Goldendale Sentinel May 7, 2025

HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879

LOU MARZELES EDITOR

It’s a rare concertgoer who enjoys music accompanied by the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing insects. But then it’s rare that

In a Landscape concert series open at Maryhill Museum Sheriff claims defunding, Water District claims ambush

a classical music concert takes place in the open without the hint of a traditional concert venue.

Hunter Noack has been performing exactly that kind of concert for the past decade, playing a broad range of piano selections

on a Steinway grand sitting on a flatbed trailer for audiences sprawling across open spaces. No concert hall, not even a covered structure. Just Noack, his piano, his audience, and the great outdoors.

His concerts are called In a Lanscape . They take place in some stunningly beautiful outdoor settings across the western United States, and he’s opening his 2025 tour here in Goldendale this Saturday, May 10, at 5 p.m. at Maryhill Museum. Sorry to say if you haven’t already purchased a ticket, the event is sold out, though you can get on a waiting list by visiting https://tinyurl. com/yc2jpkff.

RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL

It was a mixed-message meeting for Klickitat County Commissioners April 22 as commissioners received both good news and bad news. They received word from their lobbyist, Zak Kennedy, that things could get even worse for Washington State finances. He said the state Attorney General was suing Adams County for cooperating with ICE [Immigration & Customs Enforcement] by checking information on prisoners in their jail against a federal list and notifying them of the results.

“The federal Department of Justice just came out backing Adams County in this little tiff here in Washington State,” he said. “I’m bringing this up, be-

cause it seems like the federal government may consider pulling Washington State’s funding grants, matching funds, which would take things into a bigger death spiral.”

Department of Corrections

Chief Bill Frantz reported that he had previously been short two employees, but now he’s lost a third to a year in the military. When Chair Ron Ihrig said that meant he’s lost a shift, Frantz outlined how tough the situation was.

“What that means,” he said, “is that our officers are working a lot of overtime. They’re still not calling in sick unless they’re very sick. They know their colleagues want days off. They know they have family plans. And so if they call in sick,

DOH contradicts Water District

RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL

Klickitat County Commissioners heard more at their April 29 meeting about Commissioner Zoller’s appearance at the Dallesport Water District (DWD) board meeting the week before.

She said that after securing agreement with Klickitat PUD chair Dan Gunkel to grant $185,000 to the water district from the landfill gas funds, she brought a document to the district, rather than a check that the district was expecting.

“There were four requirements in it,” she said, “and all four were things they would be doing moving forward anyhow. So during the meeting, Scott [Dixon] felt like he didn’t have a problem with them. I know there was discussion about requirements, but they were fairly simple requirements that I knew they were going to do, or I wouldn’t have taken it forward to them. There was nothing that was extortion or holding them to

the fire for anything.” Dixon is the general manager of the Dallesport Water Department. Members of the water department said they had problems with the first three of the four requirements, which are:

a. Removal of Water Moratorium: DWD shall immediately, upon execution of this Agreement, remove any water moratorium as it is a violation of contract and are a violation of DWD’s obligation to serve.

b. Point of Withdrawal: DWD shall immediately, upon execution of this Agreement, apply to change the point of withdrawal for the Klickitat County share of the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport water rights at the “airport well,” to existing DWD wells. DWD must successfully accomplish this condition within one (1) year from the date the COMMITTEE approves the Application.

c. Lease of Water Rights: DWD to immediately, upon execution

CONCERT HALL: Pianist Hunter Noack performs

KlickitatPUDtoreceive$2.6Millioningrants

Klickitat Public Utility of just 18 projects awarded ing outages across Klickitat District (PUD) has been statewide Thisachievement County Key improvements been selected to receive cost past decade Ensuring reliselected to receive $2.6 mil- isa result of proactive plan- include: lion in grant funding from ningand technicalexpertise • Transmissionlineandpole Washington State Depart- ourcommunities” theWashingtonStateDepart- of the utility’s Engineering upgrades along Highway ment of Commerce’s EPIC mentof Commerceaspartof team Eachprojectrequireda 142 a major regional initiative detailedandcompetitivegrant to strengthen the electrical application, highlighting the grid’s reliability and resil- significance of every award of overheadlines ience Thisfunding,partof a received Thegrantsarenow Replacement of sin- ongoingeffortstostrengthen andfederalfunding,theycan larger$23millioninvestment pendingfinalapprovalbythe across Washington, is sup- US Department of Energy’s portedbytheUS Department GridDeploymentOffice of Energy and Washingtons The $2,635,283awarded to ClimateCommitmentAct KPUD will fund infrastrucKlickitatPUDhasreceived tureupgradesaimedatreducfundingforeightofits10sub- ing wildfire risk, mitigating mittedprojectproposals out storm damage, and prevent- ability

“We are pleased to have significant growth over the fundedbyratepayers This initiative is part of a share funding under the ableand resilient energyfor broader effort across Washington and Oregon to pre- These awarded projects pare grid infrastructure for Grant program, said Mark were all part of Klickitat risingdemand morefrequent

• Rerouting and under- Garner, Engineering Super- PUD’s long-term plans, but PYt-rpmpwpfl+upr pvpr,t<! grounding over 5,000 feet visorat Klickitat PUD “This withtwo-thirdsof theproject funding will support our costs now covered by state increased wildfire threats If allprojectsareapproved,publicutilitiesacrossbothstates gle-phase systems with and modernize our power be completed more expedithree-phaseinfrastructure grid, allowing us to under- tiously This support allows

• Upgrading 10,000 feet of take vital projects that will essential upgrades to move existingtransmissionlines not only harden our system forwardonschedulewithsig-

willreceiveover$26millionin resiliencefunding Projects are advancing to

• Enhanced circuit connec- against wildfires and severe nificantlyless cost impactto the finalapproval stage and tions between substations weather,butalsoaddressthe both the utilityand our cus- are expected to begin planfor increased system reli- increased demand for elec- tomers projects that would ning and implementation tricityinareasexperiencing have otherwise been fully laterthisyear

SDSLumbertoundergo organizationalrealignment

SDS Lumber, LLC (SDS), facilityclosure Wilkins,Kaiser,and Olsen, Inc (WKO) and Mt Hood acquired in 2021as part of Forest Products, LLC a broader site purchase (MHFP) are implementing thatincludedthestud mill, an organizational realign- planermill,wholelogchipment across all mill facili- per, and marine division ties Thisinitiativeisunder- At the time of acquisition, taken to ensure long-term it was recognized that the competitiveness within the plywood facility possessed global wood products mar- older equipment requirket, according to a state- ing significant modernizamentreleasedMonday As part of the realign- operationalstandards Over ment the SDS plywood the past three years, ownfacility in Bingen will per- ership and management manentlycloseinJune2025 have assessed the plywood This closure will affect 68 market logavailabilityand full-time employees within associatedcosts,labormarthe plywood division and ket, and necessary capital 13 support staff The SDS investment for modernizastud mill, planer mill, and tion marine division will not be impacted by the plywood and the magnitude of the required investment were deemed insufficient to render continued operation It was determined that the log supply and dedicated workforce associated with the plywoodfacility can be more effectively utilized at modernized lumber mills onsiteandnearby

Concurrently, WKO and MHFP are hiring 60 fulltime positions to increase production by 35% at each location A significant proportionof theseopportunitiesaredayshiftpositions

Production employeesat

these facilities will move to a four-day work week potentiallyofferingabetter work lifebalancefor many Affected SDS employees arestrongly encouraged to apply for open positions, and resources have been madeavailabletohelpthem duringthistransition

AstheSDSsitemarksits

79th year in operation, the company says it acknowledges the historical presenceandcommunityimpact of theplywoodfacility Over thecomingweeks it stated WKO and MHFP will prioritize the recruitment of affected employees and will actively collaborate with thelocalEmployment Security Department to assistthosenothiredinternallyinsecuringalternative employment opportunities withintheregion

