By Cassie Kanable, WTPCO Hello, Welches families! We hope your new year is off to a fantastic start! December was filled with holiday spirit and memorable moments. Our first-ever Elementary Holiday Disco Ball was a huge success, with students and families enjoying an evening of dancing, singing, and fun. We can’t wait to host another! The Middle School Leadership Class also shined, planning and hosting their festive Santa Soirée Dance for our middle school students. We’re thr

By Amber Ford, The Mountain Times While many animals both large and small call the beloved Mt. Hood National Forest home, not every species is meant for the vast, cold and wet environment that encompasses nearly one million acres. Bears, elk, deer, coyotes and wolves roam the wilderness that neighbors the Mt. Hood Villages, but one creature recently rescued and not native to such extreme climate and elevations is a domestic pig. Spotted on several trail cameras throughout the

By Amber Ford, The Mountain Times While Christmas break of 2023 left many wondering when winter would come (and then remembering how cruel she can be by mid-March), Christmas break 2024 is on track to set records with local businesses, as snow levels were packed in by mid November. Unlike the unusual dry and warm December of 2023, December 2024 came in full swing with ski resorts like Mt. Hood Meadows celebrating an early opening of November 15th, with a base depth of 81” of

By Steve Wilent, The Mountain Times My treatise on firewood in the November edition drew more comments and questions from readers than any other topic this woodsguy has written about. Several folks wrote to tell me about their favorite types of firewood and methods of stacking it. Others asked questions about various species I hadn’t mentioned. Two readers admitted to being fellow firewood fanatics, so now Lara and my neighbors know that I’m not the only one. One corresponden

By Lloyd Musser, The Mountain Times There is good news and not-so-good news from the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum, AKA The Museum. The good news is that Dave Winterling has been hired as the Executive Director. Dave is also the volunteer President of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol. The not-so-good news is that the Museum has depleted the reserved maintenance account due to three unplanned building maintenance issues. The first issue involved testing the emergency systems asso