The Dalles City Council on Monday night approved an ordinance revising regulations for mobile food vendors and transient merchants. A change was made from the originally proposed ordinance two weeks ago, giving vendors and merchants twelve months to get land use approval once the City adopts a new land use process still to be developed. The subject of the future of the Bread and Blessings meal distribution currently in the area of First and Union was again discussed, with a number of councilors saying they were willing to commit to find a location where it can operate in the wake of the ordinance adoption. Councilor Rod Runyon did point out that the ordinance passage does not actually change public right of way regulations already in place.
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HR Council Adopts TNC Fees
The Hood River City Council approved an annual fee schedule for what are termed Transportation Network Companies to operate within the City. The TNC fees will annually charge each company like Uber $1000 plus another $100 for each driver accessing the company’s digital network to operate in Hood River. City Manager Abigail Elder said the fees are modeled after other communities in Oregon. The new fee schedule was approved unanimously. Annual license fees for taxi cab companies and taxi cab permit fees for drivers remain unaffected by the TNC program.
QLife Awaits Word On Federal Award For Broadband
QLife Network is awaiting federal approval of a $10.4 million award from the Oregon Broadband Office to allow it to build infrastructure to deliver broadband internet to about 1,000 currently underserved residents, businesses, and schools in North Wasco County School District 21. The money would come from the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program that is allocating over $42 billion around the country. QLife Executive Director Liz Lance says the Oregon Broadband Office submitted its formal proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Monday, and that agency will have 90 days to make a decision. QLife is a collaboration of the City of The Dalles, Wasco County, and the Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District to improve broadband access to the community.
TD Council Passes Resolutions To Allow Volunteers To Receive Incidentals
The Dalles City Council passed a series of resolutions to allow mayors, councilors, and City-appointed volunteers to receive food, beverages, and incidental items if the benefits are declared to be a part of their official compensation policy. The resolutions were need to comply with an Oregon Government Ethics Commission opinion issued in May. Mayor Rich Mays notes in The Dalles councilors are essentially volunteers, but there are occasions when they do receive food and beverages at officials functions, so they had to adopt the resolutions. The Council also had to vote on three separate resolutions to cover all of the panel’s seats and the Mayor’s position, and for each one the two members whose seat was being addressed left the Council Chambers to avoid conflict-of-interest issues.
Draft Of Management Plan Revisions For Disaster Recovery Posted
The draft of revisions to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area management plan to modernize disaster recovery to address needs following the Rowena and Burdoin fires is now available for review at gorgecommission.org. Revisions include clearly identifying one-for-one replacement as an expedited permit, allowing up to ten years from the incident to permit and rebuild, increasing size thresholds to accommodate new manufacturing and building standards, and permits for temporary uses including storage structures and manufactured or RV home use. Wasco County will be hosting two community information sessions to share the proposed amendments, with the first on September 30th at 5pm at the Steve Kramer Board Room at 401 E 3rd in The Dalles. The session will include staff presentations, and the opportunity for one-on-one discussions. A virtual option will be available. A second information session is scheduled for the same location and time on November 6th. Columbia River Gorge Commission staff will be hosting a Klickitat County information session on October 6th at 6 p.m. at the Lyle Community Center. Public comment is open until October 22nd. The goal is to present the amendments to the Gorge Commission at their November 12th meeting.
Goldendale Woman Injured In Highway 14 Accident
A 33-year-old Goldendale woman was injured in a Highway 14 accident east of Home Valley on Monday afternoon. According to the Washington State Patrol, a car driven by the woman was traveling eastbound on Highway 14 at milepost 52, and attempted to pass a truck. The car struck the truck while attempting the pass. The driver of the car was taken to Skyline Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries. Two people in the truck were uninjured.
Toppenish Man Injured In Highway 97 Crash
A Toppenish man was taken to a hospital following a one-car accident on Highway 97 in Klickitat County. Washington State Patrol reports indicate a high performance vehicle was southbound on Highway 97 near milepost 5 at about 2:40 on Monday afternoon when it failed to negotiate a curve. The car rolled and came to rest in the northbound lane. The 35-year-old driver was taken to Klickitat Valley Hospital in Goldendale, and the WSP says he is facing a DUI charge. A 20-year-old passenger was not injured.
September 22 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Volleyball
Hood River Valley def. Wilsonville 25-22, 25-22, 25-21
Dufur def. Damascus Christian 25-20, 25-18, 26-24
Klickitat County Commission Considers Budget Shortfall
As Klickitat County deals with what is currently a $2.5 million shortfall in its proposed 2026 budget, County Commissioners are in the midst of a series of workshops to work on bringing the fiscal plan in balance. First-year Commissioner Todd Andrews notes the County does have good reserves, but they don’t want to dip into them. One possible option is a one percent sales tax for criminal justice services, which Andrews says he is hesitant to look to. Andrews believes the County is about three years from seeing improved revenues through economic growth.
City of HR Considers Police Home Again
Hood River City Councilors are hearing from Police Chief Neal Holste Monday evening to again visit the discussion of providing the police department with a more modern facility. The topic of constructing a new building for the HRPD has come up many times in the past. City Manager Abigail Elder says this time around, the option of renovating the department’s current home in the basement of City Hall will be part of what is considered. The discussion comes as the City Council embarks on a process to determine whether the City should go to voters with a bond measure in November of 2026.