Goldendale Sentinel April 19, 2023

HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879

Primary School faces challenges from new state ranking

EDITOR

In the wake of the pandemic, the Goldendale Primary School got a disappointing new report card from the Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF), the measurement of how schools can improve in various categories used by the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Goldendale School District Superintendent Ellen Perconti says the report does not paint a complete picture of progress in the school.

Training Search & Rescue dogs to find missing persons

ZACHARY VILLAR FOR THE SENTINEL

At 4 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, 10 people are gathered at the Wyeth Trailhead West of Hood River. Half of them are about to get lost in the woods.

This is a training session for the Klickitat County Search and Rescue K9 team. Five people have volunteered to simulate being lost so the dogs can practice finding them. The team trains like this weekly to make sure the animals are ready for when an actual search and rescue occurs.

“Always be ready so you don’t have to get ready,” says Jim Jones, who was instrumental in starting the KCSAR (Klickitat County Search and Rescue) K9 team.

Jones joined the Wasco County Search and Rescue team in 2017. Around that time his dog had just passed, and he didn’t want to get another one. His wife asked him to come take a look at some hound dog puppies, which he did reluctantly. Behind the group of 17 puppies, he saw one female standing on her own. He called to her, and she came to him, and Jones said, “If I have to take one home, I’m taking that one.” This is his dog Ellie, a half bloodhound-half walker hound, one of the four dogs part of the team today.

Jones soon realized the potential for Ellie to become a Search and Rescue dog. “We didn’t have a dog team anywhere in the

Local author pens second children’s book

What do you get when you cross whimsical vegetables with a high desert community? A book called The Pickleman from Bickleton!

Peter B. Lewis is the author of this delightful, rhyming book for children ages 0 to 103. This playful book combines a fun, rhyming story with real-world facts about vegetables—and pickles.

Peter grew up on Mercer Island, which is in Lake Washington just east of Seattle. After graduating from high school in 1962, he moved to southern California with the thought of broadcasting in mind. Peter’s professional journey actually started when Peter was eight years old and listened to The Lone Ranger on the radio; the sound effects fascinated him, and the seed was planted. “I was just so jazzed by the sound effects and what you could do with them!”

Peter declared.

“I was a disc jockey during the introduction of the Beatles to the

Gorge,” said Jones. “So I just started YouTubing how-tos, and I went to a seminar when Ellie was two. It was the first one I’d been to, and I’ve gone to at least one a year since then.” It became clear during that first seminar when Ellie was just 6 months old that she had the right stuff for the job. “Wendy McIlroy, who was an evaluator for SARDUS [Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States] K9 Team, said, ‘You’ve got to do something with this dog. She’s a rock star.’ At that point I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

In 2018 Jones was asked to become a member of KCSAR. “I was jokingly told they just wanted Ellie,” said Jones. That same year Jones met Maija Le DiSalvo who lived in White Salmon and who had been a member of KCSAR since 2016. “She had a dog that she was training, kind of like me,” explained Jones. “We didn’t know each other existed. I became really good friends with her, and we just started training every week.”

DiSalvo and Jones commiserated on the difficulty of finding volunteers to hide so they could train their dogs to find them. DiSalvo reached out to the community on Facebook and received an overwhelming response from people who wanted to help. This was the foundation of the KCSAR K9 team. Julia Curry was next to join. She started off as backup and a support person for the team, assisting with navigation and communication. Then she got her own

dog, Jovi, a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, and after two years and 2,000 hours of training, Jovi was certified as a Search and Rescue dog. DiSalvo left the team in 2022 when she moved to Alaska for work.

Maura “Molly” Sullivan was the next member to join the team. Sullivan had been active in K9 Search and Rescue going back to 2007 as a member of CARDA (California Rescue Dog Association) and Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue. She was a welcome addition to the team. Her two Search and Rescue dogs are West, an eight-year-old wirehaired pointing griffon, and Gloria, a one-year-old Belgian malinois.

Joining the training session at Wyeth Trailhead that afternoon were Kathy Harris, a member of KCSAR who helps coordinate the K9 team and assists in the training, and Deputy Sesma of the Wasco County Sheriff’s Department who brought police dog Xena for some “upkeep.” “For the tracking aspect, definitely the Search and Rescue guys know a lot more than I do,” said Sesma. “Jim’s helped me a lot. We have come a long way.”

The KCSAR dogs train in two different search and rescue styles: scent specific and non-scent specific. Scent specific involves having the dog smell something with the scent of the person they are looking for, such as an article of

In the WSIF, schools are ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 based on student test scores in English and math, growth in student test scores, attendance rates, and graduation rates. The measurement is used to determine monies the state will provide to schools with the weakest results.

The most recent WSIF report, released March 15, is for the year 2022—the first measurement post-pandemic. (WSIF reports are released annually for the previous year, so its findings always reflect conditions from a year prior.) The WSIF rolls together several factors in its reports, including attendance, proficiency on state tests, graduation rates, dual credit (when students are receiving both school district and college credits), and ninth grade on-track measurement (whether students are passing all their classes). Schools are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the bottom and 10 the top. Schools that fall below a 2.19 measurement in their overall score or in one of the individual criteria areas are provided additional financial support from the state.

The Goldendale Primary School (GPS) earned a score of 2.01 on the 2022 WSIF. That puts it among the lowest 5 percent in school achievement in the state. GPS ranked 85th from the bottom among the 2,400 public schools in

Washington. Sixty-five percent of its students failed to pass the state test in English, and 68 percent failed in math.

On the face of it, those are grim statistics. The GPS will receive additional state funds totaling $24,000—a relative drop in the bucket in overall school expenditures—while the Goldendale Middle School will get an extra $15,000 in state money. The funds don’t kick in until the next school year.

Perconti points out the WSIF is the first iteration of the assessment that both third-grade and fourth-grade students have taken. “They took a modified one in the fall of 2021,” she says, “but the results from the spring of 2022 are the first full test that our third- or fourth-grade students had taken. That’s because the test wasn’t taken in the spring of 2020 or the spring of 2021. So for those students, it is their first iteration.”

Then there was the pandemic. Kids weren’t in classrooms for a long stretch. When they did come back, masks were mandatory, and Primary School teachers reported it was a major challenge getting small students to keep their masks on during school; some teachers called that a significant distraction.

“Our students were not as engaged or learning as strongly as when they were fully in school,” Perconti says. “So there is that impact. Again, these are yearago test results. They don’t reflect the work of our staff over the course of this year in really meeting the needs of our students.”

In short, Perconti considers, coming right off the pandemic with these educational challenges and the test results being a year old, the WSIF report should not be considered a true snapshot of what’s going on in the school today. “These test results don’t accurately show what our students can do or what our

Pyrex display opens in Bickleton

world,” Peter stated, “Every couple, three weeks we’d get a new Beatles record and played them on the air. And the Supremes were screamin’ at the time and the Beach Boys—it was a great time for music.” According to Peter, his disc jockey days “was a terrific life; however,” he went on to say, “I really liked the production studio better than being on the air.”

Peter knew if he wanted to hit the big time in sound production, he needed to be in New York City, so he and his wife, Penny, loaded up the car with all their worldly possessions, including their little

daughter, Judy

While in New York, he was trained by several of the highest-quality recording engineers and worked on projects with some amazing musicians and did advertising and movie scores. He took his production responsibilities seriously, keeping in mind his job not only affected the stars of the work at the time but also composers, producers, and many others. Eventually, Peter wanted to get his family out of Manhattan and go back to Mercer Island, so in

Bickleton might be a quiet little town most of the time, but on Saturday, April 15, it was the place to be. Specifically at the Carousel Museum where young Jacob Gray’s amazing Pyrex Collection was featured as the Display of the Day. Jacob was joined by his parents, Travis and Erin Gray, and many aunts, uncles, and his Grandma Shirley Mulrony. He was also joined by his Pyrex friend from Kennewick, Denise Christopherson, who shares Jacob’s love of all things Pyrex and has sold him parts of her own collection. People from Goldendale, the Yakima Valley, and certainly Bickleton came to see his immense collection and

congratulate him on the display.

The Gray family is very familiar with the Carousel Museum, as they are collectors of many things and have been donating items to the Museum for quite some time.

The 36-mile drive over from Goldendale to Bickleton is well worth the time. Take it slow, so you will get the full effect of the beauty of the high desert and the panorama of Rock Creek Canyon. Viewing the countryside on your trip will help you appreciate the many splendid displays and captured history of the area when you get to the Museum. Watch for deer, chipmunks, grey

Lewis

THE PULL OF PYREX: Jacob Gray, left, stands before his carefully curated collection of unusual and antique Pyrex, in a wide range of styles and configurations. Next to him is Denise Christopherson from Kennewick. Jacob bought some choice Pyrex pieces from her.

ZACHARY VILLAR

FOUND HER: Gloria, one of three dogs being certified by Klickitat County Search & Rescue, was in training last Friday. She located a volunteer “missing person,” Genevieve Walker in background. She’s with team members Julia Curry, left, and Molly Sullivan, right. Gloria is Molly’s dog.

LOU MARZELES

Lynn, and headed east to follow the dream.

Police pursuit law rules modified

AlexAndriA

OsbOrne Washington state Journal

Police may pursue suspects that pose long-term serious risk to others under revisions of a more restrictive 2022 vehicle chase law that has now passed both houses of this year’s Legislature.

Engrossed Senate Bill 5352 was introduced by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek.

“I’m a Black man from birth, my skin tone is brown, but I wore the blue uniform proudly for 31 years as a state trooper,” he said. “I know there are fears out there, but I think legislation like this can bring our community together and help our law enforcement professionals do the job they are hired and

they are trained to do.”

