East Scenic Drive in The Dalles is closed except to local traffic as work on structural improvements began Wednesday.  Large drilling equipment and steel beams will be in the roadway.  The work will take approximately one month to complete, with the street closed to thru traffic for the duration of the work.  Those with questions can call Kenny Kempf of Crestline Construction at 541-506-4000.

With the start of the school year just a month away, officials are needed for school sports of all kinds.  Robert Jamack of the Mid-Columbia Football Officials Association says his sport needs another ten officials to be able to fully meet the staffing requirements for all the games scheduled in the area.  He says among the best things about being officials are the people you work with, and providing a service to the student-athletes.  Those who are interested in becoming a sports official can go to newofficials.org.

The Coalition for Preventing Abuse in Klickitat County will hold a series of classes designed around promoting healthy development and reducing risky behavior for children as they enter their teenage years.  Coalition coordinator Sunday Sutton says the five-session program called Guiding Good Choices is designed to help strengthen the bonds between children and their parents, noting the ages from nine to 14 can be very risky, as youth begin to take more guidance from their peer group.  The free program will take place on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. each evening at Father’s House Fellowship in Goldendale.  For information go to cpakc.org or call 509-281-2330.  

The Dalles City Council approved a contract with Tank Industry Consultants to design repairs of the roof of the Sorosis Reservoir.  Recent inspections found significant deterioration and metal loss on many of the 68-year-old reservoir’s interior roof rafters and bolts due to corrosion.  Until the Vista Reservoir was completed eight years ago, the Sorosis Reservoir could not be taken offline for repairs.  Public Works Director Dave Anderson says the structure of the tank has been compromised.  Water demands prevent the reservoir from being taken offline in the summer.  The contract with TIC is for over $199,000, and a construction contract will be bid in the fall.

The Hood River City Council has chosen to use Oregon Health Authority administrative rules for psilocybin manufacturing and service centers that were approved under Measure 109 in Oregon two years ago.  Councilors could have chosen to have the City develop its own time, manner, and place restrictions, or referred to the voters in November a measure to either prohibit the psilocybin centers in Hood River or place a two-year moratorium on them.  Councilor Megan Saunders felt the OHA rules under development will be sufficient.  The vote to adopt the OHA rules was 6-1, with Erick Haynie opposing.  He wanted to refer the issue to voters for a prohibition or moratorium.  OHA will start processing psilocybin applications at the start of 2023.

The Hood River County Fair begins its four-day run Wednesday in Odell.  This year’s theme is “Up In The Garden, Down On The Farm.”  Exhibits open at noon on Wednesday, with the carnival getting started at 1 p.m.  Among the opening day attractions:  the 4-H Fashion Revue will be at 6:30 in the evening at the small animal barn, with Joe Stoddard performing on the park stage at 7 p.m.  Also at 7 p.m.:  the Dancing Horses in the Frank Herman Arena.  Godfrey the Magician, Pirate’s Parrot Show, and Mutton Bustin’ will have performances taking place throughout the day and evening.  A complete schedule and advance tickets are available at hoodriverfairgrounds.com.

The Dalles City Council has approved expanding the scope of The Dalles Vision Plan update to accommodate a worksession with the City’s governmental partners.  City Manager Matthew Klebes says the plan is to hold a worksession with staff and board representatives from a number of local governmental agencies.  The results of a community survey and town hall meeting put enhancing education and creating economic vitality as top priorities, followed by maintaining and adding recreation and open space, strengthening and sustaining community life, and improving governance and infrastructure.  The intent is to have a final Vision Plan adopted in early fall.

Hood River’s Urban Renewal Agency Board, made up primarily of the City Council, gave the go-ahead to the Port of Hood River to conduct a financial analysis of expanding the length of the Waterfront Urban Renewal District but shrinking its size, but gave no guarantees it would approve an extension after the study.  Many on the panel are focused on a Westside Urban Renewal District in an effort to create affordable housing opportunities, and don’t want an extension of the Waterfront district to take away from that.  But Councilor Mark Zanmiller pointed out that doing the analysis will provide a better idea of what it would take to create an additional $1.8 million in tax increment financing to make improvements to the entry to the Waterfront.  The analysis will look at five different options that would shrink the current Waterfront Urban Renewal District down to 12 to 25 acres in size.

Hood River’s Urban Renewal Agency Board will be discussing the Heights Streetscape project in August.  City Manager Abigail Elder says the topic is planned for the panel’s August 8 meeting.  Mayor Kate McBride says they will be reviewing recommendations from their consultants and staff selecting a direction to pursue, noting while a hybrid concept which would make 13th Street two-way but 12th remain one-way had some favor among the board, nothing has been decided.  Elder noted municipal staff have continued discussions with the Oregon Department of Transportation on the subject.  Both 12th and 13th are state highways.

A local contingent has returned from a visit to Washington, D.C. to seek support for its application for $195 million in federal grant funds for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  Klickitat County Commissioner Jacob Anderson says he felt positive about the reception they received, especially from federal transportation officials.  The federal transportation department should announce its grant recipients sometime later this year.