Crystal Springs Water District has lifted a boil water order that had been effect since Tuesday afternoon for customers in the areas of Kollas, Gilhouley, and Shute roads.  Mike Garrett of Crystal Springs says test results the district received today on water samples came back showing the water was safe to drink.  A mainline break occurred on Massee Grade Road Tuesday afternoon that caused customers in the higher elevation areas of Kollas, Gilhouley, and Shute roads to experience low water pressure.

Search operations for a missing skier at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort resumed today.  Searchers have been looking since Tuesday night for 57-year-old Steve Leavitt of The Dalles.  Hood River County Sheriff’s Sergeant Pete Hughes says 33 searchers are out this morning, representing the Crag Rats, Portland Mountain Rescue, the 304th Air Force Reserves Rescue Squadron, Deschutes County, and Mountainwave Commuications.  Hughes says weather is difficult, with rainy conditions on the heels of over five feet of snow over the last five days leading to high avalanche danger, which has closed off a portion of the search area.  Leavitt was last seen when his ski pass was scanned at 11:20 Tuesday morning on the Heather Canyon Chair Lift.  Hughes said members of Leavitt’s family are at the site.

Union Pacific Railroad’s lawsuit that argued the railroad should be able to proceed with an expansion of railroad tracks in the Mosier area without approval under Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area rules was dismissed by a federal judge on Wednesday.  In her written order, District Court Judge Ann Aiken dismissed the lawsuit because the railroad had failed to include three Northwest Indian Treaty Tribes as defendants in the case.  Union Pacific filed a land use application with Wasco County pursuant to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act, seeking to build a second mainline track in the Mosier area, but the Wasco County Commission denied the rail expansion project because treaty tribes did not give their approval to the project, as required under the County’s National Scenic Area ordinance.  That decision is scheduled to be the subject of an appeal hearing before the Columbia River Gorge Commission on June 13.  In their suit, Union Pacific named Wasco County Commissioners, Wasco County planning director Angie Brewer, and six of the thirteen Gorge Commissioners as defendants.

Time is running out for those wishing to run for special district boards in Oregon during the May 16 election.  Seats on boards that oversee port, school, fire, water, public health, and parks and recreation districts are on the ballot in both Hood River and Wasco counties.  Deadline to file for these elections is next Thursday at 5 p.m.  For information on how to file, contact the Hood River County Elections office at 541-386-1442 or the Wasco County Elections office at 541-506-2530.

The annual Columbia Gorge Wind Challenge will be at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center on Saturday.  Over 50 middle and high school teams will take part in the event.  Google’s Dave Karlson says those teams will be given a box of parts when they arrive and will make working wind turbines.  There will also be a STEM fair featuring hands-on exhibits from OMSI, Gorge Makerspace, Bonneville Power Administration, and more.  The Challenge will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center.  It is put on by Google, the Gorge Technology Alliance, and Columbia Gorge Community College.

Crystal Springs Water District customers in the areas of Kollas, Gilhouley, and Shute roads are being advised to boil their water for the next couple of days.  Mike Garrett of Crystal Springs says a mainline break occurred on Massee Grade Road on Tuesday at around 4 p.m.  That caused customers in the higher elevation areas of Kollas, Gilhouley, and Shute roads to experience low water pressure.  The boil notice will be in place for 48 hours.

Fisheries managers have announced that the popular spring Chinook fishery on the Deschutes River will not open in 2017.  The spring Chinook fishery on the Deschutes is closed under permanent rule but opens in years with strong forecasted returns.  Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife district fish biologist Rod French says managers are predicting a very poor return of both hatchery and wild fish this season, so the closure will be in place in order to ensure that the hatchery is able to collect enough brood stock to meet production goals.  Things look somewhat better on the Hood River, where a modest hatchery spring Chinook fishery will open from April 15 to June 30 from the mouth to the mainstem confluence with the East Fork, and the West Fork from the confluence with the mainstem upstream to the angling deadline 200 feet downstream of Punchbowl Falls.  The weak returns on the Deschutes and Hood rivers are following the same trends that are predicted for rivers throughout the Columbia Basin.  French did say managers are predicting a strong return of fall Chinook to the Deschutes when the river reopens to Chinook fishing on August 1.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said today’s announcement of reduced Forest Service payments spotlight the need for Congress to act quickly to reauthorize Secure Rural Schools funding.  The lack of reauthorization has led the Forest Service to revert to making payments of just 25 percent of the federal timber sale revenue generated in each county.  For Hood River County, that means after receiving $799,542 in 2016 it will receive only $143,575 in 2017, and Wasco County’s payment will drop from $904,868 to $151,756.  Wyden says the reductions highlight the importance of restoring the support that Secure Rural Schools has provided, adding he will be working for a long-term solution.

North Wasco County School District 21 officials have the same message for the Oregon Legislature that other K-12 educators around the state have been delivering:  any biennial budget that allocates less than eight-point-four billion dollars for Oregon schools over the next two years will result in cuts.  D-21 Chief Financial Officer Randy Anderson says he is starting out using the eight-point-oh-two billion dollar figure in Governor Kate Brown’s proposed budget.  Superintendent Candy Armstrong says if it’s under eight-point-four billion, cuts are coming one way or another.  Many legislators have indicated lawmakers will wait for the May revenue forecast before moving forward on K-12 budget decisions.

Transient room tax revenues for January in Hood River showed the occupancy rate was down from 2016 by about four percent, but revenue was up by four percent.  Hood River County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Glover says that’s reflects of the addition of the new Hampton Inn and Suites adding to the number of rooms available.  He finds those results encouraging during a month that featured icy and snowy conditions.  Glover adds coming off a hard winter, history shows once spring weather arrives Hood River benefits from pent-up demand and sees a quick influx of tourists from around the Northwest.