The Hood River County Sheriff’s Foundation is raising funds to purchase an enhanced jet ski to allow Marine Patrol to perform faster water rescues, operate in rough conditions, and provider safer rescues in all sorts of water conditions. Sheriff Matt English says they are looking to raise $39,500 to purchase the craft that will be easier for a lone officer to operate and make a rescue than the Marine Patrol boat that patrols the water. The Sheriff’s Foundation was set up in 2020 to raise money for programs that have a lasting impact on public safety. English says a Go Fund Me page has been set up for rescue watercraft fundraiser.
Category: Uncategorized
Klickitat County Commissioners Approve Dallesport Sewer Rate Increase
Klickitat County Commissioners approved a 5% increase of monthly rates for customers of the Dallesport sewer plant. Commissioners had left the record open for written comments last week, putting off a decision until Tuesday. County officials said state law requires all utility service areas to be self-sustaining, and the County had been subsidizing the Dallesport wastewater tipping fees from the Roosevelt Regional Landfill. But they say with County costs increasing, that cannot continue, and the rates must be brought in-line with other systems in the County. With the rate increase, the monthly charge will now be $64.22. The charge to connect into the system was increased by 3% to $4,602.68. The resolution approved by Commissioners called for an annual review of the rates. The panel heard testimony at their meeting last week about a number of issues including criticism of Klickitat PUD’s maintenance of the plant, but Commission members pointed out the subject at hand was the rate increase. The County’s Public Works Department has indicated some of the equipment in the Dallesport treatment plant is at the end of its life and will need replacement that will need to be paid for.
Gloria Center Grand Opening On Friday
Mid-Columbia Community Action will hold the grand opening of The Gloria Center at 2505 West 7th in The Dalles on Friday morning at 11 a.m. The Gloria Center will serve as a one-stop resource hub to combat poverty and houselessness in the Mid-Columbia. Services being offered at the center include housing assistance, homelessness prevention, case management, Veterans services, utility assistance, home weatherization, physical health, behavioral health, and Native and Latinx specific services. The center is also a Community Resiliency Center in the event of a natural disaster or power grid outage, thanks to a solar energy resiliency grant from the Oregon Department of Energy. Additionally, Community Action will operate a 36-bed severe weather shelter on the site. The Friday event will include speakers from many of the project funders and partners along with the ribbon cutting. There will be tours of the Gloria Center site after the ceremony.
New Signal Lights In Hood River
New signal lights are coming online at both ends of Hood River. Downtown, the signal light at 2nd and Oak went into operation late last week. City Manager Abigail Elder says the project was able to be finished before Memorial Day. And at the west end of the city, the long-discussed signal light between Rand and Cascade will be put into service this week. That light should provide a location to make easier left turns onto Cascade at that end of the city.
Turtles Returned To Gorge
Summer came early last week for 11 northwestern pond turtles reared at the Oregon Zoo. With the help of volunteers and wildlife officials, care staff returned the endangered reptiles to the Columbia River Gorge. Since last spring, the turtles have basked in the warmth and light of a simulated summer at the zoo’s conservation lab, growing large enough to have a fighting chance in the wild. Once the turtles weigh about 50 grams, they’re taken to ponds along the Columbia River Gorge, where a team of conservationists returns them to their natural habitat and monitors them for safety. In one study, scientists estimated that 95% of the turtles released back to sites in the Gorge survive annually. The American bullfrog, native to the eastern United States but considered invasive here, and has been driving pond turtles and a host of other small, vulnerable aquatic species to the brink of extinction. The northwestern pond turtle, also known as the western pond turtle, is listed as an endangered species in Washington and a sensitive species in Oregon. The Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project is a collaborative effort by the Oregon Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Forest Service and other partners.
Highway 19 Accident Claims Life Of Pasco Man
A Pasco man died in a motorcycle accident Friday afternoon on Highway 19 in Gilliam County. According to the Oregon State Police, a preliminary investigation indicated the motorcycle driven by 58-year-old James Nicholas Braithwaite left the roadway for unknown reasons and went down a steep embankment. The OSP says Braithwaite was declared deceased at the scene. The Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office, North Gilliam County Fire and Rescue, and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted the OSP in the accident investigation.
May 24-25 Prep Sports Roundup
Track and Field
Washington Class 1A Championships
Columbia’s Jessica Polkinghorn and Stevenson’s Tucker Wyninger won individual titles. Polkinghorn won the girls’ shot put with a distance of 44’ 11”, to go along with a fifth place finish in the discus. Wyninger was first in the boys’ pole vault, clearing a height of 14’ 3”, and also took sixth in the 110 meter hurdles. Columbia’s Sara Miller took third in the girls’ 200 meter hurdles, August Lorincz fifth in the boys’ 800, Samantha Evans tied for seventh in the girls’ high jump, and the Bruin girls’ 4 by 100 meter relay team finished fourth. Gavin Clifford of CHS was third in the both the boys’ ambulatory 100 and 200. Stevenson’s Hudson Holzauer was sixth in the boys’ discus.
Washington Class 2B Championships
Raymond Holycross led Goldendale’s boys to a second place finish behind St. George’s. Holycross won the triple jump at 44’ 3”, finished second in both the 110 and 300 meter hurdles, and was eighth in the long jump. Matthew Gray was second in the 200 meters and fifth in the triple jump. Sean Henrikson finished sixth in the 800 meters and seventh in the 1600. The Timberwolves’ Emma Meagher was seventh in both the girls’ 800 and 1600 meters.
Oregon Class 4A Baseball Quarterfinal
North Marion 4, The Dalles 0: Carter Reilly tossed a complete-game shutout and Dawson Schrenk tripled, scored twice and drove home one for the victors.
Wasco County Vote Count Update Brings No Change To Close Races
Today’s update to Wasco County’s election returns for Tuesday’s primary brought no significant change to two close races. Kara Davis’ lead over Travis Marston for District Attorney increased by one vote, from 47 to 48. Davis has 3,100 votes, and Marston 3,052. In the County Commission primary, Jeff Justesen remained the top vote-getter with 1,840. Brian Lauterbach maintained a hold on the second spot to advance to November’s general election at 1,649, with Dan Richardson receiving 1,587. The margin between the two narrowed slightly from 67 votes to 62. Darcy Long received 922 votes, and John McElheran has 198. Neither the D.A. or County Commission votes are close enough to the 1/5th of 1% margin to trigger an automatic recount. Tuesday is the last day for the County to receive valid postmarked ballots by mail. June 11 will be the final day to resolve any signature challenges…and results will be certified on June 13.
Memorial Day Activities Scheduled
There will be a number of Memorial Day observances around the region on Monday. Memorial Day activities in Wasco begin with a country breakfast at Wasco School from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by a service at the Wasco Train Depot at 10 a.m. There is also a classic car show, artisan market, and pastry auction planned for the day. F-15 fighter jets from the 142nd Wing out of Portland Air National Guard Base will fly over Wasco at 10:38 a.m. Hood River’s Memorial Day Ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. at Idlewilde Cemetery on 980 Tucker Road. The Dalles Memorial Day Ceremony is scheduled for noon at Sorosis Park. And White Salmon American Legion Post 87 and Carson American Legion Post 137 will host a Memorial Day ceremony at 1 p.m. at the White Salmon Cemetery.
May 23 Prep Sports Roundup
Washington Class 2B Track and Field Championships
Two Goldendale distance runners earned placing finishes on the first day of the state meet in Yakima. Sean Henrikson finished seventh in the boys’ 1600 meters, while Emma Meagher was seventh in the girls’ 1600. The meet continues through Saturday.