HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
Vol. 144 No. 38
$1.00
Art Festival to hold inaugural event The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce invites the Goldendale community to celebrate the completion of the Art at the Heart of Goldendale public art installations on September 23 at the first annual Goldendale Art Festival. This special event will be a celebration of the arts as the expression of human creativity, skill, and imagination. Following is the program for the Goldendale Art Festival: Saturday, September 23, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. East & West Main Street Downtown Goldendale • 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Art Market — Original Art for sale • 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Interactive Art Experiences & Demonstrations • 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Splatter Tent Painting Experience! • Road Closure – Intersection of Main & Columbus noon - 3 p.m. • 1 p.m. Art at the Heart of Goldendale Commemoration Ceremony • 1- 7 p.m. Interactive Art Experiences & Demonstrations • 2 - 5 p.m. Live! Music by: The Growlerzz • 3 - 5 p.m. Share the Love Paint Party! Hosted By Toss Products LLC • 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Sunset Yoga BYO Yoga Mat • 7 – 9 p.m. Glow in the dark Community Dance with Live Music Art at the Heart of Goldendale, the revitalization and beautification project at the four corners of downtown Goldendale, was established as a primary mission of the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce in February 2021. This initial project, completed in June this year, was accomplished through the work of the Chamber Art Committee, Chamber staff, and directors in collab-
CONTRIBUTED
SHARPENING SKILLS: Goldendale High School Junior Ada Garner serves during a club volleyball tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.
CONTRIBUTED: JEANNE MORGAN
COLORFUL CORNER: The Goldendale Chamber of Commerce’s Art at the Heart committee put in lots of time and energy to create the decorative murals on the buildings at the corner of Main and Columbus. This shows the design on the side of Dr. James Ogden’s old office building. oration with lead artists Felicia Gray, Scott Gray, and Sandra Choate along with numerous art enthusiasts and volunteers. As part of the Chamber’s 2024 strategic plan, continuation of the Art at the Heart of Goldendale project was adopted in late August. Phase 1 of the project was completed with seed funding of $15,000 from the City of Goldendale and the Klickitat County Economic Development Department in 2021. Phases II - IV of the project, completed this summer, were made possible with over $10,000 raised by Chamber Art Committee fundraisers and generous donations and support from community members, local foundations, and businesses. Furthermore, $71, 000 in funding was granted to the project from
the Washington State Legislature with the support of Sen. Curtis King. Project administration and guidance was provided by the Washington State Arts Commission and The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce. In total, the Art at the Heart of Goldendale project has directly paid over $76,000 to talented local artists and contributed to the ever-growing creative economy of Goldendale. The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber holds all funding for this project in a separate account dedicated to the Art at the Heart of Goldendale project. No Chamber staff, directors, or volunteers have received compensation using funding designated to this project. Sandra Choate, Danielle Clevidence, Felicia Gray, Sara Eubanks, Heather Larson, Kim
Michael, Ivy Velarde, Taletha Wagoner, Art Chair Jeanne Morgan, and Vice Chair Terra McLeod put in hours of work on the project. Assisting with the murals in various capacities were Kathy Baldwin, Brian Chambers, Colton Boswell, Katherine Childs, David Jennings, Lanae Johnson, Daniel Lawrence, and Taletha Wagoner. The proprietor of Round 2, Goldendale Pharmacy, Windermere Real Estate, and Dr James Ogden –the businesses at the intersection of Main and Columbus–each contributed to the project by preparing their buildings for the art installations. Contact the Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce at (509) 773-3400 or visit www.goldendalechamber.org for more information.
City to form Recognition Committee RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL A last-minute addition to the Goldendale City Council agenda concerned an offer the city received that day on a lot the city owns in the industrial park. It had been listed for $99,000, but the council was happy to approve
a $70,000 sale price, as the property has been listed for decades. Councilors also approved a new committee to be called the Recognition Committee, as suggested by Councilor Fil Ontiveros: “There are so many great people in the City of Goldendale who do things for the community over
and over, year after year,” he said, “supporting our community and making it better, and they do it without recognition.” The new Recognition Committee, he said, will honor the people who volunteer and do all the work. A pair of housekeeping ordinances removed the old Shore-
line Master Plan and replaced it with the latest update, and in response to a woman who complained about speeding drivers on Darland and Washington streets, councilors agreed that the Traffic and Safety Committee will meet this Thursday at 1 p.m. in the council chambers.
