The Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital Foundation has announced its 2017 Hearts of Gold award recipients.  This year’s recipients include Bonnie New, who is known for her work with vulnerable youth in the courts and foster system, and Allyson Pate, the founder of Give Them Wings, which provides clean and sober housing, education, life skills and support for homeless young people.  An evening to honor both New and Pate is planned for 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 4 at the Best Western Hood River Inn.  Call 541-387-6242 to purchase tickets.  All proceeds from the evening benefit the Music in Healing Program supported by the Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital Foundation.

The Bingen City Council has been trying to fill an open seat for over a year, and now they will be looking to fill a second.  Mayor Betty Barnes says they have had a couple of people show interest in serving on the Council, but no one has formally applied.  Barnes adds with Dan Armstrong having informed the Council he is stepping away from the panel in March, the need becomes greater, noting two open seats leaves a bare minimum to vote on various issues.  Bingen City Council meetings take place the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m.  For information on how to apply for one of the vacancies, call Bingen City Hall at 509-493-2122.

Two adults from Condon missing since Friday on a trip to Idaho, were found alive and well early Saturday morning by the Kootenai County Idaho Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrols Cellular Phone Forensic Team.  Lt. Col. Thomas Traver of the Oregon Wing Civil Air Patrol says the cell phone forensics team pinpointed where they could possibly be and their efforts provided a key clue that redirected the search and led to the rescue.  They were able to initially provide a relatively large search area followed by a much smaller search area, which then allowed local searchers to focus their efforts.  Ground search and rescue crews located the couple inside their car that had gotten stuck in the ice.  They were both in good condition since they had properly prepared for the trip with warm clothing, food, water and blankets.

Boys Basketball Hermiston 75, Hood River Valley 52 Hood River Valley 63, Ridgeview 56, overtime Pendleton 72, The Dalles 49   Girls Basketball Hermiston 67, Hood River Valley 29 Ridgeview 41, Hood River Valley 29 Pendleton 49, The Dalles 48   Big Sky District Basketball Tournament at Madras Semi-Finals Girls Horizon Christian 44, South Wasco 30 Arlington 59, Condon-Wheeler 36   Boys Dufur 57, Horizon Christian 38 Sherman 71, Arlington 31   Finals Girls Championship:  Horizon Christian 49, Arlington 40:  The Hawks will have a first round by in the state 1A playoffs, while Arlington hosts North Clackamas Christian on Wednesday. 3^rd Place:  South Wasco 48, Condon-Wheeler 30:  The Redsides earn a state playoff berth, and will visit Powder Valley on Wednesday.   Boys Championship:  Sherman 73, Dufur 54:  Sherman gets a bye in first round of the 1A tourney this week, while Dufur will host Country Christian in round one Tuesday at 6 p.m. 3^rd Place:  Horizon Christian 36, Arlington 30:  Horizon goes to Joseph for a first round state tournament game on Tuesday.   Swimming Sarah Gottschalk finished second in the 100 yard backstroke and third in the 50 yard freestyle to highlight the Hood River Valley effort in the Oregon Class 5A girls’ swimming championships at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham.  HRV’s 200 yard medley and 400 yard freestyle relay teams earned fifth place finishes, while Allison Burke was sixth in the 500 freestyle.   Wrestling Jesse Hoffberger of Stevenson finished third at 160 pounds to highlight the regional effort at the Washington Class 1A Mat Classic in Tacoma.  Teammate Cody Miller was fifth at 132 pounds, while Columbia’s Fletcher Andrews was fifth at 138 and Alex Medina sixth at 220.   Saturday Schedule Alpine Skiing Hood River Valley took the top four places and six of the top eight in the girls’ giant slalom in a Mt. Hood League ski race at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl.  Josie Peterson was the winner as the Eagles dominated the field.  In the boys’ race, Colin Howe of Columbia was the winner with HRV’s Chris McElwee and Carter Rigert in second and third, and Martin Carter of The Dalles in fourth.  Hood River grabbed three of the top six places in the boys’ race.

A resolution co-sponsored by area State Senators Chuck Thomsen and Ted Ferrioli to recognize Sunday as Japanese American Internment Remembrance Day.  February 19 will be the 75th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the executive order that led to Japanese Americans being placed in internment camps in World War II.  Thomsen said the resolution held special significance to him as a Hood River County resident, with the County’s large number of citizens of Japanese heritage.  The resolution passed the Senate unanimously.

The Hood River County School District reported a significant increase in absenteeism Thursday as “Day Without Immigrants” protests took place nationally.  In a written statement District Superintendent Dan Goldman said 735 students were not in attendance on Thursday, adding that was an increase of 400 percent from normal.  It represents just under 18 percent of the total enrollment in Hood River County schools.  In North Wasco County School District 21, Superintendent Candy Armstrong said about 13 percent of students were absent, compared to nine-point-two percent the day before and six-point-five percent on the 14^th.  Armstrong added given illness and other excused absence reasons, it would be difficult to say how much impact the protest had on attendance.  White Salmon Valley School District Superintendent Jerry Lewis did not have exact figures, but did confirm his district experienced more absenteeism that usual.

With uncertainty surrounding Oregon’s K-12 education budget again during the current legislative session, the Hood River County School District enters its fiscal preparations for the 2017-18 academic year facing the potential of cuts.  Hood River County School District Superintendent Dan Goldman says they are using the proposed funding level in Governor Kate Brown’s budget, but that would involve using reserves they’ve built up over recent years, which would allow them to maintain where they are at with minimal cuts.  But he adds that would create a funding cliff leading to larger cuts two years from now if the funding picture does not brighten.  Goldman does believe there is opportunity for people in Oregon to have input to move the funding level higher than what the Governor has proposed.

There will be single lane closures on the Port of Hood River Interstate Bridge on Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Port crews will be on the bridge to make repairs to an overhead portion of the truss system that has sustained damage from an impact by a commercial vehicle.  Flaggers will direct traffic.  Bridge users should expect up to 15 minute delays during that time.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is instating a temporary 35 mile per hour speed limit on The Dalles Bridge to aid the efforts of maintenance crews trying to make pothole repairs.  The temporary speed limit will remain in place as pothole work continues, likely until the latter part of March or early April, when weather conditions permit more permanent repairs to be completed.  Sign crews will also be installing “rough road” signs to alert motorists to the surface conditions on the bridge, until those more permanent pothole repairs are completed.

Southwest Washington Class 1A Boys Basketball Tournament LaCenter 70, Stevenson 50:  The Wildcats jumped out to a big first quarter lead, and left the Bulldogs chasing for the rest of the game.  Avery Sater scored 25 points and Jake Wise 21 to top LaCenter, while Austin Brannan led Stevenson with 17 in their final game of the season.