Emergency declaration work continues

HOOD RIVER — Hood River City Council began its Feb. 9 meeting with a performance of the National Anthem by special guest Amy Maddy. The council then followed with the Pledge of Allegiance and land acknowledgment before continuing, as per usual.

Bonnie Withers, with Friends of the Library, gave an overview of this year’s Hood River County Reads program, now in its 20th year. This year’s book is the memoir “On Gold Hill: A Personal History of Wheat, Farming, and Family, from Punjab to California” by Jaclyn Moyer. More than 600 books will be distributed countywide; free copies can be picked up at the library, along with a schedule of events.

The council unanimously supported a proclamation that established February and March “Hood River County Reads.” Hood River County Commissioners passed a similar proclamation on Jan. 20; Cascade Locks City Council declined to support the program at their Jan. 12 meeting.

Emergency work continues

Next Door Inc. Director of Programs Elizur Bello joined City Administrator Abigail Elder for a council update on city’s response to federal immigration enforcement. Since declaring a state of emergency on Dec. 12, Elder has been working on several council objectives, including hosting listening sessions and a town hall to be facilitated by The Next Door Inc. (TNDI).

Bello said that the conversations will involve listening to those affected by immigration enforcement as well as providing information about city government and council meetings.

“Hopefully this will help set the stage to not only increase trust, but also awareness of how to be civically engaged in our community,” Bello said.

The listening sessions will be invitation only, with one for employers, one for youth, and two for the general public, each with nine to 12 participants. To ensure privacy and safety, the meetings will likely be held online. He expects the listening sessions to start sometime this month, with the town hall in April.

At the town hall, Elder said, TDNI will provide an overview of results from the listening sessions.

Earlier in the meeting, Elder also gave an overview of other actions taken, including social media posts emphasizing city government and police do not enforce federal immigration law without a judicial order, Know Your Rights information, and video messages on topics like how to identify a Hood River officer.

Each department has also undergone policy training on staff response to immigration enforcement, she said.

Mayor Paul Blackburn said Elder is not only working on the city’s emergency response, but “negotiating with the union and supervising all the staff and managing the capital expenditure plans for the storm water that we heard about a month ago.” He recognized those who provide city services and “are working two jobs right now,” and those directly impacted by immigration officers.

Council President Gladys Rivera said that while emergency declarations aren’t new, there is an opportunity to learn from this situation to make it easier on staff in the future. “I echo the appreciation to everybody involved to getting us a clear plan so there is more clarity moving forward,” she said.