Mid-Columbia Community Action Council is beginning a capital campaign to create a permanent shelter location in Hood River that would include locations for community partners to provide services, similar to the Gloria Center in The Dalles. MCCAC plans to operate its 12 pallet shelters in Hood River currently located at 1733 Oak on a year-round basis beginning in November. Executive Director Leslie Naramore says they just signed a new lease on that property, but they are looking for a one to two acre location for a permanent operation. The capital campaign will be in two phases: one to purchase the land, the second for construction of the facility.
Category: Uncategorized
Klickitat Commissioners Reiterate Reasons For No Data Center Moratorium
Klickitat County Commissioners Ron Ihrig and Lori Zoller reiterated their reasons for not wanting to establish a moratorium on data centers during Wednesday’s Commission meeting. Ihrig says companies have been considering locating data centers in Klickitat County for years, and he doesn’t expect a rush of applications. He also thinks some people believe a moratorium stops data centers, and that is not the case. But Ihrig also said they need proceed quickly towards completing an ordinance. Zoller added a moratorium would bring another layer of process and actually delay an ordinance. Commissioner Todd Andrews had broached the idea of a moratorium, and many attendees at a Commission workshop last week urged taking that step.
HR County Health Expands Home Visitation For Parents
The Hood River County Health Department has expanded home visitation services for new parents and their children. Home Visiting Nurse Kate Karlson says they have received funding through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to open up access to their current home visiting program so there is not an insurance requirement, allowing anyone to take advantage. One program is “Babies First,” which includes home visiting for pregnant women through one year after birth, and for the children until they are five. There is also the “Cocoon” program for care coordination for families of children with special needs, and in-home lactation support is also available. The department is also offering a meet-up group for mothers at Pine Grove School two Wednesday afternoons a month from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. beginning on September 16. It will be a drop-in event with no registration needed. For more information, call the Hood River County Health Department at 541-386-1115.
September 9 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Girls Soccer
Hood River Valley 5, Canby 0
Stevenson 1, Toutle Lake 1
Trout Lake 8, The Dalles JV II 0
Volleyball
LaSalle def. Hood River Valley 25-20, 25-16, 26-24
The Dalles def. Stayton 3-0
Columbia def. Evergreen 3-2
Stevenson def. Goldendale 3-2
Sherman def. Horizon Christian 25-5, 25-11, 25-8
Dufur def. Ione-Arlington 3-0
Spray-Mitchell-Wheeler def. South Wasco 25-15, 25-16. 25-17
Condon def. Trout Lake-Glenwood 3-0
City Of The Dalles Asks For Voluntary Water Conservation
The City of The Dalles is asking residents to cut back on water use starting Tuesday under a voluntary Stage 1 Water Restriction Advisory. To make sure there’s enough water kept in reserve for public health and fire safety, officials are asking all customers to voluntarily cut back on both indoor and outdoor water use. The goal is to stretch the current surface water supply until the fall rains return, which forecasters hope to see by mid-October. The precautionary move comes after record-low winter snowpack and the recent Grasshopper Fire, which burned into the Dog River Basin. On average, about 70 to 80 percent of the city’s annual water supply relies on surface water from the Crow Creek Reservoir and South Fork Mill Creek, with groundwater wells making up the rest during peak summer months. The City is emphasizing the conservation request is voluntary right now, but is also urging everyone to do their part to protect shared resources.
HR County To Do Polling On Services And Food & Beverage Tax
Hood River County will be contracting with a polling firm to learn about how citizens feel about a prepared food and beverage tax and how they prioritize county services. County Administrator Allison Williams says Commissioners authorized doing the survey as it considers how to develop more revenue sources to deal with an ever-tightening budget. It will get opinions on the tax proposals along with service priorities. A five percent prepared food and beverage tax was defeated by nearly 60 percent of Hood River County voters over seven years ago, when a public health and safety local option levy was also on the ballot. County Commissioners are considering a renewed effort for the May ballot.
Hege Emphasizes Money From South County Solar Wouldn’t Go To Endowment
Wasco County Commission Chair Scott Hege is emphasizing that money other taxing districts might receive from agreements for proposed large solar projects in the south part of the County will not be taken away for an endowment fund Commissioners are considering using tax abatement funds from recent Google agreements for. Hege says there is no intention to do that. Hege notes they are making changes to the endowment fund ordinance to make it clear where the funds for it would come from. He says those will be posted to the County website soon. The Commissioners will discuss the subject again at its September 23 meeting.
Grasshopper Fire Crews Making Progress
Crews are making progress on the Grasshopper Fire as warm, dry weather returns to the area. Firefighters and heavy equipment operators are improving containment lines, while repair work continues on control lines no longer needed for suppression. In the Boulder Creek drainage, crews are working on steep slopes where burned areas mix with unburned fuels. Timber fallers are removing hazardous trees ahead of firefighters. Chipping is complete along Forest Road 44 and continues on Forest Road 4421. Crews have also removed structure-protection materials, hoses and other equipment from areas no longer threatened. With dry weather expected to continue this week, firefighters are watching for increased activity. The Grasshopper Fire is now 93 percent contained and covers 93,990 acres.
Rain Slows Austin Fire
Crews are making progress on the Austin Fire after more than two inches of rain helped slow fire activity. Dry weather returned yesterday, allowing muddy roads and soils to begin drying out. Firefighters and equipment operators continued building and improving containment lines around the fire. An infrared flight found a small increase in acreage, but fire managers say that growth occurred before the rainfall. Crews are also removing fuels along control lines, using hand crews and heavy equipment to chip smaller trees and branches and move larger logs away from work areas. Near Forest Roads 5731 and 6310, crews are connecting existing roads and dozer lines to create a continuous, secure fireline around the fire. The Austin Fire is currently 12,722 acres and 22 percent contained.
Project Manager Selected For Hood River Pool Construction
The Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District has selected a project manager for construction of a new Hood River Aquatic Center. District Executive Director Mark Hickok says the district board selected the Wenaha Group, which worked with the Hood River County School District on the construction of the new May Street Elementary School. The first task will be to decide whether hire an architect first then bring on a contractor, or hire both at the same time and work together. Hickok says they want to be both fiscally responsible and figure out to keep the closure of the pool as short as possible. A bond sale is planned for spring or early summer of 2027. The District has selected an oversight committee for the project, which will construct a new indoor pool at the same location as the current covered pool.