What’s in the Sky

Jim White For The SenTinel

Welcome to February, our shortest month of the year. With the progression of the seasons, we are starting to see longer days and shorter nights—in February, we’ll see a gain of some 79 minutes of daylight from the 1st to the 28th.

west after sunset. It will not be hard to miss, as it will be brighter than anything in the night sky except for the Moon.

Klickitat County Childcare Committee has free resources to help you become a licensed childcare provider.

Funding is available* to help eligible providers with some employee training and start up costs! Provide a safe place for kids to grow and learn Earn an income with your own home-based business Support families & businesses in the Goldendale area

*Funds available until June 30th, 2023

Eligible providers must meet state licensing standards

509-493-2662 kccc@wagap.org bring your ideas and pool your resources to make sure we get the best event ever.

Another group of kindhearted volunteers are seeking like-minded people to help create an emergency warming shelter. Opening the Lyle shelter is contingent on volunteer staffing, so if you are interested in this undertaking, please give them a call at (509) 731-4888.

Yet another group is also in need of volunteers. The OLESS (Old Elementary School Supporters) is having their next meeting on February 13 at 5 p.m. This organization was started to save the old grade school from being torn down and has brought it back to a viable place for business opportunities and rented events.

I’ll sign off this week` with the reminder of the Lions First Saturday Breakfast, this coming February 4. You know the drill: good food, good prices, and great people.

Submit your news to Mildred E. Lykens, (509) 3652273 or lykensme41@gmail. com.

Many of you may have heard about a relatively bright comet that will be closest to Earth in early February and will be faintly visible in the night sky. The comet was discovered last year by a telescope at Mt. Palomar, called the Zwicky Transient Facility, or ZTF. News reports have called it the “Green Comet” as photographs do show a green hue to the comet. It may be faintly visible high overhead, between the north star, Polaris, and the bright star Capella. I managed to see it on January 20, low in the north, barely visible with binoculars. It may be easier to see in early February, as it will be higher in the sky. However, the bright, almost full Moon may wash it out somewhat. If there are clear skies, scan the skies to the left of Polaris with binoculars.

February 2 Groundhog Day comes, with the fun tradition of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerging, to either see his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter, or not seeing the shadow, supposedly meaning an earlier spring. Other celebrations, such as Candelmas in Germany herald the coming spring. Early February is also the midpoint between the winter solstice, our beginning of winter, and the vernal equinox, the start of our spring. It has historically been a time when people in the northern hemisphere begin to anticipate spring and warmer weather.

The bright outer planets are fading in February. Saturn is no longer in the evening sky, and both Jupiter and Mars are growing lower in the southwestern sky. Venus, however, shines bright during February evenings. Look for it low in the

Jupiter, the Moon, and Venus will make for a stunning sight on February 22, when all three are nestled together in the southwestern sky after sunset. Jupiter will lie just to the right of the very thin crescent Moon, with bright Venus a short distance below those two, closer to the horizon. Venus and Jupiter are approaching each other during the month, as they appear to us. They will have a very close conjunction on March 1— more about that next month!

February’s full Moon will occur early in the month, on the 5th. New Moon will be on February 19. On the 26th of the month, the first-quarter Moon will be right between two bright star clusters. To the right of the Moon will be the familiar Pleiades cluster, also sometimes called the “Seven Sisters”. To the left of the Moon will be the cluster Hyades, including the bright star Aldebaran, one of the winter stars I mentioned last month. A pair of binoculars are a perfect instrument for checking out the clusters!

Those bright winter constellations still rule the night sky in February, but another sign of seasonal change is the appearance of the spring constellation Leo, now above the eastern horizon by 8pm. Look for the “head” of Leo, with the bright star Regulus (22nd brightest star in the sky) just below the head. It appears like a sickle, or a backwards question mark, with Regulus at the base. In the west, Pegasus the winged horse, Pisces the fish, and Cetus the whale are all sinking toward the horizon. Ursa major and the Big Dipper are to the right of Polaris in the northern sky, with the handle of the dipper pointing down toward the horizon. The ever-changing views of the night sky are something to marvel at any time of the year. Check them out on those rare occurrences when February skies are clear!

