Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2015)
SPECIAL SECTIONS Gorge Gorge Business Review, Health & Wellness Business Columbia Rive r March 2015 Rev iew Covering Gorge Business What’s goin Rasmussen g on at Farms? Volume 7, No. 3 A tale of two bakers: One aspiring, (pg. 6) one retiring, (pg. 14) Page 10 W EEKEND E DITION Vol. 109, No. 19 HOOD RIVER, OREGON Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County ■ SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015 75 cents 4 Sections, 40 Pages www.hoodrivernews.com CGCC lays off five workers City asks Officials grapple with projected $2.4M deficit By MARK GIBSON The Dalles Chronicle Columbia Gorge Community College has laid off five employees across multiple departments in an initial schedule of layoffs designed to help address a projected $2.4 mil- lion deficit in the upcoming fiscal year, according to college president Dr. Frank Toda. The layoffs will extend through June. Full time faculty staff have not been reduced: Their bargaining agreement with the college re- quires a 10-month notice, and no no- tice has been issued, according to budget information provided by the college. The layoffs are part of a strategy in effect for several months that also include a voluntary employee resignation incentive program and holding open vacancies as part of a “hiring freeze.” Climate change: HR council takes input on Monday See CGCC, Page A5 Creative Rhythms By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor Art Week returns to Mid Valley BY TRISHA WALKER News staff writer Artistic expression in all forms took center stage at Mid Valley Ele- mentary this week. Art Week was held March 3-6, and students got to try their hand at all manner of creative endeavors — bookmaking, bucket drumming, music, glasswork, clay birdhouses, oil pastels, cooking, printmaking and decoupage — all taught by Gorge-area artists. Principal Dennis McCauley said Friday morning that the yearly pro- gram is a way to “put in the pieces that we’ve lost” in arts education — programs that are often cut due to budget or time constraints. “We’re so focuses on academic outcome that we forget how kids’ brains work, we forget that kids need different experiences,” McCauley said. “This brings that together for the kids, lets them know that arts are important — that all parts of the brain are important.” It’s a week students really look for- ward to. “They don’t remember the day they learned the hard C sound,” he said, but they do remember Arts Week. Many local artists came to the school to teach classes, like Shelley Toon Lindberg, executive director of Arts in Education of the Gorge and S p o t l i g h t See ART, Page A2 comments on carbon Photo by Trisha Walker STUDENTS IN Tim Snyder’s bucket drumming class beat out a complex tune during Mid Valley Elementary School’s Art Week March 3-6. Front to back: Dylan Maddox, Draven Bump, Johan Nava, Jesus Ibarra, Dameon Solorzano and Hayden King. A variety of art-related classes were held, from cooking to printmaking. a t u r d a y A carbon pricing resolution, along with affordable housing, wastewater treatment plan funding, and public art, make for a busy Hood River City Council agenda on Monday. The council, meeting at 6 p.m., in- vites the public to comment on a pro- posed resolution urging the State of Oregon to implement a price on car- bon emissions. “The Council is considering the resolution to actively encourage state lawmakers to fight climate change by altering the marketplace to provide some disincentives to burning fossil fuels,” said Mayor Paul Blackburn. The city will hear a report from Planning Director Cindy Walbridge on the ongoing housing analysis and buildable lands inventory, which will be used to inform staff and council on potential action regarding affordable housing. Wheeler will report on a $20,000 grant to help pay for a waste- water treatment capital facility plan, and the council will discuss a $5,000 grant for public arts planning, from the Hood River cultural Trust Board, and hear updates from Library Direc- tor Buzzy Nielson on the Library spe- cial District as well as a request for council endorsement for Hood River Reads, which starts March 15. The draft carbon pricing resolution can be viewed at the City’s web site ci.hood-river.or.us. Oral comments can be made at the March 9 Council meeting at City Hall or in writing to the Mayor at Paul.Blackburn@city- ofhoodriver.com. Blackburn and city councilor Peter Cornelison, along with city manager Steve Wheeler, discussed carbon pric- ing legislation with Hood River legis- lators Chuck Thomsen and Mark Johnson during the Feb. 26 City Day A weekly series about a day in the life ... See COUNCIL, Page A2 Pastor Judy Zimmerman living her dream BY TRISHA WALKER News staff writer Photo by Trisha Walker; submitted Pastor Judy Zimmerman will be installed today, March 7, as minister of The Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universal- ist Fellowship. Last week, installation committee members Jay Larsen and Cindy Allen met with Zimmerman at the Rock- ford Grange to go over last-minute details. The Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is holding a special ceremony today, March 7. At 3 p.m., the congregation will install Pastor Judy Zim- merman as their new minister. The church meets at the Rockford Grange on Barrett Drive in Hood River. Zimmerman describes the church as “a younger con- gregation,” and said the installation “is a formal public af- firmation of the covenant between the minister and the congregation they serve,” a process that is “uncommon in most Protestant denominations,” she explained. “(It symbolizes) an ongoing commitment, a deeper level of connection between minister and congregation,” she said. The installation will be “a fancier church service,” with Unitarian officials attending: Representatives from the Regional Association body, and ministers and reli- gious educators from the Northwest. Civic leaders from around the Gorge have also been in- vited, as the church serves the Washington side of the Co- lumbia from Stevenson to Goldendale, and in Oregon from See JUDY, Page A5 Four To Go Gorge on Tap talks trains, trails Forum on hunger issues March 31 On March 11 Friends of the Columbia Gorge will present Gorge on Tap at Springhouse Cellar Winery, downtown next to Mt. Hood Railroad. Doors open at 6:30 and the talk runs from 7 to 8 p.m. The program will include an update on the oil and coal train threat, the Gorge Towns to Trails program and a new hike challenge for Friends 35th an- niversary. This is a free event, no RSVP is needed. The Oregon Hunger Task Force (OHTF) is hosting a listening session on issues surround- ing hunger and food systems in The Dalles on March 31, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Columbia Gorge Community College Lecture Hall. Community members from the Gorge are in- vited by the OHTF to share their experiences and thoughts on hunger and food systems in their communities, and recommend policy im- provements that help reduce and solve hunger in the Gorge and across Oregon. OHTF members will be present to hear com- munity presentations and policy recommenda- tions. See more at oregonhunger.org/blog. 7 05105 97630 3 Dyslexia Gourp ‘Big 5’ event March 10 “The Big 5: What Parents and Teach- ers Need to Know about Learning to Read,” will be held March 10 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Hood River Hotel. Presenter Cheryl Anthony, Successful Learning Educational Services, will talk about comprehension, phonics, phonemic awareness and fluency. The event is free and sponsored by Decoding Dyslexia. Educators can earn 2 CEU credits from Lewis and Clark College for $20. For more information, email columbi- agorge@decodingdyslexia.org. Women’s Chamber Choir March 12 The Master’s College Department of Music presents the Women’s Chamber Choir in con- cert at Faith Bible Church, 1889 Belmont Drive, on March 12 at 7 p.m. The Women’s Chamber Choir is an auditioned group of 15 to 20 women who perform both on and off campus through- out the semester, as well as on a tour over spring break. They perform a variety of styles from every major period, including sacred, classical and madrigal. The group has toured through vari- ous parts of the country and has sun at the Lincoln Center in New York City .They have produced three recordings, the most recent ti- tled “The Mighty Power.”