A8 Wednesday, March 11, 2020 HOOD RIVER NEWS | Hood River, Ore. hoodrivernews.com Photo by Teigan Slatt TEIGAN SLATT won the middle school poster contest, Hood River County Reads. Details at right. Photos by Kirby Neumann-Rea HR R EADS The annual community book reading kicked off Saturday at Hood River Library with distri- bution of some of the 500-plus books the Friends of the Library are giving away: “The Highest Tide” by Jim Lynch. Committee members Mole Schaefer and Helen James examine sea- shells, left, and HRVHS teacher Matthew Gerlick speaks to the 30 or so people in attendance in the main reading room, after introducing student art winners (details at right). STORE CLOSING UP TO 70 % OFF EVERYTHING IN-STORE! THIS LOCATION ONLY! HOOD RIVER 1795 12TH STREET • HOOD RIVER, OR Poster by Claire Bokovoy, HRVHS P OSTER C ONTEST W INNERS Two first place winners — one high school, one middle school — have been announced in the annual Hood River County Reads poster contest last week that feature artwork inspired by “The Highest Tide” by Jim Lynch, this year’s book. Winner at the high school level was Claire Bokovoy, Hood River Valley High School, pictured above. At the middle school level, the winner was Teigan Slatt, Hood River Middle (pictured above). The two, along with four other winners in the second and third place categories, were present at Saturday’s event launch, and will be on display through April 19.