Free news: Trout Lake School District has a new superintendent. Doug Dearden was sworn in by Chair Laurie Sherburne at the June 24 school board meeting.

Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn laid out the expected bond-funded, unified campus project timeline at the June 25 White Salmon Valley School District (WSVSD) board meeting.

HOOD RIVER — From a warm early afternoon and well into a breezy evening, people of all ages gathered in the name of freedom and community, dancing their way through Black in the Gorge’s (B.I.G.) fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Jackson Park.

THE GORGE — Columbia Gorge Community College’s (CGCC) board confirmed a lease for an aircraft hangar, heard an audit update, and adopted a supplemental budget at their June 16 meeting.

Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) held commencement ceremonies on June 12 at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center. CGCC awarded 29 people with GED diplomas, 74 with associate degrees, and 70 also with certificates. In total, 130 students walked across the stage.

The June 5 Hood River Valley High School commencement brought to a close, perhaps, Tracks to ‘26, a simple concept that yielded a complex product.

THE GORGE — Columbia Gorge CASA’s 2026 raffle features a playhouse built by students in the Career & Technical Education (CTE) program at South Wasco County High School. Proceeds from the raffle support Columbia Gorge CASA’s advocacy for abused and neglected children.