Wahclella Falls Trail, a popular waterfall hike in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, reopened Monday for the first time since Eagle Creek Fire.  The trail was closed two days after the 48,000-acre Eagle Creek Fire ignited in September 2017.  In 2018, a Forest Service trail crew repairing the trail encountered large rocks, some as large as basketballs, falling from the slopes above the hike.  By this past spring, landslides and rockfall had altered parts of the trail and more work was needed to clear and stabilize it.  The main part of the trail has been cleared and stabilized, but the upper section of the trail’s loop remains closed due to a damaged bridge and washouts sustained during and after the fire.  Another section of the Gorge 400 Trail, between Eagle Creek Recreation Area and Cascade Locks, also opened Monday for the first time since the fire.  Nearby Ruckel Creek Trail and the Gorge 400 Trail between Angels Rest and Eagle Creek Recreation Area remain closed.

The Washington State Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program is introducing a new WIC shopping and clinic experience.  The Klickitat County Health Department and other WIC clinics in the region on Monday began replacing paper checks with WIC Cards.  The cards will provide participants with a more flexible, convenient way to shop for WIC foods.  County health officials say WIC participants will be able to scan their card at the grocery store checkout to purchase WIC foods, which should reduce stress and save time at checkout.  All family WIC benefits will now be available on one card—so families no longer have to keep track of separate checks for each family member, and families can also shop throughout the month, rather than having to purchase all their WIC food in one trip.  For local WIC information, call the Klickitat County Health Department at 1.888.267.1199 in White Salmon or 1.888.291.3521 in Goldendale.

With property now in hand, Klickitat County and the Mid-Columbia Housing Authority are moving toward establishing an assisted living and memory care facility in White Salmon.  The County purchased a parcel of land that the housing authority had an option on near Columbia High School.  County Commissioner David Sauter says the goal is to provide a local option for West Klickitat County residents to be able to “age in place” when they need specialized care, with up to 36 units of assisted living and another 16 units for memory care.  The facility would be patterned after the Rock Cove facility in Skamania County, but would be larger and include memory care.  Sauter is hopeful groundbreaking can take place next year.

A city committee studying parking in downtown Hood River has been meeting for almost six months, and will continue to do so for another three months.  City Councilor Kate McBride is a part of the panel that includes City officials along with building and business owners.  McBride notes the City has done most of the recommendations from a previous parking study except for building an actual structure, and this committee is going through the options that are left, looking 20 years into the future.  There is $4 million in downtown urban renewal district funding that could potentially be used for a parking structure if the City determined that was the direction it wanted to take.

Hood River Mayor Paul Blackburn will oversee his final City Council meeting on Monday.  He will step aside from the position after five years as his family prepares to move out of the community.  Blackburn was a Councilor for four years and served as Mayor for five, and during an interview last month said he hopes that when people think about what he has done, they think of his push for inclusion of all citizens.  Blackburn will receive the “Key to the City” during this evening’s meeting at 6 p.m. in Hood River City Hall.  A reception for Blackburn is planned for Monday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hood River Fire Hall.

Crews on Tuesday will be installing a new crosswalk designed to improve safety for students arriving at and leaving from Dry Hollow Elementary School in The Dalles.  East 19th Street in front of the school will have traffic reduced to a single lane while the installation takes place.  Flaggers will be in place, and delays should be expected.  In addition, new crosswalk ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements will be put in at 10th and Union on Tuesday.  It’s the first of a number of ramps to meet ADA regulations that will be installed in The Dalles.  10th Street will be reduced to a single lane in that area, while there will be a full closure of Union Street between 9th and 10th.  Business and residential neighborhood access will be open during the construction.

Columbia Gorge Community College is entering the last week of taking an industry and community survey asking how it’s doing.  The college is asking people their perspective on the job it is doing.   The issues range from whether CGCC is responding to the education and training needs of taxpayers, business and industry partners, fulfilling its mission, and what decision-makers at the college need to know.  Survey participants may also choose to take a follow-up survey on essential support systems such as shelter, food and transportation.  The survey is available at cgcc.edu through Saturday.          

Columbia Gorge Community College is just a month away from beginning its fall term for 2019-20.  CGCC Financial Aid Coordinator Sara Viemeister says September 23 is the beginning of the term.  She adds registration is underway, and the revised fall catalog was just released featuring an emphasis on community education programs.  Highlighting new programs for CGCC is an elementary education program in partnership with Oregon State University.  Viemeister says an aviation maintenance program will be coming in 2021.  The fall catalog is available at cgcc.edu.

The White Salmon Valley School District starts classes on Wednesday of next week.  Superintendent Jerry Lewis says this week has been devoted to building retreats in preparation for the opening, and with Washington’s efforts to reduce K-3 class sizes they were able to hire a new teacher for those grades.  Lewis notes enrollment in the district has been stable the last four years and they hope to maintain that, but adds you never know what your numbers really are until classes get underway.

Philanthropic groups are partnering with the state of Oregon to ensure hard-to-count areas are included in the 2020 census.  The Census Equity Funders Committee of Oregon consists of nearly 40 groups, including the Meyer Memorial Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation and United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.  Kendall Clawson, head of Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington, says the 2020 count faces some unique challenges, such as delays in federal funding and the fact that it is the first-ever digital census.  Although it was blocked by legal challenges, Clawson also points to the ongoing debate over a citizenship question.  Clawson says funds will go to field outreach in hard-to-count areas, engagement with tribal leadership to ensure accurate counts of Native Americans and culturally specific training for other parts of Oregon.  She says the committee is the only pooled fund between public and private entities in the country.