Hood River County and the Hood River County School District are moving forward with determining the feasibility of  putting in a long-discussed biomass boiler at Parkdale Elementary School.  The school currently uses oil for heat.  County Administrator David Meriwether says some preliminary analysis has already done, and more is in progress.  A wood chip or pellet boiler would be able to use biomass from Hood River County forests.  Parkdale Elementary has been considered for the boiler because it does not have access to natural gas, and there are no plans to bring that service there in the foreseeable future.  Meriwether expects the feasibility to be determined in a few months.

A study of wetlands in The Dalles is underway.  The Governor’s Regional Solutions team is involved in putting together a regional general permit.  Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the concept is to look at all of the remaining undeveloped industrial land in The Dalles, and catalog where wetlands are.  Those results will be submitted to the state which will verify them, and this fall state and federal agencies will be brought together along with local stakeholders to see how development and mitigation can occur, with an end goal of allowing maximum developable land in the urban growth boundary and gives developers a clear picture of what they are dealing with.

The Port of Hood River will hold a hearing Tuesday evening on an ordinance outlining waterfront usage.  Ordinance 24 actually revises the current Ordinance 22, and looks to build in flexibility to allow changes to time and place of activities on Port property.  Language regarding boat maintenance and repairs being prohibited is being removed to reflect allowing owners to do routine light maintenance, and language that did not allow for riding a bicycle over the pedestrian bridge would also be deleted.  Clauses that would be added include no launching of boats except at the Marina Boat Basin and Nichols Basin and no launching of a kiteboard or training kite other than locations designated by an official sings.  Tuesday’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Port’s Marina Center boardroom.

Both The Dalles and Hood River City Councils will be discussing medical marijuana dispensary moratoriums this evening.  Cities and counties were given until May 1 by the Oregon Legislature to adopt a one-year moratorium on the dispensaries legalized by the Legislature in 2013.  That means they would have to pass emergency ordinances.  A special ordinance is the subject of a hearing in The Dalles, while it is a discussion item in Hood River.  The meeting in The Dalles starts at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, while the Hood River Council meets in its chambers at 6 p.m.  

Softball Hood River Valley 12, Mountain View 0 Hood River Valley sweeps Bend 4-0 and 7-0:  The Eagles three-game sweep in Central Oregon leaves them number one in the OSAA Class 5-A RPI rankings. Hillsboro 3, The Dalles 0 Granger sweeps Goldendale 20-10 and 18-5   Baseball The Dalles 12, Lincoln 1:  The Dalles stays at number four in the OSAA 5-A ratings. Bend sweeps Hood River Valley 12-1 and 10-2. Dufur sweeps Pilot Rock 22-2 and 14-4:  The Rangers are now number two in the Class 2A/1A RPI. Goldendale sweeps Granger 20-0 and 18-4 Heppner sweeps Horizon Christian 9-7 and 15-2   Track and Field South Wasco’s Loreto Morelli won both the boys’ 200 and 400 meters to lead the Mid-Columbia effort at the Dick Hornya Invitational in Stanford.  Other area winners included Sherman’s Brett Evans in the boys’ 800 meters, South Wasco’s Zoe Morelli in the girls’ 400 meters, and Dufur’s Austin Olson it the boys’ shot put and Taylor Darden in the girls’ shot put.   Boys Lacrosse Hood River Valley 11, Putnam 5   Girls Lacrosse Hood River Valley 12, South Eugene 7   Boys Tennis Zillah 3, Goldendale 2   Girls Tennis Zillah 3, Goldendale 0

The Hood River County School District board approved staggering start times for elementary and secondary schools next year.  Continue reading “HR Schools To Stagger Start Times In 14-15”

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is closing Herman Creek Campground and Horse Camp east of Cascade Locks to protect public health and safety, probably through the summer.  Continue reading “Herman Creek Campground Closed”

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden voted in support of a GOP budget plan that promises to balance the budget in ten years through five trillion dollars in cuts that would eliminate health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.  Continue reading “Walden Votes In Favor Of Ryan Plan”

Klickitat County officials told the Columbia River Gorge Commission they would be willing to assign a planner to guide National Scenic Area applicants within the County to submit complete applications to the Gorge Commission to help alleviate long wait times for permits.  Continue reading “Klickitat County Willing To Help Scenic Area Applicants”