Under current law, an officer can violate certain rules of the road when involved in a vehicular pursuit, including stop signs and speed limits. But an officer can only engage in a vehicular pursuit in circumstances under current law. These incidents include if there is probable reason to believe a person has committed a violent, sexual or Driving Under the Influence offense; if the person poses a threat to the safety of others; or if the risks of not identifying the person are greater than the risk of identifying them. An officer also is required to receive authorization from their supervisor before engaging in a vehicular pursuit, and

there must be supervisory control during the pursuit.  Rather than receiving permission from a supervisor to begin a pursuit, an officer would need to notify a supervisor about the pursuit under the bill. Both the officer and supervisor would need to come up with a plan to end the pursuit as well.

The bill passed the Senate 26-23 and the House 57-40. After going through the House, the bill was amended to require an officer to have completed an emergency vehicle operator’s course to engage in a pursuit. The Senate has now agreed to the House changes, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk.

Rep. Kelly Chambers, R-Puyallyup, said vehicle

State approves MCMC joining Adventist Health

An agreement for Mid-Columbia Medical Center to join Adventist Health has been approved by state and regulatory bodies, clearing the way for the transaction to become official.

Among the provisions of the approval are conditions such as Adventist Health’s investment of $100 million over ten years to ensure MCMC’s operations and maintain existing services.

“We are committed to building on the already-exceptional work of the

MCMC team to increase the quality and availability of healthcare for communities in and around the Columbia River Gorge,” says Kerry L. Heinrich, President and CEO of Adventist Health. “Adventist Health has deep experience in rural healthcare, and MCMC is an excellent fit for our system.”

The collaboration is expected to bring benefits in access, quality, and equity to the community, employees, and providers.

Among those outcomes are strengthening MCMC’s ability to keep and expand health services, providing close-to-home access to needed healthcare, and improving recruitment of employees and providers. MCMC and Adventist Health say they intend to maintain and enhance the immediate and long-term financial viability of MCMC that enables needed investments in the healthcare campus, technology, programs, and people.

pursuits have been the mosttalked about issue for the past two years since the Legislature passed what she called a no-pursuit policy.

Families expect members of the legislature to protect them, and ESB 5352 does not do enough to protect children across the state, she said.

“Many things that are cov-

ered in this bill, law enforcement can already do,” she said. “Until we address stolen vehicles and property crimes, Washington will be a less safe place to live.”

Lovick said some laws get passed out of hope, and some laws get passed out of fear.

“I’m voting for hope,” he said. “I hope that this legis-

lation will bring our community together. I hope that this legislation will strike a balance and give our fantastic police officers the tools they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability.”

The law will take effect immediately with the governor’s signature.

BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

Public Meeting Scheduled for Klickitat Hatchery Spring Chinook Upgrades Project

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed Klickitat Hatchery Spring Chinook Upgrades Project. The EA describes the project and why it is needed, discusses the environmental impacts of the project, and lists the mitigation measures that would lessen those impacts.

The EA can be viewed at the project website at www.bpa.gov/nepa/klickitat-hatcheryupgrades. If you would like to request a hard copy (about 225 pages), please call our toll-free document request line at 1-800-622-4520 and leave a message with the project name, your name, and complete mailing address.

Public Meeting: You are invited to a web-based virtual public meeting to ask questions and provide comments on the EA. See the project website at www.bpa.gov/nepa/klickitathatchery-upgrades for details on how to access the virtual public meeting and how to participate.

Meeting date and time:

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

6 pm - 7:30 pm

For More Information: If you have questions regarding the environmental process, contact Carolyn Sharp at 503-230-5206, or by e-mail at casharp@bpa.gov.

G OLDENDALE ’ S A TTIC

Answer to last week´s Mystery Picture

This week’s Goldendale’s Attic Mystery Picture

Sometime eons ago, some guys got together and said, “Hey, let’s do a show using horses to compete doing all kinds of neat stuff.” Somebody else said, “What do we call it?” “A rodeo.” “Good, that expands our knowl-

April 13, 1889 – 134 Years

Ago

There will undoubtedly be an ice famine in Goldendale this summer if colder weather is not experienced soon. Only a few tons of thin ice have been put up so far.

April 18, 1895 – 128 Years

Ago

The price of wheat is holding its own in The Dalles market. Saturday a Klickitat County farmer disposed of his load in that city at 37 cents a bushel, and a return of the sacks, together with free ferriage. Because of competing transportation lines to Portland, that point pays the highest market price for wheat of any place to the interior.

edge of Spanish. What do you get if you win?” “A belt buckle.” “So there’s no downside? Great.” Well, here’s a picture of someone who apparently won something because he’s getting a buckle. Does

anyone know who these people are? The horse’s name? When or where this was taken? All we know is that this picture ran in The Sentinel sometime, lost in the annals of yesteryear. If you know anything about

it, please drop us an email (info@goldendalesentinel. com), or give us a call (509773-3777), or drop in at the office—and remember, you’re welcome to come in and take a look at the original photograph.

April 13, 1933 - 90 Years

Ago

The Sentinel is issuing this week negotiable script in 50 cent denominations to provide more local circulation. Each script must be endorsed by 20 other people—in other words, go through 20 different hands before being cashed at the bank. Thus, money will circulate and do the work of $10. Nothing can be lost; the gain will come in keeping money moving.

April 13, 1943 – 80 Years

Ago

An urgent call is issued to women and girls to help care for patients at the local hospital or it shall be forced to close, so acute is the labor shortage.

April 23, 1953 – 70 Years

Ago

A large all-concrete parking lot is under construction by the Joe Linden crew on George Klein’s lot on East Main Street at Chatfield, the area to provide parking facilities for patrons of Klein’s market and grocery. Last week forms were erected, and the six-inch parapet was poured around the area. This week the forms were stripped away, and a full concrete floor is to be laid in the space.

April 18, 1963 – 60 Years

Ago

Someday people will carry their telephones in their pockets. Don’t expect it tomorrow, though. This telephone is far

in the future—commercially. Right now, it’s a laboratory development and it’s working, allowing the carrier to make and answer calls wherever he may be. Other telephones of the future include a kitchen loud-speaking telephone and a visional image telephone. The kitchen instrument can be used as a loud-speaking phone if the housewife happens to be busy preparing a meal.

April 15, 1993 – 30 Years

Ago

Will Lorena Butte Fire lookout be closed? That’s the question several people are asking, but nobody is providing a good answer. With a 16 percent state budget cut, all options are being considered. According to statistics compiled over the past four years of the 151

We colorized this photo from last week. There was one person, the one looking at the camera, tentatively identified as David Feeley by Becky Bridgefarmer. And a lot of people recognize the old pool where World War II park now sits. First we had Mark Doubravsky talking about the old railroad building in the background where they used to unload timber. Then a host of people talked about how they used to take their kids there to swim. Becky mentioned that this photo was late ’50s or early ’60s, before the lifeguard stations by the pool or board wind fence that was built outside the chain link fence.

Then we heard from Lori Anderson. Lori was an avid swimmer and lifeguard at the old pool and says, “I have countless stories and memories and pictures that I remember fondly and that made my path forward to where I am today with the Central Klickitat County Park and Recreation District’s swimming pool— which, ironically, this summer will be celebrating 20 years of operations.”

When the pool was originally built in 1948, it was

fi res between 1988 and 1992, 49 of those fi res were reported by the Lorena Butte lookout. Fifty-one were reported by residents, 13 by transient traffic, eight by aircraft, eight by DNR patrols, and 22 by other methods. Lorena Butte is only one of two or three remaining DNR lookouts in the state. The rest have been closed over the last few years. Most recently, Grayback Lookout was closed

called the War Memorial swimming pool and was to be the City of Goldendale’s war memorial. When work was temporarily halted in April of 1948 due to lack of funding, an article in The Sentinel stated, “If this were merely a swimming pool which we are building, there might be conscionable excuses some might give for not contributing. But THIS IS OUR WAR MEMORIAL. When that is realized, there is not one man or woman in the area who can evade the obligation of giving to the full extent of his or her ability. Any gift is small indeed beside that which was made by the boy who sacrificed his life that we might live in peace. Dollars are much less precious than the son, or father, or husband which so many were forced to give before victory was won.”

The community’s tremendous fundraising efforts paid off, and the pool was completed and opened in July of 1948. Over the years, there were many upgrades including the addition of a windbreak, a wading pool, and various upgrades and additions to the building. It fi nally closed in the late ’90s.

in Klickitat County. Lorena Butte has been valuable over the past years as a communication link. However, due to advancements in communications, the relay services of the lookout are no longer needed.

—Richard Lefever Klickitat County Historical Society

Bringing Klickitat County back to its roots

The Sentinel’s January 4, 1917, edition carried the story of the sentencing of Henry Jones, the Bickleton bank robber in a story titled Bickleton Robber Received Sentence.

Henry Jones, the Bickleton Bank robber, pled guilty to information charging him with robbery, in the Superior Court at Goldendale, Tuesday and was sentenced by Judge Darch to an indeterminate term of five to fi fteen years at hard labor in the state penitentiary at Walla Walla. Jones said he did not want any attorney and declined to make any statement regarding the crime. When asked by the court why he did it, he said he did not know. He told the court that his parents lived in Nova Scotia and that he had never been in trouble before. Jones has said that he did not think the game was worth the price and that he wanted to learn a trade while serving his prison sentence so that he could make an honest living when he got out. Jones also says that he made up his mind before he tackled the job that he would not

shoot anybody, which is confi rmed by the fact that an unarmed member of the posse rode right up to him during the chase, and Jones made no attempt to shoot him. Jones has worked in mines, logging camps, sawmills, and in the harvest fields of the west for the past five years and was employed in the Bickleton section last summer, but says he had no thought of robbing the bank then. About ten days before the holdup, he was in Spokane and says the idea came to him that it would be an easy matter to hold up the Bickleton bank, and he proceeded to put it into effect by going to North Yakima, then to Toppenish, where he hired a saddle horse and rode to a homestead cabin about eight miles west of Bickleton. The next day he rode boldly into town in the afternoon, tied his horse in front of the bank and went in, held up the cashier, his assistant, and three customers, secured the money, locked the five people in the vault, and fled. Mr. S. A. Rossier, the cashier, had a screw driver in the vault, and the party were out in

less than fi fteen minutes. A posse of stockmen was quickly organized and a pursuit started. The posse chased Jones so hard that he was forced to abandon the horse and was captured the next morning in a hay shed near Status station on the Northern Pacific about thirty miles from Bickleton. The money stolen was very nearly all recovered.

