B2
Hood River News, Wednesday, June 17, 2015
ROOTS
MID VALLEY NEWS
A nd B ranches Fifty-Plus Expo comes to Hood
By MAIJA YASUI
Calendar swirl never stops
June is jam packed with celebrations of every
manner. My day planner notations look like a
Spirograph has had its way with each date, record-
ing a whirlwind of grandkids, family and friends
celebrating birthdays, weddings, babies, gradua-
tions, talent shows and dance recitals.
With my retirement from
the public sector slated for
the end of June, there has
been a plethora of work re-
lated celebrations as well.
Fellow prevention col-
leagues with the cagey assis-
tance of the Hood River Pre-
vention Department con-
cocted a fairly convincing
story to get me down to the
Prevention Summit and
then surprised me with a
lunch hour roast.
Remembrances were humorous as well as mov-
ing, but as my husband so bluntly put it, “You are
just retiring; this is not your funeral.” Leave it to a
spouse of 45 years to put you in your place. I have
been trying to figure out why my normally strong
instincts of “there is something fishy in Denmark”
didn’t kick in and warn me there was a surprise at
the end of the journey. Maybe it was the multitude
of commitments in my calendar and the myriad of
details that surround retirement compounded by
Medicare, Social Security and health care applica-
tions that left me senseless.
■
Traditionally June is the month of graduations
and weddings. I almost missed my granddaughter
Kendra singing at her eighth grade promotion
when I had written the wrong start time for the
event into my infallible planner. Once it is in the
book, it is official.
Besides, who in their right mind starts a promo-
tion at 6 rather than 7 p.m.? A frantic phone call
from the anxious parents along with a blessed late
start got us to the football field just as her lilting
voice swept across the goal line. I had time to wipe
my tears as I climbed the stadium stairs and joined
hundreds of others watching hundreds of 8th
graders go through promotion. As the promotion
progressed, my hindsight reminded me of the
irony of being seated on the creaking stadium ris-
ers built over 60 years ago by Kendra’s great grand
dad, Ray Yasui.
June is also the premier month for wedding and
baby showers, followed by the actual weddings and
births. We had a baby shower two weeks ago for
Mandy and Andrew Moe, bringing four generations
together. There were stories to be told! There are
two more showers and one more wedding in the cal-
endar, followed by a class reunion and family re-
union to round out the summer events.
■
June brought us a flurry of coach pitch T-ball
and minor league baseball games as the Little
League season was winding down. Rayla and
MacKenzie still share the innocence of playing just
for fun, a premise that Little League was founded
on years ago. Their faces and fingers are dusty
from playing in the dirt, waving to their parents, or
running off the field to the snack shack.
Their dad, Corey, coached the little ones and did
an exceptional job in keeping it fun, keeping it safe
and teaching them to love running and throwing
and on some rare occasions, even hitting and catch-
ing. Cooper moved up to Minors and it was a differ-
ent world. The stress of competition begins to flow
through the veins of many of the parents and
coaches, seeping into the psyche of some of the
kids.
The team he joined has some players who were
on a “traveling” team, playing in other leagues
throughout the year. It was obvious they had more
skills and understood the actual strategies of base-
ball. Secretly I found myself hoping that these little
ones could still play ball just for fun, not concerned
about their batting average or their errors. ooper’s
coach Sal Rivera was gentle with the less experi-
enced younger boys, but there is the natural expec-
tation they will become more competitive with each
game they play.
Aunika at 12 has two more tournaments of soft-
ball in the OYSA U14s. They travel to places like
Longview, Newberg and West Linn to play in week-
end tournaments, while others are traveling to Cal-
ifornia, Arizona and Texas to become more compet-
itive. It has become a huge industry. And it covers
everything from dance to basketball, cheerleading
to tennis, soccer to volleyball. For some it is a won-
derful experience, for others, not so much. They
learn early on that it takes a lot of time, effort and
money to be highly competitive in this era of
sports.
Then there were the school talent shows to
watch, with singers, dancers, piano players, magi-
cians and joke tellers. Close on their heels were the
dance recitals, for the little ones at Hood River Mid-
dle School and for the older girls at Hood River Val-
ley High School. So many parents and grandpar-
ents go to watch that there are multiple perfor-
mances over multiple days. It is quite an extrava-
ganza. I always enjoy seeing my classmate Char-
lotte Arnold perform with that fluid dancers body
and over 50 years of teaching under her tiny little
belt. We are blessed with a community filled with
opportunities for kids of all ages. Sometimes it just
comes down to affordability and access for all kids
to participate.
■
May and June are right behind March in the
abundance of birthday celebrations. The little ones,
Cooper, Ren and Aya, have parties with their school
friends and family making
them bigger each year.
They aren’t over the top
extravagant birthday par-
ties, just overly crowded
with loved ones.
Cooper is into
Minecraft, Ren into the
Book of Life sword fighter
Joaquin and Aya is in love
with Unicorns. Those
marketers are exceptional
in shaping the desires of
the smallest of kids, even
those who have limited
Ren
screen time.
