The Washington State Patrol is looking for anyone who might have information on a fatal accident between a semi-truck and automobile last Saturday afternoon on Highway 14 at milepost 54 in Skamania County. A red passenger vehicle attempted to pass the semi, and a westbound passenger vehicle was forced to the right shoulder to avoid hitting the red passing vehicle head-on. The westbound vehicle lost control, crossed the centerline, and was struck by the commercial vehicle in the eastbound lane. Both the commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle caught fire, and the driver of the passenger car suffered fatal injuries. WSP Detectives are looking for the driver and/or passengers of the red passenger vehicle that passed the commercial vehicle. They are also asking anyone who was traveling through the area between 3:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. and has dash-cam video to please review the recordings for the red passenger vehicle. If you have information regarding this fatal collision, contact WSP Detective Dave Ortner at (360) 449-7942.

Football

Hood River Valley at Centennial, ppd. to Monday night

Sherman 52, Pilot Rock 16

  Volleyball

Stevenson def. Columbia 3-2

  Boys Soccer

The Dalles 4, Gladstone 0

  Girls Soccer

The Dalles at Gladstone, ppd. to Friday

LaCenter 5, Columbia 2

Cle-Elum-Roslyn 3, Goldendale 0

  Cross Country

Goldendale’s boys won a six-school EWAC cross country meet at Apple Ridge.  The Timberwolves’ Sean Henrikson was second and Issac Call third as Goldendale earned four of the top eight places.  Goldendale’s Emily Cazares finished second in the girls’ race.

The first season of Hood River County’s parking permit program at a number of county forest trailheads to help support management and maintenance of the trail system went well.  County Forester Doug Thiesies told County Commissioners they took in $84,000 in revenue while selling 4300 permits.  He added people were overwhelmingly supportive of the program, but also wanting to be sure the money is used for what it is advertised to be intended for.  Thiesies said the number achieved this year was with an April rollout of the program, while they will start in January in 2023.  He also said they will probably look at adding more parking zones to the program in the future.

Wasco County Commissioners approved the first reading of a host of revisions to the County’s Land Use Development Ordinance.  The package includes a number of changes required by the state, but also optional changes including accessory forest dwellings in the F-2 zone, optional exclusive farm zone uses, including agritourism criteria, proposed new farm dwelling setbacks, a military airspace overlay zone, time, place, and manner regulations for psilocybin service centers, and removal of a required permit for roof mounted solar panels under 35 feet in height.  Agritourism regulations had brought the most input, but County Planner Kelly Howsley-Glover says after public input they were able to reach a comfortable place.  The first readings of the revisions were approved, and another hearing and second reading is set for November 2.

Nesmith Point and Wyeth Trails reopened Thursday for the first time since the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire.  Over 17 months, the Forest Service and partner crews dug through mudslides, cast aside rockslides and used crosscut saws to remove hundreds of burned and windfallen trees to re-establish these rugged wilderness trails.  The Nesmith Point Trail starts at the John B. Yeon State Park Trailhead and is a favorite early spring conditioning hike.  Starting in the Wyeth Campground, the Wyeth Trail enters Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness and continues within the National Scenic Area for the first five miles before crossing the boundary into Mt. Hood National Forest.  Hikers should continue to avoid areas burned during Eagle Creek Fire during and immediately following high winds, heavy rains, and winter storms, as these conditions continue to trigger tree fall and debris slides.  Five trails remain closed until trail crews are able to rebuild or reroute the trails as well as remove hazards caused by the fire, which destabilized the landscape when it burned away the vegetation along steep slopes.  Visit the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area website to check the status of Forest Service hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge.

Mt. Hood Meadows announced plans to open its winter season on Friday, November 25 – the day after Thanksgiving.  The resort intends to launch into daily operations, conditions permitting – and operate through April 29 for a 148-day schedule.  Night operations are scheduled to launch December 16 five nights a week, Wednesdays through Sundays through the middle of March for a planned 68 nights of riding.  The hourly operational schedule changes during holidays and is posted on the resort website.  Meadows finished last season – also a La Niña – with 499 inches, well above its 430 inch seasonal snowfall average.  Meadows also says it may offer preview days or weekends in advance of Thanksgiving, depending on when the snow arrives.

The Port of Hood River and the Bi-State Working Group hosted legislators from Oregon and Washington to talk about the urgent need to replace the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge and requested support for additional state funding.   Port of Hood River Executive Director Kevin Greenwood says over 30 legislators and staff attended, and the group discussed why Gorge communities strongly support replacing the bridge on an accelerated timeline.   He added many of the legislators who attended are involved with their transportation committees.  Attendees walked under the bridge on the Oregon-side shoreline path to view up close the current condition of the structure, including peeling paint, the steel grating for the road’s surface, and damage from rust.

The intersections of 11th and Trevitt and 12th and Trevitt in The Dalles will be closed on Monday.  It’s part of the utility upgrade project on Trevitt Street that started in mid-September and will continue into November.  The throughway at 10th Street will remain open on Monday.  Crestline Construction is the contractor for The Dalles Public Works Department on the project.  The work involves replacement of sewer and storm main lines on Trevitt between 9th and 12th.  People should use detour routes for local access, and to get to Sorosis Park and Colonel Wright Elementary School.

Volleyball

The Dalles def. Molalla 25-19, 25-23, 25-22

Hood River Valley def. Hillsboro 25-19, 25-18, 27-25

  Big Sky League Volleyball Playoffs at Condon

Sherman def. Dufur 25-12, 25-14, 25-15

Spray-Mitchell-Wheeler def. Klickitat-Glenwood 25-8, 25-16, 25-21

  Boys Soccer

Hood River Valley at Milwaukie, ccld.

  Girls Soccer

Hood River Valley 3, Milwaukie 2

  Cross Country

The Dalles won both the boys and girls team competitions at the Pendleton Birch Creek Invitational.  Juan Diego Contreras and Leo Lemann had a 1-2 finish in the boys’ race as the Riverhawks had seven of the top ten finishers.  Alana Casady won the girls’ race, with The Dalles grabbing five of the top ten places.

Hood River County Commissioners voted 3-1 to uphold a Planning Director’s decision to grant a Conditional Use Permit to Meadows North for a Bed and Breakfast Facility on 11000 Cooper Spur Road.  Thrive Hood River had appealed the granting of the permit.  Commissioner Arthur Babitz was the lone no vote, saying that once a lessee was required to operate a bed and breakfast as a condition for living in the residence, the commercial use was no longer subordinate to the residential use as required under the County’s short-term rental regulations.  But Commissioner Les Perkins said that the way those regulations are written, that’s not the case.  He felt once the person lives on the premises, the contractual relationship between the lessee and lessor does not matter.  Commission Chair Mike Oates and Commissioner Karen Joplin also voted to uphold the Planning Director’s decision.