One of the big goals for the City of The Dalles in 2017 is to get replacement of the Dog River water pipe line underway.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says he’s been told by a Forest Service official that he’s optimistic the permit to do the work in the Mount Hood National Forest will be approved this spring.  Lawrence did say the City has applied for a number of federal and state grants to help defray the cost of the project.  The City has been looking to replace the old wooden line with numerous leaks for years.

Boys Basketball Forest Grove 94, The Dalles 44 Hudson’s Bay 87, Stevenson 61   Girls Basketball Stevenson 52, Fort Vancouver 44

Boys Basketball Hood River Valley 63, Columbia 48 Sisters 48, The Dalles 30 Damascus Christian 43, Horizon Christian 30

A house on Dry Hollow Road in The Dalles has been declared a complete loss after a fire Tuesday afternoon.  Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue Division Chief Dave Lapof says they received the call for the fire at 1902 Dry Hollow Road just before 3:10 p.m.  He said the fire went through the middle of the roof, and by the time it was finished a small bit of the structure remained.  Lapof said no one was home at the time of the fire, and all pets got out safely.  The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.  The American Red Cross provided assistance to those displaced by the fire.

Klickitat County Commissioners approved their 2017 budget on Tuesday.  Among other notable items, Commissioners decided not put construction funds in the budget to build two transmitter sites for its emergency communications system, but did leave in money to continue analysis.  Commission Chair David Sauter says the two sites were left off the emergency communications system overhaul a few years ago due to financial limitations.  The two locations are in the hills around Klickitat for better coverage of the Klickitat River Valley, and the area just over Satus Pass.

Hood River County Commissioners have directed the group that has been considering a one-percent construction excise tax to go towards affordable housing projects to bring back final documents for Commission approval in January.  County Planning Director John Roberts and Mid-Columbia Housing Authority Executive Director Joel Madsen gave a report on the proposal to Commissioners this week.  Roberts says the one-percent tax is essentially a systems development charge…and would be focused on new residential, commercial, and industrial construction, adding the committee estimates the tax can generate about $400,000 a year.  Roberts notes the type of affordable housing projects the money would be used for is up to the elected officials in the County and the Cities of Cascade Locks and Hood River.

Boys Basketball Hood River Valley 43, Riverside 26 Stevenson 79, Corbett 56 Dufur 61, Klickitat 38 Zillah 83, Goldendale 44   Girls Basketball The Dalles 47, Milwaukie 46 Corbett 56, Stevenson 53 Dufur 51, Klickitat 37 Zillah 83, Goldendale 32

Hood River County Commissioners voted unanimously to overturn a County Planning Commission decision that had denied Apollo Land Holdings an industrial land use permit to construct a 50-room hotel on the former Dee Mill site as part of the company’s DeeTour project.  Planning Commissioners had voted 5-2 during the summer to deny the permit, but County Commission Chair Ron Rivers said his panel felt County land use ordinances required them to approve it.  He noted in 1984 when the original land uses were developed, the Dee Mill site was deemed to be industrial property, and an exception was done to keep that zoning into perpetuity.  The Hood River Valley Residents Committee had filed the initial appeal to the County Planning Commission, and have the right to appeal the County Commission decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.  Rivers noted even with the approval, the permit contains 36 different conditions that must be met for the hotel to be built.

Two people currently in a Washington County jail after a police pursuit and robbery at a Portland hotel in October have been indicted by a Wasco County grand jury on charges stemming from the armed robbery of a gas station in The Dalles earlier that month.  According to a statement from The Dalles Police Department, 37-year-old Joshua Luther and 28-year-old Michelle Luther are each charged with three counts of robbery in the first degree and unlawful use of a weapon in the robbery that occurred at the Astro Express gas station on 2600 West 6th in The Dalles on October 23.  The pair were arrested two days later after robbing a hotel in Portland and eventually leading police on a lengthy pursuit that resulted in several crashes and shots being fired at officers, ending in Tualatin when Joshua Luther was shot by a Tigard police officer.  Joshua Luther faces 23 charges and Michelle Luther 15 as a result of that incident, including attempted aggravated murder.

With winter weather an issue, very few people were able to attend a Port of Hood River meeting last week to discuss parking in the waterfront area.  Both the City and the Port are considering installation of meters in some sections of the waterfront.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says whatever the two agencies decide, it needs to be consistent.  Local business represented at the meeting did not recommended parking meters in the waterfront.  The City Council is to discuss parking meters on the City-regulated streets on January 9, with the Port board to consider the issue the next day.