Meta Loftsgaarden will be the new Mt. Hood National Forest Supervisor. Pacific Northwest Loftsgaarden joins the Forest Service from the State of Oregon where she is currently the Executive Director for the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.  Prior to that, she worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service on partnership and policy issues including farmland protection, working forestland easements, and strategic conservation.  She will begin working in her new position in early October.

Boys Soccer Horizon Christian 4, Columbia Christian 1 Faith Bible 2, Trout Lake 0   Girls Soccer Napavine 4, Stevenson 2  

NW Natural crews this will be working this week and into next week on NE Tohomish Street in White Salmon between NE Estes and Main as phase two of a pipe system upgrade project continues.  NE Church St, between Jewett Boulevard and NE Tohomish, will be closed during the remainder of the construction project.  Parking access is for local tenants only.  There will be intermittent single-lane traffic on Main at the intersection of NE Tohomish when crews are working there.  Flaggers will be on site to direct traffic.  Paving is scheduled for Thursday on Jewett Boulevard from Grandview to NE Estes, then up NE Estes towards NE Tohomish.  Flaggers will also be there directing traffic.

The Port of Hood River is considering whether to install some kind of aviation tracking technology at the Ken Jernstedt Airfield to track takeoffs and landings at the airport.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says their Airport Advisory Committee is considering doing a fairly informal tracking project, using available software that would track much of the activity, but not planes with certain types of transponders.  McElwee said another element would involve setting up a small camera and use the images produced to get a sense of what kind of planes are using the airfield and whether they are local or from out of the area, and the times they are using the airport.  He adds by aggregating the data over time, they should get a good idea of the kind of use the airfield is receiving, and the impacts from that.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says they have started some planning for the 2022 Northwest Cherry Festival…but there are questions to be answered before moving too far forward.  The festival hasn’t been held the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Farquharson says her big concern is whether the sponsor revenue will be there for the festival, especially with local businesses not having the opportunity to build reserves back up.  Farquharson says getting vendors wouldn’t be a problem, but having enough labor come spring is another potential concern.

The Dalles Public Works Department crews will begin installation of storm sewer pipe on Quinton St. between East 13th and 14th streets on Tuesday.  Starting Tuesday and running through September 29, there will be a full road closure in place through the work area, and again from October 4 to 7 when that section of street will be paved to replace the gravel surface in place since a water main break that occurred in June.  Quinton St. will be open to through traffic the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd, between the two phases of work.  Those with questions can call The Dalles Public Works Department at (541) 296-5401.

The Washington State Department of Commerce announced this week that the City of White Salmon has been selected to receive up to $400,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant funds to continue providing a regional housing rehabilitation program with Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation.  CCHC and the City of White Salmon teamed up for the successful investment proposal and will continue their partnership over the next two years.  The minor home repair program will provide zero interest, deferred loans up to $25,000 for lower income homeowners seeking health and safety repairs to their homes using local contractors.  It’s available to homeowners throughout Klickitat and Skamania Counties earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income.  Interested homeowners should call 888-356-8919 for additional information.

Football Hood River Valley 27, Ridgeview 26, overtime Redmond 76, The Dalles 12 Dufur 48, Sherman 8 Goldendale 76, Mabton 56   Volleyball Columbia def. Stevenson 3-0 Dufur def. Condon 3-0 Goldendale won four out of five matches at the Yakama SunDome Tournament.   Girls Soccer Columbia 3, Stevenson 2 The Dalles 7, Goldendale 0   Cross Country The Dalles’ Juan Diego Contreras finished second in the boys’ race at the Oregon City Invitational, leading the Riverhawks to a sixth place team finish.  The Dalles finished 12^th in the girls’ race.   Today’s Schedule Boys Soccer Horizon Christian at Columbia Christian Trout Lake at Faith Bible   Girls Soccer Napavine at Stevenson, 6 p.m.  

Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden signed on to a letter urging Senate leadership to prioritize investing in hazardous fuels reduction to lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires.  In the letter, signed by several Senate colleagues, the senators highlighted the millions of acres of forest decimated by increasingly severe wildfires.  It urged Senate Leadership to provide funding to help meet the estimated $20 billion required to reduce wildfire risk across the National Forest System in any further infrastructure legislation.  Merkley also introduced legislation earlier this summer to provide $30 billion in mandatory funding to reduce thinning across all public lands.

With rain in the forecast, Oregon Department of Forestry fire officials are reminding the public that both Hood River and Wasco counties still have a burn ban in place, prohibiting all open burning, including debris pile burning and burn barrels.  Fire District officials will continue to monitor conditions, including fuel moisture levels, forecast temperature and wind, and relative humidity.  In addition to the burn ban, Fire Season and a Regulated-Use Closure are still in effect for private ownership, as well as state and municipally owned lands in Hood River and Wasco counties within ODF’s Central Oregon District.  Recent rain and precipitation forecasted for this weekend is not enough to eliminate the effects of long-term drought and a dry summer on vegetation and forest fuels.