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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2015)
Blossom Time Track Photos and a look ahead to Week 3 – HRV sweeps Blossom meet – A7 M IDWEEK E DITION Vol. 109, No. 32 75 cents 2 Sections, 20 Pages B1 HOOD RIVER, OREGON Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County ■ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015 www.hoodrivernews.com CELEBRATING SUSTAINABILITY Oil spill plan in update Earth Week Columbia Gorge Climate Action Network (CGCAN) and other local groups are hosting a number of Earth Day events on Saturday and Sunday in Hood River supporters said are in- tended “to celebrate and connect Columbia Gorge residents around Earth awareness.” Today, April 22, is officially Earth Day, but in Hood River as with many communities, events have happened on the surrounding weekends (see page A10 for related photos.) Here are three events happening in Hood River to mark the occasion and inform the community about themes and practices of sustainability: Tod J. LeFevre Awards The Tod J. LeFevre Sustainability Awards party is April 22 at the Center for the Arts be- ginning at 6:30 p.m. This award is named after the late Tod J. LeFevre (pronounced “la-fay”): skier, moun- taineer, father and husband, engineer, straw bale home builder, proponent of sustainable energy, and founder of the Hood River firm Common Energy. Business Nominees Dirt Hugger, Turtle Island Foods (Tofurky), Solstice Wood Fire Cafe and Bar, Mt. Hood Meadows Individual Nominees Heather Staten, Hood River Valley Resi- dents Committee; Kate McBride, Friends of the Columbia River Gorge and a Hood River City Council Member; Jurgen and Susan Hess, Hess Photography and Envirogorge; John Jacobson,Mt. Hood Org anic Far m/School Aid pro g ram; Jeanette Burkhardt,Yakama Nations Fisheries Student Nominees Roland Platt, Columbia Gorge Community Draft is online, public asked to leave comments By DEREK WILEY The Dalles Chronicle Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea RILEY DAVIS, 2, of Hood River, joins her sisters, Ella, 8, and Kennedy, 6, and parents Jeremy and Kim in Satur- day’s Waterfront Park cleanup. More of the same is planned throughout the Hood River Waterfront (details on page A10) as part of Earth Week events. See EARTH, Page A10 Dig into Earth Week events Student film fest splices creativity, competition By PATRICK MULVIHILL News staff writer For students at Hood River Val- ley High School, film-making is a passion best shared through com- petition. HRVHS multimedia teacher Shawn Meyle’s class was a whirr of activity for the last six months, with students preparing for a new competition on top of their every- day class projects: the first annual Hood River Independent Film Fes- tival. The festival, hosted by Hood River Education Foundation, will allow HRVHS students to showcase their independent films on the big screen at the high school’s Bowe Theater on May 9. The films will be three minutes or less and span the genres of sports action, animation, documentary and narrative films. The grand prize will be a $500 college scholarship for creative vi- sual arts. The runners up will earn priz es provided by sponsors Dakine and Second Wind Sports. The idea of the film festival stemmed from Hood River County Education Foundation board mem- bers Mike Schend and A.J. Kitt, and Meyle. Meyle said he was enthusiastic to help kick off the burgeoning fes- tival. “It’s all about getting kids fired up,” said Meyle. Meyle explained that all the stu- Photo by Patrick Mulvihill HRVHS TEACHER Shawn Meyle demonstrates a camera stabilization rig Wednesday, which his multimedia students use for sports action shots. HRVHS students Ronaldo Rodriguez, center, Myles Cameron and Owen Kozec have been hard at work honing their film skills over the school year. dents entering videos at the film festival are in their third, most ad- vanced year of his multimedia se- quence. The third unit is the most flexible, with students charting their own course in video produc- tion. “I’m more like a producer,” said Meyle. “I’m just trying to provide a conducive environment for them to take off.” Meyle’s classroom serves as the proving grounds, cutting room, beat lab and production studio. On the submission deadline last Wednesday, students gathered around computer screens in Meyle’s class to review their pro- jects one last time. Third-year multimedia student What would happen if oil spilled along the Middle Columbia River? The Oregon Department of En- vironmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spent Friday morning at