Washington State 14th District Representative Gina McCabe is continuing to push for Erin’s Law, a bill that would help establish age-appropriate, sexual-abuse prevention curriculum in school.  House Bill 1539 could form a task force to create the curriculum for grades K-12, as well as identify funding sources to implement the curriculum.  McCabe says teaching students how to speak up and escape abuse should be an integral part of their safety education.  Reports from the Centers for Disease Control estimate one in six boys and one in four girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.  The bill’s namesake is Erin Merryn, a childhood sexual abuse survivor and activist from Illinois who has advocated throughout the nation for legislation that studies and implements sexual-abuse identification and prevention curriculum in grades pre-K-12.  Should House Bill 1539 be enacted into law this year, Washington would be the 32nd state to implement Erin’s Law.  The bill has been given a hearing twice in the House Education Committee in the last two years, including one last week, but it has yet to be brought forward for a vote of the committee.

On Thursday a Northern Wasco County PUD line crew will be installing new overhead primary conductors and removing the existing overhead lines on West 2nd Street at the intersection of Cherry Heights.  Work is expected to take place between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Thursday.  Flaggers will be posted in the immediate work area in both        directions and traffic control signage will be on the eastbound Interstate 84 off ramp at exit 84, West 2nd Street in both directions, and the Cherry Heights intersection.  Traffic may be stopped for short durations of time while the wire is being installed and removed.

Boys Basketball Hermiston 77, Hood River Valley 74 Pendleton 78, The Dalles 62 Horizon Christian 46, Dufur 39 Dufur 61, Ione 53 Horizon Christian 47, Arlington 40 Sherman 89, Mitchell/Spray 23 Sherman 71, South Wasco 28 Condon-Wheeler 66, South Wasco 38 Klickitat-Glenwood 65, Bickleton 38 Sunnyside Christian 99, Klickitat-Glenwood 50 Lyle-Wishram 67, Bickleton 46 Yakama Tribal 79, Lyle-Wishram 60 Naches Valley 91, Goldendale 42   Girls Basketball Pendleton 62, The Dalles 33 Hermiston 56, Hood River Valley 34 Stevenson 56, Seton Catholic 45 Horizon Christian 30, Dufur 29 Horizon Christian 74, Arlington 36 Ione 61, Dufur 49 Sherman 60, Mitchell/Spray 16 South Wasco 64, Sherman 42 South Wasco 58, Condon-Wheeler 31 Yakama Tribal 64, Lyle-Wishram 16 Sunnyside Christian 75, Klickitat-Glenwood 20 Naches Valley 62, Goldendale 41   Wrestling Hood River Valley won the Joe Stewart Invitational at Putnam, while Columbia finished fourth.  Ryan Zeller, Jason Shaner, Chad Muenzer, Cade Parker, and Alberto Rojas all earned first place finishes for HRV.  James Bell and Payden Webster won their weight classes for CHS.   The Dalles tied for 12^th and Stevenson 15^th at the Robert Paul Invitational in Sandy.  J.R. Scott was second at 182 pounds for the Riverhawks, while the Bulldogs’ Sammy Sosa was sixth at 120.   Girls Wrestling Hood River Valley was third to Thurston and Century at the state qualifier tournament at Thurston.  Grace Miller won at 145 pounds while Christine Marquez was third at 180 and Elena Kroll fourth at 135.  Those three advance to wrestle at the state tournament in Portland in late February.

The Eagle Creek Wildfire Recovery Council has finished its work and has sent recommendations to Governor Kate Brown addressing three focus areas.  The group put together through the state of Oregon’s Regional Solutions program was made up of a number of state and local governmental representatives from the fire area and other stakeholders.  Hood River County Commissioner Karen Joplin was part of the council, and says helping Cascade Locks became the key point.  Investing to diversify the kinds of businesses in Cascade Locks, creating easily accessible loans for businesses deeply impacted by the fire, and dealing with damage suffered on the trails were identified as key areas to address.  The recommendations have gone to the governor, in time for the upcoming legislative session.

The Dalles City Council has given the go-ahead to discuss a proposal from Design LLC, the local construction arm of Google, to develop an Aquifer Storage and Recovery program to expand municipal water supplies.  The concept involves treating surface water during the winter, and pumping it down into the aquifer for later recovery to meet summertime demands, a technology already being used or evaluated by a number of Oregon water systems as a lower cost and effective alternative to constructing surface water storage systems.  City Public Works Director Dave Anderson says Pendleton has had a successful ASR program for about a decade.  He adds an ASR program could save the City money by delaying the need to expand Crow Creek Dam and future expansion of the Wicks Wastewater Treatment Plant.  Councilors approved entering into negotiating a development agreement with Design LLC.

The Mount Hood National Forest has reduced the size of the closure area as a result of the Eagle Creek Fire.  Friday’s update reduces the size of the closure area from 54,892 acres to 40,354 acres.  The closure area is now contained wholly within the boundaries of the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness on the Mt. Hood National Forest side of the Eagle Creek Fire Area.  Anyone planning to recreate in the general area is strongly encouraged to check closure updates on Mount Hood National Forest and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area websites, along with weather and trail conditions.  Many hazards resulting from the fire are present including burned trees, falling rocks and landslides.  Those who access the closure area illegally put emergency and Search and Rescue Responders at great risk.

The Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board announced the award of more than $53 million in grants for projects that will protect and restore salmon habitat statewide, including over a million dollars for five projects in Klickitat and Skamania counties.  The largest grant in the region is over $344,000 for the Columbia Land Trust to buy 281 acres and conserve just under two miles of riverbank along the Klickitat River.  The land is north and east of the Glenwood-Goldendale Road between the Klickitat Hatchery and Leidl Park.  The Underwood Conservation District received two grants, one to replace the White Salmon Irrigation District’s headworks that pulls water from Buck Creek and install a fish screen, and the other to do the fourth phase of salmon habitat enhancement on the Wind River.  The Cowlitz Tribe received a grant to create a preliminary design to remove Kwoneesum Dam on Wildboy Creek, and the Mid-Columbia Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group received funds to complete a preliminary restoration design of Wind River habitat.

The Oregon Buildings Codes Division will hold a meeting on Tuesday (January 30) in The Dalles to discuss changes to the building inspection program in Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam and Wheeler counties.  The state is taking over the program from the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments, which is being dissolved.  The changeover takes effect on Thursday, with the state leasing space in the Wasco County Planning and Public Works building at 2705 East 2nd in The Dalles to administer the program.  All building inspection stakeholders are invited to the meeting.  It will be held Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Wasco County Courthouse in Courtroom 301 on the third floor.

Boys Basketball Stevenson 80, Seton Catholic 77:  Maclain Hall scored 24 points and Issac Holdal 23 as the Bulldogs moved into a tie for third with Seton Catholic in the Trico League. King’s Way Christian 73, Columbia 61:  King’s Way used a big first half to take control of the game, with four players finishing in double figures in scoring.  William Gross paced Columbia with 23 points.   Girls Basketball King’s Way Christian 50, Columbia 33

There is still time to sign up for Oregon State University Extension’s Master Gardener program in Wasco County.  Applications are being taken through Wednesday (January 31).  Wasco County Master Gardener past president Ronnie Smith says people don’t need to worry about being “a master gardener,” simply have a love of gardening and being outdoors.  There is a fee to take part in the seven week training in February and March, and those who enter the program give back by doing 40 hours of community service through taking part in plant clinics and other projects.  For more information on the Wasco County Master Gardener program, call OSU Extension at 541-296-5494.