Home At Last Humane Society in The Dalles is in the midst of a fundraising drive to acquire 75 kennel sponsors and generate $45,000 by September 1.  Home At Last Executive Director Stephen Drynan says they have 45 kennel sponsors so far.  Kennel sponsors donate $600 per year to cover the operations of one kennel through a one-time donation or $50 monthly through an automatic withdrawal.  The money provides a full year of support to cover the costs of the kennel, including food, heating and cooling, caretakers and vet care.  For more information go to homeatlasths.org.

Mid-Columbia Community Action says it has received nearly $550,000 in American Recovery Plan Act and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds from Oregon Housing and Community Services to assist low-income residents in Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties keep current on their household utility bills this summer.  Community Action executive director Kenny LaPoint says the funding could not come at a better time with record setting heat this summer, and he is encouraging anyone who needs help in the three-county area to apply.  For information call Community Action at 541-298-5131 or email energy@mcccac.com.

The Hood River County Fair returns Wednesday after a one-year absence.  The fair will open in Odell at noon, with the carnival opening at 1 p.m.  One of the highlights of the opening day will be a celebration of Hood River Valley resident Naomi Frisbee’s 100th birthday.  She has been a part of the Odell Garden Club for a number of years, and fair manager Clara Rice says there will be a celebration at 7:30 p.m. on the park stage.  Full-day carnival ride bracelets remain on sale at a discounted price of $25 until 5 p.m. Wednesday.  They are available at the fair office in Odell, Mid-Valley Market, McIssac’s, Hood River Supply in Hood River and Odell, Columbia Bank in Hood River and White Salmon, and Juanita’s in Hood River and The Dalles.

The City of White Salmon has hired its first full-time land use planner.  Brendan Conboy is a 2015 graduate of UMass-Amherst with a Masters degree in Regional Planning,   Mayor Marla Keethler had sought adding the position in her 2021 budget proposal that was adopted by the White Salmon City Council, adding it’s a good time for Conboy to arrive with the City nearly finished with its comprehensive plan.  Conboy most recently worked in Park City, Utah, as a Senior Planner, and prior to that spent time as an Associate Planner in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The White Salmon Council is holding a public hearing on a comprehensive land-use plan next Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a hybrid format, both in-person at the Fire Hall and online via Zoom.

Klickitat County Health Department announced the County’s 1,000th confirmed COVID-19 case on Sunday.  In a statement, the department said that just under 1 year ago, on July 27, 2020, Klickitat County had only 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19.   The County Health Deparatment announced last week the highly transmissible Delta variant was detected in Klickitat County.  Current research supports that the vaccines available to the public are effective against preventing severe symptoms and hospitalizations caused by the Delta variant.  Klickitat County health officials say it is still important to wash your hands and stay home when you are sick, and recommends that residents who are unvaccinated continue to maintain social distance, and wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth while in public.  The department says it will continue to respond to COVID-19 with its current course of action, including encouraging community members to get vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Dalles Public Works Department will be painting the center and side lines on several streets throughout the community next Monday through Thursday beginning at 6:00 am each day, weather permitting.  Motorists are asked to watch for the crews and avoid driving on the wet paint.  The paint truck will be preceded and followed by warning vehicles, with signs calling attention to the wet paint.  The trucks will be spaced according to the necessary drying time of the paint.  Attempting to pass or drive between the trucks will result in a messy striping job and paint damage to the motorist’s vehicle.  The purpose of this project is to provide clear lane and bike path designations for the safety of the traveling public.  Motorists are strongly advised to avoid the wet paint because it cannot be easily removed from vehicles.

A 38-year-old Georgia man was found dead on Hood River’s Indian Creek Trail after running through the town Saturday morning throwing fireworks, running with a shotgun, and firing at streetlights as he ran from police.  According to the Hood River Police Department, officers responded to a nuisance call at about 3:17 Saturday morning regarding a person yelling and throwing fireworks in the 100 block of East State Steet.  Police found the man. eventually identified as Herbert Victor Blount of Tyrone, Georgia, running with a shotgun.  He began running in the downtown, firing at streetlights while police attempted to give the man verbal commands.  Officers located Blount near 7^th and Sherman, and he continued to fire rounds.  One deputy was hit by shotgun pellets, but a police statement said he was uninjured.  Officers lost sight of Blount, but he was located by a Hood River County Sheriff’s Office airplane on the Indian Creek Trail at 5:41 a.m. and was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Police say no shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident.  The investigation is on-going, and anyone with information is asked to call Hood River Police at 541-387-5256.

Tourism in The Dalles appears to have picked back up this summer.  The Dalles Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says lodging statistics for the last few weeks indicate room stays are up, with larger hotels full on weekends and smaller lodgers at 70 to 80 percent of capacity.  Farquharson says they aren’t seeing long-term stays, and walking and vehicle traffic in town is good.  But she adds what is still to be determined is whether those visitors are spending money in the same manner as in years past.

The effort to replace the Hood River/White Salmon Interstate Bridge received a financial boost during legislative sessions in both Oregon and Washington.  Port of Hood River special projects director Kevin Greenwood says both states appropriated five million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds to go along with a similar amount from a federal transportation build grant to help move past the current environmental impact statement process and into engineering work.  Greenwood says they have most of the environmental impact work done, with the last area to be worked through is the cultural, recreational, and historic structures impact.

A study commissioned by the Klickitat County Childcare Committee has underscored the lack of child care options in the county.  The recently released reports shows In Goldendale, licensed childcare availability meets the needs of just 30 percent of children under age six.  There are zero licensed providers for infants and toddlers and one Head Start program for preschoolers.  That percentage is even worse from a county-wide perspective as only 15 percent of children under age six have access to a licensed childcare provider.  The total unmet need in Goldendale was 175 children under age six who have parents in the workforce.  Across the county, that number increased to 659, including 329 infants and toddlers and 330 preschool-aged children.  The childcare committee has been working to promote the opportunity to become licensed and create new in-home care options and centers to support families and businesses.