On Stage
Dance and drama
Pages A12 and B1
MIDWEEK EDITION $1.00
Vol. 114, No. 21
2 Sections, 22 Pages
HOOD RIVER, OREGON • Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Official Newspaper, City of Hood River and Hood River County
www.hoodrivernews.com
Governor declares
state of emergency for
coronavirus response
News staff writer
Gov. Kate Brown has declared a
statewide state of emergency to ad-
dress the spread of the novel corona-
virus after the Oregon Health Author-
ity (OHA) identified four new cases
of COVID-19 in Oregon on Saturday
and an additional seven on Sunday,
bringing the total to 14 as of Monday
morning.
In total, eight of the confirmed
cases are out of Washington County,
two are in Jackson County, and Klam-
ath, Umatilla, Douglas and Marion
counties have one confirmed case
each.
According to OHA, three of the
new cases are travel-related, five were
contacts of a known case and had
been under monitoring, and three
— one each in Washington, Marion
and Douglas counties — are being
investigated as community-spread
cases, meaning that the origin of the
infection is unknown.
“This news is concerning for all
Oregonians, but my resolve and that
of my administration to address this
public health crisis is unchanged,”
said Brown in an official press release.
“This emergency declaration gives
the Oregon Health Authority and the
Office of Emergency Management all
the resources at the state’s disposal
to stem the spread of this disease.
We will do everything it takes, within
our power and in coordination with
federal and local officials, to keep
Oregonians safe.”
The emergency declaration allows
OHA to activate reserves of emergen-
cy volunteer health care professionals
and grants broad authority to the
State Public Health Director, OHA,
and the Office of Emergency Manage-
ment, said the press release, which
“will allow the agencies to take imme-
diate action and devote all available
state resources towards containing
the coronavirus in Oregon.”
The state of emergency will remain
in effect for 60 days but can be extend-
See CORONAVIRUS, page A9
COVID-19
cancelations
announced
Columbia
River Gorge
Commission,
others, cancel or
change plans
Coronavirus concerns are im-
pacting more and more local or-
ganizations, including Colum-
bia Gorge Commission, which
canceled its March 10 in-person
session, and will shift to remote
technology to conduct business.
Chairman Robert Liberty said
in a weekend email, “As a bi-state
agency I think we should be re-
spectful of Gov. Jay Inslee’s advice
yesterday to avoid nonessential
meetings of 10 or more people or
to hold them virtually.”
Liberty said, ”Until there is more
information about coronavirus, the
County’s only lumber mill hires
45 jobs, will add a second shift
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
Mt. Hood Forest Products, located
on 125 acres at Neal Creek Road and
Highway 35, is about to add a second
The units of lumber are stacking shift for the first time in its 16-year
up at Mt. Hood Forest Products near history. The company replaced and
Odell and more employees are need- upgraded outbuildings last year, has
ed to keep up with the company’s had three phases of upgrades since
growing demand for two-by-four 2014, and needs more people to run
the saws, sorting lines, and comput-
and two-by-six products.
News editor
ers.
Mt. Hood Forest Products is the
only lumber mill in Hood River Coun-
ty and, along with WKO in Carson
and SDS in Bingen, one of three in
the Gorge.
The mill is now fully automat-
See MILL, page A9
MAY 19 PRIMARY ELECTION
Long list of U.S. Dist. 2 hopefuls
place names on the ballot
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editor
On March 11, Hood River News
will provide an online list of all can-
didates to file for the May 19 Primary
Election.
The deadline to file was Tuesday,
March 10 at 5 p.m., which came after
the print deadline.
Go to hoodrivernews.com.
As of Monday afternoon, no new
names had entered any of the county
races. Meanwhile a total of 10 Re-
publicans and five Democrats have
filed for the open U.S. House Dist. 2
races, according to the Oregon Sec-
retary of State’s website.
Ballots will go out in early May.
Carrie Rasmussen, a deputy dis-
trict attorney in Hood River since
2005, filed for the job of District At-
torney, to be vacated by John Sewell,
who will retire after 28 years in the
post. Sean Kallery of
Hood River has also
filed for the DA job;
he currently works
as a deputy DA in
Marion County.
Rasmussen said
in an email, “I’ve
Carrie
dedicated my career
Rasmussen
to fighting for jus-
Deputy files for
tice against some of
top job
our most hardened
criminals, and as a
champion for children, under-repre-
sented communities and vulnerable
citizen. As our next district attorney,
I will continue to make sure Hood
River is a safe place to live, work
and play. We should feel safe on our
streets and in our homes, and I will
make sure of that.”
Prior to her 15-year tenure in
Hood River County, she worked in
several other counties and cities in
Oregon and handled hundreds of
cases dealing with child abuse and
child sexual abuse, domestic violence
and restraining orders, serious drug
crimes, homicides and other felony
convictions.
