Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
Klickitat commissioners met yesterday. One of the updates they heard during the morning workshop session came from Public Health Director Erinn Quinn, who had good news and worrisome news. On the good side, she said the very popular Smile Mobile will be coming this year to two spots in Klickitat County:
“Goldendale June 16th through 20th. Any children or pregnant women can get free dental care if they sign up in advance. Sometimes they do take walk-ins, but we’ll have those details closer. To the time that that’s coming. They will also be in White Salmon June 23rd through 27th. And as far as I can remember, I believe this is the first time they’ve gone to both sides of the county in one year.”
The worrisome news – no surprise – came from Washington, D.C.:
“On March 27th, we were notified of the immediate suspension of federal funds for public health. There is a restraining order against the federal funds being frozen. There is a court date tomorrow. They told us the funds weren’t frozen but
There is a court date tomorrow. They told us the funds weren’t frozen and we had a week to use them, but we chose to sit out and wait until tomorrow. There isn’t really any Precedence or idea of how the court case may go, but that impacts up to $343,000 of our funding.”
In the formal afternoon session, commissioners held public hearings on a pair of boundary line adjustments and a request for a six-month extension on a short plat application, all of which were approved. They also heard an update on the Columbia River Gorge Commission by Klickitat County’s Gorge Commissioner, Valerie Fowler.