While this realignment will undoubtedly have short-termimpacts,it strategically positions SDS WKO,andMHFPforastronger and more competitive future within the industry

“We are committed to navigatingthis transition with transparency and support for all our employees” the company asserted in its statement

DNRPlanningPrescribedBurnon120 AcresinKlickitat County

The Washington State Department of Natural Resourcesis planninga prescribed fire operation this fallonupto120acresof state lands located about 3 miles northeastofGlenwood Some operations could begin this week Toviewthelocationon a map, go to https://tinyurl com/5t4ds9e5

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is committed toconductingall prescribed fires with safety as the number one priority Staff follow a burn plan drafted to guide operations within a specific range of optimalweatherand ground conditionsfortheprescribed burn to meet prescribed objectives

Prescribed fires are a common tool used by land managers and conservation groupstoreducetheamount offuelavailableforwildfires improve the health of older trees, support new and current wildlife habitats, and recycle soil nutrients back intotheground

Successful completion of a prescribed fire operation enhances public safety by providing wildlandfirefighters with a safer landscape on which tofight wildfire It can also lessen the amount of smokecausedbywildfires duetothereductionof fuels

Because safety is paramountwhenconductingpre-

Prescribed burn leaders coordinate with DNR staff

scribedburns,slightchanges for a prescribedfirein their toexpectedconditionstheday area DNRrecentlypublished of aburnmayrequiredelay- anewSmokeResourceswebingor postponinga burn on page with toolsfor tracking short notice Please sign up local air quality and guides for DNR emailalerts or the for how to mitigate smoke DNR prescribed fire social impacts media account for the most currentinformation

A recent study completed to examine potential smoke byDNRscientistsfoundthat impacts by considering the foresthealthtreatmentsthat projected amount of smoke includedprescribedfirewere generated by the planned more likely to be effective burn, wind speed and direcwhen affected by a wildfire tion, and local topography thantreatmentsthat did not Forthisburn,smokeimpacts includeprescribedfire Smokemanagementand nearby roads, including closureinformation Thoughthesmokeimpacts PVTHaulRoad fromprescribedfireareminimal and short-lived com- and huntersareencouraged paredtothosecausedbywild- to check closure

The plywood facility was

OpiniOn

Goldendale School District is blessed to have dedicated staff. They are appreciated! To appreciate someone is more than just saying thank you. It means recognizing their good qualities, expressing sincere gratitude, understanding the significance of their work, and developing a deeper, more informed respect for what they do each day.

According to our students, GSD staff are patient, helpful, positive, encouraging, willing to answer questions, and calm. These are not just nice attributes— they are essential for building trust, supporting student growth, and creating the conditions where deep learning can happen.

We are especially grateful for our instructional staff—teachers and paraprofessionals—who engage students in deep learning. They bring subject matter expertise, creativity, and compassion to the classroom every day. They model responsibility and continue to grow professionally, always striving to improve their practice and meet the diverse needs of our students.

Guest Column Ellen Perconti, GSD Superintendent

Our appreciation extends to every corner of our district. To our transportation staff who make early morning and late night runs with care and reliability. To our food service staff who prepare nutritious meals with attention and heart—orange chicken being a clear student favorite at the middle school! To our office staff who manage everything from attendance to emergencies with grace and skill. To our custodians who keep our learning environments clean, safe, and welcoming. To our principals who juggle schedules, fill absences, lead teams, and support students and staff alike. And to our behind-the-scenes employees— from payroll to planning—who ensure the district runs smoothly and responsibly.

It takes every member of our GSD team to provide students with a safe, engaging, and uplifting educational experience. Our staff inspire, they challenge, and they help students thrive. Our staff are the heart of public education—their persistence and hopeful spirits uphold the promise of democracy and opportunity for every child in our care.

To all GSD staff: thank you. You inspire our students and give so much of yourselves. Your dedication makes a difference. We appreciate you—not just this month, but all year long.

THE GOLDENDALE SENTINEL

Official newspaper of Klickitat County, Washington

Established 1879 • Published every Wednesday from offices at 117 W. Main Street • Goldendale, WA 98620 • Telephone: (509) 773-3777

Emails: news@goldendalesentinel.com

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Editorial: Lou Marzeles, Editor & Publisher Business and office staff: Owned by Tartan Publications, Inc.

Leslie Geatches, President, Financial management, Special Section production, Ad Design Naomi James, Bookkeeping

Goldendale School District staff appreciation 2025 Deadlines: News and letters: Noon Monday Display Advertising: 5 p.m. Friday Classified Advertising: 5 p.m. Friday Legal Notices: Noon Monday Subscriptions: Goldendale Carrier: 1 Year: $40 2 Years: $70 3 Years: $100 Add $1 to print and get an online subscription. Same prices within Klickitat County. Outside County: $70, $90, $120 USPS 2213-6000 WEEKLY. Periodical postage paid at Goldendale Post Office, Goldendale, WA 98620. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Goldendale Sentinel, 117 W. Main Street, Goldendale, WA 98620-9526.

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 . This year Goldendale Motorsports Association and ABATE brought back

which was

past with questionable

to the town.

the brilliant

board 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 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. 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 McKune Goldendale

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.”

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

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. 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

Letters from the community

Doesn’t he have the power?

In Norma Jean Baugher’s guest column of April 30, she describes a situation where she was ripped off by a couple she tried to help and was not supported by deputies and the existing laws. She stated that when she went to talk with Sheriff Songer, he “apologized that this happened, showed me the law, and explained that the deputies were following the law. He said he did not agree with the law but had to uphold it.”

As a Constitutional sheriff, doesn’t he have the supreme legal authority to defy or disregard laws that he regards as unconstitutional?

Janet Holen White Salmon

Republicans don’t care for you

It’s a harsh thing to say, but I’m seeing it in every vote, action, statement, and lie. They don’t care about me, either.

Do you need proof? Congressional District 4 Rep. Dan Newhouse voted to cut funding to Medicaid, even though 70% of the children getting healthcare in his district get it through Medicaid-funded programs. Cuts to Medicare seem to be next. Know anyone who relies on Medicare? I do. Know anyone who relies on rural hospitals and clinics for health care? We all do.

Newhouse also voted for HR22, which means you may need your birth certificate, marriage certificate, and maybe even a passport to vote. That Real ID we all have to get by May 7 isn’t enough. Sixtynine million married women in the U.S. risk losing a vote if they can’t

Guidelines for Letters

explain why their birth name isn’t their voter name. U.S. women have been able to vote since 1920, but this Taliban-inspired move is classic voter suppression. The bill has gone to the Senate now, but there is little hope for women voters under this regime.

Need more proof? Look at cuts to USDA. Who in their right mind promotes programs that hurt school lunches and farmers? Look at research grants cut from universities that would love to cure diseases, cuts because they prefer not to let politicians determine their curriculum.

I’m not going to get the new billionaire tax breaks, are you? I’ll settle for policies that show our leaders care about us.

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 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.

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 will 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.)

Virginia Hartnett White Salmon

Annual Mother’s Day

Tea coming

Here’s one last reminder of a special event taking place this Friday. If you’re a mother, whether your kids are grown and out of school, or tiny and not old enough for school yet, you are invited to attend the annual Mother’s Day Tea in the Glenwood gym on Friday, May 9. The tea, hosted by the Glenwood Homemakers, will start at 1 p.m. This long-lived Glenwood School tradition is the day when the seniors are honored and get to honor their mothers. Many of you here knew Jack Jensen. His daughter Kayla provided the following information for me to share. “Jack Jensen, beloved father and friend, passed away in his Glenwood home on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Jack leaves behind his daughters Kayla Jensen and Alexis Marshall, siblings Mike and Judy Jensen, and his grandchildren. He was an amazing friend and father who loved and care deeply for those he knew. He moved to Glenwood in 2004 after living in Portland, Oregon, where he was born and raised. After he retired from Portland Public Schools after 30 years, he decided to live out his dream as a “woodman.” He absolutely loved

Washington Education Savings Plans (WA529) kicked off its month-long recognition of National 529 Day with a promotion that will net three lucky winners $1,529 in their GET Prepaid Tuition account.

