8
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
HRV grad headed to Stanford on full ride
Trisha Walker
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
shame, I can say that I bawled
when I saw my financial aid
letter; I couldn’t believe the
amazing offer they were giv-
HEN RECENT
Hood River Valley
ing me. Somehow, Stanford
High School
was my cheapest option …
graduate Dora Plascencia-
I’m extremely grateful for
Macias applied to Stanford
their generosity that has
University, she thought of it
allowed me to attend my
as a “reach school” — that is, dream school without having
one that would be a stretch to a financial burden.”
attend.
Plascencia-Macias, who
But that’s where she’s
lives in Odell, plans to major
headed this fall.
in political science to prepare
“Stanford has always been for law school. “[Stanford
my dream school,” she said.
is] not only one of the most
“I grew up with the idea that selective universities, but
I was going to college and
they truly care about making
I was willing to give it my
a change in the world,” she
all to get to one of the best
said. “… I’m excited to attend
schools. I applied listing it in Stanford because they have
my brain as a ‘reach’ school. some of the most inspiring
I never thought I would get
professors in both law and
accepted.”
psychology fields. They also
Stanford was the last to
push their students to explore
release their decisions, so
their interests and seek for
when she received her accep- what they’re truly passionate
about, so I might find another
tance letter, she was sorting
way to help people through
through other offers — and
learned Stanford had offered my studies. My ultimate goal
is to reach a point in my life
her a full scholarship.
where my actions help thou-
“Stanford covered every-
sands of people. Pursuing
thing besides $5,000, which
a career in law will help me
was covered by local schol-
find justice for those who are
arships,” she said. “Without
W
failed by our system.”
At Hood River Valley High,
Plascencia-Macias was in-
volved in leadership classes,
serving as ASB president for
the 2020-21 school year as
well as school board student
liaison. She also volunteered
with the local woman’s shel-
ter, which she credits as a rea-
son she is passionate about
law, and is part of the Oregon
Department of Education
(ODE) Latinx/o/a Advisory
Group, advocating for the
Latino community.
“HRV always motivated
me to challenge my barriers,
and I did,” Plascencia-Macias
said. “There is always a
mentor awaiting your arrival,
but you have to be willing to
learn. I gathered my strength
through the assistance that
I received, but also through
the challenges I had to face
on my own.
“It’s hard being a minority
in Hood River and our school
system has been a part of that
struggle. I recognize that our
administration is working
towards change, but there is
a long way to go,” she said.
“I know that I have been
prepared for both the educa-
tional and life challenges that
I will encounter in college
due to all the mentors I have
gathered throughout the
years and the struggles I have
overcome.”
As for Stanford, Plascencia-
Macias knows she got to this
point by working hard to
fulfill her dream.
“I’d like to remind ev-
eryone that life is hard and
things get in the way of
accomplishing your dreams,
but you should never give
anything minimum effort,”
she said. “Sometimes it
seems like blowing some-
thing off won’t impact the re-
sult, but every step of the way
leads to the final product.
“This opportunity is
years in the making,” she
said. “There were multiple
occasions where I felt like not
trying because it wasn’t going
to get me where I wanted to
be, but now I get to attend
my dream school. I didn’t get
here because of good luck, I
Dora Plascencia-Macias, who graduated from Hood River Valley
got here with years of work.”
High School earlier this month, will attend Stanford University in
the fall. She plans to major in political science and eventually be-
come a lawyer.
Contributed photo
Proposed grant
would survey public
access roads
Historic swimsuit
reveals challenges of past
Pepin-Wakefield
■ By For Yvonne
Columbia Gorge News
The woolen swimsuit gift-
ed to me came with history, a
personal challenge and a les-
son in cold water swimming.
Could this over a century old
garment hold up during a
swim from The Best Western
Plus beach to the red buoy
below the Hood River Bridge
and back? I’d done this
before in a wet suit and was
curious to experience what
early open water swimmers
experienced wearing one-
piece wool suits. Will the six
black buttons pop off? When
soaked will it stretch out and
drag me to the depths?
The green swim suit with
black piping was previously
owned by Mercedes Foley.
Born in 1892, she was an ath-
letic mother of five. Before
her children came, it could
be assumed Mercedes wore
the suit as a young bride who
swam at Foley Lake Ranch,
the present-day site of Foley
Lakes, West of The Dalles.
The suit was given to
Mercedes, an Irishwoman
with red hair, by her husband
Pat, who had a fixation for
green. They were married
in 1916. After Mercedes’
death in 1977, the suit was
among other garments that
came into the possession of
her granddaughter, Annette
Byers, who gave it to me.
When I first tried it
on, the suit fit more like a
form fitting cocktail dress
and itched. A hand-sewn
label in the neck reads THIS
GARMENT 100% VIRGININ
WOOL. At the initial fitting,
enough moth holes were dis-
covered to question whether
the suit would fray apart in
the water. Bev Tuttle of The
Dalles volunteered her darn-
ing skills before the first test
swim in a salt water, heated
indoor pool. Predicting the
fabric would stretch proved
opposite. After several laps,
the skirt had shrunk consid-
erably, yet was still comfort-
able and very warm.
