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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.