Lacrosse
takes
the Cup
Finale
for ’15
– B1
– A9
M IDWEEK E DITION
Vol. 109, No. 46
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
HOOD RIVER, OREGON
■
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015
75 cents
2 Sections, 24 Pages
www.hoodrivernews.com
Champs!
Photo by Ben Mitchell
HRV BASEBALL COACH Erich Harjo lifts the OSAA 5A State Championship trophy high as he and the Eagles ride atop a fire truck in a victory parade Saturday evening through downtown Hood River.
Earlier that day, No. 7 HRV defeated No. 1 Liberty, 2-0, in the title game in Keizer. The game concluded HRV’s phenomenal playoff run, in which the team shut out every one of its opponents. For coverage of
the game, turn to Sports on page A9.
Preschool options
expand in Odell
and Pine Grove
BY TRISHA WALKER
gual, with all instruction, stories,
etc., spoken in both English and
Whether it’s a new school in an Spanish.
“Kids who don’t know English
old location or an old program
with a new teacher, preschool op- will lear n English, and vice
tions have expanded in the middle versa,” she said. “Fully bilingual
is a challenge … because you con-
valley.
tinuously go back and
Longtime Mid Val-
forth, but I like a good
ley
Bilingual
challenge.”
Preschool teacher
T he cur riculum
Socci Galve z will
will be similar to that
open Blossoms Bilin-
at Little Learners and
gual Preschool in the
focus on social and
Pine Grove Elemen-
academic learning.
tary building —
Robledo
has
home to Hood River
worked with a variety
County School Dis-
of age groups for 30
trict’s Early Inter-
years, including in
vention program —
the Kids Corner at the
with classes begin-
Hood River Sports
ning this summer.
Club and with The
Jovita Robledo of
Socci Galvez
Next Door, Inc. She’s
Little
Lear ners
also served as a
Preschool, located at
translator.
Hood River Valley
“She’s going to be a
High, will become the
really nice addition
new director and
to the site,” said Lit-
teacher at Mid Valley
tle Learners director
Bilingual this fall.
and teacher Angela
Robledo was a part
Klein. “She has ties
time teacher at Mid
to the Odell commu-
Valley Bilingual dur-
nity, is easy going,
ing the 2013-2014
and is knowledgeable
school year, moving
about kids. She’s
to Little Learners as
grown a lot in the
a full time teacher for
year she’s been here.”
2014-2015. She plans
Robledo will host
to keep the school’s
Jovita Robledo
an open house in late
extended hours, but
August; details will
is waiting on enrollment numbers
and parent suggestions before set- be announced closer to the date.
Mid Valley Bilingual Preschool
ting the schedule. The school’s
general structure will not change, follows the Hood River County
and there will be no lag in in- School District schedule. For
struction, with the first day of more information or to enroll,
school coinciding with the Hood contact Klein at 541-387-5723 or an-
River County School District start gela.klein@ hoodriver.k12.or.us.
“I’m going to miss Angela and
date of Sept. 8.
The school will be fully bilin-
See PRESCHOOL, Page A7
News staff writer
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
AT THIRD AND STATE, Mayor Paul Blackburn shakes hands with Stoner Bell of Bell Construction, after cutting the ribbon
on the Urban Renewal Project. At right center is Hood River resident Eric Kerr of Crestline Construction, and Hood River City
Manager Steve Wheeler. Below: a 2013 photo of a century-old stairwell that had been located at center in photo above.
The ‘Reset’ on State Street
City celebrates Urban
Renewal completion
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editor
The new street trees added need-
ed shade as the City of Hood River
formally dedicated the 18-month
State Street Urban Renewal Project
on the warm evening of June 5.
Crestline Construction and Bell
Design Company, lead contractors
on the $5.4 million project, provid-
ed free barbecue as well as the
plaque that is in place at Second
and State streets on the wall of the
new elevated sidewalk between
Second and First streets.
The ribbon cutting by the Cham-
ber of Commerce was just one part
of a busy First Friday in downtown
Hood River.
“We are here to celebrate the fact
that millions of dollars of work
have been accomplished here in the
core of our city,” Mayor Paul Black-
burn said to the crowd of about 50
people assembled at the re-
stroom/bike plaza at Third and
State streets.
“From the computers all the way
to the asphalt they made it happen,
they did the ‘think three times,
measure twice, and cut once’,”
Blackburn said. The redevelop-
ment brought new streets and
wider sidewalks, benches and
amenities, and undergrounded
utilities on State from Sixth to
Front and on Front Street and Oak
Street from Front to First streets.
“I’d like to give a huge shout out
to State Street businesses,” Black-
burn said. “That wasn’t fun for us
when we had a couple of winters of
dirt roads. It felt like we were back
in the old west. When you’re dig-
ging up the main street of town it
takes a while, you have to fill it
back in, and it was tough and we
made it through and look at what
we have.”
Blackburn recognized “the army
of orange shirts,” present on Fri-
day, the employees of Peterson
Brothers Concrete, and Schuep-
See STATE, Page A7
Four To Go
GO! Green Drinks June 10
Gorge Owned (GO!) Green Drinks happens June 10
from 5:30-7 p.m. at Trellis Fresh Flowers and Gifts, 165
E Jewett Blvd., White Salmon, and will be co-hosted
by Neff Designs. Browse Trellis’ inventory of home
furnishing and gifts, and learn tips for summer home
and garden decorating. Beer from Everybody’s, wine
from Major Creek Cellars, and food from Pioneer
Pizza. Green Drinks is a monthly networking event
that aims to raise awareness of environmentally-
friendly business practices while providing a quality
networking opportunity for members of the commu-
nity. Cost is a $5 sug-
gested donation and
free to GO! mem-
bers.
7
05105 97630
3
Community Action
offers energy assistance
Parkhurst Place
Gorge magazine
plans honorary bench ready for reading
The Mid-Columbia Community Action
has received additional funding for LI-
HEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assis-
tance Program). Even though these funds
have come very late in the heating assis-
tance season, the agency would like to
help more households with energy assis-
tance. Funds are available for all three of
service area counties, Hood River, Sher-
man and Wasco. People who have not re-
ceived assistance yet this year are invited
to call The Dalles office at 541-298-5131 or
Hood River at 541-386-4027 to schedule an
appointment.
Parkhurst Place on West
May Avenue will unveil a
combination bench and
community library on June
25 with a free breakfast for
the community. The Gene
Lease and Ken Jernstedt
families are sponsoring the
bench. If you would like a
veteran’s name inscribed
on the bench, call Terri
Hansen at Parkhurst, 541-
387-4660.
The resurgence of
paragliding, the
growth of Gorge dis-
tilling, and the ‘high
tech boom’ of the re-
gion are just three of
the features found in
the Summer 2015 edi-
tion of The Gorge
magazine, available at
Hood River News and at local businesses.
Last week, the Summer edition of the debut
publication Savor The Gorge also hit the news-
stands.