The 529 Day Giveaway promotion is open to Washington families of children 12 years or younger. Parents and grandparents can visit 529.wa.gov/promotions to read the official rules and fill out a short entry form. Three winners will be announced on May 29 (5/29), also known as National 529 Day.

“May 29 is recognized each year as National 529 Day to raise awareness about the importance of saving for future education,” said Lynda Ridgeway, WA529 Director. “This year, we’re giving savers a boost by awarding $1,529 in GET units. It’s a great way to celebrate 529 Day and get people excited about saving for education.”

Entrants don’t need to have an existing GET account to participate in the drawing, but if selected as a winner, they will be required to open a GET account by June 4 to receive their prize.

While visiting the WA529 website, families can download coloring sheets and puzzles for their young students.

“We want 529 Day to be

nature and spent most of his days working in the woods, relaxing and admiring the beauty of the wildlife and nature around him. He was loved by many and is deeply missed. We have yet to set a date for a service for Jack but will provide an update soon for those who would like to attend.” I would like to add to Kayla’s tribute, our deepest condolences go to her, her children, her sister, and her aunt and uncle.

Here’s an update to a planned Glenwood cemetery service for our little sister, Lila Pierce Trout, and her husband, Mike McDonald. The internment service will take place on Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m., and a potluck lunch will be held at the Glenwood School immediately following. All are welcome to attend.

Peyton Sanchey is soaring again in high school rodeo for the final half of her senior year of competing on the high school level. The weekend of April 25 she traveled to Othello, where she won the barrels on Saturday, placed second on Sunday, and won the average. This past weekend she competed in Grand Coulee, and I will share results next week. Way to go, Peyton.

engaging for everyone, with fun activities for the kids and a meaningful opportunity for parents and grandparents,” said Ridgeway. Since 1998, GET Prepaid Tuition has helped families cover more than $1.5 billion in educational costs. More than 68,000 students have used their GET accounts to further their education in all 50 states and around the globe. GET is one of two college savings options offered by Washington Education Savings Plans (WA529). WA529’s other 529 plan, WA529 Invest (formerly DreamAhead), is a nationally recognized investment-based 529 plan launched in 2018 to help Washingtonians save toward the total cost of college.

Washington residents who want to help a student save for future education costs can open a GET or WA529 Invest account online at 529.wa.gov with no enrollment fee. The website also provides helpful resources, including detailed information, charts, planning tools, and answers to frequently asked questions. The GET contact center is ready to help at (800) 955-2318 or GETInfo@wsac.wa.gov. For questions about WA529 Invest, the WA529 Invest contact center can be reached at (844) 529-5845.

Jacquelyn Jimenez RomeRo Washington state standaRd Services for people with dementia at assisted living facilities will have to meet new state standards across Washington under a law Gov. Bob Ferguson signed on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 5337, would require assisted living facilities to be certified by July 1, 2026, to care for people with dementia. This certificate is intended to help ensure the health and safety of residents, transparency for families, and appropriate training for staff.

The Department of Social and Health Services would be required to create, manage and enforce the certification process.

This bill “brings a baseline level of consistency to the definition for memory care,” said Cathy MacCaul, advocacy director at AARP.  Facilities do not have to use terms such as “memory care facility” or “specialized dementia care” to be considered a memory care

facility.

Under the new certification, facilities would be required to maintain staff onsite 24 hours a day and provide staff with at least six hours of continuing education.

A publicly available list of certified assisted living facilities specializing in memory care or that have memory care units would have to be maintained by the Department of Social and Health Services. The department would also conduct regular inspections to ensure the facilities comply

with state law. Facilities that do not comply could face civil penalties.

Memory care or specialized dementia care services vary across the 237 assisted living facilities in Washington, according to an informal study by the state’s Dementia Action Collaborative in 2021.

This can make it difficult for individuals and families to understand the services and staffing that facilities offer.

“If a facility wants to say that they’re providing memory care, they have to meet

just some basic requirements,” MacCaul said.  MacCaul said the bill was modeled after Medicaid definitions to ensure consistency.

Older adults could outnumber children under age 18 for the first time in U.S. history by 2034, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections.

“We have to shift the way we think about all of our systems and make sure that we have adequate consumer protections, consumer awareness and transparency,” MacCaul said.

Noack has been the subject of high-profile television pieces, including from CBS News. You can see them at InALandscape.org.

Noack says his tour dates have increased dramatically from when he started 10 years ago. “The first year we did nine concerts, and then 14, and then 20-something. For the last few years, we’ve been doing between 40 and 60 shows a season on average, usually in the summer months. This year we’re doing 48 in the West. The Pacific Northwest is pretty much our home base, but we go as far east as Jackson, Wyoming, and this year we’re going as far south as Santa Barbara, California.”

He’s been to Maryhill Museum before and enjoys the location. “We love being in Maryhill,” he shares. It’s a really beautiful place.”

Besides being outdoors, another novelty in Noack’s concerts is the idea of hauling a large, very expensive Steinway grand piano on a flatbed truck. How does it stay secure? How does it take the beating of rumbling down highways and sitting in exposed environments time after time?

“The piano is a 1912 nine-foot Steinway model

of this agreement engage with Klickitat County for the lease of the county’s 50% share of the (airport) water rights on a long-term basis, meaning or a duration of at least 10 years. DWD must successfully accomplish this condition within one (1) year from the date the COMMITTEE approves the Application.

d. Compliance with Rules and Regulations. DWD shall comply with all applicable rules and regulations in performing the above Required Conditions and in performing their improvements to the ATEC water treatment system to add additional vessels for removal of iron from the water.

(Capitalization and style are copied directly from the original.)

After presenting the document, she told the commissioners: “I was asked to leave the meeting so they could have a private conversation, so I honored that. Afterwards, we needed to have communication with them by 8 o’clock that evening so we could get it on the agenda and get it run through today’s session and have their money.”

the shift goes vacant, which isn’t an option. You can’t have one person in a jail and take people to court. You can’t have one person in a jail and do emergency transports. Yesterday I had to transport to Spokane and back. And we have another one scheduled this week.”

Frantz said he would be advertising for casual workers, though he needs full-time people, with the hope he could persuade some of the casual workers to stay.

And Sheriff Bob Songer repeated his message from his last appearance before the commissioners that he was releasing a copy of the investigative report on the suicide death of Ivan Howtopat in the Klickitat County Jail, which was conducted by the Skamania County Sheriff’s office. The nine-page report of the investigation, according to Songer, completely cleared his office from any wrongdoing in that death.

The report itself neither assigned blame nor specifically stated there was no wrongdoing. What it did say in response to “Charges Requested” was a terse “None.”

The Sheriff also repeated his supplemental budget request for $382,020 transferred to the new jail budget.

“Please return the defunded money,” he said, “so I can hire the three vacant deputy positions. These are not additional positions; if I am able to fill the three vacant deputy positions, it will bring us back to our manpower level of 2023 and 2024.” He added that even if returned to that level, the Sheriff’s Office would still be understaffed.

that was purchased for the project by the Portland philanthropist, Jordan Schnitzer,” Noack says. “And the trailer is a custommade utility trailer that we’ve kind of transformed into a mobile stage that can also help us set up the piano. That would otherwise take three professional movers to set up.”

The model D Steinways were built for touring, “so they’re quite robust,” Noack points out. “They have very thick frames, and the insides of the piano are much more fragile. But over the last five years, we’ve completely rebuilt and refinished everything about the piano. It has entirely new action, which is made out of carbon fiber and synthetic parts, making it much more resilient to the changes in temperature and humidity. So the frame itself is quite sturdy, and everything else we’ve replaced what we can to make it more tolerant of the extreme conditions we put it through.”

