GRADUATION SECTION INSIDE
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022
Vol. 143 No. 23
Former Lyle school official sentenced
They will undertake no more Derek and Domonique Krentz retire from the funeral director business
LOU MARZELES EDITOR
LOU MARZELES EDITOR Derek and Domonique Krentz have served as funeral directors in Klickitat County for 26 years, starting in White Salmon in 1996, then adding Goldendale in 2006. At the end of this month, they are retiring. For a great many people, that will mark the end of an era of prodigious service to the community. Few realize the degree of commitment such work requires. “Now that we have grandkids, we want to be able to spend more time with them,” Domonique says. “It’s the being on call 24/7 that gets to be hard. Always being on call, always being available—” She points to Derek. “He’s never had a full Christmas when he wasn’t called out.” “It’s a lifestyle of interruption,” Derek says. Right on their website, it says their service includes but “is not limited to availability of staff to respond to initial request for service (24 hours a day, every day).” “I rarely get to start something in the morning and finish it because of the nature of our business,” Derek adds. “That was easier when we were younger.” Retirement was a tough decision. “What makes it so difficult for us,” Derek says, “is, we love these people. This is our community.” For a brief while they thought about stepping away from the work for a couple of years, recharge their batteries, then come back to it. They quickly realized that was impractical. So they decided it was time to stop being the undertakers. “We’re usually called ‘funeral directors,’” Derek says. “I think
RETIRING: Derek and Domonique Krentz are retiring from their work as funeral directors in White Salmon and Goldendale. Anderson’s Tribute Center in Hood River will take over, expanding from their operations in Oregon. But two of the Krentz’ staff will remain. Left to right, Derek, Domonique, Victoria Lara, and Jon Bilderback. ‘undertaker’ is a little more…” He searches for the word. “Rural.” The choice of term reflects the Krentz’s approach to service in the community: meet people where they are. Domonique was born to the funeral service trade. Her parents bought their home in White Salmon in 1976, and the home is still where they live and operate their service there, known as Gardner Funeral Home. In Goldendale, their service is called Columbia Hills Memorial Chapel, purchased from previous undertaker Daryl Erdman. “I’m fourth generation of funeral homes,” Domonique says. “My brother’s also an undertaker; he was working with my parents.
They were working in White Salmon, and they got the opportunity to buy a funeral home in Camas. And my brother wanted to be down there; his wife was from that area. So they took that funeral home, and my parents said, ‘Hey, Derek, you guys want to be in the funeral business?’ And he said, ‘Sure.’ That’s how we did it.” “This business was for me,” Derek says. Domonique believed he was either going to be a preacher or a funeral director. He went to two years of Bible school, thinking he was going to work with kids or become a kids’ counselor. He ended up working in construction for a time. But he was glad to be pulled into Domonique’s family business.
Derek and his family moved from Nebraska to Hood River, Oregon, a move carefully calculated by his parents who traversed 40 states across the U.S. to choose an optimal place to live. He recalls how they made their decision: “In Hood River, you’re literally three hours from doing anything you could possibly want to do,” he says. “So they uprooted for the sake of their kids. They left on the 4th of July and arrived in Hood River on the 7th of July in 1982.” Domonique and Derek met at a basketball game. “I knew I was going to marry him the minute I saw him,” she remembers. “Not a doubt.” “I like to tell people, ‘I met her
See Krentz page A8
Bake My Day moves to bigger space GRACE BLAND FOR THE SENTINEL Bake My Day Cafe has been a town favorite since their original opening 11 years ago—now they are celebrating their reopening in a new location, but with the same food we all know and love. The restaurant was introduced to our small community in 2012 by owners Sheena and Shane Salmons after their long move from Phoenix, Arizona. Sheena grew up in the culinary world by starting as a dishwasher when she was just twelve and moving up to run a restaurant by age eighteen, later attending culinary school in Phoenix. Her husband Shane attended business school at Louisiana State University, and then moved to Arizona where he met
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Sheena. When they moved to Goldendale to be closer to family, Shane surprised Sheena with a proofer and an oven. Their first year of business was limited to espresso and treats, but shortly after they were able to fully open as a restaurant. Since then, time has flown and their business has grown to be a household name for the citizens of Goldendale. Their previous location was cozy, but their booming business quickly outgrew the small diameters. Throughout the 11 years that they operated at the former location, they were confined to renting the space, never fully owning it. Sheena and Shane put in an extensive amount of work to make the rental space fit their needs, but they had dreams to one day purchase their own building.
