The Dalles Art Association’s annual art auction will take place this Saturday evening in  The Dalles Civic Auditorium.  It’s the 58th annual event, and Carmen Toll of The Dalles Art Center says the proceeds go towards their operations that she points out receives no kind of government funding.  Over 60 pieces of art will be up for auction, along with various packages and items.  This year’s auction theme is “Artini,” with doors opening at 6 p.m. Saturday and a sit-down dinner by Baldwin Saloon owner Mark Linebarger starting at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are $45, and they are available at The Dalles Art Center or at Klindt’s Booksellers.  

A 21-year-old died and three other people were injured in a traffic collision early Sunday morning in Carson.  According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, 21-year-old James Pat of Carson died at the scene of the accident at the intersection of Hot Springs Avenue and Smith Beckon Road.  The Sheriff’s Department says Pat was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 21-year-old Tanner Lloyd of Stabler.  Lloyd was traveling south on Smith Beckon Road just after midnight Sunday when they collided with a second vehicle driven by 19-year-old Rylie Olsen of Carson that was preparing to turn left from Hot Springs Avenue onto Smith Beckon.  Lloyd, Olsen, and Olsen’s passenger, 20-year-old Faith Udall, were all taken to a hospital with what were described by the Sheriff’s Department as serious injuries.  An investigation into the accident is continuing.

Tuesday is election day, and most of the activity will take place in Washington.  There are two statewide initiatives on the ballot.  I-1366 authored by activist Tim Eyman would drop the state sales tax by a full percentage point if the Legislature has not passed and put on the ballot a state constitutional amendment requiring “super majorities” by April 15.  I-1401 would put penalties in place for the sale, purchase, barter, or exchange of parts from ten major endangered species.  There are also various local offices on the ballot.  In Klickitat County, there are contested races for Mayor of White Salmon and a Goldendale City Council position, while in Skamania County there are City Council races in both Stevenson and North Bonneville, along with a Stevenson-Carson School District maintenance and operations levy that would raise $800,000 in each of the next two years.  Ballots in Washington must be postmarked by Tuesday.

It appears to have been another vibrant year for tourism in Hood River.  Hood River County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Glover says lodgers reported that October was just as busy as June.  He notes the down times for the tourist industry are getting shorter and shorter.  Next spring the new Hampton Inn will open next to the Nichols Basin, but there is little concern about the ability to fill the new rooms.  Glover pointed out a market study done before that hotel started construction indicated there was the demand for two more mid-service lodging properties in Hood River.

Cross Country The Hood River Valley boys finished fourth at the Oregon Class 5-A Cross Country Championships in Eugene.  Justin Crosswhite was 17^th and Quinn Fetkenhour 21^st to lead the Eagles’ effort.  Jony Nelson of The Dalles finished 50^th.  In the girls’ race, The Dalles finished eighth in the team standings while Hood River Valley was 11^th.  HRV’s Daisy Dolan was the top local finisher in 16^th place, while Avery Cardosi of The Dalles was 19^th.  Summit won both the boys and girls team titles.   Both the Columbia boys and girls cross country teams have qualified for the Washington Class 1-A Championships.  The Bruin boys were second and the girls third at the Southwest Washington district meet.  Colin Howe of CHS was fifth in the boys’ race while Stevenson’s Jordan Vigil qualified for state as an individual thanks to a sixth place finish.  The Bruins’ Haley Blair took second in the girls’ race.   Volleyball Oregon Class 5-A Tournament First Round Bend def. Hood River Valley 25-9, 25-17, 25-12 Silverton def. The Dalles 23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-20   Oregon Class 1-A Tournament Second Round Powder Valley def. Dufur 25-21, 16-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-12 Country Christian def. South Wasco 25-10, 25-14, 25-19   SCAC West Tiebreaker Goldendale def. Zillah 25-19, 18-25, 25-19:  The Timberwolves will be at Columbia of Burbank for a first round match in the SCAC Tournament on Tuesday.   Football Hood River Valley 33, The Dalles 14:  HRV advances to the 5A playoffs, and will face top-ranked Liberty on Friday night in Hillsboro. Columbia 41, Stevenson 0 Dufur 54, Mitchell-Spray 12:  Dufur hosts Days Creek in a Class 1A first round playoff game on Saturday. Sherman 58, Elgin 52:  The Huskies will visit Powers for a 1A first round game on Saturday. Ione 77, South Wasco 14 Lyle-Wishram 50, Mary M. Knight 6 LaSalle 42, Goldendale 12   Girls Soccer Oregon Class 5-A Play-In Hillsboro 5, The Dalles 1   Boys Soccer Special District 6 Championship Horizon Christian 2, C.S. Lewis 1 (overtime)   Water Polo Boys Hood River Valley 16, Hillsboro 7:  HRV advances to meet Madras in a first round state tournament match on Thursday in Corvallis.   Girls Hood River Valley 15, Hillsboro 2:  The Eagles will meet Mountain View or Bend in a first round state tourney game Thursday in Corvallis.

