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About Columbia Gorge news. (The Dalles, OR) 2020-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2021)
INDEX Home and Garden — Inside Classifieds B7-8 History B6 KidScoop B14 Obituaries A7,9 Opinion A4-5 PoliceLogs B5 PublicNotices B9-11 SeniorLiving B3 Sports A8-9,12-15 What'sHappening B5 Glenwood, Lyle news — B2-3 Gorge economy recovering from pandemic — A10 Weather Stillsurfingtheheatwave- stayhydrated.Daytimetemps expectedtostayaround100, withnightsinthehigh60s. TD grad headed to film school — B12 Columbia Gorge News HOOD RIVER | THE DALLES | WHITE SALMON Wednesday,June30,2021 Volume2,Issue13 $1.00 Sheriff’s threats of arrest raise concerns in Klickitat County Commissioners, government employees fire back at Sheriff Songer’s statements Jacob Bertram ■ By Columbia Gorge News WHITE SALMON — A statement released by Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer — which called for the arrest, detainment and recom- mendation for prosecution of governmental officials he unilater- ally believes are acting outside the bounds of the constitution — drew pushback from county commis- sioners, who said they and county employees felt threatened and intimidated by the messaging. Posted on the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page and forwarded to local media organizations, Songer’s June 17 statement sent ripples in county circles. It impacted the day-to-day oper- ations of the county health depart- ment and weakened the feelings of security of many county residents who work in local government, said county commissioners, leaving the Board of County Commissioners to respond officially with a letter to the sheriff on the constitutionality and the impacts his outspoken politics has had on elected officials and county staff. The Board of County Commissioners responded to the sheriff following a candid discus- sion last Tuesday by approving a written response condemning Songer’s public statement for in- validly interpreting laws, a duty not prescribed to him in his official role as sheriff, and for putting county staff’s safety and security at risk. During the discussion, Board Chair Dave Sauter said upon examining the letter over and over, he concluded that the letter is not limited to focusing on the gover- nor’s mandates on the COVID-19 emergency. “The more I read it, it upsets me more, because… that is a general statement about any bureaucrat or government official, mayor, commissioner, whoever, that is perceived by a single indi- vidual, namely the sheriff, to be violating somebody’s constitutional rights, (and) is subject to arrest and detainment.” “That is a chilling thing to say,” Sauter said. “That is the path to authoritarian regimes.” The letter from the board reads: “While we truly appreciate you and your dedication to the citizens of our great county and for your love and respect for the Constitution, we cannot sit by and say nothing regarding your statements that the board, county residents and county employees find threatening and intimidating. “Your statements were construed as threatening and intimidating to elected officials and county employees,” the county staff-pre- pared letter read, which was signed by all three commissioners and sent to the sheriff. “Your comments implied the arrest, detention and recommended prosecution for following state mandates and laws that you may disagree with, without going through the court process and judicial system as deemed by the Constitution. “We do live in a nation of laws bound by the Constitution; SeeLETTER,page2 Old Dee Mill site for sale Oberst ■ By For Gail Columbia Gorge News Mill land that once supported the small community of Dee for more than 80 years is for sale, according to a listing with real estate broker Maui Meyer of Cooper West, in Hood River. Surrounded by orchards, farms and forest and with East Fork Hood River frontage, the former Dee Mill’s 21 acres of industrial-zoned land is on Highway 281, about 10 miles southwest of Hood River. The land has been a source of land-use controversy for the past eight years as the current owners had proposed, in varying applica- tions and configurations, to build an event venue and hotel on the rural site. The would-be developers are a collection of local investors including some Dee natives operat- ing as Apollo Land Trust, LLC. After filing five contested building permit extensions, the owners failed to be- gin construction at the site before permits expired. The owners have withdrawn their applications and are selling the land. The lengthy process inspired recent changes in Hood River County’s permitting process, limiting extensions. The owners are asking $1.5 million for the 21-acre parcel, and $136,000 for a separate 1.04-acre parcel, both at the same 4661 Lost Lake Road, Parkdale, address. An unrelated small craft mill