Today we are inundated with information, especially with the advent of social media — where anyone can share their cat pictures, thoughts and suspicions. With all this noise, it is our responsibility to know what is accurate and what is not.

An iconic beacon is revived at the corner of Cascade and Third streets in Hood River, at Elks Lodge 1507.

Yesteryears

What’s Happening is a free service of Columbia Gorge News and may be edited for length. Items can also be found online on the Columbia Gorge News website (Gorge Life tab); calendar items are updated daily. Send items to trishaw@gorgenews.com.

Gorge residents are invited to participate in a celebration of the life, work and dreams of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — virtually — on Monday, Jan. 18. The theme of this year’s celebration, sponsored by Gorge Ecumenical Ministries (GEM), is a paraphrased quote by Dr. King: “We are tied…

Columbia Center for the Arts presents in its lobby, “Consciousness, Contemporary Printmaking in Oaxaca — Honoring the History of Printmaking for Social Justice and Change,” an international exhibition curated by local artist and teacher Abigail Merickel. The exhibit is open to the public Jan…

Doug Kelly started Dec. 1 as Chief Administrative Officer and Fire Marshal for West Side Fire District, succeeding Jim Trammell, who has retired from fire service after 50 years.

2020 has been quite a ride. And with all the stay-at-home orders and cancellations, you may be thinking, “I’m not adding this year to my age — I didn’t use it!” But we’re tough and resilient, knowing from every experience there is something to learn.

Yesteryears

A monolith was found at the Hood River Elks Lodge this morning, Jan. 5, by Kara Tobin, office manager, on the northeast corner of the parking lot. It is three sided, appears to be brushed aluminum sheets bolted together. Exalted Ruler Derek Larson said it is unknown who put it there or why b…

HR’s pyro jam session

Solera Brewery’s largest bottling effort — one cap at a time — set up a gentle powerhouse of a sour ale made by head brewer Jason Kahler.

Santa arrived at the Lyle Activity Center to a street lined with expectant children ready to see the Jolly Old Man in the big red suit, who braved the rain and remained in his sleigh because of social distancing.

Yesteryears

Welcome to 2021! Another year to view the wonders of the night sky. January will feature the usual wonder of the bright constellations of winter, Mars shining as a red beacon in the evening sky, and a chance to spot Uranus, a planet many have never viewed.

Making tracks to graduation in 2026, students reflect on year

The Riverfront Trail Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 23, honored long time trail volunteer Dave Neitling for his support of the trail as both a volunteer and a donor.

What’s Happening is a free service of Columbia Gorge News and may be edited for length. Items can also be found online on the Columbia Gorge News website (Gorge Life tab); calendar items are updated daily. Send items to trishaw@gorgenews.com.

... And how lovely will it be to put your basket in the crook of your arm and pluck those gorgeously perfect vegetables, or flowers from their stems for a lovely arrangement?! Okay, I think that might have been a scene from a movie I saw once.

WELL SAID: “I am grateful for the people who grow, harvest and sell the food that nourishes our bodies and souls.” — From the online book “With Gratitude,” find it at issuu.com/gratitudeuniversity

Nativity scenes, aka creches or manger scenes, can be found this time of year at many churches and other locations in the Gorge. 

This is the tale of a true “holiday tree.”

Members of the community have been hard at work these past couple of months pulling together Washington Gorge Action Programs’ Tree of Joy program this year, and it was all worth it in the end. With 200 children accounted for, local families in need will be able to give gifts to their little…

Poinsettia and Christmas cactus are the quintessential holiday plants. Whether you purchase them or are the lucky recipient of a lovely floral gift, keeping them happy after the tree is gone and decorations packed away, doesn’t take much.

Members of the Gorge Women In Black advocacy group stand on Oak Street in Hood River on Dec. 18, in support of peace and social justice concerns, as they do each Friday, The women remain silent except to answer questions. From left in front are Sara McCaffrey, Lani Roberts, Margaret Tomas, a…

What’s Happening is a free service of Columbia Gorge News and may be edited for length. Items can also be found online on the Columbia Gorge News website (Gorge Life tab); calendar items are updated daily. Send items to trishaw@gorgenews.com.

Peri May, 6, leaves her letter for Santa at Second and Oak Street in Hood River. Hood River Chamber has teamed up with the North Pole for the fifth year, but this is the first time Chamber has kept a box at Overlook Memorial Park as part of its Hood River Holidays celebration. “It is a littl…

As we, as a nation and as a community, continue to adapt our lives and work as the pandemic requires, I think we are seeing that, here in Glenwood, we are a resilient, “get ‘er done” bunch. We do what we have to do during this worrisome time in our lives. At the Glenwood School, all the teac…

Yesteryears

HOOD RIVER — ‘Tis the season for holiday decorations.

Many churches throughout the Gorge are using outdoor meetings and social distancing as they observe the Christian Advent season, the four-week series of worships celebrating the preparation for Christ’s nativity. Hood River’s Riverside Community Church (United Church of Christ) meets in memb…

Washington, D.C. — Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) delivered farewell remarks on the House Floor.

What’s Happening is a free service of Columbia Gorge News and may be edited for length. Items can also be found online on the Columbia Gorge News website (Gorge Life tab); calendar items are updated daily. Send items to trishaw@gorgenews.com.