The Sentinel researched this further to see what ever became of Henry Jones and found this on the Washington Secretary of State’s office website.

In July of 1919, Henry Jones, who held up the Bank of Bickleton on December 22, 1916, made a daring attempt to escape from the Walla Walla Penitentiary but failed when he couldn’t scale the outer wall.

Jones was arrested after a western-style stick-up of the Bank of Bickleton in Klickitat County. During the robbery, he held the two customers, clerk, and cashier at gunpoint, locked them into a room, and rode away on horseback. Roughly 30 miles from the bank, a posse of riders came

upon his tired horse and a large portion of the $4,000 loot. The men later captured the bandana-faced criminal and recovered the rest of the stolen money.

Jones was originally sentenced with five years in the penitentiary with the possibility of parole.

The Alder Creek Carousel Museum in Bickleton

(pictured left) has a display of various items from the bank and some information on the robbery. Jones’ alias is listed as Joseph Thomas, age 24. Jones stole $3,000 in $20 gold pieces and $500 in currency. $3,300 was recovered. Jones was released on parole in January of 1922, then deported to Canada.

I would like to address some recent questions raised in these pages about the proposed bond issue for Klickitat Valley Health. KVH has proposed a bond to allow the hospital to address three issues. Those three issues are: 1) The absolute nonexistence of any beds for long term care (nursing home or assisted living) anywhere in Klickitat County. 2) The need for expanded surgical rooms to provide the surgical services needed in our own community. 3) The need for better rooms for hospital inpatients (called acute care beds).

grams to support this approach (palliative care and hospice). Yet many families don’t have the room, time, or expertise and finances to accomplish this. Long term care beds here in Goldendale make sense to address this need.

Now let’s talk about Surgery Rooms. We currently have one operating room and one small room for endoscopy (colonoscopy). The great news is that for the first time in my 40 years in Goldendale, we now have three surgical Specialists who live in and practice in Goldendale. Dr. MacGillivray is our general surgeon, Dr. Chen is our orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Iyer is our podiatrist and wound care specialist. Surgery care has advanced since the surgery rooms were constructed in 1949. Even trying to schedule a room for all the surgery cases we can do now, is a challenge. How can we recruit and retain good surgeons for our community and not provide a good place for them to operate? We need a place with adequate room and equipment for our surgeons.

Finally, let’s talk about use of the inpatient beds (called acute care beds). The construction of our inpatient rooms in 1949 necessitated every two rooms to use one bathroom. This means that there is potential for four patients to be using one bathroom. This may have been good for 1949, but it is not good 74 years later. Can we remodel those rooms? If we do, where will we get the long term care rooms?

Guest Column

Michael Garnett, MD

First, let’s look at the need for long term beds: Within Klickitat County there is absolutely no place to send someone who needs care beyond three weeks. After that time Medicare ends payment, and a person who needs a nursing home or assisted living level care must move out of the county. This is a significant problem for families when their loved ones end up in The Dalles, Hood River, Toppenish, Yakima, or even further away. KVH has had to send patients for long term care to all those places this year. Finding beds in those far away facilities is difficult and at times not covered by the type of insurance the loved one has. That can result in out-of-pocket expenses that are expensive for the families. Medicare and Medicaid in different states have different rules, and crossing borders to receive care results in a flood of paperwork and delay. In the meantime, it may mean you empty your own wallet for your loved one’s care.

Care in a Nursing Home or Assisted Living facility is affected by the involvement of families. If your family member is far away, it is difficult to be involved and ensure good care is being provided for them. Even being available to socialize with your lonely relative who has not been able to return to their home is difficult at a distance. Loneliness has a significant impact on their health.

A question has been raised in these pages: “Would 15 long-term beds be enough?” At the same time, this question is coupled with statements saying that any construction would be too expensive. How can zero beds be good and more than 15 beds be good, too? I am confused. There was also a statement that a hospital is an expensive place to receive long term care. KVH will not be charging inpatient care hospital rates for patients in long term care (which is not even possible or legal). The expense of care in those beds for patients and families will be similar to any other long term care bed somewhere else and probably even less since the families will not be traveling distances to see their loved ones.

You might ask, “Why not just send these people home to be cared for there?” Some families in Goldendale have the resources needed to do this. This includes room in their homes or money to make room. Some families have finances to hire caregivers or can coordinate many nearby family members in a “family relay” of caregivers. If you have all this, you can accomplish in-home care for a debilitated patient at home. KVH encourages care at home and has pro-

THE GOLDENDALE SENTINEL

Official newspaper of Klickitat County, Washington

Established

A comment was made that there are days that the inpatient rooms are empty. With a 10-bed inpatient unit, it is true that occasionally there is a night that no one in our community needs an overnight stay. KVH had 1,352 inpatient care days (with an overnight stay) in 2022. If you pick one night that no one stayed overnight and use that as an example of not needing the beds, haven’t you forgotten all these other people? For a little humor, let’s do a thought experiment with this logic. It would be like saying: “We occasionally have a day we don’t leave home in the car, so therefore, we don’t need to spend money on tires for the car.” That kind of logic makes me smile, but I still have tires on my car, and I still think we need the inpatient rooms. Rooms that have their own bathrooms would be nice.

It has been remarked that “KVH won’t take no for an answer.” This is true—because there is a genuine need and the need remains. “KVH may need to make do,” someone said. It is not KVH that is “making do.” It is our friends, families, and loved ones who are “making do” without services. Many of them are our elders whom we should be taking good care of. How can we turn away and say “make do?”

Burn-out has got to go

The Festival of Wheels gave it another try this year. It seems the attendance has dwindled to much lower levels than when the event was new, 10 years ago. There are a lot of competing car shows this time of year, so it doesn’t surprise me .

for three hours.

I think the city of Goldendale needs to rethink supporting burnouts in our park. Next year don’t issue a permit to any group that wants to burn-out. There are places in the county where it could be held, just not in the city please. I hate toxic smoke, and you should too.

(Editor’s note: some may wonder why there aren’t any letters of opposition to the KVH bond vote in this week’s paper. So long as letters meet our guidelines requirements (printed on page A4 in every issue of The Sentinel), we run them. This week we received no letters in opposition to the bond, and that’s why there aren’t any here. The ratio of pro to con letters on the bond has been heavily in favor.)

Letters from the community

On Sept 4 I will be asking the mayor and his administration to make an ordinance forbidding anyone from reckless unsafe burnouts in any ones neighborhood or any street in the Goldendale city limits. I would appreciate some support from like-minded citizens at the council meeting. Let them know how you feel.

Ken

Please vote yes

This year Goldendale Motorsports Association and ABATE brought back the burn-out, which was tried several times in the past with questionable benefits to the town. This year someone had the brilliant idea to use the old skateboard park as a place to stage the return of the burnout. It was held on the concrete slab, a tempting medium for anyone inclined to bum rubber. Rednecks of many degrees, punk kids or maybe the little old lady from Pasadena.

I personally was left with a bad taste in my mouth and lungs. Even though I made it a point to stay away from the burn-out and was at my home where I thought I would escape the noise and smoke, when the toxic cloud rose from the park and drifted over the Little Klickitat River Park (the swimming pool) on to the kids and families at the pool and on to me while I was sitting on my property. We were contaminated by the toxins in the smoke, and my eyes and throat were imitated, and my lungs filled with carbon monoxide and other cancer causing toxic compounds

For those skeptical homeowners about the hospital bond issue and taxes, consider this: most people who are thinking of moving to the Goldendale area would naturally value the quality and number of restaurants, other amenities, and particularly medical availability and care before deciding to purchase a home and live here. Those factors would influence their desire and decision to move to this area.

Though this is a subjective factor, I feel confident that our improved medical facility would ultimately increase real estate values by around 5% to 10%, which is many multiples of the increase in taxes. That’s a great investment!

McKune Goldendale

C

option? The surgical facilities are small and don’t have enough electrical outlets to support the amount of modern equipment now necessary. The shared two-bed recovery area is hardly the most private place to find out how your surgery or procedure went. That fabric divider isn’t very thick. The availability of long-term care beds will allow local skilled nursing care—there is none available in the entire county at present. Local long-term care, not hours away, is best for everyone. Ask anyone with a loved one they can’t visit regularly because of the distance to them. More short-term bed availability will provide recovery space for patients who have a need for it after surgery or an Emergency Department visit.

I contacted the bank for an explanation. The answer was essentially that “we wouldn’t do that.” Then why is it in your documents, I asked. The answer was to send me up the chain of command. The second person gave the same answer as the first and then was to have me contacted by some-one higher up. That person has not contacted me after more than a week so I am following through on what I told the bank contacts I was going to do—write a letter to the editor to be sure local folks are aware of how Columbia Bank is choosing to deal with its account holders.

last several years. Why not provide them the best facilities we can so they have the best opportunity for a favorable outcome when you, one of your relatives, or a friend needs services?

My concern is that a comment as broad as this opens the door for abuse. I have had no difficulties with our local branch and am sorry that the headquarters has decided to take such a hard line. It ap-pears I will need to look for a bank that does not behave in this manner.

Ken Margraf Goldendale

Think of the future. Vote yes on the KVH Bond Measure.

Please vote yes

I recently received an updated “Terms for Business and Deposit Account Agreement” from Columbia Bank. I am not in the habit of reading the fine print but for some reason this time I did. I came across an “added” line that I found very concerning. Again, this line is both for personal and business accounts. It reads: “We may refuse to open and account and may close your account at any time for any reason or for no reason at all.”

Chuck Pullen Goldendale

“For No Reason At All” I particularly found offensive.

Voting yes is a no-brainer, especially if you, or your loved one, require the hospital’s services someday and can’t make it to Portland.

