Boys Basketball

The Dalles 65, Hood River Valley 62:  The Riverhawks pulled out the win after the Eagles came back from an 11-point second half deficit.  Braden Schwartz scored 18 points, Henry Begay 16, and Styles DeLeon 15 for The Dalles.  Emanuel Romero led Hood River with 16 points, Tommy Ziegler 12, and Clayton Cook 10.  Both teams are now part of a four-way tie for second in the Intermountain Conference.

Seton Catholic 61, Columbia 51:  Ben Allen led the Bruins with 15 points.

Adna 68, Stevenson 43

  Girls Basketball

The Dalles 49, Hood River Valley 36:  The Riverhawks went on the road for their first Intermountain Conference win of the season.

Seton Catholic 65, Columbia 37:  Sydney Aman topped CHS with 15 points.

Wahkiakum 61, Stevenson 12

A Seattle man was arrested after a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 84 west of Arlington.  The Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy on Highway 19 near milepost 1 observed a vehicle traveling north at 105 miles per hour just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday.  The vehicle slowed down going through Arlington before going on to the westbound freeway, and after not complying with an attempted stop reached a speed of 127 miles per hour when officers decided to terminate the pursuit.  But the suspect vehicle was located in Rufus, and the driver of the vehicle fled on foot, but was later found by law enforcement hiding in a nearby portable toilet.  The Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office says Andrew Tremain of Seattle was arrested and lodged at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility on a trio of charges.

The Hood River County Commission wrote a follow-up letter to their recent conversation with Congressman Earl Blumenauer on his legislative concepts for further preservation designations of lands in the Mt. Hood National Forest and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.  In the letter, the Commissioners state wildfire, drinking and irrigation water, and recreation access are their critical areas of concern.  Commission Chair Mike Oates says a key point they wanted to make is the need for addressing funding to maintain what is already there.  The letter also says additional wilderness designations are of particular concern, noting broad protections afforded by those can interfere with actions to reduce catastrophic wildfire and limit the ability to access and maintain water sources.

White Salmon City Councilors voted unanimously to install a four-way stop sign at the corner of Main and Spring streets, following the recommendation of its City Operations Committee.  Councilors had received complaints about the safety of the intersection due to visibility issues.  A number of citizens testified they would prefer to see the amount of parking at the intersection reduced, but Councilors indicated previous proposals to do that had met with stiff public opposition.  Councilor Jim Ransier felt with a consensus of a safety issue at the intersection, there was an obligation to take action.  Police Chief Mike Hepner was also supportive of establishing the four-way stop.  

A fundraising effort is underway to help two teams of high school students in The Dalles attend a robotics national championship competition in Council Bluffs, Iowa in late March.  It will cost an estimated $11,818 to get the teams System Overload and Irrelevant to the event.  Wasco County Extension STEM Outreach Program Coordinator Lu Seapy says the students have been working in robotics programs since middle school to get to this point, and they have a couple of fundraising efforts starting up, including doing yard work for donations and a Krispy Kreme donut fundraiser.  To help, go to either the Wasco County 4-H Oregon or The Dalles High School Robotics Facebook page.  

Oregon State 59th District Representative Daniel Bonham is once again championing Ezra’s Law, a bill to allow for sentencing to reflect the impacts of permanent injuries for victims.  The bill is named after Ezra Thomas, who was two years old when his mother’s boyfriend attacked him, causing debilitating injuries.  The man received a 12-year sentence.  The Ezra’s Law campaign has sought longer prison terms for an injury that “permanently and significantly impairs” the victim’s cognitive function, vision, hearing or ability to walk or breathe, eat or move their limbs.  Bonham says some language has been modified to allow for downward judicial discretion, and has also narrowed the definition of “permanently disabled.”

Boys Basketball

Castle Rock 63, Columbia 49

Onalaska 59, Stevenson 44

  Girls Basketball

Adna 73, Stevenson 17

Hood River County Commissioners approved a change in commissioner districts that will move Cascade Locks from District 1 with the Westside area to District 4 with Odell and Parkdale.  Commissioners made the decision in an effort to keep the population represented as balanced across the four districts as possible, while acknowledging the district change for Cascade Locks is not ideal.  Commission Chair Mike Oates says there was no good answer, and making no changes at all was not an option.  The change will be in place for the May election.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be bringing its mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic to The Dalles later in February.  North Central Public Health District Executive Director Shellie Campbell told Wasco County Commissioners that FEMA’s clinic will start February 21 and be open each day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for one week.  FEMA brings a self-contained operation to the area.  Campbell says they haven’t yet determined the location for the clinic, adding they intend to place it in a very visible spot in the community.

Washington 14th District State Representative Chris Corry’s bill to limit a governor’s emergency powers to 60 days got a hearing this week from the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee.  The bill would require a Legislative vote or approval from the majority and minority leaders of both legislative chambers to extend emergency declarations.  There are other proposals from legislators from both parties also being considered with different timelines and standards.  Corry says a compromise has to be reached for any change to gubernatorial emergency powers to occur, and it needs broad support to be veto-proof.  He does not think Governor Jay Inslee would sign any bill cutting gubernatorial powers.  Corry thinks there is a path to get to that point.