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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2015)
www.hoodrivernews.com Hood River News, Saturday, June 27, 2015 A11 Photo by Patrick Mulvihill JOHN BUCKLEY, East Fork Irrigation District manager, speaks before the Hood River County Board of Commissioners at a meeting Wednesday at Westside Fire District’s Rockford Station. The day’s topic: countywide drought emergency. D ROUGHT Continued from Page A1 Photo by Jody Thompson D ETHMAN R IDGE C RASH Hood River County Sheriff’s Department is still looking for the driver of this vehicle that went off a 50-foot embankment Tuesday on Dethman Ridge Road near Odell Highway. Wy’east Fire District responded after a motorist saw skid marks and flattened foliage at 5:22 p.m. The car was unoccupied and no one was in the area. Firefighters and deputies could find no one, so thermal imaging devices were used to check the brush, but no one was found, according to chief Greg Borton. OSU, Soil and Water host ‘Landscape with Less Water’ Oregon State University Extension Service, Columbia Gorge Master Gardeners, Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District and Hood River Watershed Group will put on a series of presentations on water con- serving landscapes in the Learning Garden at the Ex- tension grounds. The first will be held July 11 beginning at 9 a.m. The presentations will take place in the gardens and will begin at 9 a.m. with highlighted features to in- clude bioswales, a native plants garden, hellstrip gar- den, herb garden, and water efficient lawns, followed by a primer on drip irrigation from 11 to 11:30 a.m. This event will be held at the OSU Mid-Columbia Agri- cultural Research and Exten- sion Center, 2990 Experiment Station Drive, Hood River, and is free and open to the public. Follow Tucker Road a mile south of Hood River, and turn just south of Your Party and Rental Center. Call 541-386-3343 for more information. years. The meeting, held at West- side Fire District’s Rockford Station at 4250 Barrett Drive, summoned city and county leaders, as well as experts in water management, forestry and fire. The audience num- bered roughly 40. Barb Ayers, Hood River County Emergency Pro- grams Manager, opened the morning’s discussion by de- scribing the magnitude of the countywide drought. “Every single forecast at the state and federal level shows this is a long-term drought,” said Ayers. “They’re our lowest levels since the early ‘80s and un- less some miracle comes along, it’s not gonna go away soon.” Ayers said the record low snowpack and stream levels affect agriculture and fire danger most profoundly. “What’s called ‘potable’ or drinking water is in good shape. But our irrigation dis- tricts are deeply concerned,” Ayers said. John Buckley, East Fork Ir- rigation District Manager, said local irrigation districts depend on snowmelt and stream levels. His district covers 9,494 irrigated acres, and is forecasted to have mandatory reductions by next month. “Water is survival. It’s a major aspect of surviving fi- nancially … we all have to do our share,” said Buckley. Snowpack on Mt. Hood is virtually non-existent — roughly 5 percent of its usual level, as measured at the Red Hill SNOTEL site in April. The Hood River is run- ning at 40 percent of the av- erage level, according to the U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Tucker Bridge. All three major irrigation districts of the Hood River Valley — East Fork, Middle Fork and Farmers’ Irriga- tion District — have request- ed a 25 percent reduction of rates for their users. “The (benefit) with the drought declaration is to give Paul Thompson Proud father and Real Estate person Licensed in OR and WA Call me! 541-490-1044 paul@copperwest.com www.welcome2thegorge.com 14 Oak Street, Hood River, OR 541-386-2330 copperwest.com Allison is officially a Freshman! H EAT Continued from Page A2 ■ Grill outside or use a mi- crowave or toaster oven. A toaster oven uses one-third to one-half as much energy as a regular oven and releas- es less heat into the home. ■ Turn off heat-generat- ing devices when not in use, including lamps, televisions and computers. Think for the long term ■ Plant deciduous trees to shade the south side of your house. Well-placed trees can