A2 Hood River News,
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
G REATER G ORGE
www.hoodrivernews.com
Mt. Adams Complex fires partially controlled
Riley and Horseshoe
spots still hot
Trout Lake — Firefighters
have partially controlled
four wildfires on the west
flank of Mount Adams. The
larg est fires, known as
Horseshoe and Riley (400
acres combined), are mostly
extinguished but still show-
ing heat.
The Mount Adams Com-
plex fires are 63 percent con-
tained and crews are being
demobilized from the moun-
tain, forestry officials report-
ed via InciWeb, a website
used to track wildfires
around the nation.
The Horseshoe Fire was
detected July 3 in the Mount
Adams Wilderness, burning
in subalpine fir forest and
meadows along Riley Camp
Trail #64 at approximately
5,300 feet elevation.
Last week, lightning ignit-
ed three new fires in the
area. The largest was the
Riley Fire at 63 acres, with
two other small fires: 7 Lakes
Fire (0.1 acres) and Canyon
Fire (0.1 acres). Canyon and 7
Lakes have been confined
and are being mopped up.
Crews are mitigating haz-
ards and initiating suppres-
sion on Riley.
A fifth, smaller fire,
dubbed the Spiral Fire, was
detected Sunday afternoon
burning among lava beds
west of the Mount Adams
Complex. One crew and a he-
licopter from the Complex
assisted with initial attack.
Work continued Monday to
suppress the fire. This site is
much drier than the higher
elevation fires, closer to
Mount Adams.
At the Mount Adams Com-
plex, crews evaluated the
perimeter and worked to ex-
tinguish remaining heat
sources at Horseshoe Mon-
day. Temperatures have been
dropping into the mid-40s at
night and crews have main-
tained some existing fire as
warming sources.
Three “hotshot” crews are
working to mop up the Riley
perimeter. The remaining
heat is scattered through the
northern portion of this fire.
The weather on Horseshoe
and Riley will be cool and
cloudy today with tempera-
tures in the 50s, winds from
the northwest, and a chance
of showers today. A drying
trend is expected to begin to-
morrow.
Due to the expected long
duration of the 2015 fire sea-
son, potential for the fire to
eventually leave the wilder-
ness, impact tribal and pri-
vate forest lands firefighters
expect to use even more ag-
gressive control efforts. Fire-
fighters have implemented
direct suppression actions
using minimum impact sup-
pression techniques to con-
fine the fires. Helicopters
were used to drop water,
checking the spread of the
fires while ground crews ini-
tiated direct suppression
using a wet line to confine
them.
Trails near the fire are
closed, including the Pacific
Crest Trail. For more infor-
mation and a list of trail
closures, visit InciWeb’s in-
cident
log
at
www.inciweb.nwcg.gov/inc
ident/4360 and click on the
“Closures” tab.
Photo courtesy of InciWeb.
WILDFIRES across the western flank of Mount Adams are now 63
percent contained, the result of Washington interagency crews bat-
tling the flames since July 3.
Oregon community colleges score $550M
By MARK GIBSON
The Dalles Chronicle
Oregon has allocated $550
million to community col-
leges for the upcoming bien-
nium.
The allocation is a $50 mil-
lion increase over the origi-
nal budget proposed by for-
mer Gov. John Kitzhaber of
$500 million, and less than
the $650 million sought by
the Oregon Community Col-
lege Association, according
to Will Norris, chief finan-
cial officer at Columbia
Gorge Community College.
The increase will have lit-
tle real impact on the college,
Norris said.
“This means that the bud-
get we passed is solid,” he
said. “We’re happy to get
what we planned for.”
The CGCC budget was for-
mulated with the expectation
of community colleges re-
ceiving $535 million from the
state. CGCC will receive al-
most exactly the funding
they planned with the state
increase.
“It appears that declining
student enrollment across
Oregon will mean that more
colleges than expected will
qualify for the same ‘small
school’ distribution formula
advantage that CGCC bene-
fits from,” Norris explained.
As more colleges qualify
as small schools, the value of
the advantage decreases.
