40 Years and Going Strong–My memories of the early days with HRVRC

By Board President Mike McCarthy In the Valley My mom, Kate McCarthy, told me the legend of the April 1977 advisory ballot many times – a countywide vote betweenOption 1 and Option 2 that occurred at a gloomy time. Hood River's economy looked like it could really use a boost, with a jobless rate well above Oregon's average. Windsurfing was at least five years in the future. The Gorge National Scenic Area was ten years away. Forty years ago, Hood River County wasn't thrilled about complying with Oregon’s newly passed Senate Bill 100 and Mt. Hood Meadows was already cooking up an Aspen-sized housing development to augment their newly created ski area on Mt. Hood's north side. Nothing stood in their way except a very green Hood River Valley Residents Committee (HRVRC). HRVRC was "Option 1" – the choice to actively preserve our resource-based community. At the beginning our group's…

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Dale Hill Joins HRVRC Board

We want to welcome Dale Hill to the HRVRC board. Dale is a retired educator who first moved to the Hood River Valley in 1978. While his career led him to work abroad for many years (Peru, Pakistan, The Philippines, Ecuador, and United Arab Emirates), he always maintained connections to Hood River. Upon retirement in 2011, Dale and his wife Lucy returned to the Upper Valley to build a home on land they’d purchased decades ago. With a degree in public administration combined with his exposure to various countries overseas, Dale has seen both the negative impacts of unfettered growth and the positive results of good public planning. He understands how the work of HRVRC has helped keep Hood River a vibrant and prosperous community that maintains a strong agricultural, commercial, and recreational base while preserving our unique and diverse natural environment. Dale serves as Chair of our Forestry Committee…

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40th Birthday Bash! May 21

  All new & old friends alike are invited to join us in celebrating 40 years of promoting livable communities and protecting the land we all love. Sunday May 21st from 3:30 - 7 pm at the Crag Rat Hut, 960 Crag Rat Hut Road, Hood River. 3:30 - 4:00 Informal Social 4:00 - 5:00 A Walk Down Memory Lane: Highlights of HRVRC history 5:00 - 6:00 Buffet Dinner by The Huck Truck accompanied by local libations--beer generously donated by Full Sail Brewing and delicous Hood River wine from Viento Wines and Phelps Creek Vineyards. 6:00 - 7:00 Candle-blowing, cake-cutting and more merry making! Parking is somewhat limited onsite. Carpooling is encouraged. Extra parking and a shuttle service will run between Pine Grove School parking lot and the Crag Rat Hut.  Questions? Contact Polly Wood pollywood47@gmail.com or (541) 490-5443.

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Morrison Park Rezone

Morrison Property Rezoned for Affordable Housing On May 22 Hood River City Council approved a rezone of the 5-acre property commonly known as Morrison Park from Open Space/Public Facility (OS/PF) to High Density Residential R-3 in order to work with Mid Columbia Housing Authority on an affordable housing project. The Councilors voted to condition the rezone to include "significant park area and a pedestrian and bike greenway with connectivity to trails." HRVRC and Livable Hood River had advocated that the City retain 50% of the parcel as parkland.  The councilors seemed supportive of preserving a meaningful park space but declined to set a fixed area or percentage of land until a survey is completed to see what portions of the property were easiest to build, what portions had the most important natural features to keep etc. Since the City is the property owner, the Councilors felt like they could achieve 50/50 or another suitable balance of housing and park as…

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Parks and Port Candidate Forum April 25

All Politics is Local: Candidate Forum for Parks and Port Districts April 25, 5:30-7:30 pm at Columbia Center for the Arts Parks and the waterfront have always stirred strong feelings in Hood Riverites but we often don’t know much about the views of the folks hoping to get elected to decision-making positions. Meet the candidates for the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District and the Port of Hood River at a candidate forum Tuesday, April 25.  It starts with a casual half hour of meet and greet — with a beverage or two — before the candidate forum starts in the Arts Center theater at 6 p.m. This year has particularly crowded races: Nine candidates have thrown their hat in the ring for two Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District seats, and eleven candidates are vying for three spots at the Port of Hood River.  Tuesday, April 25th Columbia Center for…

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Maiden of the Mountain Screening April 15

