Kaleidoscope
Hood River Mariachi
Page B1
MIDWEEK EDITION $1.00
Vol. 114, No. 19
2 Sections, 22 Pages
HOOD RIVER, OREGON • Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
www.hoodrivernews.com
HRVHS senior
prepares for FFA
State Convention
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
HOOD RIVER Middle School custodian Andy Guzman disinfects desks and other surfaces on Monday.
Photo by Emily Fitzgerald
HRVHS senior Celilo Brun delivering her speech at a County Board of Com-
missioners meeting. She is looking for opportunities to practice her speech
before the state convention later this month. Related photos, page A8.
By EMILY FITZGERALD
News staff writer
When Celilo Brun first joined her
local 4-H club in fourth grade, she
didn’t think it would have a big impact
on her future.
That 4-H club led to her joining FFA
in eighth grade. Since then, Brun has
been showing animals and competing
in various FFA Career Development
Events (CDE) designed to help stu-
dents develop skills that will help them
in agricultural careers.
Now a senior at Hood River Valley
High School, Brun is preparing for
the FFA state convention, where she
will compete in the Prepared Public
Speaking Leadership Development
Event (LDE) and run for FFA state
office.
Brun plans to attend Eastern Wy-
oming College to study agricultural
business, agricultural sciences or
agricultural communications, and
compete with the school’s Livestock
See FFA, page A9
Three Coronavirus cases
confirmed in Oregon
None reported in
Hood River County
Three presumptive positive cases
of novel coronavirus, COVID-19,
have been confirmed in Oregon:
Two in Washington County, and one
in Umatilla County.
No cases have been reported
in Hood River County. The Hood
River County Health Department has
the following statement up on their
website: “Hood River County Health
Department in cooperation with
State and Federal officials are closely
monitoring the novel coronavirus
outbreak,” with links to a Center for
Disease Control webpage and the
John Hopkins University Coronavirus
Tracker.
The first presumptive positive case
in Oregon, an adult resident of Wash-
ington County, experienced symp-
toms of COVID-19 beginning Feb.
19, according to the Oregon Health
Authority (OHA), and was tested for
the virus on Feb. 28. The case was
not a person under monitoring or a
person under investigation, said OHA
in an official release. Because the per-
son had neither a history of travel to a
country where the virus was circulat-
See HEALTH, page A9
MAY 19 PRIMARY
Helfrich to run against Williams Hood River County
again for Dist. 52; DA will retire Reads kicks off March 7
The May 19 Primary Election for
Hood River County will see a for-
mer state legislator try again for his
former seat, while District Attorney
John Sewell’s name won’t be on the
ballot for the first time in nearly
three decades.
The county’s lon-
gest-serving elected
official announced
Monday he’s step-
ping down.
Former State
Rep. Jeff Helfrich
(R-Hood River) last
week filed for State
Jeff Helfrich
Representative to
Files for former
represent House
seat
District 52.
Helfrich held the
office from December 2017 to Jan-
uary 2019, losing the seat to Anna
Williams, who filed for re-election
last fall.
March 10 is the final day to file for
elected office. In addition to DA and
Dist. 52, Hood River County Sheriff
Matt English is up for re-election
and is so far unopposed, and three
positions are open on Hood River
County Board of Commission.
Board chair Mike Oates filed for
re-election, as did Dist. 4 Commis-
sioner Les Perkins, with no chal-
lengers filed at press time.
Dist. 2 Commissioner Rich Mc-
Bride announced he won’t seek
re-election. Paul Henke and Arthur
Babitz of Hood River have filed for
that post.
John Sewell will retire
Sewell delivered a statement to
Hood River News’ office Monday,
announcing he will retire after serv-
ing for 28 years as DA for the county.
He is the longest-serving elected
official in the county.
“I will not be seeking re-election,”
Sewell stated. “I will be retiring at
the end of my current term in Janu-
ary of 2021; the fact that I will retire
then does not mean that I will stop
working for the citizens of this coun-
ty now.”
One other person
has filed to run for
District Attorney:
Three-year Hood
River resident Sean
Kallery, who is cur-
rently a deputy DA
John Sewell
with Marion Coun-
DA to retire
ty.
“I firmly believe
that an extremely important task for
me now is to do all I can to ensure
the smooth transition of my office
at the end of this term,” Sewell said.
“As a first step in that process I en-
couraged Sean Kallery to run.
“I support Sean Kallery complete-
ly and I urge voters of this county to
make him their next District Attor-
ney,” Sewell said.
Dist. 52 race
Dist. 52 covers Hood River Coun-
ty and portions of
Clackamas and
Multnomah Coun-
ties.
Williams said
in an email, “It is
an honor to serve
House District 52
and all our com-
Rep. Anna
munities on and
Williams
around the moun-
Seeks second term
tain. I’m thrilled to
run for reelection
to keep working on the priorities of
families in our district. Just like I did
in 2018, I’ll run a people-powered,
grassroots campaign, focused on
the issues. In my first term, I’ve been
a very effective advocate for our
community, from investing in pub-
lic schools, protecting our clean air
and water, and making sure every
family has access to paid family and
medical leave.
“I love our rural way of life, and
I have appreciated the opportunity
to be one of the few rural voices at
the table in the Democratic caucus.