Then there’s keeping it in tune. To accomplish that, a technician works on the piano for about two hours before every show.

The piano is driven to every location in the concert series, no flying involved.

But accounts of the meeting differ. Dallesport Water District Commission members who were present at that meeting say Zoller stated at the beginning of the meeting she had limited time and other meetings and work to attend to. They add she also said no negotiations on the agreement were possible. And at the time of the April 29 meeting, she said she had yet to hear anything back from the DWD.

“If we’re going to give them money, they need to show progress for the grant benchmarks,” she said Tuesday. “A lot of the things were a harder pass with the water district, so we want to make sure we give them the benchmarks and hold them to task.”

The water district says they can’t lift the water hookup moratorium because the state Health Department ordered them to put the moratorium in place until the district is able to connect to the well at the airport so there will be adequate fi re flow to cover the airport industrial park.

But Kara Kostanich, a public information officer for the Washington State Department of Health,

“By defunding the Sheriff’s Office, you’re risking the deputy’s lives, and the citizen’s lives out there, because we’re shorthanded, and we’re going to get some deputy killed or hurt. This is nonsense.”

County officials say the difference in funding is accounted for by the shift to a county corrections department. The only funds transferred directly from the Sheriff’s budget to the new jail budget was the salary of the jail administrator, approximately $135,000. Prior to the transfer of the jail, that money paid for then-jail administrator Loren Culp. Songer confirmed at his meeting with the Commission last month that he had funding for 14 deputies and three sergeants. That is the amount of manpower he had in 2023 and 2024. That would confirm that he does have the funds to hire those three positions.

Where, then, does he get the figure of $382,020 and call it a defunding?

Songer had asked for the 2025 budget to fund two new deputies, above and beyond the 14 deputies and three sergeants, which commissioners said they couldn’t do due to the budget shortfall.

At the same time, commissioners appropriated $200,000 to defray transition costs in shifting control to a Department of Corrections. The 2025 budget had moved $135,000 directly from the Sheriff’s budget to the jail budget, but it took with it the responsibility for funding the jail administrator position. The Sheriff seems to be considering that the Commissioners “defunded”

This year that means making the 15-hour drive from Goldendale to Santa Barbara, the longest stretch of the tour.

Noack’s musical journey began at a very young age. “Yeah, in central Oregon,” he recalls, “with my mom. And then after a year I started with another local teacher, Jody Bischoff, then Patty Peterson in Bend Oregon. And then when I was 14, I went to boarding school in Michigan, at Interlochen. That’s when things started to kind of ramp up in terms of taking it seriously.”

Taking it seriously in classical tradition typically means concert halls. So how did Noack end up on a flatbed truck outdoors?

“Even in my undergraduate studies, I had been really drawn to theater, specifically to immersive theater,” he states. “I loved what my classmates were doing in theater. They were producing outside of the box, making fun shows. I wanted to bring a little bit of that fun into the concert hall, so in college I started incorporating theater friends into shows, having them read poetry or working with the lights and set design. And then I produced my first play in

relayed this message from Andy Anderson, manager for the Southwest Regional Drinking Water Office, the district that includes Klickitat County (he sent it from Montana on his vacation):

“DOH does not issue or require that a water system institute a moratorium. In the past we had the ability to turn the operating permit of a water system RED if they were over-connected. Now we can only turn it to BLUE. Big difference in the compliance issues generated by the two different permit colors.

“We do review plans and make note the system’s ability to grow today and into the future. The limiting factor (LF) for the water system must be overcome to get more connections. The limiting factor for the DWD is treatment. Given the large demand from the airport to meet fire flow, the next factor could be demand, booster pump capacity, source capacity, or water rights. I need to review this and see which may be the next LF. This is outlined in the approval letter for the current water system plan.

“An issue with demand

his department by choosing to fund jail transition rather than two new deputies.

On the positive side, Commissioner Lori Zoller said that the committee that awards funds from landfi ll gas revenue had approved a request from the Dallesport Water District (DWD).

“The Dallesport Water District had needed some new ATEC vessels for quite some time to meet the requirements of their five-year plan with Department of Ecology,” she said. “The bid that they put in was $185,000 and we were able to secure that between the county and the PUD. And tomorrow I’ll be attending a meeting to present that to them for their approval, hopefully.”

The ATEC system filters out iron and manganese from the Dallesport drinking water. The new vessels would be added to the five already in the system.

But what started as good news went sideways just the next day, when the Dallesport Water District had its monthly meeting. Zoller made the trip to deliver the news to the Dallesport Water District. Members of the water district say they were expecting her to deliver a check. Instead, they got a threepage document with a set of conditions the district would have to agree to and sign before the committee would consider release of the money. And it would be a reimbursable grant, meaning the water district would have to pay for the vessels up front, then get reimbursed by the grant. One of those conditions appears to have a catch-22, though. It would require

San Francisco after college and then decided to go to a school in London to Guild Hall School of Music and Drama, specifically because they were interested in supporting students who were working across the arts and not kind of sticking to their singular lane.”

He spent two years in London and started a production company. When he came back to Oregon, he remembered “how much I loved being outside, having grown up here and spent a lot of time outdoors as a child hunting, fishing, camping, kayaking, biking, just always outside,” he says. “So I wanted to find a way to do what I trained to do and what I love to do, which is play classical piano, but find a way to do it in places that were more inspiring and also nourishing to me. The experience of performing in a concert hall was generally quite stressful, and I loved music. I love music that is made in more casual and communal settings, like sing-alongs around a piano or around a campfire with a guitar.”

That kind of music became his shiny object of attraction. “Then I heard about a production, an opera, that was produced

and water rights was to be resolved when the district had an airport well approved for a potable water supply. This has not been transferred over to the DWD, and it is not part of their facilities noted on the WFI. DWD’s ability to meet large demand is suspect, and I need to review what this means to their list of LF’s.

“The DWD has additional connections to sell for future development, whether it is infill or the new construction of mains. I have noted these are done at the discretion of the district and what is best or safe for existing customers. This does mean that if a new development will increase demand to the point where a low-pressure incident is eminent or exceeds existing treatment, they should not consider the expansion. These become health risks they need to consider. Keep in mind, the approval letter is pretty clear. The district must monitor and track the approval of their connections to make sure they are not causing any future problems while we explain the additional connections reflect an ERU (equivalent residential unit), and it is possible these do

the water district to lift a moratorium on new water hookups. The district says they were given exceptional authority by the state health department to impose and maintain that moratorium and the moratorium was mandated by the health department. The DWD says that’s because the department’s approval for the business park at the airport was contingent on the airport hooking up a well at the airport, which has not been in use since it was drilled in 2008, to the DWD system. That well is needed, the health department says, to provide adequate fire flow to the airport and local residents.

After sifting through differing accounts of that meeting, it appears that the water district was not pleased with having lastminute new conditions added, and Zoller was not pleased with a reaction to what the committee considered reasonable conditions.

At some point, the district announced it was going into executive session. Before leaving, Zoller asked to have them phone their response to her by 8 p.m. that night. Viewpoints differ on the reason for that request. Zoller has said that was to make sure the clerks could get it on the agenda for the following week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, and said it was obvious they would need to have the attorney look at it.

DWD board members say they understood it as a takeit-or-lose-it deadline and did not call that night. The matter remained unresolved as of press deadline.

in Los Angeles where the audience wore wireless headphones, called ‘Invisible Cities’ by Yuval Sharon. They had a full orchestra and classical singers all over Union Station in Los Angeles, and the audience had wireless headphones so they could hear everything that was happening all over the station but had perfect concert-hall quality sound. It was that show that alerted me to the availability of the technology to take classical music and bring it into spaces that aren’t acoustically set up for classical music or acoustic music.”

That was part of the inspiration. Another piece came from the era of the Great Depression.

“The Works Progress Administration, which was the government stimulus plan during the 1930s that incorporated a lot of the arts into the whole plant, was inspiring,” he shares.