Interesting Person Series to Show Kate McCarthy Film Mt. Hood Town Hall​, Saturday, April 15 Spring has sprung and HRVRC invites you to attend the film Maiden of the Mountain on Saturday, April 15 at the Mt. Hood Town Hall as part of the Town Hall’s Interesting Person Series. The 27 minute film tells the inspirational story of the life and work of local conservationist giant and HRVRC co-founder, Kate McCarthy. The film was co-produced and co-directed by CRAG Law's Ralph Bloemers and Balance Media's Trip Jennings and Sara Quinn.  There will be two evening show times on Saturday April 15th at 6:30 and 7:15 p.m. Tickets: $3.00 at the door which goes to Mt. Hood Town Hall to cover costs featuring such accessible community events

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Mt. Hood Land Trade Progress

LATEST NEWS: Big thanks to our Oregon congressional delegation for recent progress on the Mt. Hood Land Exchange Clarification Act. The "Fix It" bill has passed the House and its Senate committee and is now ready for a vote of the full Senate. The legislation streamlines the land trade. With all the rancor in Washington, its good to see a bi-partisan contingent of Oregon legislators working together for the good of Oregon. We extend our thanks to our representatives for sticking with this project which will provide lasting benefits to our community. We agree with Rep. Walden who said during a speech on the House floor "We are nearly eight years later and this is still languishing and unfortunately we’re back, trying again because we’re never going to quit until we’re done, and we’re getting much closer." BACKGROUND: The Mount Hood Land Trade (aka the Government Camp-Cooper Spur Land Exchange) is Hood River…

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Winter Film Night Jan. 21

Winter Film Night Women's Work for the Wild A Presentation of HRVRC and CRAG Law Center Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Ave. Saturday January 21, 7 pm (doors at 6:30) Suggested $5 Donation Please join us and our friends at CRAG Law Center in kicking off HRVRC's 40th year of protecting the place we love, with a night of 10 short films about wild places and the women who love them. We are especially excited to present the premiere screening of Maiden of the Mountain directed by Trip Jennings and Ralph Bloemers. The film tells the inspirational story of the life and work of local conservationist giant and HRVRC co-founder, Kate McCarthy. The proceeds of the film night go towards Kate's most personal project, the Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur Land Trade. For the last 15 years, HRVRC and CRAG Law Center have worked to bring Wilderness protection to thousands…

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Missing Middle Housing Presentation

"Missing Middle" Housing Presentation Speaker: Eli Spevak Wednesday November 9th, 6 pm Hood River City Hall, 211 2nd, Hood River  You are invited to a presentation by Eli Spevak on "Missing Middle" housing and how it can help Hood River retain its small town feel while creating more affordable housing choices. Housing is the hot topic in Hood River as the City is starting to work on the housing strategies adopted last year in their Housing Needs Analysis and as the Westside Area Planning effort gets underway. Anyone interested in the future of neighborhoods in Hood River is encouraged to attend. Eli Spevak is a for-profit developer in Portland. His company, Orange Splot, is known for producing creative and compatible infill housing. Prior to starting his own company, he worked in the non-profit housing sector, managing the finance and construction of over 250 units of affordable housing for Habitat for Humanity, Human Solutions and the…

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A is for Amazing Auction Items

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We're pretty excited about the goodies that we will be auctioning at H is for Harvest, our big fall fundraiser, October 15, 6 pm at Springhouse Cellar (tickets available here).  In keeping with our mission, our live auction also spells S-T-E-W-A-R-D-S-H-I-P: S is for Shoveling with 8 tons of ¾ minus of gravel delivered to your door courtesy of Lane's Excavation. That drive way or landscape project is only a truck away! Value: $250 T is for Touring Hood River Wine Country on a guided bike tour for 4 with MountNbarrel. Bike tours include: Light breakfast, lunch and dessert from Boda’s Kitchen Private tour of Hood River’s largest vineyard, Phelps Creek Estate Stops at local organic u-pick: Rainer, Bing and pie cherries, blueberries, raspberries and kale New clean, well-maintained hybrid bikes and helmets, stops at three wine – tasting rooms with exclusive offerings Available Thursday to Sunday, March 1 – November…

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