Wasco County has launched a dynamic mapping platform designed to significantly enhance public safety messaging and emergency response capabilities. The County says Perimeter will serve as a central hub for disseminating critical information in real-time to residents during emergencies. A user-friendly map interface provides a clear and visual representation of emergency situations, enabling residents to quickly understand the scope and impact of an event. The County says 9fficials will be able to post rapid updates on evacuation orders, road closures, and resource locations, ensuring swift and accurate information dissemination. In addition to providing real-time updates, Perimeter allows first responders to draw evacuation zones and share them directly from the scene of an emergency, significantly cutting down on delays in broadcasting evacuation information. Perimeter works in conjunction with the existing Citizen Alert system, ensuring multi-channel emergency notifications to those in affected areas. The public can access Perimeter and view real-time updates by visiting perimetermap.com/wascocounty-or from any internet-connected device.
Author: mbailey
NWPUD Receives Reliability Award
Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District has received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2024, one of only three recipients in Oregon. The recognition comes from the American Public Power Association, a trade group that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities. APPA helps electric utilities track power outage and restoration data through its subscription-based eReliability Tracker service, and once per year, its Reliability Team compares this data to national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Certificate of Excellence in Reliability recognizes utilities with in the top quartile based on EIA data from 2019-2023, meaning they experienced the shortest outage durations. Northern Wasco County PUD Chief Operating Officer Jeff Teel says the recognition reflects the dedication of their lineworkers, engineers, and field personnel who work in all conditions to maintain our infrastructure and quickly restore power when outages occur. Nationwide, the average public power customer has their lights out for less than half the amount of time that customers of other types of utilities do.
April 2 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Hood River Valley 6, Pendleton 0: Bodie Stuben threw a three-hit shutout to outduel Pendleton ace Evan Lehnert. Stuben struck out five while walking just one, and the Eagle defense played errorless ball behind him.
Softball
Pendleton 4, Hood River Valley 1: Kendall Murphy pitched a no-hitter for the Buckaroos while striking out 15, handing the Eagles their second loss of the season.
Track and Field
Dufur’s Zeb Stelzer won the boys’ 3,000 meters and Ellie Brock the girls’ 400 meters at the Buckaroo Roundup at St. Paul
Gorge Commission Funding In WA Senate Budget; But Not In House Plan
Funding for the Columbia River Gorge Commission is included in the Washington State Senate’s budget proposal, but not in the House. 17th District Senator Paul Harris says the Senate fiscal plan appropriated $4.5 million for the Gorge Commission, less than the $5.5 million it was receiving. Harris expects the Gorge Commission to be funded when the two chambers and the Governor hammer out a deal. Harris believe Governor Bob Ferguson will want to provide funding to the Commission, but he isn’t sure to what extent. Under the Columbia River Gorge Compact, the states of Oregon and Washington are to provide the same amount of funding to the Gorge Commission.
Funding For Early Learning Center Suspended
A project to remodel the former Chenowith Middle School in The Dalles to a child care center for up to 200 children along with acting as a climate resiliency hub has lost federal funding it needed to move forward with construction. The Columbia Gorge Education Service District says it was informed a $19.9 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that was formally contracted for in January was suspended. $16.6 million of that grant was to be dedicated to construction costs to remodel and update the facility. In addition, another $1.5 million that would have come from congressionally directed spending was eliminated from the Fiscal Year 2025 federal budget. ESD Superintendent Dana Pedersen called the news disappointing, adding they do remain committed to pursuing every funding option, but right now they don’t have the funding to proceed. Project partners North Wasco County School District 21 and Columbia Gorge Community College echoed that statement.
Entries Now Being Taken For PitchFest
Mid-Columbia Economic Development District has started taking applications for the third annual Gorge PitchFest, to be held May 29 at Granada Theatre in The Dalles. A group of five finalists will be selected from the applicants to pitch their entrepreneurial effort to a group of expert judges for cash awards to invest in the business. MCEDD Venture Catalyst Project Manager Jakob Lillvik says the minimum requirement to apply to take part is to be a registered business. Five prizes will be awarded totaling over $20,000. To apply for Gorge PitchFest, go to mcedd.org. Five finalists will be selected on May 1.
April 1 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Hood River Valley 11, The Dalles 5: Kingston McAdam’s two-run double and Bodie Stuben’s two-run single highlighted a six-run fifth inning that propelled the Eagles to the win. Will Booth drove in a pair of runs for the Riverhawks.
Softball
Scappoose 15, The Dalles 0: Scappoose scored nine runs in the first inning to cruise to the win.
Boys Tennis
Hood River Valley 6, Reynolds 2
English Receives Sheriff Of The Year Award
Hood River County Sheriff Matt English was selected as the Sheriff of the Year for 2024-25 by the Western States Sheriffs’ Association. English, who co-chairs the Government Affairs and Public Lands Committee, was recognized with his co-chair, Sheriff Tracy Glover of Kane County, Utah, for their continued work at a national level surrounding Public Lands and federal rulemaking that negatively impacts communities in the west and erodes the Office of Sheriff. For the past year, English has led the efforts to combat a rule proposed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration of the Department of Labor that the association believes, if implemented, would effectively threaten to end volunteer search and rescue programs in the nation. Additionally, English was appointed this month to the National Sheriffs’ Association Government Affairs committee. He becomes the only Oregon Sheriff to sit on a committee with NSA. The Western States Sheriffs’ Association represents eighteen western states and about 1200 Sheriffs.
CGCC Math Day Set For May 16
Columbia Gorge Community College is now taking registrations for its fourth annual Math Day on May 16 for middle and high school classes. CGCC’s Tom Penberthy it’s a field trip event in which students participate in various sessions that apply math in practical and fun ways. This year’s sessions will include the Mathematical Vibrations of Music, taxi cab math, and a perennial favorite reaching into the health care field, “How Not To Kill Your Patients.” To sign a math class up, teachers can go to cgcc.edu.
Food Bank Impacted By Loss Of Federal Program
The Columbia Gorge Food Bank will be impacted by the cancellation of part of the federal emergency food assistance program. Columbia Gorge Food Bank Executive Director Breen Goodwin says it was a subset of the program called the Commodity Credit Corporation. The cut represents 250-thousand pounds of food in a year, and Goodwin says they are reaching out to donation partners to try to make up for at least some of it. Columbia Gorge Food Bank supplies food pantries throughout Oregon’s Mid-Columbia counties. Goodwin says pantries in the region were averaging 2400 household visits per month last year, and she expects those numbers to grow this year.