website, Reyes stated that he hopes the sponsors’ focus on equity at this event will encourage more Latinx community members to enjoy the many events that are held in both English and Spanish at the parks in White Salmon and Bingen. His goal is for more people to feel comfortable attending events throughout the communities. El Grito, which is short for Grito de Dolores (The Cry of Dolores), symbolizes Mexican Independence Day, September 16. On that day in 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest in the town of Dolores in Mexico, led a call
to arms that helped begin the Mexican War of Independence. Each year on the eve of Mexican Independence Day, the president of Mexico reenacts this event, reciting a version of “El Grito” from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City. The El Grito was recited at the park in White Salmon on Sunday by Alberto Cortez. He called out the names of Mexican heroes who died in the battle for Independence from Spain. Then he shouted “Viva Mexico!” three times before letting out the highpitched cry associated with the
El Grito honors Hispanic culture in Gorge ZACK VILLAR FOR THE SENTINEL
The Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) held their annual El Grito event in White Salmon on September 17 at Rhinegarten Park. There were free tacos and churros, live music, activities for kids, and booths where community organizations shared resources. The event kicks off National Hispanic Heritage Month, which began September 15 and goes through October 15. “Our main goal is to make sure to help the community celebrate together as a whole,” said Juan Reyes, the Latinx Outreach Coordinator for WAGAP who organized the day’s events. “Working with WAGAP, we know that a lot of the times when there are
ABOVE: ZACHARY VILLAR. RIGHT CONTRIBUTED, TAMARA KAUFMAN.
‘THE CRY’ IS HEARD: Above, WAGAP Community Health Worker Pedro Garcia wears a Mexican wrestling mask while attending El Grito in White Salmon. Right, Headliner group La Misteriosa Banda 360 fills the night with music. community events happening, the Hispanic community either doesn’t come or there’s not a lot of outreach done to them specifically. We felt like this is a great opportunity to create something that was to celebrate the [Hispanic] culture itself, but also give an opportunity for everybody from different backgrounds to come together.” In an article on the WAGAP
See Grito page A8
VB clubs draw from local athletes ZACHARY VILLAR FOR THE SENTINEL
Young women from the Goldendale community are traveling outside the county to play volleyball at an advanced level. Several girls who attend Goldendale High School have joined club volleyball organizations in Yakima. Club sports require tryouts, ensuring that the teams consist of experienced and talented players. These players participate in practice and competitions that challenge them and allow them to develop their skills and ability. Volleyball clubs in Yakima have a history of helping young people that goes back to the ’70s when Team Yakima Volleyball Club was started, making it one of the oldest pre-college volleyball clubs in the Northwest. Other club volleyball teams that have started more recently in Yakima include Yakima Elite Volleyball and No Limits Volleyball Club. Goldendale High School Junior Ada Garner tried out for these three clubs this year before ultimately going with No Limits Volleyball Club because she thought it would give her the best opportunities for growth. And those opportunities have paid off since Garner says she’s seen improvements in her game. “I think I’ve improved a lot and I’m really happy about that,” said Garner. “And I feel like my leadership skills and teamwork have also improved.” Garner started playing volleyball when she was in the 5th grade at Centerville K-8. She then played with the Goldendale Volleyball Club team until her freshman year of high school when she played on the school team alongside three seniors who had played on club teams in Yakima. She saw how much they had gained from that experience and decided that’s what she wanted. “They had great leadership, and their skills were really advanced, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun out there,” said Garner. She tried out for Team Yakima Volleyball Club in 2020 where she was one of 65 girls competing for 12 positions, and she made the team. The next year she tried out for No Limits Volleyball Club and made that team, where she and the rest of the girls went on to have great success in competitions. They won a local tournament, then traveled down to San Jose, California, and won a national championship there, and followed that up with a national championship in Phoenix, Arizona, where they again did well. Garner said her favorite thing about playing competitive volleyball is the energy. “If someone gets a really big kill, the energy on the court is really big, and I love that.” A kill in volleyball is when the offense scores a point from a spike that the opposing team is not able to defend or return.
See VB page A8