Washington State 14th District Senator Curtis King has been honored by the Washington State Good Roads & Transportation Association for his work on transportation issues.  King was named co-Legislator of the Decade this week, sharing the honor with former Representative Judy Clibborn, who served as the House Transportation Committee chair until retiring from the Legislature last year.  King was formerly chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and is currently its ranking Republican member.  King and Clibborn were the main architects of the Connecting Washington transportation package that was approved by the Legislature in 2015.

Wrestling

Hood River Valley 42, The Dalles 38:  The Riverhawks won four of the seven contested matches on the mat, but HRV won four of the seven forfeits.

Boys Basketball

Castle Rock 51, Columbia 27

Liberty Christian 64, Klickitat-Glenwood 48

Girls Basketball

Stevenson 80, Seton Catholic 42:  Katilyn Wenz scored 17 points, pulled down 17 rebounds, and had five assists as the Bulldogs maintain a shot at second place in the Trico League.

Castle Rock 53, Columbia 28

Liberty Christian 62, Klickitat-Glenwood 40

The History Museum of Hood River County will open an exhibit later this week called “Salmon Connections.”  Museum executive director Lynn Orr says the exhibit looks into the different sectors of society that converge around salmon.  The exhibit opens on Saturday and will be up through the end of May.  The History Museum of Hood River County is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Port Marina Park.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2019 award year for the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program.  Families throughout Oregon who have continuously farmed portions of their family acreage for the past 100 or 150 years are invited to apply.  The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program began in 1958 to honor farm and ranch families with century-long connections to the land.  Application and program guidelines are available at http://www.centuryfarm.oregonfb.org, or by calling 503-400-7884.  Application deadline is May 1.  The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program is administered by the Oregon Farm Bureau Foundation for Education.            

The North Wasco County School District 21 board held a worksession Wednesday night, and got a report on progress on a facilities assessment report for the Oregon Department of Education that will put D-21 in line to apply for matching grants.  Superintendent Candy Armstrong says this report is raw data, but it also sets up a more in-depth facilities master plan process in the spring.  The board also received an initial outline for the district’s upcoming superintendent search.  Armstrong will be retiring at the end of the 2019-20 school year.

Cycle Oregon’s second annual GRAVEL ride will be based out of Dufur in mid-May.  Cycle Oregon officials announced the dates and routes for their 2019 events this week.  The GRAVEL ride was established last year to let cyclists experience the challenges and scenic beauty of gravel road riding while being fully supported.  The route features a combination of gravel and paved roads to explore the high prairie along with the forested foothills of Mount Hood.  Riders will get views of wildflowers, wheat fields, and Mount Hood and Mount Adams.  The ride will take place May 17-19, and will be limited to 500 riders.  Registration began Thursday at cycleoregon.com.

There will be a brief, full closure of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge on Friday.  It will begin at 5:00 a.m. for lift span electrical and mechanical systems testing.  The closure is expected to cause traffic delays of up to 30 minutes depending on volume.  

The Performing Arts Initiative, the group that is working toward developing a 600-seat performing arts center in the Westcliff area of Hood River, has formed a business consortium to help in their effort.  PAI board president Mark Steighner says part of the role of businesses within the project is to help bring financial support to the arts.  In addition, being able to show a number of businesses in support of the project enhances efforts to acquire grants.  The PAI’s business consortium has a meeting planned for Naked Winery in Hood River on February 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. that will include a presentation on what the consortium is all about.   The initiative’s website is gorgeperformingarts.org.

Wrestling

Redmond 63, The Dalles 17:  The Riverhawks’ received wins by fall from J.R. Scott and Steven Preston, and Austin Greene scored a victory by technical fall.

Boys Basketball

LaCenter 90, Stevenson 44

King’s Way Christian 77, Columbia 33

Three area legislators are among the co-sponsors of a bill to have Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management study and make recommendations on the funding of search and rescue operations.  26th District Senator Chuck Thomsen, 52nd District Representative Anna Williams, and 59th District Representative Daniel Bonham are among the bipartisan group sponsoring House Bill 2503.  Williams says the first step is to clearly define the issue, and determine issues facing search and rescue operations in various communities.  The bill calls for the report to be done by January 1, 2021.  The bill will go through Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee.