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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2015)
A2 Hood River News, Saturday, March 14, 2015 Full Sail employees okay brewery sale By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea W ARM T HANKS Larry, a guest at Hood River Warming shelter, shakes hands with volunteer Matt Rankin, right, as the shelter closes March 8 for the sea- son. Throughout February until the final day, the non-profit program used the north wing of the Port of Hood River Expo Center for overnight shelter for the homeless. The shelter will return for a sixth season in November at a location to be announced. At left are vol- unteers Bev Carpenter and Rev. Anna Carmichael, and at right is volunteer Tom Penchoen. S CHOOLS Continued from Page A1 the number of instructional days,” Goldman said. A third formula, for $7.85 billion, seems so unlikely of Legislative approval that “we kind of laugh at it,” Goldman said, “and it is still woefully low.” Parent volunteers set up letter writing tables Thurs- day at May Street Elemen- tary during its annual art auction and lasagna feed. Residents were provided with lists of key legislators, and sample letters to sign, and “talking points” to use to draft their own. One of those legislators, Rep. Mark Johnson, also serves on the school board. “I have seen some really well-written letters. It can be very effective, and so much better than a form letter,” Johnson said Wednesday. Goldman described what he called a “gloomy” prospect for HRCSD funding in the next two years. With anything short of the $7.85 billion option, cuts are inevitable, Goldman said. “I have informed my adminis- trative team that everything is on the table. We are look- ing at everything. “When cutting we will be cutting bone. There are no good choices,” Goldman said. The board adopted one res- olution on school funding Wednesday, and asked Gold- man to craft another, more specific one, for its next meeting, April 8. The adopted resolution supports the Oregon School Boards Association’s “Promise of Oregon” cam- paign. It states, in part, “we believe funding a strong sys- tem of public education is the best investment Oregoni- ans can make to strengthen HOOD RIVER NEWS (ISSN 07465823) is published twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday. Subscription rates: $42 per year prepaid ($36 for senior citizens, 65 and over) in Hood River County and western Wasco County, Oregon; and Klickitat and Skamania counties,Washington. Elsewhere, $68 prepaid per year. Known office of pub- lication, 419 State Ave., Hood River, OR 97031-2031. Periodicals postage paid at Hood River, Oregon. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to HOOD RIVER NEWS, P.O. Box 390, Hood River, OR 97031-0103. our economy, create thriving communities and improve the quality of life for every Oregonian.” It states that “Oregon public schools have experienced a prolonged pe- riod of unstable and inade- quate” state funding, and “the case must be made that the Legislature needs to pri- oritize investments” in edu- cation including full-day kindergarten (already done in HRCSD). Board member Bob Danko said that the resolution is “the easy way out,” and sug- gested adding a “whereas” to the OSBA resolution stating that “we need to raise rev- enue.” “The (OSBA) resolution is a political tool that we hope makes a difference,” Gold- man said, recommending against modifying it. After some discussion, the board asked Goldman to return with another resolution that “specifically addresses rais- ing revenue.” Goldman’s focus in recent weeks has been on machina- tions in Salem. He told the board that last week in Salem he heard testimony on all kinds of service budgets, ranging from early educa- tion to human services. “I heard some very com- pelling things around why people can’t make ends meet. There are a lot of important needs and not enough money to go around,” Goldman said. He said the K-12 system is one of those underfunded clients and “If we don’t advo- cate for it, we won’t get any of it.” He described the prospects for David Douglas School District, which without more funding will face furlough days and 30-40 student class sizes. (Hood River class sizes currently average 25-26 at the elementary level, and could increase depending on the budget outcome, according to Goldman.) In his message on Tuesday. Goldman said, “As I’ve shared with you all before, Oregon schools have the sec- ond highest class sizes, some of the lowest number of in- structional minutes for stu- dents, resulting in some of the lowest statewide gradua- tion and literacy rates in the nation (of course Hood River County gets markedly differ- ent and better results as a re- sult of our community’s sup- port of our local option levy and capital bonds and our f abulous teachers and staff). However, after nine years in a row of program re- ductions due to state funding shortfalls, a $7.235 billion state education budget will cause the Hood River County Schools to once again make unfortunate choices that will directly impact students.” Bonus Winner #6 Aunika Yasui cashed in as a bonus winner in this year’s Hood River News Kids Subscription Campaign! At Full Sail, the next rounds are on Encore. Hood River’s largest and oldest brewery is now owned by Oregon Craft Brewers Co., the temporary name of a group of investors whose primary partner is Encore Investments of San Francis- co. The 78 vested employees and past employees of Full Sail voted nearly unani- mously March 6 to sell to OCBC, who own no brew- eries. (See hoodrivernews.com for a full version of this story.) “The fact we were able to do this and honor the fact that our employees helped us grow and value the company feels really good,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail CEO. “It al- lows us to fulfil the promise of what we did in 1999, which we felt pretty strongly at the time,” Firmat said of the de- cision to change to an em- ployee-owned company. “The thing that really ap- pealed is it’s not a brewery, and they need each of our employees, in production, sales, marketing, and admin- istrative,” Firmat said, “and they understand the brand.” OCBC made an unsolicited offer, according to Firmat. The yes vote was 98 per- cent; ballots were cast by current employees and for- mer employees who own stock. “People had a whole lot of information, about 150 pages of documents,” Firmat said of the prospectus. Based on questions she answered be- fore the vote, “I was im- pressed with how thoroughly people read it. “The next step to take the company and continue to grow. (The vote) was the best outcome to honor the shares,” she said. Full Sail will be adding six new sales staff immediately, and likely more will be hired. Celebrate with Friends & Neighbors at Skamania Lodge Casco Especial Tuesdays are hot in River Rock! Our culinary team members with Latino heritage will be generously sharing their family recipes for Mexican, Central and South American Cuisine. Spice up your Tuesday! Whiskey Wednesdays 6 PM - Close Special whiskey flight plus a new menu each Wednesday to pair with your culinary favorites. Happy Hour Is Back! Plus, Don’t Miss Our Prime Rib Sunday! 5 - 9 PM Enjoy this dining feature for a limited time. 8 oz. prime rib dinner $22; 12 oz. prime rib dinner $28 Reservations suggested: 509-427-7700 Monday - Thursday 4 PM - 6 PM Petite menu and discounted select beverages, including: Hot Crab & Shrimp Dip, Chili Fries, Rock Burger with Cheese, Buffalo Wings, Mac ‘n’ Cheese HOOD RIVER SUPPLY’S Customer appreciation Days WED. MARCH 18 th THRU SAT. MARCH 21 st FREE Orchard Supplies • Fencing Supplies Lawn & Garden Supplies Fertilizer & Soil Conditioners Weber BBQ's & Accessories Smokehouse Products • Transponder Keys Livingston Seeds • Purina Feed Cub Cadet • ECHO • McCormick Tractors SPECIA LS! ! S L A I C SPE It’s Happening Now! 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