Think Out Loud

Kenny LaPoint is the executive director of the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council, an organization that provides services to people experiencing homelessness in Wasco, Hood River and Sherman counties. MCCAC operates the only homeless shelter in Wasco County, a facility made up of 18 tiny homes in an industrial part of The Dalles near the Columbia River. It also conducts a federally mandated Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness, and is in the process of acquiring a 54-room hotel to serve as transitional housing for families and clients with complex medical cases. This spring, MCCAC will break ground on a navigation center on the west side of The Dalles which will not only include shelter beds, but also office space for community agencies to provide wraparound services, including employment assistance. On Tuesday mornings, a mobile medical clinic operated by a non-profit medical center, One Community Health, visits the shelter to offer free medical services such as diabetes and cancer screenings.

We hear from LaPoint and Kathryn Perkins, a client experiencing homelessness who has lived in a tiny shelter home for six months. Middy Tilghman, a family nurse practitioner at One Community Health and the lead medical provider at the mobile medical clinic, shares with us the impact it’s having on improving health outcomes for unhoused patients.

Al and Nolan Hare are brothers and musicians who were raised in The Dalles. They also play lead and bass guitar in Brewer’s Grade Band, a country western outfit that had a busy touring schedule until the pandemic shuttered live music venues across the nation. As in-person performances started up again last summer, Al approached local downtown business owners with a vision of making The Dalles a “Little Music City,” showcasing live music seven nights a week. Today, there are nearly two dozen live music venues and growing, with an outdoor event space to open in late spring. The Hare brothers and other members of Brewer’s Grade Band perform original music for us while sharing their vision for making The Dalles a music and entertainment destination in the Columbia Gorge.

Todd Carpenter is the owner of The Last Stop Saloon, a bar and restaurant in The Dalles that dates back to the 1880s. He also owns two other taverns in Beaverton and Portland. He and his partner were drawn to The Dalles nearly six years ago by its “300 days of sunshine,” a community that rallies together and the proximity to myriad outdoor recreational opportunities. But one thing he doesn’t care for is the low pay service sector workers make, along with a lack of affordable housing, affordable daycare and medical services such as vision and dental care. So Carpenter offers his staff a minimum salary of $17.25 an hour and provides paid time off. He also entered into an agreement with The Dalles to redevelop three downtown properties, including an outdoor event space scheduled to open in the spring. He also plans to refurbish two floors above the dining space in The Last Stop Saloon to convert them into rental units for service sector workers.

But Carpenter’s business decisions have not been without controversy. Last June, Oregon OSHA issued Carpenter a nearly $9,000 citation for his decision to allow indoor dining in violation of a public health order to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Wasco County. Carpenter joins us to share what the experience has taught him and why he thinks businesses in The Dalles need to play a greater role in making it a place where workers can afford to live and raise their families.

Last spring, more than 100 Oregonians posed for portraits on empty pedestals in downtown Portland that used to house sculptures of former presidents. The portraits are the brainchild of indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson, who was invited by Portland Art Museum to create a multimedia installation both inside and outside the museum. Gibson, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, created the portraits, glass panels, and a timeline of notable dates in Oregon’s Indigenous history. We talk to Gibson, and to Kathleen Ash-Milby, curator of Native American Art at the Portland Art Museum, about the exhibit.

Nancey Patten is the director of Child Care Partners, a state-funded Child Care Resource and Referral program serving Wasco and neighboring counties. The program helps child care providers meet state licensing requirements and recruits new providers through trainings and enrollment in early childhood education classes. This past spring, there was not a single vacancy for an infant, toddler or preschooler at any child care provider in Wasco County, according to Patten. While the shortage has eased slightly since then, many parents continue to struggle to find full-time care which costs roughly $800 for a toddler or infant in Wasco County per month. Meanwhile, child care providers in the county and throughout Oregon have struggled to find help for a job which may only pay minimum wage.

Ana Rivera is the owner and operator of Rivera’s Bilingual Preschool and Child Care in The Dalles. Rebecca Schwartz is the dean of academic pathways at Columbia Gorge Community College and the mother of 8-month-old twins. They join Nancey Patten to share their perspectives on child care access in the Dalles and new efforts to ease the crisis.

On Saturday, Portlanders near Pioneer Courthouse Square will be welcomed with the sound of Christmas music played by 200 tubas. This year marks the 31st year of Tuba Christmas in Portland, but it has been celebrated across the world for close to 50 years. Chuck Bolton is the conductor of the free public concert. He joins us to share the history of Tubas Christmas in Portland and why so many musicians across Oregon come to play. We’ll also hear a few holiday songs from a quartet in the studio featuring Bolton, Heidi Aispuro, Dave Matthys and Charlie Violet.

Portland city officials are working with community members and artists to bring regular exhibits and events back to the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. The historic center features a 99-seat black box theater, a rehearsal studio and an art gallery. Portland Parks and Recreation has collaborated with a community advisory committee to reactivate the center and create an artist residency program. Kwik Jones is a playwright and a program resident; Donovan Scribes is a writer, artist and member of the advisory committee; and Soo Pak manages arts, culture and special events for PPR. They join us to share their vision for the future of the center.

Portland city officials, downton business owners and others have been engaged in a battle to bring down crime, vandalism and manage people camping in public spaces. That effort continues and has gotten a lot of attention. But business owners on the city's Central Eastside say all those problems are rampant in their neighborhoods, too. And they're pushing for action. Kim Malek is the CEO of Salt & Straw and Clare Briglio is the executive director of the Central Eastside Industrial Council. They join us with details of what businesses have been experiencing and what they’re calling for.