HAVEN, the organization dedicated to helping the victims and survivors of domestic violence in the Mid-Columbia, will hold its Gorge-Us Gals Ride this Sunday.  The women’s only recreational bicycle ride will start from Lewis and Clark Festival Park in The Dalles, and offers 13, 20, 40, and 60 mile options.  Anna Williams of HAVEN says it’s a great chance for friends and family to have an enjoyable day in the Gorge.  To sign up in advance, go on-line to gorge-usgalsride.com.  On-site registration begins at 7 a.m. Sunday, with staggered start times for the various distances.  Proceeds help support HAVEN programs.

The City of White Salmon’s application to purchase water rights from the White Salmon Irrigation District has gone through a 90-day waiting period with no comments being filed, and the City now has 90 days to file a management plan with the Washington Department of Ecology.  Mayor David Poucher says the irrigation district is selling two cubic feet of water rights to the City, and that will serve as mitigation for the water the City draws from Buck Creek.  Poucher says with this arrangement the City will be able to stop leasing water right from Klickitat PUD, hopefully within a year.  He believes White Salmon will now have a secure water right for 100 years.  Poucher also noted the City is working with the Ecology Department on tests of aquifer storage recovery that would take excess water from Buck Creek in the winter and put it into an existing well to use during low flow periods in the summer.

Information packets are now available for those interested in running for Mayor of The Dalles or one of three City Council seats in the November election.  The three Council positions available are position one in the west district, position three in the east district, and an at-large seat.  Candidates must be a registered voter and have resided within The Dalles city limits for at least 12 months before the election, and if representing a specific district must have lived within that district for at least 90 days prior to the election.  Candidates can obtain nominating petitions from the City Clerk’s office on 313 Court Street in The Dalles.  The filing deadline is August 26.

Linfield College’s efforts to preserve the history of Oregon winemaking will bring an archivist to Hood River in June and The Dalles in July to record oral histories and collect historic items from area winemakers.  Archivist Racheal Woody says the Oregon Wine History Archive started with the Willamette Valley, and has moved on to Southern Oregon and now the Columbia Gorge with help from a grant from the Oregon Wine Board.  Woody says they are talking to a number of different people to gather information.  The Oregon Wine History Archive was started in 2011, and now is home to collections from some of the most significant wineries in the state.

Photographers who participated in Project Dayshoot-plus-30 will make a presentation Thursday evening at Hood River’s Columbia Center for the Arts.  The project involved over 150 photographers taking pictures across the state on a single day:  July 15 of last year.  Organizer Brian Burk says the inspiration came from seeing a book from a previous Project Dayshoot that took place thirty years ago.  The work will be on display at Columbia Center for the Arts through this month.  A presentation to kickoff the exhibit will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Oregon Class 5A Baseball Semi-Final Hood River Valley 8, Crescent Valley 1:  The Eagles scored five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back as they reached the state championship game.  Kellen Duffy’s two-run homer helped propel the Eagles to the big opening frame, and Duffy and Ryan Ward stroked back to back run-scoring doubles in the fourth inning to expand the lead to 8-0.  Ward went the distance to pick up his second win of the state playoffs to go along with a save.  The Eagles will meet Sandy in the 5A championship game on Saturday at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer (time TBA). Oregon Class 5A Softball Semi-Final Pendleton 3, Hood River Valley 2:  Darian Lindsay’s two-out solo home run in the sixth inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted the Buckaroos to the win at the Ballpark at Belmont.  HRV had just scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jessie Karr led off with a double and scored on a wild pitch, then with two outs Made Vallejo reached on an error, and after Erika Enriquez singled her to second Vallejo scored on a throwing error.  The Buckaroos took the lead on single runs in the second and fourth innings in large part due to errors, as HRV committed six defensive miscues in the game.  Pendleton will meet Putnam in the state championship game at Corvallis on Saturday, while HRV finishes the season 22-7.

Several proposed legislative concepts aimed at balancing the needs of law enforcement to use citizens digital data for emergencies while protecting due process and privacy were the subject of a recent committee hearing in the Oregon Legislature.  59th District State Representative John Huffman has been a part of a bipartisan workgroup including an American Civil Liberties Union representative working on proposals for the 2015 Legislature.  The workgroup was formed to develop a bill passed last year to restrict the ability of government agencies to use drones, and Huffman says they have moved on to other technologies.  Potential bills discussed involved guidelines for use of automatic license plate readers and cell phone location data, smartphone and digital activity privacy, and creating a government surveillance oversight committee.

FISH Food Bank’s effort to build a new and expanded facility on Tucker Road just south of Hood River is getting closer to starting construction.  Just over a million dollars has been raised, and now the question is whether the organization’s cost estimates of three years ago will hold up.  Part of the committee working on the project, Dave Radley, says they are waiting on a design for the steel structure building, which will then go to their local engineer to design the concrete foundation.  After that, it’s on to Hood River County for permits.  The new facility will give FISH increased warehouse space with more room for clients to look for items they need, increase the organization’s ability to provide fresh food, and provide a classroom and demonstration kitchen to teach people how to better use the food they have.

A man found dead in the backyard of a Portland home over the weekend last resided in Bingen according to the Portland Police Bureau.  The Columbian reports 31-year-old Chag Wang was found dead at a house on Southeast Lincoln Street in Portland.  The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s office is awaiting a toxicology report, and the Portland Police Bureau says it does not consider the case a homicide.  There was no sign of violence.  Police said they are not sure whether Wang was a transient at the time of his death.  Anyone who might have information about the case is asked to call Portland Police Detective Mark Slater at 503-823-9319.

OSAA Class 5-A Baseball Quarter-final Hood River Valley 5, Pendleton 4:  A misplayed bunt resulted in two Eagle runs to tie the game and then Kam Walker drove in the winning run with a base hit as HRV came from behind in the sixth inning to win and go to the semi-finals for the first time since 1993.  It was the first time the Eagles had beaten co-Columbia River Conference champion Pendleton in five tries this season.  HRV will visit Crescent Valley of Corvallis in the semi-finals on Tuesday.   OSAA Class 5-A Softball Quarter-final Hood River Valley 1, Willamette 0:  Annie Veatch’s home run in the bottom of the fourth inning was the game’s only run, and sent the Eagles to the semi-finals for the first time since 1997.  Kayla Byers pitched her second straight playoff shutout, preserving the win with a pair of strikeouts with a runner in scoring position in the seventh.  Hood River Valley hosts Pendleton on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.  The two teams shared the Columbia River Conference title, and split four meetings, with the visiting team winning all four games.