There will be trick or treating for kids in downtown locations throughout the Gorge Friday and Saturday.  In The Dalles, the downtown trick or treat event is from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, followed by Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District’s Monsters In The Park After Dark in City Park from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  The downtown Hood River Safe Halloween event will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, while the Hood River Library will also host Halloween activities from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.  In White Salmon, the “Walking Dead Crawl” will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday with community partners handing out treats at downtown storefronts, while Grace Baptist Church will host the “Festival of Light” from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Bubba’s parking lot across from Harvest Market.  And in Stevenson, trick or treat decorated vehicles will be parked downtown from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday evening.

The Port of Hood River will stop selling Interstate Bridge toll ticket books at the first of the year in preparation for transition to a new tolling system.   The Port will stop selling bridge tickets on January 1, but will continue to accept tickets for toll payment at the toll booth until the new system is operational, expected to occur in summer of 2016.  Unused tickets can be tendered at the Port office for a refund or credit toward a BreezeBy electronic tolling account.  Port officials say pre-sold tickets for bridge tolls are being phased out across the country as electronic tolling is becoming standard, and new system upgrades will not support ticket sales.  About 18 percent of bridge tolls are currently paid via the pre-paid tickets.

Access to the Powerdale Corridor parking lot off Highway 35 will be closed next week as several hundred feet of pipe is removed from the site.  Hood River County Public Works says the area will close to the public at around 5 p.m. Sunday and will remain that until 5 p.m. next Friday.  For more information, call Public Works at 541-386-2616.

Girls Soccer Kalama 3, Columbia 1 Seton Catholic 4, Stevenson 2   Volleyball Kalama def. Stevenson 25-8, 25-17, 25-8   Friday Schedule Football Hood River Valley at The Dalles, 7 p.m. Columbia at Stevenson, 7 p.m. Mitchell-Spray at Dufur, 7 p.m. Elgin at Sherman, 6 p.m. South Wasco at Ione Mary M. Knight at Lyle, 6 p.m. Goldendale at LaSalle   Special District 6 Boys Soccer Championship Horizon Christian vs. C.S. Lewis at Salem Academy, 8 p.m.   Volleyball Bickleton at Lyle-Wishram, 3:30 p.m.   Saturday Schedule Oregon Class 5-A Volleyball Tournament First Round Bend at Hood River Valley, 2 p.m. Silverton at The Dalles, 2:30 p.m.   Oregon Class 1-A Volleyball Tournament Second Round Dufur at Powder Valley, 2 p.m. South Wasco at Country Christian, 6 p.m.   SCAC West Volleyball 3-Way Tiebreaker Goldendale vs. Zillah and LaSalle at Granger (two advance to district tournament)   Cross Country Hood River Valley and The Dalles at Oregon Class 5-A Championships in Eugene   Oregon Class 5-A Girls Soccer Play-In The Dalles at Hillsboro, 1 p.m.   Boys and Girls Water Polo Hillsboro at Hood River Valley (Boys at 8 a.m., girls at 9 a.m.)

Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee says the Coast Guard is continuing to investigate the apparent striking of the lift span pier on the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge sometime in early October.  McElwee says investigators have told the Port it is highly likely a vessel struck the bridge piers sometime prior to October 11.  He adds they now have a video of the strike area showing the vessel appeared to impact almost head-on on the upstream side, and then slid down the inside of the lift span pier, and then impacted the downstream side of the pier as the vessel tried to pull out of it.  Investigators believe the impact likely happened at night, and if anyone felt a shake on the bridge or saw something unusual on the water sometime before October 11 is asked to call the Port of Hood River.  Bridge inspectors did an evaluation of the lift span this week, and should deliver some conclusions in two to three weeks.  McElwee said the lift span locks solidly so it is safe for crossing, but it also is out of alignment, so the span will not be opened in the foreseeable future.