Kerry D. Bodily Goldendale

I support the planned expansion to Klickitat Valley Health (KVH) and encourage you to do the same. I understand how important a highquality medical staff and facility is as I’ve spent my fair share of time at KVH and elsewhere on “professional” visits. I’ve had great service at KVH, and I’ve had poor service at KVH and elsewhere.

There are three main reasons I think it is critical that we get this done.

Please vote yes

We are so lucky as a community to have health care of quality here in Goldendale. Upgrading it for the next 20 years is a fantastic opportunity we can make happen by voting yes on the KVH Bond Measure. Goldendale is growing in population. It is aging as it grows. Local, quality health care is needed more than ever, and that need will only increase with time. Upgrading the surgical suite and recovery area will allow for new procedures and increased availability for those procedures. Why go to The Dalles or even Portland if you have a local

1. Hospitals in Oregon and Washington are in disarray all around us—KVH is relatively stable. Why not strengthen it by upgrading it? 2. Travel is not going to get any cheaper over the next five to 10 years. Just look at the price of gas and diesel next time you fill up. Changeover to EVs can’t happen that quickly. It’s not rocket science—the more “healthcare independent” we can be, the stronger this community will be.

3. Living in the past and knowing the past are two different things. Just because you and I had a bad experience(s) at KVH in the past doesn’t change the reality of what it’s like at KVH today. I have had incredible service from the physicians, surgeons, nurses, and other support staff the

Guidelines for Letters

I visited The Sentinel a couple weeks ago and found a picture from March 22, 1949. It showed Mrs. R. A. Jackson shoveling the first scoop of dirt for our existing hospital. Goldendale and Centerville residents knew a hospital was essential; they knew there was a cost; they made it happen. Please don’t live in the past. Rather, know the past and look to the future. If you haven’t voted or aren’t registered to vote, go to the Auditor’s office, register, and vote. You have until next Tuesday, April 25, to make a difference.

Rob Wing Goldendale

Please vote yes

As a general surgeon for 36 years, I had a front-row seat to many advances in medicine. I believe laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery has been the most significant development in surgery over the past 30 years. My first thought upon observing laparoscopic surgery was the amount of equipment necessary. I recall an experienced nurse commenting, “We are going to need bigger and better rooms,” and she was absolutely correct.

The current operating room at Klickitat Valley Health is barely adequate for laparoscopic surgeries. Not only is more space necessary for surgical equipment, but more space is needed for anesthesia monitors to deliver safe anesthesia. In the 12 years I performed surgery at KVH, I observed that our operating room requires more space, electrical outlets, and a reliable infrastructure to support modernday surgeries. This would also help avoid cancellation of scheduled surgeries due to facility issues.

Please join me in voting yes to approve the Hospital Bond.

Dr. Jacinto Orozco Goldendale

Letters to the editor should be original and comment on an issue. Deadline for letters is noon Monday for the same week’s paper. Requests to keep letters exactly as they were written when published cannot be honored. All letters are subject to editing for grammar, spelling, clarity, and/or brevity. There is a suggested length limit of about 300 words, though more may be allowed if there are fewer letters.

Unsigned letters (including anonymity requests), letters with fictitious signatures, letters with multiple signatures, or letters to public officials are not accepted. Please keep the tone of letters free of rants, wild speculation, unsubstantiated claims, or pointedly personal comments. Letters that go overboard in these directions may be refused publication.

Writers must include name, city/town of residence, and phone number for verification purposes. (Street address is not required, only city or town.)

Who is it who would really need to “make do”?

Spring sounds of bats on baseballs

Regardless of the snow we received last week, it really is spring here, as evidenced by the sounds of bats hitting balls and little kids running bases and cheering excitedly.

A team of little athletes has been busy on the Glenwood School baseball field, learning and practicing their baseball skills as members of the Leonardo’s Plumbing coach pitch team. Under the guidance of Coach Catie Kielman with assistance from Kyann Kessinger, Glenwood kids Aliaya, Amyah, Hunter, Anita, Kenzie, Luka, and Austin had their fi rst game in White Salmon last Saturday, April 15, after the opening day ceremonies at the baseball complex there. Their first home game will be Monday, April 24,

at the school ballfield at 6 p.m. Come cheer for our little Glenwood kids as they represent our community playing America’s favorite pastime and show them how proud we are of all of them.

All the away games will be played on the White Salmon baseball complex coach pitch field. A huge thank you goes to Dom Leonardo of Leonardo’s Plumbing for sponsoring the team this year. Besides baseball, there were a lot of other things going on in our quiet little town last weekend. RVs and utility trailers rolled in for jeep races at the local motor sports racetrack for Friday and Saturday races. There was quite a large gathering for the event, and it’s just the fi rst of 12 various events that

will be held there this year. It was nice to see the Glenwood Station and Glenwood General Store busy with customers visiting our community.

I hope some of the visitors also drove up to the school to support the delicious spring breakfast prepared and served by the members of the Glenwood High School freshman class and their parents and advisors. I certainly did enjoy the hearty breakfast and the fact that I had the morning off from cooking breakfast at home.

Glenwood Rodeo Association members gathered at the rodeo grounds for the fi rst workday of the year in

Fire destroys home

Lyle Clean Up was a whopping success, with dumpsters fi lling quickly. The fi rst to fi ll was for yard debris, showing that residents took the opportunity to get out and spiff up their yards and gardens.

Howard’s Haven Animal Sanctuary also had a triumphant Easter turnout last week, making two Sundays in a row, giving bragging rights to the hosts of both events.

The family of Lyle’s outstanding and much-loved resident George Cooper is having his burial at the Spring Creek Cemetery in Goldendale on June 24 at 10 a.m. (254 E. Winterstein). Following the service, they would like to invite you to join them for the celebration of life at the Lyle Lions Club from noon to 2 p.m. (503 State Street, corner of 5th and Hwy14). George grew up and went to school in Lyle and supported the school in various ways afterward. He co-hosted the “All Class Reunion” for many years and was active in numerous Lyle events. He was well known and beloved and has left a void here in Lyle that no one has fi lled.

French’s Farm is now open for the 2023 season with everything to brighten your spirits. From seeds to fresh cut flowers, a new crop of houseplants to cool weather veggies and native perennials to shrubs, tools to birdfeeders, pots, garden equipment, as well as great tasting ice cream! Try some of their strawberry rhubarb—I hear it’s pretty tasty! These things and more are there for you, so stop in and check it out! It’s at 620 State Street, corner of 7th and Hwy 14 here in Lyle. It’s open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

About High Prairie Yard Sales & Mini Firehouse Sales: if you live between Lyle and

Centerville, you may sign up to be on the map list. You can have your yard sale at your home or reserve a 10’x10’ space at the community center. Either option is $10.

For $10 your address will be on the map list that will be on Facebook and handed out in person. People at the community center must have yard sale items for sale. Booth and location reservation funds will go to the community center.

All sales from the Old Fire Station (704 Centerville Hwy) go directly to Hire Prairie Fire District 14. So far locations include: 701 Struck Rd (The Community Center); 704 Centerville Hwy (The Old Fire Station); and 783 Centerville Hwy (3 Family Yard Sale). Other locations will be determined. If you have any questions, text Joshua Harrison at (509) 281-0971 or email josh7harrison@gmail.com.

Now this is something that sounds like it covers at least two problems. One is ridding our beautiful trails of noxious weeds, and the other is getting good exercise while doing so. Join Friends of the Columbia Gorge for their spring European Houndstongue pulls along the scenic trail overlooking the Klickitat River. Registration is required for each volunteer. Contact Sarah Skelly at sarah.skelly@gorgefriends. org or (503) 501-6351. Weed management requires ongoing seasonal maintenance, and the group is excited to lead part two of their spring pull with U.S. Forest Service staff! They will start by tackling non-native Houndstonge and move on to other small habitat projects as time allows. European Houndstongue is poisonous to livestock, has seeds that spread prolifically, and can displace native vegetation. To miti-

Correction

Last week The Sentinel featured a picture of a newborn reindeer and her mother but

noted the name of the mother incorrectly. The mom’s name is Holly.

gate the spread of this plant, stewardship volunteers have removed 2,000-plus gallons of it over the past three years! And think of tourism—who would want to hike a trail only to fi nd dead wildflowers?

Report from Lyle Fire Dept liaison Patty Elkins: “Just after 4 a.m. Dallesport Fire requested mutual aid to a structure fi re on Hwy 14 MP 83. Lyle Fire responded with E-401 x3, B-410, C-400, and T-405. Multiple other agencies responded to the mutual aid request including Wishram Fire, Bingen Fire, White Salmon Fire, MCF&R, Dallesport Medic, KCSO, WSP, and KPUD. Using thousands of gallons of water, crews were able to knock down the fi re in the back of the house where a camp trailer was parked and the back outside wall of the house. Interior firefighters were able to keep the fi re to one bedroom, the full length of the north wall, and the attic space. The house suffered a good amount of fi re damage, and it is deemed not livable. Firefighters were able to save multiple belongings in the rest of the house, but there was heavy smoke and water damage. No injuries were reported. We had plenty of equipment and personnel on scene. Our thoughts are with the occupants of this home. Things can be replaced and we’re glad they’re OK. We are sorry for their losses.”

Submit your news to Mildred E. Lykens, (509) 365-2273 or lykensme41@gmail.com.

preparation for the upcoming Ketchum Kalf Rodeo on Father’s Day weekend in June. While several members raked and burned winter debris on the grounds, another group worked to construct and install new arena fencing, that will be much sturdier than the previous fencing. Members enjoyed a big potluck lunch to go with grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, then many of the members continued working there for several more hours. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to continue to prepare for and produce the rodeo year after year. This will be the 88th year of the Ketchum Kalf Rodeo.

Here’s a reminder that there will be no school on Friday, April 20. That was one of the planned snow days built into the school schedule that didn’t need to be used. Luckily for the students and staff, they get to have the day off and there’s not even any snow. The high school track team will travel to Umatilla, Oregon, for a meet that afternoon, then will participate in another meet in Stevenson on Saturday morning, April 21. There will be some really tired high school athletes by the end of that day but not too tired to attend their prom that evening. What a full, fun weekend for our Glenwood Eagles high schoolers.

There will also be no school on Wednesday, April 26, due to a scheduled staff professional development day. The middle school track team will have their fi rst meet at Condon, Oregon, on Thursday, April 27, and another meet the next day, April 28, in Trout Lake, beginning at 2 p.m. It’s a short drive, so if you can, head on over the hill to support our younger Glenwood Eagles. The high school team has a meet in Trout Lake on Saturday, April 29, at 11 a.m. That will be a fun one, too. We have great high school and middle school Eagles track athletes here. Come out and watch them soar.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Every year in the United States one in seven children will experience abuse. This means that about 1,500 children in the Columbia River Gorge region experience abuse every year

SafeSpace Children’s Advocacy Center of The Gorge brings together in one location law enforcement, child protective services, victim advocates, medical provider, and mental health, to provide timely, sensitive services to all child victims of abuse. SafeSpace is a community-based, child-friendly, trauma-informed organization that coordinates a multidisciplinary response

to child abuse allegations. We provide a neutral, safe environment where children can share their experiences with a trained forensic interviewer in their own words.

There is no better time than the present to start building sturdy foundations for our children and to nurture positive childhoods across The Gorge. Future prosperity requires the healthy development of children. Healthy brains and thriving communities are built on caring connections, strong foundations, and positive experiences. Adults have a stake in ensuring that

children grow up to be healthy and thriving members of communities.

Reach out to SafeSpace to learn how you can make a difference, either by volunteering, donating, or taking a free training on how to recognize signs of child abuse and neglect and how to report your concerns. Prevention happens in partnership with our community. Go to www.SafeSpaceCAC.org to learn more.

—Beatriz Lynch, executive director, SafeSpace Children’s Advocacy Center of The Gorge

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“Auntie Jan”

Mary Janice Garner Crevling

The last of “The Garner Girls” passed into Heaven 12 days after her 97th Birthday.

The youngest of the six children born to Frank and Mary Garner, she was also the last of the third generation of Garners to be raised on the original Garner homestead. Her childhood was an enviable one, made more precious by her mother’s precarious health status after her birth.

Jan lived for the first year of her life with her aunt and uncle, George and Lillian Garner.

Surrounded by generations of relatives and lifelong friends, this sheltered and safe childhood gave her a positive outlook that lasted her whole life. When asked about living through the effects of the Great Depression, her answer was consistent: “We had as much as everyone we knew.” Farmers usually have enough food. New skirts and blouses sewn by their mother were made from the printed cotton that held the staple of ground flour.

She raised Norfolk sheep and remembered “crying bitter tears” when the lambs were sent off to market. The proud winner of first-place awards at the County Fair, she was the first to admit there were no competing entries.

As part of the first group

of seniors to be transferred to Goldendale High School from the Centerville School, she graduated from there in 1943. She went on to study nursing at The Dalles Hospital. Her studies were interrupted when she met and married another third-generation scion of a pioneer family, George O. Crevling. That marriage produced two children, Donna Jane, who pre-deceased her, and her son, Gary. That marriage lasted 10 years. Then Jan met a patient when she was working at Klickitat Valley Hospital, Henry D. Creason. They married, and when Boise-Cascade was legally able to ship raw logs out of the country, Henry was laid off as lead mechanic. His previous work experience at Boeing allowed his immediate employment, and the family moved to Seattle in 1961. With her experience at KVH, Jan was employed at King County’s Harborview, where she was continually promoted until she retired in 1991.

After retirement and never one to be idle, Mom did exten-

Creason

sive volunteer work. She tutored young people and did bookkeeping for her church and filing for Northwest Hospital. Having three grandchildren from her daughter, she was an important part of their young lives.

A reliable car and her extensive family brought Jan “east of the mountains” many times. Years of staying with her sisters, Gayle and Elizabeth, on the grounds of the Klickitat Fairgrounds at Fair time kept her up to date and in contact with too many friends and relatives to count. That and the Garner family reunions, which her energy and enthusiasm for helping sustained, allowed Mom to have what she loved best, “Just a really good visit.” Her memory of and recall of relatives, no matter how distant was astounding and never left her.

Too many of her later years were marked by too many doctor visits and too many surgeries. She might have admitted to some discouragements, but her buoyant optimism always came through. “Things are

William (Bill) Jay Ihrig

William (Bill) Jay Ihrig passed away March 14, 2023, at the age of 63 from heart failure in The Dalles, Oregon. He was the first-born child of Howard William (Bill) Ihrig and Donna Rae Hutchins on May 6, 1959, in Goldendale, followed by brother Ronald Scott Ihrig born in 1960, followed by another brother, Darren Charles Hoffman, in 1965. After his father remarried, Bill gained three more siblings: Lon, Wendi, and Mark Ihrig. His mother passed away in 1996, and his father passed away in 2020.

Bill started his working career while attending Goldendale High School where he graduated in 1978. He worked both at DeHart’s Goldendale Market and Hill Top Market and Westgate Market in The Dalles, Oregon.

On January 22, 1984, Bill married Rebecca Ann Woodford in Goldendale. Com -

BAPTIST

ing into this union, he was blessed with a daughter, Jessica Ann Woodford, whom he raised as his own. In 1987

Adam Willam Ihrig was born and joined his sister. Adam and Stacey’s son, Asa, was an absolute delight in Bill’s life. Asa was Bill’s only grandchild.

Bill was known as a dependable hard worker, always providing for his family. He told silly jokes with an infectious smile that made everyone laugh. Bill’s light shined bright, and he was fun to be around. He enjoyed being with his friends and family (and extended family), fishing, swimming, and many other outdoor activities. The loss of his life left a large void in many hearts; but warm memories of his loving spirit

Columbus Avenue Baptist, S.B.C.

815 N Columbus, Goldendale, 509.773.4471; Interim Pastor Paul Logue, Sun Worship 11am, Sun School 9:45 . Call for Zoom services. We’re on YouTube, FaceBook, & Instagram. Mon 6pm prayer meeting.Wed 6pm Youth & Children's groups. For updates: ColumbusABC.org, ColumbusABC@embarqmail.com, or call.

CATHOLIC - Holy Trinity Catholic

307 Schuster, Goldendale; Father William Byron, 509.773.4516. Sat Eve Mass 5:30pm; Sun Mass 9am & 10:30am. Eve of Holy Days 7pm; Holy Days 9am. Daily Mass Mon-Fri 9am

CCD Classes Wed 2:15-3:30pm, K thru grade 6; Wed 7-8:30pm grades 7-12. Confessions every other Saturday noon -1pm

EASTERN ORTHODOX

Ss. Joachim & Anna Orthodox Mission 301 NW 2nd St, Goldendale, 907-317-3828; Rev John Phelps; Sat: 5:30pm Vespers; Sun: 8:15am Orthros, 9:30am Liturgy; Wed: 7pm Youth Group; Fri: 9pm Compline

looking up” was a constant response, no matter her circumstance. But eventually even that could not fight her body’s demand for rest, and finally she slipped away from us without pain, drugs, or anxiety, in the company of her loving son and beloved caretaker, Mimi.

There’s probably no Crown Royal in Heaven, but there is a lot of laughter and joy at being reunited with her mother and sisters and all the family and friends who dearly loved her on Earth.

Please join us for a Celebration of her life at the Centerville Church on Saturday, June 24, at 1 p.m., with a short graveside service, followed by food and celebration at the Centerville Grange. Mom’s favorite charity (among many) is Operation Nightwatch in Seattle. Any contributions in her name there would be greatly appreciated.

live on in those same hearts. He is survived by his children: Adam (Stacey) and Jessica (Greg); grandson Asa; siblings: Ron (Liz) Ihrig, Darren (Angela) Hoffman, Lon Ihrig, Wendi Ihrig, and Mark (Izzy) Ihrig and stepmother, Sandra Ihrig. Bill had many cousins, aunts, and uncles who survived him whom he was very close to. Graveside services will be held May 27, 2023, at Spring Creek Cemetery in Goldendale (Bobby Ihrig officiating) at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, 815 N Columbus, Goldendale. Then following lunch, there will be a family gathering at Penny and Randy Dyche’s home at 458 Fish Hatchery Road.

Church Directory

GRACE BRETHREN

Community Grace Brethren 1180 S Roosevelt, Goldendale. 509.773.3388. Sun Svc 10:30am in person. Wed: AWANA 2pm & Youth Group 5pm GoldendaleGrace.com. Watch us on Facebook

Live: Facebook.com/GoldendaleGrace

"Learning - Living - Loving JESUS."

LUTHERAN

Christ the King Lutheran S Columbus & Simcoe Dr, Goldendale; Pastor David Daugs. 773-5750. Worship services 10 Everyone welcome.

METHODIST - United Methodist Columbus & Broadway; Pastor Kendra BehnSmith; 509.773.4461. Service times: Worship 9:00am; Adult classes 10:45am; Fall & Winter Children’s Church available during worship. All are welcome. Call the church for regularly scheduled events.

NAZARENE - Church of the Nazarene

124 W Allyn, Goldendale; Pastor Earnie Winn and Pastor Greta Sines. 509.773.4216; Sunday worship 10:45am; Sunday School all ages 9:30am; goldendalenaz@gmail.com.

NEW LIFE ASSEMBLY of GOD

1602 S Columbus, Goldendale; Pastor Kevin Gerchak, 509.773.4650; Sun. School 9:30 ; Morning Worship Service 10:30am; Family Night on Wed. 7pm with programs for ages 3 years through adult.

RIVER of LIFE CHURCH of GOD 2023 Pipeline Rd; Pastors Rod & Cathy Smith, 509-773-3185, Sunday Worship 10:30am; Wednesday Bible Study 7pm RiverofLife222.org

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST

1/2 mile east on Bickleton Hwy. Sabbath School Sat. 9:30am; Worship Service 11am; Pastor Michael Smith; 509.773.4381

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

Centerville Community Church 508 Dalles Mountain Road, Centerville, WA 98613; 509-637-3068; Pastor Patti McKern; pastorpatti53@gmail.com; Sunday Worship Celebration 10am "Find refreshment for your soul and friends for your journey."

