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Only One Lead Change After Wednesday Vote Count In Washington

Posted on by mbailey

Both Klickitat and Skamania counties have updated their vote counts in Washington’s top-two primary, and only one race saw a change in the leader.

In Washington’s Third Congressional District, Republican State Senator John Braun has moved ahead of Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Braun now has 68,432 votes to Perez’s 65,224. Democrat Brent Hennrich remains in third with 28,062 votes, while the remaining ballots are split among six other candidates.

In the race for Washington’s Fourth Congressional District seat being vacated by Dan Newhouse, Republican Amanda McKinney continues to lead with 31,557 votes. Democrat John Duresky has 27,963, followed by Republican Jerrod Sessler with 12,854. The remaining votes are divided among eight other candidates.

In the Klickitat County Commission Position Two race, incumbent Lori Zoller leads with 694 votes. Andy Kallinen has 434, and Gene Klejeski has 387.

For Klickitat County Sheriff, Dwayne Matulovich remains well in front with 2,840 votes. Tony Warren has 1,318, and John Bruce has 791.

In the race for Klickitat PUD Commission Position Three, Logan Siebert leads with 786 votes, followed by Dan Gunkel with 599 and Dan Christopher with 259.

Voters in the Lyle Fire District are overwhelmingly supporting a property tax levy for fire protection and emergency medical services. The measure, which would set the levy at $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed property value, is passing with 159 yes votes to 37 no votes.

In Washington’s 17th Legislative District, Position One, Democrat Ben Christly leads Republican incumbent Kevin Waters by a vote of 19,426 to 16,323. Thomas Haynes of the Pro Gun Liberal Party has 1,240 votes.

In the 17th District Position Two race, Democrat Diana Perez leads Republican incumbent David Stuebe, 20,243 votes to 16,637.

In the 14th Legislative District Position One race, Republican incumbent Gloria Mendoza leads Democrat Chelsea Dimas, 3,723 to 3,217. William Chichenoff has 410 votes.

And in the 14th District Position Two contest, Republican incumbent Deb Manjarrez leads with 4,159 votes. Democrat Ezequiel Morfin has 2,305, and fellow Democrat Tony Sandoval has 1,659.

Additional vote counts from Klickitat and Skamania counties are expected Thursday.

Grasshopper Fire Slows Near Highway 35

Posted on by mbailey

Grasshopper Fire officials say while the fire did move west last night, it has not crossed Highway 35.  California Complex Incident Management Team 6 Operations Section Chief Anthony Rapoza says the fire intensity should lessen as it nears the highway.  Fire Behavior Analyst John Fisher says the fire pushed out of Badger Creek across Bennett Ridge, and it is slowly backing down toward Highway 35.  He added everything on the ridge above Lookout Mountain is holding.  Although the fire remains several miles away, structural task forces completed triage around Mt. Hood Meadows Resort.  Fire lines to the south and east continue to hold.  The fire has burned 39,439 acres, and containment is at 20%.  The Mount Hood National Forest issued a new closure order for the area.  Hood River County has not made any changes to evacuation levels as of this morning, including Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation remains in effect for areas south of Forest Road 44, including Mount Hood Meadows.

Unhealthy Air Quality In The Gorge

Posted on by mbailey

Smoke settled into the Columbia Gorge Wednesday, creating unhealthful air quality in much of the region.  As of Wednesday afternoon, monitors around the Hood River Valley were continuing to register an air quality index between 300 and 500, even though they were showing a slight drop from mid-morning.  Those numbers qualify as hazardous to health.  East of Hood River was experiencing afternoon AQI’s just below 200, while in the Stevenson-Carson area they had increased from earlier in the day to the upper 200’s, which also increases health risks for everyone with 24 hours of exposure.  The Hood River County Health Department advises people to limit their smoke exposure by closing windows and doors, staying indoors, or relocating to a cleaner air space.  Run an air conditioner, HEPA filter, or DIY air filter to clean your indoor air.  If you must go outside, a properly fitted N95 mask can help, and avoid outdoor physical activity.  Smoke is expected to decrease in the Gorge as winds shift to the west into tomorrow, with strong west winds expected over the weekend.  Air quality index information is available at smokereadygorge.org.

Wasco County Commission Approves Oak Ranch RV Contract

Posted on by mbailey

Wasco County Commissioners approved a $2.568 million construction contract with Crestline Construction to move forward on development of the Oak Ranch RV Park on the County’s 159 property west of The Dalles.  The County has a $1,000,000 grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to develop the park that was actually partially constructed years ago, but was never finished.  The County has a permit from the Columbia River Gorge Commission in hand to do the work, and new Commissioner Rodger Nichols, who is also on the Gorge Commission, said the time is now to move forward.  It is a design-build contract, so some elements are still to be worked out.  Commissioners gave County Administrative Officer Tyler Stone the ability to approved necessary change orders based on the final design.

Wasco County Enters MOU With Landfill To Study Road Access

Posted on by mbailey

Wasco County is entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Wasco County Landfill to explore whether a private access road to the landfill is feasible.  County Public Works Director Arthur Smith says heavy truck traffic to the landfill has exceeded the design capacity of Five Mile and Steele roads, and the intersection with Highway 197, accelerating road damage and driving up county maintenance costs.  County Administrative Tyler Stone says landfill owner Waste Connections would build, own and maintain the road, while the benefits to reducing use of the County roads is a good reason to provide assistance.  County officials emphasized the road access to the landfill has been an issue for a number of years, and this is not in anticipation of the facility ending up being a location for disposal of remains from the planned Portland Harbor superfund cleanup.

