6
Wednesday,April14,2021
Columbia Gorge News
EDUCATOR
TOURISM
per visit plus utility charges.
Despite cancellations,
American Cruise lines paid
64 ship stops
its $6,000 infrastructure
canceled in 2020 2020 fee, as well as the 2021
fee that helps maintain
Continued from page 1 the Marina Jetty. This year,
American is slated to visit
Hood River 34 times, and
staff.
Lindblad, 16.
COVID-19 was not the
Businesses that are set to
only culprit threatening tour
ship visits. The port this year operate this year on the Hood
repaired dry rot damage to a River Waterfront include five
beam on the south section of kiteboarding shops, two food
the Event Site Dock, making concession stands, and four
lesson and rental services
it ship shape just in time for
for people interested in
tours to resume.
If state and county officials windsurfing, kayak, stand-
up paddleboarding and
approve American Cruise
Lines’ COVID protocols and kiteboarding. The business-
es are also open to locals
operating procedures, the
and visitors not associated
first tour stop in Hood River
with cruises. A copy of the
could be as early as May 8,
American Cruise Line safety
Scholl said.
The cruise ships canceled protocols is at www.ameri-
cancruiselines.com/account/
64 stops in 2020, eliminat-
covid-19-operating-protocol;
ing the port fees and local
Lindblad's protocols can be
business that accompany
them. Typically, cruise ship
viewed at www.expeditions.
operators pay the port $200
com/covid-protocol.
Everyone was
scrambling
Continued from page 1
Dowsett said some stu-
dents who had issues with
attendance during virtual
classes have been showing
up every day since the build-
ing’s doors opened back up
to students. She said social
distanced classrooms of 11
or 12 kids have cut down on
time in class but allow teach-
ers to check in with each
student individually.
Ramsey, who received his
master’s degree in a hybrid
program that met in-person
one weekend a month, said
he helped other teachers get
familiar with distance-learn-
ing programs and asked
more experienced teachers
for tips on keeping curricu-
lum fun and engaging.
He completed his stu-
dent-teaching in 2019 at
Chenowith Elementary
School before getting a job at
St. Mary’s, which he finished
back in the virtual space
when the pandemic reached
the U.S. last year.
His interview for the CWES
position was conducted via
webcam — from the mater-
nity ward where his wife had
just given birth.
“I had to run home and
grab a collared shirt. I tucked
it into my sweatpants and
turned the camera for the
best light,” Ramsey said.
“I think how long I had
been awake calmed me
down because I’m usually
nervous for those kinds of
things,” he said. Ramsey said
the uncertainty eased his
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Above,
Colonel
Wright
Elementary School teachers
Abigail Timmons and Destin
Ramsey pose at a curbside
Halloween "packet pick-up."
At right, Timmons and teacher
Steve Chance are pictured in
their classrooms at CWES re-
cently after students returned
to the building.
Aman leads CHS’s all-Trico volleyball selections
Columbia High senior Mya
Aman was selected by league
coaches to the second team
Trico League volleyball all-
star team.
Teammates Sofia Larson
and Hannah Polkinghorn
Contributed photos
new-job-anxiety.
"The cool thing, for me,
was that everyone was
scrambling as I was starting,
not just me."
Dowsett said staff have
settled into a cycle of plan-
ning and replanning as case
numbers and guidelines fluc-
tuate. She said they no longer
set their sights on “hopefully
back to normal” dates. At
least one of their previously
tossed-out schedules has
come back around and
ended up in use. Chance said
staff have continued search-
ing for best-practices and
“Band-Aids” for problems
as they arise, but ultimately
there will be no real resolu-
tion until everyone is back in
school. He hopes next year’s
fifth graders will again end
the year with an all-nighter in
the school gym.
“There’s things like that
that’re so much a part of
being in school that we don’t
get to do,” Chance said.
were honorable mention
picks for the Bruins.
Co-players of the year
were Rachel Gallagher of
Goldendale and Tiffany
Chandler of La Center.
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Former Rotary exchange
students share experiences
By Pamela Zachary
■ Morneault
White Salmon-Bingen Rotary
The White Salmon-Bingen
Rotary club appreciates the
article in the March 17 issue
of Columbia Gorge News.
