Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
G REATER G ORGE A2 Hood River News, Wednesday, April 15, 2015 www.hoodrivernews.com Coal export terminal gets water-quality approval from Oregon PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — Oregon environmental regulators have ruled that proposed coal export ter- minal on the Columbia River meets state and fed- eral water-quality stan- dards, but the project still faces an adverse ruling from another state agency and questions about its economics in a slumping coal market. The state Department of Environmental Quality is- sued a water-quality certi- fication Tuesday to the proposed Coyote Island Ter minal at Boardman, The East Oregonian re- ported. The terminal would re- ceive coal arriving by rail from Montana and Wyoming and put it on barges. Downriver, the barges would be offloaded at another terminal, and the coal put on oceangoing vessels, bound for Asia. Shipments to the Board- man terminal could total 8.8 million tons a year. The state land depart- ment has rejected a permit for the project, saying it could interfere with tribal fishing rights. An appeal hearing is scheduled for December. Critics have questioned whether the project would break even on a $242 mil- lion investment, given slumping coal markets overseas. Last year, the Au s t r a l i a n company Ambre Energ y sold its North American coal as- sets to Resource Capital Funds, a private equity firm in Denver, after fail- i n g t o d r aw o t h e r i n - vestors. The Department of En- vironmental Quality is- sued what’s called a 401 Water Quality Certifica- tion that the ter minal would meet state and fed- eral water quality stan- dards, so long as the devel- oper meets a long list of conditions. For example, the terminal would have to be shut down and appro- priate agencies notified if a water-quality problem leads to dead or distressed fish. Environmentalists have fought the terminal, one of several new proposals for moving fossil fuels from the interior of North America for use on the West Coast or Asia. The state of Wyoming is prepared to borrow $1 bil- lion to pay for coal exports from the Northwest, and Wyoming and Montana are backing the appeal of the decision handed down by the Oregon Department of State Lands. Photo by Bruce Ely/The Oregonian, staff THE PORT OF MORROW in Boardman, Ore., where Australia-based Ambre Energy proposed a coal export terminal called the Morrow Pa- cific project to send 8.8 million tons of coal annually to Asia. Local “Bikefest” event promotes bike-friendly ideas for Goldendale By AKASHA SPINO-BYBEE For The Goldendale Sentinel Goldendale has suffered many economic losses in its time, from the timber in- dustry coming to a swift halt to the aluminum plant shutting down, Golden- dale‘s economy has steadily declined. Thankfully, inno- vation lies in the mind of a local man with a passion. “I was a professional cow- boy with the Northwest Rodeo Association and one of the things I did to stay in shape was ride my bicycle,” says Brock War rener, a member of the Trail Riding Association of Central Klickitat (TRACK). “Later on, my horse died and I started to ride my bicycle more often and I found it was a great way to bond with my girlfriend’s son. So we’d go over to Hood River and ride some pump tracks. So I started wondering how we could ride somewhere locally without having to ride on dangerous roads and so we wouldn’t have to spend our money else- where.” This very thought began a progressive study that Warrener spent months re- searching. “I started re- searching mountain bike c o m m u n i t i e s a n d wh a t other bicycling groups had done to bring about change in their towns and I was overwhelmed with informa- tion,” he says. “One thing I found was a town called Oakridge (Oregon), which is very similar to Golden- dale. It’s a town with a pop- ulation of 3,000 people who had a large timber industry, which in 1989, shut down. So a bunch of these people decided to use the town’s natural assets and started building a network of trails and over the last 35 years, have developed over 500 miles of trails. Because of this, in the past five years, 13 new businesses have o p e n e d , i n c l u d i n g b i ke shops and breweries. One way they have attracted the bicyclists is implementing several bike racks.” Warrener, who sees the potential Goldendale has in taking part of Washington’s $3 billion industry that is outdoor recreation, is chal- lenging the community to make changes for the better, starting with a bike rack competition. Warrener is offering our community a substantial prize for the best bike rack created, all with hopes that people will enjoy the idea of giving our bicyclists somewhere to place their bikes while doing some shopping and by giving our community the opportunity to leave an artistic legacy on the town. Along with the bike racks, Warrener plans to host a “Bikefest,” where he will take those who attend (and t h e i r b i ke s ) o n a t o u r around central Klickitat to consider some places to cre- ate some bike trails and to ride those pre-existing. “At 8:30 a.m., we’ll have a meet and greet with coffee provided by our sponsors here at the Goldendale pool. At 9 a.m., we’ll load our bikes in a van provided by U-Haul and board a bus pro- vided by Centerville School and go to some spots around the central Klickitat area where we can ride and envi- sion some possible future trail spots. Then, we’ll get back on the bus and be dropped off at Observatory Hill, where we’ll ride our bikes down the trails back to the pool and have lunch. After that, we’ll have a ‘bi- cyc l e r o d e o ’ a n d s k i l l s demonstration. Bicycle hel- mets will also be provided for those without helmets. L a t e r, we ’ l l h ave s o m e games to play and have the bicycle rack grand prize g ive aw ay. T h a t n i g h t , there’ll be a concert with Manimal, a band from Port- land, at the American Le- gion. Tickets will be $15 at 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. the door and $10 pre-sale, available through me.” To show your support make plans to attend the Bikefest on May 9, at the Goldendale pool and pur- chase tickets for Manimal House by calling Warrener at 360-773-7712 or by email- ing him at war rener- brock@gmail.com. “I’m dreaming big,” he says. Mother’s Day Brunch on the Patio!! Three Courses including Lobster & Memosas 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Dinner at 3 p.m. Happy Hour nightly 5-6 p.m. Stonehedge Gardens 541-386-3940 Oregon ski areas ask Legislature for liability protection By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Ski areas are asking the Oregon Legislature for enhanced protection from lawsuits after the state Supreme Court invalidated the broad liability waivers often print- ed on the back of lift tickets. Ski facility executives told the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee Monday that they may have to raise their prices if they aren’t shielded from lawsuits. They warned of potentially dire conse- quences for the rural busi- nesses that rely on skiers in winter months. But Lauren Bagley, whose son was injured as a teenag- er at Mount Bachelor in 2006, said ski companies should be held accountable when their man-made equipment fails. Her son, Myles Bagley, was 18 when he fell on a jump and was paralyzed. Mount Bach- elor has not been found at fault, but the Supreme Court decision in November gave Bagley the chance to argue in court that the resort was negligent. Lauren Bagley acknowl- edged that some factors in ski injuries are beyond the control of ski operators, but said they shouldn’t be able to shirk liability for man-made equipment or enhancements to the slope. “Humans make mistakes,” she told the legislative com- mittee. “They cannot deny the fact that possibly a mis- take was made. Not every- thing is an accident. Some things are preventable. They just shift the blame to the skier, constantly to the skier.” A 1979 Oregon law de- clares that skiing is an inher- ently risky activity and shields ski area operators from liability in some in- stances. Until last year’s Supreme Court case, it was routinely used to block law- suits by injured skiers and snowboarders. The bill proposed this year would nullify the decision for future cases, making broad liability waivers en- forceable in court. It would prevent lawsuits alleging the ski area was negligent or cre- ated unreasonable condi- tions. Ski resorts would only be liable for intentional acts by their staff or for “gross negligence,” a higher legal standard. Without the liability waiv- er, ski areas would be forced to litigate each case brought by an injured skier or snow- boarder, even if it ultimately proved it was not negligent, said Andy Ballyeat, a Bend attor ney who represents Mount Bachelor and other ski businesses. “The impact of not updat- ing the skier statue will eventually cost jobs, limit ac- cess to public lands, and threaten the economic stabil- ity of these areas and the state of Oregon as a whole,” said Matthew Drake, chair- man and chief executive of Mt. Hood Meadows. Floyd Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat who chairs the Ju- diciary Committee, asked both sides to work together and see if there’s room for agreement. WEEKLY SUDOKU This week’s Sudoku presented by: Y OUR B USINESS N AME Answers on Page A6 Forest Service to hold forest-level listening sessions Forest Service responds to desire for more Forest Plan Revision Listening Sessions PORTLAND, Ore. — The Pacific Northwest Region an- nounced today plans for holding additional forest management plan revision listening sessions. Eleven lis- tening sessions are planned so far in locations through- out Oregon and Washington. These sessions follow an ini- tial round of listening ses- sions held earlier in Port- land, Seattle and Redding, CA. “We promised to evaluate the need for additional For- est-level listening sessions,” said Jim Peña, Pacific North- west Regional Forester. “We heard a strong desire for more sessions, so we’re hold- ing the next round at local forest locations to further 0URCHASE2ElNANCE #ALL THE ONLY /&&)#% THAT MATTERSç (OME 0URCHASES s 2ElNANCES s %QUITY ,INES JEFF SACRE our commitment to engaging with and listening to the con- cerns of our communities.” The purposes of the ses- sions are to: ■ Share our current think- ing on plan revision, ■ Share how science will inform the process, and ■ Listen to ideas and thoughts about how to ap- proach public engagement for forest plan revisions on each National Forest. The Dates, Locations and Forest(s) follow: April 28th — Olympia Olympic and Gifford Pin- chot April 28 (tent.) — Bend or LaPine Deschutes TBD — Hood River Mt. Hood, Columbia Gorge Scenic Area, Gifford Pinchot ■ Specific locations and times will be announced by each Forest as their plans are finalized, and posted on for- est and region websites at www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/l a n d m a n a g e - ment/?cid=stelprd3831710 HOODRIVERHOMES.COM Your Oregon & Washington Broker River City 3R -ORTGAGE 3PECIALIST NMLS-140302, MLO-140302 /FFICE (541) #ELL Tom Jenkins CRS, GRI 541-490-6045 This is not a committment to lend. Information deemed reliable but subject to change without notice. Consumer Loan License NMLS-3240, CL-3240 Fill in all 81 squares on the puzzle with numbers 1 to 9. You can use each number 1-9 only once in each nine square section, in each horizontal line of nine squares, and in each vertical column of nine squares. The puzzle is completed when you correctly fill every square. Advertise Your Business or Service Here call 541-386-1234
