A man from The Dalles has been charged with federal child exploitation crimes after he allegedly persuaded a child to engage in a sexually explicit video chat with him on Discord, a popular instant messaging social platform.  The U.S. Attorney’s office for Oregon says 40-year-old Jason Kroeskop has been charged with enticing and sexually exploiting a child online.  According to court documents, special agents from Homeland Security Investigations in Tulsa, Oklahoma were contacted by local law enforcement in August to request assistance with an investigation involving the online exploitation of a child under 12.  The documents say investigators allege that Kroeskop pretended to be an Oregon teenager to convince the child to engage in sexually explicit acts during a video chat on Discord.  He also recorded the video chat without the victim’s knowledge.  Investigators tracked Kroeskop’s Discord account to an internet protocol address registered to his residence in The Dalles.  The U.S. Attorney Office says last Thursday, HSI special agents from Portland contacted Kroeskop at his place of employment, was arrested without incident, and on Friday he made his initial appearance in federal court and detained until further court proceedings.  Anyone who has information about other crimes allegedly committed by Kroeskop, or the physical or online exploitation of any children, are encouraged to contact Homeland Security at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.  

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area plans to conduct prescribed burning in the eastern Gorge sometime in October or November when weather, fuel conditions, and air quality become favorable.  This prescribed burning will take place in Washington between Bingen and Lyle on National Forest System lands.  Burn areas will include the ridge located between Catherine and Major Creeks, and the south side of Catherine Creek.  The prescribed fire projects are located and designed to be controlled to reduce the potential for adverse effects, and for escape as a wildland fire.  Scenic Area officials say these projects will follow local air quality standards and are coordinated with the Washington Department of Natural Resources to reduce the impacts of smoke to our neighbors, cooperators, and surrounding communities.  Smoke may be visible on Highway 14 and Interstate 84 at times during the burns.  To minimize impacts from smoke, fire officials will determine burn dates based on weather conditions, and publish details on the Scenic Area Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The Dalles Public Works will be conducting asphalt maintenance on West 10th St. from Cherry Heights to Walnut, weather permitting, starting next Monday and continuing through October 20.  Work will progress from west to east.  Work is scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.  Lane closures will be in effect on W. 10th St. throughout the day.  Intersections, business and residential access will be partially closed all day in each work area and opened to all motor vehicle traffic at the end of the day.  Motor vehicles and bicyclists will be detoured to adjacent side streets.   While W. 10th Street will remain open to traffic throughout the project, use of alternate routes is encouraged.  Pedestrian and sidewalk access to businesses and residences remain open through the duration of this work.  No parking will be allowed within the daily work areas due to heavy equipment use.  No parking signs will be place on the curb 48 hours before the project moves into each work area.  

Football

Wilsonville 52, Hood River Valley 6

Crook County 26, The Dalles 0

Seton Catholic 45, Columbia 21

Kalama 30, Stevenson 20

Sherman 66, Enterprise 46

South Wasco 47, Dayville-Monument 20

Goldendale 55, Granger 0

  Girls Soccer

Banks 2, Trout Lake 1

  Volleyball

South Wasco def. Condon 25-7, 25-2, 25-14

South Wasco def. Bickleton 25-6, 25-15, 25-6

Klickitat-Glenwood def. Bickleton 25-20, 25-16, 25-17

Klickitat-Glenwood def. Condon 25-15, 25-21, 25-20

Dufur def. Lyle-Wishram 18-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 15-3

Ione-Arlington def. Dufur 25-5, 25-13, 25-13

Ione-Arlington def. Lyle-Wishram 25-16, 25-17, 25-13

Spray-Mitchell-Wheeler def. Horizon Christian 25-23, 25-23, 25-11

Sherman def. Horizon Christian 25-7, 25-17, 25-9

  Cross Country

Hood River Valley finished fourth and The Dalles sixth in the boys’ half of the Champoeg Invitational.  The Riverhawks’ Juan Diego Contreras finished fourth, while Hood River Valley’s Elliot Hawley was seventh.  HRV was fifth in the girls’ standings and The Dalles was eighth.  Phoebe Wood was the top Eagle finisher in tenth, and The Dalles’ Alaina Casady was 17th.

