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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2020)
A8 Wednesday, January 1, 2020 HOOD RIVER NEWS | Hood River, Ore. hoodrivernews.com Bridge of the Gods starts BreezeBy service on Jan. 6 Local Stickers and coupons accepted until Feb. 3 The Bridge of the Gods is just about ready to start elec- tronic tolling and, while there is still plenty of time to set up a BreezeBy account before the system goes live Jan. 6, Port of Cascade Locks Local Stickers and coupon books will be ac- cepted as discounted tolls and payment until Feb. 3. Ultimately, BreezeBy tran- sponders will replace the stick- ers and coupon books that have traditionally provided local commuters with dis- counted tolls. Bridge users that have signed up for BreezeBy will pay $1.25 per crossing of the Bridge of the Gods, and $1 at the Hood River-White Salm- on Interstate Bridge, versus a $2 cash toll at both bridges, ac- cording to a press release from the Port of Cascade Locks. Toll rates depend on vehicle class, with larger class vehicle tolls determined by the number of axles, said the press release. The “BreezeBy” system was first implemented for the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge in 2006, establishing the first electronic tolling system in Oregon. The system utilizes prepaid funds and transpon- ders to facilitate faster com- mutes through the toll plaza and provide user discounts. The Port of Cascade Locks signed an intergovernmental agreement with the Port of Hood River back in October for use of the system. Because the Port of Hood River owns the BreezeBy system, the Port of Hood River will provide back office services for the Port of Cascade Locks and The Port of Hood River will retain 13 cents per crossing to cover opera- tional costs. The Port of Cascade Locks will be able to control its own toll rates, but will have to fol- low the same business rules, such as vehicle classifications and account policies, as the Port of Hood River. Current Port of Hood River BreezeBy customers don’t need to do anything to be able to use their transponders on the Bridge of the Gods when the Cascade Locks system goes live Jan. 6: BreezeBy customer account statements will depict which bridge was crossed for each charge to the account balance, said the press release. New BreezeBy customers can open an account online and receive their transponders in the mail. New accounts can be cre- ated online at portofcascade- locks.org (click BREEZEBY, then click the BreezeBy logo, then click “New Account”). There is no required personal identification to open an ac- count, but each transponder is linked to a specific vehicle, so the make, model, color, year, and license plate number is required. New customers should ex- pect to receive their new tran- sponders in the mail within three to four business days, depending on the volume of orders. New customers can open an account at either port office during regular business hours. New accounts cannot be created at the toll booths, however, due to traffic flow and safety concerns. Port of Cascade Locks cus- tomers can redeem any un- used bridge coupons for credit of their value into a BreezeBy account at either port office during regular business hours. There are no fees to open an account, and each account receives one transponder for free; each additional transpon- der costs $5. For more information, con- tact the Port of Cascade Locks via email to rvollans@portof- cascadelocks.org or stop by the port office at 427 Portage Road in Cascade Locks. Questions can also be di- rected to the Port of Hood River via email to porthr@ gorge.net, or visit the port office at 1000 E. Port Marina Drive in Hood River. FLOOR: ‘This building holds so many wonderful memories for me’ continued from A1 a request by Madsen that they save him a piece of the gym. “I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate it,” Madsen said. “This building holds so many wonderful memories for me, and that gym was some- thing special.” “I did a lot of running around on that gym floor,” said Madsen, who spent most of his 27 years at May Street before retiring in 2005. Carter put a frame around the floor section, made from other recovered wood from the gym, and Beard added anoth- er piece of the gym, from the bleachers. The school district has retained sections of the old seats and used refinished foot-long pieces as honorary plaques. “You dedicated a good por- tion of your life to the children of this community and that building held a place in your heart and I know it coming down was a difficult thing to see,” Beard told Madsen at the unveiling with Carter and long-time school secretary Kim Maddy. “The entire building, you were so devoted to and we wanted to make sure you had a piece of that,” Beard said. Madsen