“Everything from painting large murals and post offices and schools around the country to commissioning new orchestral works, supporting programming in concert halls and in the theater, as well as helping present thousands of free concerts and plays outdoors in public lands. I believe that

not equate to industrial, commercial, or government connections.

“I try to be clear to both sides what our terms mean and our role. The added information was provided by the reporter I had heard the other day when I spoke to the Local Health Department. This highlights a difference of opinion between the DWD, County, Airport owners (board), and other interested parties. It comes down to the contract agreements between these entities and whether they were fulfi lled or could be fulfi lled in the future as well as, whether they are working with each other in good faith. We don’t have a role in these issues.

“Any developer who wants to have a project connected to the DWD water system must submit a project report that shows the proposed project, construction documents, hydraulic analysis, total number of connections being requested, etc. It goes to the district fi rst or to us simultaneously, and we need confi rmation that the project will be approved by the DWD for expansion and connections. At this point, we can put the report through our review and approval

our public lands are our most democratic spaces. And that project, the WPA, just being so comprehensive and really rallying a national spirit, was so productive and collaborative. Thematically, that is what I latched onto. So with the first year of the project, we performed primarily at WPA sites around Portland and in public parks, places like Timberline Lodge, which are shining examples of the lasting legacy of the WPA, bringing skilled and unskilled workers together to create something really beautiful.”

Noack has a flexible setlist when he performs, a mix of piano pieces from the likes of Chopin and Satie. But he also changes it on the fly as the situation warrants. If it starts to rain—unlikely Saturday in Goldendale with the forecast for partly cloudy and a high of 78— he’ll play “Gardens in the Rain”; or if the wind picks up, he’ll transition to a piece called “Spiral,” which evokes branches and leaves dancing in the air. And he sometimes throws in some total surprises. What kind? The audience this Saturday will learn that firsthand under the open sky at Maryhill Museum.

process.”

In other news, on Thursday, May 8, at 9:30 a.m, Commissioners have scheduled a workshop on the budget. Unlike other Thursday workshops, this one will be held upstairs in the commissioner meeting room and will be Zoomed for the public to attend. Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved:

• Senior Services Advisory Board Letter and Certificate of Appreciation

• Senior Services Advisory Board Appointment

• Appointment to the Klickitat-Skamania Developmental Disability Advisory Board

• Klickitat Lead Entity Citizens Review Committee member reappointments

• The contract and contract bonds for the 2025 Annual Striping Program

• A purchase agreement for Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 of Block 26, Town of Bickleton.

• Contracts for 2025 Liquid Asphalt with Albina Asphalt for $470,389.20.

• Disadvantage Business Enterprise Program for the Columbia Gorge RegionalThe Dalles Municipal Airport.

Phone and Internet Discounts

Available to CenturyLink Customers

CenturyLink participates in a government benefit program (Lifeline) which makes residential telephone or qualifying broadband service more affordable to eligible low-income individuals and families. Eligible customers may qualify for Lifeline discounts of $5.25/month for voice or bundled voice services or $9.25/month for qualifying broadband or broadband bundles. Residents who live on federally recognized Tribal Lands may qualify for additional Tribal benefits (up to an additional $25 of enhanced Lifeline support monthly and a credit of up to $100 on their initial installation charges) if they participate in certain additional federal eligibility programs.

The Lifeline discount is available for only one telephone or qualifying broadband service per household, which can be on either a wireline or wireless service. Broadband speeds must be 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload or faster to qualify.

A household is defined for the purposes of the Lifeline program as any individual or group of individuals who live together at the same address and share income and expenses. Lifeline service is not transferable, and only eligible consumers may enroll in the program. Consumers who willfully make false statements in order to obtain a Lifeline discount can be punished by fine or imprisonment and can be barred from the program.

If you live in a CenturyLink service area, please call1. 800.201.4099 or visit centurylink.com/lifeline with questions or to request an application for the Lifeline program.

EXTRA SchoolDistricttogetnewathleticfield

MAYBERRY

JORDAN

FORTHESENTINEL

fromtheirhometurf

waterduringthewetseasons

Goldendale School Dis-

for the track’s reconstruc-

An effect even more haz- tioncomesfromaStatewide

“This condition is a pri- potentiallyincreasestherate trict Business Manager mary reason weare unable of track deteriorationandis Dean Schlenker confirmed Forseveralyears student to host track meets, as the afurtherobstacletohosting that the district has been athletes in the Goldendale facility no longer meets trackmeets Thearealacks working on a solution for School District have been required competition stand- proper drainage, further thepastseveralyears” The unable to compete in offi- ards,” Humphreysaid “The exacerbating the problem” primary source of funding cial track and field events top layer of the track has Humphreysaid becauseofthepoorcondition worn away almost entirely, ofthedistrict’strack Crum- leaving exposed asphalt ardous is the health risk it Online School that the disbling infrastructure and Large cracks span the sur- poses to athletes the con- trictlaunchedapproximately safetyhazardshaverendered face, some wide enough to ditions of which have led fiveyearsago Thesefunds the facility noncompliant raiseseriousconcernsabout to widespread shin splint are solely generated from withcompetition standards, studentsafetyandtheriskof issues among our athletes theonlineschoolenrollment forcingthedistricttolookfor tripping” long-termsolutions

The inside lane of the the track not only contrib- therisks,GHSathleteshave explained “These funds track is deteriorating sig- uted to the track’s hazard beenforcedawayfromtheir by board policy, canonly be f°racomprehensiveredevel- roundedbyitsthreeschools nificantly,” GoldendaleHigh for athletesand a lossof its hometopractice, Forcross- utilized for one-time capi- opment of the athletic com- The district’s tentative School Assistant Principal competition-ready status, country training, we are talitems” The policyexists plex “Wehaverequestedbids timelinesetsMay12,2025,for And Activities Director but it also incurred a com- forcedtoconductmostwork- becausethefundingstream for the new track and field, bidopenings,withtheschool TerenHumphreyexplained poundingriskofwaterdam- outsoffcampusorinnearby is not guaranteed “These newbleachers,newlighting, board expected to approve Damages to the track, such age “Thefootballfieldisnot grassfieldstoreduceinjury funds could go away in any and alternatives based on selected contractorsby May as“visiblesloughing,surface level with the track,” Hum- risk Duetothepoorstateof givenyear,”hewarned “The fundingforanewconcession 15 Constructionisscheduled holes,andunevenareas,”are phrey stated “resulting in thetrack itisnotsafeorfea- statelegislatorsjustreduced stand/ADA bathrooms and to begin over the summer, allcontributingfactorsthat frequentfloodingat oneend sibletoconductlonginterval thesefundsbyapproximately alsofortheoptiontogowith withsubstantialcompletion have forced the Goldendale duringthespringseasonand trainingonsite,” Humphrey 33 percent Over the years asyntheticAstroTurf, said of the project targeted for Schlenker

Withfundinginhand,the The new facility will duringtrackseason” Hum- and notlocalbuilding-based The uneven surface of phrey said Considering all enrollment, Schlenker district formally requested be located at the center of constructionbidsonApril17 the districts campus, surHighSchooltrackteamaway afterheavyrains”Collected shared theycouldgotozero” December2025

Legislature’s budget doubles public defense funds Council votes

downproposal

FORTHESENTINEL

RODGER NICHOLS wereable to pass a motion percent of the gross total that included just the revenuesofsuchbusiness” four-way stop at the South The new ordinance

INVESTIGATEWEST

ASPENFORD color, sit in jail longer,” deficit “I’ve been in the Mellosaid “Thelongerthey Legislature for 11 years sit in jail not adjudicating and always kind of knew their case the more likely abouttheshortfallinpublic they are to lose their job, defensefunding,butIdidn’t tolose theirfamily, tolose quite realize how acute it their housing, and things was” spiraloutofcontrol”