CHAMBER from page A1 nature events that year. While it kept its community and tourism efforts going, there were some functions of the visitor information center that could not happen.

“2021 began to see changes in regulations, and tourism began to start up again,” Jackson says. “For the Chamber, the year began with a transition in the staff, resulting in the board of directors running the programs and operations of the Chamber from January through to the middle of the year when Nicole Lundin, formerly a marketing consultant at the Chamber, was hired as the executive director.

During these months, thenPresident Diana Adams and Lundin completed hours of service along with the other directors.”

The applications for Lodging Tax funds for 2021 had been submitted in 2020 with the hope of a return to regular operations.

However, during that year national and state regulations continued to affect the Chamber’s planning and programs, resulting in the eventual cancellation of the Home & Garden Show and other programming for a second year. “The work continued as best it could with the visitor information center reopening to the public in April of 2021,” Jackson says. “The Chamber coordinated vendors for Community Days, developed a new database-driven website featuring a tourism focus as its primary purpose, and other marketing efforts promoting the area continued.”

Jackson says in the summer of 2021, a local group of artists and Chamber board members took a walk down Main Street and imagined what could happen if public art were to be installed in downtown Goldendale. “The potential project was presented to the board of directors,” she recalls, “and they decided to take it on as the beginning of a community revitalization effort. The project was to start at the four corners of Main Street and Columbus, the heart of Goldendale, becoming known officially as Art at the Heart of Goldendale. Funding was anticipated to be an issue because this effort did not fall under the Lodging Tax parameters, but through donations from businesses and the community, they were able to begin planning the first part of the project.”

By early fall, the Chamber recognized that the regular programs that would normally utilize the funds available through the Lodging Tax grants were not going to be able to be used as planned. They approached the City and County with this information and asked that the funds be repurposed through the economic development program as a proof of concept for the revitalization of downtown Goldendale. Both the City of Goldendale and Klickitat County agreed to the change in funding, and each awarded the Chamber $7,500 in seed money from Economic Development funds for a total of $15,000. The City of Goldendale voted and approved an ordinance for this purpose along with the County Commissioners. The Chamber’s full expenses in 2021 totaled $95,751, with the City Lodging Tax reimbursing $23,499 of the tourism-related costs and $7,500 in Economic Development funds by ordinance. The remaining lodging tax of $7,500 unused by the Chamber was retained by the City and went on to support other events/organizations such as the Brighter Goldendale Christmas Committee. Many events and organizations were affected that year and unable to utilize their budgeted amounts. However, the total amount of unused City Lodging Tax dollars for 2021 was $400. “So, it could be said the Chamber and City completely utilized granted funds for tourism while also innovating a revitalization kick starter for the community,” Jackson points out.

“Looking at the scope of the activities and efforts made by the GGA Chamber of Commerce, one might begin to wonder why tourism is such a big deal,”

Jackson continues. “What does it really do for the community? Why would the City or County want to encourage this type of industry in the area? A good place to start is the Lodging Tax Fund. The fund is generated by ‘heads in beds.’ Hotels, motels, RV parks, and other similar businesses collect the lodging tax throughout the year. The funds are then allocated back to the areas they were generated to be used to invest in further activities and efforts that continue to bring more heads in beds. The County has a Lodging Tax Advisory Board that meets each year with representatives from the hotel/motel and related groups, recipients of the funds, and the Klickitat County Economic Development Department. They review the applications and allocate the funds. A recipient of the lodging tax can sit on the advisory board but cannot directly vote for themselves. The city council members form a review committee and complete a similar allocation process. This year the applications and requests for both lodging tax funds far exceeded what was available, and so allocations were adjusted and prioritized through careful consideration for what would be the best investment in bringing heads to beds by the advisory board and committees.”

