Weekend of March 14-15, 2020   B1
The Dalles Chronicle
TheDallesChronicle.com
Weekend
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March 14-15, 2020
The Dalles, Oregon
www.thedalleschronicle.com
Vol. 229, Issue 22
B 1
Two file for Wasco County commissioner
Gibson
■ Mark
The Dalles Chronicle
public defender; a commu-
nity affairs specialist; a leg-
islative aide for the Oregon
House of Representatives;
and as a park ranger with
the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, according to his
filing with the Wasco County
Clerk.
Swift is a graduate of
Crofton High School, has a
bachelor’s degree in mar-
keting management from
Bellevue University and a
Juris Doctorate from Roger
Williams University School
of Law.
Running unopposed are
Assessor Jill Amery; Clerk
Lisa Gambee, Sheriff Lane
Magill and Treasurer Elijah
Preston.
A revised city charter for
the City of The Dalles will
two terms on
the board of
the Port of
The Dalles
Two candidates have
prior to first
filed for Wasco County
running for
Commission, position #2,
commission-
and will be on the May 19
primary ballot.
er in 2012.
Steve Kramer
Incumbent Steve Kramer
He studied
will face a challenge from lo- business
cal attorney Marcus Swift for and forestry at Chemeketa
Wasco County Commission, Community College for two
terms, and is a graduate of
position #2, in the May 19
primary election. Both candi- Ontario High School, ac-
dates filed as nonpartisan.
cording to his filing with the
Steve Kramer, a resident
Wasco County Clerk.
Marcus Swift is a resident
of Dufur and 2020 chair of
of The Dalles working as an
the county commission has
a background in self employ- attorney and and small busi-
ness owner of Overland Law,
ment in the private sector,
LLC. His prior government
and served two terms on
experience includes service
the Dufur city council, two
terms on the Dufur Park and with the Wasco County
Recreation District board and Planning Commission; as a
also be on
the May 19
ballot. The
charter was
last revised
in 1994, and
changes
are meant
Marcus Swift
to bring the
charter up
to date with current state
law and city administration
practices.
According to the notice
of measure election filed
with the County Clerk, the
revised charter “specifies
a general grant of powers
consistent with state law;
a council/manager for of
government; elimination of
council districts; nomination
and election of councilors
and the mayor at large with
terms established on a
staggered basis; establish-
ment of a four-year term for
the mayor beginning with
the 2022 biennial election;
establishment of the office of
city attorney as the chief legal
officer of the city government
with the ability to assign
duties of the office by con-
tract; revision of procedures
for adoption of ordinances;
elimination of the provision
providing that the mayor and
councilors shall not receive
compensation for serving as
public officials; and other
matters.”
The filing deadline was
March 10.
Registration open
Although you must be 18
years of age to vote, anyone
16 or over can register to
vote. If you have an Oregon
driver’s license, permit or
I.D. number issued by the
Oregon Department of Motor
Vehicles, you can register
online. If not, you will need
to submit a printed form and
deliver it in person so your
signature can be recorded.
Details and links can be
found on the Wasco County
website, click on “depart-
ments/clerk” from the home
page. You may register at any
time, but your voter regis-
tration card must be post-
marked or delivered by the
21st day before the election
you intend to vote in, which
will be Wednesday, April
29 for the Tuesday, May 19
election.
Paddler returns to Columbia on 22-river trek
Stops planned
at Memaloose,
The Dalles and
Rufus areas
Neumann-Rea
■ By The Kirby
Hood River News
rivers he plans to follow,
along with some overland
portaging, to reach Astoria,
Queens, New York, a com-
mercial district in the New
York City borough of Queens,
in about two years.
Moore said his timeline is
open-ended, due to encoun-
ters with weather and water
conditions he must prepare
for and the range of human
Journalist and voyager
contact he relishes.
Neal Moore is used to the
With “22 Rivers, 22 States
strange looks and skeptical
and 7,500 Miles Across
questions when he tells
America By Canoe,” Moore
people he is paddling the
was en route east this week
Columbia River on the first
from Hood River after
stage of a solo canoe expe-
spending four days here.
dition overland to New York
He planned stops in the
City.
Memaloose and The Dalles
“Why would you want
areas, and then to Rufus,
to go to New York City?” a
where he will connect with
Montana rancher once dis-
his friend Gus Herrera, who
believingly asked Moore. In
Hood River this week, he got runs Gorge Outfitters.
The new cross-country
similar reactions.
paddle is his second attempt;
“I tell people, it’s not New
in April 2018 he traveled
York City itself—that’s the
through Hood River and by
destination. It’s what I find
autumn 2018 made it as far as
along the way.”
North Dakota before his sec-
“I’m on the lookout for
stories that connect and unite ond boat—and second set of
us, not divide us,” said Moore, portaging wheels—gave out
who embarked aboard his
and he decided to regroup.
fully-laden 16-foot canoe
This year, he consid-
from Astoria on Feb. 9.
ered returning to the same
Moore chronicles his ad-
location in the Dakotas and
venture on 22 Rivers.com—a picking up where he left off,
but preferred to do the entire
reference to the number of
route uninterrupted—more
or less. Moore did break up
his journey three weeks in by
getting a ride from Cascade
Locks back to Astoria in
order to attend the annual
Fisherpoets gathering there.
He had friends reading at
Fisherpoets, and learning
about peoples’ lives and ex-
periences on the river is part
of Moore’s ongoing journey
as a freelance journalist,
film-maker and explorer.
“I know the recipe I found
in Hood River County is that
of collaboration and people
trying to connect with each
other. In this part of the
world, all up the Columbia,
I’m finding that the salm-
on and all that it means is
the central defining point,”
Moore said.
