The Fort Dalles Fourth organization is moving under the The Dalles Main Street program umbrella and entering into a new partnership with The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce.  Organizers of the Fourth of July celebration say the move into the Main Street program will allow both organizations to work together to further develop events for the holiday and other activities throughout the year.  Meanwhile, the Chamber will coordinate an annual request for transient room tax funding from the City of The Dalles to support the purchase of fireworks as well as expansion of regional public relations and marketing efforts, and also take over Fourth of July parade operations.  In addition, the Fort Dalles Fourth Festival will operate separately from the fireworks display, with the Fort Dalles Fourth Committee continuing to oversee the fireworks show and controlling the “Fort Dalles Fourth” brand, but will no longer be linked financially to the outcome of supporting events.  Festival operations will be supported by business sponsorship, vendor fees, ticket sales, and volunteers, with Nolan Hare continuing as director.

Both directions of Washington Highway 14 between Dallesport and Maryhill have reopened after they were closed for a few hours Wednesday due to an overturned semi-truck.  According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the truck spilled a load of manure near Wishram at milepost 92.  Traffic was detoured to Interstate 84 in Oregon via Highways 197 and 97.  The accident occurred around 10:40 a.m., and the road reopened at around 3:20 p.m.  The Washington State Department of Transportation indicated the truck was carrying approximately 27 tons of chicken manure.

The Hood River Valley Residents Committee will hold an open house on Saturday to provide information and take input on a proposal to develop a 20-acre park on property adjacent to the intersection of Belmont Drive and Fairview Drive.  Residents Committee executive director Heather Staten says part of the impetus for the group to work with the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District on the proposed Westside Community Park is its location that a City housing study indicates is where growth will occur.  The open house will take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Westside Elementary School, and will be both an informational event and an opportunity for initial public visioning.

The Gorge Community Foundation is offering two funding opportunities to qualifying local non-profit organizations.  The first is the Joan Burchell Memorial Fund, which provides grants on an annual basis to non-profit organizations at the discretion of Foundation’s board of directors.  The grant deadline is March 31, with awards to be announced in June.  A total of $11,500 is available this year.  The second opportunity offered by Gorge Community Foundation is a fundraising challenge presented through an anonymous benefactor.  This will match up to $200,000 raised between now and June 30 by non-profit organizations with existing funds managed by Gorge Community Foundation.  This includes agency, scholarship and dedicated funds currently established through the Foundation.  Those who would like to apply or donate can e-mail the Gorge Community Foundation at gcf@gorge.net.

Oregon Class 5-A Basketball Play-In Games Boys Milwaukie 86, Hood River Valley 51:  The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead, then pulled away in the 3^rd quarter.  Isaiah Gentry led Milwaukie with 23 points, while Parker Kennedy topped the Eagles with 17. Girls Wilsonville 39, The Dalles 32:  The Wildcats broke open a tight defensive contest to grab the win and advance to the state playoffs.  The Riverhawks finished the season with a 13-12 record.   Dakota Murr of The Dalles and Parker Kennedy of Hood River Valley were first team selections to the Columbia River Conference all-league boys’ basketball team.  HRV’s Tyrone Stintzi, Noah Noteboom, and Dallas Buckley, and The Dalles’ Colin Noonan, were second team selections.  In girls’ basketball, Brooke McCall and Iliana Telles of  The Dalles were first team picks, while fellow Riverhawk Lori Cimmiyotti and HRV’s Marlie Bloomster were placed on the second team.

The Hood River City Planning Commission heard plenty of opinions as over 60 people testified during a public hearing on proposed regulations for short-term vacation rentals at a Monday night hearing.  A draft of zoning ordinance restrictions by City staff would cap the number of non-owner occupied short-term rentals in residential zones at somewhere around 145 through a permit system after a five-year grandfathering period for existing STR’s, while allowing hosted home shares and short-term rentals in commercial zones without a cap, and use a distance requirement to prevent clustering of STR’s.  Members of the group Livable Hood River pushed a plan similar to regulations adopted in Portland, which would involve a five-year grandfather period for current non-owner occupied STR’s in residential zones before they are eliminated while continuing to allow home shares and unlimited commercial zone STR’s.  But those representing owners of homes used for vacation rentals, including the group Lovable Hood River, said the restrictions would be unfair to people who have invested in them and potentially damaging to a tourist industry that has become a key part of Hood River’s economy, adding they believed STR restrictions would not create additional workforce housing opportunities.  The Planning Commission will continue to take written testimony until March 21, when they will meet again to conduct deliberations on the subject.

