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HR Fireworks Show Seeks Donations

Posted on by mbailey

Donations are being taken to help pay for the annual Hood River Fourth of July fireworks show.  Brett Stomps is one of the organizers of the show that is completely community funded.  He says the cost of this year’s performance is $20,000, down from last year’s $25,000, and they’ve raised $9,500 so far.  Donations can made at hoodriverfireworks.com by Venmo or Paypal, or by mailing a check to Hood River Fireworks, P.O. Box 403, in Hood River, zip code 97031.  Donations will also be collected during the parade on Hood River’s Heights on the morning of the Fourth.

 

 

 

Man Wounded As Result Of Father-Son Fight

Posted on by mbailey

A man was wounded when a fight between a father and his son led to a shooting late Saturday morning in The Dalles.  According to The Dalles Police Chief Tom Worthy, the two men were fighting for an unknown reason just before noon Saturday near 2315 East 2nd.  The fight devolved into the shooting, with the son hit in the hip area.  Worthy said the son was taken to Adventist Health Columbia Gorge for treatment of the wound.  Investigators gathered information, with Worthy adding there was an uninvolved witness to the incident, and referred the case to the Wasco County District Attorney’s office, which will make a determination on charges.  There have been no charges filed as of yet.

Maryhill Announces New Executive Director

Posted on by mbailey

Maryhill Museum of Art has selected Amy Behrens as its new executive director and chief executive officer.  Beherns succeeds Colleen Schafroth, who is retiring in August after 37 years at Maryhilll, the last 22 as executive director.  Behrens will join Maryhill in August after serving as executive director at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, a nationally-registered historic site and visitor destination for arts, education, and botanical gardens in Southern California.  During her tenure there, annual membership subscriptions more than doubled and cultural programs grew and diversified from less than 50 to nearly 150 events annually.  Behrens previously held positions as interim associate director of Ace Gallery, one of the largest gallery-held collections of blue-chip fine art in the western United States, and gallery manager of River Gallery in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach.

Klickitat County Approves Addendums To Republic Contract

Posted on by mbailey

Klickitat County Commissioners have done an addendum with Republic Services to allow the company to take up to 150,000 tons of trash to the Cowlitz County Landfill if necessary.  It’s a move being made in an attempt to retain a contract for the Roosevelt landfill to continue to receive Skagit County’s waste.  Klickitat County Commissioner Dan Christopher says Republic currently doesn’t have an emergency truck source to haul trash to Roosevelt when rail service is disrupted.  He added they are looking to increase the landfill’s revenue streams.  Christopher says they are trying to reduce the turnaround time for the trains coming into the Roosevelt landfill to the point where they can double the volume being taken in.  In addition, there will be some consumer price index adjustments to the transfer stations.

City Of Hood River Seeks Help To Pull Puncturevines

Posted on by mbailey

The City of Hood River is partnering with the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District to host a series of puncturevine pulls in July.  Puncturevine, or Tribulus terrestris, is also known as goathead,   City Manager Abigail Elder says it is an invasive and noxious plant that is not only toxic, but also a nuisance.  Efforts to pull puncturevines are planned for July.  You can sign up to volunteer at the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District’s website: hoodriverswcd.org.

HR Schools, Teachers Reach Deal On Three-Year Contract

Posted on by mbailey

The Hood River County School District Board ratified a three-year contract with the Hood River Education Association to run through the 2025-26 school year.  The board passed it unanimously after the teachers had ratified the deal one week ago.  Representatives from both sides called it a good contract, and also spoke of the collaborate process that took place to reach the deal.  Board member Chrissy Reitz noted the contract recognizes the need to increase pay for new teachers, and take action to do it.  Mikka Irusta of the Hood River Education Association added that the contract achieves the goal of improving both retention of current teachers and recruitment of new staff.

CGCC Sees Upward Trend In Numbers

Posted on by mbailey

Columbia Gorge Community College issued over 150 degrees or certificates of some kind during the school’s recent graduation ceremonies, as CGCC sees its numbers trend back toward pre-pandemic levels.  CGCC Vice-President of Student Services Mike Espinoza said they saw between a nine to 11 percent increase in students pursuing post-high school degrees during the past academic year, and the goal is to continue that into the future.  Espinoza said they also saw an increase in its high school concurrent enrollment programs, whether on the CGCC campus or at the high schools involvement.

Lawson Tabbed As Next CGCC President

Posted on by mbailey

Columbia Gorge Community College board directors have named Dr. Kenneth Lawson to become the institution’s next president.  He is expected to assume the office on August 1.  The board made the decision during its meeting on Wednesday.  Lawson is currently the vice president of instruction at Skagit Valley College in Mt. Vernon, and has been in that role since 2013.  His community college experience began as an adjunct faculty in basic education.  Lawson’s career has included serving as a full-time faculty and dean of the Social Sciences/Equity and Social Justice division at Shoreline Community College, and dean for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Seattle Central College, before taking on his current position at Skagit Valley.  Lawson has a doctorate in political science from the University of Washington, and a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of Utah.

Trooper Injured In Highway 142 Accident

Posted on by mbailey

A Washington State Patrol trooper was seriously injured in a patrol vehicle collision early Monday morning on Highway 142 near Olson Road west of Goldendale in Klickitat County.  According to WSP spokesman Will Finn, Trooper Anthony Maton was responding to a blocking one-car collision on Highway 142 when he left the road, struck a tree, and became entrapped. No other vehicles were involved in the collision.  Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office deputies were first on scene and immediately rendered aid.  Once freed from the vehicle, Maton was airlifted to Yakima Memorial Hospital, and was later transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  Maton, a two-year trooper, sustained multiple broken bones and a serious head injury during the collision.  Finn says he has a long road to recovery but is in stable condition.  The collision is being investigated by the WSP Major Accident Investigation Team.          

Oregon K-12 Budget Number Trends Up, Should Help HR Schools

Posted on by mbailey

With the Oregon Senate back in session and voting on budget bills, it appears the state’s K-12 education funding for the 2023-25 biennium will be $10.2 billion, up from around the originally discussed $9.9 billion.  Hood River County School District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn says that is a good number for his district, but also still not enough to simply continue with current service levels.  The Hood River district is helped by the recent renewal by voters of its local option levy for the next five years.  In addition, the district does not yet know the ending fund balance from this fiscal year that it will carry over into next year.

 

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