Dear Members,
It’s mid-June as I write this. With any luck, we will have opened our office to limited walk-in traffic by the time this reaches your mailbox. We will announce our reopening on our website, and on our social media channels.
If you visit us, you will see these changes:
- We have installed plexiglass barriers at the front counter to protect our office staff.
- We have limited visitor access to the lobby only.
- We have a hand sanitizer station in the lobby.
- We are limiting visitors to one person/couple in the lobby at a time.
We look forward to seeing you, but please stay home if you are sick!
We continue to waive late fees and disconnects for nonpayment. However, please be aware that you are responsible for paying for the services you use. If you are facing additional financial hardships because of COVID-19, please contact us to discuss payment arrangements and to pay what you can so you don’t build up a large past-due balance.
As always, if you need to report an outage or other emergency related to your electric or internet service, please call (541) 354-1233 for assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can email non-emergency requests to us. Our internet service department is available through email.
We encourage you to follow us on social media for the latest updates. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @HRECCoop. If you sign up for email billing, we will include you in email announcements about changes in operations.
Help Support our Farmers
As this issue’s feature story demonstrates, the Hood River Valley thrums with agriculture. From orchards to wineries, farms, and processing operations, our local farmers are connected not just to us, but to the world beyond our valley.
Let’s do our part to support our dedicated farmers and welcome the thousands of workers who come to the region for harvest.
How can you help strengthen our local food system? Shop at fruit and veggie stands, subscribe to weekly veggies boxes, drink local wine and cider, and order produce from the newly formed Gorge Farmer Collective—an online farmers market connecting local farms directly to customers.
Wishing you a safe and happy summer,
Libby Calnon
General Manager