Father’s House Fellowship 207 S Klickitat Ave, 509.773.4719. Basic Bible Fellowship 9:30am; Worship 10:30am; Tue. 6:30pm Freedom Now Meeting. “A Gospel-Centered Church.”

clothing, and then having the dog go look for the person that smell belongs to. The non-scent specific dogs are given an area to comb over in the hopes of picking up any scent that may be helpful in locating the missing person.

“If you are up in Mt Hood National Forest, and there is someone lost up there, and you need to find them, you want to find anyone who may have seen them,” Curry explained to the group of volunteers. “That’s a useful skill, even when people say, ‘But they’re not finding that exact person.’ Well, they’re smelling human scent, and if that person is in the vicinity, the dog will find that person. But if there are other hikers or backpackers in that area and we find them, we can say, ‘Hey, did you see X, Y, Z person out there?’ and that’s valuable information for us as well.”

Volunteer Ivan Ponce asked

1976, he packed up his family and their belongings and made the trip back across the country. “I came here with a radio show called ‘The Marvel Comics Radio Series,’” explained Peter. “Stan Lee was the narrator, and he did narration reading, basically his own stuff, but I rewrote it into a radio play for the Fantastic Four. It was quite a monumental project at the time when comic books were declining in popularity, and yet, radio drama seemed to be increasing in popularity.” Without sponsors to back the project, they had to let it go. Because of that beginning, Peter went on to make a name for himself in the re-cording industry in the Seattle area, working on advertisements for major corporations like Nordstrom, Frederick & Nelson, Microsoft, and Boeing for about ten years. After that, he was hired by Nike to produce the “sounds of Nike” for their

SCHOOL from page A1

education system has provided,” she says.

In an article posted on April 5, Liv Finne, director of the Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center, agreed that the pandemic had an effect. “The shutdown did deep and lasting harm to students,” she wrote. “Additional tutoring resources will help, but in the long-term students need access to wider educational choices based on what parents think is best, especially for children who local officials assign to these lowperforming schools. That is what caring legislators in other states are doing, to the direct benefit of children living in their states.”

Finne points out, though, that some schools actually improved significantly on the recent WSIF. She tells The Sentinel the WSIF data does not show an across-theboard drop in scores from the mask requirement. “Some schools even performed well during this period of time, reaching pre-COVID reading and math scores,” she says. As examples, she cites Discovery Elementary School in the Issaquah School District that “had 86 percent of students passing in English and 87 percent passing in math… and Catherine Blaine K-8 School in the Seattle School District that had 81 percent of students passing in English and 72 percent passing in math.” The scores for both schools were higher than their prepandemic numbers. “The

PYREX from page A1

squirrels, bluebirds (Bickleton is considered the Bluebird Capital of the World), and if you are fortunate (and careful), you might even see a black bear or a cinnamon bear.

The Bickleton Carousel Museum is open Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. You can call for group tour appointments at (509) 896-2007 any time.

—Peggy Woodard

if they had to train the dogs or if they were naturally interested in search and rescue.

“They’re naturally interested in finding smells, but we train them that finding humans is the most important, most exciting thing,” said Curry.

“You can see with some dogs in the woods, the most important, exciting thing to them is finding squirrels. And you can see how they’re like, ‘Ooh ooh, I’m going to find squirrels!’ We want our dogs to have that kind of body language and excitement towards finding people.”

This reporter joined Curry and Sullivan for Gloria’s scent-specific training session. Volunteer hiders Ponce and Genevieve Walker were placed in the forest in separate places while Gloria remained in the parking lot. Her first task was to find Ponce specifically and not the other hider. They let Gloria sniff a few articles of

stores, opening their first store in Portland, Oregon. One day Peter received a call to let him know Nike was going to be us-ing background music services, and they dissolved all the positions in his department.

Twenty-five years ago, he began doing trade shows for Nintendo, and he has been designing the sound for every one of their tradeshow booths in America ever since. “These are 40,000 to 50,000 square foot booths,” Peter explains. “They can have four or five dif-ferent zones where we have different sounds playing in the zone to promote this particular game, and I’ve been able to do all sorts of different things with the Nintendo music and titles. They repeatedly won best of show for their booths, because of the core production team–their brilliant architect and their media designer, also a brilliant fellow.” Peter is pretty excited about the work

COVID school shutdowns revealed too many public schools are failing to provide the education children are entitled to receive,” Finne continues. “That’s why after COVID the six states of West Virginia, Arkansas, Iowa, Utah, and Florida passed laws to give all parents in their states access to an alternative to public education. These six states give parents access to about $8,000 per student in an Education Savings Account for the purpose of paying homeschooling or private school tuition expenses.”

Not to take anything away from the stellar achievements of these schools, it bears noting both are in urban areas, with the Issaquah school district being close to the offices of huge employers such as Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Costco. Goldendale is close to the offices of a diverse mix of small businesses along with the county government, the PUD, and the hospital. A neighborhood in Seattle might have more people than all of Klickitat County. Goldendale’s poverty level is outrageously high for its size.

Perconti believes Goldendale staff and teachers are working with high diligence toward righting the school ships. The WSIF report was shared last month with the school board and staff. “Our administrative staff has taken the dive into what the state calls the comprehensive needs assessment,” she

Ponce’s clothing that he had brought for the occasion. Gloria, off leash, began zigzagging through a stand of trees. Then she picked up a scent and headed through the trees and across a field. She ran ahead of Sullivan and Curry towards a low, bushy tree in the distance, then ran back. “See how she’s running back to me at 90 miles per hour?” asked Sullivan.

“This means she’s located him.” Sullivan then exclaimed “Show me!” in a playful voice, and we all took off running, following Gloria to the hider. When we arrived at the low tree, there was Ponce crouched beneath its branches.

After that, Gloria took off to find volunteer Walker in a similar manner, which she accomplished successfully. Sullivan explained how having the dog be able to focus on a distinct scent as opposed to all scents in the area during a search

he has done for Nintendo. He went on to say, “We are doing a Nintendo store right now in New York City, where I have been asked to create the sound environment.” The store opens May 1, and Peter will be flying out for that opening to be with the rest of the crew. “I’m happy to say that it’s going to be really quite an interesting sonic experience,” Peter said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

After years of asking her dad to move to Bickleton, his younger daughter, Samantha, finally talked him into it when Covid started to hit Seattle, making it a hotspot, and he moved into the motorhome he had stayed in when he came for visits, until the family moved into a home.

When asked about the history of his writing children’s books, Peter explained, “When my daughter, Samantha, was born, my wife Cyndy said, ‘Your voice is so great, you

says. “We’re making sure that we know what data we have that aligns with those requirements. We’re starting processes with leadership teams within the school to really review that data and say, ‘Do we need to make a change in what we’re doing? Can we continue what we’ve really focused on this year?’ We have a great staff, and they take on challenges. I think one of the things we saw during the pandemic was that our staff doesn’t back away from hard things. They really have just rolled up their sleeves and said, ‘Okay, we’re going to continue the great things that we’re doing for kids, and we’re going to make sure that we’re paying attention to the state requirements so we can roll out a school improvement plan by June 16.’” That’s the deadline for the district’s response to OSPI. Once that information is received, OSPI can provide feedback and offer suggestions.

Meanwhile Perconti is working on assessing the best uses of the additional funds that will hit the district’s coffers next school year. And she looks with appreciation on her staff and educators. “I just so admire our teachers and our administrators and what they do every day for our kids,” she says. “I know that this is a struggle, to pay attention in a different way, but I know they will continue to do what’s in the best interest of our students.”

and rescue can be helpful. “The reason I train her to be scentspecific is we end up working a lot of busy trails,” said Sullivan of Gloria, who is trained to do both scent-specific and non scent-specific search.

“Sometimes you want to talk to everybody in the wilderness [during a search and rescue], and sometimes you don’t want to have to deal with everybody. She’ll do either.”

I then joined Jones for Ellie’s scent-specific training.

The hider was a mile down a trail. Ellie found the scent at the beginning of the trail and began following it up a series of rocky hills, then down into a valley. Jones followed behind holding on to his end of a long, bright orange leash and watching Ellie for the subtle signals she was giving. “Her tail’s down, it’s a flag for me that means she’s on the trail,” said Jones. They passed a bridge

should read children’s books to her.’ And I did. And then I began to produce other people’s children’s books as audio dramas for her only.” The audios he produced for Samantha could not be sold due to copyright laws, but he and his crew had a lot of fun doing them for his little girl.

Interestingly enough, Peter was inspired by something the Beatles had said back in the ’60s. They were tired of singing other people’s songs, so they started writing their own. And that is what Peter did, only in children’s books. His first book was The Longest, Darkest Night! published in August of 2020. It is about the total lunar eclipse in 2010 that took place on the Winter Solstice and is told in first person through the eyes of nocturnal forest animals. It’s not a rhyming book and is based on an immense amount of scientific research. He started writing

over a small creek, and Ellie let out a single bark. “She’s telling me to hurry up.”

Ellie led Jones into an empty campground where she seemed to lose the trail for a few minutes. “This is where the K9 team rather than just the K9 comes in,” said Jones. “She lost it, so it’s my job to help her get back on.” They made a circle through the area, then Ellie found the scent again and charged into the woods where she led Jones directly to volunteer hider Rocky sitting on a log.

“It’s a good way to meet new people and get outside and enjoy the environment,” said Rocky when asked why she began volunteering with the group. “Who knows? It could be me that’s lost. You pick up a lot of good information as well as give back to the community.”

