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About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2021)
Wednesday,January13,2021 Columbia Gorge News www.columbiagorgenews.com 3 Skills center, student housing projects on track Opening planned for fall term Construction continues at Columbia Gorge Community College, which will open its new workforce skills center and student residential hall on The Dalles campus by Fall Term 2021. The two new buildings represent the larg- est expansion of the college’s physical capacity since 2008, when CGCC opened new classroom buildings in Hood River and The Dalles. The 24,000-square-foot skills center will support new career-technical programs, with design flexibility for workforce needs of the fu- ture. High-bay interior space will be complemented by a design lab, makerspace and two conjoined classrooms. The 12,000 square foot, 50-bed residential hall will provide affordable on-cam- pus student housing, with a first-floor kitchen and sec- ond-floor lounge overlooking the Columbia Gorge. The $16 million project is made possible through a $7.3 million commitment from the Oregon Legislature, matched in part by $3.5 million from the City of The Dalles and Wasco County. The college itself provided the balance through a full faith and credit bond; no local tax measure was required. Along with the new con- struction, the college is devel- oping three new career-tech- nical programs. Advanced manufacturing and fabrication will expand the college’s existing weld- ing program with training on plasma cutters, metal bending, drill press and other tools, together with CNC de- sign software. In addition to equipment operation and in- dustrial safety, students learn the math, communication and blueprint skills neces- sary for a variety of careers in advanced manufacturing. Likewise, a new con- struction trades program will integrate the tools of carpentry with foundation and framing techniques, and basic building projects, all with an emphasis on safety. Students in both programs will learn computer-assisted design software. A third new program will be based at Columbia Gorge Regional Airport in Dallesport. This is an aircraft maintenance tech- nician program. Pending approval by the Federal Aviation Administration, Columbia Gorge would join Lane Community College, Portland Community College and several colleges in Washington State in offering “Airframe and Powerplant” training. Aviation industry leaders cite a continuing Work on a new residential hall, in foreground above and at top, is well underway at Columbia Gorge Community College The Dalles campus. The workforce skills center, in background above, is also on track. Both are scheduled to open for Fall term 2021. Flora Gibson photos demand for aviation me- chanics; with its new student residential hall, Columbia Gorge will be positioned as a “destination institution.” All three programs currently are in the re- view stage, subject to approval internally and by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, through which Columbia Gorge is accredited. The skills center and student residential hall are scheduled for completion July 23, 2021. A webcam shows construction prog- ress via YouTube. Viewers can locate it by search- ing “Columbia Gorge Community College con- struction webcam,” then link to the current YouTube site. NEWS IN BRIEF Bentz takes office Partition approved A request to partition an existing 11.8 acre property into three parcels of .84, .8 and 10.19 acres has been approved by administra- tive decision by The Dalles Community Development Department. The property is located at 3819 Columbia View Drive. Owners are Chuck and Cathy Covert. Lot adjustments A request has been made to replat five existing lots to nine lots within the Ott Springs Subdivision, located in the 2300 block of W. 12th St., The Dalles. The new lots will range from 4,025 square Congressman Cliff Bentz, right, was formally sworn in as a member of the 117th United States Congress on Jan. 2. Bentz was accompanied by his wife, Dr. Lindsay Norman. Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, left, administered the oath. “It is an honor to represent the citizens of Oregon’s Second Congressional District, and I humbly thank them for entrusting me with this responsibility,” said Bentz. “I will fight every day to protect rural communities and stand up for Oregon values in Congress.” Bentz is a third generation Oregonian, rancher, businessman, attorney, and a former state legislator. He was elected to represent the Second Congressional District of Oregon on Nov. 3. The district includes all or part of 20 counties across northern, eastern, central, and southern Oregon, including all of Wasco, Hood River, Sherman and Wheeler counties. Submitted photo 1631 Woods Ct Suite 102 Hood River, OR 97031 541-386-0826 Joe Guenther Financial Advisor edwardjones.com Member SIPC feet to 4,921. Owner is Randy Olmstead. Public Hearing The City of The Dalles Planning Commission will conduct a quasi-judicial public hearing Thurday, Jan. 21, 6 p.m. via Zoom. StarTouch, Inc. seeks ap- proval to provide wireless backhaul in The Dalles area by mounting microwave/ antennas to the rooftop of Building 1 at CGCC. EVOLUTION: BIOLOGICALLY IMPOSSIBLE #19 As anyone should be able to see with the teeth system it is quite unreasonable to imagine that teeth would evolve in the mouth of any animal over millions of years. You could look at many of the separate biological systems that make up a functioning and operating body. Look at the digestive system. Very complicated. Liver, gall bladder, spleen, stomach, small and large intestines, colon and bile ducts. Remove one of these organs and the system could easily shut down or the animal would become very sick and not function properly. Is it fair to suggest that these organs came along over millions of years to finally complete a true proper operating digestive system? Let us not even include the mouth and throat and saliva and of course teeth in this very complicated digestive system to make it even more unreasonable to suggest this system came along organ by organ over millions of years. How does this happen? What does it mean scientifically that a liver or gall bladder simply evolves within the body of a living animal? The raw fortunate convenience that any of these organs just came into being to aid the digestive system when it was not there before by evolving? How does a liver evolve? What would appear in an animal that exists without a liver and then this miraculous machine then begins to what, evolve? How does an organ as complicated as a liver evolve piece by piece over millions of years? Oh the hate. g.d. fischer | zionman@netcnct.net | 541-296-8578 TRASH TALK Q. I have Holiday string lights that no QA longer work. What should I do with them? Tori, Wasco County A. Tori, Those light strands are not recyclable at curb- side. If you bring them to their Transfer Station in either The Dalles or Hood River, they can be recycled as ‘scrap metal’ because of the valuable copper wire. Ask attendant. Remove any large bulbs. Also, consider carefully saving boxes, paper and bows as packaging for next season. questions to: (541)-506-2636 www.tricountyrecycle.com