Our youth exchange program
is quite unusual for a club our
size and is recognized both in
our district as well as larger
circles. The unique three-
year process starts with selec-
tion, assimilation with Rotary
and other “outbounds” for
a year and then the year
abroad, finally returning
home to another year of high
school and sharing their
experiences.
The current use of Zoom,
as well as a connection with
some of the students sent
out in the mid ‘90s and early
2000s have created opportu-
nity to “bring them back.”
We have been pleasantly
overwhelmed with these
initial responses, describ-
ing their lives since their
exchanges and gratitude for
the opportunity.
Emma Pfister
Emma Pfister went to Chile
in 1996. She quickly adapt-
ed by learning Spanish and
finding a second home and
family that she loves to this
day.
She has used these skills
throughout
her career
in humani-
tarian work
world wide,
even picking
up other
Pamela
languages
Zachary
to aid in
Morneault
placements
at UNICEF
USA, Water for People
and now World Vision
International on their di-
saster management team at
an initiative they lead with
Save the Children and Oxfam
(three of the largest world aid
organizations).
In addition to communi-
cation, she gained a love for
a continent, as her career has
been largely based in Latin
America.
Her passionate work has
also taken her to Africa, the
Middle East and India. Emma
continues to be supporting of
the most vulnerable pop-
ulations, especially during
difficult times.
She is presently in the
Gorge, volunteering at
Skyline Hospital in their
vaccination efforts.
simultaneously thrilled and
frightened.
Her large city had very
different terrain, weather and
customs and she had rudi-
mentary use of the language
at first.
Rotary, at that time, re-
quired a period of no phone
contact with home, after a
required call upon arrival.
She felt a higher degree
of independence, all within
Rotary guidelines.
She speaks of feeling over-
whelmed with her peers’ per-
ceptions of Americans and
of experiencing “privilege”
for the first time, which has
shaped her life perspective.
In addition, the culture
shock of returning home
fueled a desire to attend
college, major in geology and
receive a master’s degree in
geologic sciences.
She has spoken at nu-
merous conferences and
returned to Mexico to work
on special projects.
Her life now is in
Anchorage, Alaska, where
she has worked for geotech-
nical engineering firms.
She and her husband have
two small children.
interest in playing volleyball
and keeping her skills up,
but that activity gave her
much more — community.
Her families, affected by the
economy at that time, were
working long hours and were
rarely home.
The college team was her
family, as they practiced
six days a week and played
games.
She says that her experi-
ences gave her confidence
to enter new situations and
create community, which she
has had to do multiple times
as a Navy spouse.
Currently living in Gaeta,
Italy, she plans travels, explo-
rations and activities with her
husband and daughter when
different areas “open up”
and writes a blog as a family
history.
Her exchange, curiosi-
ty, acquired life skills and
master’s degree in education
led to creating a wellness
program for more than 500
real estate agents in the
Washington, D.C., metro
area.
We look forward to finding,
hearing from and welcoming
more of our former students
back to share their perspec-
Tabitha Trosper Voeller
as well as their current
Carol Morneault Alcock tives
Tabitha Trosper Voeller
lives. If anyone has informa-
traveled to Mexico in 1997.
Carol Morneault Alcock
tion/contacts, please contact
For the first time in her
left for the Philippines in
Pamela Zachary Morneault at
life, she felt that she had
1999.
541-490-3329.
“won something” and was
She had a particular
WKO-High Cascade Mills
Buying Logs
& Timber
Douglas Fir
White Fir
Pine
Jon Paul Anderson
360-921-1541
Mill: 509-427-8413
2022 Wind River Hwy • P.O. Box 8
Carson, WA 98610
NEWS TIPS?
info@gorgenews.com
“It took a lot of pressure off of maintaining my own home.
I pay one payment, and that makes life a whole lot easier.”
Resident at The Springs at Mill Creek
Independent Living
Assisted Living I Memory Care
1201 West 10th Street I The Dalles
541-296-1303
TheSpringsLiving.com
Hood River, 926 12th Street
541-386-2012
The Dalles, 414 Washington St.
541-296-3310
Happy 95th
Birthday
Peggy Swyers!
With love, your friends and family