Last week I attended my 20-year dental school reunion in Boston. It’s still a bit crazy for me to accept that 20 years have flown by since I graduated from dental school. I spent a few days in Boston strolling down a nostalgic memory lane.   In addition to seeing old classmates and visiting old stomping grounds in the city, I got a chance to visit my old school and attend a class by my old Operative Dentistry professor.  He was the best professor at the school and he is still

The holiday season has a way of creeping up on us. One moment we’re admiring the last of the fall colors, and the next we’re knee-deep in to-do lists, gift wrapping, and blinking lights. It’s a season meant for connection, but it can easily become one of exhaustion. This year, I’ve been thinking about how important it is to protect our mental health by slowing down and savoring the moments that really matter. Working hard is a beautiful thing — it gives life structure and pur

Who are we as a community? We may not be incorporated towns, but we have an identity  nonetheless - one built on shared history, hard work, and the unique beauty of this place we call home. Our story is one that’s been passed down through generations, and it continues to grow with every person who puts down roots here.  A community that remembers its past has an identity. A community with an identity has  pride. And pride leads to protection - protection of the forests, river

Cats have a way of inserting themselves into whatever we’re doing. If you’ve ever made a bed with a cat in the room, you know it becomes a full-contact sport. They leap onto the sheets just as you’re smoothing them out, tunnel under the comforter, and eventually sit proudly in the center like they’ve helped. They climb into boxes before you’ve even unpacked them, and they treat the items on your nightstand as if they're part of a science experiment. What starts off as a styli

Name: Julie Frederick-Todd Place of birth: Scobey, Montana How long on the Mountain: 1990 - short break from 1995 to 1997, then back again. If you were not brought here as a child, what brought you to the Mountain: My sister brought me to the mountain. Back in the late 70s we went to Parkrose and skied as teenagers. She was on the ski team and ended up coaching at Cooper Spur and working at Timberline Lodge for 20 years. Everyone who skied the mountain knew Camille for h

Just Rum’s cocktail menu often includes some seasonal choices. We’ve all been there: dragged down the rabbit hole by curiosity over some random topic we find fascinating, whether it’s Wikipedia-ing your favorite artist’s life story or searching the depths of the internet for that discontinued product you have to have. For John Hasbrouck, his rabbit hole was the history of rum, and from that deep dive came the award-winning business: Just Rum. According to his master distiller

Basketball player Michael Jordan was cut from his school’s basketball team his sophomore year, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony was cut from his high school team, and Lena Smith was cut from her 4th grade basketball team. Smith, unlike Jordan and Anthony, did not go on to play basketball. Instead, as a freshman on Sandy High School’s Varsity Volleyball team, she placed second at nationals.  After being cut in fourth grade, Smith’s PE teacher offered her a spot on the voll

A resident of The Mt. Hood Villages since the age of three, musician Lisa Page has been an instrumental part in the delightful sounds, education, and melodies of the community for the last 37 years. Inspired by her mother’s own piano skills, Page became a student of music at age six. “My mom always played and it just seemed like that is what you do when you grow up,” Page said. “There were artists that I loved and wanted to make music like. I like playing percussively while c

"A walk in nature walks the soul back home."  – Henry David Thoreau In our digital world, it’s all too easy to spend hours scrolling social media, binge-watching shows, or getting lost in online distractions. While these activities can be entertaining, they often keep us sedentary — and our bodies (and minds) pay the price. Physical movement is not just about fitness; it’s about improving your overall quality of life. Research shows that regular activity can boost mood, incre

Mount Hood’s summit is a familiar sight for everyone who calls The Mountain their home. It’s the backdrop to our lives, a landmark that feels unchanging. Yet in geologic terms, Mount Hood is anything but quiet. Beneath the snow and glaciers lies the record of eruptions that reshaped the mountain and altered the valleys where we live. The story of Mount Hood stretches back roughly half a million years. Like the other great peaks of the Cascades, it rose where the Juan de Fuca

