2022: A Year to Remember: Part 1 of 2

January

The year began with news that the local investment firm, Mount Hood Capital Investments LLC, led by orchardist and entrepreneur L. Scott Webster, purchased the Mt. Hood Railroad Jan. 10.

Former City Councilor and Mayor pro tempore Catherine Kiewit swore the oath of office and became the City of Bingen’s newest mayor.

Bob Songer, who had held the office of Sheriff of Klickitat County since 2014, announced he would not run for a third term as sheriff in the November election and would be retiring after his term expired Dec. 31, citing health issues and his age, 76, as factors in his decision to decline seeking reelection. However, Songer later decided to run again, and won his third term in the Nov. 9 general election.

And the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a climber in distress from the summit of Mount Hood on Jan. 22. He was successfully rescued by Crag Rats and Portland Mountain Rescue crews.

Also in January, hospitalization rates were rapidly climbing in Oregon and in the Gorge as COVID cases spiked.

February

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to make news in February as Oregon schools prepared for the end of mask mandates. Oregon Health Authority announced Feb. 7 that Oregon would remove mask requirements for K-12 schools no later than March 31, and school districts began preparing for the new federal rule.

Free vaccination clinics and test kits were available Gorge-wide. In both Oregon and Washington, the delta and omicron variants were most prevalent, with omicron responsible for a significant increase in the number of infections.

Also in February, plans for The Dalles Navigation Center — a one-stop service center for those experiencing houselessness, housing instability or poverty — began moving forward. It was reported in August that MCCAC received $1.5 million through the 2021 budget reconciliation bill to help develop the center in The Dalles. At the end of the year, groundbreaking was anticipated in the spring of 2023.

March

In March, Maupin’s Shaniko Wool Company had their wool used in the Ralph Lauren winter Olympics sweaters. This month also brought much talk of the war in Ukraine, with the March 9 edition including a feature on a TDHS grad working to help refugees, a guide on how to help those in Ukraine, and pictures of a rally by Columbia Gorge Women’s Action Network.

The month finished with the debut of La Clínica, One Community Health’s mobile clinic.

April

In classic The Dalles fashion, April brought the beloved tradition of the annual Northwest Cherry Festival. Special this year was first-ever Cherry Queen, Helen (Spickerman) Elton, returning as the grand marshal.

Toward the end of the month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Klickitat County’s claim to a portion of the Yakama Reservation land — the 121,465 acres along the southwest border of the reservation known as Tract D — affirming that the land belonged to the Yakama.

Additionally, Azure Standard’s headquarters in Dufur burned down in a fire that was ruled an accident.

May

On May 13, members of Riverside Community Church apologized for their silence as church on May 13, 1942, when 431 people of Japanese ancestry were forced onto traincars in Hood River to be transported to detention centers in California.

At their May meeting, White Salmon city councilors rescinded an offer to buy Margaret Walker’s house following a months-long public process to determine whether using the property as a public community center would serve the city and residents’ interests. The house remains up for sale. Lastly, Wasco County commissioners approved the commission of a feasibility study to explore the citing of an athletic complex on property near Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Center that was recently transferred to Wasco County ownership as part of an agreement with Google, and an overall proposal by Mid-Columbia Medical Center to cite future facilities on Kramer Fields between Sixth and 10th streets in The Dalles.

June

In June the community reacted to national news that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned all federal protection for those needing or performing abortions, which left the question of legality to be legislated by the states. That month, bear sightings in the City of White Salmon were so frequent that the city brought in an official from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to bring more awareness to the community on what to do to lessen the chance of bears in populated areas. We also reported that Columbia Gorge Food Bank broke ground on a new warehouse and Community Food Center at the Port of The Dalles.