The Wasco County Commission has pulled back a notification that it would turn over building codes administration to the state on October 31 after they were informed by the state a local office would not be set up.  Commissioner Scott Hege says the state is still encouraging building codes be handled at the local level, so the County will continue discussions on the matter until at least the end of the year, and perhaps longer.  More discussion of the building code options will give the City of The Dalles more time to consider whether or not it can take on the services.

The Port of Hood River is preparing a plan for public involvement as an environmental impact statement for replacement of the Interstate Bridge takes place.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says the consulting firm Enviroissues has already begun interviews with stakeholders, and a major public meeting is being planned for November.  He adds another element of the effort came from discussions with various Washington public agencies, with agreement to have a working group involving public and private stakeholders that would meet regularly and kept up to date on the project.  McElwee says a substantial percentage of the budget for development of the EIS is earmarked for public outreach.

Volleyball Hood River Valley def. The Dalles 25-18, 25-20, 19-25, 25-17:  HRV nails down second in the Intermountain Conference with the win. Castle Rock def. Columbia 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 Seton Catholic def. Stevenson 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 16-14 Goldendale def. Highland 25-12, 25-11, 25-12   Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 5, Redmond 0:  The Eagles moved past The Dalles into second in the IMC. Ridgeview 2, The Dalles 1   Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 3, Redmond 0:  HRV is now in second place in the Intermountain Conference. Ridgeview 2, The Dalles 0 Highland 5, Goldendale 1   Cross Country The Dalles won the boys’ team title and finished second to Enterprise in the girls’ race at the Kyle Burnside Wildhorse Invitational in Pendleton.  Emma Mullins of The Dalles won the girls’ race in a time of 19:13.9, while teammate Hanna Ziegenhagen was ninth.  Sam Alvarez finished fourth in the boys’ run for the Riverhawks while Friedrich Stelzer was ninth.   Goldendale won both the boys and girls races in a dual meet with Royal.  Lucas Anderson, Sterling Beasley, and Corbin Riley finished 1-2-3 for the Timberwolf boys, while Ellie Rising and Abby Hedges ran 1-2 for the Goldendale girls.

One person was taken to a hospital Tuesday afternoon after a five vehicle accident on Highway 35 near the intersections of Booth Hill Road and Central Vale Drive in Hood River County. The Oregon State Police says at the time of the crash there was a pickup truck stopped in the southbound left hand lane waiting to turn left onto Booth Hill Road, waiting for a northbound semi-truck and tanker and other oncoming traffic to pass before turning.  There was also a vehicle in the right-hand lane turning right onto Central Vale Drive.  A white pickup and a grey pickup were able to stop in the left-hand lane behind the waiting vehicle, but a maroon truck pulling a flatbed trailer with a car on top was not able to stop, and swerved left into the northbound lanes.  It clipped the back of one truck, and eventually hit the semi-truck and tanker head-on in the northbound lanes.  Another vehicle then hit the maroon truck’s trailer.  The driver of the maroon truck was transported to Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital and was treated for minor injuries, while the OSP says all of the other drivers were not injured.  Traffic was re-routed onto Central Vale Drive until the highway could be cleared.

The request from Columbia Gorge Community College for three-point-five million dollars in enterprise zone payments resulting from the latest Google projects to help develop a skills center and housing will go to a joint Wasco County/City of The Dalles panel to determine a recommendation to both governments on whether to provide the funds.  CGCC needs to provide a match to 7.3 million dollars in state funding by the end of January 2019, with the school having committed to 3.8 million dollars for the housing portion.  Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege says the latest series of Google payments is expected to bring one-point-two million dollars annually with an expectation of going higher over 15 years, and if the CGCC plan is approved he’d like to see a payoff of the debt take place quickly rather than over longer period time require more expenditures on debt service.  Both the County and the City must approve the usage of the enterprise zone funds.

The Port of Hood River continues to progress toward putting together a public infrastructure plan to allow development on Lot 1 on the waterfront.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee has made presentations in recent days to both the City’s Urban Renewal Agency and the Port Commission on what is needed, and he said it would be “expensive and extensive”  and could mean road improvements and various utility installations.  McElwee says there will be a series of meetings over the course of the next two months, with the intent of giving a final report to the URA board in December.  That would be a part of the discussion on whether tax-increment funding should be use for the infrastructure projects.

Cross Country Columbia won the boys’ title at the Trico League Championships at Vancouver Lake Park.  Jacob Lockman finished second, Dylan Beneventi third, and Gerald Hoff fifth to pace the Bruins to the win.  Stevenson finished fourth, with Julio Ramos the top individual finisher for the Bulldogs in eighth.  LaCenter won the girls’ championship, with Columbia third and Stevenson fourth.  Lillian Nelson of CHS finished seventh while teammate Danica Warren was eighth.  Stevenson’s Isabella Spencer took ninth.   Trout Lake won the girls’ championship and was second to Bickleton in the boys’ race at the Washington Class B District 5 Championships in Pasco.  The Mustangs had five of the top nine girls’ finishers, led by Joanna Peck in third and Makenna Stock in fourth.  Gabe Harpe was the top finisher for Trout Lake in the boys’ run by coming in tenth.

A 47-year-old Washougal man died in an ATV accident Tuesday evening in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office says the accident occurred on private timber land about 18 miles east of Cougar.  Emergency personnel found Eric J. Heath deceased at the scene of the accident.  A passenger, 38-year-old Nicole R. Bryden of Vancouver, was transported by ambulance to Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver for treatment of injuries.  The Sheriff’s Office says initial reports indicate Heath was riding a quad with inoperative headlights and that he was not familiar with the area.  There are indications alcohol and/or speed may have been a contributing factor, the investigation is on-going.  Heath was taken to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Friday’s estimated Mega Millions jackpot is at an all-time high for the game of $900 million.  The jackpot would be the second largest in U.S. history, trailing only the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot from 2016.  That jackpot was shared by three winners from California, Florida and Tennessee.  The Oregon Lottery began offering Mega Millions in March 2010, but there has never been a jackpot winner in the state.  The winner of the Mega Millions jackpot can choose to take the prize either in a 30-year annuity or a one-time lump sum.  After taxes, the 30-year graduated annuity will average $20.4 million each year. The one-time cash option, after taxes, is over $349 million.

As leaves fall, The Dalles public works crews are getting ready to pick them up from the street.  Fallen leaves can block storm water catch basins and cause flooding.  They also create a slip hazard when they freeze onto the streets.  Residents are asked to park off the street during sweeper work hours between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. weekdays.  Do not rake leaves from your yard into the street.  Compost leaves at home or put them in your yard debris container for pick-up.  You can also put them in compostable paper bags and take them to The Dalles Transfer Station.  Remove large sticks or branches from the roadway so they don’t jam the sweeper.  Clear storm drains in front of your house to prevent flooding during a rainstorm.