Sports
W HAT ’ S G OING O N
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This week at HRVHS A5
Happenings A9
roll – A7
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
HOOD RIVER, OREGON
■
W EEKEND E DITION
Vol. 109, No. 7
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015
75 cents
2 Sections, 16 Pages
www.hoodrivernews.com
Giving a boost to
Tensing up Gorge Commission
Bridge lift span issue tied to cables;
re-tension work likely this summer
By BEN MITCHELL
News staff writer
The Hood River Bridge’s lift
span has not been setting cor-
rectly and an engineering firm
contracted with the Port of
Hood River believes it has dis-
covered why.
At a port meeting on Tuesday,
David McCurry, project lead at
Portland engineering firm HDR,
reported that the cables respon-
sible for raising and lowering
the main lift span of bridge
were no longer all tensioned cor-
rectly, causing the span to set
slightly out of balance. McCur-
ry likened it to a four-legged
stool where one of the legs isn’t
quite touching the floor.
The News published a story
about the issue in November of
last year, where it was reported
that a three-quarter--inch gap
had formed between the bottom
of the lift span and the bearings
— points of contact between the
bridge piers and the span. Port
Executive Director Michael
McElwee said at the time that
the issue with the bridge was
not an imminent threat to mo-
torist safety but was “about
careful, prudent, active manage-
ment of the movable lift span.”
Workers with HDR performed
daytime inspections of the
bridge on Nov. 17 and Nov. 24 of
last year to examine bridge op-
erations in general and to deter-
mine the cause of the setting
issue, examining the lift span’s
control room, climbing up and
down the side of the bridge to
check the cables, and conduct-
ing other inspections.
What they found was general-
ly good news for the port. Al-
though HDR discovered some
other issues — switches not op-
erating properly, warning gates
on the bridge not dropping on
the first try — the problem af-
fecting the lift span did not re-
quire repairs to the physical
structure of the bridge.
“There really just needs to be
a span balance exercise done, a
re-tensioning of the wire ropes,”
explained McCurry. “There’s
not a lot of wear.
“Once the issue is fixed, the
span should come down nice
and level,” he added.
The other good news the port
received was the cables did not
need to be replaced, which
would have significantly in-
creased the cost of the project.
McCurry said the cost of rem-
See BRIDGE, Page A2
with the Gorge Commission to ad-
dress funding issues, the “various ef-
fects” of the National Scenic Act,
and determine any needed changes
to the act that “could enhance the re-
lationship between the (Gorge) Com-
mission and Oregon and Washing-
By BEN MITCHELL
ton.”
News staff writer
The bill comes on the heels of
The Gorge may be renowned for what has been a long pattern of re-
its beauty, but the law that protects duced budgets and staffing that have
the area, the National Scenic
affected the Gorge Commis-
Act, and the entity that im-
sion, which is tasked with
plements it, the Columbia
protecting Gorge resources,
River Gorge Commission,
promoting economic devel-
aren’t always so visible.
opment within the region,
Rep. John Huffman (R-The
and addressing land use is-
Dalles), has recently intro-
sues. The agency, which was
duced a bill he hopes will
created a year after the Na-
boost both the act’s and the
tional Scenic Act was signed
commission’s profiles with
into law by President Ronald
Rep. John
his colleagues in the State
Reagan in 1986, must be
Huffman
Legislature and help support
equally funded by Oregon
the commission as it struggles to ob- and Washington. If one state ear-
tain enough funding to adequately marks less money for the Gorge
carry out its federally-mandated du- Commission than the other, the
ties.
Gorge Commission is required to ac-
The bill, HB 2039, would provide cept the lower amount.
for the creation of a bi-state, bi-parti-
When both states unveiled their
san, bi-cameral taskforce comprised budget proposals last month, that’s
of Gorge legislators and Governors’
representatives who would meet
See GORGE, Page A2
Legislation would
create taskforce, fund
more employees
At town hall, Walden
faces tough climate
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
many of them critical of his record.