These same insulating
properties were not experi-
enced months later during a
September swim, supported
Wildfire mitigation,
evacuation
routes explored
mitigation projects, and also
identify hazards for ingres
and egress for emergency
service professionals and
identify evacuation routes,”
By Mark Gibson
Columbia Gorge News
said Kelly Howsley-Glover,
long range planner for Wasco
County. Once the inventory
Rural fire districts in
was complete, staff could
Wasco County have identi-
then assess the inventory to
fied access roads in and out
identify and prioritize mitiga-
of public lands as a “sig-
nificant hindrance” to fire
tion projects in the county,
mitigation efforts and wild-
she said.
The proposed FEMA grant
fire preparedness because
of $175,000 would support
they are outside the county
a three year project. “We
road system, and the board
intend this to be a collabo-
on Wednesday agreed to
support a grant proposal that rative effort on the part of
would create an inventory
planning, public works and
of those roads to aide fire
surveyor, and emergency
mitigation and evacuation
management,” she said.
efforts.
“With fire seasons becoming
According to the letter of
longer and more devastating,
support, “This is a critical
we need all available tools
strategy for reducing risk
to help our partners miti-
of wildfire, as it provides
gate the risk and impacts of
multiple departments and
wildfire.”
organizations key informa-
Wasco county has about
270 miles of public access
tion to address hazardous
conditions and opportunities roads, according to an
estimate by Public Works
for mitigation.”
Director Arthur Smith.
“This is both to identify
■
A swim across the Columbia River in a restored wool swimsuit from
the early 1900s inspires thoughts of past swimmers — and hypo-
thermia.
Contributed photo
by a safety paddler, in the
58-degree Columbia River.
Even though I wore Lycra
bike shorts underneath, the
frigid water penetrated the
fabric like a sponge, getting
heavier as I swam. The hard-
er I swam, the harder it was
to breathe.
As an open water swim-
mer and safety paddler for
other swimmers, I recog-
nized the signs of Swimming
Induced Pulmonary Edema,
or SIPE, a condition that
causes sudden breathless-
ness during open water
swimming. I’d experienced
this once before while
wearing a full wet suit and
so knew it was time to get to
shore and to get warm fast.
Dr. Jodi Ready, also a
long-distance open water
swimmer, has admitted
watersport enthusiasts to the
hospital emergency depart-
ment in repository distress.
“The presenting symptoms
of SIPE are shortness of
breath beyond what you
expect and coughing. More
likely, it will happen in water
cooler than 60 degrees and
exercise in these conditions
only adds pressure. SIPE can
be disconcerting and scary,”
she said.
Back on beach, the green
knit clung tightly to my
shivering body and I could
see more moth holes than
before the swim. Later,
hand-washed in Woolite,
Mercedes’ dried suit was
wrapped in moth-proofing
cedar blocks and folded into
a tight drawer. It’s doubtful I
will take it for a swim again.
It’s more certain that, after
a full darning, it will suit me
better as a cocktail dress.
Areas of particular con-
cern include the Pine Grove
and Mosier areas, Howsley-
Glover said. The surveyor
crew will use their drone
capabilities, or possible a
vehicle mounted camera, in
making the assessment, she
said. “It gives us two sets of
low-level data to make the
assessments,” she said.
“Our planning team
has been working hard on
this,” said Commissioner
Steve Kramer, who said he
fully supported the request.
Letters of support for the
grant were also provided by
area fire agencies, emergen-
cy planners and the Oregon
Department of Forestry,
Howsley-Glover told the
board.
The letter of intent will
be submitted to the Oregon
Department of Emergency
Management, and if they like
the proposal they will then
be asked to submit the full
grant.
Regional economic sessions continue
Mid-Columbia Economic
Development District
(MCEDD) is hosting pub-
lic sessions to update
the region’s Economic
Development Strategy for
the Columbia River Gorge.
MCEDD leads this process
every five years to guide
economic development
for Hood River, Wasco, and
Sherman counties in Oregon
and Klickitat and Skamania
counties in Washington.
The next meeting will
be held on June 30 from
8:30-10:30 a.m. This session
will focus on an analysis of
the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats
facing the region.
The process began in
March, with meetings oc-
curring monthly via Zoom.
Participants from across
the region have gathered to
discuss COVID-19 impacts
on the local economy,
changing demographics and
economic trends, and how
to improve the resilience of
key industries in the Gorge.
Information gathered at
the monthly events will be
pulled together with data
and research to develop the
final plan, the Mid-Columbia
Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy for
2022-2027. MCEDD coordi-
nates implementation of the
regional strategy in partner-
ship with local stakeholders.
In total, there will be seven
sessions to develop a draft
plan, with a specific focus
on equitable economic
outcomes and resilience.
To view past sessions or
register for future ones, visit
htwww.mcedd.org/strategy/
get-involved.
•••
MCEDD has been devel-
oping and implementing a
regional economic devel-
opment strategy since its
formation in 1969 to promote
the creation of family-wage
jobs, the diversification of
the economic base, and the
growth, development and
retention of business and in-
dustry within the five-county
district. Contact Jane Allen
with questions at jane@
mcedd.org.
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