Volleyball Hood River Valley won the Canby Tournament, defeating the host Cougars in the final 27-29, 25-19, 16-14.  The Eagles scored the last three points of the final game to grab the victory.  Katie Kennedy led the Eagles with 13 kills. South Wasco def. Trinity Lutheran 25-12, 25-8, 25-18 LaSalle (Yakima) def. Goldendale 25-18, 25-22, 25-13   Boys Soccer Corvallis 2, Hood River Valley 0 Trout Lake 5, Irrigon 0   Girls Soccer West Albany 6, Hood River Valley 0 Toppenish 10, Goldendale 1   Cross Country The Dalles was the boys’ winner and Hood River Valley won the girls’ run at a five-school meet in Prineville.  The Riverhawks’ Sam Alvarez won the boys’ race with teammates Friedrich Stelzer in third and Gabe Lira in fourth.  HRV’s top finisher was Josh Haynes in sixth.  Frances Dickinson, Brinna Weiseth, and Evelyn Nunez grabbed a 1-2-3 finish for Hood River in the girls’ race, while Emma Mullins of The Dalles was fourth.   Columbia’s boys were second and girls fourth, while both the Trout Lake boys and girls were seventh in the Steve Maas Run-A-Ree at Hudson’s Bay High School.  Trout Lake’s Justin Peck was second and Columbia’s Jacob Lockman third in the boys’ race, while in the girls’ race Joules Hope of CHS was sixth and Joanna Peck was the top Trout Lake finisher in 14th.   Goldendale finished third in the Ellensburg Invitational relays.   Football Pendleton 46, Hood River Valley 0 LaGrande 48, The Dalles 20 Columbia 40, Ilwaco 0 Stevenson 34, Corbett 0 Dufur 56, Arlington 0 Pilot Rock 50, Sherman 0 Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 76, Oakville 6 Goldendale 40, White Swan 14 South Wasco 55, Triangle Lake 0

Work on a mural depicting a salmon of “Only Slightly Exaggerated” size is getting underway in The Dalles.  The mural will be paid for by Travel Oregon, and is being painted on a building at 723 East 2nd Street by artist Blaine Fontana.  It is part of Travel Oregon’s “Only Slightly Exaggerated” campaign featuring high-energy cinematic animation of the state’s diverse natural features and range of outdoor adventures.  Seven murals are being painted around the state as part of the campaign.  This mural depicts a “slightly exaggerated” sized salmon happily leaping from the Columbia River over river rafters below.  This is the second mural Fontana has been commission to paint in The Dalles, with his recently completed “The Valley Gorge Hub Mural” on 1st Street between Federal and Laughlin.

Volleyball Hood River Valley def. Camas 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19 Dufur def. Mitchell-Spray 25-11, 25-14, 25-11 South Wasco def. Ione 25-15, 25-13, 26-28, 26-24 Columbia def. Lyle-Wishram 3 sets to 0   Boys Soccer The Dalles 3, Putnam 3:  The Riverhawks came from three goals down to earn the draw.  Reed Twidwell started the rally midway through the second half, with Alex Gutierrez pulling the Riverhawks within a goal.  Andy Lopez scored the tying goal in the game’s waning moments.  The Dalles had lost its first two games of the season. Trout Lake 7, Horizon Christian 3   Girls Soccer Putnam 1, The Dalles 0 LaSalle (Yakima) 10, Goldendale 0

Hood River County Commissioners are facing a decision on how and whether to fund the County’s Veterans Services Office after an attempt to use only state funds in fiscal year 2018-19 was found to be against state statutes.  The County’s original budget application for the office to the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs was rejected, with the state citing a statutory requirement for the county to participate in the operation of the veterans’ service office, and the county contribution may not be decreased from the previous year unless there is an equal percentage decrease in all county offices.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says their contribution last year was just over $31,000, but it was eliminated as the County dealt with its budgetary shortfall.  Hecksel says the Commission has the option either to come up with a supplemental appropriation putting the $31,000 into the Veterans’ Services Office budget, or to cease operation of the program.  The Commission will consider the matter at its September 17 meeting.

Hood River’s Children’s Park will reopen on September 22.  Opening of the rebuilt play facility was postponed due to delays in receiving materials needed to finish the park.  Many elements that should have arrived by the June community build were delayed by the manufacturers.  A few more installments need to be made to full complete work on the park, but it has been deemed safe and ready for play.  City Councilor Megan Saunders said the delay did allow City Public Works to complete concrete work to repair a damaged sidewalk around the play area, shore up the hillside to reduce erosion, and clean and repaint the parking lot.  The reopening of the 25-year-old park will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting and community festivities from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on September 22.

In a letter to Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the agency was authorizing Walden’s request to grant emergency grazing to Wasco and Sherman County ranchers and flexibility for wheat producers whose crop was impacted by the wildfires.  Walden wrote to Perdue last month requesting assistance from the Department of Agriculture for wheat farmers and ranchers impacted by the Substation Fire.  In response to Walden’s request, Perdue stated that USDA will authorize emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program land, and will grant necessary flexibility to summer fallow wheat producers.   Walden also requested in August that UDSA approve the state of Oregon’s disaster declaration after the fires.  Perdue stated the agency is currently compiling reported losses, recommendations for counties as disaster areas, and additional information to complete the review process before making a determination on the disaster declaration.

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have urged federal officials to use more accurate, timely, and science-based measurements in determining whether Oregon farmers and ranchers have access to drought disaster aid programs.  The pair wrote Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that the U.S. Drought Monitor’s measurement criteria and process for Farm Service Agency disaster programs are unfairly treating Oregonians battling wildfires and water shortages created by prolonged hot, dry weather.  Wyden and Merkley cited as examples of outdated measurements those that only rely on precipitation and lean heavily on reservoir storage and capacity.  They urged the use of newer and better drought metrics that include temperature, “snow drought” or reduced winter mountain snowpack, shutoffs to senior water rights, increased irrigation demand due to extreme temperatures, soil moisture levels, lack of livestock water in pastures, ecological stress on forests, wildfire activity and danger, and streamflows.

The Aluminum Man Triathlon returns to The Dalles on Saturday.  Last year’s event was cancelled due to smoke from the Eagle Creek Fire.  Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District executive director Scott Baker says they have over 100 entries so far, with many more expected to sign up on Saturday morning.  Individual and team entries are accepted for the event.  For registration information go to nwprd.org.  Day of event registration will be from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Riverfront Park in The Dalles.

The annual Huckleberry Festival is this weekend, centered in Daubenspeck Park in Bingen beginning Friday evening and continuing through Sunday.  Chris Connolly says they will have plenty of huckleberry pies and the always popular bratwurst.  She adds the festival parade through downtown Bingen will take place Saturday morning, with lineup at 120 East Steuben at 9:30 a.m. and the parade itself starting at 11 a.m.  The grand marshal will be retired White Salmon-Bingen Police Chief Tracy Wyckoff.  Music and entertainment is planned throughout the festival in the park, along with kids’ activities.  For complete schedule information go to huckleberry-fest.com.

Volleyball Camas def. The Dalles 25-12, 19-25, 25-10, 25-7   Girls Soccer Fort Vancouver 6, Stevenson 4   Cross Country Stevenson’s Isabella Spencer was seventh in the girls’ race and the Bulldogs’ Julio Ramos  ninth in the boys’ race at the LaCenter Jamboree.