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Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Helping Hands to open new
community childcare center
In response to a growing critical need for childcare,
Helping Hands Against Violence (HHAV) will open Millie’s
Place Child Care Center in September in downtown Hood
River. Millie’s Place will deliver care for children ages 3-5 as
well as families using the services of Helping Hands. Millie’s
Place will strengthen family skills and provide an opportuni-
ty for all children to be nurtured, grow, and learn, according
to a press release.
In addition, this summer — thanks to a grant from
the Early Childhood Family Support Fund of Oregon
Community Foundation — HHAV introduces Millie’s Mobile
Play and Learn Sessions, a free, outdoor, family-based
preschool to include story times, music, crafts and learning
activities. Millie’s Place early educators will provide creative,
interactive experiences for young children (0-5) and their
parents, said a press release. Aside from creating opportuni-
ties to engage young children in early learning experiences,
Millie’s Mobile Play and Learn Sessions will bring their
program to neighborhood parks. In addition, the schedule of
programming will include a variety of morning and evening
hours to ensure working parents have the opportunity to
attend with their children. Activities are scheduled to begin
mid-July and continue through August.
For Millie’s Place schedule of summer sessions and/or an
application for Millie’s Place Child Care Center, email direc-
tor@milliesplace.org.
Contributed graphic
CGOA presents Aaron Meyer
with
the Gorge Sinfonietta
For its first live performance since the pandemic shut down
in-person events, the Gorge Sinfonietta is teaming up with
rock violinist Aaron Meyer and his five piece band for a free
concert in Hood River’s Jackson Park. The concert begins at 7
p.m. on Saturday, July 17.
“We’re all incredibly excited to return to live performing,”
said CGOA Artistic Director and Conductor Mark Steighner.
“We’ve spent the past 18 months creating dozens of virtual
performances, but nothing can replace being on stage and in
person.”
This will mark the third time Aaron Meyer has joined with
the orchestra, playing spectacular, high-energy arrangements
of classical themes, rock standards and film music. From Led
Zeppelin’s Kashmir to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, from
the theme from Lawrence of Arabia to brand new versions of
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Rossini’s Barber of Seville, the
hour long, family-friendly show will have music to appeal to a
wide range of audience members.
“Aaron and his band are entertaining and incredibly talent-
ed musicians,” Steighner said.
CGOA is presenting the concert for free in part as a “wel-
come back” to Gorge residents and also as a tribute to “home-
town heroes.” Steighner said, “Whether they are healthcare
workers, first responders, teachers, service persons or retail
staff that have kept us supplied during the pandemic, our
community has no shortage of true heroes and this concert is
our gift to them.”
The concert will take place on the newly renovated stage in
Jackson Park. “Thanks to the Hood River Lions, there is now a
large, lighted covering over the stage that looks awesome and
will no doubt help musical acoustics as well,” Steighner said.
More information can be found online at gorgeorches-
tra.org or the CGOA Facebook page, www.facebook.com/
gorgeorchestra.
Graphic courtesy of CGOA
Agencies to hold roundtable focused on Affordable Housing issues
Virtual meeting set for Wednesday July 14
BINGEN — A virtual discussion focused on building
awareness of what affordable housing is and sharing strate-
gies to address this growing challenge throughout the Gorge
will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14.
The bi-state event will be hosted by Washington Gorge Action
Programs (WAGAP), Mid-Columbia Community Action
Council (MCCAC) and Mid-Columbia Housing Authority
(MCHA).
“Housing is a challenge for all income levels across the
region,” said Leslie Naramore, WAGAP’s executive direc-
tor. “Those in low-income households have even greater
difficulty in finding access to affordable housing. We want to
open a discussion with policymakers to share ideas on what
potential solutions exist to create more affordable housing
opportunities.”
Meleah Bauman
Hood River County
Ed Foundation
names new
executive director
Participants will learn more about what affordable housing
is, who it impacts in the area, and why advocating for effec-
tive policies and strategies matter. The discussion will focus
on those that earn 80 percent or less of the Average Median
Income (AMI).
An overview of affordable housing will be provided by
Adria Buchanan, executive director of the Fair Housing
Center for Washington.
The impact of the lack of affordable housing on low-in-
come residents of underrepresented communities will be
shared by two guests. Representing Comunidades, Ubaldo
Hernández, senior organizer with Columbia Riverkeeper, will
discuss impacts on Latino families, and Debra Whitefoot,
executive director with Nch’i Wana Housing, will discuss
impacts on Native families and share her years of experience
HOOD RIVER — Meleah Bauman has
been selected as the new executive direc-
tor for the Hood River County Education
Foundation (HRCEF). She starts on July 1,
succeeding Laurie Stephens, who has been
the foundation’s executive director for the
past five years.
