A2 Hood River News,
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
G REATER G ORGE
Crash into Columbia River near
Arlington prompts spill clean-up
On Jan. 5, at approxi-
mately 6 a.m., Oregon State
Patrol troopers from The
Dalles Area Command were
dispatched to Interstate 84
approximately 10 miles east
of Arlington to check on a
male subject who was re-
ported to be walking down
the middle of the freeway.
The area was checked, but
no one was located.
Several hours later, OSP
dispatch received a report
of a car in the water near
the same location. Respond-
ing troopers located a
white, 1997 Chevrolet Blaz-
er, submerged in the waters
of Willow Creek along the
westbound lanes of I-84
near milepost 148.
A check of the vehicle
found no one was inside,
however, oil and gas leaking
from the vehicle resulted in
a slick covering approxi-
mately 300 feet of the Wil-
low Creek Waterway. An
OSP Fish & Wildlife trooper
specializing in the investi-
gation of environmental in-
cidents responded to assist
with the investigation. A
team from NRC Environ-
mental Services also re-
sponded and contained the
fluid spill to prevent further
contamination before the
vehicle was removed.
Emergency and environ-
mental cleanup crews were
Photo courtesy of OSP
A CHEVY BLAZER was found submerged in the waters of Willow
Creek along the westbound lanes of I-84 near milepost 148 by OSP
troopers last week. The wrecked vehicle leaked oil and gas that cre-
ated a 300-foot slick before the spill could be contained.
on scene for approximately
seven hours investigating
the crash and clearing the
scene. OSP was assisted at
the scene by the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation
and the Gilliam County
Sheriff ’s Office.
New management plan for Conboy
Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Today, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service released a
new management plan for
C o n b o y L a ke N a t i o n a l
Wildlife Refuge. This new
plan, known within the
agency as a comprehensive
c o n s e r vat i o n p l a n , w i l l
guide management of the
refuge for at least the next
15 years.
The new plan calls for a
variety of management ac-
tions, ranging from wetland
habitat improvement for
threatened Oregon spotted
frogs to tree thinning for
improved forest habitat. In-
frastructure for water man-
agement and control of in-
vasive wetland plants will
provide better breeding and
wintering conditions for
frogs. Active creation of
snags from living trees will
Time to
renew burn
permits
As of Jan. 1, all burning
permits issued by Oregon
Department of Forestry in
the 2014 calendar year have
expired.
ODF requires a burn per-
mit year-round for all burn
barrels and debris piles.
People who want to renew
a permit or did not get a
permit last year and would
like one, can make a request
via phone, e-mail, fax, or
regular mail.
If you live within the
boundary of Mid-Columbia
Fire and Rescue, Mosier
Fire District, or any Hood
River County rural or city
fire department, you must
obtain a permit through the
agency.
All per mits issued by
these entities will be accept-
ed by ODF.
Although winter weather
reduces the risk of fire
spread through wildland
fuels, ODF says special cau-
tion still needs to be taken
around structures and
other combustible materi-
als.
Residents may be held li-
able for suppression costs
associated with a fire on
their property.
For that reason, they are
asked to read, understand,
and follow all of the infor-
mation they receive with
your permit. And consider
alter natives to bur ning,
such as composting or tak-
ing yard debris to thelocal
transfer station.
Most sites take yard de-
bris for a small price and
some offer free drop off
dates during certain times
of the year.
To submit a permit request
online, or for more informa-
tion visit ODF’s website at
http://www.oregon.gov/ODF
/centraloregon.
provide food sources and
nesting sites for woodpeck-
ers and other birds that rely
on dead standing trees.
For visitors, the popular
Willard Springs Trail will
be realigned, lengthened
and given a new interpre-
tive emphasis. New inter-
pretive exhibits will be in-
stalled at the refuge head-
quar ters and along the
Willard Springs Trail, the
Observation Overlook and
the Whitcomb-Cole Hewn
L o g H o u s e. A d d i t i o n a l
areas will be opened to the
public for recreation.5
SDS Lumber Company
Local Sales Outlet
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www.sdslumber.com
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Tonkin buys Bob Stone Dealership
The Ron Tonkin Family
of Dealerships, which has
served Portland for half a
century, recently acquired
Bob Stone Freeway Auto
Center in The Dalles.
The business at 2222 W.
Sixth Street will be known
as Tonkin Subaru & Tonkin
Chevrolet Buick GMC.
“Bob Stone’s Freeway
Autocenter is built on long-
standing community-mind-
ed values,” commented Ed
Tonkin, co-president of the
Portland-based company.
“As both dealers and com-
munity members, we per-
sonally look forward to con-
tinuing this dealership’s ac-
tive involvement within
this outstanding region.”
Stone’s has been provid-
ing a selection of Subaru,
Chevrolet, GMC and Buick
vehicles to customers from
The Dalles, as well as the
surrounding Columbia
Hearing on
subdivision
Wednesday
A public hearing regarding
a subdivision proposed for the
west side of Hood River will
be held Wednesday.
Kristi Chapman has made
an application to the Hood
River County Planning De-
partment for an eight-lot sub-
division for single-family
dwellings refer red to as
Alpenglow Meadow. The de-
velopment is to be located on
the east side of Country Club
Road approximately half mile
north of Barrett Drive on a
19.55-acre parcel zoned rural
residential.
The hearing will take place
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m. in
the Hood River County Board
of Commissioners meeting
room located in the County
Business Administration
Building at 601 State Street,
Hood River.
For more information, call
Eric Walker, principal plan-
ner, at 541-387-6840.
Gorge area since 2000. The
business was honored in
2007 for being the “Best
Place in America” to buy a
Subaru.
Additionally, in 2012,
Stone was the first dealer-
ship in Oregon to earn Sub-
aru Stellar Care Award sta-
tus, which was given to the
dealership again in 2013
and 2014.
“I have known the
Tonkin family for 15 years,”
said Stone. “I truly believe
the Tonkins are a wonder-
ful family, company and or-
ganization, and it’s ab-
solutely my pleasure to
turn over the ownership of
this dealership to the Tonk-
ins.”
Ron Tonkin, founder of
the family dealership,
claims he was born with
gas in his veins. Because of
that passion, the company
has been providing Port-
land families with cars and
trucks for more than 50
years.
Ron started the car busi-
ness in 1960 with one Chevy
store and the Tonkin family
now owns 18 auto dealer-
ships and one exotic Italian
motorcycle store. Brands
sold include Acura, Audi,
Chevrolet, Dodge, Ferrari,
FIAT, Honda Hyundai, In-
finiti, KIA, Lotus, Maserati,
Mazda, Nissan, Scion, Sub-
aru and Toyota, along with
Aprilia, Ducati, and MV
Agusta.
Today, the Tonkin Family
of Dealerships is Oregon’s
17th largest private employ-
er and was voted one of the
“Best 100 companies in Ore-
gon to Work For.”
Three generations of
family members are in-
volved in the daily opera-
tion and management of
the company.
Making Memories
Last a Lifetime ...
0% INTEREST PAYMENTS
SEE STORE FOR DETAILS
503 E 2ND ST • THE DALLES
541-397-0253
H o o d R i v e r R o t a r y & M t . H o o d M e a d o w s
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call 541-386-1234
Fundraiser for
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