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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2020)
Kaleidoscope - page B1 Downtown gear shops keep locals gliding MIDWEEK EDITION $1.00 Vol. 114, No. 7 2 Sections, 20 Pages HOOD RIVER, OREGON • Wednesday, January 22, 2020 Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County www.hoodrivernews.com West Side Student Firefighter of the Year By TRISHA WALKER News staff writer Corbett Blackman, a senior at Hood River Valley High School, has been awarded West Side Fire Depart- ment’s Student Firefighter of the Year award. This is the second time he’s received the distinction. He will be recognized at the fire- house’s annual awards ceremony in February. Blackman is president of the HRVHS student firefighters club and has been a student firefighter since his sophomore year. Students must be 16 years old and have their drivers li- cense before they’re able to volunteer. “My mom is an ER doctor in The Dalles,” he said, “and I’ve always been exposed to first responder/ER life. It’s always been interesting to me.” The award is based on criteria such as participation in calls, he said. “Student firefighters can go on all of the calls the fire department gets aside from calls on I-84,” he ex- plained. “Most of the calls we get are medical — not as many are fire. We get everything from public lift assists to fully involved structure fires.” Students are not allowed to leave school to respond to calls; they are additionally not allowed to respond to any calls that happen at the high school. Blackman earned his Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) certifica- tion last winter and is now allowed to more fully participate in calls. “Starting off, especially my first year when I hadn’t taken any classes, it was more of a bystander role, watch and learn and observe,” he said. “As you participate more, you learn more and are able to start helping more in “It’s a great group of kids who volunteer their time to be part of the fire departments.” Wendy Herman HRV Club Adviser calls, instead of being there as extra manpower.” As president of the student fire- fighters club, he leads meetings twice a month during school hours. All stu- dent firefighters in the area — includ- ing those with Wy’East, Parkdale and Cascade Locks — are members and participate in various fieldtrips and practice burns with advisers. Last year, students went to Port- land to tour — and ride — a fireboat. This past fall, they participated in a practice burn that included drills and “pulling a house line” (setting up and charging a hose and then spraying). He sees his service as a student firefighter as a way to give back to the community. “It can be very rewarding when you run a call successfully,” Blackman said. “And usually, when we see people, it’s one of the worst days of their lives, so helping them can be extremely rewarding when we do a good job.” HRV Club Adviser Wendy Herman is grateful to all of the fire depart- ments for hosting and working with student fire- fighters — as well as the students who volunteer in See BLACKMAN, page A5 City water line leak causes water service outage; Boil Water Advisory By EMILY FITZGERALD News staff writer The City of Hood River enacted a Boil Water Advisory on Monday, fol- lowing a leak in the city’s water main Sunday evening. The break happened around 6 p.m. on Third Street near Union building beneath a sink hole, said Hood River Police Lt. Don Cheli, but the cause of the leak is unknown, and the incident is currently under investigation. City Public Works will be investigat- ing the incident and will report when further information is forthcoming. “We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience,” Acting Public Works Director Wade Seaborn said in Monday morning email. “We hope to have more infor- mation to share soon.” Much of downtown Hood River’s central business district, as well as some outlying areas within the city, lost water service for approximately an hour Sunday night, between 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. “Of course it’s not ideal with the timing,” said Full Sail General Man- ager Lisa Merkin of the water outage Monday, referencing the holiday weekend traffic, “but there’s nothing we can do, so we have to do the best we can for the customer and for the business.” Many businesses in the affected downtown area closed up shop on Monday, posting signs about the water advisory, but some found ways to keep the doors open: The Moth Lounge confirmed they would be open for their Monday evening music act, the Hapa Hillbillies, with a Face- book post stating they would have bottled water and store-bought ice; and, aside from not serving custom- ers water and ice, Full-Sail Brewing was business-as-usual. While Providence Hood River Me- morial Hospital lost water for about 50 minutes Monday evening, accord- ing to spokesman Gary Walker, the hospital’s operations were largely unaffected by both the service outage and the water advisory. When asked by a reporter why the city waited overnight to issue the ad- visory, City Manager Rachael Fuller said that they needed time to assess the situation and determine the ex- tent of the damage. The advisory was issued as a pre- caution in case of harmful bacteria in the water due to the loss of water pressure during the incident, or Boil Water Advisory Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea SINK HOLE at the east end of Columbia Street, location of the water line break, taped off by the city. excessive air in the water lines, said a city press release, and remains in effect until the city can confirm that there’s no bacteria in the water. Water samples were sent out for testing Monday and were expected back at noon on Tuesday, after press time (updates will be posted online at hoodrivernews.com). The Boil Water Advisory applies to those using city water in downtown Hood River from Sherman to Columbia avenues, east of Ninth Street, or any- one who experienced a loss of water pressure or discovered an excessive amount of air in water lines, until it’s confirmed there is no harmful bacteria present and the water is safe to drink. The City of Hood River advises those affected by the Boil Water Advisory to boil water for one minute before using for drinking, brushing teeth and food prep — including making ice or clean- ing food contact surfaces. Community gathers to honor MLK ‘Today will be about raising the questions, not finding answers.’ Todd Dierker The Next Door, Inc. Photo by Emily Fitzgerald W OMEN’S M ARCH 2020 About 20 people braved winter weather and slushy sidewalks Saturday morning for the Hood River Women’s March. Protesters such as Karin Tauscher, far right, rallied in front of Jackson Park before walking through town up to the Hood River Library. The Women’s March began as a worldwide protest following President Trump’s inauguration in 2017, with the intent “to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change.” B6 A3 B4 A2 B3 B1 B5 Obituaries Opinion Sports Yesteryears A6 A4 A7 B2 “The biggest goal for us, between the shops, is to keep people local.” — Sam Benoit, B1 3 BRIEFS CCA After Hours Wed. Lunch and Learn Jan. 23 Red Cross Blood Drive Head to Columbia Center for the Arts Jan. 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for CCA After Hours fea- turing Robbi Kumalo with Tim Mayer, Mike Turley and Mike Grodner. All are welcome. The Jan. 23, 1 p.m. Lunch and Learn presentation at the Hood River Library is “Crossing the border/Leaving the ones you love.” Lunch will be provided. Free and open to all. Oregon National Guard Armory, 12th and Belmont, hosts a Red Cross Blood Drive on Jan. 28 from 1-6 p.m. Make an appoint- ment today at RedCrossBlood. org or call 1-800-733-2767. 05105 97630 Classifieds Entertainment Gatherings Greater Gorge Happenings Kaleidoscope Legal Notices See MLK, page A5 7 INSIDE Speakers, classes and a potluck highlighted Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance Monday at Riverside Community Church. Gorge Ecumenical Ministries and the Somos Uno (We are one) orga- nization organized the event. Todd Dierker of The Next Door Inc., led about 30 people in a discussion of al- lyship — working with marginalized groups for the mutual good — in which he asked the mostly-Cauca- sian group to allow themselves to have their sense of white privilege challenged. “Today will be about raising the questions, not finding answers,” he said. See the Jan. 25 edition for more coverage of the MLK Day events. ■ Hood River Chamber of Com- merce in conjunction with The Next
