Forest Grove News Times · North Plains, OR
North Plains residents will jingle their way through the city to welcome the holidays at the start of December. The North Plains Events Association is calling on the town to wrap red and green lights around cars, homes and businesses Thursday, Dec. 3, for the city’s annual jingle parade and tree lighting. An annual tradition now in its 23rd year, the parade lines up at 6 p.m. at the parking area between the medical office and La Lotería Taco Shop, 10355 N.W. Glencoe Road. The procession lasts about 30 minutes. Community members and organizations are invited to “decorate anything that moves” — including trucks, trailers, motorcycles, bicycles and more. Many residents even rent golf carts to participate. As the vehicles come to a halt in front of the North Plains Senior Center on Commercial Street, the city will illuminate the community with a tree lighting between 7 and 7:15 p.m. Carolers and refreshments will also be available until around 8 p.m.
The Banks Post · Roy, OR
Nearby: Roy, ORWelcome to the first Winter Fun Guide! Once a week through Dec. 31, it rounds up holiday bazaars, tree lightings, the light parades, u-cut Christmas tree farms and ways to give in Banks, Gales Creek, Forest Grove, Cornelius and Gaston. It's free. Closest to home, the St. Francis Roy Christmas Bazaar runs Saturday and Sunday, with photos with Santa on Saturday. Saturday also brings the Gales Creek Holiday Bazaar and three more bazaars in Forest Grove. Below the events are ways to give this season, starting with Christmas boxes for Banks families in need. If you know of a holiday bazaar, tree farm or winter event we should list, email us at [email protected]. -Chas Hundley, publisher This week Friday, Nov. 13 Holiday Head Start Night Market, 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at Zesti Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove. Local makers and small businesses selling holiday gifts, the food carts, a full bar and live music by the Nikki Jones Band from 6 p.m. Free admission.
Forest Grove News Times · Hillsboro, OR
Nearby: Hillsboro, ORHillsboro residents will soon have a new place to cash in their bottles and cans, with advanced technology designed to make recycling faster and more convenient. The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative will officially open its newest full-service BottleDrop Redemption Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1500 S.E. 21st Ave., the former Big 5 Sporting Goods location across from the Sunset Esplanade. At the new Hillsboro center, customers can redeem up to 350 eligible beverage containers per person each day and participate in BottleDrop’s Green Bag program, which allows users to drop off bags of containers to be counted and credited to their accounts. The Blue Bag program also allows supporters to donate their bottle and can refunds to participating nonprofit organizations. The facility will also feature the cooperative’s patented Stream Count technology, which rapidly counts large batches of beverage containers to reduce wait times and speed up the redemption process.
Forest Grove News Times · Hillsboro, OR
Nearby: Hillsboro, ORHillsboro City Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair declared victory Tuesday, Nov. 10, in her race against former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway for a seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners. The announcement follows a week of ballot counting that saw Sinclair steadily widen her lead in the District 4 runoff. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, Sinclair led with 51.1% of the vote, followed by Callaway with 48.1%. The margin marks a significant shift from election night, when Callaway was ahead by just 38 votes in the initial results. “To the people of Washington County, thank you for putting your trust in me,” Sinclair said in a statement. “Community, we did this! We ran a small, grassroots campaign powered by neighbors, not big money, and it’s a reminder that Washington County doesn’t come with a price tag.” Sinclair finished second, with 21.4% of the vote, in a six-candidate primary in May before advancing to the November runoff against Callaway, who came in first with 32.9%.
Forest Grove News Times · Hillsboro, OR
Nearby: Hillsboro, ORHillsboro City Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair holds the lead over former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway in the race for a seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, Sinclair led the District 4 race with 51.1% of the vote, followed by Callaway with 48.1%. Callaway and Sinclair advanced to the November runoff after neither secured the majority needed to win outright in the May 19 primary election. “I knew all along that it would be a close race,” Callaway told the News-Times on election night, noting only 38 votes separated him and Sinclair in the 8 p.m. results. “Now we’re waiting for more results.” “I’m excited that message has resonated with the community. This is clearly shown in the razor-thin margin between Callaway and me,” Sinclair said.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORThis week: Megan Blake led City Councilor Pearcia Bogroff by 21 votes for Banks City Council Position 5 in Friday's results; Kent Bond received the 2026 Banks Citizenship Award; and Banks Taphouse celebrated its grand opening on Main Street with a ribbon cutting.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORMegan Blake's lead over City Councilor Pearcia Bogroff in the race for Banks City Council Position 5 grew to 21 votes in Washington County's unofficial 4 p.m. Friday results, and Commissioner Nafisa Fai's lead over Commissioner Pam Treece in the race for county chair widened to 460 votes, too wide for an automatic recount if it holds through the certified count. Blake had 369 votes (50.83%) to Pearcia Bogroff's 348 (47.93%), with 9 write-in votes. Since Tuesday, when Blake led by 20, Blake gained three votes and Pearcia Bogroff two. Pearcia Bogroff led by 30 votes in the first results on election night and by four at midnight. The two were tied at 227 votes each in the Nov. 4 count, and Blake led by 18 in the Nov. 6 count. Under state law, a recount would be automatic only if the certified count shows a tie or a margin of no more than one-fifth of 1% of the votes for the two candidates. In a race this size, that means a tie or a one-vote margin.
