An assistant attorney general with the Oregon Department of Justice has been installed as acting District Attorney in Wasco County while D.A. Eric Nisley serves a 60-day suspension and questions swirl around whether he can return to the position after the suspension ends.  Nisley’s suspension for lying to state investigators began on Monday, as a January 30 letter from state Deputy Attorney General Frederick Boss to Governor Kate Brown opined that the suspension causes Nisley to lose statutory qualification for election, and makes the office vacant until the Governor makes an appointment or a successor is elected.  But Nisley told Bicoastal Media in a statement on Wednesday that he is an elected official and “does not agree the Attorney General’s office can remove him from office.”  He also said he believes it is in the best interest of justice that he steps away from the office during his suspension, adding the lawyers and staff in his office are “very competent and will insure victims are protected and offenders are held accountable.”  Oregon Department of Justice spokesperson Kristina Edmundson says Jayme Kimberly, a former deputy district attorney in Polk and Yamhill counties, has been installed as acting District Attorney.  Governor’s spokesperson Charles Boyle confirmed Wednesday that there is no current timeline for making a decision about whether to make a permanent appointment.  The position is on the ballot in November, and Nisley has filed for re-election.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden will hold a town hall meeting this weekend in The Dalles.  It’s scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center.  Wyden has pledged to hold at least one town hall each year in each of the state’s 36 counties.  His office says Wyden has held 966 town halls statewide to date.

 

 

 

Four of the educational enrichment levies on the ballot in the Mid-Columbia were being approved by wide margins after a second round of vote counts were released on Wednesday, while two are being rejected.   The White Salmon Valley School District’s four-year levy continues to pass with a 62.5 percent approval rate…1,315 to 788.  The four-year levy for Goldendale schools was being approved by 57.6 percent of voters…1,319 to 1,025.  Centerville School District’s four-year levy is passing 148-74, and Wishram’s four-year levy was also being approved 60-27.  The Stevenson-Carson School District’s three-year levy was being rejected by 52.1 percent of voters…912 no to 837 yes.  Glenwood’s two-year levy is now failing 91-88 after the count was even in Tuesday night’s results.  Klickitat and Skamania county election officials will release further vote counts again on Thursday.  The levies provide funding for school district programs that are not funded under “basic education” by the state of Washington.

A Marion County deputy district attorney who has lived in Hood River for the past three years is running for Hood River County District Attorney.  Sean Kallery says he has handled cases in his current position ranging from harassment to aggravated murder, and post-conviction relief and financial crime investigation.  Kallery says he spent eight-and-a-half years in the United States Army as an airborne infantryman.  He is a graduate of the Lewis & Clark Law School, and has worked as a law clerk with the Oregon Department of Justice in the Criminal Justice Division.  John Sewell has been Hood River County’s District Attorney for 28 years.  He has not yet filed for re-election.

A bill authored by Oregon 52nd District State Representative Anna Williams to increase the state’s share of funding children’s advocacy centers in the state from 17 percent to 30 percent, add a staff person at the Oregon Department of Education to implement the “Erin’s Law” child abuse prevention curriculum in schools, and fund a study of abuse children have witnessed rather than just what is reported is close to reaching the House floor.  The Hood River Democrat is optimistic about the bill’s future, saying there is bipartisan support to move forward.  The bill is currently back in the House Rules Committee to deal with a typographical error in it, but Williams expects it to get to the House floor and eventually moved to the Senate.

A bill that would expand the list of people eligible to fill vacant positions within a county sheriff’s office gained unanimous approval in the Washington House of Representatives Wednesday.  Goldendale Representative Gina Mosbrucker introduced the bill.  She says in rural counties in particular, sheriff’s offices are having a hard time filling vacancies.  Existing law only allows the Civil Service Commission to certify the names of the three highest persons on the eligibility list for consideration to fill a vacancy in the sheriff’s office., while Mosbrucker’s bill increases that to five.  She says the three-person limit makes it difficult for sheriff’s departments to plan for succession, retirement, and recruitments, adding municipal police officers and fire departments have operated under a “rule of five” since 1937.  The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.

Goldendale Police have arrested a suspect in the early Tuesday morning burglary of an auto parts store in that community.  In a written statement, the Goldendale Police Department says an officer spotted the suspect early Wednesday morning walking in the 300 block of South Klickitat Street while pushing a motorcycle with a rifle and black mask that matched items used in the burglary of Carquest Auto Parts, in which the window had been shot out with a rifle.  The suspect fled on foot to his residence, where officers took him into custody on an arrest warrant.  The police statement says items taken in the burglary were found there.

Four of the educational enrichment levies on the ballot in the Mid-Columbia were being approved by wide margins after the initial vote counts Tuesday night, with one being rejected and another with an evenly split vote count.  The White Salmon Valley School District’s four-year levy is passing with a 62.5 percent approval rate…1,270 to 761.  The four-year levy for Goldendale schools was being approved by 56.7 percent of voters…1,198 to 916.  Centerville School District’s four-year levy is passing 125-65, and Wishram’s four-year levy was also being approved 52-25.  The Stevenson-Carson School District’s three-year levy was being rejected by 51.6 percent of voters…860 no to 806 yes.  In Glenwood, the vote count on a two-year levy was dead even, 78-78.  Klickitat and Skamania county election officials will release updated vote counts later Wednesday.  The levies provide funding for school district programs that are not funded under “basic education” by the state of Washington.

Two recreational white sturgeon fisheries in the Columbia River upstream of Bonneville Dam will close within the next few days under rules adopted by Oregon and Washington fishery managers from Oregon and Washington.  Retention sturgeon fishing will close in Bonneville Pool and adjacent tributaries effective at 12:01 this Friday morning, and in The Dalles Pool and adjacent tributaries effective at 12:01 this coming Tuesday morning.  The closures were adopted by the two states after reviewing survey data that indicated the fisheries are approaching their respective harvest guidelines.  Recreational sturgeon anglers have harvested an estimated 83% of the Bonneville Pool guideline and 76% of The Dalles Pool guideline as of February 9, and improved weather has allowed catch rates to improve.  Retention sturgeon fishing remains open in John Day Pool, where anglers have harvested an estimated 37 sturgeon toward their guideline of 105 legal-sized fish.   Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing remains open in all three pools, except in the spawning closure areas which will be in effect May 1 through August 31.

Boys Basketball

Hood River Valley 50, Ridgeview 45:  The Eagles withstood a late challenge from the Ravens to hold on for the Intermountain Conference win.  Jack Siekkinen scored 12 points and Emanuel Romero 11 to lead HRV.  Nolan Conroyd scored 19 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for Ridgeview.

 

Redmond 82, The Dalles 27:  Styles DeLeon scored seven points to lead the Riverhawks.

 

South Wasco 67, Sherman 55:  The Redsides take a one-game lead over Ione atop the Big Sky Conference with one game remaining in the regular season.

 

Horizon Christian 52, Echo 18:  Horizon remained in the hunt for a Big Sky tournament berth with the win.

 

Trico League Girls Basketball Tiebreaker

Stevenson 64, Columbia 44:  Katie Rathgeber scored 20 points and Cassie MacNab added 18 for the Bulldogs, who advance to the district tournament to play at Montesano on Thursday at 6 p.m.  Maggie Bryan scored 11 for Columbia.

 

Girls Basketball

The Dalles 54, Redmond 31:  The Riverhawks trailed by one at halftime, but dominated the second half to stay a game back of Ridgeview atop the Intermountain Conference standings.  Kilee Hoylman paced the Riverhawks with 17 points.

 

Ridgeview 59, Hood River Valley 30

 

South Wasco 43, Sherman 29