As part of its new contract with the City of The Dalles to continue to provide tourism marketing services, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce will be hiring a tourism director.  Chamber CEO Lisa Farquharson says the position doesn’t have a name yet, but it has a job description.  It includes overseeing tourism marketing under the new contract, supervising a “tourism team,” and involvement in a new campaign being put together.  In addition, Farquharson says they will be working with the City in putting together a tourism committee made up of people involved with businesses that are dependent on the tourist business.  Farquharson adds the goal of the effort is to take tourism in The Dalles to a new level.

Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee says a couple of developments have hopefully helped to bring noise down at the Ken Jernstedt Airfield.  McElwee says one of those involved a tenant moving some pilot training operations to other locations.  In addition, voluntary “fly friendly” rules asking pilots to take steps to reduce noise were put in place.  McElwee says with the summer season arriving and airport use picking up, the Port will keep monitoring the situation.

Track and Field Hood River Valley’s boys won the 4×400 meter relay to grab fourth place and a trophy at the Oregon Class 5A Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.  The relay team of Matthew Tichenor, Gabriel Campos-Davis, Chad Klaas, and Robby Running won in a time of 3:24.74.  Klaas also finished second in the pole vault, while Tichenor was fourth in the 400.  HRV’s Jonah Tactay and the 4×100 relay squad also had fourth place finishes.  For the HRV girls, Katie Kennedy was second in the long jump and fourth in the 100 meter hurdles, and Frances Dickinson was fourth in the 3,000 to match the same finish in the 1500 on Friday.  Justin Conklin of The Dalles was third in the boys’ 110 meter hurdles, while the Riverhawks’ Paulina Finn was fifth in the girls’ high jump.   South Wasco’s Ana Popchock set a meet record while winning the girls’ triple jump in the Oregon Class 1-A championships.  She jumped 37′ 4 ¾” to set the record.  Popchock also finished second in the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles to lead the Redsides to a fifth place team finish.  In the boys’ portion of the meet, Dufur’s 4×100 meter relay team of Cole Kortge, Abraham Kilby, Anthony Thomas, and Tanner Masterson was a winner in a time of 45.25 seconds.  Horizon Christian’s Andrew Wells finished second in the boys’ discuss.   Trout Lake won the girls title and was second in the boys’ standings at the Washington District 5/6 Class 1B meet.  Hannah Funkhouser, Liz Fink, and Isabella Dean won two events each for the Mustang girls, while the Trout Lake boys had seven first place finishes.   Lyle-Wishram’s Brandon Montoya won three events at the Washington District 5/6 Class 2B meet.  Montoya won the boys’ 100, 200, and long jump.  Teammates Elijah McCullough won the boys’ discus and Larissa McConville the girls’ javelin.   Goldendale’s Dillon Rising and Allison Gilliam won two events each at the SCAC meet.  Rising won the 1600 and 3200 meters, while Gilliam won the 100 meter hurdles and 300 meter hurdles.   Oregon Class 5A Boys Tennis Tournaments Quarterfinals Rox Rogers, Ashland def. Vaughn Reardon, HRV 6-2, 6-1 Logan Hausler, Summit def. Sawyer Bogard, HRV 6-0, 6-0   Oregon High School Lacrosse Association Playoffs First Round Central Catholic 11, Hood River Valley 10 (overtime)   Oregon Class 5A Baseball Play-In Round Hood River Valley 8, St. Helens 0:  Connor Coerper and Grayson Losee combined on a no-hitter.  Coerper struck out 14 in going six innings, while Losee pitched a 1-2-3 seventh.  Coeper, Caden Leiblien, and Issac Beaman drove in two runs each.  The Eagles will visit Sandy in the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday.   Wilsonville 11, The Dalles 0   Oregon Class 2-A/1-A Special District 6 Playoff Pilot Rock 4, Sherman 1:  Sherman will begin the state playoffs on Wednesday.   Oregon Class 5A Softball Play-In Round Hood River Valley 14, Wilsonville 0:  The Eagles will host Thurston in the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday.   Southwest Washington Class 1-A District Softball Tournament Elma 11, Columbia 6

Three trails accessible from Starvation Creek State Park and several short trails leading to lakes in the Mt. Hood National Forest reopened Friday for the first time since Eagle Creek Fire.  The newly reopened portion of the paved Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail segment passes by four waterfalls and is the entry point for the rugged Starvation Ridge Trail and Mt. Defiance Trail.  Several short trails leading to Wahtum, Black, Bear, North, Rainy, and Warren Lakes on the Mt. Hood National Forest also reopened, along with the lakes themselves.  Those trails are accessible from Forest Road 2820 or Forest Road 1310 in Mt. Hood National Forest.  All the newly reopened trails are located on the eastern fringe of the Eagle Creek Fire perimeter, and may have increased hazards and damage from the fire.  Some adjacent trails in the vicinity remain closed, because they lead into dangerous, heavily impacted areas.  Hikers are advised to respect closure signs and remain only on open trails.  Violators that enter closed areas are subject to citations and fines.  Go to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area website for complete closure information.

