Teams from Life in the Gorge Homeschool and White Salmon won the first place awards at the Google Wind Challenge over the weekend.  More than 160 students representing 35 high school and middle school teams competed to build the competition’s top wind turbines.  Life in the Gorge won the high school division, with Stevenson High School in second place and Pacific Crest Innovation Academy third.  White Salmon took first in the middle school competition, followed by Life in the Gorge Homeschool and Goldendale Homeschoolers.  During the Wind Challenge, student teams worked together with volunteer mentors to design, build and test their turbines.  Teams compete against each other to see whose turbine can generate the highest voltage output and raise a 68 centimeter mass in the least amount of time.

Baseball

Gresham 6, The Dalles 5

Hood River Valley at Summit, cancelled

Columbia 11, Dufur 1

Softball

Hood River Valley 23, Wilsonville 2:  Makenzie Chambers had two home runs and drove in eight as the Eagles won their season opener.

The Dalles 12, Gresham 6, 8 innings

Track and Field

Hood River Valley’s girls finished seventh and the boys 12^th at the Cotton Invitational in Portland.  Henry Buckles won the boys discus and Poppy Miller the girls pole vault for HRV.

Boys Soccer

Wahluke 3, Columbia 2

Boys Lacrosse

Skyview 10, Hood River Valley 3

Girls Lacrosse

Lake Oswego 13, Hood River Valley 7

The Dalles Police Department has identified the man killed in an officer involved shooting Saturday night.  The man has been identified as 77-year-old James Young, who lived at 1921 East 10^th in The Dalles, where the incident occurred.  According to a police statement on Sunday, officers responded to a shots fired call at the home just before 10 p.m. Saturday.  Initial information from witnesses indicated there was a male subject outside his residence shooting a rifle at his neighbor’s residence.  When officers arrived, they heard gun shots and located a male subject later identified as Young outside his residence on the porch, and then observed him actively shooting rounds from a rifle.  The police statement says at some point during the incident an officer from The Dalles Police Department shot Young   Officers attempted first aid on Young who succumbed to his injuries.  No one else was injured, and the officer involved in the shooting has been put on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, and the officer’s name will be released at a later date.  The investigation is being conducted by detectives assigned to the Gorge Major Crimes Team, comprised of officers from The Dalles Police Department, Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Police Department, Hood River Sheriff’s Office, Sherman County Sheriff’s Office, the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office, and the Oregon State Police.  The Dalles Police Department says it will provide updated information on Wednesday.  If you live in the area of the 1900 block of East 10th Street in The Dalles and find anything suspicious or have damaged property from possible bullets, or bullet fragments please contact The Dalles Police Department non-emergency number at 541-296-2613.

Hood River County Commissioners will hold a public hearing Monday evening on the proposed tax measures they plan to put on the May ballot.  The County has put together a five percent prepared food and beverage tax and a five-year property tax option levy of 89-cents per thousand dollars of assessed value.  Commission Chair Mike Oates points out the 89 cents is a maximum, and the Commission could opt to lower it or not levy it all if they find it is not necessary during any given fiscal year that is in effect.  The hearing will be Monday at 6 p.m. in the Wy’east Middle School Performing Arts Center in Odell.

Election officials in Oregon are reminding those who are thinking about running for a positon during the May 21 special districts elections they must file by this coming Thursday.  Seats on the boards of ports, school districts, water districts, parks and recreation districts, the Columbia Gorge Community College board, and others are on the ballot.  To learn about how to file for election, contact your local County elections office.  The busiest race so far appears to be for the North Wasco County School District 21 board, with ten having filed for six seats on the ballot.

The Joan Burchell Fund of the Gorge Community Foundation is requesting grant proposals from Gorge non-profits for its annual funding cycle.  The deadline to apply is May 3, and grants will be awarded in July.  The Burchell Fund supports projects ranging from arts to social services, health care and the environment.  Over $80,000 has been granted through this fund since its inception in 2010.  In this grant cycle the total available for granting is $11,700 and proposals will be accepted for any amount up to that total.  The range of grants in the past has been $650 to $4,000.  Grant applications are available at gorgecf.org.

Baseball

Hood River Valley 6, Gresham 4:  Brandon Smiley hit a three-run homer, while Greyson Losee, Derek Homer, and Harrison Howell combined to strike out 12 to lead the Eagles to a season opening victory.

Putnam 5, The Dalles 1

Boys Soccer

Columbia 0, Washougal 0

Boys Lacrosse

Hood River Valley 13, Camas 3

The snowpack in the Hood, Sandy, and Lower Deschutes basin is now at 101 percent of normal.  Scott Oviatt of the Natural Resources Conservation Service says that’s way up from the 49 percent figure on February 1.  He says most peak snowpack values happen between now and April 1, adding there remain concerns for the water content in the snow, which is of lower density.  He says they are currently forecasting stream flows of 90 percent of average.  Statewide snowpack is now at 124 percent of normal, a large increase from 72 percent on February 1.

All Wasco County offices except for emergency services and the District Attorney’s office will be closed on Tuesday for an all-staff training session. County Commissioner Steve Kramer says they want to pull their entire “team” together to provide the opportunity to connect with the culture they are striving for.  Kramer hopes the training becomes the annual event.  The county is encouraging citizens to contact them so essential business can be arranged either before or after that day.

North Wasco County School District 21 will be hosting a series of community meetings during the spring seeking public input on the development of a long range facilities plan.  The first will be this Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 pm. at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center’s downstairs conference room.  The initial meeting will include a summary of a recently completed facility condition assessment and an overview of the planning process.  Meetings are also scheduled for April 16 and May 14, with the date of a fourth to be announced.  Richard Higgins of BLRB Architects will facilitate the work sessions.