The woman behind Erin’s Law, Erin Merryn, will speak Friday night at a benefit for the Columbia Gorge Children’s Advocacy Center.  Erin’s Law has passed in 35 states, and requires personal body safety be taught in public schools every year.  Merryn was sexually abused as a child for six years, and published her childhood diary detailing her experience in the book Stolen Innocence.  Advocacy Center Executive Director Beatrice Lynch says Merryn will share some of her compelling story and her support for these kind of services.  The event will be Friday evening at 6 p.m. in Hood River Valley High School’s Bowe Theatre, and donations of any amount will be accepted.

Protecting young people from human trafficking will be the subject of YouthThink’s second presentation in their “Protecting Young Minds and Bodies” series.  Ann Atkins of Vest for Child Rescue will talk about “Citizens Against Predators.”  YouthThink coordinator Debby Jones says the presentation is designed to give parents, families, and communities tools to fight online predators and domestic minor sex trafficking.  The presentation will be Wednesday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Dalles High School.  For more information go to youththink.net.

The recreational sturgeon season in the John Day Pool of the Columbia River from John Day Dam to McNary Dam and adjacent tributaries will close effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning under rules announced by fishery managers from Oregon and Washington.  The states decided to close the fishery based on recent harvest data that indicated recreational fishermen have achieved their allowable harvest of 105 fish.  The Columbia River between The Dalles Dam and McNary Dam will now be closed to sturgeon retention, but catch and release fishing continues to be allowed except in the sturgeon spawning sanctuaries defined in the 2019 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.  Sturgeon retention currently remains open in the Bonneville Reservoir from Bonneville Dam upstream to The Dalles Dam, although fishermen are approaching their allowable harvest for the season of 500 fish.

The body of a 22-year-old man missing and presumed drowned in Wasco County’s Pine Hollow Reservoir was located over the weekend.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office says the body of Christopher Berry was located Saturday afternoon by a boater who had side scan sonar on his boat, and then located the body by diving into the lake.  Berry was located in about 22 feet of water.  The family was notified of his recovery.  Berry was one of two men who went into the water when the kayak they were in capsized in the reservoir last weekend.  The other man was able to reach the shore safely.

North Wasco County School District 21 will be holding its first in a series of community meetings on facilities April 16.  It will be the first since a facility assessment was done, giving the district more technical data on its buildings.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong said after their failed bond measure in November, people told the district they didn’t feel like they were heard.  Armstrong says this meeting will be live streamed, and they will take questions in advance in an effort to get more community involvement.  The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on April 16 at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center in The Dalles.

Home At Last Humane Society reports it has been experiencing theft and vandalism at its can and bottle donation trailers.  Home At Last board member Shelia Dooley says the organization is currently asking people to bring their refundable cans and bottles to the Home At Last shelter on 200 River Road in The Dalles.  The best time to bring them in is Mondays through Saturdays before 5 p.m.  There is also an after-hours window on the donation shed at the shelter.  For more information contact Home At Last at 541-296-5189.

Softball

The Dalles splits with Bend, winning game one 3-0 behind Bailey LeBreton’s shutout, but falling in the nightcap 19-10.

LaCenter 30, Stevenson 11

Baseball

Columbia 4, Castle Rock 0

Stevenson 4, LaCenter 0

Tri-Cities Prep sweeps Lyle-Wishram 22-2 and 15-0

Naches Valley sweeps Goldendale 13-0 and 16-0

Track and Field

Tiana Watson finished second in the girls’ javelin and Ellie Rising was fifth in the girls’ 1600 meters to highlight the Goldendale effort at the Holder Relays in Yakima.

Andy Codding has been named the new head football coach at The Dalles High School.  The school made the announcement on its athletics Facebook page.  It marks the return of the coach who oversaw the most recent successful period in the program’s history, leading the school to a Columbia River Conference championship in 2010 before moving on to Ridgeview, where he took that program to a state Class 4A championship.  Codding returned to the area last year, and was an assistant coach for the Riverhawks.  He takes over for Steve Sugg, who resigned from the position during the winter.

Fire late Friday night destroyed a market just north of Parkdale.  Crews arrived at Jim’s Market on Dee Highway at about 10:45 p.m. on Friday night to find flames inside the building.  Parkdale Fire Chief Mike McCafferty says the first arriving engine found the fire had extended out the rear of the building.  Crews started a direct attack but found the fire had extended out the rear of the building, so they pulled back and protected fuel pumps, propane tanks, and adjacent buildings.  The fire did spread to a camp trailer and a small residential house.  McCafferty indicated the store, trailer, and house were a total loss. There were no injuries reported. Cause of the fire remains under investigation, and has been referred to the Oregon State  Fire Marshal’s office.  Crews from Westside, Wy’east, and Hood River fire departments joined Parkdale Fire personnel in responding to the blaze.

Softball

The Dalles 11, Washougal 0:  The Riverhawks win their third straight game to start the season.

Baseball

Lowell (AZ) 7, The Dalles 2:  The Riverhawks go 1-3 on their trip to the Pride Classic in Arizona.

Boys Soccer

LaCenter 8, Stevenson 3

Track and Field

Jeremiah Larson of Klickitat won both the boys’ long jump and the triple jump in a meet at Riverview.  Lyle-Wishram was fifth as a team and Klickitat sixth in the boys’ portion of the nine school meet.  Klickitat finished eighth in the girls’ standings and Lyle-Wishram ninth.

Oregon 52nd District State Representative Daniel Bonham does not believe recent changes in the carbon cap-and-trade bill do enough to blunt the impact of such a program on rural portions of the state.  The Dalles Republican is on the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction that is hashing through the controversial topic.  Committee co-chairs Senator Michael Dembrow and Representative Karin Power, both Democrats, say they’re proposing to invest a majority of the funds to rural and low-income communities and added a plan to refund any additional fuel costs to those making less than their area’s median income.  But Bonham says indirect costs passed down to residents remain his concern.  Bonham says Dembrow and Power are expected to give their rationale for the bill as it stands now during committee meetings today, and more amendments will be introduced.