The Hood River County School District is asking voters to renew the district’s five-year local option levy in the May 15 election.  The levy has been in place for 13 years, and the district is once again seeking a rate of $1.25 per thousand dollars of assessed property value, unchanged from the past ten years.  District board member Rich Truax says the levy funds the equivalent of 29 full-time positions, and allows the district to offer a wider range of programs.  The local option levy generates about $2.5 million, and the district then receives a state match of approximately $560,000.

Wahtonka Community School’s application to become a charter school isn’t complete yet, but it’s closer than it was a few months ago.  The North Wasco County School District 21 board received the application this week, and Superintendent Candy Armstrong says this time most of the heavy lifting like curriculum plans and course statements is done, but some details have to be taken care of.  Armstrong thinks the application can be finished within about a week, and at that point a hearing will be scheduled.

One lane and occasional full road closures will be in effect on East 18th Street between Thompson and Morton as work to extend sewer service to new homes under construction in that area continues through April 27.  Motorists are encouraged to minimize through traffic and use alternate routes when possible.  The Dalles Public Works Department says sanitary sewer construction is scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays.

The Dalles Public Works will be doing work on East 12th Street between H and Kelly this coming week in preparation for chip sealing activities in June.  No parking zone signs have been placed ahead of a full road closure on Monday between 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.  Motorists are asked to park vehicles outside of the work zone during work hours.  The purpose of the project is to extend the service life of the pavement structure.

Baseball King’s Way Christian 19, Columbia 0   Softball Hood River Valley 8, Hermiston 0:  Hannah McNerney drove in three runs and struck out eight while pitching a three-hit shutout.  Haylee Baker doubled three times as HRV amassed 12 hits. Columbia 22, Lyle-Wishram 3   Boys Tennis Hood River Valley 8, Pendleton 0 Hermiston 5, The Dalles 3   Girls Tennis Pendleton 6, Hood River Valley 2 Hermiston 6, The Dalles 2   Boys Soccer LaCenter 2, Columbia 1   Girls Lacrosse Hood River Valley 12, Grant 2:  Isabella Simpson, Katherine McElderry, and Ashley Hendricks scored two goals each to lead HRV to their eighth win in nine games.  

The 12th Annual Gorge Artists Open Studios is taking place all weekend throughout the region.  41 studios from Cascade Locks to The Dalles and Parkdale to Trout Lake will be open for visitors to experience and enjoy a wide variety of work by local artists.  The tour is free and self-guided, and detailed maps are available online at gorgeartists.org along with area Chambers of Commerce, Art on Oak in Hood River, and The Dalles Art Center.

North Wasco County School District 21 officials are beginning to go out to the community with its concept of seeking a 235 million dollar bonding authority to replace four of their school buildings over the next 20 years and do other capital upgrades.  D-21 Board Chair Kathy Ursprung says the board has not yet made a decision on whether to put the plan on the November ballot, but they are beginning a process to gauge public opinion.  She says unlike going out for separate bond measures for each project, tax rates would remain consistent.  The first project would be to construct a new high school on the Wahtonka campus.  A town hall meeting on the bond plan is set for Tuesday evening at 6:30 at Mid-Columbia Senior Center.

The Oregon State Marine Board has approved a grant to the South Wasco Parks and Recreation District to repair the south boat ramp at Pine Hollow Reservoir.  The announcement was made at Wednesday’s Wasco County Commission meeting.  The ramp is currently the only public boating access facility on the reservoir, and a Marine Board staff inspection last summer found it was beginning to fail.  The $34,900 grant, with a partial match from the district of $21,500, will replace the upper 75 feet of concrete ramp and extend its life by ten years.  County Commissioner Rod Runyon said he hopes this grant will set the stage to receive funding from the Marine Board for the reservoir’s north boat ramp, which collapsed in 2010 and was later condemned due to safety concerns.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden announced Thursday that Oregon will receive over six-point-five million dollars in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services to be used for the prevention of opioid abuse and treatment for those affected.  That matches a similar amount the state received in the first round of grants under the 21st Century Cures Act last April.  During a speech on the floor of the House, the Hood River Republican said opioids are impacting all of America.  Walden called combating the opioid crisis in Oregon and across the country his top priority as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The City of The Dalles has completed one phase of its codification program implementation.  That’s the process of organizing and arranging all legislation of a general and permanent nature into a code.  The City has posted a link on its website to the new searchable on-line code.  The code is completely searchable, with a search link on the top and on the side of the page.  There is also a “Code Alert” tab that will list all ordinances that have been passed, but not yet incorporated into the city code.