A New Era for Hood River’s Largest Toy Store
New
ownership at powersports and bikes store
also joined the team to provide even better support and service for these exciting outdoor sports.
Post Canyon Bikes, located right next door, focuses on e-bike sales and service, featuring the largest and most capable manufacturer of e-bikes in the world: Yamaha. Most people
Story and Photos by HRP
Please welcome Hood River Powersports & Marine and Post Canyon Bikes to Hood River! Established in 2024 and owned and operated by Jamie Hull of Mt. Hood & Parkdale, they are bringing a new kind of adventure and community to the Gorge.
At HRP and Post Canyon Bikes, they’re here to help families and folks make the most of their time outdoors, whether you’re enjoying the outdoors solo, with friends, or exploring with loved ones. Everything they offer is designed to help you enjoy life, build your skills, and recharge — while always delivering the best service and support to keep the adventure going.
In just a few months of ownership, Jamie has already made huge changes to the dealership, including a major rebrand (with new signage coming soon!). They are also carrying even more world-class brands, such as RH Fishing boats, G3 Boats, Kawasaki, Sherco offroad and trail bikes, Kove Adventure and Rally bikes, CFMOTO UTVs, ATVs & motorcycles, Arctic Leopard Electric motorbikes, and Kayo pit bikes and ATVs.
For all you boaters and fisherman out there, they have big plans in the works, bringing 20+ years of boat design and building experience to ensure HRP becomes the go-to store in the Portland and Gorge areas. The Big Fishing store launches early 2025! New staff from the Hood River area — with professional expertise in moto and mountain biking — have
are not aware that Yamaha has built more e-bikes than any other manufacturer in the world, and just recently began to focus on the US market with the introduction of the very best e-bikes available. Post Canyon Bikes also sells RFN and RAWRR (similar to Surron), with even more brands coming soon!
Jamie Hull is a Mechanical and Marine Engineer, lifelong gearhead and outdoorsman. So naturally, he saw this opportunity as the holy grail of combining many of his outdoor activities and passions under one roof, as well as to build a venue and share this experience with the Hood River community he loves so much.
Formerly MidColumbia Marine & MotorSports (MCM), this company has been in the Hood River’s boating, fishing and powersports culture for more than 30 years, and HRP & Post Canyon Bikes is excited to continue this legacy! A big shout out to Jim Drennen for making this possible!
HRP and Post Canyon Bikes provides sales, service and parts support for powersports, MTB and road bikes, e-bikes, marine and fishing. Hood River PowerSports & Marine and Post Canyon Bikes are located at 3335 Cascade Ave. in Hood River. For more info, visit our website at www. hoodriverpowersports.com/ or give us a call at (541) 386-2477.
Jamie Hull, Owner
It is the bane of many Americans. You eat a good meal, happily satisfied, but soon thereafter, the discomfort begins. For one person, it’s a dry, irritating cough; for another, a heavy, uncomfortable stomach. Another might experience a sensation of hot burning in the throat and a nasty acid taste in the mouth or wake in the night with terrible indigestion or in the morning with a sore throat.
Heartburn, acid reflux, GERD ... it’s the same condition that can bring misery to our lives. Those handy, over-the-counter drugs, like Prilosec or Omeprazole, bring quick relief, but taking them long term can give some very, unwanted side effects. What can a person do?
Heartburn has different sources. One of the most common causes occurs when your stomach is low in acid, also know as hydrochloric acid (HCL). HCL both breaks up protein and prompts the entire digestive tract to operate properly. Without it, food rots quickly in our stomach instead of digesting properly and passing into the intestines. As it rots, it gives off gasses, which pushes the stomach juices up into the esophagus, and voilà, heartburn!
One way to see if you have low HCL is to put a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) in 8 ounces of warm water and drink it. With low HCL, this will feel good. For some people, drinking 1 to 2 tablespoons of
ACV in warm water and drinking it before meals is what they need for relief. If the vinegar drink is too strong for your palate, you can try the delicious Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies or some liquid herbal bitters in warm water for the same effect. For stronger relief, use Zypan, small tablets of HCL and pancreatic enzymes that get your meal digesting properly.
People with chronic heartburn may have high levels of H. pylori in their stomach. The typical medical treatment for this is high-dose triple antibiotics, which can kill off beneficial bacteria. Natural treatments for H. pylori can be as effective but less damaging. Mastic gum, encapsulated tree resin from the Mediterranean, kills H. pylori and heals the gut lining. Another great product, Pyloguard by Microbiome Labs, is a postbiotic that binds to H. pylori and carries it out of your body. Unfortunately, I can’t cover everything in a short article. There are also mechanical issues that can be involved with heartburn, such as a hiatal hernia. If you find that nothing is helping, you can schedule an appointment with Ruth for learning about other ways to find needed relief for your nasty heartburn.
