Wasco County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to enter into an agreement to purchase the former Griffith Motors lot on 523 East 3rd Street in The Dalles, and then lease the property back to a group headed by developer Mary Hanlon for the long-discussed Basalt Commons mixed use development including 116 units of housing. The County will purchase the property for $3,080,000, then lease it to TD3RD, LLC for $154,000 per year for the first five years of a 35-year lease, during which the company will have the option of purchasing the property for $3,180,000. If the lease continues beyond five years, the annual payment will go up 3% a year. County Commission Chair Scott Hege says they are using economic development funds for the transaction, and believes the project is an important step for the entire community with benefits “way beyond earning a return.” According to information in the Commission’s meeting packet, this step sets the stage for Hanlon to proceed to loan documents and get an updated term sheet and construction bid, with a working start date of June 1 for the project.
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TDHS Robotics Club Raising Funds For World Championships Trip
The Dalles High School robotics club is raising funds to send two teams to the VEX Robotics World Championships in St. Louis later this month. Team member Everest Lenardson told Wasco County Commissioners they have a goal of $15,000 to allow the students to make the trip to what is the biggest robotics competition in the world. The teams qualified through the state robotics championships earlier this year. You can help by donating with a check to TDHS Robotics at The Dalles High School office.
Northern Wasco PUD Receives Reliability Honor
Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District has earned the Certificate of Excellence in Reliability for 2025 from the American Public Power Association. The award recognizes exceptional electric reliability and Northern Wasco PUD is one of only two utilities in Oregon to receive it this year. APPA is a trade group that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities, tracks power outage and restoration data for public utilities nationwide, and each year compares that data to national statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2025, Northern Wasco PUD customers experienced an average of about 27 minutes of outage time, well below the national public power average of 55 minutes and significantly below the regional average of 134 minutes.
Hood River County 4-H Communications Contest For Kids
Hood River County 4-H and Hood River Valley High School Speech and Debate is hosting a communications contest for kids on April 11. It’s called Voices In Action. 4-H Program Director Grace Wesson says youth ages 5-18 are invited to enter. Those ages 5-8 will have a “share and tell,” while the older youngsters can do impromptu speech or submit a video presentation. HRVHS speech and debate team members will be the judges, with prizes for winners in each category. Registration closes this Tuesday, with the cost $5 for 4-H members and $10 for non-members. To enter, call Hood River County OSU Extension at 541-386-3343 or visit Extension’s website.
Next Door Community Baby Shower This Month
The Next Door is conducting its Community Baby Shower during April. They are taking donations of new, unwrapped, gender-neutral items to help parents nurture their newborns. Needed items include baby carriers, front packs and wraps, bibs, swaddlers, onesies, pacifiers, teethers, diapers, wipes, and white noise machines. Donations of items, or cash gifts, can be dropped off at The Next Door offices at 965 Tucker Road in Hood River and 1113 Kelly Avenue in The Dalles. Online donations can be made through a registry at amazon.com. Under “Find a Baby Registry” enter The Next Door Community Baby Shower 2026. Online monetary donations can be made at nextdoorinc.org.
March 31 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
The Dalles 11, LaGrande 2: Daylee Miller went three for four with four runs batted in, while Spencer Dray went three for five with two runs batted in as The Dalles scored four runs in the first inning and six in the third to cruise to the victory. Gunner Bustos and Chase Peterson to strike out 11 on the mound.
Sherman 3, Irrigon 1: Creed Weedman pitched a one-hitter, striking out six. The Huskies scored two runs the first inning and added another in the third.
Softball
Scappoose 6, The Dalles 0: Scappoose scored runs in the first five innings to hand the Riverhawks their first loss of the season after eight straight wins in a matchup of the top two teams in the Class 4A coaches poll. Saige Casey limited The Dalles to two hits in the game, doubles by Ava Graves and Morgan Donivan.
Boys Volleyball
Gresham def. Hood River Valley 3-2
Damascus Christian def. The Dalles 3-0
Girls Flag Football
Sandy 57, The Dalles 0
Boys Tennis
Hood River Valley 8, Reynolds 0
Girls Tennis
Hood River Valley 8, Reynolds 0
The Dalles 3, Irrigon 3
Boys Lacrosse
Hood River Valley 14, Mountainside 5
Girls Lacrosse
Jesuit 13, Hood River Valley 2
HR Council Pushes Back Hotel Hearing
The Hood River City Council decided to continue the public hearing on the appeal of a municipal planning commission denial of a site plan review application to build a 135-room hotel on the site of the former Hood River News building at 419 State Street. The move was made after two different representatives for opponents of the project pushed for more opportunity for the public to be able to offer response to what applicant Line 29 Architecture provides in its presentation to the Council. City Attorney Dan Kearns explained to the Council in the staff recommendation that pushing the hearing schedule back two weeks gives the public a chance to weigh in. The applicant will now make its presentation on its appeal of how the planning panel applied compatibility in its decision on April 13, when there will also be oral testimony from the public, all based on the Planning Commission record with no new evidence. Written testimony will remain open through April 20, then the applicant can respond to that on April 24, and the Council will deliberate April 27.
March 27-28 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
The Dalles 15, Tillamook 2: Gunner Bustos struck out ten and gave up just two hits over six innings, while also driving in three runs. The Riverhawks broke the game open with a seven run fourth inning.
Chelan sweeps Columbia 10-1 and 7-1
Softball
The Dalles 5, Astoria 4: Ainslee Eisland singled home the Madalynn Sagapolutele in the bottom of the seventh inning to keep the Riverhawks unbeaten. Sagapolutele and Cadence Young homered in the game for The Dalles. The Riverhawks have now won eight in a row.
Boys Soccer
Columbia 1, Seton Catholic 0
King’s Way Christian 10, Stevenson 0
Appeal Hearing Of Site Plan Review Denial For Proposed State Street Hotel Set For Monday
The Hood River City Council is scheduled on Monday evening to hear the appeal of a municipal planning commission denial of a site plan review application to build a 135-room hotel on the site of the former Hood River News building at 419 State Street. Planning commissioners voted to deny the site plan review by a 3-2 vote in early January. The proposal by applicant Line 29 Architecture had brought out significant opposition at a December public hearing for a myriad of reasons, most notably for traffic, parking, and building height concerns. In its appeal, Line 29 says the decision’s analysis and findings based on a compatibility standard in the City’s land use ordinances does not comply with Oregon law, particularly in defining and applying the terms “compatible” and “surrounding area,” and that the findings did not adequately consider evidence of compatibility in the record. Monday’s Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. in Hood River City Hall.
SR 141 Water Main Work Stopped To Develop Better Traffic Plan
The Washington State Department of Transportation temporarily halted work on a water transmission main project in White Salmon after construction activity on Wednesday led to traffic delays on SR 141 exceeding what the City of White Salmon called “acceptable limits.” In a statement, the City says construction will resume on Monday after municipal staff, the project contractor, and state transportation officials met to develop a plan to better manage traffic. When work resumes, the City says traffic delays will be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes, school buses and emergency vehicles will be prioritized to ensure minimal disruption, and work hours will start earlier to restore normal traffic flow by late afternoon. The City is anticipating a full roadway closure and detour along SR 141 beginning as early as the week of April 20, pending final approval from the state transportation department. That is expected to provide more predictable travel times that escorted pilot detours during that phase of work.