Cross Country Emily Morin’s individual victory led The Dalles to first place at the Columbia River Conference Girls’ Cross Country Championships in Hermiston.  Morin was joined in the top four by teammate Avery Cardosi, who was fourth.  Hood River Valley finished second in the team standings, led by a runner-up finish by Lauren Robinson and a third place effort by Daisy Dolan.  Both The Dalles and Hood River Valley advance to Oregon Class 5-A Cross Country Championships this coming Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene.   Hood River Valley advanced to the state 5-A boys’ meet by holding off Pendleton for second place in the CRC run.  Quinn Fetkenhour led HRV by taking second behind individual winner Hayden Earl of Hermiston, which won the team title.  Jony Nelson of The Dalles advanced to state by finishing fourth.  The state boys’ meet will also be in Eugene on Saturday.   Volleyball Dufur won the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Condon, defeating the host Knights 25-20, 25-11, 25-20 in the final.  The Rangers swept Arlington in the semis.  Dufur gets a bye in round one of the Oregon Class 1-A tourney, and will host a second round match this weekend.   Football Hermiston 55, Hood River Valley 7 Pendleton 30, The Dalles 12 Columbia 27, Seton Catholic 20 Stevenson 28, Castle Rock 0 Dufur 58, Condon-Wheeler 8 Goldendale 20, Naches Valley 14

The body of a Lyle man reported missing earlier this month has been found.  According to the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office, the body of 29-year-old David E. Lee was found Thursday afternoon in a heavily wooded area near Lyle.  The manner and cause of death are currently under investigation.  The Klickitat County Coroner’s Office has requested an autopsy that is scheduled to be performed by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office in Vancouver.  Lee was reported missing on October 5 by his wife.

The northeast leg of the intersection at 12th and May in Hood River will be closed to all traffic from seven Monday morning until seven Tuesday evening.  The Hood River City Public Works Department says that’s due to asphalt paving for the Indian Creek Pump Station.  Northbound traffic on 12th Street will be detoured to 13th Street at May, and southbound traffic on 12th will be diverted to Prospect.  Westbound traffic on May will be detoured at Park Street.  Access to Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital’s main entrance will be open at all times.

Volleyball Big Sky Conference Tournament First Round Arlington def. South Wasco 3 games to 2 Ione def. Sherman 3 games to 1   Columbia def. Stevenson 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 16-14:  The Bruins win their first Trico League match of the season. Sunnyside Christian def. Trout Lake-Glenwood 25-6, 25-20, 25-21 Naches Valley def. Goldendale 25-13, 25-17, 25-13   Girls Soccer Castle Rock 3, Columbia 1:  The Rockets take over the third and final district playoff spot in the Trico League with one game remaining for both.   Boys Water Polo Hood River Valley 14, Parkrose 4   Girls Water Polo Parkrose 12, Hood River Valley 5   Football South Wasco 18, Washington School for the Deaf 12

Work on the new Thompson Park swimming pool is to begin next week after the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District board approved a contract with Tripplett Wellman of Woodburn to serve as a construction manager and general contractor.  District interim executive director Karl Cozad says work should begin this Tuesday.  Cozad says when all the numbers came in, the district was short $150,000 in the project budget to fully finish it, so it will seek a gap loan to finish it and pay it back through the savings the district will realize by having their offices at the pool complex rather than renting.  Cozad adds they should be able to acquire that funding through a government support agency rather than having to go out on the commercial market.  The anticipated opening date for the pool is June 13, 2015.

Mosier Fire Chief Jim Appleton was on the job Thursday, but he has not made a determination on whether he will stay on after the Mosier Fire District board rescinded his controversial dismissal at a meeting Wednesday night.  Appleton said Thursday he wants the board to sort through some questions before he makes any kind of announcement.  He did not elaborate on the questions he wants to see answered.  Appleton did emphasize he remains committed to the job, and is not putting any kind of timeline on making a decision, other than saying no one wants to see the situation drag on.

A dozen high school students and four adults from Miyoshi City, Japan arrives in The Dalles Saturday as part of a longstanding sister cities relationship.  Delegates will stay with local host families, visit students at The Dalles High School, Wahtonka Community School and St. Mary’s Academy, and tour the region.  The sister city relationship between The Dalles and Miyoshi City began nearly 30 years ago through the efforts locally of Bob and Kris McFadden.   It is formalized through agreements between Miyoshi City and the City of The Dalles, which assigns a council member as liaison to the sister cities association.  In addition to the students, delegation members include Yu Sakamoto, representing Miyoshi City government; Motoyuki Matsunohana, Miyoshi City association president; Yaemi Kawahara, association secretary general; and Miho Takai, a former member of Japan’s parliament.

A ruling by a Josephine County judge last week that the city of Cave Junction has the power to ban medical marijuana dispensaries is adding another level of consideration as local governments try to determine their best course of action.  The ruling by Circuit Judge Pat Wolke is expected to be appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, where a decision would apply statewide.  The City of The Dalles currently has a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, and adding in the upcoming vote on legalizing recreational marijuana, Mayor Steve Lawrence and other City officials are waiting to see what happens.  Lawrence questions whether they can deviate from state law under their City charter.  Lawrence notes the League of Oregon Cities is trying to develop legal guidance for local government to use.

The project engineer for the Chenoweth Industrial Park gave an update to the Port of The Dalles Commission on Wednesday.  Ken Valentine of the engineering firm HHPR of Portland says testing on the project’s sanitary sewer lines has already begun.  The 18-inch water line will require a special testing strategy for disposal of the substantial amount of treated water involved.   Conduit that will carry other utility lines including electric, phone and fiber, is also nearing completion.   Curbs are in place, and road paving is due to begin the first week of November, weather permitting.  When completed, the 60-acre industrial park will feature 26 riverside, shovel-ready building lots of 1 to 4 acres at the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge with paved roads and utilities, including high-speed Internet, stubbed to each site.

Klickitat County Commissioners have adopted for a second time a moratorium on marijuana production, processing, and retail sales in unincorporated areas of the County.  A moratorium adopted a year ago had lapsed, but Commissioners say marijuana facilities are being proposed for locations within the County that may be incompatible with surrounding uses.  They also contend since the Washington Liquor Control Board licenses marijuana facilities without written notice to individual owners of properties that surround proposed site, landowners who are most affected may not be aware of the new use until the marijuana facility is operating.  Commissioners are also concerned about a proposal to raise the total square footage of marijuana production operations from a statewide total maximum of 2 million square feet to 8.5 million square feet, which could result in expansion of current facilities and a new round of applications.  Commissioners plan a public hearing on the issue at 6:30 p.m. on November 12 in the Klickitat PUD meeting room in Goldendale.