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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
Travelogue Town Halls Alaska and Antarctic – B1 Wyden blasts USFS – A11 Nestle – A5 HOOD RIVER, OREGON Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County ■ M IDWEEK E DITION Vol. 109, No. 52 WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015 75 cents 2 Sections, 24 Pages www.hoodrivernews.com Fire watch MARIJUANA MECHANICS What to know about marijuana law change on July 1 “My biggest worry about this is the DUI side of it. I do think that the number for DUIs of marijuana are going to go up.” – SGT. DON CHELI The following is now legal under Oregon law: ■ Possession of recre- ational marijuana for users who are 21 and older. ■ Possession of up to 8 ounces of marijuana, or 1 ounce away from home. ■ Growing up to four plants of marijuana at home, as long as they re- main out of public view. However, public use remains illegal, as does driving under the influ- ence of marijuana. Most notable on the list of what’s illegal is commercial marijuana sales. T he Ore gon Liquor Control Commis- sion, which has been tasked with regulating the burgeoning industry, hasn’t established a way for stores to sell their product — so it remains against the law to buy or sell marijuana. Hood Ri v er Ne ws takes a closer look at the dispensary side, and law enforcement concerns — page A9 High speed chase and shooting on I-84 The Hood River County Sheriff ’s Office reported a high speed chase on I-84 at Hood River at 7 p.m. Mon- day night, which ended in the sus- pect shooting himself. Yesterday, Hood River County Deputies were advised of a domes- tic violence incident that had oc- curred in The Dalles involving Jerome Hawk Matilton of St. He- lens. Following the incident, Matil- ton fled the scene in a silver Ponti- ac. He was believed to be headed westbound on Interstate 84 towards Portland. According to witnesses, Matiliton was armed and had made threats towards law enforcement, should they try to intervene. Just after 7 p.m., an Oregon State Police trooper spotted Matilton’s vehicle on I-84 east of Hood River. While the Hood River County Sher- iff ’s Office and Hood River Police Department responded as backup, the state trooper attempted to stop the vehicle at Exit 62. A short pur- suit followed, reaching speeds of 85 miles per hour. The suspect vehicle yielded to police at Milepost 61. When police stopped behind the Pontiac, they heard a gunshot. After getting no response from the car, officers approached and found Matilton, the driver and lone per- son in the vehicle, suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Troopers and Deputies were able Photo courtesy of Hood River County Sheriff’s Office A HIGH SPEED CHASE on I-84 near Hood River Monday night ended with the suspect shooting himself, the Sheriff’s Office said. See CHASE, Page A11 Farmers Irrigation asks users to reduce water use By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor Farmers Irrigation District is making it official: keep your lawn brown for much-needed conserva- tion of water. “We are urging every user not to water their lawns. If you can let anything go dormant we would ap- preciate it,” said FID’s June Brock following Thursday’s emergency meeting of the FID board to dis- cuss the low water in the district reservoirs and likely future mea- sures such as user rotation. “Our reservoir isn’t going to make it,” without immediate user cutbacks, said Jer Camarata, FID general manager. “We need to make some pretty aggressive moves now until we can make it through harvest. Otherwise the or- chardists will be in pretty tough shape.” The Hood River Board of Com- missioners last week passed a drought declaration resolution, which is expected to be signed next week by Gov. Kate Brown. Hood River joins 20 other Oregon coun- ties that have issued a drought dec- laration this year, including neigh- boring Wasco, Sher man and Gilliam counties. The County hopes their formal declaration to the state will allow for smoother local water manage- ment, and will qualify Hood River County for state and federal grants. At last week’s meeting, Barb Ayers, Hood River County Emer- gency Programs Manager, said “Every single forecast at the state and federal level shows this is a long-term drought. “They’re our lowest levels since the early ‘80s and unless some mir- acle comes along, it’s not gonna go away soon.” See WATER, Page A11 Your guide to July 4 weekend celebrations Two parades, two flyovers, two fireworks shows. Between Hood River, Cascade Locks, Odell, Bingen and White Salmon, Independence Day week- end in the mid-Columbia will be a busy time. A new event, “Independence Eve”, happens July 3 at 7 p.m. in The Bingen Theate, 210 Main St., Bingen. This is a live radio show featuring songs about patriotism and love, and musicians including The Columbiaires, Alonzo Garbon- zo, and Los Temerosos, William Stafford poetry readings, and other extras. It’s a fundraiser for local groups, and will be broadcast live on Radio Tierra (KZAS FM, 95.1) Other highlights are the 4 p.m. parade in Odell (form at 3:30 at Mid Valley Elementary) and fireworks at dusk in Hood River and Cascade Locks – see page A10. Meanwhile, White Salmon’s pa- rade starts at 1 p.m. and includes a flyover; A concert in the park fol- lows, featuring