(In the Jan. 17 forum, Walden also
A dialog, and silent protest, on cli- took criticism on health care and im-
migration. A longer version of this
mate change wove through
article appears on the newspa-
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden’s
per’s website, hoodriver-
hometown town hall meeting
news.com.)
at Hood River Adult Center,
Walden voiced his support
attended by about 75 people.
for the Secure Schools Act
Walden spent about 15
(SSA), and said it would be
minutes with a legislative
among the top House priori-
update, in which he reiterat-
ties in February.
ed his long-standing advoca-
At the Jan. 17 town hall,
cy for legislation that would
Rep. Greg
County Commission chair
allow forest thinning and
Walden
Ron Rivers encouraged
other practices in high-risk
Walden to push for continua-
fire areas of the state.
Then, for about 75 minutes,
See LAND, Page A2
Walden took audience questions,
News editor
S p o t l i g h t
WORKERS FROM HDR inspect cables on the Hood River Bridge in November 2014.
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A weekly series about a day in the life ...
Karen Gass finds joy in teaching, hiking
BY TRISHA WALKER
News staff writer
Photo by Blaine Franger
KAREN GASS — or Teacher Karen to her students — has been
teaching at Little Feet Cooperative Preschool for the past 20 years. Class
begins and ends with circle time, with stories and songs.
Photo by
Trisha Walker
A2 — CGCC information night
A3 — Entertainment
A4 — Viewpoint
A6 — Obituaries
A7 — Sports
A8 — Kid Space
A9 — Happenings, Legals
GC — Classifieds
05105 97630
Karen Gass — or Teacher Karen, as she’s commonly
known — has been teaching at Little Feet Cooperative
Preschool for the past 20 years.
While much has changed over that time, one factor
has not: The preschoolers themselves. Too young to be
influenced much by iPads or the Internet like their
older counterparts, they’ve stayed pretty much the
same.
What has changed is the busyness of parents and the
increase of two-income families.
“I think it’s harder and harder, as the years go on, to
have a commitment for parents to do a co-op,” she said.
“Years ago, it was not uncommon for more stay at home
moms. Now, families are a lot more creative on how
they can make it work, one, in Hood River, a pretty
pricey community, and two, to be in the classroom and
in their kids’ lives.”
Another change? More stay at home dads.
“There are lots more stay at home dads,” she said.
Please see KAREN, Page A5
Three To Go
LOOK INSIDE
7
Photo courtesy of HDR
3
Community Ed class offering
deadline Feb. 15
Public hearing on zoning ordinance
Wednesday
Do you have a skill or interest you
can share? How about an event you
want to inform the community about?
Feb. 15 is the deadline for class offer-
ings and advertisement for the new
Community Education catalog, sched-
uled to be distributed in late March.
Community Ed is actively seeking
instructors to present all types of class-
es. Submit a proposal before Feb. 15 for
the Spring/Summer 2015 catalog.
For more information, contact Com-
munity Ed at 541-386-2055 or email com-
munity.ed@hoodriver.k12.or.us.
The Hood River County Planning Commis-
sion will hold a public hearing on Jan. 28 at 7
p.m. to consider proposed amendments to Arti-
cle 61 of the county’s zoning ordinance regard-
ing review of land use decisions by the Hood
River County Board of Commissioners. The
amendments pertain to simplifying language,
creating a more straightforward hearing
process, and address the existing limits to which
the board can affect a decision. For more infor-
mation, go to the county’s website at
http://www.co.hood-river.or.us/ and click on
“Community Development” under the “County
Departments” tab or call 541-387-6840.
Watershed Group looks at Indian Creek
Hood River Watershed Group will host presentations
on “Fire Hazard Conditions along Indian Creek and Re-
ducing Risk to Homes” by Fire Chief Devon Wells and
Indian Creek Stewardship: Successes and Challenges
by the Indian Creek Stewards at 6
p.m. on Tuesday at the OSU Exten-
sion meeting room, 2990 Experi-
ment Station Rd. Based on the mul-
tiple fires along Indian Creek this
summer, Wells will discuss the fire
risks in the area and what might be
done to reduce hazards. The Stew-
ards’ presentation will describe
community engagement, restoration projects, current
conditions, and future potential around Indian Creek.