  Sean Henrikson finished third in the boys’ run for Goldendale at the Apple Ridge Invitational.

The Dalles Public Works Department says water quality testing conducted at three locations near the 9^th Street Bridge over Mill Creek show that conditions have returned to normal for this time of year.   Signs which were placed at locations of public river access on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River, to warn of contaminated water, were taken down Thursday afternoon.  The signs went up last Friday after a Public Works crew found a manhole on the 9th Street Bridge over Mill Creek had been plugged by vandals.  They found the lock had been broken and vandals had thrown rocks and concrete pieces into the manhole, causing a plugged sewer pipe.  Sewage overflowed directly into Mill Creek and into the Columbia River.  The sewer pipe was cleared and the pipe was repaired on the day the problem was found.  The Public Works Department notes that Mill Creek is posted with “No Trespassing” signs year-around throughout The Dalles to allow for undisturbed fish spawning.

Low-income residents in need of assistance with their winter energy bills in Skamania and Klickitat counties can request an appointment to apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program beginning on Monday.  Residents can call WAGAP’s Energy Assistance phone lines at 509-493-2662, ext. 202 or 800-755-1192, ext. 202.  Wishram and Goldendale residents are asked to dial extension 369.  Callers will be prompted to leave a message including their name, a phone number they can be reached at, the community in which they reside, and whether they are age 60 or older.  Names will be added to a waitlist for a return call to schedule an appointment.  To qualify for the program, participants must earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level.  WAGP is also planning in-person visits starting in md-October to local senior meal sites to help seniors apply for assistance with energy, water, and weatherization needs.

The Dalles Public Works crews will be cleaning storm water catch basins in the downtown area from Monday through Thursday of next week.  Crews are scheduled to work on First, Second, Third and Fourth Streets from the west side of Lincoln Street to the east side of Taylor Street.  Work will occur between 4:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day, with the overnight schedule to limit disruption to traffic and businesses.  City officials ask cars to be parked so that the catch basins are accessible during the night work hours.  Temporary traffic controls will not be used during these low traffic hours.  Stay well clear of the vacuum truck when the truck lights are flashing.  If you have questions, please call The Dalles Public Works office at (541) 296-5401.

Weekend closures of The Dalles Bridge will resume this evening, as crews continue work on replace the bridge deck on Highway 197 across the Columbia River.  The Oregon Department of Transportation says weekend closures will be Thursday nights from 8 p.m. through Monday mornings at 6 a.m., and could last into February.  Unexpected delays like severe winter storms could extend this timeline.  The bridge will be open for the weekends of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.  ODOT says without the closures, there is no other way for crews to complete the complex deck replacement, adding the closures ensure the bridge won’t be entirely shut down for an extended period of time.  Emergency responders like police, fire and EMS will be able to use the road on the dam for emergency access across the river.

Applications are being taken for summer jobs in 2023 on the Mt. Hood National Forest. Temporary positions are open for applications now through October 6. Mt. Hood National Forest positions are available for recreation crews, wilderness rangers, trails crews, wildland firefighters, aquatics & fisheries field work, plants monitoring & invasive plant control, forestry, civil engineering support in Sandy, and maintenance work in Parkdale. Duty stations include Sandy, Zigzag, Dufur, and Parkdale. Visit the Mt. Hood National Forest website for more info and a list of all seasonal positions across the Forest. Apply for all jobs on www.USAJOBS.gov

The Hood River County Transportation District, operating as Columbia Area Transit, is seeking community input on potential transit service options. As part of the update to CAT’s 2017 Transit Master Plan, the proposed options reflect input from a community-needs survey earlier this year. Hood River County is experiencing a growing population, an increasing draw for recreation and tourism, and ever-expanding local and regional employment opportunities, and CAT officials say they want to learn how transit can address those conditions with supportive transportation options. CAT invites local and regional residents to weigh in on proposed transit service options and take a brief online survey in English and Spanish. The survey is at engagecatbus.org.