A special Hood River City Council meeting on Monday night to consider operating license requirements for short-term rentals was cancelled due to Council member absences.  City officials say there has been concern expressed about the timeline for existing non-conforming STRs to establish their grandfathered status within deadlines set by ordinance, but while release of final application documents and licensure requirements are pending City Council adoption of rules, to begin the process of grandfathering an application to verify and establish prior existing nonconforming short-term rental use has been developed.  The form is available on the City’s webpage and at City Hall.  Completion of the form by December 12 will validate a claim of pre-existing non-conforming short-term rental use, but would not exempt STR’s from future licensing requirements.

A CenturyLink spokesperson says services impacted by what the company had termed an “equipment issue” in the Gorge were restored late Monday afternoon.  Skamania and Klickitat counties both reported their 9-1-1 services were restored at around 1:30 p.m., while Hood River and Wasco counties did so just before 5 p.m.  Emergency phone communications at 9-1-1 centers in the region and phone service throughout the area was scrambled because of the issue that some law enforcement officials described as a failure of a major CenturyLink fiber terminal in the area.  CenturyLink spokesperson Rachel Montemayor said in an e-mail to Bicoastal Media shortly after 4 p.m. that “all services previously impacted have now been restored,” but did not elaborate on what caused the outage.  In a post on its website, Gorge Networks said the problem had impacted some wireless, wireline, and broadband carriers in the Gorge, and caused widespread telephone network/DSL outages for multiple carriers in the Gorge.

Oregon Class 5A Girls Water Polo First Round Hood River Valley 21, South Albany 2:  The Eagles will meet Sandy in a semi-final next Friday at 12:10 in Corvallis.   Oregon Class 5A Boys Water Polo First Round Ashland 10, Hood River Valley 7   Friday Schedule Oregon Class 5A Volleyball Quarterfinal:  Marist def. Hood River Vallev 25-11, 25-20, 25-13 Oregon Class 1A Football First Round:  Triad at Sherman, 6 p.m. Oregon Class 1A Football First Round:  Falls City at Dufur, 7 p.m. SW Washington Class 1A Football District:  Columbia at Montesano, 7 p.m.   Saturday Schedule Oregon Class 5A Cross Country Championships:  Hood River Valley & The Dalles at Lane Community College in Eugene, girls at 1:15 p.m., boys at 1:50 p.m. Washington Class 1A Cross Country Championships:  Columbia, Goldendale, and Stevenson at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, girls at 10:30 a.m., boys at noon   Oregon Class 5A Boys Soccer Quarterfinal:  LaSalle at Hood River Valley, 1 p.m.   Oregon Class 5A Volleyball Consolation:  Hood River Valley vs. LaSalle at Liberty HS, 8 a.m. Southwest Washington Class 1A Volleyball Tournament:  Columbia vs. King’s Way Christian at Castle Rock, 10 a.m. SCAC District Volleyball Tournament:  Goldendale vs. Naches Valley at Kiona-Benton, noon  

Ballots continue to be returned to election offices in the Gorge at a good pace.  Hood River County reports a 48.3 percent return rate, while Wasco County is at 44.9 percent.  Local election officials remind people who have not voted by now to take their ballots to official drop boxes to ensure they are in hand by the Tuesday’s 8 p.m. deadline.  Hood River County voters can go to the County Administration Building at 601 State Street in Hood River or Cascade Locks City Hall, while Wasco County ballots can be taken to the County Courthouse at 511 Washington in The Dalles or to Maupin City Hall.  Throughout Oregon over one million ballots have been returned entering Friday, 200,000 more than at the same time in 2012.  In Washington, 41 percent of ballots have been returned in Skamania County, just over 33 percent in Klickitat County, and over one-point-five million statewide.  Washington law requires ballots to be postmarked by the end of Tuesday.

