Above, Community Partners volunteers and city public works personnel paint the crosswalk outside White Salmon City Hall.
Contributed photo
If you’ve driven through White Salmon in the several years before last, you’d have probably noticed the white salmon swimming in the downtown crosswalks. Since the salmon first appeared in 2015, they’ve been a popular and much anticipated icon of the city.
Then suddenly, they didn’t show up in 2020. A combination of COVID-19 precautions last spring and the Jewett Water Main project through the summer resulted in the window of opportunity for repainting not being available.
“We know how much people look forward to seeing the fish crosswalks, and it was important to bring that tradition back this year,” said White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler.
The salmon have finally returned, and they’re now bright and healthy, back in their crosswalk habitat after their longer than usual absence.
The finished work is displayed, white salmon sprawling across 13 crosswalks around town.
Contributed photo
Crews set a stencil down in preparation for painting.
Contributed photo
On Wednesday morning last week, a team of 12 fish wranglers, including Community Partners volunteers and the White Salmon Public Works crew, worked with stencils and paint sprayers to herd those fishies into their 13 crosswalk holding pens so they won’t confuse and confound pedestrians and vehicle traffic through town.
The whole crew was happy to get the job done in a little more than three hours, and they are happy to see the salmon swimming peacefully in their pens again. The crew said they really appreciated the smiles and thumbs-up the passing motorists gave despite the traffic snarl the herding created. And White Salmon residents and visitors are elated to have the salmon back on the street.
Community Partners is a 501c3 organization founded in 2010 to support the communities of Bingen and White Salmon. Individuals interested in joining Community Partners to volunteer on future community enrichment projects can sign-up at communitypartnersbws.org/volunteer.
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