The Hood River County School District announced it is moving its board meetings back to a virtual format until further notice, starting with its next regular meeting this coming Wednesday.  According to a statement from the district issued Thursday, the board and district personnel agree their preference is to hold in-person meetings, but escalating safety concerns led them to determine to return to a virtual format used in the fall of 2020.  The district says Oregon public meetings law allows meetings to be conducted by what is termed “other electronic communication.”  The district says it will continue live streaming its meetings, and regularly reevaluate the need for a virtual meeting format.  One September board meeting was disrupted when some attendees did not want to wear face coverings, and the October 8 meeting saw the district use new protocols for attendance and giving testimony, but that led to protestors demonstrating against the limited capacity outside of the district office.

The FBI is warning Oregonians about a bomb threat scam.  The agency says it has received several reports of the threats being received by businesses and agencies in the state through its Internet Complaint Center.  The language in every case appears to be very similar.  The threat message says the bad actor has planted bombs in the organization and that if anyone contacts police, the bombs will be detonated remotely.  There is a demand for a payment of $5,000 – $20,000 to be made through an email or cryptocurrency address.  The messages also include death threats to the recipients and their families.  So far, the threats are targeting internet service providers, education institutions, and health care providers.  If you receive such a threat, the FBI recommends that you do NOT pay the ransom and that you notify them at www.ic3.gov. 

The Wasco County Commission approved a Strategic Improvement Plan agreement with Google and the City of The Dalles for development of a portion of the former aluminum plant site the company purchased.  The agreement actually covers two data center projects to be developed in the next 25 years, with a 15-year tax abatement for each.  There would be a one-time $3 million payment to the County and City for each project, a prescribed Community Service Fee, and a guaranteed annual payment for 15 years based on 50 percent of property tax due for the first project, and 60 percent for the second.  Wasco County administrative services director Matthew Klebes said this agreement brings more to local governments than the Enterprise Zone agreements used for previous Google developments.  The agreement will now go The Dalles City Council on Monday evening.  Google would still need to get various land use permits for each project to move forward.

Klickitat County Board of Health members were told on Thursday that the County is starting to see the decrease in COVID-19 cases much of the rest of Washington had already been experiencing.  County Health Officer Dr. Amy Person said nearly all of the COVID cases are the result of the Delta variant.  County Public Health Director Erinn Quinn says she is heartened by the new case numbers so far this week, with only 29 reported as of Thursday morning.  Quinn says Klickitat County currently has 108 active COVID-19 cases, adding they are heavily concentrated in the Goldendale area.  She also said 47.2 percent of Klickitat County residents over the age of 12 have been vaccinated.

Hood River Adopt-A-Dog will hold its annual Art of Bark calendar release party online this weekend.  Adopt-A-Dog Executive Director Sherry Bohn says this year’s calendar theme is “It’s A Dog’s Life.”  Proceeds from the event and the calendar go to Hood River Adopt-A-Dog medical and spay and neuter funds.  The release party starts at 6 p.m. Friday and continues to 6 p.m. Sunday.  Go to hoodriveradoptadog.org for more information.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  To mark the occasion, Helping Hands Against Violence in Hood River County has been spreading awareness and information.  Program Manager Serra Perino says it’s all to spark conversation.  Helping Hands Against Violence supports survivors fleeing abusive situations with advocacy, shelter, education, and outreach.  Its’ 24/7 crisis line is 541-386-6603.  

Cross Country Columbia’s boys finished second and girls third at the Trico League Cross Country Championships at Vancouver Lake.  The Bruins’ Camden Uffelman was third in the boys’ race while Ella Zimmerman was sixth in the girls’ run.   Big Sky Volleyball Playoffs Ione-Arlington def. Dufur 12-25, 23-25, 25-21. 25-21. 15-13 Klickitat-Glenwood def. Sherman 13-25, 25-17, 25-21, 20-25, 15-11   Boys Soccer North Clackamas Christian 7, Trout Lake 1 Livingstone Adventist Academy 4, Horizon Christian 0

The Wasco County Assessor’s office will be mailing out property tax statements on Monday.  Assessor Jill Amery says real market values continue to trend upward for most residential properties in Wasco County.  Many commercial properties saw a correction and downturn in real property values.  South Wasco County residents will most likely see an increase in their tax bills due to the new South Wasco County School District No. 1 Bond that was passed in the November 2020 election, but local option levies for the Dufur Recreation District and Shaniko have expired.  Tax payments are due November 15.  Payment in full by that dates receives a 3% discount.

North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says for the past two weeks Wasco County has seen reported COVID-19 cases go down somewhat, but there were still almost 100 in the last week.  McDonell told Wasco County Commissioners on Wednesday the Delta variant continues to be transmitted in the County.  She added while hospitalizations in Oregon are down, in Hood River and Wasco counties hospitals remain very busy.  McDonell said on Tuesday there were no Intensive Care Unit beds available in the area.  McDonell added Oregon Health Science University modeling shows a downward trend in COVID-19 cases in the state, but that’s dependent on more people getting vaccinated and continued use of good practices like mask wearing and social distancing.

The Port of Hood River says live load testing crews have completed their work on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge ahead of schedule.  All planned closures for the remainder of the week have been cancelled.  The work had required full bridge closures that snarled traffic on October 13 and on Monday.  The load tests were being done to determine what kind of maintenance would be needed to bring weight limits on the bridge back up to where they were before the Oregon Department of Transportation required a decrease earlier in the year.  No results are available at this point.