Behavior issues in cats and dogs can be stressful and confusing for owners. Whether it’s a cat urinating outside the litter box or a dog showing signs of fear or anxiety, these behaviors often signal an underlying need for support, structure, or medical attention. At Northwest Mobile Vet, we help pet owners manage these challenges with practical solutions that prioritize both safety and emotional well-being. Managing Anxiety in Specific Situations Pets can experience anxiety

Golf Tourney On Saturday, September 6th, the Mt. Hood Oregon Resort put on the 2nd Annual Welches Charity Open Golf Tournament with the proceeds split evenly between the Mt. Hood Lions community disaster relief fund and the Hoodland Senior Center. The weather was perfect. The event was extremely well attended with 20 foursomes participating and we raised $13,000. Our thanks to Porchlight Realty and Philip Carman for their major sponsorship, to Mt. Hood Meadows, The Door Works

Robin Fritsch, a massage therapist at Mountain Life Clinic, was awarded $1,500 to pursue training to help clients with pain management for conditions such as sciatica and whiplash. HWC awards scholarships for continuing education Two Hoodland area residents looking to build their skills were awarded continuing education scholarships totaling $2,400 last month from the HWC Community Fund. Robin Fritsch, a massage therapist at Mountain Life Clinic, was awarded $1,500 to pursue

Welcome back, dear reader, to another installment of the chronicles of the Mount Hood golf scene. There will be no stone unturned by your intrepid reporter and no cliffhangers, as this is my last column for this year. Please, please no teeth gnashing or hair pulling. I plan on returning next year, unless I win a Pulitzer, in which case I'm out of here like a Cal Raleigh home run. Watching baseball makes me realize that every sport has its own jargon that is constantly evolvin

Aidan DeOliveira always knew he wanted to have a career in public service. He says he wants to do something that helps people and now he’s getting his chance, through the Hoodland Fire District Student Program.   A 2025 Sandy High School graduate, Aidan is on the right track to achieving his ultimate goal of becoming a firefighter-paramedic. He started the two-year program two months ago and has nothing but good things to say about his experience so far. “I love it,” Aidan sa

Toxic exposures in animals happen more often than you’d think, and many come from everyday items around your home, pasture, or barn. Understanding what’s dangerous for dogs, cats, and livestock can help prevent emergencies, costly treatments, and even fatal outcomes. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common toxins we see in our mobile veterinary practice. Toxins in Dogs and Cats Many foods, plants, and household products that are harmless to people can be dangerous, even

Less than five miles north of Brightwood - deep in the protected Bull Run watershed - lies the place where a young World War II pilot lost his life. For nearly two decades, the forest kept the secret of what happened to 2nd Lt. Alan Clay Strader, whose aircraft vanished on a rainy morning in 1943. On March 26, 1943, 2nd Lt. Alan Clay Strader took off from Portland Army Air Base in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a sleek single seat, twin-engine, twin-tailed fighter. Just 20 years

Welcome back, dear reader, to another installment of Fore, future winner of the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism. No? How about for dramatic rhetoric? No? I’ll take it for shameless self- aggrandizement if I have to. I mean let’s be real, pride don’t take home the prize. Oooh did I just make up a proverb? Now my place in history is guaranteed. And speaking of proverbs. It occurs to me that so many can apply to golf. Here are a few examples: A stroke saved is a stro

Here in our mountain villages, we’re surrounded by rivers, forests, and trails that seem to invite us outside. It’s one of the most beautiful places to live, yet it can still be surprisingly easy to stay indoors and inactive. The good news is that you don’t need a strict schedule or expensive equipment to enjoy the benefits of movement. What matters most is finding ways to move daily — and making it part of your lifestyle. Go for a Walk or Hike: Step outside your door and wal

One of the trickiest things about being a dentist is that so many dental problems are not symptomatic.  What that means is that most people can have a small, medium, and even sometimes large cavity and not know it, because it doesn’t hurt and the cavity is under a shell of hard enamel in the tooth.  Periodontal disease, which is a chronic disease that affects the foundation around the teeth, is notorious for not hurting until the really later stages when it is sometimes diffi