The executive board of the group YouthThink has sent letters to the Wasco County Commisson and The Dalles City Council, asking the two bodies send a measure to voters that would have the City and County prohibit licensing of recreational marijuana facilities.  The group asks for an ordinance to be put in place by October 1 to prevent any facilities being grandfathered in, specifically medical marijuana facilities that the state will allow to sell recreational marijuana beginning on that date.  YouthThink representatives point out Measure 91 legalizing recreational marijuana in the state failed in both The Dalles and Wasco County last November with 51 percent saying no.  They also are concerned with current marijuana use and perception data of the County’s adolescent population indicating higher use rates than the state average.  Wasco County already has two town hall meetings planned for September 17 at 6 p.m. at Dufur School and September 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Mosier Senior Center.

A fire burning on private and Bureau of Land Management southeast of Maupin near Bakeoven Creek is now at 60 percent containment.  The Oven Fire has burned 1,100 acres in short grass and brush, and was human caused, but no specifics have been announced at this point.  No residences or structures are threatened by the fire about two miles southeast of Maupin, and fire control efforts have gone well.  The fire started on Wednesday at about 3 p.m.  91 people are assigned to the fire, including two hand crews, three helicopters, and five engines.

Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 3, Putnam 0:  Andres Baeza, Joel Garcia, and Antonio Bustos scored the goals for HRV. St. Helens 6, The Dalles 0   Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 2, Putnam 0:  The Eagles won their third straight game to start the season, with goals by Cielo Rivera and Claire Davies. St. Helens 3, The Dalles 1 Wapato 9, Goldendale 0   Volleyball King’s Way Christian def. Columbia 25-19, 25-14, 25-21 Washougal def. Stevenson 24-26, 26-24, 25-9, 25-23:  Madison Krog had 27 assists for the Bulldogs, while Sawyer Schroder had 12 kills. River View def. Goldendale 25-19, 14-25, 14-25, 25-22, 16-14:  Ocean Bryan finished with 13 kills and 15 digs for the Timberwolves.

Crack sealing work will continue next week on a number of residential streets in The Dalles.  Starting Monday work is planned on Quinton, Columbia View, East Knoll, Summit Ridge, Veterans, Sherman, Wasco, East 15^th, East 16^th, East 17^th, Nevada, Montana, View Court, River View, J, and East 13th streets.  Residents in the area asked to remove all vehicles from the street between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. to allow workers access to the entire street width.  Flaggers will be in place.  Those with questions should call 541-480-0168.

Repairs to a broken water main on Union Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in The Dalles are finished, but the street will remain closed for one to two weeks.  That’s to allow the soil to dry sufficiently for repairs to be made to the street surface.  Motorists are encouraged to use Court Street or Liberty Street as alternate routes.   The break in the main caused high flows in some areas of the distribution system that resulted in stirred up sediments in the lines and some customers experienced discolored water.  City crews have flushed the system to correct the issue.   Samples have been collected and analyzed indicating that the water is safe to use.  The water main that broke was a 10-inch cast iron pipe that was constructed prior to 1900.

A fire burning on private and Bureau of Land Management southeast of Maupin near Bakeoven Creek is now at 30 percent containment.  The Oven Fire has burned 1,000 acres in short grass and brush, and was human caused but no specifics have been announced at this point.  Lisa Clark at the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center indicates no residences or structures are threatened by the fire about two miles southeast of Maupin, adding fire control efforts are going well.  The fire started on Wednesday at about 3 p.m.  Clark says two twenty-person hand crews, two helicopters, and some BLM engines are involved in the firefighting effort.

Seventh District Circuit Court Judge Janet Stauffer has filed for re-election.  Stauffer was elected to the bench in May, 2010, and was the first woman to serve as Circuit Court Judge in the District.  The bulk of Stauffer’s work involves criminal and juvenile matters in Wasco County.  However she also travels to Sherman, Wheeler and Gilliam Counties and covers matters in Hood River County as needed.  Stauffer volunteers on several judicial committees and was elected to the Oregon Circuit Court Judges Executive Committee where she will serve as President-Elect.  The judicial district encompasses Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler Counties.

It will be Huckleberry Festival weekend in Bingen’s Daubenspeck Park.  The event gets underway Friday evening and continues through Sunday afternoon, with entertainment and children’s activities planned all weekend long.  Chris Connolly says the annual parade through Bingen will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday.  Alan and Karen Patrick will be this year’s grand marshals.  The annual fireman’s huckleberry pancake breakfast starts at 6 a.m. Saturday in the fire hall on 119 NE Church Street.  Complete schedule information is available at huckleberry-fest.com.

Friends of the Columbia Gorge and Save Our Scenic Area are asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a recent Bonneville Power Administration decision to approve the Whistling Ridge Energy Project’s application to connect to the BPA’s energy grid.  The Whistling Ridge Project would be located on forested ridgelines in Skamania County near Underwood overlooking the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.  The two organizations claim the BPA failed to adequately review the environmental impacts of the proposed energy project.  Two years ago, most elements of an appeal of the state’s decision to permit the project were rejected by the Washington State Supreme Court, even though the court did say the state needed to make decisions on some aspects of the project.

Krystyna Wolniakowski has been tabbed to be the new Executive Director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission.  Wolniakowski has been serving as the Gorge Commission’s interim executive director since Darren Nichols announced his resignation earlier this year.  Commission Vice-Chair Bowen Blair praised her performance during the past five months “as a highly effective and collaborative leader who managed the agency during this interim period with a calm demeanor and extensive outreach to partners, the Governor’s offices of both states, and with elected officials.”   Wolniakowski led the Western Partnership Office of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Portland for more than 14 years as Regional Director, creating and managing conservation grant-making programs in seven Western states.  Her work included the launch of the Washington State Community Salmon Fund, the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund, and the Oregon Governors Fund for the Environment.