The Oregon Department of Transportation has reduced the load rating for the Mill Creek Bridge on West 6^th Street in The Dalles.  The Dalles Public Works Department indicates it is due to a change in federal regulations for bridge load ratings.  The result is that the maximum load rating will be reduced from 37 tons to 27 tons.  The rating is somewhat lower for specialized hauling vehicles that have more axles and more weight in a shorter length.  In a statement, The Dalles Public Works says it is evaluating options for strengthening the structure.  Updated load limit signs have been posted.

Boys Basketball

The Dalles 51, LaGrande 50:  Oscar Fernandez hit the game-winner to cap off the Riverhawks comeback in the non-league game.  The Dalles had a balanced output during the contest, as Josh Nisbet led the way with 11 points, Aidan Telles and Jacob Hernandez scored ten points each, and Fernandez had nine.

Yakama Tribal 84, Lyle-Wishram 73

Liberty Christian 86, Klickitat-Glenwood 45

Goldendale 60, Highland 38

Girls Basketball

Stevenson 57, LaCenter 47:  Katie Rathgeber and Kaitlyn Wenz each scored 14 points as the Bulldogs handed La Center its first Trico League loss in nearly three years.  The Bulldogs outscored the Wildcats 24-14 in the third quarter to spark the win, then made 13 of 17 free throws to hold the advantage.

King’s Way Christian 47, Columbia 29

Liberty Christian 67, Klickitat-Glenwood 27

Highland 43, Goldendale 35

Dufur at Mitchell-Spray postponed to February 5.

Girls Wrestling

Hood River Valley 36, Forest Grove 4:  Emily Mitchell’s win by fall in just eight seconds highlighted the Eagles’ dual meet victory.

The White Salmon Valley School District continues to prepare a bond measure for the April 23 ballot.  District Superintendent Jerry Lewis says they are working on a list of projects to present to the district board next week.  Lewis notes this measure will replace the current bond that will be retired in 2020, so the tax rate would stay the same.  The project list currently includes a covered play area for the elementary and intermediate school, an in-district health clinic, a multi-purpose facility, interior upgrades, and redesigning the parking lot at the district’s main campus.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden has postponed town halls planned in Hood River and The Dalles next week due to a change in the House of Representatives calendar.  In announcing the postponements, Walden’s office indicated the House is now scheduled to be in session beginning Tuesday, January 22, so the Hood River Republican will need to be present in Washington, D.C. for votes in the House.  The House was scheduled to be out of session the week of January 21 when Walden first announced his town hall schedule for January.  Walden’s office says town halls that were scheduled for Hood River, Wasco, and other counties will be rescheduled for later dates.

The Dalles City Council voted unanimously to proceed with an intergovernmental agreement with Columbia Gorge Community College and Wasco County to use three-point-five million dollars in enterprise zone funds from the third Google project to help CGCC build the Treaty Oak Skills Center.  The CGCC board last week voted to proceed with a seven-point-six million dollar bond sale on the project pending signing of the IGA, and Wasco County Commissioners will take up the subject on Wednesday.  The College has a seven-point-three million dollar grant from the state for the project, and has committed $3.8 million to construct college housing toward the required match that would be completed with the enterprise zone funds, but the state requires those monies to be in the bank by February 11, and for that to happen the bond sale needs to proceed by January 28.  The enterprise zone funds would go to CGCC once the facility is completed.  The third Google project agreement calls for the first of 15 annual payments to be made in fiscal year 2019-20, and will be for at least one million dollars, and most officials think it will be substantially more than that.  The vote came during the first meeting for new Mayor Rich Mays and Councilor Rod Runyon, who took their oaths of office at the start of the meeting along with re-elected members Russ Brown and Tim McGlothlin.

The Hood River County School District has started the process of revising its boundary lines for elementary and middle schools.  Space issues at various schools has led to the need to make the adjustments.  Superintendent Dan Goldman says an internal committee is doing data collection now, and then a public committee with school and parent representatives will be put together to develop recommendations.  Those recommendations will go to the Hood River County School District board.

The City of White Salmon is still waiting for the permit to allow them to put their aquifer storage recovery project into operation.  Mayor David Poucher says the City thought it would have its permit in hand by the end of 2018, but now the Washington Department of Ecology is proposing a conditional use permit by the end of January.  Poucher says they are anxious to get the go ahead to begin to collect water.  The aquifer storage recovery will collect runoff from Buck Creek in the winter during high water flows, store it underground in the aquifer to be used during the drier summer season.

The City of Hood River has contracted to do a space needs analysis for the municipal police department.  The Hood River Police Department has been located in the basement of City Hall since 2010.  Mayor Paul Blackburn says at some point the police department eventually will need a new home.  Mackenzie Architecture and Engineering will do the analysis, and Blackburn expects the City to receive a report in late spring.

Boys Basketball

Seton Catholic 76, Stevenson 68:  Seton Catholic used a 22-9 third quarter run to grab the win.  Jono Blackledge scored 19 points and Issac Hoidal 17 for Stevenson.

Girls Basketball

Trout Lake 54, Hood River Valley 46

As Hood River County Commissioners continue to sort through the details of tax revenue measures to put before voters in May, their next task is to hash out a request for a local option levy.  No consensus has been reached on a rate, but new Commission Chair Mike Oates says assuming a five percent tax on prepared food and beverages passes, there is a range to consider.  He says if the local option just covers what the County is currently paying for with reserves, it would need to be a rate of 48 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value, but to reach a level many County officials think they should be, it would take a dollar-58.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says the prepared food and beverage tax, modeled on one in effect currently in Ashland, would generate about one-point-seven million dollars a year.  Commissioners hold their next meeting on January 22.