Columbia Gorge Com- Train protest munity Col- march lege answer- On Thursday from ing that noon to 1 p.m., a question. march is planned M i k e Boykin, an near the BNSF EPA on- tracks in Bingen. scene coordi- Meet at Dauben- n a t o r , speck Park at opened the noon; the march workshop will be less than a with a lesson mile and start at on crude oil, 12:20 and how it’s mea- conclude by sured and how it re- 12:45 p.m. sponds to dif- ferent envi- ronments. Richard Franklin, also an EPA on-scene coordinator, then ex- plained the differences between Bakken crude oil and oil sands, which both come through the Co- lumbia Gorge. While Bakken is easier to clean because much of it evaporates after 24 hours, Franklin said, “Tar sands is going to be the biggest problem. The answers are not all in for this, especially for a spill re- sponse.” Franklin also went over avail- able response tactics. He said the priorities after an oil spill are safety, a stabilized sit- uation and then environmental considerations. Three physical measures are taken: stop it, boom it and then suck it up with vacu- um trucks if possible. “We may not expect to get every molecule up,” Franklin said. Don Pettit, an emergency re- See OIL, Page A9 See FILM, Page A9 Sunday fire claims Parkdale family’s home By PATRICK MULVIHILL News staff writer Photo courtesy of Parkdale Fire Department FLAMES ENGULF the Rodriquez family home on Quinn Road in Parkdale Sunday. A blaze destroyed a double- wide manufactured home in Parkdale Sunday, leaving its resi- dents with few worldly posses- sions. It was the second home to burn down in Hood River County within the last two weeks. No injuries were reported, but Rigoberto Rodriguez’s family, in- cluding two adults and two chil- dren, lost their home on Quinn Road in Parkdale as well as two passenger cars, a 2003 Ford Expe- dition and a 2002 Subaru sedan. Parkdale Fire Chief Mike Mc- Cafferty said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Parkdale Fire Department re- sponded to the fire at Quinn Road about 4:15 a.m. Sunday. They were joined by West Side Fire and Wy’East Fire District, who helped wrestle the flames down within an hour. Firefighters contained the flames before they could spread to neighboring buildings, but they were unable to save the Ro- driguez’s house or their two cars parked out front. “They lost everything,” said McCafferty. He estimated the cost of damages to be about $50,000. Volunteers from the American Red Cross of the Cascades Region responded, providing clothing, shoes, food, baby formula, bed- ding and linens. The Rodriguez family is cur- rently staying with friends in Odell, until they can find a per- manent replacement for their home. McCafferty called the fire “a fluke” because it was unlikely to See FIRE, Page A9 Four To Go Glow-in-dark mini-golf returns Hood River’s only full-size indoor “Glow in the Dark” 18-hole mini-golf course will open its doors again for the next two weekends, at Im- manuel Lutheran Church, located at 9th and State streets This neon-lit mini-golf course of- fers 18 unique and entertaining holes that are a challenge for all ages. All proceeds go towards Immanuel’s middle school and senior high youth ministries. Hours are April 24,, 5 to 8 p.m.; April 25, 2 to 8 p.m.; May 1, 5 to 8 p.m.; and May 2, 2 to 8 p.m. Cost is $5 per person for 18 holes. 7 05105 97630 3 Bike drive Saturday and Sunday ‘Art of Community’ call for artists Anson’s Bike Buddies collects used bikes, repairs them, and then matches them to children who would benefit from owning a bike. Founder Anson Pulk, 8, and his family are helped by groups such as Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital and The Next Door. Anson is holding a bicycle drive Saturday and Sunday at Cascade Eye Center on West Cascade from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Whole bikes or frames or parts are accepted. For details go to www.ansonsbikebuddies.org May 15 is deadline for artists to respond to the 2015 Art of Community “big art” project. Pieces will be selected by June 1, and installation happens in late August. Art of Community works are on exhibit at 15 outdoor loca- tions (16 or more in 2015) in the project, which debuted last July. For details call Kristen Godkin, development director, or go to: www.art-of-community.com Author Luis Urrea appears Saturday The 2015 Hood River Reads program con- cludes Saturday with a free talk by author Luis Alberto Urrea, whose book “Into the Beautiful North” was featured in the program this year. Urrea will speak at 2 p.m. at Hood River Li- brary. The program is free and open to all.