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A2 Hood River News, Wednesday, July 22, 2015 G REATER G ORGE www.hoodrivernews.com Tech alliance to focus Search for missing woman suspended on STEM ed in Gorge TD Police continue The Goldendale Sentinel reports the Gorge Technolo- gy Alliance (GTA) is about to launch another initiative to impact STEM education in the Gorge. STEM is the hot acronym of the moment, standing for science, tech- nology, engineering and math. The GTA, a nonprofit trade association focused on supporting the tech industry of the region, is creating a new college scholarship fund for Gorge students pur- suing post-secondary STEM degrees. “College is expensive and just getting worse,” says Jes- sica Metta, Executive Direc- tor of the GTA. “For a few years now, the GTA has wanted to develop a scholar- ship fund and since 2015 is our 10th anniversary, it seemed the perfect time to make it happen.” Ten years ago, Mid-Co- lumbia Economic Develop- ment District brought to- gether the tech businesses in the five-county region to work on a plan to help them grow. Those at the table identified the need for their own support organiza- tion and committed finan- cial support as members and sponsors to sustaining the organization. The GTA was formed and has grown along with the tech industry to now over 100 members rep- resenting more than 2,700 employees. Over the years, the GTA has become more involved in supporting STEM educa- tion in the region to support the businesses and encour- age the next generation of entrepreneurs and employ- ees. With 60 robotics kits and laptops on loan to students and hosting of robotics tour- naments and events, any parent with a student in ro- botics has been touched by the GTA. For the last two years, the GTA has also host- ed a STEM Career Day for all seventh graders in the five-county region. “We are excited to extend our STEM support to older students with the launch of this scholarship fund,” says Metta. Students from Klickitat, Skamania, Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman coun- ties would be eligible. The scholarship is being hosted with the Gorge Community Foundation and named the Corwin Hardham Memorial Scholarship. Fundraising for the schol- arship is kicking off on July 31, at 6 p.m. at the Columbia Gorge Hotel with a dinner and auction event sponsored by Insitu — Robot Ren- dezvous. Guests will be en- tertained with hands-on demos from high school stu- dents and businesses, music from Ben Bonham and Friends, plus delicious food and fun action items like quadcopters and sailing trips. Tickets must be pur- chased in advance and are on sale now for $55 each through the event’s website crgta.org/robot-rendezvous or by calling 541-296-2266. “With the fundraiser, we plan to have scholarship ap- plications open in spring 2016 to start giving back to the students,” says Metta. Those interested in con- tributing to the fund directly can do so by contacting the Gorge Community Founda- tion at www.gorgecf.org or 541-354-2009. investigation The search for a missing 63-year-old woman in the Reservoir Road area west of The Dalles has been called off, but police are still in- vestigating her disappear- ance. Lucia Florez left on a walk last Monday morning a n d d i d n’ t r e t u r n , h e r granddaughter reported to the Wasco County Sheriff ’s Office that evening. During the evening of July 13, Anayeli Alvarez contacted the Sheriff ’s Of- fice, re por ting that her grandmother, Lucia, was missing. Alvarez said she last saw Lucia around 6 a.m. that morning and had- n’t seen her since. Alvarez said Lucia sometimes goes on long walks but always re- turns home. Alvarez also indicated she had to tried to contact friends and rela- tives in an attempt to locate Florez but was unsuccess- ful. T h e S h e r i f f ’s O f f i c e heard numerous tips that Lucia Flores was seen in Medical pot store to open in downtown TD BY NEITA CECIL The Dalles Chronicle As a medical marijuana dis- pensary readies to open its doors potentially by mid-Au- gust in downtown The Dalles, the city council will consider later this month whether to block it from being able to sell recreational pot starting Oct. 1. Norm Brock, a 1976 Wah- tonka High School grad and Eugene resident, is planning a low-key, high-security dispen- sary to meet local needs, he said. It will be located at 609 E. 2nd St., a storefront that has been vacant for two-plus years and once housed a stove store. Called Columbia River Herbals, Brock’s business will employ three to four people and sell medicinal marijuana and herbal supplies, plus some clothing and functional glassware, such as pipes, he said. “We really don’t want