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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2015)
S TREAMSIDE Riparian repair W HAT ’ S G OING O N Entertainment — A3 Happenings — A5 A2 HOOD RIVER, OREGON Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County W EEKEND E DITION Vol. 109, No. 47 ■ SATURDAY, JUNE 13 , 2015 75 cents 2 Sections, 20 Pages www.hoodrivernews.com Teen rescues Punchbowl Falls swimmer Barros honored as ‘Crag Rat for the day’ By PATRICK MULVIHILL News staff writer It was a big week for Claudia Barros — the 17-year-old graduated from high school Fri- day and saved a woman from drowning near Punchbowl Falls Sunday. Barros, a Hood River Valley High School in- ternational student from Chile, was hiking with a friend on Eagle Creek Trail on June 7 when she came across a woman swimming in Eagle Creek near Punchbowl Falls, a popular waterfall and swimming area on the West edge of Hood River County. The woman asked Barros to snap a picture of her swimming, so Barros obliged — but the stranger’s swimming abilities turned out to be questionable at best. Barros described her technique as “dog swimming” with a great deal of arm-flailing. Barros took the pictures as asked. But the woman quickly grew tired and clung to a rock wall for support. She hung to the outcropping of mossy rock for several minutes, several yard from shore. Barros and her friend called to check on the woman, but she had fallen silent. Barros asked her friend, whom she chose not to name, if he could swim out and to help her. He responded, “I’m not a good swimmer.” Barros dove in instead. “I jumped into the water (and swam) to where she was … I had to wrap her in my arm and swim with the other arm. I was tired. It’s a good thing I have a strong arm because she was kind of not too skinny,” said Barros. The woman didn’t lose consciousness, but she was too tired to swim with her own power. Also a contributing factor was the deceptive- ly low water temperature, which Barros called “super cold.” When Barros and the woman reached shore, her friend helped pull the woman into the sun, where she lay until she recovered under its warmth. The lady thanked Barros — not just for the pictures, but for saving her life. Barros said she never learned the name of the woman she rescued, but she estimated her age to be about 35. Paul Thompson of the Hood River Rotary Club heard about the rescue from his friend, Tim Mayer, who’s daughter Erin that went to See BARROS, Page A11 Photo by Patrick Mulvihill CLAUDIA BARROS, who rescued a swimmer near Punchbowl Falls, shares her story with the Hood River Rotary Club at the Columbia Gorge Inn Thursday afternoon. Fire destroys home, former Parkdale murder case going to grand jury hotel in Biggs Junction By PATRICK MULVIHILL News staff writer Associated Press/The Dalles Chronicle A fire that started in Biggs Junction Wednesday after- noon burned 1,000 acres, including two structures, and was carried east some three miles towards Rufus on high winds. Shawn Payne, Sherman County Emer- gency Services Director, says a state fire Downtown marshal’s investigation has determined Hood River the former hotel fire was human caused but unintentional, possibly started by a brush fire — cigarette. see A11. Firefighters were able to protect two other homes east of Biggs. “One of the homes, it was black all the way around the house. The fire- fighters did an awesome job saving those homes,” Payne said. The burned home unfortunately had a lot of high grass around it and didn’t have a defensible space, she said. The fire is contained and a crew stayed on during the night doing mop up, she said. The house that burned Wednesday in Biggs Junction S p o t l i g h t See FIRE, Page A11 a t u r d a y Photo courtesy of Sherman County Emergency Services. A Wednesday fire at Biggs Junction scorched 1,000 acres, including two structures, and was carried east three miles towards Rufus by strong winds. Two brothers suspected of killing a Parkdale man who disap- peared in 2014 are facing a grand jury hearing. One of the brothers appeared in court Wednesday. Donald Michael Schneider, 22, appeared before Judge Karen Os- trye at the Hood River County Courthouse via video from jail on Wednesday, June 10. His attorney, Peter A. Parnickis of Bend, called in via phone. Parnickis said he would travel to Hood River when Schneider is arraigned on a grand jury indict- ment — thus far, the Schneider brothers have only appeared in court on “information of felony” charges, said District Attorney John Sewell. The formal arraign- ment was tentatively set for Mon- day, depending on if the Schnei- der’s grand jury hearing was held Friday, as planned. “I will be appearing in person for that arraignment,” said Par- nickis. “Today was a status check. It is my understanding the state is taking the case to grand jury this Friday.” Brothers Donald Mathew Schneider, 22, Michael David Schneider, 27, and Peter Damien Schneider, 23, of Parkdale were arraigned on felony charges last Thursday in connection with the May 2014 disappearance of Jason R. Muschaweck, 24. Muschaweck went missing on May 5 last year from his home at 7390 Clear Creek Road in Park- dale. More than a year later, the Schneider brothers were arrested A weekly series about a day in the life ... See SCHNEIDER, Page A11 Cruz Torres enjoys busy, social aspect at The Boys BY TRISHA WALKER News staff writer Photos by Trisha Walker CRUZ TORRES works as a gas attendant and clerk at The Boys Pine Grove Grocery. Someday, he’d like to open his own food cart. But for now, he keeps more than busy helping customers, like Bernie FitzSimons of Odell, with their gas and grocery needs. Life is busy for Cruz Torres, but you wouldn’t know it from his easygoing demeanor. He laughs and talks with customers at The Boys Pine Grove Grocery, located on Highway 35, whether he’s pump- ing gas or serving chicken strips. It comes naturally, he said — he’s just a cheerful guy. Torres works as a gas station attendant at The Boys, a business owned and operated by his family, the Dominguez’s. Born and raised in Pine Grove, Torres graduated from Hood River Valley High School in 1997, but lived in Florida the past 15 years. “I went looking for love and money — now she’s gone and I’m broke,” he joked. He’s been back in town for about two months, and has found that, while much has changed, a lot has stayed the same. “Hood River has grown exponentially,” Torres said. “A lot has developed. At the same time, not a lot has changed. There are still a lot of locals.” See CRUZ, Page A11 Four To Go Heritage Council seeks volunteers Historic Highway Committee meets June 23 KB4C benefit returns July 10-12 The Hood River County Heritage Coun- cil is accepting applications for volunteer council members. The mission of the Her- itage Council, a 501c3 nonprofit, is to sup- port the ongoing operations of The Histo- ry Museum of Hood River County. Appli- cations are available at the History Muse- um, by emailing the Heritage Council at heritagecouncil@gmail.com, or calling the museum at 541-386-6772. The Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee will meet on June 23 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Community Cen- ter in Cascade Locks Marine Park. The meeting highlights include: ■ An open discussion about congestion along the Historic Highway ■ 100-year anniversary countdown begins — 2016 Celebration update (countdown has begun from the June 7, 1916 dedication of the highway) ■ Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail development update The 9th annual Kiteboard- ing4Cancer kicks off with an all- ages party at Oak Street Pub (for- merly British Pub) at Fourth and Oak on July 10, with a DJ, fire dancers, and more (admission $5) and gets going on July 11 with the signature event, the Kite Derby at 10:15 a.m. The community is urged to come see 200 or so kites take off across the Columbia. For details on KB4C events, to sign up to volunteer, or make a donation, go to kiteboarding4cancer.org. 7 05105 97630 3 County Fair Books available soon Want to know what to do at the Hood River County Fair? How to enter an art, horticulture or veg- etable? What’s going on with music, horse events, and FFA and 4-H judging? The 2015 Hood river County Fair Book is your best re- source. Look for it starting next week at locations in Hood River, Parkdale, Odell, and Cascade Locks.
