by Gale Arnold, President of the Board of Directors of Radio Tierra. We here at Radio Tierra hope you are enjoying the bounty now available in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. Lots has been happening for us in the last couple of months.

Grants. First we  received two grants – one from The Salvador Fund which was for expanding our signal into the Upper Hood River Valley and the other from the Joan Burchell Fund – both grantors are a part of the Gorge Community Foundation.  Our deepest thanks to both funders for their trust and financial support.

Expanded listenership. As you are all undoubtedly aware by now, we have finally expanded our listenership to the Upper Hood River Valley and have a call frequency of 107.1 FM in Parkdale, OR.  We would like to especially thank Mike McKafferty and the Parkdale Fire Prevention District for their role in allowing us to place our equipment and antenna on the roof of the Parkdale Community Center.

Mayors Independence Eve. The second annual Mayors Independence Eve held in Bingen WA was a great success.  Thanks to mayors Paul Blackburn, Bettey Barnes, and David Poucher. We were delighted to have Presidents Obama’s Declaration honoring local figure Minoru Yasui. This year marked the first live remote broadcast. We intend to make this an annual event. A special thanks to:

  • Rod Kriehbel, who assisted in the production and recording of the event.
  • Gary Young and Kathy Williams, producers, writers and directors of the event
  • Humberto Calderon and Leti Valle for DJ hosting,
  • The event sponsors:  Skyline Hospital, Valley Crest Orchard, McClaskey Orchards, Yasui Orchards. Ruby Mason, realtor; Director’s Mortgage, Paddock Appliances, Red Carpet Orchard, Mikey’s Mufflers and More, North Shore Medical group, Hood River Jeweler, McCoy Hollister Insurance, Cicci Gelato, D’lish D’livered, Hood River News, Your Rental Center, Gorge Net, Novedades El Potrillo, John Annala Orchards, Kathy Williams, Gary and Barbara Young, and Jean Harmon.
  •  All the entertainment:  Musical groups:  Harmony of the Gorge, Kendra Williams, Arturo Leyva, Antifaz and Mayor Paul Blackburn, Tim Mayer, Los Temerosos, the Fathas of Convention, Bill Weiler and Jim Tindall, and the Midnight Gypsies.  Actors and Poets: Tom Burns, Juliet, Leah, Danica, Cassandra Medley, Deborah Langloismand Ken McCarty and Kirby Neuman Ray our tonguetwister master.

Hood River Fourth of July parade. We tied for first place with the Hood River County Library for best non-profit entry.  Thanks to the Mid Valley Folkloric Dancers and Miss Salazar. And a big thanks to our DJ’s Humberto Calderon, Juan Reyes, Leti Valle,  Rosario Chavez, and Felix Ruiz who joined in the parade festivities.

Democracy Now. You may have noticed that Radio Tierra is no longer airing the full English version of Democracy Now, but is playing the shorter Spanish version at 3 p.m. every day.  Two other stations in the area were also broadcasting the English version so we made the switch.

Underwriters. KZAS wishes to once again acknowledge our current underwriters whose generous donations make it possible to keep our equipment up to date, pay our bills, and keep Radio Tierra on the air.  Remember, Radio Tierra is a public radio station, so we cannot advertise, but we may mention those individuals and organizations that support us with regular generous donations – you too can make a tax deductible donation to us anytime.  Our thanks to our current underwriters:  Gorge Rebuild it Center, Puerto Angeles 3, Hood River Country Prevention Department, Chicken Teriyaki, Ortigoza Auto Service, Casa Mirador, Providence memorial Hospital, Parkdale Fire Prevention District, Carniceria y Verdularia La Mexicana, Ixtapa Mexican restaurant, Aly’s Gift Shop, la Michoacana, and The Next Door.

Board meetings. A reminder that we hold our monthly board meetings the first Sunday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at The Next Door.  The public is always invited.  Our next meeting will be August 7.

Volunteers needed. Radio Tierra‘s mission is to entertain, educate and inspire our community. And we are a volunteer organization. We would love to grow our station – we are always on the look out for more volunteers – both English or Spanish speakers. We welcome diversity. You can contact us on our website at www.radiotierra.org or call us at 541-387-3772/541-645-5159. I personally now carry the KZAS cell phone which gets the calls that are forwarded when there is no DJ in the studio and promise to return your calls promptly.

And Thanks. Again thank you all for your support and thanks for listening to the Beat of the Gorge, Radio Tierra, KZAS 95.1 Hood River, 95.9 Stevenson, WA , 107.1 Parkdale, OR; 107.7 The Dalles, and 96.7 Carson, WA. We are delighted to be broadcasting to you in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. We are your station where everyone has a voice!