Dist. 2 candidates
Republicans — Jason A. Atkinson
of Central Point, Cliff Bentz of Ontar-
io, Knute C. Buehler of Bend, David
R. Campbell of White City, Jimmy
Crumpacker of Bend, Travis A. Fager
of LaGrande, Justin Livingston of
Bend, Kenneth W. Medenbach of
Klamath Falls, Mark R. Roberts of
White City, and Jeff Smith of Elgin.
Democrats — Nick L. Heuertz of
Central Point, John P. Holm of Med-
ford, Jack Howard of LaGrande, Alex
Spenser of Klamath Falls, and Isabella
Tibbetts of Talent.
Incumbent Greg Walden (R-Hood
River) decided not to seek re-election.
Gorge Commission will be sched-
uling and holding our next meeting
(and possibly more) using online
video technology such as Zoom.
We will send out email notices and
will post the new date of our first
online commission meeting in the
next week, so please check our
website for the call-in information.”
2020 Wind Challenge
In what should have been its sev-
enth year, the 2020 Wind Challenge
has been canceled in relation to
the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
situation, announced officials with
Gorge Technology Alliance (GTA).
The event brings over 200 mid-
dle- and high-school students and
dozens of volunteers from across
six counties together for a one-
day competition to build the best
wind turbine. This event had been
planned for March 14 at Fort Dalles
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
‘T HIS I S A B OOK T O R EAD A LOUD’
Richard Withers reads from “The Highest Tide” Saturday at Hood River Reads kickoff. See pages A8 and B5 for more de-
tails. Meanwhile, Saturday’s Feast of Words at the Library is among events postponed due to coronavirus. Details at left.
See CANCELATIONS, page A9
BRIEFS
B6
A3
A2
B3
B1
B5
A6
Opinion
Sports
Yesteryears
A4
A7
B2
“I can say from personal experi-
enced that they will never regret
being bilingual.” — Peggy Dills
Kelter, B2
3
INSIDE
Classifieds
Entertainment
Greater Gorge
Happenings
Kaleidoscope
Legal Notices
Obituaries
Photo by Kirby Neumann-Rea
TIPPLE operators Jorge Esquivel and Genaro Martinez sort boards at Mt. Hood Forest Products, using hands and feet.
Parkdale Carnival
Tax Aide continues
Values and environment
Parkdale Elementary PTO hosts
its annual school carnival,
March 13 from 5-8 p.m. Admis-
sion is free; food, game tickets
and raffle tickets available for
purchase.
Tax Aide volunteers are ready to
assist on Mondays at the Hood
River Library and Thursdays
at the Hood River Valley Adult
Center, from 2-6 p.m. Free;
more information on page B3.
Hood River Library hosts Mon-
ica Mueller for “How Do Our
Values Influence Environmental
Policy” on March 12 at 6:30
p.m. Free; more at www.colum-
biagorgetourismalliance.org.
05105 97630
By EMILY FITZGERALD
ed “until the public health threat of
the coronavirus is contained,” said
the press release.
“We are prepared to activate an
unprecedented state and private ef-
fort to contain the spread of COVID-
19 in Oregon by focusing specifically
on at-risk populations,” said OHA
Director Patrick Allen. “We want to
protect Oregonians at greatest risk of
the most severe outcomes of this dis-
ease, including older adults, people
with underlying conditions, people
who are homeless and those who are
vulnerable in other ways.”
With the additional resources
granted by the emergency declara-
tion, OHA is finalizing agreements
with major hospital systems to
expand locations where COVID-19
tests can be conducted safely, pre-
paring to mobilize Oregon’s medical
reserve corps, expanding telemedi-
cine, and convening providers who
serve older adults and vulnerable
populations to mobilize an “ag-
gressive outreach and prevention
strategy to protect at-risk people,”
according to an OHA press release.
“By declaring a state of emergen-
cy, the governor and the Oregon
Health Authority director are tak-
ing necessary steps to bring state
government’s broad powers to re-
spond to the outbreak of COVID-19
in Oregon,” said Becky Hultberg,
president and CEO of the Oregon
Association of Hospitals and Health
Systems (OAHHS), a nonprofit trade
association representing acute care
hospitals in Oregon. “Hospitals are
on the front lines responding to
the outbreak and are committed to
providing critical inpatient and com-
munity health services to respond to
this evolving situation. We are work-
ing with the state administration to
address important issues such as in-
patient capacity, additional supplies
and equipment to keep our workers
and patients safe, regulatory relief to
ensure adequate staffing and clarity
around changing requirements.”
There are no confirmed cases of
COVID-19 in Hood River County,
and locals are taking preventative
action to try and keep it that way.
Events throughout the county have
been canceled or rescheduled due
to concerns about the outbreak (see
related story, below), and the Hood
River County School District is keep-
ing parents updated on the situation
7
The number of
confirmed cases in
Oregon rises to 14;
none reported in
HR County