I believe that, working together,
we have the power to improve ser-
vices in rural areas and focus on
our state’s and our district’s biggest
challenges.
Classifieds
Entertainment
Greater Gorge
Happenings
Kaleidoscope
Legal Notices
Obituaries
Book distribution
in Parkdale and
CL on March 10
Visit the Hood River Library
District throughout March and
April to participate in the annual
Hood River Reads program spon-
sored by the Friends of the Hood
River Library.
Pick up a copy of the 2020 Hood
River Reads selection, “The High-
est Tide” by Jim Lynch, starting on
Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. The
annual kickoff will feature book
distribution, art, a reading by Dick
Withers and refreshments.
Patrons of the Cascade Locks
and Parkdale Libraries can pick
up books starting on March 10 at
3 p.m.
The library will host programs
including a book club, a discus-
sion on climate in the Gorge, a
community tree planting and an
art activity for families, among
others. This year’s program will
culminate in a writing workshop
and public presentation by Lynch.
Schedule is as follows:
■ Saturday, March
7, 2-3:30 p.m.; kick off
the Hood River Li-
brary Reading Room.
Book distribution,
art, reading by Dick
Withers, videos, re-
freshments.
■ Tuesday,
March 10, 3-7
p.m.; kick off at
the Parkdale and
Cascade Locks
library branch-
es. Book distri-
bution.
■ Saturday,
March 21, 11
a.m.; Hood
River Library
Makerspace.
For all ages: “Hood
River’s Giant Squid.”
■ Thursday, March 26, 6:30 p.m.;
Hood River Library Meeting Room.
“Powered by Science: from Rachel
Carson to Greta Thunberg.” Movie
and discussion with Dr. Antonio
Baptista.
■ Thursday, April 2, 6:30-8 p.m.;
Hood River Library Meeting Room.
Hood River Library Book Club: “The
Highest Tide.”
■ Wednesday, April 4, 2 p.m.; Hood
River Library Reading Room. “Warm-
ing of the Gorge and the Impact on
Mountains, Mammals, and Humans,”
with Bill Weiler and Darryl Lloyd.
■ Saturday, April 11, 10 a.m. to
noon; Barrett Park. For all ages:
“Earth Month Tree Planting” with
Bill Weiler. Bring shovel and gloves.
For parking, see the library’s website,
hoodriverlibrary.org.
■ Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m. to
12:30 p.m.; Hood River Library Meet-
ing Room. Writing Workshop with
author Jim Lynch. Reservations start
March 7. Email info@hoodriverli-
brary.org, call 541-386-2535 or visit
the library to register.
■ Sunday, April 19, 2 p.m.; Hood
River Library Reading Room. Public
presentation by author Jim Lynch.
BRIEFS
B6
A3
A2
B3
B1
B5
A6
Opinion
Sports
Yesteryears
A4
A7
B2
“(Mariachi) honors a culture that is
not as prominent in our community
as it should be.” — Brent Emmons,
on Hood River Mariachi, B1
3
INSIDE
“My policy priorities for next
session include continuing to in-
vest in education, especially when
it comes to high-quality early
childhood education, community
college funding, and affordable
childcare across the state. I will
also push for affordable housing
in rural and unincorporated com-
munities, preventing child abuse,
providing access to affordable
healthcare and prescription drugs,
and continuing my efforts to fund
search and rescue operations on
and around the mountain.
Helfrich had this to say upon his
filing:
“It’s been tough sitting back and
watching Kate Brown and Anna
Williams take our state in the
wrong direction,” said Helfrich.
“The supermajority in Salem is
not listening to hardworking Ore-
gon families. Instead, they are pri-
oritizing higher taxes and reckless
spending. I’m running to stand up
to Kate Brown and the big spenders
in Salem and give the citizens of
HD52 a voice in Salem.”
Prior to serving in the Legisla-
ture, Helfrich was a law enforce-
ment officer for 25 years. He retired
as a Portland Police Sergeant in
2017 and then worked as a Deputy
Sheriff for Multnomah County.
Helfrich was a Cascade Locks City
Councilor from 2011-2015.
“For my whole career, I’ve
worked to protect and give back
to my community as a veteran and
a law enforcement officer,” said
Helfrich. “The Legislature and our
community need a legislator who
will listen and solve problems ef-
fectively.”
As a freshman legislator, Helfrich
passed both of the bills he intro-
duced in the 2018 legislative ses-
sion. House Bill (HB) 4152/Eagle
Creek Fire Recovery: That brought
resources to the community to
better prepare for wildfires and HB
4044 creating a identifying effective
educator recruitment, retention,
mentoring and professional devel-
opment strategies in Oregon.
Cohousing open house
HRSWCD board meets
Survivors of Suicide
Adams Creek Cohousing hosts
an information open house
on March 7 from 3-4 p.m. at
1419 Sherman Ave. Kids wel-
come. RSVP to Friends@Adam-
sCreekCohousing.com.
Hood River Soil & Water Con-
servation hosts its next district
board meeting on March 5 from
4-6 p.m. at OSU Extension. All
are welcome. More at hoodriv-
erswcd.org/meetings.
A new support group, Survivors
of Suicide Loss, meets the sec-
ond Tuesday of the month from
at Columbia Gorge Community
College, Hood River campus.
See B4, Gatherings, for details.
05105 97630
News editor
7
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA