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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 2015)
Gorge Columbia River Business Review Covering Gorge Business July 2015 SPECIAL Advanced Automotive Page 3 Oil Train Report Page 8 MASTER GARDENERS Volume 7, No. 7 Freebridge Brewery coming to TD Page 5 Visit Parkdale, Cascade Locks – A9 SECTION W EEKEND E DITION INSIDE Vol. 109, No. 53 Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County HOOD RIVER, OREGON ■ SATURDAY, JULY 4 , 2015 75 cents 3 Sections, 30 Pages www.hoodrivernews.com Irrigation Limitations Photo by Patrick Mulvihill DUST FLIES from a power brush as Brandon Brockel of Seal Kote, based in The Dalles, cleans dirt and gravel from the street neighboring Nichols Basin Trail. The paved trail opens to pedestrians today. Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea GOLFERS Steve Kelly of Hood River, left, and Randy White of Lyle putt upon the green, with a backdrop of brown, Wednesday at Hood River Golf Course, on Country Club Road. Hood River’s two golf courses are among large users of Farmers Irrigation District water to drastically cut back on water; turn to page A2 for details. Farmers water district goes to rotation schedule By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News editor The FID Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolu- tion Tuesday declaring an emer- gency authorizing the district to implement water rotation proce- dures to address drought condi- tions. Compliance will be volun- tary, but monitoring will be done by FID and violations could lead to shut-off. “At the current ‘burn rate,’ the District does not have sufficient water resources to continue pro- viding irrigation water to its pa- trons for the entire irrigation season without instituting addi- tional water conservation mea- sures,” the resolution states. “In accord with the existing 2015 District Curtailment Plan, district-wide water use has al- ready been restricted to 75 per- cent of the full water right and junior water right holders have already been ordered to not use water at this time. “Despite these efforts, in- stream supplies for the upper and middle district are currently only at 75 percent and it is still early in the season with the cur- rent forecasts predicting contin- ued hot and dry conditions.” The resolution states that those found in violation of the rotation schedule will be given a warning and allowed 24 hours to bring their operation into com- pliance. The action follows last week’s decision by Hood River Board of Commissioners to pass a drought declaration resolution, which is expected to be signed next week by Gov. Kate Brown. Hood River joins 20 other Ore- gon counties that have issued a drought declaration this year, in- cluding neighboring Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties. Due to a related USDA (feder- al) drought designation, Hood River County farmers, business- es and residents are potentially eligible for low interest emer- gency loans, which opened ac- cess for low interest USDA loans to farmers, businesses and non- profits impacted by the drought. S p o t l i g h t a t u r d a y See DROUGHT, Page A2 Port opens Nichols trail Parking expanded along the waterfront By PATRICK MULVIHILL News staff writer The Port of Hood River is wrap- ping up construction at the west end of the Nichols Basin Trail, opening the bicycle and pedestrian path to the beach just in time for In- dependence Day festivities. Access to the newly paved trail, which leads from the waterfront Event Site to Slackwater Beach, and along the west end of Nichols Basin, is open to the public except for fenced off lawn areas that flank the path. Liz Whitmore, Port of Hood River waterfront coordinator, said the closed off areas are newly planted grass spots, and they will be “fenced off to avoid damage and enable successful establishment of the grass seed.” Pedestrians will be able to stroll on the pavement, but not play on the budding grass on either side of the trail. A wall of red mesh fenc- ing will mark the area still closed off. On Thursday morning, crews from Peterson Construction were leveling dirt at the lawn area be- tween Slackwater Beach and the Valero Gas station at the southern dip of Nichols Basin. Port Executive Director Michael McElwee said the full pedestrian path from the Event Site to Button Bridge is still not complete, but the West Edge trail along the basin will be open today. Construction that will connect the Naito Construc- tion’s hotel site to the Port’s trail is not yet finalized. McElwee indicat- ed that it could be a year before the continuous path across the entire waterfront is realized. In other waterfront news, the Port rolled out a new batch of park- ing spaces at the Event Site. Parallel parking on First Street See PORT, Page A5 A weekly series about a day in the life ... Dave and Sarah Kalousdian spark fun on the Fourth BY TRISHA WALKER News staff wrier File photo by Ben Mitchell Photo by Trisha Walker DAVE AND SARAH Kalousdian have been help- ing with the Lions Fourth of July fireworks display since Dave joined the Eyeopener Lions in 1991. In this photo from 2013, Dave inspects the fireworks program and fills the mortar tubes during set up at The Spit. Dave Kalousdian’s Fourth of July will be different this year, but only just. That’s because Kalousdian, who has been involved with the Hood River Eyeopeners Lions since 1991, had a total knee replacement in May, and he’s not allowed to his usual tasks for the annual Lions Remember: fireworks display at the Port. the Spit access “I’m not going to be able to be lifting 35 pound racks and bending over with a is closed from drill gun and putting things together,” he noon July 3 to said. “I’ll be putting the foil over the mor- noon July 5 for tars after they’re loaded; I’ll be doing the Saturday’s fire- simpler physical stuff.” works show. In the past, Kalousdian has been a part of a team of Lions — and others — who prepare the show. “I build the racks and load the magazines and wire the show — we have an electronic firing system that we go over a week before to make sure all the electronics are in good See PYROS, Page A2 Four To Go ODOT plans July 4 work on I-84 Scientist addresses forest fires July 4 parades at 10 a.m., 4 p.m. Fourth of July travelers should be aware of congestion on Interstate-84 in The Dalles. Wildish Paving will replace the concrete on Interstate 84 in city limits and con- struct a bridge over Threemile Creek. The contractor has restricted west- bound traffic to just one lane, from mile- post 87.5 to 87.0. Expect 30-minute delays from noon to 8 p.m. on July 5. For updates visit Tripcheck.com, or call 511. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist of the GEOS Institute of Ashland, will give a free talk at the Hood River County Library on July 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. DellaSala will discuss the ecological bene- fits of wildfires in forests. The talk will focus on the conservation needs of burned forests, how to live safely in fire-country, and the controversy surrounding wildfires in a rapidly warming and changing world. The talk will include a short video and time for a discussion with the author. Free handouts will be available on how to have a “firewise” home. July 4 highlights are the Hood River parade at 10 a.m. and Odell parade at 4 p.m. Note that candy tossing or handouts are not al- lowed in the Hood River parade. Rotary Club and Heights Ice Cream will offer ice cream at a discount- ed price in Jackson Park for the children after the pa- rade. Barbecue and free music and bounce houses will be offered all afternoon. The Kollas-Cranmer Memorial Run starts at 8:30 a.m. in Odell. “Independence Eve” happens July 3 at Bingen The- ater – it’s a live radio show plenty of music, comedy, poetry and more. Come here it at 7 p.m. or tune in on Radio Tierra, KZAS-FM 95.1. Admission is free. 7 05105 97630 3 Yes, the paper arrived early While dated July 4, this edition of the Hood River News arrives in the mail on July 3 and was avail- able at newsstands on July 2. The paper was published early to ensure all readers received it by the weekend, as there is no mail service on July 4, a federal and postal holi- day.