The calendar is a series
of hen scratches, bursting at the seams. Guess I
had better keep it handy even after I retire. And I
had better make sure I get the correct time entered
so I don’t embarrass myself.
River County Fair this summer
BY TRISHA WALKER
Mid Valley correspondent
I know it’s been a few
months (or six), but rest as-
sured, the Odell community
column really does still exist.
Grab your calendar —
there’s a lot going on in our
little community over the
next few weeks.
■
Odell’s Gorge Grown Mer-
cado del Valle returns to Mid
Valley Elementary School
June 20, from 3-6 p.m. in the
covered area of the play-
ground. New at the market
this year is the Power of Pro-
duce — or POP — program,
where kids get $2 in tokens to
spend on fruits and vegeta-
bles from vendors.
Also new this year is an
expanded SNAP Match pro-
gram; those who use $10 in
EBT (food stamps) at the
market will receive an addi-
tional $10, for a combined
total of $20 to spend on local
food.
The market will feature
fruit, vegetables, eggs, fish,
prepared food, art, kids’ ac-
tivities and live music;
SNAP, WIC and debit cards
are accepted. Mercado del
Valle will run on Saturdays
through Sept. 26.
■
The Odell Garden Club is
hosting a free workshop on
June 30 to help Hood River
County residents and youth
in grades K-12 learn how to
do floral designs, enter horti-
culture, and
fill out entry
tags for the
upcoming
Hood River
County Fair.
T here will
also be a
booth on fruit
and vegetable Trisha Walker
contests.
“There will be demonstra-
tions of how to do a line de-
sign, line mass design and a
creative line design,” said
club president Norma Cur-
tis. “This can be used with
many of the Design Classes
in the Hood River County
fair book.”
Plant material will be
available for participants to
use to make designs with
Garden Club instructors.
Children and youth are
particularly encouraged to
attend.
The workshop will be held
in the Community Building
at the fairgrounds from 10
a.m. until noon. For more in-
formation or to register, con-
tact Cur tis at nlcur-
tis@hrecn.net or 541-806-
1019. While the workshop is
free, tickets will be available
for purchase to win a variety
of containers, educational
books and “country store
items.”
■
The annual Fourth of July
parade through downtown
Odell begins at 4 p.m., with
parade lineup at Mid Valley
Elementary at 3:30. The pa-
rade will again be sponsored
by Gorge Goodtimers Snow-
mobile Club.
For more infor mation,
contact Jean Stone at 541-490-
1901.
■
■
The Hood River County
Fair takes place July 22-25 —
and has been named “Best in
Oregon.” You’ll find enter-
tainment, kid and adult ac-
tivities, exhibits and dis-
plays, exotic animals, horses
and livestock, carnival and
midway rides and games,
flowers, vendor booths and
food.
Wednesday’s opening will
include the first-ever 50 Plus
Expo in one of the Wy’east
gyms, scheduled to coincide
with Seniors Day at the fair.
Booths will cover a wide va-
riety products, services and
information for adults over
50. Admission is free with
your fair entry. Look for
more information in upcom-
ing News issues.
The Odell Lioness Club’s
annual May Basket was won
by Jan Veldhuisen Virk of
Hood River. Group members
collected nearly $2,000 in
items from local merchants,
including hats from Pistil,
luggage from DaKine, and
several restaurant gift cer-
tificates. The items filled not
one, but three baskets.
Proceeds from the sale of
tickets goes towards scholar-
ships for two Hood River Val-
ley High School girls, Lions
Club charities, and many
local causes.
■
If you have an item for the
column, please send it to Tr-
isha
at
twalk-
er@hoodrivernews.com or
call at 541-386-1234.
PARKDALE NEWS
A sizzling summer of activities in the Upper Valley
By TAMARA EMLER BALL
Parkdale correspondent
There’s no need to wonder
what you are going to do
with your summer in the
Upper Valley. With all the
events going on, you’ll need
to get out your calendar and
write them in so you don’t
miss anything!
The summer fun starts
this Saturday, June 20, with
the huge Bette Benjamin
Memorial
community
garage sale from 8 a.m. to 4
p.m. at 8675 Cooper Spur
Road in Parkdale.
Bette always enjoyed a
great yard sale and many of
us remember her coming to
ours over the years, with her
smile and infectious laugh-
ter, always finding fun in our
white elephant items.
When we all lost Bette re-
cently to pancreatic cancer,
family and close friends
gathered together and decid-
ed a fitting memorial to her
would be a community sale
with 100 percent of the pro-
ceeds going to the Pancreatic
Cancer Action Network.
Everyone is encouraged to
come out and buy, buy and
buy some more in honor of
Bette!
If you have items you
would like to donate to the
sale, you can drop them off
this week at 8675 Cooper
Spur Road from 8 a.m. to 7
p.m. each day, or contact
Lindsay Holmson at lholm-
son21@yahoo.com.
