The Hood River County Christmas Fire Truck parades will be held this week.  Local fire departments will collaborate for four nights of lighted fire truck parades from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., traveling throughout the county through the course of the week.  Tonight the parade will be in the Odell and Pine Grove areas, tomorrow it goes through Parkdale and Dee, Wednesday it will be in the Westside and Hood River areas, and Thursday in Cascade Locks.

The North Wasco County School District 21 Board is moving its monthly board meetings to a virtual format until further notice.  A D-21 statement said recent board meetings have been over capacity with many attendees disregarding state social distancing and masking requirements.       The district statement goes on to say it determined that the safest course of action is to return to a virtual format, as was used during the spring and fall of 2020.  In accordance with state law, live streaming will continue to be available via D-21 YouTube and Facebook accounts.  The board will continue having public comment as part of its agenda, and interested parties can sign-up to speak by emailing millerc@nwasco.k12.or.us or by submitting a written comment to publiccomments@nwasco.k12.or.us.  

Boys Basketball The Dalles 69, LaSalle 55:  Henry Begay scored 18 points and Styles DeLeon 15 to lead the Riverhawks, who led by 37 points after three quarters. Lincoln 78, Hood River Valley 42 Hood River Valley 66, Centennial 57 Elma 67, Columbia 48 Morton-White Pass 73, Stevenson 54 Ione-Arlington 51, Klickitat-Glenwood 32 Four Rivers 56, Klickitat-Glenwood 12 Dufur 45, Imbler 42 Prairie City 61, Dufur 37 Sherman 54, Elgin 3 Open Door Christian 89, Trout Lake 30 Trout Lake 58, Wallowa 44 Horizon Christian 64, Wallowa 29 Open Door Christian 47, Horizon Christian 31 South Wasco 86, Dayville-Monument 25 South Wasco 56, Cove 30 Columbia (Burbank) 83, Goldendale 29   Girls Basketball Hood River Valley 49, St. Helens 31:  Marina Castaneda scored 23 points and Reese Leiblien 10 as the Eagles won their third straight game. West Valley (WA) 49, The Dalles 19 Corbett 60, Stevenson 15 Morton-White Pass 51, Stevenson 26 Sherman 43, Elgin 40 Ione-Arlington 52, Klickitat-Glenwood 17 Four Rivers 31, Klickitat-Glenwood 29 Dufur 37, Imbler 26 Dufur 37, Prairie City 32 Trout Lake 61, Open Door Christian 22 Trout Lake 37, Wallowa 30 Wallowa 51, Horizon Christian 12 Open Door Christian 25, Horizon Christian 19 South Wasco 44, Dayville-Monument 13 South Wasco 42, Central Christian 25 Columbia (Burbank) 39, Goldendale 38       Wrestling Stevenson had three individual winners at the Rick Sanders Invitational at Lincoln High School in Portland.  Wesley Turrietta, Chad Polzel, and Gavin Gantner all won in their weight classes.  Carson Farlow of Hood River Valley also grabbed a first place finish.   Blake Madsen of Goldendale won two matches as the Timberwolves fell to Sunnyside and Davis  at the Wild West Showdown Duals in Goldendale.   Swimming The Dalles boys and girls finished third at both the River City Invitational in St. Helens and at a meet in LaGrande over the weekend.                        

The Oregon Department of Transportation is currently holding a virtual open house as it begins to revise the state’s transportation plan.  The plan has not been revised since 2006.  Michael Rock of ODOT says the plan is a long-range document covering all facets of transportation, and sets long-term goals to guide decisions in the agency’s investment decisions.  He calls the Gorge a unique transportation area in the state, with agriculture, tourism, high tech, and renewable energy sectors all providing unique transportation challenges and opportunities. The open house that is a part of the early stage of the revision process is available by going to odotopenhouse.org/oregon-transportation-plan-update.

Columbia Riverkeeper is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, claiming it is illegally polluting the Columbia River with hot water, oil, and toxic chemicals.  The organization says four dams operated by the Corps on the Columbia River between Portland and the Tri-Cities discharge illegal pollution in violation of the Clean Water Act, claiming in the suit filed in federal court that pollutants continued to be discharged, including heated cooling water and oils and greases, from The Dalles Dam, John Day Dam, and McNary Dam without obtaining required permits.  The suit also says in 2014 the two parties settled litigation by giving the Corps seven years to apply for those permits and take other action.  In response, the Corps says it applied for the permits in 2015, and continues to work to balance all of the purposes of the Columbia River system.  The Corps also says although the pools behind Lower Columbia River dams are considered reservoirs, they are not storage reservoirs, but rather run-of-river facilities, limiting the ability to impact water temperatures by drawing down water levels in the spring.

Some farmers and ranchers in the region are beginning to experiment with electric-powered equipment.  Wy’east Resource Conservation and Development Area Council is one of four non-profits that is looking at electric powered farm equipment, and bring it to rural areas to put them through the test.  Wy’east’s Robert Wallace says they have been receiving interest from ag operators seeking to try out the equipment, which tend to be smaller tractors at this point.  Information is available at wyeast-rcd.org.

Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital plans to focus on a pair of behavioral health initiative in 2022. Chief Executive Jeanie Vieira says they are planning to establish the Better Outcomes through Bridges program to focus on adding additional support for those who come to the hospital and its clinics who face challenges like lack of housing, needing a medical home, assistance with access to services, and at the same time dealing with a mental or behavioral health issue. In addition, state funds will be available to counties and their health partners to help address specific behavioral health issues.

Girls Basketball

The Dalles 41, Dufur 27:  Zoe LeBreton scored 16 points to lead the Riverhawks to their second straight win.  Hanna Kortge topped the Rangers with eight points.

Wahkiakum 61, Stevenson 30

  Wrestling

Woodburn 51, Hood River Valley 30:  Connor Farlow and Carson Farlow each scored wins by fall for the Eagles.

A boat was located last week in 35 feet of water at The Dalles’ port docks.  The Skamania County Dive Rescue/Recovery Team says divers entered the water and located the boat after being asked by The Dalles Police Department to assist following a report of a suspicious unknown vessel sinking.  The vessel was unoccupied but due to navigation and environmental hazards the divers rigged and lifted the boat out of the water using lift bags.  The Dalles Public Works used a boom truck to pull the vessel up onto the road.  The Dalles Police will attempt to find the owners of the vessel and continue with an investigation.  The location is vital for the cruise ship industry to dock, re-supply, and allow tourist to visit the area.

Hood River County’s COVID-19 numbers are going up and down on a daily basis.  County Health Department Director Trish Elliott says that’s due to testing numbers varying, noting they have had weekly COVID testing available from the Oregon Health Authority, and when that takes place numbers go up.  Elliott said test positivity rates remain high, at 11 percent last week, and she says they want to get that down to five percent.  She adds the testing provides a sampling of the entire population.  Hood River County’s vaccination rates remain among the highest in the state, and Elliott encourages people to get their booster shots.