APRIL

NORCOR Interim Director Laura Pryor redrew “fuzzy” lines of authority to resolve employee complaints.

She determined that 13 out of 18 outstanding issues identified by 66 workers in an investigation were preventable. She said established policies and procedure should have been in place and followed. She was authorized by the NORCOR board to make changes in the system as needed.

Mt. Hood Railroad sold to Permian Basin Railways, a Texas-based company, for an undisclosed purchase price. Completion of track damage caused by flooding in the fall of 2006 was expected by late summer. The track would then reopen to the Parkdale terminus, providing passengers with a journey beyond Dee.

U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced a Mount Hood master plan that was nearly identical to a Senate version.

Blumenauer and DeFazio requested that another 132,000 acres of Wilderness be added to the existing total of about 186,000 acres. The bill sponsored by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., sought 128,000 acres of new Wilderness.

Seventy-three “unsung heroes” were honored at an “Ounce of Prevention” forum that was sponsored by the Hood River County Commission on Children and Families.

Christopher Merrill, a 24-year-old Parkdale man, fell 100 feet to his death at Ruthton Park. The 2002 graduate of Hood River Valley High School climbed over a safety fence and lost his footing.

U.S. Rep. Walden confirmed that a $500,000 federal Grant would be awarded to the Port of Hood River. The funds will be used for a new waterfront industrial alley to aid economic development.

Binns Hill Road orchardist Robert “Bobby” Kramer, 53, died after being run over by his tractor in an industrial accident.

The roadside robber struck for the sixth time near Cascade Locks. As in five other scenarios since December 2007, a masked man approached the vehicle that was parked near Government Rock.

He reportedly threatened the couple inside with a gun and then sexually assaulted the underage female passenger. The robber then stole credit cards, cell phones and a laptop computer from her and the male driver, who resides in Cascade Locks.

Rigoberto R. Maldonado, 33, was arrested in connection with the Cascade Locks incident. He still awaits adjudication on two counts of felony robbery, first-degree sodomy and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor.

For the complete article pick up a copy of the January 7 Hood River News.