While Washington state lawmakers’ budget more than doubles funding for public defenders those attorneyssaythesumisstill woefullyinadequatetomeet theneedsoflocalcourts

Unlike most states, Washington does not bear the burden of funding the constitutional right to counsel Instead, the onus is on local governments with the state historically onlyfundinglessthan3%of overallcosts

“They were paying such a small portion of the cost that theincreasewasgoing to look large,” said Derek Young, interim director of the Washington State Association of Counties “In a session where they had budget frames and were making cuts to other important programs, I saw this as a really positive first step, recognition that somethinghastochange” Thenewbudget,awaiting the governor’s signature would increase the states contributions to public defense to around 6% of total funding during the next biennium 2026-2027

The funding boost is not guaranteedafterthat

“This is a great start,” saidKatrinJohnson,deputy directorforthestate’sOffice of Public Defense, which provides supplemental representation to indigent defendants and disburses the state’s funding to counties and cities “It’s about collaboration and education to help the Legislature understand the local difficulties and challengescountieshavein fundingpublicdefense”

Foryears,publicdefender offices across Washington have been struggling to recruitandretainattorneys It’sataxingjobwitha high workload and not many law school graduates are inclined to relocate to rural areas, leaving these jurisdictions especially susceptibletoashortage

Without an adequate pool of public defenders, defendants in places like Yakima County are left waiting weeks, sometimes months to resolve their cases

The people most vulnerable to the state’s shortageofpublicdefenders are disproportionately people of color said Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, who testified before the Legislature in favor of increasingstatefundingfor publicdefense “Poor folks people of

Neither bill made it out

“Therehasbeenproposed

Therewasanunusual4-3 Roosevelt and East Collins changed the six to twelve splitvoteononeissueatthe intersection Goldendale City Council Residentscanexpecttheir plies the water and sewer meetingthisweek Thepro- waterandsewerratestogo servicestoGoldendaleresiposalfromthePublicWorks up,ascouncilors approved dents Thatmeansthecityis Committee was to ban doublingtheutilitytaxrate taxingitsowndepartments parking on the north side from6percentto12percent The practicaleffect is that of Collins Street between Councilorsdid not havean thetaxispassedontoratetheintersection withSouth exactfigurebutsaiditwould payers,butitisan unusual RooseveltandSandersWay amount to approximately waytogettothatincrease andtoconstructafour-way $4 a month for an average Aproposaltocreateanew stop at the intersection of home Thismove had been paid city airport manager South Roosevelt and East suggested by the budget position was tabled untila Collins

committee after a meeting latermeetingformoreconsultation

Local jurisdictions of committee, but those provide the majority of involvedsaytherewasmore fundingfor public defense, support for public defense about97%, oftenleading to thisyearthanpreviously public defense programs having to negotiate with legislation for many years county commissioners to to increase the amount increase funding amid 0f state funding for local inflationarycostsfor court public defense, and this is thefirsttimewe’vereceived

And Councilor Loren services

“It’sinappropriatetorely more,” Johnson said “It’s just on local revenue to a constitutional right We fundaconstitutionalright” wanttomakesureit’sbeing Youngsaid done well no matter what The state’s Office of jurisdictionitfallsunder” PublicDefenseadministers Peterson said he will the limited state funding continue to work with the giventocountiesand cities Legislaturetosecurepublic through a grant program defensefundingacross the Since 2017, funding has state remained stagnant not “Wecan’tjustpayformore surpassing2%oftheoverall police officers,” Peterson money spent by courts said “Weneedtopayforthe to provide public defense whole system to make services according to data qWOrks” from the Office of Public sure Gov Bob Ferguson has untilMay20tosignorveto thenewbudget Ifthereisno action by then, the budget willbecomelaw

A vote to enact that pro- withCPAJanForsberg Thelanguageof the pro- posalwasdefeated bya4-3 vote Andy Halm Theone posed ordinance confused Meagher urged people to Wheeler, Danielle Clevi- severalcouncilors It modi- filefor citycouncil Thisis dence andElbeCaseywere fies an earlier ordinance filingweek withadeadline the four, saying that the which says in part that, of 5 pm Friday, and four ordinanceasproposed was “There shall be levied on councilors are up for retoobigabitetotake Several andcollectedfromanyper- election Meagher said he residents on CollinsStreet sonengagedinthesellingor hadstayedonpasthisorigihadtestifiedagainstthepro- furnishing water or sewer nalintentionandwouldwelposalatapreviousmeeting serviceswithinorpartially come more people getting Whenthatfailed,thefour within a tax equal to six involved

Defense The funding is dispersed to counties in varying amounts based on population and caseload size

Countyrevenuescollected from property and sales taxesmakeuptheremaining funds, but in Washington, localgovernmentscanonly increasetheir propertytax revenueby1%withoutvoterapproved ballot measures, failing to keep pace with the risingcostsof running acourt

“Themoney we get [from the state] wouldnt even pay for one attorney,” said Jeremy Ford, director of the Chelan County public defender’s office “The problemisthatthemillions of dollars that gets spread out proportionally based on the size of your county or city means us rural countiesget less resources whichisalwaysthecase”

Last year, the Chelan County public defender’s office received$81,000from thegrant,amountingtojust 2.2%oftotalcosts

“The money they’re passingthroughisn’treally enoughtodoanysubstantial helpforanybody,”Fordsaid

Two identical House and Senatebillsrelatedtopublic defense funding died this session Overarollingbasis, thosebillswouldhavemade thestateresponsiblefor50% of thecostsassociated with publicdefenseservices

Budgetarily, I knew it wouldbeabigask,”saidRep StromPeterson,D-Edmonds and prime sponsor of the Housebill,citingthestate’s multibillion-dollar budget

“I think the governor, being the former attorney general, has a really good understanding of the criminal justice system,” said Mello the Pierce County executive “He understands the need for access to justice which reallyincreasesourchances at this part of the budget beingsignedintolaw”

WRITE ON!

Lovetowrite? Want tobeyourownboss? Havea giftforsyntaxandspelling? Knowhowtoturnaphrase? Canyoudothataboutcurrentevents andhappeningsaroundtown? ThenTheSentinelwantsyou

We’relookingforareliablefreelancereporter who’llbeaskedtowriteashortsample storyonsitesowecanassess yourcapabilityonthefly

E-mailyourresumewithwritingsamplesto: lnfo@GoldendaleSentinelcom

Mitt!17, 2025 Ckone Park, noon

Duckdrop2pm offSingingBridge Prizes for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places

Adopt-a-duck*: $5ea or $20for 5

Have a picnicwith ourfood vendors!

*Limited number of ducks available at Derby

DEMENTIA Support Group

every 2nd Monday of the month at the Oregon Veterans Home, 10:30am - 11:30am 541-296-7190 for info.

Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group Meets in person at Columbia Gorge Community College, Hood River campus, across from Rosauers, on the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30-6:30pm. Support group participants have all lost someone to suicide and strive to help each other with their grief journeys and advocate for suicide prevention. Contact Brent and Shawnee at bsemmons@ hrecn.net or 541-806-2790.

2.5

Farm Equipment & Supplies QUALITY HOPPER TRAILERS FOR RENT M & D Equipment, LLC

Trailers ready for wheat & corn harvest! Call us! George DesBrisay 541-571-2318 Craig Martin 541-571-8838

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Pickups

batteries, faltbed and gooseneck hitch. $8,500. No money, don’t call. Absolutely no texts. 541-980-4989. 2010 NISSAN FRONTIER SE 4WD, king cab, one owner, 134K hwy. miles, manual transmission, new tires. Clean title, no accidents. Excellent condition. $11,500. 541-806-0859.

Boats & Motors

12’ “SEARS” BOAT

12’ “Sears” Boat & oars. New Minn Kota electric motor, fish finder & 3 seats. $400 cash. 509-369-2848

Motorcycles MOTORCYCLE

2015 1190 KTM ADV.

