www.hoodrivernews.com
Hood River News, Wednesday, June 17, 2015
A5
Most retailers comply in youth ‘tobacco assessment’
Teens attempt
to ‘buy’ tobacco
A team of high school
students from Hood River
Valley High School Health
Media Club in partnership
with The Dalles Youth-
Think recently participated
in a tobacco retail assess-
ment, a youth led evalua-
tion around the sale of to-
bacco products in their
community.
The participants visited
over 50 tobacco retailers in
Hood River and Wasco
County on April 25 to assess
if retailers would allow
them to purchase tobacco
products. The underage
youth, with parental and
law enforcement permis-
sion, entered local retail
stores and attempted to pur-
chase tobacco products.
Out of the 50 retailers, six
did not card and allowed the
minors to purchase tobacco
products.
Retailers that did not
card were given a letter and
tobacco product was not
purchased. The letter asked
them to remember to ask for
identification and support
the health of our youth. Re-
tailers that did card and
that refused to sell received
a thank you letter from the
participants.
In this particular project,
no citations or fines were
delivered if a retailer was
not in compliance.
“It is strictly an evalua-
tion of our local retailers’
efforts and to remind retail-
ers to keep tobacco out of
the hands of our youth,”
said Belinda Ballah of Hood
River Prevention Office.
“We commend our local re-
tailers that are consistently
checking the I.D. of youth
prior to selling tobacco
products and refusing to
sell to those who are under
the age of 18.”
Students discussed the
ne gative health ef fects
caused by tobacco and that
tobacco use remains the
number one preventable
cause of death and disease
in Oregon. They also talked
about how Big Tobacco tar-
gets youth, communities of
color and low income to ini-
tiate tobacco use. At the end
of the day when asked
about their experience,
youth participant Elizabeth
Blas Campos said, “I want
to be involved in my com-
munity to create change.”
Tobacco Assessment are
used as a project to educate
and engage youth in the
health and well being of
their community around to-
bacco use and health equity.
A community collaboration
with Mid Columbia Health
Equity Advocates, The Next
Door, YouthThink, North
Central Public Health Dis-
trict and HRVHS Health
Media Club and Hood River
County Prevention Office.
For more information
about Tobacco Assessments
please contact Belinda Bal-
lah, Prevention Specialist at
Hood River County Preven-
tion Office, at 541-387-6890 or
Shellie Campbell, Tobacco
Prevention Education Pro-
gram Coordinator at North
Central Public Health Dis-
trict, at 541-506-2609.
FAREWELL DUNKING
Photos by Kirby Neumann-Rea
The final day of school June 12 brings everyone — students and
staff alike — outside to the scenic north side of the campus at
Hood River Middle School for a dunk tank extravaganza. Students
Above, Gene Bronson fires a near-miss at the target. The event also gave students such as Lauren Decker, left, and Chad Klaas the chance took turns trying to dunk teachers (principal Brent Emmons was
to gather signatures for each others’ yearbooks. Many students also sought out staff to write messages.
among the first).
Mary Jensen, right, recruits more ball-throwers as teacher Eric Cohn takes his turn in the “cold seat.”
Above, teacher Michael Becker exults moments before he heads into the drink.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Date
Today June 17
Thurs. June 18
Fri. June 19
Forecast
Mostly Sunny
Sunny
Mostly Sunny
Daytime / Overnight
High / Low (°F)
80° / 58°
80° / 56°
77° / 55°
Sat. June 20
Mostly Sunny
84° / 58°
Sun. June 21
Partly Cloudy
84° / 59°
Oregon Weather Map
Wind Speed SSE 1 G 4 MPH
Barometer NA
WASH.
Astoria
51° | 63°
Newport
48° | 59°
Humidity 65%
Portland
53° | 80°
Salem
51° | 81°
Dewpoint 40°F (4°C)
Visibility NA
Pendleton
54° | 90°
Bend
49° | 84°
Ontario
62° | 92°
Eugene
50° | 81°
Last update 15 Jun 6:00 am PDT
IDAHO
AGRIMET HOOD RIVER OR
Lat: 45.6842 Long: -121.5181 Elev: 510
http://uspest.org
North Bend
51° | 60°
Medford
51° | 90°
Klamath Falls
48°
| 84°
CALIF.
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This week’s Forecast
Mon. June 22
Tues. June 23
Sunny
Partly Cloudy
541-386-1123
82° / 57°
Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. West wind 13 to 17 mph,
with gusts as high as 30 mph.
82° / 58°
@gVc #& JVRcd
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3140 W. Cascade, Hood River
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Actual High / Low
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
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95/59
91/66
80/60
80/58
73/53
77/46
86/46
Updated Monday, June 15
at 9:00 a.m. PST
Data from www.weather.com
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