The North Wasco County School District 21 board approved a new contract with its teachers.  The board ratified the two-year deal with the D-21 Education Association, covering the current school year and next.  D-21 also reached a contract agreement with education support professionals recently, and Superintendent Candy Armstrong was happy with the tone and tenor of the negotiations.  In other business, the board appointed Bethani Studebaker the fill the vacant Zone 1 seat until the current term ends on June 30, 2019.  

Hood River County Commissioners held a second worksession on Tuesday on the draft of a sales tax ordinance that will go to a public hearing on Monday.  Commissioners mainly dealt with clarifying language in the original draft.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel points out as Commissioners have dealt with the details of exemptions and other elements of the proposed two-percent sales tax, more questions pop up, and should it be approved there will opportunities for the board to clarify issues.  County officials have said another revenue source is needed to prevent service cuts.  The first public hearing on the proposed sales tax ordinance will be on Monday at 6 p.m. in the County Administration Building, with a second planned February 20 before Commissioners decide whether to put the ordinance on the ballot.  Hecksel said the final draft of the ordinance will be posted on the County website when it is finished.

Recreational sturgeon seasons in Bonneville and John Day pools will close in February under rules announced by Oregon and Washington fishery managers.  The states decided to close recreational white sturgeon retention effective Sunday in the Bonneville Pool and February 12 in the John Day Pool.  Columbia River recreational sturgeon retention seasons between Bonneville and McNary dams open at the beginning of the year and operate under area-specific harvest guidelines.  Sturgeon retention in The Dalles Pool closed January 20.  Under permanent fishing regulations, sturgeon retention is currently closed below Bonneville Dam and below Willamette Falls, but catch-and-release sturgeon fishing remains open in all of these waters.

Boys Basketball The Dalles 72, Hood River Valley 66:  The Riverhawks erased an eight-point third quarter deficit on the way to the win.  Josh Nisbet scored 20 points and Jacob Hernandez 19 to pace The Dalles to its first Columbia River Conference win of the season. LaCenter 88, Columbia 78 King’s Way Christian 72, Stevenson 39 Sherman 58, Dufur 37 Horizon Christian 56, South Wasco 49 Lyle-Wishram 76, Trout Lake 63   Girls Basketball Hood River Valley 51, The Dalles 38:  The Eagles won a Columbia River Conference game for the first time since February 6, 2012.   HRV had four players score in double figures:  Lauren Orr with 15 points, Emily Curtis and Ashlynn Dawson 11 apiece, and Haylee Baker 10.  Paulina Finn scored 14 for The Dalles. King’s Way Christian 40, Stevenson 39 LaCenter 93, Columbia 27 Dufur 47, Sherman 44 South Wasco 50, Horizon Christian 39 Trout Lake 65, Lyle-Wishram 57

Thursday is the day tolls increase for crossing the Hood River/White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  Port of Hood River Commissioners approved the increase in December.  Base toll rates for passenger vehicles will double for cash-paying customers, going from $1 to $2 per crossing.   Bridge users that have signed up for the Port’s prepaid BreezeBy tolling system will see a smaller increase, with the passenger vehicle crossing rate going from 80 cents to $1.  Toll rates depend on vehicle class.  For information on signing up for the BreezeBy system, go to portofhoodriver.com, with the first transponder free and additional transponders available for $5.  Those who sign up can expect to receive new transponders in the mail within two to three business days.  In voting for the toll increase, the Port Commisson dedicated all new toll revenue to the Port’s Bridge Repair and Replacement Fund.  

The Dalles City Council will hold a town hall on a proposed exclusion zone ordinance on Monday evening.  The exclusion zones proposal, or “safety zones” as Police Chief Pat Ashmore indicated in a November opinion column in The Dalles Chronicle that he would rather refer to them as, was first advanced to the Council in November.  It would allow for repeat offenders of various misdemeanors to be banished from two different downtown areas for up to 90 days if a court determines the person chooses not to accept help, refuses work crew, or fails to complete other forms of accountability.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says the town hall will be limited to discussion on the ordinance, not the general topic of homelessness.  Monday’s town hall meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at Mid-Columbia Senior Center.

Washington 14th District Representative Gina McCabe has introduced legislation to help create a healthy relationships campaign for employers to help them help their workers who may be a victim of domestic violence.  McCabe has offered an amendment to her House Bill 2820 to create a committee to develop a program that would be at no-cost to employers, noting it may be a simple as the Employment Security Department providing a poster listing where help is available for those in an abusive situation.  The Goldendale Republican says that often a domestic violence victim’s only escape is their place of work.

Friends of the Columbia Gorge announced it is supporting the launch of Oregon’s Kitchen Table’s “Be There for The Gorge” campaign.  The planned six-week crowdfunding effort seeks to gather funds to help the U.S. Forest Service rebuild trails between Multnomah Falls and Angel’s Rest damaged in the 2017 Eagle Creek fire.   Friends gave $10,000 to launch the campaign.  According to U.S. Forest Service and partner experts, post-fire hazards seen during initial trail assessments have included smoldering stump holes, standing dead trees weakened by fire, and rock fall and debris flow across trails.  Funds raised by the crowdfunding campaign will help in mobilizing the needed experts and highly trained volunteers to work with federal and state agencies to repair trails in burned areas.  Those seeking to contribute to the “Be There for The Gorge” campaign can do so online at oregonskitchentable.org/gorge.

The East Cascades Workforce Investment Board has awarded a provisional contract to Columbia Gorge Community College for the delivery of adult and dislocated worker services in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler counties.  The services used to be provided through Mid-Columbia Council of Governments before that organization ceased operations.  Under the contract, CGCC career advisors will work with both job-seekers and employers in all five of the counties.   Services will continue to be delivered through WorkSource Oregon, with offices located at 700 Union Street in The Dalles, and on the Hood River campus of CGCC.

Snowpack in the mountains of the Hood, Sandy, and Lower Deschutes basin remains well under average, but it was helped by snowfall at higher elevations over the last nine to ten days.  As of Monday, the snow water equivalent in the basin was listed at 58 percent of average.  Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Survey Supervisor Scott Oviatt says February will be a key month for how the season ends up, with what are normally the two biggest months of the year for snowpack having past.  Precipitation since October 1 in the basin is at 107 percent of normal.