added that most of the running he did was up and down the old stairway. “I probably made 20 trips a day,” said Madsen, who taught at both May Street and Hood River Middle School in his ten- ure, and also served for awhile as assistant baseball coach at “Two words fit the way I teach: Fun and fitness. The things we teach are skills for life. The things we teach are skills if you want to be an athlete. The things we teach are skills for fun.” Larry Madsen Hood River Valley High School. His wife, Cheryl, taught for many years at May Street and retired a few years after Larry. Maddy added that the gym was not the only treasured structure demolished to make way for the new school; the Larry Madsen play-shed was also torn down. Madsen has the sign in his garage. The sec- tion of flooring will remain in his woodshop, for now, unless he can convince Cheryl to let him display it in the house. “It wasn’t easy,” to salvage the flooring, Carter admitted. “It kind of came out in kin- dling.” He had to cut through a lower layer of flooring and in doing so the “new” layer splintered. Beard said it had been buffed and refinished many times over the years, but in its later years was too frag- ile for more of that treatment and the boards had dried and separated. Madsen reminisced about the distinctive “crackling” sound the board made when walked upon, and before some sound-proofing was done the teachers in classrooms below asked Madsen not to let kids bounce balls. The school now has a new gym, but two things remain constant: Some of the bleacher seats are there, repurposed as sound buffers. That and the name: Teddy Webber Gymnasium. In the entryway are the name and photo of the gym’s namesake, a stu- dent-turned-teacher at May Street who died in 1996. Mad- sen helped found the Teddy Webber Scholarship that con- tinues to this day. While it is true that Madsen did a lot of running in the gym, FLOOR piece loaded into Larry Madsen’s (right) 1947 Chrysler, with help from Kelly Beard, left, and Mike Carter. he is also remembered for a lot of running on the school exterior: He started the annual Run For Fitness, an enduring springtime tradition at the school. T-shirts and other priz- es, along with the satisfaction of racking up laps walked or run, are the rewards for the students, teachers and parents who get involved in the event. In a 1997 Hood River News interview, Madsen said, “My feeling is this: I want to encour- age a child to come to my PE classes and have fun. There is a definite correlation between having fun at an early age and understanding how important physical fitness is through life. The goal at elementary school is to plant a seed that will even- tually grow into enjoyment for physical exertion ... “Two words fit the way I teach: Fun and fitness. The things we teach are skills for life. The things we teach are skills if you want to be an ath- lete. The things we teach are skills for fun.” DISCOUNTED BRIDGE TOLLS with What is BreezeBy? What are the benefi ts? BreezeBy is an electronic system for paying tolls on the Bridge of the When the Bridge of the Gods Gods and the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge. Each BreezeBy system goes live on January 6, 2020, BreezeBy customers will be time you cross the bridge your toll is automatically deducted from the prepaid balance on your account. able to use their transponders to pay How do I sign up? their tolls on both bridges with one What does it cost? Create a new account online today at account. BreezeBy cutomers will pay There are no fees to open a portofcascadelocks.org BreezeBy account, and your fi rst We will mail your transponder to you, transponder is free. no need to come to the Port offi ce. 1 1 only $1.25 at the Bridge of the Gods, 2 instead of $2 for cash toll payments. 3 2 BreezeBy toll at the Hood River Bridge is $1 -- 3 Base rates are for 2-axle vehicles. One free transponder per household. Each additional transponder is $5. Beginning January 6, 2020, BreezeBy works for the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks What happens to my Local Sticker? What happens to my Coupons? Coupons will no longer be sold after December 20, 2019. Coupons will no longer Local Stickers will not be be accepted for toll payment after February accepted after February 3, 3, 2020, but can be redeemed at either Port 2020. Having an active offi ce for credit to a BreezeBy account. Cash Breezeby account will be the way to get discounts on tolls refunds will also be available at the Port of Cascade Locks offi ce. going forward. Breezeby account holders will pay $1.25 per crossing at the Bridge of the Gods. 4 The cash toll will be $2.00. 4 BreezeBy toll at the Hood River bridge is $1 Questions? More information online at portofcascadelocks.org Call (541) 386-1645 or email porthr@gorge.net.
