Inside
Memorial Day
A S p e c i a l P u l l - O u t S e c t i o n o f
T h e H o o d R i v e r N e w s
Service
Kid Space
11 a.m. Monday
A12
– SEE PAGES A10-11
Wine
Weekend
PULLOUT
Taste The Good Life
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
Over
Memorial Day
WeekendColumbia
Gorge Wineries
Celebrate the
Marriage
of Food
& Wine
W EEKEND E DITION
Vol. 109, No. 41
HOOD RIVER, OREGON
■
SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015
75 cents
2 Sections, 22 Pages
www.hoodrivernews.com
County to clarify ‘awkward’ land use appeal powers
By PATRICK MULVIHILL
News staff writer
The Hood River County Board of
Commissioners voted Monday to
clean up and revise an ordinance
which bars them from modifying
land use decisions made by the
planning commission.
At a public hearing before the
board May 18, Hood River County
Planning Director John Roberts
presented language that would
streamline and revise an “awk-
ward” ordinance governing the
county’s appeal process.
“LUBA (Oregon Land Use Board
of Appeals) made it clear that our
administrative rules were a little
awkward. They
decided that
your powers
were similar to
theirs,” Roberts
told the com-
mission.
Rober ts re-
ferred to com-
ments LUBA
made during a
John Roberts
2012 case re-
garding a dispute over Barrett Park
between the Hood River Valley
Parks and Recreation District and
Hood River County, as well as local
orchardists Fritz and JoAnn von
Lubken. The planning commission
approved the park’s permit, but the
county commission decided to
overturn the decision; from there,
the parks district took the case to
LUBA on the grounds that the
county had acted without compli-
ance to state law.
LUBA ruled that the county had
erred in its decision. Aside from
the error, LUBA noted in a 2012
brief that the county’s review
scheme was “unusual, resembling
the kind of limited review conduct-
ed by LUBA rather (than) a more
open-ended review.”
The state land board declared
Hood River County Zoning Ordi-
nance Article 61 constrains the
county commission to several nar-
row choices in land use appeals —
affirming, reversing, or remanding
a decision — but does not allow the
body to actually modify a decision
made by the planning commission.
Roberts indicated that the coun-
ty’s lack of modifying power was
unique. “I’m sure there are other
elected bodies out there that don’t
have the ability to modify (appeals),
but not that I’m aware of,” said
Roberts.
At the hearing Monday, the
board of commissioners approved
the changes proposed by planning
commission staff, on condition that
the planning commission make
several minor alterations, includ-
ing simpler and more consistent
language.
Commissioners wished to clarify
their own powers, as well as clean
up some ambiguous phrases con-
tained in the three-page ordinance.
“What does the term ‘modify’
give us?” asked county commis-
sioner Karen Joplin. “What does
that mean — nuts and bolts?”
Roberts explained that the power
to “modify” would allow county
commissioners to make minor
changes to planning commission
findings without needing to send
the case back and forth. In “big
issue” or “substantive” cases, he
said, the board could remand the
appeal and send it back to the com-
See PLANNING, Page A8
Election results
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editor
Two members of the Columbia
Gorge Community College board
kept their positions, based on un-
official results from the May 19
Hood River County Special Dis-
tricts election.
Brad Lorang, a former mayor
of Cascade Locks, will serve on
the Cascade Locks Port Commis-
sion, one of two people to defeat
incumbents on that board. Lo-
rang defeated Donna Mohr and
David Lipps edged Brenda Cram-
blett.
Charlotte Arnold, Columbia
Gorge Community College Board
Position 1 incumbent, defeated
Chris Reitz wins HRCSD vote
Guy Fenner by a 1,491-804 margin
(65 to 35 percent). Stu Watson, Posi-
tion 6, defeated Becky Kopecky,
See RESULTS, Page A8
Reunion concert
May 23 at HRMS
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
G ORGE C ULTURE F EST
S p o t l i g h t
The challenge of the Japanese ball-cup game kendama was just one pleasure of the first Gorge Culture Fest, Thursday at
Columbia Gorge Community College. Irma Rubelcava, of Hood River tries kendama along with Carla Farfan and, right Carla
Gonzalez, at the sister cities’ tables provided by Hood River-Tsuruta and The Dalles-Miyoshi City, while Ann and Mike Har-
ris watch. Culture Fest provided food, face-painting, break-dancing, origami, a display of Mexican embroidery, and Irish
music. Students from Ukraine, China and Taiwan presented their cultures and participants enjoyed Mexican food and crafts.
