Fire season will begin for The Dalles Unit of the Oregon Department of Forestry as of Saturday, the earliest start in more than forty years.  District officials say limited precipitation across the region this spring has affected down woody fuel moisture content as well as the condition of live vegetation fuels and their susceptibility to fire ignition and spread, leaving unseasonably dry conditions and at an increased risk of fire spread.  In addition to the on-set of Fire Season in The Dalles Unit, MH-4 west of Highway 35 in Hood River County and MH-1 east of Highway 35 in Hood River and Wasco counties will move into Industrial Fire Precaution Level 1, which includes restrictions on the use of fire or power-driven machinery in any forest operation unless in compliance with all fire prevention requirements.  Also, ODF says Hood River and Wasco counties will be implementing county-wide burn bans on June 1 to reduce the risk of wildfire from escaped debris burns.

Hood River County School District board members heard about summer school plans at their Wednesday meeting.  District curriculum and instruction director Bill Newton says the state is allocating much more funding for summer school this year to deal with interrupted learning.  Newton told the board the plan is to focus on academic learning and interventions for identified students, continued support for migrant students, and at the high school level supporting students facing academic credit loss.  The district is planning summer school programs July 6-30 at Mid-Valley and May Street elementary school, Wy’east Middle School, and Hood River Valley High School, along with a migrant pre-school program and supplemental K-12 support for migrant students.  Newton noted they are starting to compile data to put together a list of students they plan to invite into the program.

The latest Oregon Health Authority statistics show 51 percent of those age 16 and older in Wasco County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, leaving plenty of work to be done to hit the 65 percent necessary to move into the state’s lower risk category.  North Central Public Health District Director Dr. Mimi McDonell says one of their strategies to get more people vaccinated is to make it easier for those who find it difficult to schedule a shot.  Wasco County will drop from the high risk category to moderate risk on Friday, thanks to its rolling two-week COVID case count dropping to 38.

The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released Wednesday, shows a second consecutive week of declining cases and hospitalizations.  OHA reported 4,896 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week that ended Sunday.  That represents a 12% decline from the previous week and marks the second consecutive week of lower weekly cases.  New COVID-19 related hospitalizations also declined from 272 to 245.  There were 31 reported COVID-19 related deaths, nearly doubling the previous week’s total.  There were 111,121 tests for COVID-19 for the week of May 2 through May 8.  The percentage of positive tests was 6.1%.  People 70 years of age and older have accounted for 39% of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 75% of COVID-19 related deaths.

Baseball Redmond 17, The Dalles 10:  Redmond scored eight runs in the seventh inning to pull out the win.  Braden Schwartz and Riley Brock had three hits apiece for the Riverhawks.   Boys Tennis Hood River Valley 6, The Dalles 2   Girls Basketball LaCenter 62, Columbia 43 Winlock 54, Stevenson 36 King’s Way Christian 54, Goldendale 40

Klickitat County Commissioners decided to extend their discussion around a moratorium on commercial and industrial solar projects that are subject to a conditional use process.  There is currently a six month moratorium in place, and Commissioners took testimony on whether to extend it last week.  Commission Chair David Sauter said the only decision made this week was to hold the matter over to this coming Tuesday so they can consult with legal counsel.  If Commissioners did not take action on the moratorium, it is currently set to expire on September 3.

Hood River County isn’t far from Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s goal of having 70 percent of the state’s eligible population vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of June.  Hood River County currently sits at 65 percent, and is one of only two counties in the state ready to move into the “lower risk” category on May 21.  County COVID-19 Coordinator Daron Ryan explains that every shot counts, even though the rate of vaccination has slowed.  According to the most recent numbers, 49.58 percent of those 16 and older in Wasco County have received at least one dose of vaccine.  In Sherman County, it’s 45.72 percent, and in Gilliam County it’s 35.04 percent.  Hood River County will hold a drop-in vaccination clinic with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon at the County Health Department on 1109 June Street.  North Central Public Health District will take walk-ins at its clinic Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center.

The Dalles City Hall will be offering new hours and service availability beginning at the start of next week.  City Hall Offices will be open by appointment only Monday through Thursday.   You must call to arrange an appointment with the department you will be visiting.  The City Hall Public Spaces will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Masks and social distancing are required.  Traffic Court will continue to be held via Zoom until at least June 1.

The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office will honor fall law enforcement officers Thursday morning with an event on the south steps of the County Courthosue in Goldendale.  Three members of the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office will be honored.  Deputy Danny Vaughn died in November of 1976 in an aircraft accident when his plane crashed into the Columbia River while searching for a small submarine.  Deputy Michael McNabb died in a April 1986 automobile accident when the patrol car was struck by a drunk driver.  And Sergeant Peter Garland lost his life in July 2007 when he was involved in a head-o collision when an oncoming car attempted to pass in a no passing zone.  The event begins at 10 a.m. Thursday.  This is National Police Week.

The Performing Arts Initiative, which has been for the last five years working toward a goal of a state-of-the-art performance center in the Gorge, is in the midst of its Dream Big campaign.  The group’s John Hardham says the effort to raise $200,000 and give them enough cash flow to move forward in a couple of areas, including hire a full-time project manager and an interim development director to help with a capital campaign.  Hardham says the group is probably about five years out from any kind of construction.  To donate to PAI…got to givebutter.com/PAI_DreamBig.  Their website is gorgeperformingarts.org.