Some local officials are hoping this session of Congress will bring the remaining economic development funding promised through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act.  The Dalles Community Action Team, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, and others have been seeking the remaining two million dollars of funding.  Andrea Klaas of the Port of The Dalles says in late December all four Northwest senators along with Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden and Washington Third District Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler all signed a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting the money be released.  Klaas says they are working with USDA Rural Development state director John Huffman to find a way to get that money to the region.

A number of Klickitat County Search and Rescue volunteers were honored at the group’s annual appreciation night in Goldendale.  Eleven new members were recognized with commemorative SAR pins.  Recognition went to Deb Ireland and Dick Rogers for 5 years of volunteer service and Scott Ellsworth for 10 years.  Special recognition for 2018 was given to “Rookie of the Year”, Leandra Paasch and “Volunteer of the Year”, Jeff Adams.  In 2018 the Klickitat County SAR volunteers donated a total of 4,862 hours, including 12 missions, training, public relations events and over 6,254 personal vehicle miles.  Sheriff Bob Songer and SAR Coordinator Jeff King commended the volunteers for their dedication and commitment.

The Dalles Public Works Department will be conducting a street sign retro-reflectivity study during this week.  The purpose of the study is to determine which signs have lost their retro-reflectivity and need to be replaced in order to comply with state standards.  City crews will be driving throughout The Dalles in a clearly marked Public Works Department vehicle and shining a spotlight on street signs during night time hours this week.  For more information about street sign safety contact the Public Works Department at (541) 296-5401.

Boys Basketball

King’s Way Christian 84, Stevenson 50

Horizon Christian 52, Ione 33

Dufur 43, Arlington 29

Sherman 74, Mitchell-Spray 32

Trout Lake 67, Yakama Tribal 65

Sunnyside Christian 80, Klickitat-Glenwood 24

Walla Walla Valley Academy 64, Lyle-Wishram 53

Granger 75, Goldendale 68

Girls Basketball

Dufur 47, Arlington 23

Sherman 64, Mitchell-Spray 28

Yakama Tribal 50, Trout Lake 45

Sunnyside Christian 67, Klickitat-Glenwood 27

Walla Walla Valley Academy 45, Lyle-Wishram 15

Granger 54, Goldendale 16

Wrestling

Columbia finished fourteenth at the Pacific Rim Armed Forces Tournament in Seaside.  The Bruins’ Jack Kelly placed third at 132 pounds.

Girls Wrestling

Hood River Valley finished third at the Bob Beisell Tournament at Forest Grove.  The Eagles came home with four individual champions: Aryn Dahlstrom, Elena Kroll, Grace Miller, and Emily Mitchell.

Swimming

Hood River Valley won the girls’ portion of The Dalles Invitational at the Hood River Aquatic Center.  The winning effort featured three first place finishes in the relays.  The Dalles girls finished third.  In the boys’ competition, The Dalles was fourth and HRV fifth.

Alpine Skiing

Hood River Valley had three of the top four girls’ finishers and the top two boys’ placers in a Mt. Hood League slalom at Ski Bowl.  Josie Peterson was the winner of the girls’ run with Erica Anderson in third and Paris Nunn fourth. Nash Levy and Chris McElwee were one-two in the boys’ race.  Top finishers for The Dalles were Louis Redcloud in the boys’ race in 11^th and Petra Ervin was 17^th in the girls’ race.

Nordic Skiing

Hood River Valley’s Pelle Bergstromn was eighth in the boys’ race and Sophia Kaden 16^th in the girls’ race in a Northern League Nordic ski race at Teacup.

Boys Basketball

Hood River Valley 77, Pendleton 67:  The Eagles came back from a fourteen-point first half deficit to win the Intermountain Conference opener for both teams.  Carson Flores scored 25 points, Noah Webster 19, and German Diaz 18 for HRV.

The Dalles 61, Crook County 54

Dufur 66, Condon-Wheeler 59

Sherman 54, Arlington 48

South Wasco 41, Echo 31

Trout Lake 62, Klickitat-Glenwood 24

Zillah 91, Goldendale 34

Girls Basketball

The Dalles 56, Crook County 23:  Kilee Hoylman scored 23 points to lead the Riverhawks in the IMC opener, while Lauryn Belanger 10.

Pendleton 46, Hood River Valley 29

Stevenson 63, Castle Rock 52

LaCenter 64, Columbia 25

Dufur 34, Condon-Wheeler 32

Arlington 35, Sherman 31

South Wasco 62, Echo 35

Trout Lake 53, Klickitat-Glenwood 31

Zillah 79, Goldendale 19

Wrestling

Culver 51, Hood River Valley 18:  Maverick Geller and Preston Armstrong had wins by fall for HRV.

The latest figures for snowpack in the Lower Hood, Sandy, and Deschutes basin are not optimum for this part of the year.  Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Survey Supervisor Scott Oviatt says we are currently at 61 percent of normal, and a forecasted dry weather pattern for the next seven to ten days won’t help.  There is still plenty of winter left for more snow to accumulate, but Oviatt adds every day that passes without snow in the mountain puts the snowpack further behind normal.  Oviatt says the snow currently on the mountain is of higher density and fairly wet, so it takes less for that kind of snow to melt.

A pair of recent court cases in Oregon will probably result in more warning signs going up on public lands used for recreation.  The Port of Hood River Commission received a legal briefing on judicial decisions reducing the recreational immunity for agencies that allow their properties to be used by the public, increasing the risk of liability claims as the result of recreational injuries.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says they have been advised to increase signage to warn waterfront users of the risks involved.  McElwee says they expect to have signs up prior to the summer recreational season, adding many other agencies are facing the same challenge.

The Hood River County School District Board has approved the selection of Griffin Construction as the general contractor for upgrades to Parkdale and Westside Elementary Schools, the final large projects resulting from the district bond measure approved three years ago.  District Superintendent Dan Goldman says the bid of over $4.8 million came in under the amount they expected.  Griffin Construction was the contractor for the renovations for the Coe Primary Building, where the new Hood River Options Academy is located.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden will be in Hood River and Wasco counties to hold town halls this month. Wyden will be at the Hood River Middle School Auditorium on Monday, January 21 at 3:30 p.m.  The town hall in Wasco County will be the next day, Tuesday, January 22, at 10 a.m. at Dufur School.  Wyden plans to hold 12 town halls in the state during the month of January.

The proposed Treaty Oak Skill Center and campus housing project at Columbia Gorge Community College moved another step closer to reality as the school’s board of education approved moving forward with a $7.6 million bond sale if intergovernmental agreements with the City of The Dalles and Wasco County are approved.  The IGA will outline the use of $3.5 million of enterprise zone money from the Google projects to help pay back the bonds for construction of the skills center at the College.  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 subject is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of The Dalles City Council, and is expected to be discussed by the Wasco County Commission this coming Wednesday.  CGCC Manager of Marketing and Community Outreach Dan Spatz says under the proposed IGA, the school would receive one million dollars a year for bond payback from the enterprise zone funds once the project is completed.