Kudos for hard work
To the North Central Public Health District for its hard-earned public health accreditation, which only 10 of Oregon’s 34 public health districts have achieved. The accreditation means the district meets tough national standards aimed at improving service, value and accountability.
Above and beyond
It is heartening to know that Oregon State Police troopers Zach Bohince and Ryan Sharp are on duty at The Dalles Area Command. These men take the protection of public safety to a new level and their efforts were recently recognized with the first- ever Medal of Valor awards issued by the state police. In two separate events, both men were shot at by fleeing suspects during vehicle pursuits.
Comfort and care
Dorothy Rodriguez, a relative newcomer to the Gorge, has energized a group of citizens in The Dalles to reach out to the homeless community and simply love and care for them. She is practicing the compassion that all of society should share for the “least among us.”
Tackling tough topic
Susan Gabay mounted a campaign to engage area communities in a difficult conversation about suicide, the eighth leading cause of death in Oregon. Gabay, who lost her daughter to suicide, said being unafraid to get informed about the warning signs and learn how to act in a time of crisis would save lives and prevent other families from going through the tragedy her own had endured.
Impressive performance
Local speller Sonja Jacobsen sailed through “quiviut” and other words to take the state title in the highest division at the Oregon State Spelling Bee in Salem. Jacobsen, who is homeschooled, had competed at the state level several times before. She credited her knowledge of unusual words to her experience in 4-H and her study of Latin.
Giving back
For the first time in its 15-year history, the Pig Bowl, a fundraising flag football game featuring local law enforcement, donated proceeds to three families instead of two.
Beneficiaries of this year’s event were: Noah Messenger, an 18-year-old from Goldendale who fell 60 feet down a cliff in May, breaking his back; Amelia Hutchinson, a 4-year-old from Oregon who has finished treatment for a very rare, very aggressive but very treatable form of cancer and the family is now waiting to see if she remains in the clear; and Skylynn Bichler, an Oregon resident who has struggled with seizures for nearly a year, had a brain mass removed, and is awaiting a new diagnosis of her condition after an original one was ruled out.
Inspiring young readers
Wasco Masonic Lodge No. 15 members have been using donated funds for the last several years to buy bikes and bike helmets for local school kids as an incentive to encourage them to read more books.
Youngsters who read multiple books are entered in a drawing for a new bicycle provided by the Masons. It’s a wonderful program and the Masons – and the local Fred Meyer store, which offers the Masons a nice discount — deserve a salute for their role.
Positive alterations
Cascade Square Shopping Center and Mall owner, Mercury Development, is to be thanked for investing $4 million to improve and enhance its image in the shopping center. The renovations have made the mall much more attractive to customers. The reviews of the alterations have been very positive across the board.
Helping kids
The Next Door, Inc., deserves recognition for launching a drive to enlist more families to help take care of foster children who have been removed from their biological homes.
Becky Windsor, a foster mother from Hood River, and others recently stepped forward to share the benefits of the program, which involves more than 200 displaced youth.
Irresponsible behavior
Shooters who frightened athletes from the Columbia Gorge Triathlon Club should be caught and subject to penalties. In addition to dangerous behavior that could have resulted in serious injury, or worse, they caused trauma to a group of swimmers in the river near Chicken Charlie Islands. These individuals had to wonder if they were targets as bullets buzzed around them and entered the water not far away.
The group reported that 20 shots were fired from a rifle and handgun, but Wasco County Sheriff deputies could not find any subjects or evidence in the area.
Lazy practices
Step it up lazy recyclers, you are contributing to the upcoming crisis in the industry. China is banning many materials it used to accept from the United States because the bales being received for final processing contain too much waste, which creates sorting headaches.
As Wasco County Commissioner Steve Kramer said, this contamination “is what closed the door to China, because we’re too lazy to clean it up.”
Let’s do it right!
The Chronicle runs “Thumbs” periodically to recognize exemplary acts that benefit communities and to encourage change when necessary.
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