Klickitat County has extended burn bans in the western and central portions of the County to October 12, and to October 31 east of the eastern boundary of Fire District #7.  The bans are being extended due to the high wildfire hazard conditions experienced this summer and a continued lack of sufficient precipitation.  The burn bans prohibit the issuance of burning permits except for authorized agricultural burning.  Residential barbecues are allowed.  Citizens are asked to check with the appropriate authorities concerning burning restrictions within the corporate limits of any city or town.

The White Salmon Valley School District is finding it is not benefiting from a new distribution system for funding K-12 schools in Washington.  Superintendent Jerry Lewis says with the loss of 40 percent of its voter-approved maintenance and operations levy and a new salary schedule, the district is having to go into its ending fund balance.  Lewis says as the 2019 legislative session draws nearer, the fixes won’t be easy, as some districts have benefited from the new funding formula, but others have not.

Volleyball Crook County def. Hood River Valley 25-18, 33-31, 22-25, 17-25, 15-13:  The Cowgirls won a wild match that saw HRV keep it alive by winning the third set thanks to a closing 9-1 run.  The Eagles’ Katie Kennedy set a school record with 39 kills. Pendleton def. The Dalles 25-17, 25-13, 25-9 Echo def. Dufur 21-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-8, 15-7 South Wasco def. Sherman 17-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 Zillah def. Goldendale 27-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-25, 15-12   Girls Soccer LaSalle 2, Hood River Valley 0   Boys Water Polo Hood River Valley 19, Grant 8   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 21, Grant 6

The Dalles City Council spent a large part of a worksession on Monday night talking about whether the City is in any position to take over the building codes program for the City and all of Wasco County.  The state of Oregon has been handling building permits in Wasco County since the dissolution of the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments, which provided the service in Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties.  Much of the conversation revolved around whether four million dollars in reserves accumulated by the MCCOG program could be used for establishing a new building codes office, and Mayor Steve Lawrence says they want to get that answer.  He also wants to know if there would be much of an impact on the general fund if the City handled building permits.  Under state law, the reserves must be used within the building permit program.  Councilors asked to staff to continue to investigate to get answers on how those funds can be used.  The Wasco County Commission will discuss the issue at its meeting Wednesday morning in the County Courthouse, with that subject scheduled for 10:20 a.m.

Hood River County Commissioners have decided to use $31,000 in contingency funds to keep the County’s Veterans Service Office open through the current fiscal year.  The County had thought it could use nearly $81,000 in state funding to operate the office, but was informed that state law requires the County to maintain its current funding level for the program to receive those monies.  County staff did recommend closing the office, but Administrator Jeff Hecksel said commissioners decided not to do that, in part because that had not been considered in budget discussions during the spring.  The Commission will look at the subject again when putting together the budget for fiscal year 2019-20.

A big step in construction of the new May Street Elementary School has taken place with a big concrete pour.  Hood River County School District Superintendent Dan Goldman says the project is on schedule, and on budget.  Goldman noted the district received approval for the bond measure paying for the new school and accumulated the proceeds from it ahead of a jump in the construction market, allowing the district to lock in costs that would have skyrocketed a few months later.  Goldman did say getting steel to the May Street site has been an issue, and that’s important to get done so winter work can be done indoors.

With autumn officially arriving this weekend, the race is on to finish road projects before winter.  In White Salmon, Mayor David Poucher says they have plenty of street work to complete.  All of 4th Street is being repaved, and Oak Street is being resurfaced.  Poucher adds White Salmon contracted with Klickitat County so the County crews could do some of these projects.

Boys Soccer LaSalle 3, Hood River Valley 0:  The Eagles fall to 1-3 in non-league play, with all of the losses coming to teams ranked in the top five of the Oregon Class 5A coaches’ poll. Horizon Christian 2, Crosshill Christian 1:  Horizon moves into first place in Special District 7 with the win. Trout Lake 5, Columbia Adventist 0

It’s a bit early to make a final determination, but early indications show a fourth straight year of enrollment decline in the Hood River County School District.  Superintendent Dan Goldman says their numbers are actually a bit higher than originally projected.  He says this year’s decline can be attributed to a large graduating high school class last year along with a reduction in kindergarten numbers.  Goldman notes with four years of decline, there is a definite trend.  That means without funding changes from the Oregon Legislature, the district will have to adjust its organization to reflect the number of students it has.  Goldman does say the district has been taking steps in recent years to be as lean as possible outside of the classroom.

The Dufur School District is seeking approval of a four-million-dollar bond measure during the November election that will allow it to claim a four million dollar matching grant from the state.  The district plans to use the funds to do safety and security improvements, maximize use of existing facilities, re-work some of its transportation services, and increase energy efficiencies in district buildings.  The proposed property tax rate of a $1.71 per thousand dollars of assessed value is lower than the approximately $3 per thousand for the district’s previous bond that was retired in June.  Informational meetings on the bond measure are scheduled for September 19 in the Celilo Village Education Center and September 24, October 15, and October 29 in the Dufur School cafeteria.  All begin at 7 p.m.