Bauman has lived in Hood River for
seven years and worked as a volunteer at
Westside and Hood River Middle School,
as well as United Way of the Gorge. She was
named 2020 Volunteer of the Year at Hood
River Middle School. She coached Special
Olympics Basketball, and was a team parent
for Hood River Youth Lacrosse.
Prior to moving to Hood River, Bauman
served as a U.S. Air Force officer, retiring as
a Lieutenant Colonel and managing many
major projects during her 20-year military
career. She was also a program manager for
Insitu for four years.
Moving to the non-profit world, with man-
agement skills she has gained in government
and private industry positions, was a career
goal for Bauman.
with housing projects.
Other panelists will include local elected officials who
are currently active in efforts to improve access to housing
in their jurisdictions. The City of White Salmon is currently
engaged with its council and planning commission in devel-
oping a new comprehensive plan which includes proposed
increases in density levels to account for anticipated future
housing needs. Mayor Marla Keethler will be on hand to
share updates. During her time in office as a council mem-
ber, Megan Saunders of the City of Hood River has worked to
improve housing accessibility and availability, including fu-
ture development planning. She will share her perspectives.
The roundtable will be held using the Zoom virtual plat-
form. To participate, email info@wagap.org to request the
meeting link.
“Serving students and teachers is the com-
munity that I am most passionate about,” she
said.
Board President Jan Veldhuisen Virk said,
“We are so pleased to have Meleah joining
HRCEF. Her diverse experience and her pas-
sion for increasing educational opportunities
will serve the Foundation well. At the same
time, we are thanking Laurie Stephens for
the tremendous job she did in directing the
Foundation with dedication and outstanding
leadership.”
Stephens leaves HRCEF in much better
shape than she found it. During her ten-
ure at HRCEF, she encouraged the HRCEF
Board of Directors to develop the Reach
for Excellence Gala as a major fundraising
event for the Foundation. She remodeled the
scholarship program, expanding it to offer
more scholarships to Hood River Valley High
School students, and improving communi-
cations with scholarship donors. She led the
foundation to support the development of
an electronic portal to receive and process
students’ scholarship applications. The
Opportunity Fund was created during her
directorship, to provide middle school sports
fees for students whose families could not
afford that cost.
The Hood River County Education
Foundation (HRCEF) is a non-profit 501c3
organization, with a mission to support
the students and educators of the Hood
River County School District. Governed by
a board of directors and staffed primarily
by volunteers, HRCEF has been providing
college scholarships and grants to educators
to enrich classroom learning for 30 years. A
more recent focus has been to seek ways to
help low-income families and students to
access the opportunities the school district
provides.
Contact HRCEF at www.hrcef.org or 541-
387-5713, for information on programs and
ways to donate.
Oregon’s wipes labeling bill becomes law
Oregon becomes second
state to require ‘Do
Not Flush’ labeling
By League of Oregon Cities, the Special
Districts Association of Oregon, and the
Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed HB 2344
into law on June 8, making Oregon the na-
tion’s second state to require “Do Not Flush”
labeling on disposable wipes. The state of
Washington enacted a similar requirement
in 2020.
The Oregon law requires manufacturers of
baby wipes, make-up wipes, cleaning wipes
and other personal care wipes to adhere to
a statewide labeling standard that requires
product packaging to clearly indicate that
such products should not be flushed down
toilets.
The bill was a legislative priority for the
League of Oregon Cities (LOC) and the
Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies
(ACWA). The two groups coordinated with
the Special Districts Association of Oregon
to request introduction of HB 2344 in
response to ongoing challenges and rising
costs associated with wipes and related
products that are frequently flushed down
toilets Wet wipes cause blockages resulting
in sewer backups, overflows and costly
damage to pumps and wastewater treatment
equipment in small towns, sanitary districts
and large cities throughout Oregon.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an
already growing problem caused by a glut of
products marketed as flushable, when in fact
they were clogging and damaging residential
and community pipes,” said ACWA Executive
Director Susie Smith. “We are grateful to the
cities, agencies and legislators who champi-
oned this common-sense requirement.”
Wipes legislation is currently pending in
California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts
and Minnesota. The federal Break Free
From Plastic Pollution Act, which was
re-introduced in March 2021, also contains a
provision requiring “Do Not Flush” labeling
for wipes.
In a 2020 report, the National Association
of Clean Water Agencies estimated that
wipes result in $440 million per year in
additional operational costs for wastewater
utilities. Despite local investments in public
education and outreach, numerous Oregon
cities and wastewater districts have strug-
gled with clogs in wastewater infrastructure
that result from improper disposal of these
products.
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