YESTERYEARS: ‘Lure of Hood River Valley’ booklet available in 1927

By MIKE DOKE

News staff writer

When they least expect it, Hood River County’s school bus-riding students may discover they’ve been elected for starring roles in an upcoming transportation department production.

This fall, these students will find a new application of the video age, thanks to a plan to mount surveillance cameras inside buses.

Wednesday, Hood River County School Board yelled “action,” directing Transportation Supervisor Jim Eastman to get the project on the road.

Under Eastman’s proposal, camera boxes will be installed in all 30 district school buses. There will be only four cameras, however; they will rotate from bus to bus, concealed by one-way glass.

Students won’t know when a camera is on their bus, Eastman said.

Cost of the system is $5,650. The state’s school funding formula reimburses districts for 70 percent of transportation costs, so the local commitment is $1,695, Eastman said.

“This is a management tool for the driver. This will deter vandalism. It will help improve student behavior,” Eastman added.

Cameras will be capable of visual and audio monitoring. The lens can capture a bus passenger section, he said.

Eastman noted buses suffer as much at $1,400 damage each year because of vandalism. This cost is for materials and doesn’t include labor. It is the result of ripped seats, broken windows and other damage, he said.

Other districts using the surveillance system have experienced sharp drops in bus vandalism, Eastman said.

Student conduct will be recorded. If a problem arises, the video tape can be used to observe any misbehavior and to help determine discipline measures, he added.

Cameras can be placed inside a bus at a driver’s, parent’s or school building administrator’s request. They can also be placed in a bus without the driver’s knowledge to improve performance, Eastman said.

“There is no intent to use the video as a threat to the driver, but as a training tool,” he said.

This spring, the district will develop a policy on the camera’s use, said Superintendent Chuck Bugge.

— Hood River News, April 26, 1997

1927 — 90 years ago

A new booklet, entitled “The Lure of Hood River Valley,” is now ready for distribution. The compilation of this booklet, which differs from any hitherto produced, was the work of C.N. Ravlin, chairman of the Publicity Committee of the Chamber. The cuts used are excellent, and feature a greater extent than ever before the lure of Mount Hood and the valley to the tourists and home seeker. The front cover design is a picture of a ski party on the lower slopes of the north side of Mount Hood, and the back-cover design is a beautiful new picture of Lost Lake, with Mount Hood in the background.

1937 — 80 years ago

Representing the Garden Club, Mrs. V.C. Follenius appeared before the city council Monday night with a plan to make the city more beautiful by the planting of shrubs and bushes. The first work, according to her plan, is to be done on the Serpentine road, which is particularly ugly since the recent cut was made to widen this road. The council has taken the matter under consideration, and will report later.

For the last week, the city has been installing concrete drain pipe along the gutters on the west side of 12th Street. The purpose is to effectively drain this hill business street in preparation for resurfacing by the State Highway Commission, this being part of the Hood River-Parkdale secondary highway.

1947 — 70 years ago

To shoot background material for “The Shadow of Fear,” a Warner Brothers picture to be released late this year, a large group of directors, camera men and technicians arrived in Hood River Friday of last week. The story of “The Shadow of Fear” goes back to 1897, and the backgrounds sought in Hood River covered the return of the couple with leading parts to the old homestead, with a reception by the young folks, which gave a number of Hood River boys and girls an opportunity to be on location for a number of scenes. What Warner Bros. technicians wanted most on their arrival was a real old surrey, and they were fortunate in locating one, together with a team of bays, from Mrs. Jacobs on the old Morton ranch below Ruthton Hill.

1957 — 60 years ago

The new Immanuel Lutheran Church at Ninth and State streets will be dedicated Sunday morning, as a vesper program of especial interest to out-of-town well-wishers is scheduled for 4 o’clock that afternoon. The Rev. Clarence Wildermuth, Immanuel pastor from 1940-1948, will preach the 11 a.m. service and the Rev. John E. Simon, present pastor, will read the rite of dedication.

The Pine Grove Methodist Church building is 50 years old and the congregation plans an anniversary celebration Sunday at 10 a.m. The building, which stands southwest of the school, was built after pioneer residents on the east side had supported an active Sunday school program for many years. That Sunday school program is 77 years old.

1967 — 50 years ago

Eddie Mays Inn and the Hood River Village motel took their public bow to an appreciative public here Sunday. A ribbon cutting this Saturday at 4 p.m. will make the opening official. By that time, the restaurant, coffee shop and motel will all be ready for operation. In fact, the cocktail lounge was open by the Sunday “walk-through,” and the 24-hour coffee shop and gourmet restaurant were both due for full operations by today. So while ribbons are being cut, the operation will already be in full swing.

1977 — 40 years ago

Hood River Memorial Hospital has received approval for construction of a 27-unit elderly housing project here, and construction is expected to start this year, according to Don Kelter, hospital administrator. He said approval was received early this week from the Housing Division of the State of Oregon for the project at the corner of 12th and Montello.

County administrators took the voters’ advice here Monday and adopted “Option 1” of the Mt. Hood Planning Unit proposal by a 3-1 margin. That option excludes possibility of constructing Planned Unit Developments in a corridor of the Upper Hood River Valley from Parkdale south — an area that makes up this county’s portion of the Mt. Hood Planning Unit outside the national forest.

1987 — 30 years ago

It was more shock than surprise this week when Jantzen Inc. announced it will close its Hood River plant this year. Because of the pattern of the garment industry, there have been long, two to three-month shutdowns of the Hood River plant during the summers for the past three years, and each time the closures began the question if Jantzen would open again. That was finally answered here Monday. One of the largest industrial operations in the county, Jantzen has maintained a $1.7 million annual payroll, according to company records. It has been part of the community for 15 years.

1997 — 20 years ago

There was a full house and a standing ovation in the Kathleen Room of that bright, airy building on Sterling Place. It wasn’t a single performance by Sterling and Kathleen Hanel that inspired the tribute from more than 100 gathered in Hood River County Senior Center. It was years of sustained dedication and sizable contributions from the couple. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have a senior center,” Hattie Light, an active member of the center, was heard to say. For that important reason, Hood River’s senior center honored the Hanels with a special lunch celebration, awarding the couple the center’s first-ever lifetime membership.

2007 — 10 years ago

A vote by the Oregon Investment Board forgave $100,000 of a loan to the Port of Cascade Locks. Port Director Chuck Daughtry said the loan was conditional based upon the port creating a certain number of jobs. “It was very helpful to the port and gives us more money to invest in other projects we have planned,” he said. “For this year’s budget, that means $40,000 alone.” The port received the money in 1989 to build an entrance road to the port’s industrial park. The terms of the loan were that the remaining principal balance could be forgiven if 25 new family-wage jobs were created. Bear Mountain Forest Products expanded at the port and created 24 full-time jobs with an average annual salary of $36,000. The company is planning on further expansion in the near future, so OIB vice-chairman Bill Fashing said the commission waived the one remaining job at its April 12 meeting.

— Compiled by Trisha Walker, News staff writer