“It is a program that actually helps with building strong family bonds, that reduces youth risk of making unhealthy choices,” said Sunday Sutton, coordinator for the Coalition for Preventing Abuse in Klickitat County (CPAKC).

Music is in play. Check out this week in entertainment, including venues Working Hands Beer, Wasco County Fair & Rodeo, Ruins, Double Mountain, Columbia Center for the Arts, Zim’s, TD Library, CG Bluegrass Festival, Lavender Daze, Granada, The Pines, Mid Columbia Concert Association, Taphouse, White Salmon Library, Jackson Park, Tilly Jane’s, Everybody’s Brewing, TD Eagles, Stave and Stone, Jacob Williams, Sunshine Mill, Arlington, Grateful Vineyard, HR Library, Gorge Gear sale, Klickitat Canyon Days, Kickstand Coffee

Crews were out early this morning excavating and setting the forms for the foundation on the 33rd Columbia Gorge Habitat for Humanity home at 800 E. 13th Street in The Dalles.

Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) is partnering with Mid Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) and other agencies and nonprofits to provide Emergency Cooling Shelters and relief from unhealthy air quality events for vulnerable populations during this summer’s expected extreme conditions.

Zach Ryan pays a tribute to Waylon Jennings tonight, July 14, at the Bargeway Pub in The Dalles. It is just one of many great music options this week as art and music is alive and well in the Mid-Columbia. Venues featured this week include Ruins, Everybody’s Brewing, Granada, Double Mountain, TDAC, Zim’s, TD Library, Taphouse, TD Eagles, Stave & Stone, Mt. Hood Winery, WS Library, Jacob Williams, Sunshine, Arlington, TD United Church of Christ, Route 30, Working Hands Beer, River City Saloon, Solera, Grass Valley, White Buffalo, Grateful Vineyard, MC Senior Center, HR Library, HR Elks, Klickitat Canyon Days, Skamania Lodge, Kickstand Coffee

Bringing Jennifer Batten, lead guitarist for Michael Jackson for four world tours, to The Dalles for a fundraiser. That’s just being a Smooth Criminal. Doing it all in the Backyard of the Bargeway Pub this Friday night while supporting The United Way of the Columbia Gorge? Cue the pyrotechnics. And that’s a go on the guitar solo!

Oregon Tradeswomen’s Mary Ann Naylor said it is a perfect time for women and people of color to enter the trade industry. Major projects in the gorge could call for huge demand from skilled professionals. A recent $150,000 grant from Google is opening up opportunities at both state and local levels. “Tell them to be tough-skinned to get through their apprenticeship and the world is your oyster, said local Electrician Brennah Miller, “and you can go anywhere.”

Goldendale Community Days will kick off on Friday night July 8th at 6:30 p.m. on the Klickitat County Courthouse lawn with a celebration of Goldendale’s Sesquicentennial, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of Goldendale’s founding.

We got you covered for all things red, white and blue and rock-n-roll too this weekend. Check out this schedule of fireworks displays and other events for Fourth of July weekend here in The Dalles, Hood River, Goldendale, Stevenson, White Salmon and Cascade Locks. Photo of past Fort Dalles Fourth Fireworks display in The Dalles courtesy Macnab Photography.

Check out all the latest entertainment and music news including Ruins, Granada, Columbia Center for Arts, Goldendale, Fort Dalles Riders Club, Bargeway Pub, River City Saloon, Double Mountain, Zim’s, Working Hands Beer, Stave and Stone, White Salmon Library, Kickstand Coffee, HR Library, Jacob Williams, Route 30, Skamania Lodge, Maupin.

Hattie Fletcher, experienced whitewater rafter shares her first column on whitewater rafting as recreation in the Columbia River Gorge.

Goldendale Observatory State Park and the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce hosted a summer solstice celebration from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday June 21st, 2022. Park attendees were invited to celebrate the longest day and shortest night of the year by enjoying a hike around the park, entering a raffle for a chance to win prizes, enjoying some art, food, and drink, looking through three solar telescopes offering different views of the sun, and enjoying interpretive talks from Washington State Park officials.

On June 14th, around 9 a.m. there was a two car head-on motor vehicle accident on highway 14 just west of the Lyle tunnels that resulted in one fatality.

Check out Maiden NW and this week’s roundup of shows and entertainment, including Zim’s, Granada, Route 30, Working Hands Beer, River City Saloon, Taphouse 64, Tabby’s Hole, Ruins, TD Arts Center, St. Peter’s Landmark, White Salmon Library, Grateful Vineyard, Jackson Park, The Dalles Library.

We’ve all been young and made poor decisions, no doubt, but children and youths might not understand the levity of what seems like a harmless action. So, it is important to talk it through with kids so they understand that their idea of fun might land them in pretty hot water. With the last day of school set for Friday, June 10, parents might do well by having a quick discussion with their children about when jokes turn bad.

Former Lyle School District Superintendent Andrew Kelly was sentenced Wednesday in White Salmon on five-year-old DUI and Reckless Endangerment charges.

Richard Murrow is just one of the dozens of shows to see during the weekend as warm weather has venues popping like bubble wrap. Venues include Bargeway Pub, Maupin, Ruins, Granada, MoCo, Route 30, Double Mountain, Everybody’s Brewing, Grateful Vineyard, St. Peter’s Landmark, Zim’s, TD Library, Thunder Island, HR Library, The Pines, Jackson Park, 64 Taphouse, TD Eagles, White Salmon, Red Carpet Karaoke and Tabby’s Hole.

Summer Solstice Celebration at Goldendale Observatory State Park will be on Tuesday, June 21, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. This unique fundraiser combines art and astronomy and will feature solar viewing through the Observatory telescope, a presentation on the history of the Observatory, food, beverages, raffles, and a display of prize-winning solar-themed artworks from the Chamber’s recent art contest.

It can be easy to overlook some of these signs, and this month, and the annual day of recognition, reminds us how important it is to look out for elders and vulnerable adults in our communities. Respect, compassion, and attention are what our seniors deserve every day of the year. If you see something of concern, contact Adult Protective Services at 1-877-734-6277.

As teens turn into young adults, it is their time to enter society, be independent, and make their way. How can we expect them to succeed and contribute to society if they have not had a good foundation that many of us take for granted?