Forest Grove News Times · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORStudents in the Hillsboro and Forest Grove school districts saw mixed results in math, science and English test scores during the 2025-26 school year, while Banks and Gaston reported improvements across all three subjects. That’s according to the Oregon Department of Education, which released results of the Oregon Statewide Assessments in late September, showing statewide proficiency rates on the rise for the second consecutive year. Statewide, proficiency increased by 1.4 percentage points in math, 0.8 percentage points in English language arts and 0.6 percentage points in science compared to the previous school year. Despite those improvements, fewer than half of Oregon students who took the assessments demonstrated proficiency in each of the three subjects. “These results give us reason to be encouraged, but also reinforce how much more there is to accomplish,” Oregon Department of Education Director Charlene Williams said in a release.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, OR“Just Another High School Play” at the Banks High School, a Dairy Creek history talk at the library, the St. Francis Christmas Bazaar in Roy and 14 more events this week.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORKent Bond, an assistant coach on two Banks Braves state championship baseball teams, received the 2026 Banks Citizenship Award at the Banks City Council meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10. Joey Bonin nominated him. "Kent Bond is the owner of Impact Physical Therapy of Banks, and he exemplifies the Banks values of hard work, service, and commitment to the community," Bonin wrote in the nomination, which was read aloud at the meeting and printed on the city's award sheet. "Kent regularly volunteers his time and expertise, providing free treatment to BHS athletes, and serving as the on-field trainer/triage personnel at football games," Bonin wrote. "This past year, he stepped up to the interim baseball coach after an unexpected vacancy, having already contributed to the Banks culture of excellence, leading the 2019 Braves to a state championship," the nomination said.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORThe year is 1976. Hagg Lake is brand new, and the water is rising. In Forest Grove, Poppio’s is still slinging slices, and over in Banks, the newly remodeled Brown Derby is serving breakfast until 2 a.m. Welcome to a snapshot of life in western Washington County exactly 50 years ago. This week, we dive into the archives of the Washington County News-Times from November 10, 1976, uncovering the stories that had our neighbors talking, from major civic changes to the rhythms of rural life. A Note on Historical Context: We present these clips as they originally appeared. Please be aware that newspapers of this era often contained language or viewpoints that are racist, sexist, or otherwise unethical by modern standards.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORBanks Taphouse celebrated its grand opening Friday evening, Nov. 6, with a ribbon cutting held by the Banks Chamber of Commerce at the new family-run taphouse on Main Street in downtown Banks. Brent VanLoo held a megaphone and addressed the crowd, and with a snip of a very large pair of scissors, the Banks Taphouse ceremonially joined the downtown Banks business community. Banks Taphouse opened on Halloween after a friends-and-family soft opening, and the ribbon cutting kicked off a grand opening weekend that ran through Sunday, Nov. 8, according to its Facebook page and website. "We're just doing this as a family," VanLoo, a Gales Creek resident who runs the taphouse, said in an interview the day before the ribbon cutting. "My daughter's been a cook and a chef for years." His daughter Nikki VanLoo has had her own food truck, the Nacho Witch, and some of the taphouse's fusion tacos and nachos are inspired by it, VanLoo said.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORMegan Blake's lead over City Councilor Pearcia Bogroff in the race for Banks City Council Position 5 grew to 20 votes in Washington County's unofficial 4 p.m. Tuesday results, and Commissioner Nafisa Fai moved ahead of Commissioner Pam Treece in the race for county chair. Blake had 366 votes (50.76%) to Pearcia Bogroff's 346 (47.99%), with 9 write-in votes. Since Friday, when Blake led by 18, Blake gained 24 votes and Pearcia Bogroff 22. Pearcia Bogroff led by 30 votes in the first results on election night and by four at midnight, and the two were tied at 227 votes each Wednesday. Under state law, a recount would be automatic only if the certified count shows a tie or a margin of no more than one-fifth of 1% of the votes for the two candidates. In a race this size, that means a tie or a one-vote margin. Washington County added Tuesday's update "in recognition of the public interest surrounding several close races," it said in a news post Monday. Another update is expected Friday.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORThe Banks Fire Log is written by the Banks Fire District. The Banks Post does not write, edit, or alter the contents of the fire log.
Columbia County Spotlight · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORIt was a good day to be a Scappoose Indian at the 4A State Cross Country Championships. Led by freshman Katherine Kessi, who won the individual championship, the Scappoose girls placed fourth in the team competition, scoring 101 points — nine points behind third-place Banks, 21 points behind second-place Philomath and 50 points behind winner La Grande. “I would definitely rate the girls race as one of the top races of the year,” Scappoose head coach Corey Hedger said. “They ran so tough, made some really strong moves in the middle of the race, pushed themselves to help separate from Klamath Union and get close to Banks. Our girls ran really tough, and I am super proud of them and the performance. The girls met the moment and met the expectation and then some.” Kessi — who splits time with the Indians’ girls soccer team — won the race with a time of 18:14.3.
The Banks Post · Banks, OR
Nearby: Banks, ORThis week: Megan Blake pulled ahead in the Banks City Council Position 5 race and Jimmy Bogroff led Mayor Marsha Kirk in Friday's election results; Banks High School drama students stage "Just Another High School Play" Nov. 12-14; and Banks Billiards is for sale at $900,000.