to upset people thinking we’re gonna be doing something ne- farious,” Brock said. “We don’t want people to think we’re a head shop. Even if we sell recreational, we’re not going to be a place where a bunch of stoners hang out.” No consumption of mari- juana will be allowed in or around the store, he said. “Our desire is to have a busi- ness that people can be com- fortable with. We want to be good neighbors. “I’m more than happy to meet with anyone who has concerns about what we’re doing,” he said. “I’m not, nor is my wife, a user, recreationally or med- ically. It’s something I believe people have the right to do,” Brock said. He said, “I believe medical marijuana outweighs conven- tional medicine in so many ways it’s unbelievable.” He said his store would sell “vapors and medibles,” or edi- ble pot, but he would not be selling things like pot gummy bears, “because I feel they kind of have an attraction to younger kids if they see them.” He said he sees it as a busi- ness opportunity, and Eugene, where he has a realty busi- ness, Cobalt Realty Group, al- ready has plenty of dispen- saries. He also owns Ore- gonhomesbyowner.com. He looked at Oregon’s data- base of medical marijuana cards, and saw that Wasco Photo by Neita Cecil NORM BROCK stands by the 800-pound gun safe he just installed at his medical marijuana store in downtown The Dalles. The safe will hold marijuana products at night when the store is closed. He hopes to open in mid-August. County had a decent amount of users. Recent statistics from the state show 430 regis- tered medical marijuana users in Wasco County. Because the state antici- pates recreational marijuana stores will not be opened until mid-2016, the legislature agreed to allow pot dispen- saries to sell limited amounts of marijuana until then. But local jurisdictions also have the option to prevent that by passing an ordinance ban- ning it. The Dalles City Attorney Gene Parker told the city council Monday, July 13, that it could pass an ordinance to temporarily block a dispen- sary from recreational sales, but the ordinance would have to go into effect before Oct. 1, when state law will allow dis- pensaries to make limited sales to the general public. Parker will bring the mat- ter before the council at its July 27 meeting for considera- tion. If the council moves ahead with an ordinance, a hearing will have to take place by the Sept. 14 meeting, and an emergency clause enacted, to beat the Oct. 1 deadline. Parker doesn’t know whether the council will want to pursue the ordinance, and said the matter has been a low-key one to date, with little council or citizen input. Parker said other marijua- na-related decisions are also on the horizon for the city. The council could refer to voters a 3 percent tax on marijuana sales, [on top of the 17 percent state tax] or refer a measure to fully or partially ban pot sales. If the city does vote to ban pot sales, it would forego any tax revenues. On Oct. 1, recreational buy- ers can go to dispensaries and purchase one-quarter ounce of dried marijuana buds and leaves per day. They can also buy seeds and plant starts. They could not buy edibles or pot extracts. Brock has told the city that if he is eligible to sell recre- ational pot, he plans to do so. The storefront is being readied now for the anticipat- ed mid-August opening. All he needed from the city was ap- proval for the change of use of the store. He sought and gained that approval in May, shortly after the city’s morato- rium on accepting such busi- nesses expired. Next he has to complete a readiness checklist for the Oregon Health Authority, which he expects to have done before his July 28 deadline. Then he must pass a state in- spection before he can open. He expects all that to happen by mid-August. After paying a $4,000 appli- cation fee and passing a back- ground check, applicants must complete a checklist that proves the dispensary has ade- quate physical security, in- cluding an alarm and video camera system; an adequate vault to hold the products; policies and procedures for employees including training; a compliant electronic data system; and an approved labo- ratory to test products. Brock said his staff will be trained to assist people with filling out applications for the marijuana card. A doctor must approve the application before it is ap- proved by the state. Most pa- Calling All Softball Players 12U ASA Tryouts for the NEW Gorge Softball team will be held August 1st at 6pm on the softball field on Nix Drive in Hood River. For information Contact Tonya at (541)705-7217 or gorgeshadows@gmail.com Keep up to date! Like us on Facebook. facebook.com/gorgeshadows tients smoke pot for severe