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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2015)
ON STAGE STATE QUEST HRMS presents musical folk tale – B1 Horizon hoops plays quarterfinal – A7 Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County HOOD RIVER, OREGON ■ M IDWEEK E DITION Vol. 109, No. 18 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015 75 cents 2 Sections, 22 Pages www.hoodrivernews.com Hood River County Reads kicks off March 15 Seussville, USA BY TRISHA WALKER News staff writer Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea BILL ‘Cat in the Hat’ Newton parks his green bicycle in the Westside gym, to the childrens’ delight, at Friday’s kickoff assembly for Read Across America. t is Read Across America Week, and local elementary schools are honoring Dr. Seuss March 3-6. Above, Westside students are excited to see the Cat in the Hat — aka principal Bill Newton — in an all-school assembly kicking off a week’s worth of activities, including crazy sock day and rainbow day, with trivia games and costume contests each day. May I Street students have similar activities planned, with dress up days, a movie night, and classroom door decorating, around the “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” theme. Parkdale teachers chose classroom activities this year, namely featuring the website Suessville (www.seussville.com), an interactive site based on Dr. Seuss’ books featuring pictures and games. Cas- cade Locks students are participating in Spirit Week. Students have decorated classroom doors in a Dr. Seuss theme and are reading his books in class. And at Mid Valley, it’s Art Week, where students choose from a variety of different art-re- lated classes, from stained glass to book- making. On Friday, students will “drop everything and read” together. Three robotics teams head to state this weekend Occam’s Razor, Men in Green, Transformers get ready for First Tech See READS, Page A9 Speech-Debate students compete at two tourneys By OLIVIA ACOSTA For the Hood River News Dozens of high school robotics teams flocked to First Tech Chal- lenge super-qualifier tournaments for the right to go to state this week- end. Teenagers from around the state competed in one of two day-long events, where pairs of robots en- gaged in this year’s challenge (four robots, eight goals, four hundred wif- fle balls). Three teams from the engi- neering program at Hood River Val- ley High School qualified for state competition: Occam’s Razor, Men in Green, and Transformers. State com- petition will take place March 7-8 at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland. FIRST Tech challenge is a world- wide competition where students construct robots to complete chal- lenges. The goal of the organiza- tion is to promote STEM learning in students. The robots construct- ed by HRV students are made en- tirely from scratch, using materi- als available in Jeff Blackman’s classroom: steel, plexiglass, alu- minum, lexan, wood, and more. Students create custom parts for their robots using a 3D Printer, and a Laser cutter allows them to Where can people of all ages come together to read the same book, discuss its contents, partici- pate in related activities and even hear it read over the radio? Here, of course. Hood River County Reads is kick- ing off its 2015 season on March 15 with a special event at the Hood River Li- brary be gin- ning at 2 p.m.; related kick- of fs will be held at the Parkdale and Cascade Locks libraries on March 17 be- ginning at 5 p.m. Hood River County Reads is a communi- ty-wide pro- gram for read- ers of all ages, with titles cho- sen to repre- sent the cultur- Luis Alberto Urrea al diversity of the valley. It began in 2006, with local author Virginia Euwer Wolff‘s novel “Bat 6,” about the Japanese experience after World War II, and has run every year since — with the excep- tion of 2011, when the library was closed due to budget cuts. This year, there are two books: “Into the Beautiful North” by Luis Alberto Urrea, and “Becoming Naomi León” by Pam Munoz Ryan. Helen James, Hood River County Reads Chair, with committee mem- bers Mole Schaefer, Pat Schmuck, Gale Arnold, Jean Harmon, Eliza- beth Garbor, Fran Finney and As- Submitted photo OCCAM’S RAZOR, from left Jake Kenney, Blake Winner, Aaron Takatsch, Victoria Kohner-Flanagan, Will Ferrick, Olivia Acos- ta, Quinn