At left, Tiffany, June, Jason and Wiley George sit outside their Hood River home. Co-owners of a small business, the Georges are dependent on Medicaid to treat Wiley’s rare genetic disorder, requiring at least $9,000 worth of medication every month, along with other expenses like speech therapy.
A little girl watches as the Hispanic Dancing Horses trot down 6th Street in The Dalles as part of in the 44th annual Northwest Cherry Festival Parade on April 26. Lisa Farquharson, president of The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, said the event “was truly a cherrific celebration.
Although the month kicked off on a positive note (Columbia Gorge News celebrated our five-year anniversary, ironically, on April Fool’s Day), budget cuts, both expected or already implemented, continued to dominate headlines.
Superintendents of the Hood River County School District and North Wasco County School District revealed a roughly $4 million and $2.1 million shortfall in their respective budgets, largely because of increased contributions to Oregon’s pension system, the expiration of pandemic-era relief programs and declining enrollment, for the 2025-26 school year. Likewise, a move in Washington State’s Legislature caused the Columbia River Gorge Commission to lose 25% of its $4.4 million budget for the next two years.
At left, Tiffany, June, Jason and Wiley George sit outside their Hood River home. Co-owners of a small business, the Georges are dependent on Medicaid to treat Wiley’s rare genetic disorder, requiring at least $9,000 worth of medication every month, along with other expenses like speech therapy.
Nathan Wilson photo
As Congress advanced its own budget process, Columbia Gorge News covered the fallout if $880 billion was cut from Medicaid over the next ten years, as initially suggested. For instance, One Community Health treats about 30,000 people every year. Medicaid recipients make up nearly half of that population and account for 65% of the nonprofit’s annual revenue.
Uncertainty over whether the federal government would reimburse already-approved grant dollars also forced Wasco County to rework an agreement to establish more defensible space near Wamic, and understandably so. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had just revoked a $20 million grant to build a childcare center and emergency response shelter in The Dalles.
These actions, and others, prompted 2025’s first major protest in the Gorge. An estimated 1,500 people rallied in Hood River for the national “Hands Off!” protest on April 5.
Last on the money-related train, Tara Koch was sentenced to four years in prison because she embezzled $179,000 from Haven, a nonprofit that provides relief from sexual and domestic violence, while she was executive director.
Nearly seven years after planning began, the Mitchell Point Tunnel and a 1.5-mile segment of trail opened to the public in April as well. Back out east in The Dalles, a committee finalized design plans for the Federal Street Plaza Project, and Sen. Ron Wyden took questions at his 1,111th town hall on April 23.
A little girl watches as the Hispanic Dancing Horses trot down 6th Street in The Dalles as part of in the 44th annual Northwest Cherry Festival Parade on April 26. Lisa Farquharson, president of The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, said the event “was truly a cherrific celebration.
Gary Elkinton photo
That weekend, the 44th annual Northwest Cherry Festival took over downtown and celebrated industry royalty in Lynn and Marlene Long, this year’s King Bing and Queen Anne. Greg Omeg marshaled the parade down 6th Street and others took part in the fun run.
To close, unfortunately on a disconcerting note, Hood River County’s Health Department identified three local cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a rare brain disorder, believed to be the first ever in the county. At the time, officials weren’t aware of any evidence of person-to-person transmission and said the public health risk was extremely low.
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