Two people were injured in a car and motorcycle accident Thursday afternoon on Washington Highway 14 about two miles west of North Bonneville.  According to the Washington State Patrol, a car driven by a 54-year-old woman from Helix, Oregon was westbound on Highway 14 and turned left in front of an eastbound motorcycle operated by a 53-year-old Stevenson man, resulting in the accident.  Both people were transported to Peace Health Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver for treatment of injuries. The driver of the car was cited for negligent driving in the second degree.

Recreational coho salmon and steelhead fishing will reopen at 12:01 a.m. Saturday on the mainstem Columbia River from the mouth at Buoy 10 upstream to the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco.  Oregon and Washington fishery managers opted to reopen the coho and steelhead fisheries. which were closed along with Chinook salmon retention on October 22 to allow wild Snake River Chinook to move upstream.  Recent fish passage data at Bonneville and Ice Harbor dams indicate the Chinook migration is now essentially complete.  The Columbia River coho and steelhead fisheries are expected to proceed without any significant impact on remaining Chinook returns.  The bag limit under the new rules is up to two adult salmonids, and may include one hatchery steelhead.  Chinook retention remains closed through December 31.

Wasco County Commissioners voted Wednesday evening to tentatively reverse a county planning commission decision and deny Union Pacific’s application to create a new second mainline track and realign existing track in the Mosier area, pending development of findings of fact by county staff.  Commissioners were unanimous in the action, which came as the panel dealt with three different appeals including one by a group headed by Friends of the Columbia Gorge, another from the Yakama Nation, and a third by Union Pacific itself over conditions in the planning commission approval.  County Planning Director Angie Brewer had recommended in her staff report denial of the application if Commissioners felt it would adversely impact treaty rights, which under County ordinances requires denial.  All three Commissioners cited testimony from the Yakama Nation before taking the vote.  The decision came with Commissioners knowing it would be appealed regardless of their conclusion.  Union Pacific Vice President of Law Bob Bell claimed the Interstate Commerce Act pre-empts County land use law, but Friends of the Gorge attorney Gary Kahn countered that the County was bound to follow the requirements of the National Scenic Area Act.  The Commission will decide on findings and take a final vote on November 10.

Oregon Class 5-A Boys Soccer First Round Hood River Valley 2, Putnam 1:  The Eagles used a pair of goals in the first half to run their unbeaten streak to 51 games.  Robbie Running and Jorge Campos were the goal scorers for the Eagles in the first half.  HRV then had to withstand a late challenge from Putnam to hold on for the win.  The Eagles will host LaSalle in a quarterfinal match on Saturday at Henderson Stadium.   Southwest Washington Class 1A District Volleyball Tournament Columbia loses to Montesano 3 sets to 1 Columbia defeats Forks 3 sets to 0:  The Bruins won their second match of the night to stay in the hunt for a state tournament invitation.  Columbia will meet King’s Way Christian Saturday at 10 a.m. in Castle Rock, with CHS needing to win two matches that day to advance to state.

The Wasco County Fair and Rodeo will be a weekend later in 2017 than it has been in recent years.  The fair board voted unanimously to hold the fair August 24-27 in 2017, after seeing both attendance and revenue decline this year.  Fair officials say that in recent years the size, scope, and timing of the fair has forced many vendors, entertainers, stock contractors, rodeo participants, and service members to choose other communities over Wasco County.  They hope the date change will allow for increased access to many Northwest vendors and assist with better event planning for the entire county.  The date change will overlap with the Oregon State Fair, but five other counties in Oregon currently hold their fair during or after the State Fair, and Wasco County has done so in the past.  The fair board says pre-fair schedules and other alternatives allow for 4-H and others to participate in both, and they will actively pursuing these options.

Matthew Klebes has accepted the position of Assistant to the City Manager for the City of The Dalles.  Klebes has been director of the local Main Street program for the past three years, working closely with the City on various economic development projects.  Klebes has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management.  He will be filling the position vacated by Daniel Hunter, who moved into the City’s Human Resources Director position in September.  Klebes first day with the City of The Dalles will be November 28.