Organizer Kelly Sullivan of the CGCC access and diversity committee said the event was intended “to celebrate the differ-
ent cultures we have in the community.”
a
t
u
r
d
a
y
Outgoing HRVHS music direc-
tor Mark Steighner will lead the
May 23 reunion choir concert at 7
p.m. at Hood River Middle School
auditorium (a previous article
contained the wrong location)
The concert is free; Hood River
Education Foundation will accept
donations to the Mark Steighner
Teacher Grant for District Music
A weekly series about a day in the life ...
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
See CHOIR, Page A9
Denny Leonard honors those who served
BY TRISHA WALKER
News staff writer
Photos by Trisha Walker
DENNY LEONARD has been involved with
Hood River American Legion Post 22 for 36 years
— and all because of a coin toss. Leonard and
Idlewilde Cemetery Sexton Bob Huskey were part of a
small group Thursday readying the cemetery grounds.
Denny Leonard will have been involved with the Hood
River American Legion Post 22 for 37 years in June, and all
because of a bet.
He had been laid off for the winter from the forest indus-
try and was sitting in a Belmont tavern (where Monogans
Pancake House is now) drinking coffee one morning, when
Bill Wheeler, a World War II vet and log truck driver, came in
and asked why he wasn’t a part of the American Legion.
“He said, ‘You’re a vet, aren’t ya? Why don’t you join the
American Legion?’ and I said, ‘I don’t join anything,’”
Leonard said. Wheeler had been playing with a half-dollar
piece on the counter and made him a deal: He would flip the
coin and if Leonard won, he’d never talk about it again, but
if he won, Leonard would join.
And that’s how Leonard came to be a part of the post.
“Then I got to meet a lot of really nice people — Harvey
and Leila Crapper, Don Hilton … just a whole bunch of real
nice people who picked me up by the shoestrings and taught
me the ropes, got me geared up to be an officer in the post
See DENNY, Page A9
Four To Go
Watershed Group meets May 26
Hood River Watershed Group meets
May 26 at 6 p.m. at the Parkdale Communi-
ty Center, 7300 Clear Creek Rd.
Middle Fork Irrigation District will host
and present on the Clear Branch Sub-
strate Augmentation project in partner-
ship with USFS. The group is comprised
of numerous stakeholders in the water-
shed, and anyone may attend.
7
05105 97630
3
Walk With Ease
canceled
May 25, 27
The Walk With Ease
program, which meets
Mondays and Wednes-
days from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
at Columbia Gorge Com-
munity College’s Hood
River campus, has been
canceled for the week of
May 25. It resume Mon-
day, June 1 and continue
through Wednesday,
July 15.
MARK
STEIGHNER
working with
high school
singers in
2014.
‘Dollar’ Open Swim
on Monday
Hood River Aquatic Center
will host a special $1 open
swim on May 25 from 1-3:30
p.m. The slide and rope swing
will be open, and the party
room is available for rental.
Registration is underway
for summer swim lessons at
the Center. There are morn-
ing and evening swim lesson
offerings. Register for swim
lessons online at
www.hoodriverparksandrec.o
rg, or the pool, 1601 May St.
Get the 2015 Visitors Guide
Drive, hike, learn, camp, dine,
drink.
Where to and go to do all these
things can be found in the 2015 Co-
lumbia Gorge Visitors Guide, a spe-
cial publication of the Hood River
News and The Dalles Chronicle, now
available at our offices, and at busi-
nesses and visitor centers throughout
the Gorge.
Lists of parks, waterfalls, hikes,
and bike trails are the just the begin-
ning of what you will find in the 62-
page full color guide.