LOU MARZELES
BIGGER AND BETTER: The dining area in the new Bake My Day location is roomy and pleasantly decorated. Until they could make that possible, they put in the hard work to construct a name for themselves and perfect their food. They found the key to a balanced menu with an inclusion of delectable sweet treats, savory breakfast foods, creamy soups, burgers, and more. They also expanded their food op-
tions by providing substitutes of gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan. Through this experience, they grew confident in running a business and cultivating a reputation. After getting into the groove of things and adapting to challenges such as the pandemic, they were
See Bake page A8
Former Lyle School District Superintendent Andrew Kelly was sentenced last Wednesday in White Salmon on five-yearold DUI and Reckless Endangerment charges. Kelly was most recently superintendent of the North Beach School District in Ocean Shores, Washington, until his suspension and subsequent resignation from the district earlier this year. Kelly’s sentence included 60 months of supervised probation. He is required to undergo a substance use disorder evaluation within 60 days and must begin a treatment or education program within 90 days of sentencing. He was sentenced to 364 days of jail, 362 days of that term suspended. Kelly served 48 hours in Klickitat County jail, from Sunday 5 p.m. through yesterday 5 p.m. He was fined $5,000 with $4,000 of that suspended. He will also have random alcohol blood level testing and be required to have an ignition interlock device on his car for a period of time to be determined by the Department of Licensing. Kelly is prohibited from possessing or consuming any alcohol or non-prescribed drugs during his probation period. He is to attend a victims’ impact panel as directed by adult probation. Kelly’s charges occurred in 2017 when he was the Lyle School District superintendent, but he was granted an Order of Deferred Prosecution, meaning he would not be prosecuted for the charges if he maintained certain conditions for a period of five years, which was to expire May 31. Among the conditions was a prohibition against consumption of alcohol during the fiveyear period. But in March Kelly made a statement to Ocean Shores police related to a sexual assault charge against him (subsequently not prosecuted); in the statement he admitted to drinking wine. City of Bingen Prosecutor Chris Lanz was informed of Kelly’s admission by an Ocean Shores parent and filed a motion to revoke Kelly’s Deferred Prosecution. On May 25, Kelly pled guilty by phone to violating the conditions of his Deferred Prosecution order, and sentencing was scheduled for June 1. For his sentencing Wednesday, Kelly was required to appear in person and drove the four hours from Ocean Shores to do so. Klickitat County West District Court Judge Jeff Baker offered Kelly a chance to speak before sentencing. “I guess it’s important to me, Judge, to take full responsibility for my failure to follow through,” Kelly said. “I was very proud of the progress I’d made previously… I took my eyes off the prize, and I take full responsibility for that… I am connected with the sobriety community and my local community and maintaining active sobriety now. And my intention is to continue sobriety through the duration of this probation period and for the rest of my life, because that’s what’s in my best interest.” Lanz spoke to the court about Kelly’s violation being brought to his attention by “a concerned citizen in the community where Kelly resides,” Lanz said. “As a public figure, Mr. Kelly upset this individual.
See Kelly page A8
CONTRIBUTED: JAMES SEMLOR
‘DRIFTING TUNES SEEMED TO FILL THE AIR’: Like this line from Bill Staines’ “Roseville Fair,” music wafted gently across Ekone Park this past weekend as bluegrass pickers from far and near settled in to make music. The park was packed. From the seven-piece group at left (with the guy in black apparently playing the E flat smart phone) to smaller ensembles, friends were made and music was shared.