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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2020)
Kaleidoscope Makerspace at Parkdale Page B1 MIDWEEK EDITION $1.00 Vol. 114, No. 5 2 Sections, 20 Pages HOOD RIVER, OREGON • Wednesday, January 15, 2020 Off icial Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County www.hoodrivernews.com Racial bridges and the commitment to ‘allyship’ By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA News staff writer The second conversation in the new series “Lunch and Learn” at Hood River Library challenged par- ticipants to look closely at the tough topics of white privilege, ingrained and even involuntary racism, and cultural identity; or at least to get up and mingle. Fifty people, most of them Cauca- sian, fi lled the Jeanne Marie Gaulke meeting room Th ursday for an in- teractive discussion of “Allyship in Close-Knit Community” with Port- land educator and consultant Alexis James. Th e talk was in conjunction with Oregon Humanities. Allyship is the acknowledgment by a dominant racial or class group that they have much to learn and un-learn as they engage with minority com- munity members for mutual benefi t of all. “Allyship is not an ending, but a process. You’re constantly working to be an ally to marginalized groups,” James said. As one participant put it, “It’s im- portant to have these conversations as often as we can.” Within minutes, James had the group talking in small groups and Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea ALLYSHIP talk facilitator Alexis James watches as participants move around the room during Thursday’s event at Hood River Library. then getting up and moving around the room to sit next to at least one person they had never met. “I like to laugh and joke but I don’t play,” said James, a former middle school teacher in her 30s whose mother was white and father black. Attendees arrived with a variety of interests and backgrounds. One woman is starting a White Salmon advocacy group, including a book discussion of “White Fragility,” and asked for folks to sign up and join her. “I want your names,” she said. “I was involved in being an ally for awhile, and I’m clueless. And I’m willing to be real,” said Kalama Reuter. James observed, “We are not so- cialized to have conversations about race,” and noted that systemic chang- es do need to come from domi- nant demographic groups, primarily whites, who statistically have greater resources. Another participant is the grand- mother of an adoptive 2-and-a-half- year-old African American girl. She said, “I want to understand as much as I can about bridging worlds.” Another woman moved to Hood River four weeks ago from, having grown up in an all-white community near Detroit, and attended nursing school during the 1967 race riots in Detroit. Another woman recently moved from Wisconsin, where she knew many more African-Americans than in Hood River (where the ethic group makes up about four percent of the population). “I heard this community is more than 30 percent Hispanic, but when I look around, I ask, ‘Where are they?’” she said. James defi ned allyship as “combin- ing or uniting a resource or commod- ity with another for a mutual benefi t,” then acknowledged after participants took issue with the terms “resource” and “commodity,” that she chose it as a “dry defi nition” designed to prompt discussion. “We can’t deny we are in a capi- talistic society, and (in becoming an ally) we are combining and uniting privilege, and it’s for the benefi t of ev- See ALLYSHIP, page A10 CLIMATE ACTIVIST EVA JONES “Moral and intellectual integri- ty is at the heart of everything it does. This is a pivotal year for the WEF,” according to WEF. “It marks its 50th anniversa- ry, and the 2020 WEF Meeting’s theme will be stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world. It will bring together 3,000 par- ticipants from around the world, and aim to give concrete meaning to ‘stakeholder capitalism’, assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitate discussions on technology and trade gover- nanc,” according to WEF. “For climate activism, the year 2020 marks an important point in time when we need to start bending the global CO2 emissions curve.” It will bring together 3,000 participants from around the world, and aim to give concrete meaning to ‘stakeholder capitalism’ World Economic Forum website According to the Arctic Base- camp website, to avoid climate change reaching a point of no re- turn, world leaders need to boldly make decisions that benefit the planet, especially the Arctic. The Arctic Basecamp at Davos concept was created by Pentland Centre Director Gail Whiteman, as a vehicle to bring this message to global leaders. With co-organ- iser Dr. Jeremy Wilkinson she has brought the event to the World Economic Forum each year from 2017 to 2019, calling for action from global leaders to apply re- sponsive and responsible leader- ship to address global risks from Arctic change. Classifieds Entertainment Greater Gorge Happenings Kaleidoscope Legal Notices Obituaries P10988 HRN 01-15-20A.indd 1 News staff writer A series of storm systems are expected to bring heavy mountain snow, heavy rain, strong winds and potentially hazardous condi- tions throughout the Northwest this week. While there is snow in Hood River’s forecast, “This is not ex- pected to be a long term snow on the ground/freezing event at lower elevations,” said Hood River County Emergency Manager Barb Ayers. The biggest snow impacts are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, Ayers said, with wide- spread snow and the potential for freezing rain in the Gorge. Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea WEEKEND frost left this image of a feather on the hood of car; this week’s winter weather might not be so graceful. See FORECAST, page A10 Art on Oak featured in Locals Wednesday Downtown Scavenger hunt starts, more events will be added Art on Oak will be the featured business on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in the next Locals Wednesday Down- town promotion from 3-6 p.m., created by Hood River County Chamber of Commerce Down- town Business Advisory Commit- tee (DBAC) and the downtown business owners in partnership with the City of Hood River. During LWD, downtown park- ing is free from 3-6 p.m. — as is the case all Wednesdays through May. More LWD events Jan. 15 in- clude a “locals pop-up market” at Flow Yoga, with HR Organics, Lucky Locks Hair Sparkle, Ayurve- dic Skin Consultation, Mini-Intui- tive Readings, and Face Paint and Jewels by Stephanie Delgado. “We’re involving a number of Heights and Odell businesses in the market, so we can bring other areas into the event,” said Flow Yoga owner Stephanie Adams. “We are really striving to make Lo- Image courtesy of DBAC WINDOW clings can be seen in par- ticipating business storefronts. cals Wednesday Downtown some- thing of interest to everyone.” On Jan. 22, Knot Another Hat will host “Knit Night,” with door prizes and a surprise sale. LWD posters are being placed around the county, in English and Spanish, as DBAC members work to get the word out about LWD. DBAC are getting the word out via social media and also talking about LWD with downtown businesses and en- couraging more participation. Art on Oak will have scavenger hunt forms available over the week- end, listing some of the downtown businesses as well as items avail- able. Participants will fill match the items with the businesses and return the forms to Art on Oak for a chance to win two lift tickets donat- ed by Mt. Hood Meadows, as well as 10 percent off coupons at Cooper Spur Mountain Resort for dining and/or lodging. Those who take selfies at one of the listed businesses on the scav- enger hunt with the item found and post to Instagram with the #hoodriverdown tag will receive an additional entry into the prize drawing. You do not need to be present to win. ■ The Hood River County Chamber of Commerce Downtown Business Advisory Committee (DBAC) and the downtown business owners have created a program in partner- ship with the City of Hood River to invite locals to shop, dine and enjoy downtown with free parking every Wednesday beginning at 3-6 p.m. See WORD, page A10 BRIEFS B6 A3 A2 B3 B1 B5 A6 Opinion Sports Yesteryears A4 A7 B2 “It is a joy to see our students get so excited about the Maker Club program.” — Parkdale Elementary Principal Gus Hedberg, B1 3 INSIDE By EMILY FITZGERALD Women’s March Sat. Help Meals on Wheels HRVHS Girl Up movie Hood River Latino Network and HRVHS Girl Up Club are sponsoring the 2020 Women’s March Jan. 18. Meet at Jackson Park at 10 a.m.; walk to Hood River Library. See A6 for details. Hood River Valley Adult Center is seeking volunteers for its Meals on Wheels program, deliver food and friendly visits to homebound adults. For more information, call 541-436-0893. HRVHS Girl Up presents “Maid- en” on Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. All ticket sales go to the United Nations Foundation and can be purchased at the theater the night of the event. 05105 97630 Hood River Valley High School senior Eva Jones is one of five youths from around the world chosen for service at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Jones, a leader in the HRVHS Earth Action Club, will serve as Youth Tent Director for Arctic Basecamp, which sets up an Arctic science basecamp in Davos, during Eva Jones the week of the forum. Arctic Basecamp is comprised of a group of worldwide leading scientists who specialize in the Arctic, according to a press release. They have set up realistic Arctic basecamp at the World Economic Forum for the past three years to bring a message of global risk to the world leaders. The World Economic Forum will be held Jan 21-23 and is part of the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas, according to a press release. It was estab- lished in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is inde- pendent, impartial and not tied to any special interests, according to a press release. Five youth were selected from around the world to join the Arctic Basecamp; they come from Ugan- da, Brazil, The Marshall Islands, Greenland and Hood River. As Youth Tent director, Jones will be working with her fellow represen- tatives on educating, advocacy and fundraising. She has been active in climate crisis advocacy through Earth Action Club, at forums and public events for the past several years, and spoke at a United Na- tions climate crisis summit in 2018. The Davos forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entre- preneurship in the global public interest while upholding the high- est standards of governance,” ac- cording to the WEF website, www. arcticbasecamp.org. Forecast: Snow and cold temps 7 HR student heads to Davos for ‘Arctic Basecamp’ leadership 1/14/20 9:33 AM
