After a devastating fire took the Gales Creek Store out of business, this venerable community gathering space is coming back to life

Gales Creek, June 1930. These are the diary entries of Esther Lilly Hundley, who lived in Gales Creek with the Lilly clan after the family moved to Gales Creek in the 1880’s. They paint a picture of what it was like to live in Gales Creek and the surrounding areas. They are published as they were written, with original spelling.

Looking for summer activities for the kids? In the class Club Med West: Medical Careers, students are offered the opportunity to investigate careers in the medical field at a hands-on experience at Pacific University.

Oregon motorists will be able to adorn their license plates with famous wildfire prevention icon Smokey Bear starting August 1.

The Continental Congress declared freedom from a tyrannical British government on July 2, 1776, and fully adopted the document known as the Declaration of Independence two days later on July 4, 1776. We've been dealing with the traffic ever since - and this year, AAA says it'll be one for the record books.

With the recent declaration of fire season in NW Oregon and the North Cascades, all of the land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry is now officially in fire season.

The Oregon Transportation Commission named retired Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Highway Division Administrator Paul Mather as ODOT Interim Deputy Director at a special meeting of the Commission in Salem.

Locally, Oregon Department of Forestry will launch the official fire season in NW Oregon on Monday, July 1. This year, ODF says that 21 fires have occurred in their coverage territory — almost double from last year's 11 fires — and that all of them were determined to be caused by humans

Frontier internet and landline customers are effected by a large outage up and down the Gales Creek valley and surrounding regions.

A dirt bike rider crashed at Browns Camp on Monday afternoon, requiring an extensive rescue to extract the patient, who was eventually transported via air ambulance to a Portland area hospital. Five agencies combined to rescue the downed rider.

The 53rd Annual Gales Creek Strawberry Festival drew more than 600 visitors to the heart of the Gales Creek Community on Saturday.

Gales Creek, May 1930. These are the diary entries of Esther Lilly Hundley, who lived in Gales Creek with the Lilly clan after the family moved to Gales Creek in the 1880’s. They paint a picture of what it was like to live in Gales Creek and the surrounding areas. They are published as they were written, with original spelling.

In this column, Sharon explores the topic of emergency preparedness and our farm-style education in Gales Creek. Gales Creek Gatherings is a column by guest writer, Sharon Hundley. Sharon covers local events and gatherings in the Gales Creek Valley, featuring community events, businesses, and special happenings. If you know of an upcoming event and would like to see it in here, please contact news@galescreekjournal.com, with Sharon Hundley in the subject line.

The old Balm Grove Tavern will receive a fresh coat of paint after community members voted on a new color scheme at a Clean Water Services open house at the Balm Grove property.

State Representative Tiffiny Mitchell, representing Gales Creek, Banks, Gaston, and cities and communities up and down the North Coast will hold a town hall event on Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m. at the Banks Public Library.

Anne and her husband Rene’ have been growing heirloom organic vegetables at Gales Meadow Farm in Gales Creek since 1999. If you have a question about vegetable gardening, Anne might be able to answer it. Send your question to news@galescreekjournal.com with subject line “Question for Gales Meadow Farm”

Early election results show that in local fire board races, incumbents appear to be losing their seats in the May special district elections, while the Forest Grove School Board will retain Kate Grandusky, and fill position 5 with Narce Rodriguez.

The May special elections will end at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, and according to the Washington County elections office, just 15% of registered voters have turned in a ballot so far.

Western states are preparing for summer and wildfire season. And although it may seem counter-intuitive, some of the most urgent conversations are about getting more fire onto the landscape.

A driver who the Washington County Sheriff's Office says struck a cyclist in Hillside, leaving him bleeding on the ground before speeding away has been arrested.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office is asking the public to help them find a driver who witnesses say fled the scene after striking a bicyclist on NW Hillside Road on Saturday, May 11.

The Washington County Museum is inviting the public to hear Dr. David Lewis, a local author, Native American historian, ethnohistory consultant, anthropologist, and teacher, discuss on Saturday, May 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m his knowledge of the Kalapuyan cultural practices around food and land management.

On Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands, 126 fires have burned nearly 1,000 acres this year so far. The burned acreage doesn’t take into account fires burning on federally-controlled land, such as vast swaths of Bureau of Land Management and national forest lands, or fires burning in other jurisdictions.

Gales Creek, 1930 By Esther Lilly Hundley. Transcribed by Sandra Evans. These are the diary entries of Esther Lilly Hundley, who lived in Gales Creek with the Lilly clan after the family moved to Gales Creek in the 1880’s. They paint a picture of what it was like to live in Gales Creek and the surrounding areas. They are published as they were written, with original spelling.

Washington County issued a burn ban that runs from today, May 9, through the upcoming weekend as the region continues to experience record high temperatures for this time of year.

Governor Kate Brown joined governors from nine other states in declaring May 2019 wildfire awareness month.

An open house for the public to tour the Balm Grove property will be held Wednesday, May 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided

The Forest Grove School District will close amid planned teacher walkouts in support of education funding at the state level.

Wildfire season is nearly upon the Gales Creek Valley and surrounding Tillamook Forest, and the Gales Creek Neighborhood Watch wants you to learn how to prepare your home at an upcoming community gathering.

Dozens of contenders have thrown their hat into the ring to lead, represent, and hold positions of authority in local school and fire boards that will define where the tax dollars of voters go to provide fire and emergency services, education and more.