now operates as Dee Lumber nearby. It Gorge gets ready to celebrate Fourth of July Trisha Walker ■ By Columbia Gorge News Sunday is the Fourth of July holiday, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States in 1776. Most events are back after last year’s COVID-19 shutdowns, including parades, fireworks and a fun run. Hood River The Hood River Fourth of July parade begins at 10 a.m. at Pacific Avenue and 12th Street on the Heights and ends at the Hood River Aquatic Center. There is a $10 entry fee for those wishing to participate in the parade. A “bring your own picnic” event is happen- ing at Jackson Park afterwards that will include music. For more infor- mation or to register for a parade entry, visit hoodriverfireworks. SeeFOURTH,page2 The old Dee Mill site, above, is for sale. Find a picture of the old mill on the history page, B6. is not for sale. The small mill’s web- site, www.thedeemill.com, includes a history of the land, summarized from the Oregon Encyclopedia. The original Dee Mill was established in 1906 by the Oregon Lumber Company. The name “Dee” was a nod to Thomas Dee, a stockholder and company officer. The lumber company logged in the region and operated the mill until 1959, adding a hard-board facility in 1951. During its heyday in the first 20 years, up to 250 people lived in Dee, working at the mill. The company town once included a two-story hotel, a store, and small houses. Hines Lumber Company purchased the mill and town property in 1958, dismantling the houses. The post office closed in 1960, but wood products opera- tions continued at the site under Champion Lumber and then Dee Forest Products. In 1996, a fire destroyed most of the buildings. More than 300 people continue to live in the vicinity of Dee Mill and the adjacent Dee Flats. Panel discusses reality of recycling Trisha Walker ■ By Columbia Gorge News What are today’s recycling realities? That was the question posed at the April 29 virtual panel discus- sion co-hosted by Columbia Gorge Climate Action Network and Mt. View Grange and emceed by Peter Cornelison and Ruth Olin. Three local recycling experts shared their perspectives and in- sights with the 28 participants who logged in to listen to the presenta- tion: David Skakel, program coordi- nator for the Tri-County Hazardous Waste & Recycling Program; Ruby Irving, Solid Waste director for Klickitat County; and Julie Tucker, founder and owner of the sus- tainable materials management company Emerald Systems LLC. Skakel said that recycling today is confusing because there is such a myriad of packaging. During World War II, recycling was a matter of na- tional defense, and everyone took Fireworks display at Fort Dalles Fourth. CGN photo/file part — but there were only three types of packaging at that time: Glass, tin and cardboard. “Fast forward to today, where we have an unbelievable diversity of packaging,” Skakel said. “I’m a everything into one bin and relying on material recycling facilities (MRFs) to sort it out. “That has really carried some inherent flaws in contamination, when you take all that tin and paper and all this increasing array of plastics, and just bundle them all together,” he said. “And throw on top of that what we call the ‘realm of the wishful recycler’ — put it in a bin and we’ll figure it out.” Compounding the problem was the 2018 enactment of China Sword, which limited the amount of contaminates allowed in each bale of recyclables to .5%. “It’s a very strict, almost ban, on import of most recyclables to China that has sent massive ripples Trisha Walker file photo globally creating great disruptions in the past couple of years,” he said. recycling professional and I’m con- “That’s the background on how we came to be today.” fused because it’s complicated.” Irving said she sees China Sword And whereas that glass, tin and as an opportunity for the Gorge to cardboard were historically sepa- rated from each other, today we rely on co-mingling — that is, tossing SeeRECYCLING,page3 Talks continue on Google deal Mark Gibson ■ By Columbia Gorge News THE DALLES — Wasco County and the city of The Dalles con- tinue to work on a tax abatement agreement for new Google server facilities in The Dalles. “I’m still confident this will happen,” said The Dalles Mayor Richard Mays when asked of the ongoing pause in public discussions. He said early timelines on the SIP agreement process were opti- mistic, and lawyers on both sides have been working with the broad agreement proposal, “crossing the ‘T’s and dotting the ‘I’s,” Mays said. The city is continuing to work with developers regarding water service to the facilities as well, and that SeeGOOGLE,page6 Contact Us at 541-386-1234 541-296-2141 delivery: Subscribe@gorgenews.com news tips: News@gorgenews.com place an ad: Sales@gorgenews.com Stay connected Facebook.com/columbiagorgenews Twitter.com/gorge_news