■
After you’ve had all the
fun of bargain shopping this
Saturday, get ready to party
with your neighbors that
evening at the annual Mt.
Hood Town Hall fundraiser
starting at 5:30 p.m.
Something a little differ-
ent this year is a BBQ Cele-
bration at the Town Hall,
with outdoor dining with
Apple Valley BBQ putting up
some delicious food, and
local beer, wine and cider
available to purchase.
There will also be a live
auction this year and it’s not
too late to donate items such
as vacation rentals, ski or
windsurf lessons, house
cleaning, or anything else
you think someone would
like to bid on!
T he live
music this
year will be
instrumental
provided by
Tim Mayer.
“Each year
money raised
this
Tamara Emler at
f
u
n
d
r
a
i
ser
Ball
helps kee p
the Mt. Hood
Town Hall a vibrant part of
our community and the con-
tinued support helps keep
the historical building alive
and running,” said Board
Chair person Christina
McGhee.
Many renovations have
been sponsored by events
such as this and this year the
Town Hall board plans to use
the money raised to help re-
model the Hall’s kitchen into
a viable commercial kitchen
that can be rented out to the
community.
“Come enjoy an evening of
fun, food and community at
the Mt. Hood Town Hall,”
said Town Hall Manager
Nikki Stansel. “The whole
family is welcome!”
Tickets are $35 per person
and you can RSVP at
rsvp@mthoodtownhall.org
or by calling Christina at 541-
490-6844.
If you have auction items
to donate, please contact
Nikki at 541-645-0341.
■
Theater and Art Summer
Camps will be held during
the weeks of July 6 – 10 and
August 3 – 7 at the Mt. Hood
Town Hall for kids ages 4
through 12 in need of activi-
ties this summer, or parents
looking for something for
them to do.
New Vision School teach-
ers Heather Laurance and
Rachel Beitler will be hold-
ing classes from 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. each day during those
weeks.
Cost for the camp is $250 a
week per child, with sibling
discounts and partial schol-
arships available.
For more information con-
tact Heather Laurance at 541-
390-0352.
■
There are more classes for
the kids this summer as the
Upper Valley community
churches of Parkdale Com-
munity Church, Parkdale
Nazarene, Parkdale Baptist
and Pillar Bible Fellowship
of Odell together will hold
Vacation Bible School the
week of Aug. 3-7.
“Outrigger Island” classes
will be held at Parkdale Com-
munity Church on Baseline
Road in Parkdale, where chil-
dren will learn about Jesus
through songs, bible stories
and crafts.
Families are invited to
gather at the church at 5 p.m.
and enjoy a light meal, then
children ages pre-K through
incoming fifth graders are
invited to attend VBS classes
starting at 5:30 p.m.
For more information or if
you would like to help, con-
tact Pastor Mark at Parkdale
Community Church at 541-
352-7747 or at 541-490-4511.
541-506-2636
■
Send items to: uvup-
date@yahoo.com.
HOODRIVERHOMES.COM
Your Oregon & Washington Broker
River City
Tom Jenkins
CRS, GRI
541-490-6045
UNIQUELY GORGE ADVERTISING WORKS
Thank You for choosing
LAKE TACO.
The Uniquely Gorge
Coupon Book
has worked great for us
and has brought us
new customers!
HAZARDOUS
WASTE
www.tricountyrecycle.com
■
More family fun can be
had at the Mercado del Valle
at Mid Valley Elementary in
Odell beginning this Satur-
day, June 20 from 3 to 6 p.m.
The Mercado offer some-
thing for everyone with a di-
verse set of vendors selling
locally raised vegetables,
fruit, meat, cheese, eggs,
honey and bread, hot food
and authentic Mexican cui-
sine, and includes live music
and dancing and children’s
activities.
■
Recycle Tips
- Hazardous waste col-
lection events are FREE
to residents, businesses
and farmers of Wasco,
Sherman, and Hood
River Counties.
- Quarterly collections in
Hood River and The
Dalles, plus 8 rural
events/yr.
- Go to our website for
full schedule and list of
what we accept.
Parkdale Elementary
School is getting in on family
fun this summer by hosting
Family Library Nights every
Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7
p.m. in the school library.
The evening events will in-
clude popsicles, fun activi-
ties and free books.
Students will also be able
to check out books from the
school library to read over
the summer.
Students are required to
bring an adult to be in
charge of them during these
fun evenings, so grab your
mom or dad, grandma or
grandpa, aunt or uncle, and
come to the Parkdale School
library for some fun!
Reserve your space for
the summer edition now!
Your ad reaches 12,000 homes
Gorge
hoodrivernews.com
April 2015-July 2015
541.386.1234
Liana Stegall
“Give me a call today and let’s
work together to find the
best advertising for your business.”
541.386.1234 ext. 220
lstegall@hoodrivernews.com
419 State Street • Hood River, OR 97031 • 541.386.1234
hoodrivernews.com