The City of The Dalles will host a Community Informational Meeting on October 30 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall. The meeting will provide updates on three upcoming City projects: the Federal Street Plaza, the Westside Interceptor – Phase 2 project, and the First Street Streetscaping project. City staff will provide project overviews, construction timelines, and details on what to expect during construction, including traffic patterns, parking changes, and access. City officials say the meeting is intended to inform business and property owners, residents, and others who work, shop, or visit downtown about project impacts and progress. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions. Project updates will be posted online at www.thedalles.org/DTprojects, and staff contact information will be provided during the meeting for additional questions.
Author: mbailey
October 14 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Volleyball
Hood River Valley def. Centennial 26-24, 11-25, 17-25, 25-14, 15-13
LaCenter def. Stevenson 25-14, 25-11, 25-11
Dufur def. Lyle-Wishram 25-10, 25-11, 25-12
Bickleton def. Horizon Christian 25-20, 25-18, 25-21
Sherman def. Spray-Mitchell-Wheeler 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17
Boys Soccer
Centennial 3, Hood River Valley 1
Girls Soccer
Hood River Valley 1, Centennial 0
Fort Vancouver 3, Columbia 1
LaCenter 4, Stevenson 1
HR County Prepares To Do Organizational & Fiscal Sustainability Analysis
Hood River County is planning to carry out a review of its 2022 Organizational Assessment and a fiscal sustainability analysis. The County is planning to contract with the firm Baker Tilly to do the work. County Administrator Allison Williams explains with a number of new department heads in the County, how they might organize is a bit different than it was just a few years ago, but most importantly this study will examine the County’s fiscal future. The County will receive options to address fiscal gaps which include expenditure controls and cost shifts, service delivery model changes, revenue enhancements and service delivery reductions The County Commission will consider approving the contract with Baker Tilly at their meeting this Monday.
TD Council Approves Ordinance Revisions
The Dalles City Council unanimously approved revisions to the City’s public nuisance ordinance for the first time in 27 years. City Manager Jonathan Kara said the goal was to make the rules fairer and easier to apply for residents, business, and staff, with a goal for the City to stop harm quickly with the lightest effective tool. The changes more clearly define who is responsible for a property, expand how an incident can be proven beyond just arrests or citations, and shortens the look-back period for patterns of behavior from 12 months to six. Mayor Rich Mays says the ordinance revisions should provide more options to reach resolutions. Kara said City staff will track outcomes as a result of the ordinance changes, and come back in 12 months.
Two Juveniles Found After Leaving NORCOR
The Dalles Police Department found a pair of juveniles who fled from the juvenile portion of the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility. A statement from The Dalles Police Department indicated it received the call that the two juveniles were missing from NORCOR on Sunday. They had been at NORCOR to participate in programs through an Oregon Youth Authority contract for services, and were not in secure detention at the time of their unauthorized departure. TDPD officers located the juveniles in the community and both fled when confronted. Officers recovered one shortly after they fled and the other several hours later. Both were returned to the Wasco County Juvenile Department and have since been relocated out of the county to other service providers.
TD Art Center Establishes Artist-in-Residence At Colonel Wright Elementary
The Dalles Art Center has established a new Artist-in-Residence program at Colonel Wright Elementary School, featuring celebrated watercolor artist Elizabeth Zimmerman. It’s funded by the Oregon Arts Commission’s Arts Learning Grant, which brings professional artists directly into the classroom. Over the course of the residency, Zimmerman will lead students through a series of watercolor workshops, and students will learn to express their personal stories and ideas through art, fostering both confidence and creativity. The residency will culminate with students preparing original pieces to be included in the annual Student Art Show at The Dalles Art Center. In addition to working with students, Zimmerman will collaborate with the school’s teachers to integrate watercolor into the everyday curriculum, instructing educators in watercolor techniques.
October 13 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Volleyball
The Dalles def. Gladstone 25-14, 25-15, 25-15
Dufur def. Open Door Christian 25-15, 25-20, 25-15
Girls Soccer
Riverdale 2, Trout Lake-Horizon Christian 0
October 10-11 Prep Sports Roundup
Friday Schedule
Football
Milwaukie 28, Hood River Valley 25
The Dalles 31, Ontario 14
King’s Way Christian 40, Stevenson 14
Dufur 30, Echo 6
Jordan Valley 60, South Wasco 8
Volleyball
Sherman def. Southwest Christian 25-15, 25-19, 18-25, 26-24
Sherman def. Adrian 25-16, 25-14, 25-14
South Wasco def. Horizon Christian 25-8, 25-14, 25-13
Cross Country
The Dalles was seventh and Hood River Valley 12th in the boys’ varsity silver division at the Rose City Invitational. Tyson Long of The Dalles was 23rd and HRV’s Victor Coffman 27th. Syl Perrin of Hood River Valley was 26th in the girls’ varsity championship division, and The Dalles’ Abigail Pope was 37th in the girls’ varsity silver division.
Melody Stock of Trout Lake was third in the small schools’ girls varsity race at the Max Jensen Invitational in Richland.
Westbound I-84 Reduced To One Lane At McCord Creek Starting Thursday
Westbound Interstate 84 will be reduced to one lane around the clock near Exit 37 at McCord Creek starting Thursday until late in the year. One eastbound lane has been closed since early September. The Oregon Department of Transportation says starting Thursday, one westbound lane on I-84 will close while crews drill under the bridges, start building a retaining wall and finish prepping the work zone on the highway for the crossover traffic configuration. The retaining wall will support the westbound bridge foundation while the aging eastbound bridge is demolished in spring 2026. ODOT encourages zipper merging when approaching closed lanes like those experienced at McCord Creek. Zipper merging is when drivers remain in their current lane until the lane ends so traffic can take turns merging. This allows drivers to use all the available space in each lane while reducing backups. It also promotes merging at slower speeds to reduce the chance of a crash. In addition, the NE Frontage Road on-ramp to eastbound I-84 at the Elowah Falls Trailhead parking lot is closed. Travelers accessing eastbound I-84 from NE Frontage Road must detour to the on-ramps at Ainsworth State Park at Exit 35.
East Fork Habitat Enhancement Project Nearly Done
A habitat enhancement project on 1.7 miles of the East Fork of the Hood River is nearly complete. This project, which is a partnership between the Hood River Watershed Group, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, and six private landowners, enhances and reconnects 1.7 miles of in-stream and off-channel habitat on the Lower East Fork Hood River, improving habitat complexity and increasing availability for salmon and steelhead spawning habitat and juvenile rearing habitat. Watershed Group Restoration and Outreach Project Manager Alix Danielson says the project attempts to take what is now a single thread channel and move it out across any available flood plain into multiple channels. The project also used engineered log jams, built in a way that looks as natural possible but also will stay in place to a 100-year flood event.