Two Washington men were arrested south of Biggs Junction after a traffic stop of their vehicle resulted in the discovery of narcotics with a street value of over two-point-three million dollars.  The Oregon State Police says a trooper stopped a van on Highway 97 near milepost 16, and the pair inside were detained after the officer observed a handgun in the vehicle’s glovebox when a passenger opened it, and neither person had a concealed weapons permit.  A subsequent search of the van revealed about 25 pounds of cocaine and 44 pounds of methamphetamine.  The two men, 32-year-old Alberto Alejandro Martinez of Moses Lake and 31-year-old Jose Joel Helguera Del Rio of Royal City, were arrested and lodged in the Multnomah County Jail for multiple federal drug and firearm related charges.  The investigation is ongoing with the assistance of the Homeland Security Investigations arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  (photo courtesy Oregon State Police)

Motorists will see new speed limits on select highways in Eastern and Central Oregon starting Tuesday.  Two bills signed by the Governor in the past year raises speed limits on Interstate 84 east of The Dalles, Interstate 82, and other select secondary state highways in eastern and central Oregon.   The new law will raise legal speeds to 70 miles per hour for passenger vehicles and 65 mph for commercial trucks on I-84 between The Dalles and the Idaho border.   In addition, sections of eight other highways will have speed limits increased to 65 mph for passenger vehicles and 60 mph for trucks, including portions of U.S. Highways 97 and 197.  Signs displaying the new speed limits are expected to be installed on I-84 by Tuesday and on secondary highways within a few days of the effective date.   Those signs displaying a speed “limit” will be subject to enforcement by the Oregon State Police as differentiated from the “basic speed rule” that applies when no “limit” is indicated. (photo courtesy Oregon Department of Transportation)

Washington 14th District State Representative Norm Johnson is not giving the supplemental budget passed by the House a good review.  The Republican says the biggest concern he has, along with the rest of his caucus, is the 120 million dollars in tax increases that are included in it.  Johnson says he is tired of tax increase proposals, and claims the answer is to live within the state’s current revenue.  He says he’s not sure he’d call what passed in the House a budget, describing it as a bargaining tool devised by a majority party that knows the Senate will never go for it.

OSAA Class 5-A Wrestling Championships at Portland Memorial Coliseum Joe Linebarger of The Dalles earned a second place finish in the Class 5-A 220 pound division.  Linebarger won his first three matches, including a 14-6 semi-final win over Mario Novato of Redmond, who had beaten him for the 220 pound title at the Special District 4 meet one week ago.  In the final, Linebarger wrestled a tight match with top-seed Hunter Morse of Hillsboro, but Morse came out on top 3-2.  Two Hood River Valley wrestlers earned placing finishes, as Jason Shaner finished third at 126 pounds, while Noah Wachsmuth was fourth at 113.   In the state girls wrestling tournament held concurrently with the boys’ tourney, HRV’s Payton Rigert won the girls’ 152 pound division, winning the semi-final over Anna Koch of Silverton by fall at 1:53 before taking the final by forfeit over Joanne Lemley of Ashland.  The Eagles’ Grace Miller finished in second at 106, falling short in a comeback effort against Kyleigh Lopez of North Medford, who scored a 9-6 win.  Miller won the semi over Elexis Walker of Douglas 14-1.  Monique Yanez was third at 126 and Christina Marquez also finished third at 170.   Oregon Class 1-A Boys Basketball Tournament Second Round Sherman 79, Joseph 46:  The Huskies move on to the final eight in Baker City, where they will face Siletz Valley at 8:15 Thursday evening. Siletz Valley 66, South Wasco 41   Washington Class 1-B Girls Basketball Regional Colton 88, Lyle-Wishram 24   Regular Season Boys Basketball Ridgeview 81, Hood River Valley 52