Columbia Gorge News www.columbiagorgenews.com Wednesday, May 12, 2021 B5 Visit Hood River to open visitor center in partnership with history museum HOOD RIVER — Visit Hood River opened a visitor center and office within common area space at the History Museum of Hood River County, located at 300 E. Port Marina Drive, Hood River, on May 1. The visitor center reopening is a signif- icant leap forward for Visit Hood River, following a year of contraction and reorgani- zation required with the ces- sation of travel and tourism as a result of the pandemic, according to a press release. The economic devastation realized by many local businesses took a toll on Visit Hood River, resulting in closure of the previous office and visitor center after Labor Day 2020. “The COVID pandemic has been challenging for the nation, our community stakeholders and our orga- nization,” said Katie Kadlub, Visit Hood River executive director. “As Visit Hood River has envisioned our role in Hood River’s recovery, we could not be more optimistic about this opportunity to serve both the community and visitors from our new office and visitor center at the History Museum of Hood River County. We are grateful for this win- win partnership with the Heritage Council, which brings increased visibility, engagement and service to our mutual stakeholders.” “The History Museum of Hood River County is delighted to welcome Visit Hood River to share common space at the museum because our mu- tual commitment to serve and educate our community and visitors,” said Debby Chenoweth, co-chair of the Hood River County Heritage Council. “In co-locating, our organizations are able to reduce overhead and ex- penses, allowing us to more efficiently deliver programs and services.” The Hood River County Heritage Council is a 501c3 nonprofit who operates the Hood River County History Museum. The History Museum is a public resource and houses the historic artifacts, documents, and photographs of Hood River County and provides exhib- its and historic programs and events for both residents and tourists. History Museum of Hood River County is currently featuring Oregon Voices, a visiting exhibition from the Oregon Historical Society. Photo courtesy of Anna Goodwin, executive director, History Museum of Hood River County. The Hood River County Chamber of Commerce dba Visit Hood River is a nonprofit business association serving tourism and business stakeholders. Visit Hood River supports economic and tourism development in Hood River, Cascade Locks, Mosier, Odell, Parkdale, Pine Grove and Mt. Hood. Volunteer Association of the Mosier Fire Department donate two Automatic External Defibrillators on April 12, one to Kathy Long, meal site coordinator for Mosier Senior Center, and another to Breanna’s Mosier Market owner Brenna Campbell in downtown Mosier. Contributed photo Top row: Kathy Nishimoto and Monica Carson; second row: Judge John A. Wolf, Carol Goter and Tori Ratcliff; bottom row: Brigitte Barnes. Contributed photo Columbia Gorge CASA welcomes new volunteers HOOD RIVER — Columbia Gorge CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) has installed its newest child advocates: Tori Ratliff, Kathy Nishimoto, and Monica Carson, Hood River; Carol Goter, Mosier; and Brigitte Barnes, Stevenson. After completing more than 30 hours of professional training, via Zoom, the group was sworn into duty (also via Zoom) by the Honorable John A. Wolf, on April 13. Wolf welcomed the newest advocates and subsequently described some of his expe- riences with specific CASAs. He also listed many of the at- tributes he feels CASAs bring to the court and pertinent information concerning a child that CASAs bring to the court’s attention. Appointed and empow- ered directly by the courts, CASA volunteers advocate for a child’s best interest by providing critical informa- tion to judges about the child’s needs and well-being to help the judge make the most well-informed deci- sion. The CASA model was created more than 40 years ago and CASA programs have established themselves and their volunteers as trusted partners with the courts and child welfare professionals. On any given day, there are nearly 443,000 children in foster care in the United States, served by more than 93,000 CASA volunteers. On average, nationally, children remain in state care for near- ly two years and 6 percent of children in foster care have languished there for five or more years. Among these children, around 200 are available for adoption and waiting for adoptive families in Oregon, according to AdoptUSKids. ••• Columbia Gorge CASA serves children in Hood River, Wasco and Sherman SUDOKU HOW TO PLAY: Each row, column and set of 3-by-3 boxes must containthe numbers 1 through 9 without repetition. Need exposure? Reserve this ad space one week in advance, and support this popular feature. Sales@GorgeNews.com counties with a mission to advocate for the needs and well-being of children in fos- ter care through profession- ally trained and supported community volunteers. New advocate training sessions will begin in the fall. If you are interested in learn- ing more about the CASA program, contact Michelle Mayfield or Traci Witkowski, training coordinators, at 541- 386-3468 or www.gorgecasa. org . Mosier Fire Volunteers donate two lifesaving units to community The Volunteer Association of the Mosier Fire Department donated two Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the Mosier community on April 12. One will be located at the Mosier Senior Center and the other at Brenna’s Mosier Market. AEDs are critical to surviving a heart attack and research has shown that the earlier the defibrillation the better the outcome, said a press release. These devices, valued at $900 each, are also designed to require no train- ing — the voice directions tell anyone at the scene what to do. “We are thrilled to have this in the center of town,” said Brenna Campbell, owner of the market. “There is a lot of traffic here in the summer and we are starting to see more e-bikes with older riders.” Kathy Long, meal site coordinator for the senior center, said that the devices brought peace of mind. “All of our residents are over 55 and most are in their 70s and 80s,” she said. Mosier Fire Board Member Phil Evans thanked the volunteers and commented on how the organization has grown. “There are 22 volunteers now and the training has really stepped up in the past few years,” he said. “A big part of our mission is prevention,” said Captain Tom Oswald. He also encouraged anyone in the community to contact Chief Mike Renault to set up a CPR class. 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