Russ Brown has resigned from The Dalles City Council.  Brown had won re-election to position three on the Council during the November 2018 election, having served one term before that.  The Council will fill the vacancy by appointment, as prescribed by the City Charter.  Interested candidates must have lived within The Dalles city limits for a least a year, and in the eastern district the position represents for 90 days.  Whoever is appointed will fill the remaining three years of Brown’s term.  The City plans to issue details on the application process this week, and is expected to take applications for three weeks.

Washington 14th District Representative Chris Corry’s bill to provide compensation to ranchers and farmers whose land leases are terminated early by the Washington Department of Natural Resources continues to make it way through the Legislature.  Corry says the bill it will be moved on Tuesday out of the Appropriations Committee onto the House floor, noting a year’s worth of work has brought a number of different groups to get behind it, and he expects it will get through both chambers of the Legislature and get to the Governor for a signature.  The bill provides for a compensation plan that would give the farmer or rancher net returns for the remaining years of a DNR lease that is being terminated.  State law allows DNR to use a non-default termination to replace a lessee with a higher-revenue tenant.  The terminations have been occurring as the state receives offers from companies interested in locating solar farms DNR lands.

Wasco County Commissioners have been holding worksessions with local contractors about increases in building code services fees as they try to recover costs incurred since the County took on responsibility for those services last July.  Commissioner Steve Kramer says they’ve been running in the red, and there is a need to increase the fees they charge, with the latest recommendation out of a meeting with County staff and building contractors is a 15 percent increase.  Kramer noted the contractor group also wanted the County to address codes enforcement involving unlicensed contractors.

A bill that would require Washington’s Secretary of State’s office to send statewide voters’ pamphlets along with election ballots to military service members where they are deployed passed the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee.  Goldendale Representative Gina Mosbrucker introduced House Bill 2916 after a military soldier testified before the committee that when deployed overseas, he receives his ballot, but not the voters’ guide.  The bill would require voters’ pamphlets to be mailed simultaneously as ballots are mailed so they are received at the same time.  It also requires any local voters’ pamphlets to also be sent at the same time.  The measure has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

In a short meeting, The Dalles City Council decided not to continue to study the possibility of contracting out public works services.  A contingent from The Dalles recently visited Ontario, where the firm Jacobs Engineering is contracted to provide those services.  Jacobs handles operation of The Dalles’ wastewater treatment plant.  City Manager Julie Krueger told the Council that Ontario went with Jacobs after losing a number of experienced public works employees at the same time.  But she noted The Dalles does not have that situation, adding a private firm seeks to make a profit, while The Dalles is able to take revenue from public works services and put it back into infrastructure.  Councilors agreed they saw no reason to continue the discussion, even though some did say they should keep the information learned from the Ontario visit on file should circumstances change in the future.

Hood River County Commissioners on Monday morning reached consensus on the exact wording for the ballot measure and explanatory statement for a five-year public safety local option levy to go on the May ballot.  Commissioners discussed the balance between specifics of exactly what the 78 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value will go to with keeping some flexibility to deal with unforeseen financial issues.  Commission Chair Mike Oates says the number one thing he’s heard from the public is they want 24/7 sheriff’s coverage, and it needs to be clear in the measure and explanatory statement that’s the intent of the levy.  The next step is a public hearing on the measure during the Commission’s February 18 meeting that begins at 6 p.m. in the County Administration Building.

 

The Dalles Community Action Team will make its semi-annual trip to Washington, D.C. next month.  The City and Port of The Dalles, Wasco County, North Wasco County School District 21, Columbia Gorge Community College, Northern Wasco PUD, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District take part in the long-running effort.  Port Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the group’s representatives will be seeking support of a number of different local projects that could be helped by federal policy support or money.  During this year’s trip, the team will be looking help for getting a back-up facility located in Wasco County for Internet service connecting to the east, ensuring a two million dollar appropriation for Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area counties for economic development comes through, and forest management issues.

Tuesday is the final day to cast ballots for a number of educational enrichment levies on the ballot in both Klickitat and Skamania counties.  The levies provide funding for school district programs that are not funded as “basic education” by the state of Washington.  In Klickitat County, the White Salmon Valley, Goldendale, Centerville, Glenwood, and Wishram school districts have levies on the ballot.  The Stevenson-Carson and Skamania districts have levies on the ballot in Skamania County.  Ballots must be dropped off at officially designated drop boxes, or sent by mail and postmarked by Tuesday night.

Port of Hood River facilities crews will be working to grade gravel roads and apply weed killing herbicides at three locations on the waterfront this month, prompting closures in all those areas to all vehicles and pedestrians at varying times due to safety concerns from heavy equipment and herbicide exposure.  The Hook Road is closed to all access from today until Friday. the Spit Access Road will be closed Tuesday through Friday of next week, and Marina Park will be closed from February 24 to 28.  Dog owners especially are urged to keep dogs away from the closed areas during those times.

Boys Basketball

Hood River Valley 66, The Dalles 59:  HRV built a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, then had to hang on through a late Riverhawk charge.  Noah Webster scored 16 points and Ian Searcy 14 for HRV, while Jacob Hernandez scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for The Dalles.

 

South Wasco 65, Condon-Wheeler 44:  The Redsides moved into first place in the Big Sky.

Sherman 59, Ione 46

Sherman 66, Echo 19

Dufur 44, Horizon Christian 39

Horizon Christian 53, Mitchell-Spray 46

King’s Way Christian 84, Columbia 43

Bickleton 49, Trout Lake 46

Sunnyside Christian 69, Trout Lake 34

Bickleton 54, Klickitat-Glenwood 35

Zillah 89, Goldendale 47

 

Girls Basketball

The Dalles 61, Hood River Valley 18:  Lauryn Belanger scored 19 points for The Dalles, as the Riverhawks stay a game back of Ridgeview atop the Intermountain Conference.

Stevenson 67, Seton Catholic 49

Columbia 58, Castle Rock 37:  Columbia and Stevenson finish in a tie for third place and the final Trico League spot in the Class 1A Southwest District tournament, so they will play a tiebreaker game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Stevenson.

Ione 50, Sherman 38

Echo 60, Sherman 32

Condon-Wheeler 52, South Wasco 48

Trout Lake 41, Sunnyside Christian 40

Zillah 75, Goldendale 25

 

Girls Wrestling

Hood River Valley’s Lauraine Smith finished fourth at 145 pounds to advance to state at the OSAA Girls North Regional at Century.  Smith won four out of six matches to advance.

 

Goldendale’s Tiana Watson won the 140 pound division at the District 5 tournament at Wahluke.  Kali Watson was second at 135 and Jordan Kiemele fourth at 140.

 

Boys Wrestling

Hood River Valley held off host Madras to win the White Buffalo Invitational.  Carson Farlow, Logan Jensen, and Angel Yanez all won their weight classes for the Eagles.  The Dalles finished sixth, with Steven Preston and Dusty Dodge winning their divisions.

 

Stevenson finished third and Columbia fourth at the Trico League sub-regional tournament.  Cody Eckman, Payden Webster, and Bowen Durkee won their weight divisions for the Columbia, while Solomon Mahoney and Logan Hoffberger were champions for Stevenson.

 

Blake Waddell’s title at 195 pounds led Goldendale to a fourth place finish at the SCAC West meet at Highland.