Cross Country Hood River Valley swept the boys and girls titles at the Columbia River Conference Championships at Wildhorse in Pendleton.  Josh Haynes finished second and Braxton Wilson fourth to lead the HRV boys, while Josephine Dickinson, Frances Dickinson, and Lottie Bromham finished 1-2-3 as the Eagle girls won in dominating fashion.  The Dalles boys also advanced to state as a team with a second place finish, paced by Sam Alvarez in third and Rey Aviluz in sixth.  The Dalles girls finished third, with two runners advancing to state.  Emma Mullins moved on with a sixth place finish, while Hanna Ziegenhagen was right behind in seventh.  The state 5-A meet is next Saturday in Eugene.   The Goldendale girls were second and boys third at the SCAC Championships in Cowiche.  Ellie Rising finished second and Abby Hedges sixth for the Timberwolf girls, while Dillon Rising was second and Lucas Anderson fifth for the Goldendale boys.

Fire severely damaged a home in The Dalles on Wednesday afternoon.  According to Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, crews responded to the fire in the 700 block of Hostetler Way at around 3 p.m. and arrived to see heavy smoke coming from the house and flames from one window.  Both the structure and contents of the house suffered heavy smoke and fire damage. MCFR investigators believe the fire started in a storage room, adding they were told about 30 minutes prior to their arrival an occupant had knocked over a gas can and some of the contents spilled out.  It is believed vapors accumulated and found an ignition source.  Dallesport Fire crews assisted MCFR at the scene.  The American Red Cross was providing assistance to the two adults and pets that occupied the home.  

The Mid-Columbia Council of Governments board decided this week it would not try to retain the Area Agency on Aging contract and then subcontract it out in an effort to ensure local operation of those senior services.  MCCOG is in the process of divesting itself of its service contracts after members in the five-county area it served decided to dismantle the organization.  Interim executive director David Meriwether says state officials who oversee senior services were not supportive of the retention possibility, adding they are sticking with their process to first see if individual counties are interested, then giving preference to existing AAA’s before moving to new providers.  Meriwether noted the MCCOG board did vote to ask the state to combine phases two and three.  Meriwether did say other service contracts that MCCOG has handled are in the process of being shifted to other entities, and that should take place over the next few months.

When the Columbia Gorge Community College Board of Education meets in November, they will be putting together the job description they will be using in their search for a new college president.  Part of that involves integrating input received during recent community forums on the subject.  Board member Dana Campbell says one particular requirement came up throughout those sessions:  be a visible and available part of the community.  Another common thread was calling for the president to work closely with the economic development agencies in the area.  The search firm Gold Hill Associates is assisting the college in its presidential search.  

The Wasco County Planning Department is in the process of updating its Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan.  The plan for Wasco County focuses on seven natural hazards:  severe weather, drought, wildfire, flood, earthquake, volcano, and landslide.   County Senior Planner Will Smith says they have been working on a number of action items since 2012, adding the committee working on the update said severe weather has become a top priority.  Floods and droughts were the next two, along with wildfire.  There will be an open house on the mitigation plan update called “Disasters and Donuts” this Monday from noon to 7 p.m. at the Wasco County Planning Department on 2705 East 2nd in The Dalles.  People can provide feedback and give suggestions on natural hazard mitigation, along with enjoying donuts and screenings of disaster movies.

Interstate 84 will see rolling slowdowns and delays in both directions in the area of milepost 53 sometime between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday for rock blasting necessary to build the latest segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.  The delays, which could last up to an hour, will be the fourth in a series of as many as seven blasts in the coming weeks at the location between Cascade Locks and Hood River.  The blasting is necessary for construction of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail segment connecting Wyeth and Lindsey Creek.   At Lindsey Creek, blasting will create room for the new segment of trail in the existing rock slope.  This work is located in the same area where eastbound traffic is temporarily diverted into one lane of westbound I-84 due to fire debris removal activity from the Eagle Creek Fire.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden threatened to subpoena the Drug Enforcement Administration to get documents his Energy and Commerce Committee has been requesting as part of their investigation into alleged opioid pill dumping by major drug companies, including a specific inquiry into the shipment of nine million highly addictive opioid painkillers to a rural town of less than 400 people.  The Hood River Republican made the statement while questioning DEA Deputy Assistant Administrator Neil Doherty, with Walden pointing out they’ve received some of the documents they asked for from an outside source but not the agency itself.  Doherty said they would make every effort to expedite the information the committee wants.  Walden said the committee received the documents from an anonymous source, and bipartisan staff members are now reviewing them.

Oregon Class 1A Prep Volleyball Tournament First Round Griswold def. Dufur 13-25, 28-26, 22-25, 25-14, 15-13:  The loss ends the season for the Rangers.  South Wasco hosts North Clackamas Christian in round two on Saturday.   Cross Country The Trout Lake boys finished fifth in the Washington District 6 Class B meet in Walla Walla.  Justin Peck’s second place finish led the Mustangs’ effort.  In the girls’ race, Trout Lake’s Hannah Funkhouser was second and Joanna Peck tenth, as the Mustangs did not field a complete team.  The state Class B meet is next Saturday at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

The City of Hood River is refinancing the debt for the municipal waterline replacement project that will see the bond paid off in a shorter amount of time and save on interest payments.  The original 40-year bond of just over three million dollars through the U.S. Department of Agriculture was taken out in 2011 when the City’s fiscal health and bond ratings were not as good as they are today.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says the refinancing will accelerate the payment schedule down to ten years and double the size of the annual payment, but also save the City over two million dollars in interest.  The bond repayments are funded with water rate revenues.  Wheeler says a good result of this is that Columbia Bank gave the City the lowest quote, so the money will stay in the local area.

There will be two locations in the Mid-Columbia where people can dispose of their unused prescription drugs on National Take Back Day this Saturday.  The Dalles Police Department will oversee a collection site at The Dalles City Hall on 313 Court Street, while the Bingen-White Salmon Police Department will be accepting unused or expired medications at Skyline Hospital’s main entrance at 211 Skyline Drive in White Salmon.  Both locations will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.  The service is free and all medications will be accepted with no questions asked.