Spanning the State: Summer, you turn me upside down, Edition.

Carla Axtman

This is the time of year when the Portland area and Willamette Valley show the rest of the globe why we can endure eight months straight of gloom and rain. This part of the state shines like a jewel during the summer. From our lush forests to the beautiful fields of wheat, oats, grasses and other crops, the view can be breath taking.

So with a hearty thanks to The Cars for this week's title inspiration, let's Span the State!

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Speaking of summer, it's been an especially hot one in the Medford area. The month of July brought the warmest average temperatures for that area since the National Weather Service began keeping records, around 1911. Things averaged out to 78.9 degrees, with the temperature topping out at 106 degrees on July 25th.

Last week in Estacada, the Tooth Taxi made a visit to Clackamas River Elementary School's parking lot offering free dental care to local kids. The Tooth Taxi is a converted mobile home that now serves as a high-tech dental clinic. Funded through donations, the Tooth Taxi focuses on areas with a high concentration of students on free and reduced lunch, and is usually parked at a school for one week at a time.

Oregon Public Broadcasting is expanding further into Yamhill County. The addition of a digital television translator on the hill north of Newberg will allow OPB to broadcast into Newberg and Dundee. These are some pretty conservative swaths of Oregon, so I wonder how they're going to handle Frontline and Nova (science!) and don't even get me started on that liberal Rick Steves. This could be the secret weapon to turning Yamhill County blue (but I doubt it..LOL)

With just a month until Roundup, the City of Pendleton finds itself short staffed for police. Pendleton adds about 50,000 visitors during the annual rodeo, so being short 3 officers can't be especially helpful.

Finally, this article was just too great to resist: Great Fishing Spots in Grant County. Honestly, it's not even an article, it's just a laundry list of great fishing holes, when they're stocked and the best time to catch fish.

By Carla Axtman Aug. 05, 2013