35,500 miles. Excellent condition. All tools, bags, riding suits. $7,500 cash. Call 541980-8969 for more information.

Travel Trailers FIFTH Wheel Hitch without rails. $300. OBO. 509-6375144.

Utility Trailers

2023 UTILITY Trailer. Used three times. Excellent condition. $3,900. No trades. Contact fireit.mc@gmail. com.

Apartments for Rent PUBLISHER’S NOTICE

All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertiser any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sec, handicap, familial state or national origin, or an intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discriminations. Familial state includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women & people securing custody of children under 19.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any adverting for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1-800669-9777, TTY/TDD: 1-800927-9275.

Help Wanted HOOD RIVER COUNTY IS HIRING: Planning Manager

Visit: www.hoodrivercounty.gov Services; Employment SUMMER LABOR ASSISTANT TO BUILDING & GROUNDS

Public Works Department - Goldendale, WA. NonExempt - Grade 33, Step 1, $17.92/Hr, Full-time/Temporary. Open until filled. Visit www.klickitatcounty.org for details & application or contact HR Dept. 509-7737171.

THE TICKET to a dream job might be a scam. Please be cautious! High-Paying Postal Jobs! No Experience Required! Don’t pay for information about jobs with the Postal Service or Federal Government. Call the Federal Trade Commission toll free @ 1-877-FTC-HELP, or visit www.ftc.gov to learn more. A public service message from Teh Dalles Chronicle and the FTC.

customers. Weekly sales meetings and trainings required. Must have the ability to multi-task and be self-motivated. The ability to handle basic excel or word documents, perform math calculations and the willingness to communicate well with customers in person and over the phone are needed. Sales experience a plus but will train the right candidate. This position is mainly Mon-Fri but is somewhat flexible with part-time or full-time hours. Hourly, mileage, plus commissions. Email resume and references to: ChelseaM@GorgeNews.com Columbia Gorge News P.O. Box 390, Hood River, OR 97031. If you have questions, leave a message: 541-386-1234 Ext. 100.

MENTAL HEALTH

CLINICIAN NORCOR Corrections is seeking to fill the position of Mental Health Clinician. This position is full time with great benefits. Criminal record may disqualify. Must have drivers license, pass background, drug, physical and other testing as indicated by the position. Per OHA mandate, COVID vaccination required. Application & full job description available at https://www.norcor.co/ adult/jobs/ or @ NORCOR Admin. Office 201 Webber Street, The Dalles. Open until filled. 541-298-1576.

NOW HIRING

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The Next Door, Inc. (TNDI) is hiring full-time foster parents to work with youth, ages 6-18. Applicants must live in Hood River or Wasco Counties. TNDI provides 24-hour support, free training, paid days-off and up to $1800 tax-free/month, for each youth. Bonus also offered for completion of certification! Contact 541308-2207 or visit www.nextdoorinc.org/fosterparent to apply.

BILINGUAL

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Pacific NW Federal Credit Union in Hood River is seeking a full-time Bilingual Teller. Starting at $18/hr. Benefits include 4 weeks PTO. Qualifications: 6 months financial transaction experience, fluent in Spanish and English. Apply now: https:// www.pnwfcu.org/join-us/ careers/

LOOKING for a new job? Browse employment ads from throughout the Gorge on our classified websites: thedalleschronicle.com hoodrivernews.com whitesalmonenterprise. com Air Conditioning & Heating

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Construction

OREGON Construction Contractors Law requires that all those who advertise remodeling, repair, or construction services be registered with the Construction Contractors Board. Registration means contractors have bonds and insurance on the job site. For your protection, be sure any

Aposematism

Aposematism is one of those fancy words that scientists make up and everyday people don’t really know what it means. Aposematism refers to animals with bright colors, patterns, or even smells to warn predators, and people, of danger. Imagine you’re walking through the jungle and suddenly see a frog that’s bright blue, or a snake with bold red, black, and yellow stripes. You’re thinking about how pretty that is., but those colors are shouting, “Hey! Don’t eat me or touch me! I’m poisonous, I can kill you.”

Animals that use aposematism can be found all over the world— in jungles, deserts, oceans, and even your own backyard. Frogs in North America excrete toxins, but nothing like the poison dart frogs from South America. Brightly colored, they live in the rainforests of Central and South America where they would normally get gobbled up by larger predators. Instead, they eat tiny insects that have small amounts of toxins in them. The frogs store up the toxins and when something tries to eat them, they let the poison out through their skin. Did you know they get their name because the native people of the rainforest collected and used this frog’s skin’s poison to make their hunting darts extra deadly.

a publication of Cimarron Valley Communications, LLC © 2025, all rights reserved.

It’s not surprising that most animals that protect themselves this way are pretty small. They need some way to stay safe from predators. Aside from frogs, many insects use this defense strategy. Ladybugs, blister beetles, stink bugs and even the beautiful monarch butterfly and its caterpillar use this defense strategy. Most of these animals do not have enough toxins to hurt humans but they can make predators sick. The bombardier beetle sprays a hot acid out of its bottom. Some not-so-smart frogs who catch and eat the beetle, instantly get sick and make themselves throw up. And skunks? Eww! You won’t see many creatures brave enough to try and eat one of those things. Predators have learned to stay away for more than one reason.

Solutions

Animals that have aposematism have some big fans. Did you know that some animals that are not dangerous copy the look of dangerous ones to trick predators, which is really smart. Copying something or someone else is called mimicry. The viceroy butterfly copies the monarch. They look so much alike, predators aren’t sure which one is toxic, so both are left alone. The milk snake copies the colors, size and shape of the coral snake. The mimicry is so close, that a rhyme has been made so humans can tell the difference between the two. “Red touch black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow.” The lesson is, be sure what you touch before you touch it.

Why did little Johnny bring his pet skunk to school? For show and smell.

Goldendale Softball sweeps Tri-Cities

Prep but falls to Kittitas Coyotes

The Lady Timberwolves traveled to The Tri-Cities on Tuesday, April 29, for a non-league double header. Goldendale claimed victory after 5 innings of play by a score of 21-5. Brylee Mulrony pitched in game 1, allowing 2 hits, 5 runs, striking out 8 and walking 6 batters. At the plate, Mulrony was 3 for 5 with a triple and a single. In Game 1 Goldendale bats generated 20 hits lead by Maggie Gutierrez who was 4 for 5. In Game 2, Goldendale won 25 to 6 after 3 innings of play. The Lady Timberwolves scored 10 runs in the first inning and 14 in the 3rd inning. Goldendale held TriCities Prep scoreless in the first and third innings to end the game early. The Timberwolves face the Kittitas Coyotes on Thursday,

May 1, at Mike Hood Memorial Field in Goldendale. Kittitas hands Goldendale 2 losses at home Thursday, May 1, was the Goldendale Timberwolves final home game of the season and Senior Recognition Night for Maddie Mason and Brylee Mulrony. The Coyotes began the game with a 9-run inning using 8 hits to build their lead. Goldendale responded with 4 runs from 5 hits, including a triple by Hayden Sheridan. Kittitas defense and pitching regrouped and held the Goldendale offense scoreless until the 5th inning when 2 more runs were scored. Kittitas scored in all innings and the game was called in the middle of the 5th inning, KIttitas 23 and Goldendale 6. In Game 2 Goldendale

took a breath and regrouped to put together a strong performance against a very skilled opponent. Goldendale lost the 2nd game 7-15 after 7 full innings. Kittitas and Goldendale exchanged leads, and neither team was able to overpower the other in a single inning. Sara Hussey had a terrific batting game, going 3 for 4 at the plate with 2 triples and a single, scoring 3 runs on the day. Brylee Mulrony and Jocelyn Fahlenkamp each had a single and a triple. Hayden Sheridan and Sara Hussey both pitched, allowing 8 hits, 4 strikeouts and giving up 9 walks. The Goldendale outfield held Kittitas scoreless 3 innings, a sign the team is learning and gaining confidence as the season progresses.

