Story and Photo by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
The Fire Marshal’s sign by the door of The Dalles City Council chambers reads “The maximum capacity approved for this area is 98 persons.”
Last night’s crowd at The Dalles City Council met that capacity and more. It went beyond standing room only, spilling out into the hallway and filling an adjacent room set up with a monitor to watch the proceedings.
The majority were there from the Hispanic community to tell the city how devastating the last two weeks have been with ICE seizing people in town. Janet Hamada, head of One Community Health, told councilors.
12 09 25 Hamada:30 “My point is that every person that is picked up by unidentified masked gunmen will leave family behind, and many times children. These children are then scarred. Remaining adults in their family are too scared to go outside their homes. You know that if you go to the local grocery store now, you’ll see more young people shopping for food for their families because they are the only ones who feel safe to do so. We know that a lot of Latinx students are missing school because they are afraid to leave their parents home alone. They’re afraid that if they leave, they may come home and find their parents gone.”
Courtney Middleton happened to be at Home Depot, when a trio of masked gunmen came in and, in her words, “forcibly and aggressively dragged a person out.”
12 09 25 Middleton :12 “This happened at a children’s event, and children witnessed it, causing them undue hardship as well. In my opinion, a man was kidnapped and detained for the crime of existing across the border without the correct paperwork.”
Several people pointed out they knew the city couldn’t stand up to federal use of force, but asked that the city could make a proclamation of support and help the children left behind.
There was a full hour of testimony on the subject, but that was just part of the program last night. At the start of the meeting, Mayor Mays enjoyed what he said was his favorite part of the job, honoring people’s accomplishments. Last night it the city honored The Dalles High School Volleyball team that placed second in state in the 4A division, presenting certificates and praising their dedication.
The other big item to come out of last night’s meeting was the result of a two-year process updating the city’s dog ordinance. The main takeaways were all dogs in the city will be required to have a license and rabies shots, there will be a limit on the number of dogs anyone can own, and a new leash law requiring dogs to be on a leash when off the owner’s property, unless at a property which the owner allows off-leash dogs. This takes effect in January, but owners have up to June to get licenses.
But that’s not all. City Attorney Jonathan Kara said he’d just received a response from the Environmental Protection Agency about an inquiry the city had made in October about the Portland Harbor cleanup and where the contaminated material would go.
12 09 24 Kara :18 “The letter formally confirmed that the Wasco County landfill is one of four regional solid waste landfills for Portland Harbor sediments and that any material sent there would be non-hazardous. The bottom line is they haven’t committed to this being final yet.”