Track and Field South Wasco’s Madisen Davis won the girls javelin to highlight the first day for Mid-Columbia athletes athe Oregon Class 1A Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.  Davis won with a throw of 127′ 1″, more than 12 feet farther than the second place finisher.  In other finals, South Wasco’s Ana Popchock was third in the girls’ long jump, Kiersten White of Dufur was fourth in the girls high jump, Dufur’s Friedrick Stelzer finished fifth in the boys’ 3,000 meters, Owen Christiansen of Sherman took seventh in the boys’ long jump, and Horizon Christian’s Harena Decker was seventh in the girls’ discus.  Competition continues today.   Stevenson won the boys’ title while Columbia finished third at the Southwest Washington Class 1A District Championships at Woodland.  The Bulldogs won with seven first places finishes, including two each by Lincoln Krog and David McAndie, while Kody Campbell, Ethan Haight, and Issac Hoidal all scored victories.  Columbia received first place finishes by Stanley Hylton in the javelin and the 4 by 400 meter relay team.   The CHS girls finished fourth behind victorious Seton Catholic while Stevenson tied for seventh.  The Bruins’ Alondra Casarez-Garcia was first in the 100 meter hurdles while CHS also won the 4 by 200 meter relay.  Stevenson’s Cassie MacNab earned the victory in the triple jump.   Tennis Oregon Class 5A Boys Tennis Tournament at Portland Tennis Center Singles Vaughn Reardon, HRV def. Benny Saito, Redmond, 6-4, 6-3, and will play top-seed Rox Rogers of Ashland in the quarter-finals Sawyer Bogard, HRV def. Timur Yusupov, Hillsboro, 7-6, 6-0, advancing to a quarter-final match with second seed Logan Hausler of Summit.   Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association Playoffs Quarterfinal Hood River Valley 11, West Linn 10:  Abigail Bartles scored four goals and Kathryn Koenig three as HRV advances to the semi-finals for the first time.  HRV will at Lake Oswego for a semi-final game on Monday at 8 p.m.

A bill to allow some Oregon tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, to lease and sell property they own has received Congressional approval.  Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Greg Walden and Peter DeFazio had pushed for the Oregon Tribal Economic Development Act.  Currently, under the Indian Non-Intercourse Act, tribes are required to get federal approval to purchase, sell, convey, warrant, or lease lands they own privately, making it difficult to seize on economic development opportunities.  The new bill allows certain tribes in Oregon to forego that additional approval on privately held lands.  The bill does not affect property that is held in trust by the United States.  It now heads to the President for his signature.

Fire season is nearing in the Mid-Columbia.  Rick Fletcher of the Oregon Department of Forestry says the potential is very similar to what we’ve seen in years past. Spring rains led to growth of grasses and small shrubs, which means a heavier fuel load.  Fletcher says on Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands in Wasco County, open debris burning has been shut down as of Tuesday.  Contact your local fire agency for regulations in your area.

Mid-Columbia Community Action is holding a fundraiser block party on Friday outside of its headquarters on 312 East 4th in The Dalles, across from The Dalles Civic Auditorium.  Along with the organization’s annual barbecue, there will be some fun activities and a small auction with donations going to help assist families in need throughout the year.  Community Action Executive Director Jim Slusher says they are trying to generate more funds to help people who struggled to pay their heating bills this past winter.  The block party will be between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday.

Sherman County Medical Clinic announced its nurse practitioner has gotten an exemption allowing him to continue seeing Medicare patients.  The clinic had been concerned Mark Corey would not receive the exemption to serve a caseload of nearly 200 Medicare patients at the rural health clinic in Moro, which would have forced it to reduce services.  Sherman County Health District Administrator Caitlin Blagg said Senator Ron Wyden’s office assisted with getting the exemption approved.  She says the Nurse Practitioner is essential to provide quality health care in Sherman County.  Wyden said he was gratified to work with Medicare officials to reach a just resolution.

Southwest Washington Class 1A District Softball Tournament at Centralia First Round Hoquiam 19, Columbia 2:  The Bruins play Elma on Saturday at noon, and will need to win two games to reach the state playoffs.   Softball Oregon City 10, Hood River Valley 2:  The Pioneers scored nine runs in the last three innings to blow the game open.  Hannah McNerney hit a two-run homer for HRV.