “So essential-ly the purchase and sale agreementexpired but we remained interestedin it.”The port underwent extensive
environmental analyses beforeagreeing to renew their sale con-
Blossom Time: Cider Fest, Studio Tour and moreBy KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editorBlossom Time bubbles up this
weekend with the kickoff event,the second annual Hard PressedCider Fest, at Mt. Defiance Fruit onStadelman Drive in Odell, noon to 7p.m. Saturday.Also happening this weekend is
the annual Gorge Artists Open Stu-dio Tour, April 10-12, throughoutthe Gorge. This self-guided tourprovides visitors the chance tomeet and talk with artists in theirstudios. A total of 38 artists will beon hand from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eachday.Detailed maps are available at
www.gorgeartistist.org and at areaChambers of Commerce, and Co-lumbia Center for the Arts.This year’s artists feature works
in a variety of media including
painting, drawing, jewelry, glass,sculpture, photography, textless,fiber, and more.Hard Pressed Cider Fest is open
to all ages. Admission is $5 (ages 18and under are free), and $5 for atasting cup and four tokens. Lookfor more parking this year; admis-
sion is limited to 3,000 mug holders.A total of 21 cideries from Hood
River and the Gorge as well as Port-land and Washington state are ex-pected (see list, page A11), andthere will be food, music, and akids’ area.The monthly Second Saturday at
Western Antique Aeroplane andAutomobile Museum will host amini-car show featuring DodgeBrothers automobiles on April 11.WAAAM will have its 1916 DodgeBrothers Roadster out to take partin the retrospective of DodgeBrothers vehicles. The restorationshop will also be open for a tour at1 p.m. and some airplanes from themuseum’s collection will be out get-ting some exercise too.Three weekends make up Blos-
som Time. The centerpiece onApril 18-19 will be the BlossomCraft Show and the Blossom FestQuilt Show, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.The fairgrounds are located in themidst of orchard country at 3020Wy’east Road, near the communityof Odell. Admission and parkingare free.
See BLOSSOM, Page A11
Submitted photos
OPEN STUDIOS tour: works in-cluding photographer Leah Hed-burg (cherries) and ceramistAimee Herring Brewer (vase)highlight the April 10-12 event.
PressingissuesIn town hall, Merkleyblasts budget, calls for‘action now’ overclimate change
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REANews editor
High school students had thefirst and last words at Sen. JeffMerkley’s town hall Monday nightat Hood River Middle School, call-ing for action on immigration andclimate change.Merkley, a Eugene Democrat,
told HRVHS senior Christina Gar-cia he wouldkeep work-ing to reviveimmigrationreform, say-ing “our sys-tem is bro-ken,” and hereturned toj u n i o rC h a r l e yBoons t ra ’sconcern byspeaking toc l i m a t echange in hissumming upbefore the au-dience of 75 people.“We all have to tackle this to-
gether,” he said, pointing to a newcarbon reduction agreement withChina that he finds encouraging.In the town hall, Merkley said he
supports the Iran nuclear frame-work agreement and will work toprevent Congressional opponentsfrom stopping it, and said revisionsare on the horizon in federal educa-tion law, replacing No Child LeftBehind (NCLB).Hood River Education Associa-
tion President Kelvin Calkins toldMerkley, “There are many ways toassess (student progress). We don’thave to test every student, everygrade, every year.”Merkley told him, “No Child Left
Behind went way off track withhigh stakes testing and the sham-ing of schools, rather than support-ing schools that need help. Theshaming of schools has notworked, anywhere,” he said of
See PORT, Page A11
See MERKLEY, Page A11
Jeff Merkley