Oregon Rep. John Huff-
man, R-The Dalles, said he
was pleased with the funding
the legislature was able to
obtain for education.
“I think we really stepped
up,” he said. “We added a lit-
tle to K-12, a little to commu-
nity colleges and universi-
ties.”
Huffman added that state
obligation bonds of $7.3 mil-
lion for CGCC were also re-
newed, and remain available
should the colle g e find
matching dollars. The money
will be used in construction
of a new facility in either
Hood River or The Dalles.
The state funding was
awarded in 2013 when CGCC
planned a new technology
center on Hood River’s Indi-
an Creek Campus.
“Those plans of course
Rural speed
limits to rise
By LARRY MEYER
The Argus Observer
Photo courtesy of Maryhill Museum
Taming of the Shrew
at Maryhill Museum
The Portland Actors
Ensemble will be shak-
ing up the grounds of
Maryhill Museum at 3
p.m. Saturday, July 18,
with Shakespeare’s clas-
sic comedy, The Taming
of the Shrew.
The tale follows brash
Petruchio who will go to
a n y l e n g t h t o wo o
Katherina, the head-
strong,
stubbor n
“shrew.” The free perfor-
mance is a stop of the
Portland company’s an-
nual Shakespeare-in-the-
P a rk s s e r i e s, wh i c h
makes live theater acces-
sible to a wide audience.
Audience members are
invited to bring their own
seating — blankets or
camp chairs — and to pic-
nic on-site. Bake My Day,
of Goldendale, will be
serving Renaissance cui-
sine in honor of Shake-
speare’s era.
From 1-3 p.m., the mu-
seum will also host
“Chalk it Up to Shake-
speare,” a free, family-
friendly event where
participants can create
their own art — Renais-
sance style or carefree
— in sidewalk chalk.
S p o n s o r s a re Ju dy
Lackstrom and Bob
M o r row, PAC E E n g i -
neering
and
Phil
Swartz.
■
For more information,
visit the museum’s website
at www.mar yhillmu-
seum.org/
ONTARIO (AP) — As the
2015 Ore gon Le gislature
moves toward a close, Rep.
Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, is
pleased that two of his bills
made it through the whole
legislative process.
Both are waiting to be
signed by the governor.
Both Houses will meet
again Monday, as they were
not able to finish their work
last week.
The last Bentz bill passed
was House Bill 3402, which
will boost the speed limit on
most Oregon highways east
of the Cascades. It received
final passage in the Senate
Friday morning.
House Bill 3402 amended
sets the speed limit on Inter-
state 84 from the Ore-
gon/Idaho border to The
Dalles at 70 mph for most ve-
hicles and 65 mph for trucks,
school buses and similar ve-
hicles.
The speed limit will be the
same on U.S. Highway 95 be-
tween Idaho and Nevada.
On U.S. 20, through Mal-
heur County to Bend and U.S.
26 from Vale to John Day, the
speed limit will be 65 mph for
most drivers and 60 mph for
trucks and school buses. Sim-
ilar limits will be posted on
other highways throughout
eastern and central Oregon.
Those routes include U.S.
395, Burns to John Day and
Riley to the California state
line; and Highway 78, Burns
See SPEED, Page A6
Featuring
Music with
Eddie &
The Lighters
1 Year Anniversary
PARTY
Friday, July 17
have been tabled but we kept
the bonds alive for another
potential project,” Huffman
said.
He added that K-12’s State
School Fund received ap-
proximately $7.4 billion, in-
cluding the money for com-
munity colleges and $650
million for universities.
Bonding was approved for
$175 million of seismic up-
grades for K-12 buildings and
will be administered by Busi-
ness Oregon, according to
Huffman.
Schools can access non-
Shop Local
the Gorge
matching grants for seismic
work up to $2.5 million. The
legislature also passed and
funded Senate Bill 447, which
sets up a $125 million fund of
dollar-for-dollar matching
bonds for K-12 facility con-
struction.
“The community outreach
team is working with the dis-
trict to see how we can solve
our (North Wasco School
County District) D21 facility
needs,” Huffman said.
HOOD RIVER NEWS (ISSN 07465823) is
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