Large crowds attended town hall meetings with Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden in both The Dalles and Hood River on Wednesday. An estimated 500 people attended the morning session at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center, and about 1,000 later in the day were at the Hood River Middle School Auditorium.  And many of those people took issue with the Hood River Republican on a number of issues, even though the primary points of discussion varied in the two communities.  Health care was the focus for an audience that skewed a bit older in The Dalles, while immigration and the environment were the top subjects in Hood River, and some of his answers displeased many in the audience.  Afterwards, Walden said he understands people have high levels of emotion over a number of different issues, adding the volume level is higher than usual but that’s part of the process, and it’s part of his job to listen to people in a big and diverse district.  Walden is holding six town halls in his district on this swing, visiting Bend and Prineville Thursday and Grants Pass and Medford on Friday.

The Hood River County School District Board adopted a calendar for the 2017-18 school year with an opening day of September 5.  That’s the day after Labor Day, and will allow time for construction projects to be completed at Hood River and Wy’east middle schools.  The calendar schedules winter break to begin on Christmas Day, which is on a Monday, and run through January 5.  The last day of school for 2017-18 is scheduled for June 14, but that could change due to inclement weather earlier in the year.

Softball Mountain View 11, The Dalles 3:  The Cougars scored five runs before an out was recorded in the bottom of the first inning to take control of the game.   Boys Soccer Columbia 8, Castle Rock 0:  The Bruins move into sole possession of second place in the Trico League.   Boys Tennis Hermiston at Hood River Valley:  Postponed to today and moved to Hermiston.

The Oregon State Police and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife rescued an injured bald eagle on Post Canyon Road just outside of Hood River.  A Hood River resident riding a dirt bike encountered the large eagle sitting on the side of the road unable to fly, reported it to the OSP and left an identifying marker on the road nearby.  Numerous other reports were made regarding the eagle, indicating it was flying very low and appeared unsteady in flight before it crashed into a small creek.  OSP and ODFW officers arrived and located the injured eagle about 45 minutes later, and transported it to the Rowena Wildlife Clinic for treatment.  The clinic reports the eagle does not have any obvious injuries and is conscious and alert.  The clinic is working to determine the cause of the eagle’s illness and has taken blood samples for analysis.  They will also be taking x-rays to determine if there are any spinal injuries or other fractures.

Baseball The Dalles 15, Mountain View 11:  The Riverhawks scored ten runs in the top of the third inning to come back after trailing 10-1 after two innings. Dufur sweeps Heppner 9-2 and 10-0:  The Rangers have won nine in a row to begin the season. Sherman splits with Weston-McEwen, winning the opener 9-2 but losing game two 13-8. King’s Way Christian sweeps Columbia 14-1 and 5-3. Castle Rock sweeps Stevenson 9-1 and 10-4. Kiona-Benton sweeps Goldendale 8-0 and 19-4.   Softball Mountain View 8, Hood River Valley 6   Boys Soccer Columbia 1, King’s Way Christian 0:  The Bruins stay in a tie for second with Toledo in the Trico League.   Track and Field Dillon Rising had two first place finishes as Goldendale’s boys grabbed eight total wins in a four-way SCAC West meet at Naches Valley.  The Timberwolf girls recorded six first place finishes.   Girls Lacrosse Hood River Valley 17, Grant 3:  Emma Norris scored five goals for HRV.   Boys Tennis Goldendale 3, Naches Valley 1   Girls Tennis King’s Way Christian 3, Stevenson 2 Naches Valley 4, Goldendale 1

The Dalles City Council accepted an updated 20-year transportation systems plan at their Monday night meeting.  Adoption did not come without significant discussion around roundabouts proposed by the Oregon Department of Transportation, and an extension of 19th Street in the plan.  Councilors decided the document could be amended over time, even though Mayor Steve Lawrence was concerned about how it will be interpreted in the future.  In other business, the Council authorized entering into a cost recovery agreement with the U.S. Forest Service for environmental studies to support permitting of the Dog River Pipeline Replacement Project.  Lawrence says he still hopes construction can begin next year.

The Travis Alert bill that Washington 14th District State Representative Gina McCabe has spent two years pushing for has passed the State Senate unanimously.  The bill will allow people to submit information pertaining to an individual’s disability to the Enhanced 911 program so dispatchers could deliver critical information to first responders during emergencies, and ask the Department of Health to create a training program for first responders on how to best respond to emergencies involving persons with special needs.  McCabe says she was excited to see the bill pass and head to the Governor’s desk.  The bill is named after Travis King, an autistic child from Wapato.  The Senate recognized Travis and his mother after the vote…which they witnessed in the gallery.

The Gorge Community Foundation board selected Jill Burnette as the Foundation’s new executive director.  Burnette has a long career in non-profit management and has worked with Columbia River Gorge organizations including Maryhill Museum of Art and Mosier School as well as many regional and national organizations.  Board president Gil Sharp said Burnette’s experience in non-profit management as an administrator and fundraiser combine the skill sets the board was looking for.  Burnette is reaching out to various groups to build awareness of the Foundation.  The Gorge Community Foundation manages nearly 50 designated funds and 30 donor advised funds, and make grants and scholarships totaling over $120,000 each year to Gorge organizations and students.

The Hood River County Budget Committee has begun its work on the 2017-18 fiscal year budget, and it won’t be an easy job.  Faced with increasing expenses and revenues that cannot keep pace, the County is dealing with a one-point-six million dollar shortfall heading into the 2017-18 budget.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says county staff’s budget proposal calls for using one million dollars in reserves along with each department making cuts to balance the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.  But County Commission Chair Ron Rivers says those steps will only work for the short-term and the County needs to find another revenue source, and he wants to find one out of the tourism sector.  Rivers added he would like to see a proposal go to voters in the November election.

The Dalles Community Outreach Team made its semi-annual trip to Washington, D.C. to pitch issues of local interest to various government agencies.  Eight local governmental groups help support the trip.  Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas says a key topic was the need for a permanent plan to compensate counties who have large amounts of federal forest lands for the tax monies they don’t receive because of that designation.  Klaas says local governments desperately need the help.  The Secure Rural Schools Act that provided some funds to counties for schools and roads, but it has not been renewed for the upcoming fiscal year and had been substantially reduced in recent years, which means counties would revert to receiving a percentage of timber sales off federal land, a negligible amount in most cases due to harvest restrictions.