[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E866-E867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNITION OF LEADERSHIP BY COLUMBIA GORGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND THE 
              DALLES-WASCO COUNTY COMMUNITY OUTREACH TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2007

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw your and my 
fellow colleagues' attention to a tremendous and especially unique 
educational effort underway at

[[Page E867]]

Columbia Gorge Community College in Wasco and Hood River counties, 
Oregon and to single out the highly effective leadership of The Dalles-
Wasco County Community Outreach Team.
  This gorgeous area of Oregon benefits from some of the most dedicated 
and determined local leaders in the country. The Dalles-Wasco County 
Community Outreach Team provides an outstanding model of local 
government cooperation and their efforts, in conjunction with Columbia 
Gorge Community College, have had a very positive impact on the 
Columbia River Gorge economy. The Community Outreach Team's members 
band together at all levels of city and county leadership and work in 
synchronized fashion to both tout the benefits provided in their region 
and echo with one clear voice the ways government at all levels can 
better work together and deliver favorable results to local residents 
and employers and the large number of visitors who flock to this 
picturesque area.
  The rural nursing program at Columbia Gorge Community College is 
hailed as a state and national model of instruction delivery in a rural 
region and has added to the College's clout as a premier center of 
learning and training in the West. Another feather in the cap of 
Columbia Gorge Community College is their renewable energy training 
program. The Pacific Northwest is witnessing unprecedented, rapid 
growth of renewable energy and Columbia Gorge Community College, in 
cooperation with its renewable energy industry and workforce partners, 
has initiated and deployed the first renewable energy program on the 
West Coast that offers wind energy technician training. As the co-chair 
of the bipartisan House Renewable Energy Caucus, I'm very proud of the 
College's national leadership on this front.
  The renewable energy program at Columbia Gorge Community College will 
be sustained through the same highly successful industry partnership 
model as developed by the College's nursing program. The development of 
renewable energy contributes to our Nation's security by lessening 
reliance on imported fossil fuels, and its development substantially 
reduces the impact of fossil fuels on the important issue of climate 
change. Workforce training is an essential element of renewable energy 
expansion, and Columbia Gorge Community College is blazing trails on 
this exciting new front.
  My colleagues, I ask you to join me in commending Columbia Gorge 
Community College and its industry and workforce partners for 
establishing the first program on the West Coast for renewable energy 
that offers wind energy technician training. They're providing 
outstanding results, and it's my honor to represent in the United 
States House of Representatives such dedicated local leaders.

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