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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2020)
A2 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 HOOD RIVER NEWS | Hood River, Ore. hoodrivernews.com GREATER GORGE Columbia Basin Care volunteer named ‘Distinguished Citizen’ Eunice Denudt, a volunteer at Columbia Basin Care, has been named Volunteer of the Year by The Dalles Area Cham- ber of Commerce and was lauded in January at the annual Distinguished Citizens Award Banquet. It’s her second award in just two months. In November, Denudt was named Volunteer of the Year by the Oregon Health Care As- sociation, the largest long-term care trade association in Ore- gon. In January she earned the Distinguished Citizen honor. As a volunteer, Denudt, 84, has crocheted over 150 blan- kets for sick and elderly resi- dents at Columbia Basin Care, a nursing home located in The Dalles. “I had a stroke a few years ago and I couldn’t walk or talk or do anything for myself,” she said. “I was given a handmade blanket and it meant so much to me.” Following the stroke, De- nudt spent months regaining the ability to walk and talk. Once recovered, she was de- termined to repay the kindness she had received. Though she is on oxygen, has arthritis and has little space in her budget for the cost of yarn, the dedi- cated volunteer takes the time, effort and money to crochet colorful blanket wraps, then loads up her car to deliver the blankets to Columbia Basin Care. “Eunice does not sit idly, and always has the need to serve others,” Lisa Farquharson, ex- ecutive director of the Cham- ber, said at the awards ban- quet. “She’s admired because of her strong faith in God, and she is a woman who firmly believes that she is here for a purpose and a vision — to help others.” The Distinguished Citizens Awards are bestowed annually by The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce to those who make a difference in community. Founded in 1964, Columbia Basin Care is the region’s only independent not-for-profit fa- cility for short-stay rehabilita- Photo by Lisa Griswold VOLUNTEER Eunice Denudt, right, was recently awarded Vol- unteer of the Year by The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce. With her is Corliss Marsh, the previous year’s award-winning volunteer. tion and long-term care. The care center offers an in-house geriatric nurse practitioner, along with a team of physi- cal, occupational and speech therapists who provide com- prehensive rehabilitation and ‘Women of Sorosis’ Feb. 8 “The Women of Sorosis: Social ‘Influencers’ of Their Day” is the topic of the Feb. 8 program at the Original Wasco County Courthouse, 410 West Second Place in The Dalles. Saturday’s program begins at 1:30 p.m. and is second in a month-long series of pre- sentations. Even before women re- ceived the right to vote, con- tributions of the Sorosis Club to the development and pres- ervation of The Dalles was far reaching. said a press release. Speaker Denise Dietrich Bokum volunteers at Fort Dalles Museum, which was founded by the women who also gave their name to So- restorative services. Columbia Basin Care is lo- cated at 1015 Webber St. in The Dalles. For more information, call 541-296-2156 or visit col- basin.com. rosis Park. She is a native of Pennsylvania. Admission to the program is free, but donations are wel- come. A TV monitor will be placed on the ground floor of the 1859 courthouse to serve those un- able to climb the stairs. Coffee and cookies will be served after the program. Don’t miss our Happy Hour! 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Stonehedge Gardens Gardens 3405 WINE COUNTRY AVENUE HOOD RIVER HOOD RIVER 541-386-3940 Washington cities, Klickitat County sign affordable housing agreement By JACOB BERTRAM White Salmon Enterprise The Cities of Bingen and Goldendale were the latest of four local government entities to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that Klickitat County would participate in a recently-enacted legislation, Substitute House Bill 1406, which provides a new optional revenue stream to help local governments produce afford- able housing. The MOU states that it is the intention of the four entities for Klickitat County to adopt the legislation, while the three cities neglect to opt-in. The two city councils ap- proved the MOU at their latest council meetings on Jan. 21. White Salmon City Council also agreed to sign the docu- ment at their Jan. 15 meeting, while Klickitat County had signed their portion a day prior. A new revenue stream to provide affordable housing does not mean an increase in the sales tax rate for consum- ers, a Municipal Research and Service Center (MRSC) write- up on the bill notes. Instead, the tax option would be cred- ited against the state’s 6.5% sales tax. White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler explained it as a real- location of sales tax people are already paying in the county or city back to that county or city and dedicating it to affordable housing goals that the govern- mental entities identify. The cities also passed res- olutions stating their intent not to implement the bill. According to an agenda memo from the City of White Salmon, “in speaking with representa- tives of the Washington State Department of Revenue, they would like cities and/or coun- ties to also take formal action stating that it is their intent to not adopt legislation imple- menting (SHB) 1406.” Presenting the MOU to the White Salmon City Coun- cil, City Clerk/Treasurer Jan Brending explained that be- cause of the way the legislation was written, the cities part- nered with Klickitat County agreed the County should be the sole entity to implement the legislation in order to max- imize revenue. “If the three cities and Klick- itat County were to implement this bill separately, it would result in less money and it’s because of the complexity of the way the bill’s written,” Brending said. “The money can be used for acquiring, rehabbing or constructing affordable hous- ing, including new units of affordable housing within an existing structure, or for facil- ities that provide supportive housing services. It can be used for funding the operation and maintenance cost of those new units or it can be provided for rental assistance to the ten- ants,” Brending said. “The four entities … agreed that the highest and best use was for the acquisition, reha- bilitation or constructing of new units for either affordable or supportive housing,” Brend- ing said, acknowledging that the allocation of the funding will be a collaborative effort between the three cities and the county. The MOU states that the funds collected from this bill “must be used to assist per- FROM THE WORK OF TESLA & EINSTEIN Quantum Energy Wellness is here! Learn more at besthealthnow.limbicarc.com sons whose income is at or below sixty percent of the City and Klickitat County’s median income.” The MOU also acknowledg- es the funds would “be best used by existing organizations — Washington Gorge Action Programs and Columbia Cas- cade Housing or other future qualifying organizations that provide housing services, in- cluding ‘supportive housing’ in Klickitat County.” As such, the bill allows local governments to finance loans or grants to nonprofit organi- zations or public housing au- thorities to carry out the bill’s intentions and pledge the reve- nue collected from the new tax system to repay such bonds. The Klickitat County Board of County Commissioners ap- proved the MOU at their Jan. 14 meeting. A public hearing has not yet been scheduled, but will be held in tandem with the board’s effort to adopt the legislation. Governing bodies have until July 27 to adopt the legislation to participate in the tax share. Phone Marcy 509.637.4689 New event space opens in Bingen The Garage, a new event- space in Bingen, will host a grand opening on Feb. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. The festivities will begin with drinks and small bites, then music, and is open to all. Owners Kay Endres and Jack Fisher spent over a year putting their heart, soul, and savings into building The Garage to be a destination event space with easy highway access, said a press release. Formerly an auto repair shop, the building was transformed into a 1,200 square foot event space with vaulted ceilings, wood fur- nishings and modern concrete floors. “We professionally designed The Garage to accommodate both intimate gatherings and business events with us- er-friendly elements, such as easy to move furniture pieces, storage options, and multiple outlets to charge devices. We Another Chance R ESA LE & MORE LLC Antiques, collectibles, furniture & thrift store Going out of Business! envision so many events here, from wine tastings, chef din- ners, art showings, and busi- ness presentations to meet- ings, where it’s easy to have productive working lunches that clients or employees find inspiring,” the owners said. Visit www.thegaragebingen. com/ or contact thegarage- bingen@gmail.com for more information. This week’s Sudoku is presented by: BRIEN D . GIBSON CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT You’re Invited to the Columbia River Gorge Night To Shine Prom For folks with special needs, ages 14 and up Friday, Feb. 7 th • 6 to 9 p.m. That’s right...beginning February 1st, 2020, most all store inventory will be 40% or more off. Way too much inventory left unsold! Everything must go! Displays will be selling as they empty out. All sales final. The prom includes flowers, walking the red carpet, food, dancing, activities, photo booth, and crowning each special guest king or queen of the prom. This year we also have a couple of surprise guests coming! 409 East 2nd St. | Historic Downtown THE DALLES, OREGON GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH Monday-Friday | 10:30ish-6pm Saturdays | 10:30ish-4pm SUDOKU 3 4 1 2 5 6 7 2 4 6 6 8 2 9 3 1 5 6 9 4 5 3 6 7 8 9 7 2 5 1 4 3 © 200 Hometown Content Fill in all 81 squares on the puzzle with numbers 1 to 9. You can use each number 1-9 only once in each nine square section, in each horizontal line of nine squares, and in each vertical column of nine squares. The puzzle is completed when you correctly fi ll every square. FREE to special guests and parents/caregivers 1280 W Jewett Blvd, White Salmon To register or for more info please visit www.NightToShineColumbiaRiverGorge.com or email CRGNTS@outlook.com BRIEN D . GIBSON CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT T: (541) 226-3503 F: (503) 331-3904 E: briencpa@gorge.net L: 1814 BELMONT AVE. HOOD RIVER, OR 97031