Rocky has been volunteering with the group for the last two

and researching in about 2012, but between him breaking his shoulder, and his illustrator having a heart attack, the book took longer than he expected. However, through all the ups and downs of that experience, Peter discovered a wonderful thing. “That taught me I could write!” he exclaimed. “See, I didn’t know I was a writer. Didn’t have any idea. I’m an editor, and then someone told me, ‘Well, you have to be a pretty good writer to be an editor.’ And I didn’t know if that was true or not, but I found I do like to write.”

Although Peter is a newcomer to Bickleton, he has embraced it as his own. “My longtime love of Bickleton inspired me to have some rhyming fun, and soon The Pickleman was born,” stated Peter. A sequel is coming in 2024, and he has also taken on the task of writing the East End News for The Goldendale

months and she had already attended ten training sessions. She now intends to join KCSAR. After the training was over, everyone gathered near the parking lot to give the dogs plenty of time to play. Gabby Teles and Christy King, who had volunteered that day as well, were there along with the other volunteers and KCSAR members. “Our team is so solid, and we all look out for each other,” said Jones. “I’ve got nine grandkids; I’ve got a big family. Coming into this we had no team here, and there will be a time probably in the next three to four years when I retire from this, because my knees are going to tell me that. I just know that I left it better than when I got here. We have something now, we built a base, we have great people. I think it’s a good thing.”

Sentinel, so keep an eye out for upcoming writings.

You can find The Pickleman from Bickleton! as a trade paperback or eBook at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and peterbstories.com/the-picklemanfrom-bickleton. Probably the best place to get the book is in Bickleton at the Market Street Café. The Café is a wonderful experience of the feeling of stepping back in time, and they serve very tasty meals–with vegetables–so it’s fitting the book would be there.

If you like a good story, Peter B. Lewis’s book The Pickleman from Bickleton! is the story for you. A little advice from the fun-loving author: “It’s super extra fun if you read it out loud!”

—Peggy Woodard

LEWIS from page A1

John Kruse

For The SenTinel

COLUMBIA NATIONAL

WILDLIFE REFUGE BIRD -

ING

A friend and I went for a hike around Morgan Lake at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge last weekend. The shallow lake was full of coots (mud hens) as well as mallard ducks and colorful northern shovelers. The basalt cliffs and desert landscape surrounding the wetlands in the refuge are a pleasure to visit in the springtime, though the first wildflowers had not yet bloomed, and the grass was just greening up after the long winter. In addition to the ducks, good numbers of sandhill cranes are in the area and there were still several thousand snow geese rafted up at nearby Potholes Reservoir, though they should be migrating north soon.

If you enjoy birding, this is a great time of year to visit a national wildlife refuge or state wildlife area near you to see not only waterfowl but also raptors, songbirds, and wading birds, too.

WRI BIRD FESTIVAL

Speaking of bird watching, the Wenatchee River Institute and the North Central Washington chapter of the Audubon Society announced the Leav-

The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Goldendale Home & Garden Show on May 5-6 at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds. This year’s show is a celebration of spring with several new features and vendors.

“This year the Chamber has revised the layout of the show to increase the capacity of the event to over 100 vendors,” Show Coordinator Teja Finch explained.

“We have 25 booths left, so we are excited about the expanded merchandise and expo offerings that we will see this year because of this change.”

Allyn’s Building Center and Bishop Sanitation have partnered together to bring a signature gardening expert to the show, Cisco Wallace. Cisco is a popular horticulturist in the Pacific Northwest. He has hosted garden shows on TV and radio appearing regularly on King5’s “New Day Northwest,” the King5 News, and King5’s “Evening.” His show, “Gardening with Cisco,” with Meeghan Black aired for many years of KING/KONG TV. He is the author of Ask Cisco and Oh, La La and has written a weekly garden column for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer followed by the Seattle Times. He was recently awarded the B.Y. Morrison Communications Award from the American Hor -

Short council meeting with executive session

rodger nichols For The SenTinel

Monday night’s Goldendale City Council meeting was one of the shortest on record, clocking in at 13 minutes and 55 seconds for the public session. That was followed by an executive session on two subjects: to consider the minimum price for sale of real estate and to consult with legal counsel in relation to litigation or litigation likely to be filed.

sisted of reports of officers and councilors:

• Police Chief Jay Hunziker announced that the department would be deploying body cameras shortly and told councilors that he would bring one to a meeting so they could see them prior to deployment.

enworth Spring Bird Fest will take place from May 18 through the 21st this year, and they promise it will be bigger than ever, with over 50 birding trips happening over the course of the festival.

The Institute promotes the festival as a celebration of the return of migratory birds where participants can take part in birding field trips, workshops, family activities, and more. You can check out the schedule of events and register now at leavenworthspringbirdfest. regfox.com/bird-fest-2023.

LIMIT OUT MARINE

BASS TOURNAMENTS

MarDon Resort and Potholes Reservoir are going to be the site of what may well be the most impressive bass tournament the Pacific Northwest has seen in years. Russ Baker, the owner of Limit Out Performance Marine with locations in Pacific and Spokane Valley, is putting on the first annual Potholes Shared Weight Pro/Am Tournament on May 4 and 5.

This is a unique event in which professional anglers with boats compete with randomly drawn amateur anglers who fish from the back of their boats. Sharing the weight of the day’s catch means it’s in the professional angler’s best interest to help his co-angler catch

fish. It’s also a great way for a non-boater to learn from a pro, and there are some big names coming to this event to include Bassmaster Classic winner Luke Clausen, well-known pro Ben Green from Tennessee, Mark Lassagne who publishes Bass Angler Magazine, and other professional anglers from several western states.

The pro angler who wins the event will take home a new Phoenix bass boat valued at $50,000. The top coangler will win a cash prize of up to $5,000 based on a field of 100 boats. The maximum number of teams will be capped at 120 boats. The deadline to register for this event is April 21.

Right after this event, Limit Out Marine will host a two-day Big Bass Tournament at the same location on May 6 and 7. There will be hourly pay-outs for the biggest bass weighed in each hour, and the biggest bass caught during the tournament will be worth $10,000. You can register for both events at www.bigbasstrail. com. If you have questions about either tournament, you can contact Russ Baker at russ@limitoutmarine. com.

Oh, and if you are wondering about the bass fishing at Potholes Reservoir, it is very good for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. It

usually takes a six to sevenpound bass to win the big bass contest in the spring before the fish spawn, and teams will likely need to weigh in a five-fish limit weighing at least 20 pounds a day to have any chance at winning the pro/am tournament.

As for the current fishing report? Pete Fischer at MarDon Resort says, “Largemouth bass have moved into the sand dunes and are being caught on black & blue jigs, swim jigs, chatter baits, Senkos and lipless crankbaits. Fischer suggests looking for the bass in water depths of two to 10 feet.

John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio. com.

Mayor Mike Canon explained that one of the reasons the meeting was so short was because a planned presentation was not available due to a mixup in communication. The meeting primarily con -

• Councilor Steve Johnston complimented Councilor Miland Walling for the work he was doing on the Goldendale Observatory and the city airport and asked about progress on water and sewer rates.

• City Administrator Pat Munyan said a study on water and sewer rates was nearly completed, and he hoped to have the results within 30 days. He also said that the fuel tanks for the airport were tentatively scheduled to arrive April 24 or 26. He added that the next day, electricians would begin work and hoped to have the system ready to go in the first or second week of May.

DROP

The Washington Outdoors Report: Spring is for the birds and the bass Home & Garden Show coming

OFF KIOSKS

Hi­School Pharmacy # 3500

291 E Jewett Blvd, White Salmon; M­SA: 9a­6p; SU: 9a­6p Goldendale Pharmacy (previously KC Pharmacy)

509.773.4344; 104 W Main, Goldendale; M­F: 9:30a­6p; SA: 10a­2p

Klickitat Valley Health Hospital

509.773.4022; 310 Roosevelt St, Goldendale | M­SA: 9a­7p

Hi­School Pharmacy # 3500

509.493.1101; 211 NE Skyline, White Salmon; M­F: 9a­5p; SA: 9a­1p

SHARPS DISPOSAL

Use an approved Sharps container or a rigid plastic containter with a lid to transport (e.g., plastic milk jug) and label the container:

WARNING­SHARPS ­ DO NOT RECYCLE

Goldendale Transfer Station

509.773.6202; 1205 W Broadway, Goldendale; M­F: 8a­5p

BZ Corners Transfer Station 425.970.6101; 5 Fir Tree Rd, White Salmon; M­F: 8a­5p

ticultural Society (AHS).

Cisco will be presenting a Goldendale Gardening workshop on May 6 at 11 a.m.

Also new to this year’s show is an interactive Kids’ Discovery Garden. This area will feature children’s activities set up like a children’s museum with a large play zone, sensory tables, crafts, petting zoo, entertainment, and story times.

The Kids’ Discovery Zone has been designed by Trisha Atchley of Fairygodmother Events in partnership with the Goldendale Community Library (FVRL), Goldendale Reindeer, Howard’s Haven Animal Sanctuary, Grace Kidz, and the Army National Guard. Cypress Creek Renewa-

bles is a signature sponsor for the event. Klickitat Valley Health is also added to the show offerings as a sponsor, bringing healthy lifestyle tips and ideas.

“This year’s show will be a lot of fun because of the amazing businesses and organizations that have come together. That’s the great thing about the Goldendale business community—they care about Goldendale and help make amazing events like this show possible,” Mindy Jackson, Executive Director of the Chamber shared.

More event information and vendor registration is available at Goldendalechamber.org or (509) 7733400.

SMART

John Kruse

GET READY: The Big Bass Tournament at Potholes Reservoir, where this boat is zipping along, is happening on May 5 and 6.

Photos by local photographers Neil Thompson

(top & center) and Steve Nygaard (bottom)

You have probably heard about Earth Day. The one day each year that is set aside to make everyone aware of our footprint on Earth and the environment. But have you ever heard of Senator Gaylord Nelson? How about the 1969 Santa Barbara, California, oil spill? This was the largest oil spill to affect America. Even 54 years later, it is still sitting in the number three position. Thousands of shore birds and sea animals were left dead. Politicians and celebrities went to see how bad things were and made speeches and promises. One of those politicians was Gaylord Nelson. He did not want to just give a speech. He cared, and he wanted to do something about the environment. He wanted to get the world involved and motivated into preserving the environment instead of turning a blind eye to pollution.