—Rebecca Bare

Timberwolves split with Spartans

Goldendale Timberwolves Softball Team split a doubleheader on Friday, May 2, against the Granger Spartans winning the first game, 9-11 in extra innings but losing the second game in the bottom of the 7th inning by a score of 20-21. The Timberwolves Softball team played 8 games in 7 days, two on the road to conclude their league play record at 5 wins and 5 losses. Goldendale is tied with Granger and has a playoff game scheduled for Monday, May 5, at Wapato. The winner advances in District play.

Friday’s game was an exciting matchup between two evenly matched teams as the scores indicate. In game 1, Granger scored 3 runs in the second inning on 2 hits. The Timberwolves answered with 4 runs in the 4th inning, helped by a single from Maggie Gutierrez. Granger responded with

Police accountability efforts fail in Legislature

Jake Goldstein-street Washington state standard

For a second year in a row, Washington police accountability advocates have seen their priorities fall flat in Olympia.

They entered this year’s session wanting to grant the attorney general stronger oversight of local police departments. They also wanted to create an independent prosecutor to handle cases when police use deadly force; restrict when officers can pull drivers over; block law enforcement from lying during interrogations; and set new standards for police chiefs and sheriffs.

None of those proposals will become law this year. None even received votes from either chamber of the Washington Legislature, despite growing Democratic majorities.

“This is the saddest time of my life, because this is the world I have to leave my children,” said Nickeia Hunter, an advocate from the Coalition for Police Accountabil-

ity, whose brother was killed by police. “We have to stay on top of fighting for what we started.”

It’s a far cry from a few years ago when police accountability gained momentum in the Legislature in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 and the social uprising that followed.

In the immediate aftermath, lawmakers passed a suite of laws to set additional guardrails for police. This included restricting when they could pursue people suspected of crimes—a move that drew such staunch pushback that lawmakers rolled back the policy last year.

They also banned police from using chokeholds, created a statewide use of force database, and established a first-of-its-kind Office of Independent Investigations to look into deadly force cases.

Legislators’ biggest move on policing this year was acquiescing to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s ask for $100 mil-

lion to hire more officers, a request that drew frustration from many progressive Democrats.

Steve Strachan, the executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, noted that officials are still waiting to see how some of the big changes made in 2021 are playing out and called the shift since then “a more balanced approach.”

The difficult budget year also acted as a buzzsaw that sheared away police accountability bills that would’ve cost money.

Meanwhile, fears of rising crime have emboldened opposition to policies believed to hinder officers trying to do their jobs. In 2023, the last year with available statewide data, the state saw a significant decrease in year-over-year violent crimes after years of increases, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

More broadly, this has all powered a pendulum swing in the establishment conver-

sation from fixing policing to helping police.

“Increased accountability helps everyone be able to do their job well, and to make sure that they have the supports and the infrastructure in place to do their job well,” said Rep. Darya Farivar, a Seattle Democrat and leading police accountability proponent in the Legislature. “It is, frankly, a little confusing to me why some folks don’t seem to understand that.”

A new sheriff in town Ferguson’s rhetoric in his first few months in office played a part in the paradigm shift this year.

Starting on the campaign trail and in his inaugural address, the new Democratic governor, who supported police accountability efforts while attorney general, was steadfast in his request for a new $100 million grant program to bring on more law enforcement officers. He hopes the money will turn the tide on Washington’s long-held last-place ranking nationwide in police staffing per capita.

4 runs in the bottom of the 4th on four hits to regain the lead 8-4. Both defenses held for the next 3 innings as the pitching and defense did their jobs. But in the top of the 7th, down by 4 runs, Goldendale rallied behind the batting of Gutierrez, Hayden Sheridan, Jocelyn Fahlenkamp, and Emma Gorrod to tie the game, 8-8. Brylee Mulrony’s pitching forced 3 infield hits that were played clean by the defense and sent the game into extra innings. Sara Hussey led off with a single, Gutierrez walked and then Sheridan hit an in the park home run to regain the lead 11-8. In the bottom of the 8th, Granger had 2 runners on with no outs. A fielder’s choice advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. During the next at bat, Gutierrez teamed up with Hussey to pick the runner off at 2nd, allowing a run to score but creating a 2nd out.

In the final play, Hussey at short, threw to Emma Gorrod at 1st for the final out and the win. In Game 2, Granger responded very well after losing a close game 1 to take a 12 to 1 lead after 2 innings. Now it was Goldendale’s turn to tally the points with a 14-run effort, of which 10 runs were scored with 2 outs. The Goldendale Timberwolves hit well through the line-up, and a special nod goes to Maddie Mason who hit a triple, 2 singles and drew 2 walks to get on base at each of her 5 at bats. With the game tied at 20-20 in the bottom of the 6th, this felt very similar to game 1. But this time Granger held the Timberwolves scoreless, and in the bottom of the 7th Granger scored their winning run to claim Game 2 and force a play-off game on Monday, May 5, at Wapato at 4 p.m.

Are you energetic? A quick Learner? Outgoing? Courteous? Professional?

Do you love meeting new people? Learning new things? Making a difference?

Do you take pride in your accomplishments?

Do you have strong organizational, technical, and written & oral communication, skills with attention to detail?

If these qualities match your experiences and skillset, read on. In this part-time position of 25-30 hours/week, you will support our Marketing Advisor/Ad Sales Rep and will assist in the office, as needed. You must have a good working knowledge of Excel, Word, and Outlook (minimum of 2 years experience with each). Your oral communications and listening skills will need to be outstanding so you can clearly communicate over the phone and in person with all our customers, demonstrating a full understanding of our services and the ability to pass on to other staff members the customers’ needs.

Pay commensurate with experience E-mail your resumé to Info@GoldendaleSentinel.com. At least three reference from prior/current supervisor/s must be included. Please do not call or visit in person without an appointment.

To improve your chances of being selected and possibly securing the coveted cover (and winning a valuable prize), carefully read & follow these instructions—even if you've submitted in the past:

1. Regarding your camera's settings: a. Turn of the date/time stamp.

b. Select camera's highest resolution possible.

c. A general rule-of-thumb is that the le size of the jpg photos you submit should be a minimum o 3 MB. Any smaller and it may be too grainy. (Note: our email server will not allow messages at or above 20 MB, so the photo size must be below this.)

2. Submissions must be landscapes or wildlie—we call these naturescapes. Photos containing people will not be accepted. We also discourage (but don't disallow) close-ups; even if they're lovely shots, they are seldom identiable. Please do not take photos from your car.

3. The orientation of your shots MUST BE HORIZONTAL. All vertical shots, no matter how “good,” will be disqualied.

4. Your subject must be in—or seen from—Klickitat County

For example, while neither Mt Hood or Mt Adams are in Klickitat County, they are clearly visible from much of the county.

5. Do not alter, enhance, or add any efects to your photos using any photo editing software.

6. CHANGE THE FILENAME from your camera's cryptic numeric auto-assignments to something that clearly identies the shot (e.g., if it's something like “IMG_12345_54321.jpg,”

change it to something like “2024Aug-GoodnoeHills<Your-

any photo(s) in the body of your email; the “.jpg.” LastName>.jpg”). Yes, include your last name just before the

• In promoting and expressing the beauty of Klickitat County, we're seeking landscapes and other outdoor scenes that are unique to our magnicent vistas. Close-ups (of leaves, flowers, streams, or animals, for example) will typically not work because they could be taken almost anywhere in the world and are not distinctly Klickitat County.

• Consider composition: avoid power lines, telephone poles, roads, or other man-made structures that may detract from the subject. (Note that really well-crafted photos tend to keep the main subject of-center. There are many tips online for stunning landscape photography, such as tinyurl.com/DigitalCameraWorld-tips - OR - tinyurl.com/NaturescapePhotos Also check out YouTube!)

—Rebecca Bare