He has also traveled the
length of the Missouri and
Mississippi rivers solo by
canoe and has written ex-
tensively on the experiences,
including his book “Down
the Mississippi.”
Moore, 48, is a California
native who has lived and
worked in Cape Town and
a total of about 16 years in
Taipei, Taiwan, as a teacher
and journalist.
He returned to Taipei in
autumn 2018.
Canoeist Neal Moore loads his gear at Port of Hood River on Monday morning, March 9, with plans
to spend another week or so in the mid-Columbia before taking the river east and north to Canada.
Kirby Neumann-Rea photo
Back on the Columbia and
with 21 more rivers to touch,
north and east, Moore plans
to assemble new stories
along the way as well as circle
back with people from Hood
River County that he met and
blogged about two years ago.
Frequently asked if he plans
a book or other compilation
of his journey, Moore said he
is open to the prospect but
“I’m mainly in this for the
experience.”
He said he enjoys re-
connecting with friends he
made on the first third of the
intended trans-continental
route, and meeting new peo-
ple and telling their stories.
His 22 Rivers route will
take him to Trail, B.C., via the
Columbia and then south
again via the Pend Oreille
River, connecting with the
Missouri and Mississippi,
then working through a
maze of southeast U.S. and
Appalachian rivers back
up through the Ohio River
system, the Great Lakes,
and down the Hudson—to
Astoria, Queens.
State Health Authority reports new coronavirus cases
Les Zaitz
■ By Oregon
Capital Bureau
information is received.
As of 1:53 p.m. Thursday,
no cases of the virus had
been confirmed in Wasco
Life in Oregon under-
County.
went a dramatic change
The developments are
Thursday, as Gov. Kate Brown
unfolding as Oregon health
banned large gatherings,
officials on Wednesday
major universities shifted
announced that six more
to remote classes for 80,000
people have tested positive
students, local schools were
for COVID-19, including two
urged to cancel events and
residents at a veterans’ nurs-
medical professionals will
ramp up testing for the novel ing home in Lebanon.
coronavirus.
Statewide, Oregon has
Locally, School District 21 recorded 21 presumptive
announced Thursday that all cases in 11 counties with
in-season athletic practic-
health officials warning more
are likely.
es and club meetings may
And in Washington, the
proceed as normal; however,
Trump administration and
all athletic contests, club
tournaments, band concerts Congress are consider-
and other gatherings are
ing pumping money into
canceled or postponed. (See the American economy.
related story page B3.)
President Donald Trump has
Maryhill Museum of Art
suggested stopping payroll
canceled programs but will
taxes and deferring income
still open March 15.
tax payments. In a speech
Additional concerts and
to the country Wednesday
events have also been can-
night, Trump also an-
celed, including St. Pat’s at St. nounced a ban on travel to
Pete’s on Saint Patrick’s Day. the U.S. from Europe with
Closures are posted online
the general exception of U.S.
at www.thedalleschronicle.
citizens.
com and will be updated as
The governor was
scheduled to hold a news
conference in Portland
Thursday to provide details
on new state restrictions
and steps state and local
governments are taking to
address the outbreak, now
considered a global pan-
demic by the World Health
Organization.
“It’s time for us all to
do what we can to slow
its spread and take care of
one another,” Brown said
in a statement Wednesday
evening.
She is banning all gather-
ings of 250 people or more for
the next four weeks.
“A gathering is defined as
any event in a space in which
appropriate social distancing
of a minimum of three feet
cannot be maintained,” her
statement said.
Brown also announced
new guidance for Oregon’s
local schools that will touch
every student, teacher and
parent.
“To keep schools open, all
non-essential school-asso-
ciated gatherings and group
activities should be canceled
— such as group parent
meetings, field trips, and
competitions,” Brown said.
The Salem-Keizer School
District, the state’s sec-
ond-largest, announced that
it was suspending “all school-
based assemblies and events,
off-campus field trips, and
professional development
meetings and events.”
The district also said
no one would be allowed
into sporting events “with
the exception of essential
personnel and credentialed
media.”
Workplaces across the state
should modify their practices
as well, Brown said.
Employers should use “dis-
tancing measures including
an increased physical space
between employees in offices
and worksites, limited in-per-
son meetings, limited travel,
and staggered work sched-
ules where possible.”
The new restrictions follow
the state’s decision to greatly
restrict visits to Oregon’s 670
nursing homes, residential
care facilities and other
licensed care centers. More
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel
Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, orange, emerging from the surface of
cells, green, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus
causes COVID-19.
than 30,000 Oregonians
live in such settings. The
state has said only essential
visitors should be allowed
in – after screening – and that
includes friends and relatives
for end-of-life visits or visits
otherwise considered vital to
a resident’s care.
Brown also reached out
a second time to federal
WEATHER FOR THE DALLES, OR | MARCH 14 - 20, 2020
Today
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
/26°
/22°
/22°
Cold with periods
of sun
Chilly with clouds
and sun
/25°
Sun, but chilly
/31°
Plenty of sunshine
/30°
Cloudy
Mark Gibson contributed to
this report.
Actual High/Low
Friday
38° 38° 44° 49° 54° 57° 60°
Snow at times; 1-2”
officials, seeking more med-
ical equipment and supplies
and money to deal with ev-
erything from deep cleaning
of schools to providing child
care for first responders,
steps she said were “critically
necessary.”
/33°
Clouds yielding to sun
Mar 5 - 11
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
62/30
59/40
54/40
56/30
60/27
64/28
57/42
Updated 3.12.20, 7:30 AM PDT
Data from Accuweather.com