A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday on an energy resilience project that could be done at Wy’east Middle School. The Microgrid Opportunities: Vehicles Enhancing Resiliency, or MOVER, program would implement a nationally replicable pilot project that uses electric school buses and light duty fleet vehicles as energy storage for a solar powered microgrid. Lindsay McClure of the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District says the system would provide backup power at Wy’east Middle School so that community members have a space with power backup during outages. McClure says the project received a $1 million grant from the Energy Department to pay for the bulk of it, while some more funding is being sought as a match. The meeting will be Wednesday evening at 6:30 at Wy’east Middle School.
Category: Uncategorized
CGCC Scholarship Program Starts Monday
The Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation will start taking applications for their scholarship program on Monday. CGCC Marketing and Communications Director Tom Penberthy says they have been simplifying the application process, and in addition they are planning a financial aid workshop on April 16. Penberthy noted much of the financial aid information is useful when applying for other sources of scholarships as well. The workshop will be held at CGCC’s campus in The Dalles. Last year the Foundation awarded $20,000 in scholarships.
Prep Sports Roundup For Wednesday, March 27
Baseball
Doherty, CO 13, Hood River Valley 3: Grady Williams, Jordan Webber, and Addison Postlewait had two hits and one RBI apiece for the Eagles.
Sherman 7, Union 6…game two rained out.
Softball
Hood River Valley 19, Heritage Academy Mesa 0: Grace Rowan homered, drove in five runs, and struck out ten while allowing no hits over four innings in the circle.
Hood River Valley 7. Maricopa, AZ 4: Kenadie Lucas hit a home run while striking out seven over five innings.
Stayton at The Dalles, doubleheader rained out
Track and Field
Columbia’s girls won a three-way Trico League meet over Castle Rock and LaCenter. Jessica Polkinghorn won the shot put and discus and Saylor Hauge won the 300 meter hurdles and high jump to lead the Bruins. In the boys’ portion of the meet, Columbia’s Luke Harrison won the discus.
Stevenson’s Olivia Fauth won three events, and Tucker Wyninger and Hudson Holzauer won two events each at a Trico League meet at King’s Way Christian
Coyote Wall Trail Construction To Begin
The US Forest Service says it is commencing with construction of the Coyote Wall Trail, a 2.6-mile mountain bike-optimized singletrack trail in the Coyote Wall, or “Syncline,” area of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Scheduled for completion this summer, the trail aims to provide recreationists with a sustainable experience while showcasing the scenic beauty and unique ecology of the area. The Forest Service says the trail, identified in a 2010 plan for the area, represents a significant step towards modernizing the area’s trail infrastructure by replacing environmentally damaging user-trails in the area with a professionally designed and constructed alternative. The Forest Service said it collaborated closely with local community partners, specifically the Columbia Area Mountain Bike Advocates, C2 Recreation Consulting, and the Washington Trail Association to guide the design and layout phases of the trail development process. Ptarmigan Trails, a Northwest based trail consulting and construction company, has been awarded the contract to build the trail.
Commander Named New Director Of Hood River County History Museum
The Hood River County Heritage Council has selected Lisa Commander as the new executive director of the History Museum of Hood River County. Most recently, Commander had been the Director of Learning and Engagement and Assistant Director at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles. She has also served as Director of the Columbia Gorge Veterans Museum in The Dalles and worked as a grant writer for the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River. The Heritage Council also announced two new board members: Gorge Games founder Peg Lalor, and Will Ennis, a museum volunteer and member of Hood River’s Landmarks Review Board. Ennis works for Metro, a government planning agency in the Portland area.
March 26 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Sandy 7, Hood River Valley 3: The Pioneers scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to grab the victory. Jordan Webber drove in two runs for the Eagles.
The Dalles 9, Amity 2: Luciano Alvarado had two triples and two RBI, while Cody Agidius homered as the Riverhawks finished a sweep of the two game series.
LaCenter sweeps Columbia 6-0 and 15-1.
Softball
Hood River Valley sweeps Ketchikan, AK 10-0 and 9-6: Grace Rowan pitched a two-hitter and drove in five runs in the opener, then Addi Van Metre drove in three runs and Abri Lopez two in the nightcap.
Centralia 13, Columbia 1
Stevenson split with Goldendale, losing game one 14-9 but winning the second contest 16-3.
Girls Tennis
Columbia 5, Hoquiam 0
Boys Soccer
Seton Catholic 2, Columbia 0
Klickitat County Childcare Committee Adds Two Liaisons
The Klickitat County Childcare Committee has received a pair of grants totaling $95,000 to expand county-wide and contract with two liaisons to assist people interested in going through the licensing process to become childcare providers. Washington Gorge Action Programs’ Jennifer Pauletto says one of the liaisons is focused on the Latino community to do outreach to Spanish-speaking communities in Klickitat County. The Committee is continuing to work on finding a location in Goldendale to construct a child care facility that received funding from the Washington Legislature in 2022.
NORCOR Plans Job Fair April 6
The Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility in The Dalles is holding a job fair on April 6. NORCOR Business Manager Nichole Biechler says there are a number of available positions at both their adult jail facility and juvenile detention center. She adds people just need to bring their resume, and NORCOR will be doing interviews on site. Full job descriptions can be found at norcor.co. The job fair will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 6 at NORCOR’s juvenile facility on 211 Webber Street in The Dalles. For more information call 541-298-1117.
Harris Semiconductor Bill Signed By Inslee
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bipartisan bill from 17th District State Rep. Paul Harris that will provide a boost to the semiconductor industry in Washington. House Bill 2482 will extend two tax preferences for semiconductor manufacturing until Jan. 1, 2034. The legislation also reinstates six tax preferences that expired at the start of this year and extends them for 10 years, contingent on new industry investment. Under House Bill 2482, the six expired tax preferences will be reinstated contingent upon the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing fabrication facility built by Jan. 1, 2034, with an investment of at least $500 million in buildings and equipment. In 2022 the semiconductor industry created $2.5 billion in wages and is the eighth largest export for Washington at $898 million. Semiconductor manufacturing jobs are expected to double in the next 10 years. Additionally, out of the 50,632 semiconductor manufacturing jobs in Washington, 55% are in Clark County. The bill contains an emergency clause and will take effect immediately.
HR Council To Proceed With Hotel Expansion Program
Hood River City Councilors told municipal staff to proceed with development of a proposed program that would allow hotels that expand their room capacity to be able to recoup certain qualified costs utilizing transient lodging taxes generated by the hotel development three years after completion. Municipal staff are proposing the program as a way bring in more TLT monies as the City deals with tax revenues that are not keeping pace with the cost of providing services. City Finance Director Chris Longetti says the program would not be a front-end subsidy, upfront costs are not covered, there would have to be some kind of public benefit, and once the project is finished only certain costs like systems development charges can be recovered. The Council told staff to bring back a full proposal for potential adoption.