The political signs in the public right of way adjacent to The Dalles Veterinary Hospital will be going away.  The Dalles City Council made the decision to no longer allow any kind of signs at the location where West Third and Fourth Streets and West Third Place intersect.  The City had allowed political signs to be placed there for years…but after a disagreement involving placement of placards in favor of marijuana legalization Measure 91, Mayor Steve Lawrence said the simplest thing to do was to no longer allow the signs.  All of the political signs at that location have to be removed by this Friday.

A candidate for position three on The Dalles City Council has withdrawn from the race, and will support another challenger.  Brian Stevens told Bicoastal Media in an e-mail that he was stepping aside from the campaign that also involves incumbent Bill Dick and Russ Brown.  Stevens says he met with Brown to discuss their platforms, philosophies, and overall feeling for direction of the city, and felt that given his busy schedule and family commitments it was best to drop out and support Brown.

Q-Life, the collaboration of public entities established in The Dalles in 2002 to create a 17-mile fiber optic loop through the city, is now operating in the black.  That announcement was made at Monday’s The Dalles City Council meeting.  Mayor Steve Lawrence noted many had thought the project would never make any money.  Lawrence added the Regional Solutions team is seeking state funding to work with Q-Life to fill in gaps in broadband service in rural areas of Wasco County.

An act of vandalism resulted in flooding of the basement of the Wasco County Courthouse.  According to County Adminstrative Officer Tyler Stone and a report from The Dalles Police Department, someone over the weekend took a water hose located in a corner by the courthouse steps, stretched it out along the sidewalk, and turned on the water and left it against the foundation…sending water into a meeting room and office in the basement.  Stone said clean-up efforts are underway, and the County’s insurance company is assessing the amount of damage incurred.  Stone added both the meeting room and office are unusable at this time.

Boys Soccer Glencoe 6, The Dalles 1:  The Riverhawks had their three game winning streak snapped with the loss. Horizon Christian 2, Damascus Christian 1:  The Hawks have won two of their first three games in Special District 6 play.   Girls Soccer Glencoe 3, The Dalles 1

The Hood River City Council voted 6-0 to approve the first reading of an ordinance to changes the zoning of a portion of the Expo Center property on the waterfront from commercial to light industrial, which will pave the way for construction of a new warehouse facility for Turtle Island Foods.  Some councilors did express reservations about not considering the rest of the Expo Center property, which a disposition and development agreement between the Port and Key Development has earmarked for office and commercial space, but in the end they did not want to stand in the way of the new Turtle Island facility.  An application for City consideration of the other half of the property has not yet been filed, as the Port attempts to develop a plan that would ease fears of the Waterfront competing with downtown.  The absence of a Councilor prevented a final reading of the ordinance, which will take place on October 14.

Conclusion of the various agreements that will lead to Naito Development being able to construct a hotel and office building at the south end of the Nichols Basin while Hood River Urban Renewal acquires about 25,000 square feet of property along the water for resource protection and a “passive park” is getting close.  The Urban Renewal board approved allowing City Manager Steve Wheeler to execute a purchase and sale agreement once lawyers finish their work.  Mayor Arthur Babitz announced prior to the vote the purchase price for the property is $395,000, to be paid through property taxes generated by the hotel as they come in.  There will be no interest and no pre-payment penalties.  If the hotel is not developed within 10 years, the property will be decreed to have been paid off.  Babitz added the property will become a “passive park” with no recreational features, to be preserved as such through easement agreements.  The deal is part of an agreement reached by the City, Urban Renewal, Friends of the Hood River Waterfront, and Naito Development to bring an end to land use appeals of the project.

A woman from the Portland area was taken on Saturday by LifeFlight from Wamic to a Portland area hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries after she had been shot in the head.  According to the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, deputies met the woman and her husband at a restaurant parking lot in Wamic.  The couple, both in their 60’s, had been hunting and camping on forestlands in Wasco County.  A preliminary investigation indicates the shooting appears accidental, and the man remained on the scene and cooperated with investigators in the case.  Reports have been sent to the Wasco County District Attorney’s office for further review, but no criminal charges are anticipated.

The Hood River City Council Monday night will discuss the potential taxing of recreational marijuana should Measure 91 pass during the November election.  Hood River County Commissioners have already scheduled a public hearing on October 13 to address the subject.  With Measure 91 specifically pre-empting cities and counties from enacting taxes on marijuana sales, some city and county governments in Oregon have been rushing to consider approving ordinances before the election.  Mayor Arthur Babitz has his doubts about whether anything the City could pass would stick.  Babitz noted Measure 91 does call for cities and counties to receive 20 percent of state tax revenues from the sale of marijuana.   The Council meets Monday at 6 p.m. in Hood River City Hall.

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the disappearance of a Portland man last seen two weeks ago after deputies assisted him at about milepost 17 on the Washougal River Road in rural Skamania County.  42-year-old Joseph Ronald Sizemore has been missing since September 7, and does not have medication he requires.   Authorities say he may be disoriented or fearful of public contact, and he is believed to have little or no money.  At the time of officer contact, Sizemore was driving a 2009 Ford Focus, red in color with an Oregon trip permit in the back window, with no vehicle plates.  Sizemore is a white male adult, 5’9” tall and weighing 275 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.  If anyone has seen Sizemore, they are requested to contact the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 427-9490 extension 0, or call 9-1-1.