Thanks to Senator Gaylord and some friends, the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, and around 1,000,000 people participated. Over the next ten years many laws were passed to protect the environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed and not long after that the Endangered Species Act was put in place to help animals. Earth Day was held every ten years until 1990 when it became a yearly holiday and is now celebrated around the world. It is estimated that in 2022, more than one billion people participated in Earth Day activities.

Crossword

Do you want to know something crazy? The food we eat has a major effect on our carbon footprint. Where it is grown, how it is grown, how it’s packaged and transported are all factors. Deforestation in the name of agriculture has a huge impact on the amounts of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. Trees take in carbon dioxide and put out oxygen. If we are cutting down the forests to grow more food, we are contributing to global warming.

a publication of Cimarron Valley Communications, LLC © 2023, all rights reserved. www.smartypantsnews.com

Season 4

Episode 16

EarthDay

A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gasses that are generated by the things that we do. The two main gasses that affect the Earth’s atmosphere are carbon cioxide and methane. Everything we do and use affects our carbon footprint — the clothes we wear, our cell phones and video games, the food we eat and the cars we ride in. We can reduce our footprint by making good choices. Reusable items like straws and water bottles are one big step. You can also change all the lightbulbs in your house to LED lights that use less electricity than other types of lightbulbs. Remember to turn lights, video games and the TV off when you leave a room. Walking or riding a bike when you can helps and so does taking public transportation when possible.

Amazing!

Get solar energy to the light bulb by adding one to each number, then following the trail

There are many ways you can help. Get your family to plant a tree. Plant a garden. Reduce the amount of plastics you use daily. Recycle what you can. Many towns, cities and states have recycling projects. Reuse what you can. Many items can be reused. It’s especially important to recycle electronics. Computers, cell phones, TVs and video games all have parts that can be recycled. Some of the components in the batteries are toxic and should never be put in the trash. Whatever you choose to do to reduce your carbon footprint make it fun!

Track and Field competes back-to-back

Tayler Bradley

For The SenTinel

The GHS track and field team practiced hard all week, knowing they were going to compete twice this week, working to be as prepared as possible. Their first track meet was in Kittitas for the K-Valley Rally last Friday the 14th. Then Saturday the team traveled to Pasco for the Pasco Invitational.

In Kittitas the mens team showed up and proved they can compete. Storey Woodbury brought home an 11th-place finish in the men’s 100-meter race, crossing the finish line with a time of 12.66. He also ran the 200 meters in a time of 26 seconds for an 8th-place finish.

His teammate Anthony Hauck came in 13th in the 200 with a time of 26.54—a great start so far.

The races got a little longer, and in the men’s 400 meters Victor Canche crossed the finish line with a time of 1 minute 1 second for 10th overall.

Jimmy Elwell ran his way to a 4th-place finish in the men’s 800 meter race. It was time for the mile race, and Damian Simonds is no newcomer and proved that by crossing the fin-

ish line in under 6 minutes for 10th place.

In the hurdles both 110 and 300 meters, Raymond Holycross took his speed and long legs to the number one spot in both races. The last two races for the men were the relay teams.

Our 4x100 meter team— Jimmy Elwell, Matthew Gray, Victor Canche, and Aaron Chilson— finished fourth. This was the same fate for our 4x400 meter team consisting of Matthew Gray, Aiden Wheeler, Jimmy Elwell, and Anthony Hauck.

Our field competitors also had a good day, starting off with Ethen Mell who threw the discus 97 feet for 9th overall. He also placed 16th in the javelin, and his teammate Jacob Harris finished 6th, throwing the javelin 107 feet. Rounding it out for the men was Raymond, who brought home the win in the triple jump.

The girls also competed in Kittitas, and many of them had a good day. Charlotte Matulovich continues to show her skills in the woman’s 100-meter hurdles. She brought home a second-place finish with a personal best time of 19:18. Her teammate, Bailey Holycross, also competed in the hurdles,

Tennis Weekly Recap

For The SenTinel

After a good week of rest for our high school tennis athletes, they were ready to hit the courts again. Each one has been working very hard to further their skills and become better players. This last week they played two tough teams that really tested their mental and physical game. It was good for the Wolves to see a little tougher com-

petition who pushed them to their limits. Head Coach Jenn Neil also made a few adjustments to the lineup that she feels will be good for the players as they find new grooves with new positions. Their first match was at home against Toppenish. The Wolves were ready for these tough opponents. Max Christensen played first singles again this week. His opponent gave him a run for his money, but Max stayed sharp and

coming in 9th place overall. Two of our girls finished in the top 20 in the discus event. Averie Mell threw it 63 feet for 14th and Jenna Casey threw 62 feet for 15th. Ada Garner showed off her throwing skills in the javelin, throwing it 73 feet for a sixth-place finish. Finally, it was Emma Olson, who continues to prove that she can jump! She placed fifth in the long jump and second in the triple jump.   The athletes came home, got a good night’s sleep, and headed out to Pasco. Only a select few kids went to this track meet, as they were facing some pretty big schools with a lot of great athletes. But Goldendale stayed confident and competed alongside those formidable competitors. Raymond Holycross ran in the men’s 110-meter hurdles and was just a little bit short of making it through the prelim race. He ran a 15.97, a new personal best for him. He finished 12th overall. Raymond also competed in the long jump and triple jump. He finished 25th overall in the long and 16th overall in the triple. Storey Woodbury also went and competed in the pole vault. He cleared 11 feet, also a new

came out with a win for the Wolves. The rest of the boys also faced some tough opponents and fell short for the day. As for the girls team, Gwen Gilliam continued to dominate in first singles. She played one of her best games of the season so far, executing shots and staying composed. She brought home the second and final win for the Wolves for the day. Jeslyn Berry teamed up with Taryn Rising as first doubles this last week. They played well against a tough team, and Coach Jenn feels that it will be a good match for the girls through the rest of the season.

GHS Golf dominates

personal best, that placed him in a tie for 22nd overall. Charlotte Matulovich ran in the women’s 100-meter hurdles finishing with a time of 19.45. She saw some pretty fast competition but still did a wonderful job representing Goldendale.

Jenna Casey made the trip and competed in the discus, throwing it 73 feet 9 inches, a great achievement for her against some pretty tough girls. Ada Garner took her opportunity to compete in the javelin and threw 66 feet 4 inches. Lastly was Emma Olson who landed a 13 feet 7 inches triple jump. Though it was a tough day for the Wolves, they showed up and gave it their all. It was also good for them to see those big schools compete, providing experience that they will use in future competition.

The track team will have two more meets this week. First, they will travel to Mabton for an EWAC League meet on Wednesday the 19th. Then Saturday the 22nd they will travel to Quincy, Washington, for the CLA Quincy Invite. Good luck to all the athletes competing— we wish you lightning speed, high jumps, and long throws!

Toppenish took home the overall team win.

Though they had a tough first match for the week, the Wolves still had one more match to play in Highland. This time it was the Wolves who were the stronger players, and they dominated the courts. Max again took the court with confidence, and Coach Jenn says, “He implemented strategies that are going to take him far in his tennis game.” He won for the second time this week, 6-4, 6-1. Playing second singles was Eli Golding, who had no trouble defeating his opponent,

Tayler Bradley For The SenTinel

The Goldendale High School golf team is rocking and rolling through their season with style and dominating out on the course. This past week they played on their own home course in one of their first league tournaments. They faced off with Tri-Cities Prep, White Swan, and Warden through some interesting weather. They hit the course about mid-afternoon and welcomed their opponents. The weather decided not to cooperate with the teams and rained on and off all afternoon. It was a tad chilly, and the wet grass can change the roll of a ball significantly. Knowing the weather could affect how they play, the Wolves made their adjustments. Each of them teed off and began their journey through 18 holes at the Goldendale Golf Course. In the first 9 holes, Ike O’Leary and Jackson Large were well on their way to a successful day, shooting below 45 strokes. Moving into the second nine, the entire team was feeling good and got the kinks worked out. Every player lowered their stroke count, giving them some impressive final scores. Kash Wright improved his score by 12

winning the first two sets, 6-0, 6-0. Highland didn’t have a full men’s team, so they had to forfeit the rest of the doubles games. But they did have a full girls team, meaning all the girls got a chance to play. Gwen zipped through her match with ease, winning 6-3, 6-2. Jeslyn and Taryn played together again as the first doubles team, and this time they saw success. They lost the first set but were able to come back and beat Highland in the second and third sets.

The rest of the girls are still gaining and learning through

strokes! As each of them putted the ball into the 18th hole, the scores were tallied, and places were given. Jackson Large shot a 79, Ike O’Leary finished with a final stroke count of 83, and Logan Telford ended the tournament with a 93. Christian Green finished out his day with a 96, and rounding out the five was Kash Wright with a final count of 110. Overall, the team finished 1st with a score of 351. Jackson took home first place overall individually with Ike coming in right behind him for second place. Logan also finished 4th overall. All five of the Wolves placed in the top 9 individually for the day.

It was a very successful day for our GHS golfers. “This was our first league tournament, and having that home course advantage always helps, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that these boys beat their best team score by 23 strokes,” Head Coach Amy Wilson tells us. She is very proud of these athletes for all the hard work they continue to put in every day. As they head into this week’s tournament, they are laser-focused and ready to play. The team will travel to Dayton, Washington to golf against White Swan, Dayton-Waitsburg, and Walla Walla Valley Academy.

experiences as they play. They took some great shots and played well together but came up a little short for the day. As the team loaded up the bus with an overall team win, 7-3, they felt proud of how they played. There is no time for these athletes to rest—they will play some tough teams this week. La Salle has beaten them already this season, but the Wolves play them on their home court Tuesday the 18th. On the 20th they will travel to White Swan for another great match-up. Good luck this week, Wolves!

Tayler Bradley