B4
Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
www.columbiagorgenews.com
The Kennedys then, and now.
Tom and Julie Kennedy celebrate 50th anniversary
Tom and Julie (Whitby) Kennedy, of White Salmon, celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary June 12. The couple was married on June 12, 1971, in the LDS Idaho Falls Temple and
have lived in White Salmon since 1974. Julie worked as a teacher in the White Salmon School District, and Tom as the manager of Employment Security/JobWorks office; both are
now retired. Children are Debbie (husband Kevin) Gibson of Snowflake, Ariz., Mark (wife Jennifer) Kennedy of Olympia, Wash., Darla Kennedy of White Salmon, Susan (husband Eric)
Jensen of Mesa, Ariz., Steve (fiancée Trish) Kennedy of Hilo, Hawaii, Marie (husband Ben) Turner of Alexandria, Va., and Tom Kennedy of Hilo. The couple also has 16 grandchildren
and four great-grandchildren. The milestone will be celebrated privately with family.
Contributed photos
Rending of a boardwalk on the future Mill Creek Greenway. Contributed photo
Northern Wasco County Parks & Rec awarded
$2.6M for Mill Creek Greenway construction
Bankman
■ By For Judy
NWCPRD
On May 3, the Northern Wasco County
Parks & Recreation District (NWCPRD)
was awarded just over $2.6 million from
the Oregon Department of Transportation
(ODOT) to support construction of the Mill
Creek Greenway. These funds, along with a
10 percent local match from the Columbia
Gateway Urban Renewal Agency, will be
used through 2024 to build a fully acces-
sible bike and pedestrian path from W.
Second Street to W. Sixth Street in The
Dalles within the stream corridor.
The Mill Creek Greenway will connect
the residential west side of The Dalles to
the downtown district, public parks, and
the Riverfront Trail.
Last year, ODOT allocated $15.5 million
for the Oregon Community Paths Program,
which aims to improve access to active
and public transportation. The Oregon
Transportation Commission identi-
fied Wasco County and the Mill Creek
Greenway as its number one priority out
of 17 funded projects throughout Oregon
this year.
“We are thrilled that ODOT, the City of
The Dalles, the Urban Renewal Agency
and the Park District could work together
to achieve something none of us could
have done on our own,” said Scott Baker,
executive director for NWCPRD. “This is a
great win for our community, and the first
step towards developing a system of multi-
use trails that will connect our downtown,
parks and pool, and Westside residential
areas.”
The Mill Creek Greenway will provide
not only a bike and pedestrian corridor, but
will facilitate equitable access to parks and
commercial areas for all residents of The
Dalles. Currently, residents on the west side
of The Dalles have a need for transporta-
tion alternatives: There are simply no safe
pedestrian and bike routes connecting this
residential area to the downtown district.
The speed limit on W. Second Street is 35
miles per hour, and there is no shoulder. If
you don’t drive or have a car, it’s both chal-
lenging and unsafe to get downtown.
The Mill Creek Greenway was identified
as a project for the Urban Renewal Agency
in The Dalles in 1990, and for several
decades, it lacked a champion. When Baker
be-came executive director November
2016, he joined the board of the Columbia
Gateway Urban Renewal Agency, and took
on this project.
“I immediately wanted to champion
this,” said Baker. “I reached out to folks and
explained I felt personal connection and
wanted to see it happen.”
In 2018, the Urban Renewal Agency
committed $94,000 to begin design and
engineering of the Mill Creek Greenway.
Baker managed this project on behalf of
the Agency, and by 2020, the design and
engineering was complete. This prelim-
inary work, which was incorporated in
NWCPRD’s Master Plan, showed ODOT
that the district had set the foundation for
the greenway and could hit the ground
running once it received funding.
Baker also realized that it made sense
to divide the Mill Creek Greenway, which
will be three miles long when complete,
into manageable portions. The $2.6 million
through the Oregon Community Paths
Program will cover the construction of the
central part of the greenway. This part will
be the most challenging and expensive
piece to build, be-cause the basalt cliffs on
either side of the streambed will necessi-
tate a raised board-walk. Once this section
is built, NWCPRD is confident that local
resources will be able to cover the con-
struction of the rest of the greenway.
NWCPRD is actively working to pursue
many other projects, including improving
Sorosis Park, building a dog park, and
expanding Thompson Park Skatepark.