Ruth Maletz RN, CNC & Jonathan Maletz, LMHC Daniel’s Health & Nutrition
Moving Soil & Septic
Companies join forces to better community
By Patti Jo Brooks, Contributing Writer
Photos by Henry Schifter
When we think of “sister cities,” we recognize a partnership between two municipalities. How about “sister companies?” Beam Excavating, Inc. and A-1 Septic Tank Service are two businesses that have the same owners and “help each other out,” as they say. You can reach either company at the same address and through the same phone number, but the scope and services each provides is different, though uniquely integrated.
Based out of Hood River, family-owned and -operated Beam Excavating, Inc. and A-1 Septic Tank Service, work hand-inhand to meet all of your earthwork and septic needs. These two companies, combined, have the ability to service both residential and commercial properties from septic services and septic tank installation to water lines, land clearing, etc., including the repair of utility lines. Operating throughout the entire area of the Columbia River Gorge, Beam and A-1 use advanced technology saving their customers time and money!
Each company is a separate stand-alone business designed for specific needs. Beam Excavating, which has been in existence since 2004, started out as one of the only excavating companies that handled both commercial and residential jobs in the area. They installed the waterline stretching through downtown Hood River as well as many other installations of this type all around the state. As they continue to grow, they are taking on bigger jobs, doing everything from site preparations to commercial damage repairs. With 17 seasoned employees, Beam has the knowledge and expertise to bid and service almost any commercial or residential job needed. Maybe you want to demolish a site for a new build, or you’re just trying to clear your land of some trees and foliage, or possibly make space for a garage or sports court? Perhaps you need a new septic system, drain field, water main, storm drain, sewer or other public works piping? If an underground utility line breaks, Beam is the company to call! They can replace any conduit or piping as well as excavate trenching for the installation of new utilities and backfill as needed.
To help with building the foundation of the house or business of your dreams, Beam will begin by leveling your plot of land utilizing superior grading equipment and techniques. Furthermore, if you’re in need of roadway construction, either privately or commercially, Beam is here to step in. “We can provide any service you may need from underground utilities to vault work,” they assure their Gorge clientele. Additionally, Beam can help with re-gravelling driveways, landscaping projects, and hauling bark or fill dirt. Whatever services you may need that requires moving and spreading earth, Beam Excavating, Inc. has you covered!
As for A-1 Septic Tank Services, they have operated both commercially and residentially in the Columbia River Gorge since 1986. Whether you need to pump an RV or a 3,000-gallon tank, you can be sure A-1 can pump it all and in a manner that fits in with your schedule. “We believe in doing
the job right… every time. That means we work with your schedule to make sure we can service your tank or RV in a timely manner that works for you,” they promise. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and can answer any questions you may have, ensuring you the best experience possible.
Big or small, A-1 Septic Tank Service is always ready to address your septic needs. Providing free estimates and emergency services, A-1 Septic’s pumping capabilities are endless. “We love any opportunity to show just how committed we are to our customers and their needs,” A-1 Septic tells their clients. “We can even refer you to local businesses for any additional work you may need done on your septic system.”
Operating locally out of Hood River has allowed both A-1 Septic Tank Services and Beam Excavating, Inc. ample opportunity to be involved with the community, “which is something we believe strongly in,” say owners Raine and Zack Smith, who bought the companies simultaneously just last January. Raine had been hired on as an office receptionist for A-1 in 2022 and Zack had started pumping septic tanks
for them in that same month. Earlier on, Zack had worked a couple years for Beam Excavating, having been hired in 2006 as their second employee. After leaving to pursue other opportunities, Zack came back to Beam’s whereby the owner at the time, Chad Beam, who now also owned A-1 Septic, offered to sell both businesses to the Smiths, as Chad was about to retire. The familyoriented companies were a perfect fit for Raine and Zack who were born and raised in Hood River and are parents to three lovely children: McKinzie, a high school junior; Clinton, an eighth grader at Wy’east; and Madeline, grade four at Parkdale.
Carrying on the family spirit into the sister companies, the staff got together for a deep-sea fishing and crabbing event last month – just one of the joint
activities the group will participate in this year. Reaching further out into the community, you’ll find both Beam Excavating and A-1 Septic backing a number of fundraisers, businesses and other community events. “When we all support each other, we can only grow better,” the owners express.
One community-centered service in particular is Beam Excavating doing all the dig out work for the whole septic system for the baseball facility at the high school. Beam likewise provides all excavation work anytime the high school needs it. Seniors and veterans receive a $20 discount and all work comes with the satisfaction guarantee: “We won’t stop until you like what we’ve done!”
Beam Excavating and A-1 Septic are located at 1535 Osprey Dr. in Hood River. Call (541)386-5747 for all your excavating and septic service needs; or email beamexcavating@gmail. com for either business. Visit Beam Excavating’s website at: beamexcavating. com. For A-1 Septic Tank Service visit: a-1septictankservice.com.
Memoir by Dal-Tile