East Fork Irrigation Asking For Conservation

Posted on by mbailey

East Fork Irrigation District in Hood River County has asked for conservation due to critically low river levels, asking users to reduce consumption by 70% to prevent mandatory reductions in diversion.  State and federal require the district to maintain a flow of 27 cubic feet per second after diversion from the Hood River.   Last week, its river reading was only 26 cfs, down from 58.6 cfs just a week prior.  The district attributes the drastic decline is to an ultra-low snowpack this year, leading to record low river levels.  The East Fork District some ways to help include running just one sprinkler in your yard rather than multiple units, scale back wheel lines from two to one, and for orchards if you usually run ten lines, consider reducing to six to seven.  Those with questions can call the East Fork District at 541-300-8361.

Tuesday Night Vote Counts In Klickitat & Skamania County Primaries

Posted on by mbailey

The first vote totals from Tuesday night’s Washington primary election are in, with the top two candidates in each race advancing to the November general election.

In the race for Klickitat County Commissioner, District Two, incumbent Lori Zoller leads with 634 votes. Andy Kallinen is in second with 377 votes, while Gene Klejeski has 338.

The race to succeed longtime Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer is led by Dwayne Matulovich with 2,467 votes, or about 58 percent of the total. Tony Warren is second with 1,130 votes, and John Bruce has 656.

Voters in the Lyle Fire District are strongly backing a property tax levy for fire protection and emergency medical services. The measure, which would set the levy at one dollar and 15 cents per one thousand dollars of assessed value, is passing 142 to 31, with more than 82 percent voting yes.

In the Home Valley Water District, a maintenance and capital improvement fund levy was being approved 55 to 29.

In the 14th Legislative District, Republican incumbent Gloria Mendoza leads the race for House Position One with 3,417 votes. Democrat Chelsea Dimas is second with 2,910 votes, while William Chichenoff has 372. Mendoza and Dimas appear headed for the November ballot.

For House Position Two in the 14th District, Republican incumbent Deb Manjarrez has 2,654 votes. Democrat Ezequiel Morfin is second with 1,582 votes, followed by fellow Democrat Tony Sandoval with 1,274. Morfin currently holds a lead of just over 300 votes for the second spot.

In the 17th Legislative District, Democrat Ben Christly leads the race for House Position One with 16,385 votes. Republican incumbent Kevin Waters has 13,706 votes, while Thomas Haynes of the Pro Gun Liberal Party has 994. Christly and Waters are on track to advance.

For House Position Two, Democrat Diana Perez leads with 17,020 votes. Republican incumbent David Stuebe has 13,975 votes. Both candidates will move on to the general election.

In Washington’s 4th Congressional District, where Congressman Dan Newhouse is stepping down, Republican Amanda McKinney leads the field with 25,633 votes. Democrat John Duresky is second with 22,657. Republican Jerrod Sessler is third with 10,426 votes, while the remaining votes are divided among eight other candidates. McKinney and Duresky currently hold the two November spots.

The closest major race is in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District. Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez leads with 54,132 votes, just 263 votes ahead of Republican State Senator John Braun, who has 53,869. Democrat Brent Hennrich is third with 21,290 votes, while six other candidates trail. Gluesenkamp Perez and Braun appear set for a closely watched rematch this fall.

Election officials in Klickitat and Skamania counties will release updated vote totals Wednesday as ballots continue to be counted.

City of Hood River Looking For Planning Commissioners

Posted on by mbailey

The City of Hood River is looking for volunteers to serve on the Planning Commission.  The city is accepting applications to fill vacancies on the commission, with terms running through September 30, 2030.  Applicants must live within the Hood River city limits or the city’s Urban Growth Boundary.  The Planning Commission conducts public hearings on zoning matters, makes recommendations to the City Council on land use issues, and helps update the city’s Comprehensive Plan.  The commission meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 5:30 p.m., with occasional special meetings.  A childcare stipend is available for members attending city-related meetings.  Applications are due by September 1.  More information and application forms are available at Hood River City Hall or on the City of Hood River website.

YouthThink Series Continues With Presentation On Loneliness

Posted on by mbailey

YouthThink of Wasco County will continue it’s the More You Know series next week with a virtual presentation on loneliness and isolation.  YouthThink Executive Director Debby Jones says this has become a greater issue as the influence of mobile devices have grown.  She adds they may provide communication, but not connections that provide secure attachments.  Jones points out research shows young people feeling loneliness and isolation are at increased risk of being susceptible to addictions down the road.  The virtual presentation will be on Thursday, August 13 at 6 p.m.  To sign-up, go to youththink.net.

Flood Plain Restoration Project Underway

Posted on by mbailey

Work is underway as River Mile 3 of the mainstem of the Hood River to restore the river to its normal flood plain at that location.  Hood River Watershed Group Executive Director Cindy Thieman says about 100 years ago berms were put in to protect a pipeline sending water to the old Powerdale Powerhouse.  This project is intended to reverse that, and provide good habitat for fish.  The channel will provide a refuge for juvenile fish and provide a variety of habitat for different types of fish species.  Thieman says the land is owned by Columbia Land Trust, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Bonneville Power Administration, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

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