White Salmon Jazz Band, Harmony of the Gorge, and Gorge Winds, along with kids games at 2 p.m. and rootbeer floats, food and beer. July 4 fun opens with the 40th annual Kollas-Cranmer Memorial Run/Walk from Odell to Jackson Park in Hood River. Registration starts at 7 a.m. at Mid-Valley Ele- mentary School. Walkers start at 8 a.m. and runner begin their con- test at 9 a.m. www.4thof julyrun.com The Hood River parade, with the theme of “Beautiful Bounty,” will start at 10 a.m. with the line up on Eliot Drive beginning at 8:30 a.m. To speed up the registration, forms and instructions can be obtained by linking to “gorgelions.org.” The parade fee is $10 and there will be monetary prizes for the best en- tries. See FOURTH, Page A11 Lightning storm Illuminates the fact that Gorge fuels remain tinder-dry By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor Like flash pots in a stadium rock show, the lighting and thunder im- pressed with nature’s power Sun- day night. Oregon Department of Forestry reports a total of 411 separate light- ing strikes touched down in Hood River an d Wasco counties between the Columbia River and Warm Springs Reser- vation Sunday night. Forest fire talk The booms July 11, see and blinding page A11 flashes started at about 11 p.m., subsided until about 3 a.m., and then bom- barded the Hood River area for over a solid hour. A drenching rain im- mediately followed the lighting storm but officials said it has no impact on the overall, over-dry, con- ditions of fuels – grass, under- growth, debris, and trees. Lightning caused five small fires of one acre or less in the mid-Co- lumbia, but all have been extin- guished, according to DOF spokesman Cynthia Orlando. On Friday morning, a 12-15 acre wildfire broke out just west of The Dalles at Gorge Discovery Center, threatening Pinewood Mobile Court, spreading smoke over Inter- state 84 and causing the closure of Highway 30. The fire is under in- vestigation. “We have unseasonably dry full conditions and extremely hot tem- peratures around the state,” Orlan- do said, and with this lightning we have seen some really active fire weather. “We are really encouraging peo- ple to be cautious, especially in the woods and grassy areas. The fuels are extremely dry in the area. Of particular concern at this time is the use of fireworks in the forest.” “In The Dalles, the fuel loads are way up,” she said. “The energy re- lease component (ERC) is off the charts.” The ERC, as defined by Wikipedia, looks at the fuels and their likelihood of igniting and at what rate and temperature. (See sidebar.) ■ Meanwhile, the burn ban is in ef- fect as of July 1: that means no out- door burning allowed, though some allowances are made for agricul- tural purposes. Due to exceptionally dry land- scape and drought conditions, hot weather and forecasted lightning, the risk of extreme fire activity has remained high through the week- end and into this coming week. ODF, forestland owners and agency partners are prepared to manage conditions usually experienced in late July or early August, according to a Monday DOF press release. Saturday, an excessive heat warning was in effect for the Willamette Valley including the greater Portland and Vancouver area, the lower Columbia and the See HEAT, Page A11 Four To Go Anson’s Bike Buddies at Windance Beat the heat at the library Anson’s Bike Buddies will hold a Swap, Shop and Drop Off on July 5 from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Windance Boardshop, 108 OR-35, Hood River. Sell your bike on consignment, shop for a bike, or drop off your used bikes for a tax write-off; Anson’s Bike Buddies will fix it up and give it to a kid in need. Consignment fee of 25-percent goes to Anson’s Bike Buddies. Anson’s Bike Buddies will also be accept- ing donations of bike parts and cash. Beat the heat at the Hood River Library — which also serves as a cooling shelter — with some fun family activities. On July 1, Curtis Carlyle will perform “seriously funny juggling” at 5:30 p.m. Expect flying yo-yos, 8-foot unicycles, ax juggling and more. Thursdays in July — like July 2 — are designated Crafternoons at 2 p.m. Come in and cool off with a fun, free project. The Hood River Library is locat- ed at 502 State St. 7 05105 97630 3 Sunday Street Party July 5 Head to Double Moun- tain Brewery, 8 Fourth St., for a Sunday Street Party from noon to 6 p.m. Kids activities, food and fun — including a Gorge Roller Girls dunk tank. The Hazelnuts per- form at noon, The Barn Burners at 2 p.m., and Ben Rice at 4 p.m. For more info call the brewery at 541-387-0042. Check out downtown art First Friday is July 3, and there will be plenty of art to be found downtown, including the new Art on Oak, 210 Oak, a co- operative gallery in the former 2nd Wind building; Emporium monthly pop-up at 301 Oak St.; The Remains (on Industrial below Full Sail); Made in the Gorge, 108 Oak St., and Colum- bia Center for the Arts, 213 Cas- cade, where you can see who won prizes and Peoples’ Choice in the annual “Best of the Gorge” exhibit. Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea “SISTERS OF SERENITY” (detail) a two-foot glass sculpture by Odell artist Laurel Marie Hagner, catches the light in the Cascade Street win- dow at Columbia Center for the Arts, home of “Best of the Gorge” exhibit, through Aug. 2.