Besides lodging rev - enue, tourism creates a real effect on a community by creating a demand for service offerings, Jackson says. Existing businesses can fill these needs and provide expanded offerings for the out-of-town guests who also expand the goods and services for locals. These areas add amenities to the community, such as entertainment venues, museums, transportation services, healthcare facilities, and more. It also opens the possibilities for new entrepreneurship because of increased needs and revenues available in the community. Job opportunities grow in industries like hospitality, food service, and retail, which create more revenue in the community. Local government resources grow enabling improvements in infrastructure such as roads and water/sewer systems. These and other improvements benefit residents throughout all other economic levels.

“Looking at attraction impact, let’s take the recently renovated Goldendale Observatory,” Jasckson says. “This community asset receives 30,000 to 40,000 visitors annually.

It is the only attraction in Goldendale that is open year round and is like no other attraction anywhere in the area. For math’s sake, let’s look at a conservative estimate and say 30,000 visitors came to the Goldendale Observatory last year.

CHOICES from page A1 the additional needs.

The 2023 federal omnibus spending bill which passed both chambers of Congress and was signed by President Joe Biden includes $2.5 million for Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation’s (CCHC) Assisted Living Facility to be located in western Klickitat County. This $2.5M award is intended to leverage additional capital from USDA Rural Development and the State of Washington to construct the facility. Paul Blackburn, CCHC’s Board President, states, “There are not enough options for aging folks to find an affordable place to live while receiving appropriate services in Klickitat County. CCHC’s development will address this significant unmet need. We are grateful to our federal delegates who recognize the importance of this development for our community and fought to keep this community-initiated project in the federal spending bill.”

Klickitat County acquired the seven-acre parcel and immediately leased the property to CCHC expressly for the purposes of community development. Since acquisition of the property, CCHC has advanced predevelopment and design efforts for the 52-unit facility where 16 units will provide memory care services

The Sentinel is on Facebook and the remaining 36 dedicated to assisted living. Not less than 25% of the development will be affordable to households earning at or below 50% of the area median income.

“We continue pulling together the essential capital sources to bring this development to reality.

In our ideal scenario, we break ground in August of 2023 and will move folks in a little over a year later,” noted Blackburn.

Parents and caregivers can pre-register online at https://forms.gle/AEwfbHHH3dghDGmZ8 or call 509-281-2330 for assistance. More information can be requested by emailing cpwi@wagap.org. People from all backgrounds are welcome to register and are invited to contact CPAKC with any questions.

With community partners in the Goldendale area, CPAKC works to reduce youth substance use as part of the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative funded by Washington State Health Care Authority, Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery, Substance Use Disor -

When they stopped into a local restaurant for a meal and spent $15, that translated to $450,000 of external revenue. If they added gas at $60, then $1,800,000 per year. If the visitor purchases $100 in local merchandise, that is $3,000,000 in revenues that then circulate in the local economy.

Visitors to the Goldendale Observatory with just these three purchase areas potentially contribute $5,250,000 in revenue for the community, and that doesn’t even include what their lodging expense was for this evening-based attraction.”

Jackson summarizes that the Chamber’s activities help vitalize the city and county economies through revitalization, tourism marketing, and partnerships with the County and City. “The money from the Lodging Tax is used to generate more visitors through investing in facilities, programs, and projects that help grow tourism following state guidelines,” she says. “Tourism matters because it brings external dollars into the community that then circulate, benefitting all levels of the local economy. Communities that have a healthy influx of funds have more opportunities to enhance their offerings and amenities for both future tourism and their own use. The cycle is either growing or declining and can be planned for.” der Prevention Program. Learn more about CPAKC at www.cpakc.org. The coalition meets monthly on the second Monday beginning at 4 p.m. in the Mt. Adams Room at the new Klickitat County Services Building at 115 West Court Street in Goldendale, Washington. Community members are welcome to come and learn more about coalition activities supporting area youth and are invited to volunteer.

CPAKC is one of three youth prevention programs operating under Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) throughout Klickitat and Skamania Counties. Learn more at www.wagap.org/ prevention.