The year 2018 saw major changes in leadership in Hood River County, activism from local youth, greatly expanded school facilities and a broad effort in planning for the future of the Hood River Interstate Bridge, among other events and developments.
Here is Part 1 of our look back at a year of change and progress.
Part 2 of the 2018 Year in Review will be in the Jan. 2, 2019, edition.
January
Kevin Greenwood joined the port district staff Jan. 2 as project director for the “Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Replacement Project.” Greenwood has held various port and city government posts in Oregon. The new staff position will play a lead role in charting out efforts to replace the Hood River Bridge.
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The Hood River County Board of Commissioners’ presiding member will stand down from his post. Ron Rivers, County chair, announced at a Jan. 16 meeting he will not seek re-election next year. Rivers will close this political chapter after 12 years serving on the board.
Editor’s Note: His term expires Dec. 31.
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Mt. Hood National Forest officials reduced the closure area from 54,892 acres to 40,354 in the wake of the Eagle Creek fire. Most of the closure remained in effect — and the reopened section didn’t include the Interstate 84 corridor. The 48,000-acre fire is no longer active, but hazards remain in burned trees, falling rocks and landslides.
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The 400 or so people at the 50th anniversary of Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort celebration Jan. 25 heard Meadows CEO Matthew Drake thank his father, resort founder Franklin Drake, and praise the past while predicting a glowing future for the resort, which opened on Jan. 28, 1968.
February
Hood River resident Susan Crowley has filed an appeal of the January decision by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) upholding a city decision to rezone Morrison Park for housing development.
Crowley filed the Petition for Review with the Oregon Court of Appeals on Feb. 9. She said she will argue that the Hood River City Council misinterpreted provisions of its comprehensive plan, which specifically protects existing parks and excludes this park from residential development.
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“We’re going to be witnessing a transformation here,” said Superintendent Dan Goldman at the start of the new May Street School project on Feb. 12, welcoming a crowd of 100 or so people that included students, staff, school board, construction crew and community members. Following the ceremonial ground-breaking, work is now underway on the new May Street School, which will be the first school to be constructed in the Hood River County School District in 49 years.
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The boy who started the September 2017 Eagle Creek fire heard at length about the wide-sweeping harm he caused. The 15-year-old teen from Vancouver, Wash., admitted in court Feb. 16 to charges of reckless burning and other misdemeanor offenses stemming from the case.
Judge John Olson sentenced the juvenile to up to five years of probation and 1,920 hours of community service under U.S. Forest Service supervision, via a plea agreement.
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The Hood River County Board of Commissioners decided after a second hearing Feb. 20 to abandon a proposal asking voters in the May election for a county-wide sales tax. A scaled down 1.25-percent tax plan came before commissioners Feb. 20, but the panel unanimously moved not to put the tax question on the spring ballot.
March
The City of Cascade Locks hopes to finish a federally-supported municipal water system overhaul on WaNaPa Street and other roads before the summer tourism season hits. Spurred by a $3.7 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the city is replacing its main water line that runs underground through town, serving residential to commercial and industrial users. It’s the first part in a series of water utility upgrades that also involves replacing Dry Creek Reservoir with a new water storage system.
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Hood River City Council, in a special meeting on Tuesday, March 6, authorized a purchase option agreement between the city and Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation for Lot 700 — also known as Morrison Park — contingent on development of an affordable housing complex that includes a sizable park/open space element.
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Hood River students took part in a national school walkout March 14. The 17-minute demonstration at 10 a.m. recognized the 17 people who died one month earlier in a school shooting in Parkland, Fla. The walkout aimed to draw attention to efforts by students in Florida and other states to effect change in gun laws in hopes of stemming gun violence. Hood River Valley High School, Hood River Middle School and Wy’east Middle School students participated, as did students at Columbia Gorge Community College.
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Dr. Marta Yera-Cronin will be the next president of Columbia Gorge Community College. Cronin’s hiring came in a special meeting at the Indian Creek Campus in Hood River. The college search committee started with a list of 44 applicants, and the community met the four finalists earlier this month. The vote was unanimous.
April
A farewell to the existing Children’s Park took place April 7 and included a fundraiser for the new park, with music, food, face painting and games. The park closed shortly after the event to prepare for the development and installation of new and expanded play structures, with work parties set for June.
Editor’s note: The park was rebuilt in July and August and reopened in September.
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Robotics students from Hood River Valley High School headed to Houston, Texas for the World Robotics Competition the week of April 16: A05 Annex, First Robotics Competition (FRC), and Steelheads, First Tech Challenge (FTC). The Wy’east Middle School Fluffy Pink Unicorns First Lego League (FLL) team also made it to the World competition.
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Daryl Stafford joined Port of Hood River staff on April 23 as the new waterfront and marina manager, replacing Steve Carlson. The position is responsible for the daily operations of port-owned waterfront properties and the Hood River Marina, and for ongoing and long-term planning for facilities and amenities improvements, policy and budget planning.
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Mark Johnson announced his resignation from the Hood River County School Board, effective April 25, after calls for his resignation from the board of the Hood River County School District following allegations he made a racially-charged comment about a Hispanic member of the Oregon Legislature, corroborated by witnesses, according to a media report.
Editor's Note: Johnson was hired in November as Government Affairs Director for the Port of Cascade Locks.
May
Hood River County Reads welcomed poet Alejandro Jimenez, author of “Moreno. Prieto. Brown.,” this year’s selection, on April 28 at the Hood River Library. His poems, “about growing up brown in Hood River County, as an immigrant in a mixed-status family,” were the focus of his presentation, as well as his experiences with performance poetry.
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Forest Service firefighters responded to a small hotspot reported near Herman Creek on May 29. Firefighters located the hotspot about a half mile east of Herman Creek Trailhead, north of the Gorge 400 trail. Eagle Creek fire, contained in late November 2017, had not yet been declared out and the hotspot was not unexpected.
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In a six-page ruling, Circuit Court Judge John A. Olson upheld all but a fraction of the $36.6 million in restitution requested by the Hood River County District Attorney’s Office that a Vancouver youth pay for damages in the September 2017 Eagle Creek fire. The youth, who turned 16 in May, will be required, formally, to repay the amount; but realistically, Olson said, the restitution bill serves a purpose beyond financial remuneration. In his ruling, Olson invoked the statutory aim of “responsibility, accountability, and reformation.”
June
At its June 5 meeting, the port commission officially approved the Waterfront Parking Plan and detailed a payment and fee schedule. Parking in some areas became metered beginning June 15. While parking on the city-owned streets — North Second and North Eighth streets and the center blocks of Portway Avenue — remained free, parking on port-owned streets required a parking pass or a meter payment.
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Hood River Valley High School’s graduation ceremony was held Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) because of construction at Henderson Stadium on June 8. Construction crews started demolition of the old field at the Hood River Valley High School in May after the final track event was held at Henderson Stadium.
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The first forest fire of the season came June 20: A half-acre fire on Oregon State Parks land on Mitchell Point, west of Hood River. The Mitchell Point fire, believed to have been started by lightning, was adjacent to Interstate 84 in Hood River County, estimated to be approximately a half acre in size and an estimated 200 feet up the cliff, which is at milepost 59. Firefighters were dispatched early morning and were able to quickly stop spread of the fire.
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Wy’east Middle School administration, staff and students, joined by Hood River County School District board and community members, held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open up the school’s new STEAM center on June 6.
The center houses a common space that doubles as a flexible learning area, maker space, dustless prototype lab, flex and science labs, and an outdoor learning space that is still under construction.
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