North Wasco County School District 21 reports a Chenowith Elementary School student set off a travel-sized canister of pepper spray on one of its school buses Tuesday afternoon as it was loading students to return home.  In a letter to parents posted on the D-21 Facebook page, the district says all students were evacuated from the bus, assessed, and brought to the cafeteria for observation.  A new bus was brought in to take students home.  The district says families of affected students were contacted.

Boys Soccer The Dalles 8, Pendleton 0 Hood River Valley 8, Crook County 0   Girls Soccer The Dalles 0, Pendleton 0 King’s Way Christian 3, Columbia 0 Granger 2, Goldendale 1   Volleyball Redmond def. The Dalles 25-13, 25-16, 25-15 King’s Way Christian def. Columbia 25-27, 25-16, 25-17, 27-25 Stevenson def. Rainier 25-23, 10-25, 13-25, 25-13, 15-11

Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott told County Commissioners on Monday she is hopeful that COVID-19 numbers have started to come down.  Elliott says they only had 10 or 11 cases reported over the weekend, compared to 30 last weekend and 48 two weeks ago.  Hood River County has had 180 cases so far in October.  81.6 percent of County residents age 18 or over have received COVID-19 vaccine, and Elliott says they are getting ready for the Food and Drug Administration to give the go-ahead for pediatric vaccinations for ages 5 to 11 later this month.

Hood River County Commissioners will wait to have some potential wording changes considered by County Counsel before voting on a proposal to institute a parking permit program for six County trail staging areas.  The permit is designed to provide revenue to implement the County’s maintenance and operations of the trail system on County forestlands.  The potential wording changes came from testimony at a public hearing on the ordinance, and County Administrator Jeff Hecksel noted they shouldn’t prevent eventual adoption of the program even if passage is delayed.  Hecksel added even if the changes are substantial enough to go through the entire process again, there would still be time to get the program in place for next year.

The White Salmon Planning Commission next week will look at an initial draft of short-term rental policies to send to City Council.  There has been a moratorium placed on STR’s that would currently extend into January.  Mayor Marla Keethler noted the planning panel has held worksessions to consider potential options including some big picture possibilities.  The White Salmon Planning Commission meets next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., go to white-salmon.net for more information.

The Hood River County School District is continuing its search to fill vacant positions, particularly bus drivers, custodians, kitchen staff, instructional assistants, and substitute teachers.  District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn says most school districts are in the same situation, and there are a number of reasons why, including limited child care availability, and retired teachers who would normally be available to substitute but not wanting to return during the pandemic.  Polkinghorn did say vaccine mandates are more of a side issue than a driver of the employment shortage, adding over 99 percent of district staff is either vaccinated or have received some kind of exemption.

North Central Public Health District says Mid-Columbia Medical Center has treated about 30 people with COVID-19 with monoclonal antibody treatments.  MCMC has been offering monoclonal antibody treatments for several weeks now.  The treatment is available to those who are at high risk of severe disease and have had symptoms for 10 days or less.  In clinical trials, monoclonal antibody treatments reduced the risk of hospitalization 50 percent.  The antibodies mimic the body’s own immune response to the coronavirus.  NCPHD reported another death in Wasco County from complications of COVID-19.   The district says a woman died September 11 at MCMC after testing positive two days earlier.  It is the 40th COVID-19 related death recorded in Wasco County.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce is planning to resume in-person networking events this winter if it is possible.  Chamber CEO Lisa Farquharson says they are missing in-person connections, but they hope to get those back in January.  Farquharson says the Governmental Affairs meetings are well attended virtually, and plans are in the works to use a hybrid format to keep that online option available.  The Chamber is also planning to hold its annual awards banquet this winter.  It was held virtually one year ago.

Ballots for the November 2 General Election in Washington have been mailed to voters in the state, giving them several days to study the issues and candidates and return their ballots as soon as possible.  Voters have until 8 p.m. November 2 to place their marked ballots in an official ballot drop box anywhere in the state.  Drop-box locations can be found at VoteWA.gov, Washington’s online voter portal.  Ballots may also be returned by U.S. mail – no postage required – but must be postmarked by November 2 in order to be counted. The U.S. Postal Service recommends that ballots should be returned by mail one week before Election Day.  Registered voters who have yet to receive a ballot should contact their county elections office to request a replacement.  Voters can also check their ballot status at VoteWA.gov.  To register to vote or update their registration, people can go online at VoteWA.gov, or print and mail a registration form.  The deadline for county elections offices to receive registrations online or by mail is next Monday, Oct. 25.  After Oct. 25, people can visit a county elections office and register in person during regular business hours and until 8 p.m. the day of the election.

Football Hood River Valley 56, Parkrose 7 Ridgeview 49, The Dalles 12 LaCenter 57, Columbia 0 Stevenson 32, King’s Way Christian 27 Ione-Arlington 46, Dufur 6 South Wasco 53, Huntington 16 Union 34, Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat 26 Goldendale 28, Granger 0   Boys Soccer Horizon Christian 2, Damascus Christian 2   Girls Soccer Catlin Gabel 5, Trout Lake 0   Volleyball Columbia def. Corbett 29-27, 18-25, 15-12 Open Door Christian def. South Wasco 25-23, 25-21, 25-9