Fetkenhour, Owen Ramsey. (Occam’s razor, also written as Ockham’s razor, is a problem-solving principle devised by William of Ockham, c. 1287–1347, who was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher and theologian. The principle states that among competing hypotheses that predict equally well, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.) etch or slice wood, cardboard, plastic, or glass with amazing pre- cision. Students who participate in FIRST Tech Challenge, or FTC, in- crease their skills in construction, design, problem-solving, computer programming, and teamwork. All three of the qualifying teams ex- emplify these traits. In competi- tion, teams are judged not only on how their robot performs, but also on how they inspire and motivate other students towards STEM in- volvement. The FIRST mantra of “gracious professionalism” is al- ways present. Aside from building a competitive robot, teams must also commit to outreach, the act of promoting STEM in the communi- ty and with other students. At super-qualifier, Men in Green See ROBOTICS, Page A5 The Hood River Valley High School Speech and Debate team continued its successful season at two regional tournaments in Feb- ruary. A total of 23 competitors par- ticipated in the Saints Invitational at Mt. Hood Community College on Feb. 14. Junior Hannah Hart placed third in Poetry and Freshmen Sam Bertrand and Paul Hargrave made it to the final round of competition in Novice Parliamentary Debate. Also reaching the finals were Amy Webber in Impromptu and Emma Dexter in Poetry. The team then competed at the Robert D. Clark Invitational at the University of Oregon on Feb. 20th and 21. At this tournament, which included 42 schools from four dif- ferent states and Canada, freshman Amy Webber won first in Junior Impromptu and freshman Ruby Patterson won third place in Junior Poetry. Making it to the final round of competition were Senior Dakota Bickle, Impromptu; Diego Murphy- Mendez, After Dinner Speaking; Katelyn McAllister, Poetry; and Ruby Patterson, Prose. Four To Go GO Sense of Place talk today Extension offers Teen Leadership Camp At the GO! Sense of Place lecture today, learn about the roots of Oregon’s conservation move- ment from one of its earliest activists. Michael McCloskey started his career as the Conservation Director for the Sierra Club, where he worked for 40 years both as the CEO and Chairman. In his book, “In the Thick of It: My Life in the Sierra Club,” McCloskey traces Oregon’s conservation movement from the 1880s to present day. The lecture begins at 7 p.m., and doors open at 6:30 at Columbia Center for the Arts. Cost is $8 for general admis- sion and $5 for GO! members. Are you in grades 7-12? Would you like to gain the skills necessary to survive a Zombie Apoca- lypse? Join the the annual Tri-County 4-H Leader- ship Camp on March 28-29. Campers will gather for a weekend at Camp Morrow in Wamic where they will “survive a Zombie Apocalypse” while learning disaster pre- paredness, survival skills, and the art of fake in- juries. You do not need to be in 4-H to attend; this leadership camp planned by teens for teens is ideal for club officers, student body officers, or other teens looking to meet new people, develop leadership skills and have fun. Register by March 23 at Hood River County Ex- tension, 541-386-3343; cost is $50. 7 05105 97630 3 Leos collect containers Saturday Child sex trafficking in the Gorge? On March 7, Hood River Val- ley Leos will recycle cans and bottles 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring redeemable bottles and cans at the southwest parking lot entrance to Rosauers. This month the funds will support four Leos’ bowling teams at Bowl for Kids’ Sake 2015, BBBS’ largest annual fundraiser pre- sented by Insitu, NW Natural and The Dalles Disposal/Hood River Garbage Service on March 14 at Orchard Lanes. A forum is planned March 10 from 5-7 p.m. at Solstice Wood Fire Cafe and Bar 501 Portway Ave. This forum will look at “What is it?; “How do we iden- tify it in our community?” and “What can we do to prevent or report it?” Food and beverage purchase not re- quired; salad and pizza will be sold for $20, a percentage of proceeds going to local non-profit agencies. This is an opportunity for people who care about the welfare of teens to learn about the crime of commercial sexual exploitation of children.