reduce cooling needs as much as 20 percent, and an air conditioner operating in the shade can use as much as 10 percent less electricity. ■ Insulate floors, walls and attics to keep cooler in sum- mer and warmer in winter. Seal and insulate air condi- tioning ducts that r un through unconditioned spaces. ■ Get your air conditioner tuned up annually. ■ Consider a new air con- ditioner, heat pump and other appliances — new mod- els are more efficient and may lower your electric bill. IN C OOL Cooling center hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The fire hall is located at 18th and May streets. At the downtown library, people coming to get out of the heat will get air condi- tioning, access to water, and lots of comfortable places to sit down and rest. Thanks to Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, the li- brary also will hand out free refillable water bottles when the outside temperature is 95 degrees or hotter, according to Library Director Buzzy Nielsen. These bottles can be filled at the library or various other locations downtown, including the new hydration station at Shortt Supply, open during store hours. There are also drinking fountains located at the new City bathroom facility on State Street. ■ At the fire hall, enjoy free wireless Internet, plenty of seating, air conditioning, and drinking fountains with special bottle fillers to refill your water bottles. If you do not have a water bottle, the department will have some Gas Appliances Electrical Repair Get your RV road ready! RV Doc — Bruce Henderson Mobile Service & Repair State Fire Marshal Certification #001242-08 Service & Repair. I come to you! B RUCE H ENDERSON 541-993-5982 L ICENSED & C ERTIFIED BUSIN E SS A T HE Continued from Page A1 us some tools for our depart- ment that can help ease the drought for landowners,” said Bob Wood, Ore gon Water District 3 Manager. Wood leads state water op- erations in a 3,000 square- mile district that includes Hood River and Wasco coun- ties. Wood explained that tem- porary emergency water use permits are faster and cheap- er than typical applications. What usually takes months to get through a state appli- cation process can now be conducted before the end of summer, he said. “Basically, it’s giving a better access to water sup- plies to support our irriga- tion districts,” said Ayers. “The money wagon isn’t gonna come driving into Hood River. But (a drought declaration) can help way speed up, expedite, th e process and lower the fees on transferring water rights or moving things around.” P U B L I C AT I O N O F HO O D R I V E R N E W S J U LY 2 0 1 5 ess in Bus i n Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea EMPLOYEE Amber Strangstalien works the desk at the Hood River Library, which offers a cool place during the heat wave, and water bottles for those who need them, courtesy of Providence. on hand so you can stay hy- drated. Fire chief Devon Wells said Hood River Fire and EMS encourages the community to use due dili- gence when venturing out- side. “Drink plenty of water, stand in the shade, use sun- screen every few hours, and remember pets and chil- dren,” he said. “Please enjoy the weather and all of the recreation events available this summer, but please re- member it’s hot and to take care of yourself, loved ones, and friends to prevent heat related injuries,” Wells said. ■ The pool will be open Fri- day from 1-5 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. for $1 open swim, and again on Saturday, 1-5 with regular admission. Sunday and Monday open swim hours are 1-5 p.m. and lap swim times are weekdays at 8 a.m. and on Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. EWS IVER N H OOD R ISE OF THE E NTERPR ATION ALMON PUBLIC 14 W HITE S JULY 20 AND THE ! E C N A H C T S A L RESERVE A Barb Smith Page 2 Page 6 Page 10 Page 14 Page 18 Page 26 Page 22 Page 28 Page 30 Page 32 Page 36 Page 46 photo Page 50 YOUR AD SPACE BY JUNE 29 Available at: Rosauers • Gorge Dog Dickey’s Farm Store Dinah’s Dog House Gorge Grooming & Pet Supply Patti Ann Monzie 541-490-5625 www.MommaMonzies.com pamonzie@charter.net Like us on Facebook ! K O O L This size ad in the HRN 9 times for only $175 50 ! Call Kirsten at 541-386-1234 LIANA, KIRSTEN, JODY OR CHELSEA 5 4 1 . 3 8 6.1 2 3 4