pain, according to state records, while other condi- tions it is used for include spasms, nausea, cancer, seizures, glaucoma and PTSD. Brock commended the city employees he has worked with as he sought a suitable loca- tion and then “change of use” approval from the city in order to open the store. With required setbacks from schools and other public facilities, only four areas in The Dalles were eligible for a marijuana outlet. The other areas, out by Lone Pine, west by the pro- posed Walmart location, and along West Sixth Street, either had no storefronts available, unwilling potential landlords, or buildings that were in too much disrepair, Brock said. Within his 3,400-square-foot building he’s renting from Sam Woolsey, just a 12x25 sec- tion will serve as the dispen- sary itself. People will come in and check in at a front desk, where they will present their mari- juana card issued by the Ore- gon Health Authority, then sit in a waiting area as they wait their turn to go into the dis- pensary. Just one patient at a time will be allowed in the dis- pensary, where staff will ring up the sale. “One of the reasons why we built this room is for privacy,” Brock said. “Nobody needs to know what you’re buying.” All products will be behind a glass display case. He will also sell marijuana buds and leaves, and is willing to work with local growers who are ap- proved by the state. At the close of business each day, all products contain- ing marijuana will go into an 800-pound, $1,800 gun safe that is bolted to the ground. The fa- cility has multiple points of video surveillance, plus an alarm system. “Basically if anybody breaks in here to steal mari- juana or marijuana products they’re going to be disappoint- ed,” he said. Lucia Flores The Dalles, and the sur- rounding area, but she has not yet been found. Wasco County Road De- partment employees report- ed that they saw Florez at the 5800 block of Mill Creek Road around 4 p.m. on July 14. They indicated they saw her after conducting road maintenance nearby. Police also heard reports that Florez was walking southbound on Reservoir Road that day. The Wasco County Search and Rescue Division searched the area but found no signs of Flo- rez. The search spanned several miles along Mill Queen Size Mattress Sets Creek but yielded no re- sults. The search “was discon- tinued due to darkness” on the evening of July 14, the Sheriff ’s Office said. Lucia F lore z was last seen wearing a pink shirt, dark pants, and neon pink and black tennis shoes. She was also carrying a purse and a grocery bag with her at the time. Anyone with in- formation on the location or possible sightings of Flo- rez is encouraged to contact the Wasco County Sheriff ’s Office at 541-296-5454. G OT N EWS ? Submitting a news item to Hood River News is easy: send it via e-mail to: hrnews@hoodrivernews. com. Information can also be sent by mail to P.O. Box 390, Hood River, OR 97031. News tips are also wel- come by calling the news- room at 386-1234, or by fax at 386-6796. Gas Appliances Electrical Repair Get your RV road ready! RV Doc — Bruce Henderson Mobile Service & Repair Starting at 249 $ MURRAY’S FURNITURE & SLEEP CENTER 981 Tucker Road • Hood River (541) 386-3915 State Fire Marshal Certification #001242-08 Service & Repair. I come to you! 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Consumer Loan License NMLS-3240, CL-3240 I n l o v i n g M e m o r y S u n s h i n e D e L e o n January 12, 1977 - July 21, 2014 FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS ~ Love you, Your Family JESUS PROMISES THE GOSPEL GOOD NEWS: “Before Abraham was born I am.” John 8:58 “Be not afraid for I am with you always.” Luke 17:12 “I come not to condemn the world but to save it.” John 3:17 “I come not to call the righteous but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 “Love God and your neighbor as you love yourself.” Luke 10:27-28 “What you do for my least ones, (The poor, lonely, suffering), you do for me.” Matthew 25:40 Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies know that its desolation is near. For a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judg- ment will come Upon this people.” There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars. On earth Nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. Peo- ple will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Each of us will give an account to God.” Romans 14:12 “Heaven and earth will pass away, my words will never pass away. Matt. 24:35 I believe God loves us more than we can imagine. And then, they will see the Son of Man, (Jesus), coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:20-28 Share-Faith Prayers by Tom Lexow