The district plans to engage community
members over the summer and learn about
what new features they would like to see at
a revitalized Sorosis Park, with the goal of
applying for funding through the American
Rescue Plan and the Land and Water
Conservation Fund by this fall.
There is no lack of collaborative commu-
nity efforts in The Dalles, and the recent
Mill Creek Greenway grant shows how
years of planning and cooperation among
partners is now benefiting the community
at large. The greenway is a big step toward
establishing greater connectivity among
neighborhoods and enhancing quality of
life for all residents in The Dalles.
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Pictured are Lt. Col. Scott Maguire, Civil Air Patrol Pacific Region Director of Public Affairs and C/2nd
Lt. Zachary Revier during the Gorge Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol Awards Evening on
June 1.
Contributed photo
Awards ceremony
honors region’s cadets
HOOD RIVER — Gorge
Composite Squadron of the
Civil Air Patrol, located at the
Hood River Airport, hosted
an Awards Evening on June
1. Cadets who demonstrat-
ed leadership during the
past year of quarantine by
attending meetings regu-
larly, teaching lessons on
aerospace, leading leader-
ship activities were honored.
In addition, cadets were in
good standing academically,
progressing satisfactorily
through the CAP cadet
program, be of high moral
character and demonstrated
growth potential.
Gladys Wesley, regent
of the Daughters of the
American Revolution
Celilo Chapter, The Dalles,
presented the National
Society Daughters of the
American Revolution
Outstanding Cadet Medal
to C/MSgt Ryan Betts, Hood
River Valley High School,
Hood River. The National
Society DAR Outstanding
Cadet Medal is awarded to
a cadet of outstanding abil-
ity and achievement. Ellen
Hopkins helped facilitate the
presentation.
Tom Tesoriero, quarter-
master at VFW Post 2471
The Dalles, presented the
VFW Award to Outstanding
Cadet Office: C/2nd Lt.
Isaac Walker, Running Start
Program, North Bonneville,
Wash.; and VFW Award to
Outstanding Cadet NCO
to C/TSgt Riley Richards,
homeschool, High Prairie
Academy, Lyle. This is an
annual award established
by the Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) to recognize the
outstanding CAP cadets in
each squadron.
Lt. Col Scott Maguire, Civil
Air Patrol Regional Public
Affairs officer, presented
the Air Force Sergeants
Association Cadet NCO of
the Year Award to C/CMSgt
Travis Wayda, Oregon
Charter Academy, Parkdale
— this is awarded to the
cadet noncommissioned of-
ficer who exhibits outstand-
ing qualities in the areas of
followership, leadership,
self-discipline and aero-
space education; Air Force
Association Outstanding
Cadet Award to C/2nd Lt.
Zachary Revier, Hood River
Valley High School — an
annual award established
by the Air Force Association
(AFA) to recognize the
outstanding CAP cadet in
each squadron; and CAP
Achievement Award to C/
CMSgt Jakob Stanbrough,
Goldendale High School,
Goldendale — for outstand-
ing service to the unit, group
or wing, particularly in the
area of aerospace education.
Senior C/SMSgt Charis
Bronson will graduate from
Hood River Valley High
School. Bronson received an
Air Force ROTC Scholarship
and will attend Michigan
Technical University, where
she plans to major in geolo-
gy and minor in astrophys-
ics. She plans to work in the
field of aerospace.
Established in 1941, Civil
Air Patrol is the official
auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force
and as such is a member
of its Total Force. In its
auxiliary role, CAP operates
a fleet of 560 single-engine
Cessna aircraft and more
than 2,000 small Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (sUAS)
and performs about 90
percent of all search and
rescue operations within the
contiguous United States
as tasked by the Air Force
Rescue Coordination Center.
Often using innovative cell-
phone forensics and radar
analysis software, CAP was
credited by the AFRCC with
saving 130 lives during the
past fiscal year, according
to a press release. Fifty-four
thousand of CAP’s members
also perform homeland
security, disaster relief and
drug interdiction missions
at the request of federal,
state and local agencies. As
a nonprofit organization,
CAP plays a leading role in
aerospace education using
national academic stan-
dards-based STEM (science,
technology, engineering and
math) education.
Members also serve as
mentors to more than 20,000
young people participating
in CAP’s Cadet Programs.
Visit www.CAP.News or
www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com
for more information.
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