NW Natural is experiencing some pressure issues for natural gas customers in the Hood River area.   A NW Natural spokesperson said in an e-mail they have a crew out trying to determine the cause, and hope to have it resolved today (Friday).  They are already planning to have a crew ready for Saturday if needed.  As of this morning NW Natural estimated it had about 51 customers scattered throughout Hood River without gas.  The spokesperson added with the cold temperatures, they are working as hard and quickly as possible to resolve the issue.  Those with issues with their natural gas service should call NW Natural’s customer service line at 800-442-4012.

Power has been restored to areas impacted by two separate outages in the Gorge Thursday morning.  About three-thousand Klickitat PUD customers in Bingen, White Salmon, and Snowden lost power for less than an hour in an outage that began at around 7:45 a.m. Thursday.  The PUD says it was weather-related, with extremely cold temperatures leading to an issue at a breaker in the Bingen substation.  If anyone in Bingen, White Salmon, or Snowden remain without power, call Klickitat PUD at 800-548-8357.  Meanwhile, Northern Wasco County PUD crews dealt with an outage Thursday morning in the area of Pinewood Mobile Manor along Highway 30 west through Rowena.  The outage occurred around 8 a.m., with power fully restored at around 10:30 a.m.  Northern Wasco PUD’s Cyndi Gentry says approximately 127 customers lost power when increased load, likely due to the cold weather, caused a line failure.  Additional customers lost power when the line had to be de-energized so that the linemen could safely complete the repairs.  When power was initially restored, the cold load pickup caused a fuse to open on the line, which also had to be repaired.  The total customer impact was around 304.

Mid-Columbia Community Concert Association’s annual fundraiser, Dancing With The Stars, is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at The Dalles High School Auditorium.  Six local residents have been working with professionals from the Utah Ballroom Company for the past week to get ready for the event, which is patterned after the TV show of the same name.  Patti Blagg of the Mid-Columbia Community Concert Association says it has become a popular event, and the professional dancers get the amateurs ready to perform.  The show benefits the concert association’s musical education programs in the Gorge.  Tickets are $20 in advance at Klindt’s Booksellers, Lines of Design and The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce office, or $25 at the door.

Girls Basketball Hood River Valley 53, St. Helens 45:  The Eagles fell behind 13-1 in the first quarter, but came back to lead by six at halftime, and held on for the win.  Nia Lopez scored 14 points and Emily Curtis 13 to lead the Eagles, who are now 5-4 on the season. Columbia 47, Castle Rock 43:  CHS took a twelve point lead to halftime, and held on to win the Trico League opener. LaCenter 68, Stevenson 14:  The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field to stay unbeaten in nine games.   Boys Basketball St. Helens 51, Hood River Valley 48

Another weather-related two-hour delay greeted North Wasco County School District 21 students as they returned from winter break Tuesday, the fourth such delay to go along with three full day closures forced by icy weather in the last month.  That means adjustments to the school calendar are coming.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says to get the required number of classroom hours in, they will at least be adjusting the schedule for the second trimester.  Before the winter break, Hood River County School District Superintendent Dan Goldman said his district expected to add school days at the end of the year to make up for two full day cancellations and four two-hour delays.  A snow make-up day is in the Hood River County school calendar during late January, and the rest will probably be made up later in the year.  The Hood River district also had a two-hour delay Tuesday.

With an increase in flu cases in the Gorge, health officials say it’s important for those who are sick with the flu to know how to take care of themselves and how to avoid spreading the flu to others.  North Central Public Health District health officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says most people will recover in a couple of weeks, and if they have mild illness the best thing to do is to stay home, rest and avoid others.  If you are at high risk or concerned about your illness, call your healthcare provider.  Adults having a hard time breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, severe or persistent vomiting, purple or blue discoloration of the lips, or seizures should be seen promptly.  Children should be seen urgently if they have fast or troubled breathing, bluish skin color, are not waking up or interacting, become so irritable that they do not want to be held, or a fever with a rash.  Infants should get medical help right away if they are unable to eat, have a hard time breathing, do not have tears when they cry, or have many fewer wet diapers than normal.  Health officials do say the most effective way to avoid catching the flu is vaccination.

YouthThink of Wasco County will begin its annual series of free family movies at Columbia Cinemas in The Dalles on Saturday.  The films will be shown each Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in January and February.  Debby Jones of YouthThink says they try to blend bringing families together and education with the movies.  YouthThink also takes canned food donations for local food bank efforts at the movies.  The first film will be “Ice Age:  Collision Course” this Saturday morning, with doors at Columbia Cinemas opening at 9:15 a.m. and the movie starting at 10 a.m.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden believes there will be swift action on growing jobs, fixing health care, and doing away with excessive federal regulations as the new session of Congress convened Tuesday.  The Hood River Republican said in a video statement that he is excited for his new role as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.  The committee Walden will oversee deals with health care, energy policy, telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, environmental quality, and interstate and foreign commerce.  Walden is the first Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman from the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley say they welcome the Federal Railroad Administration’s announcement that it has reached an agreement with Union Pacific to require the railroad to meet higher safety standards.  Wyden and Merkley issued a joint statement this morning, saying that while banning oil trains from the Columbia Gorge is the only way to completely eliminate future derailments, this agreement has the potential to significantly improve railroad safety.  They also said they will review details of the agreement’s details to ensure it helps protect communities near train tracks, and will closely monitor its enforcement.  The Senators also expect the FRA to complete its investigation of June’s derailment in Mosier.

Columbia Gorge CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) is in the midst of its annual fundraising appeal.  The organization recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers to advocate for the needs and well-being of the about 150 foster children in Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman counties.  CASA Executive Director Susan Erickson says a matching grant from the Providence Community Benefit Fund will double all donations up to $6,000 that are received by the end of the year.  Donations can be made on-line at gorgecasa.org or by mail to Columbia Gorge CASA at P.O. Box 663 in Hood River, zip code 97031.