City of The Dalles officials are getting ready to embark on the budgeting process for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Earlier this month the City received good marks in its annual audit, and Mayor Rich Mays says the City is in good fiscal health, noting the general fund that pays for day-to-day operations is in good shape. Among the issues to be discussed during the municipal budget process: requests for funding from local non-profit organizations, and how the City should handle increased revenues from Google projects.
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February 27 Prep Basketball Scoreboard
Boys Basketball
Parkrose 75, Hood River Valley 41
Girls Basketball
Hood River Valley 59, Parkrose 36
Klickitat County Hires New Planning Director
Klickitat County has hired Scott Edelman to be its new planning director. Edelman had been with Jefferson County in Central Oregon as its Community Development Director, and before that was with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. Klickitat County Commissioner Lori Zoller says Edelman brings a wide skill set to the position. Edelman will start his job in Klickitat County in the early part of March. He’ll be dealing with helping the County with a number of plan revisions that have been facing the County in recent months.
Training Class On Caring For Home Orchard Trees Scheduled
Central Gorge Master Gardeners will be holding a training class on how to care for home orchard trees on March 6, and it will be open to the public. It will be taught by OSU Hood River and Wasco County Extension tree fruit horticulturist Ashley Thompson. Attendees will learn about establishing and caring for a home fruit tree orchard. The Master Gardeners’ Eric Bosler says since the Central Gorge is a major commercial tree fruit area, it is important that home orchards are properly cared for. This class is being offered free of charge to everyone as a service of OSU Hood River County Extension Central Gorge Master Gardeners. No pre-registration is needed. It will be held at Hood River Valley Christian Church on the evening of March 6. Arrive by 5:50 p.m. as class begins promptly at 6:00 p.m.
Bridge Design & Construction Lead Selected
The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority board of commissioners has selected Kiewit Infrastructure West to lead the design and construction of a new bridge. Kiewit scored the highest of the three firms that responded to the October request for proposals for a design-build firm. Contract negotiations are underway, and are expected to be finished in April. The Bridge Authority has approved a maximum price of $8 million for the first phase of the design portion of the project. After the contract is finalized, the company will start designing the bridge with input from the Bridge Aesthetics Committee, which will inform the bridge’s look and feel. Public input on aesthetics considerations at two open house events slated for April and July. Bridge construction is targeted to start in late 2025.
Sea Lion Predation Funding In Washington Senate Budget Bill
A $1.5 million appropriation to combat sea lion predation on the lower Columbia River and its tributaries was approved by the Washington State Senate as it passed a $71.6 billion operating budget bill. Predation of salmon by sea lions has doubled since 2006. Last spring, sea lions were spotted further up the Cowlitz River than ever before, gobbling salmon and smolt upriver 70 miles to the base of the barrier dam. Longview State Senator Jeff Wilson says the region loses 12 percent of its salmon to predation. Both chambers must negotiate and pass budget bills before the scheduled conclusion of the 60-day session on March 7.
Hood River County Reads Book Selected
The Hood River County Reads program has selected the book Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction by White Salmon author Michelle Nijhuis as its focus for 2024. Hood River County Reads encourages readers of all ages to read and discuss books. The book tells the story of the movement to protect and conserve forms of life from early battles to save charismatic species such as the American bison and bald eagle to today’s global effort to defend life on a larger scale. Nijhuis is a journalist who writes about conservation and climate change for several publications including The National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. Free copies of the book will be available at the official kickoffs this Saturday at from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cascade Locks and Parkdale libraries and at 2 p.m. at the Hood River Library. Various Hood River County Reads events are scheduled throughout March and early April.
February 23-24 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Oregon State Wrestling Championships at Portland Memorial Coliseum.
The Dalles’ Alexander DelaTorre finished fifth at 157 pounds in Class 4A, winning four of six matches, including defeating Connor Glasser of Estacada by fall at 1:30 in the fifth place match. Hood River Valley’s Connor Farlow was sixth in the 120 pound division in Class 5A, splitting six matches.
Oregon Class 4A Boys Basketball Play-In
North Marion 85, The Dalles 68
Oregon Class 4A Girls Basketball Play-In
Stayton 40, The Dalles 27
Oregon Class 1A Boys Basketball Second Round
Crosshill Christian 87, Dufur 83 (OT): Ben Hemelstrand scored 32 points and Kyler Hemelstrand 27 for Crosshill. Cody Phillips led the Rangers with 27 points and JJ Johnston and Jacob Kent tallied 20 apiece.
North Douglas 69, Sherman 60: Hunter Vaughn had 28 points, eight steals and five rebounds for the victors.
Oregon Class 1A Girls Basketball Second Round
Crane 69, Trout Lake 24: Kaitlyn Siegner scored 25 points for top-seeded Crane.
Boys Basketball
Hood River Valley 65, Hillsboro 48
Girls Basketball
Hillsboro 43, Hood River Valley 35
Mt. Hood League Skiing
Rowan Shuman of Trout Lake won a men’s giant slalom at Mt. Hood Meadows, with Hood River Valley’s Lars Welch finishing second and Henry Perez of The Dalles fourth. Emily Teets of HRV won the women’s giant slalom, with teammate Zoe Mortensen taking fourth.
February 22 Prep Sports Roundup
Oregon Class 4A Boys Wrestling Championships at Portland Memorial Coliseum
157
First Round: Alexander DelaTorre, The Dalles def. #7 Conner Glasser, Estacada by fall at 1:03.
Quarterfinal: DelaTorre loses to #2 Luke Rosa, Sweet Home, by fall at 3:17
Consolation: DelaTorre def. Turner Jackson, Estacada, by technical fall at 3:12
Consolation: DelaTorre def. Brody Van Gastel, Mazama, by fall at 2:19
165
First Round: Alfred Brackenbury, The Dalles loses to #6 Estefan Muneton, Henley, 12-4
Consolation: Brackenbury loses to Clayton Dewitt, Cottage Grove by fall at :30
Granum To Be New NSA Deputy Forest Supervisor
Nicolas Granum will be joining the US Forest Service Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area as its new Deputy Forest Supervisor. Granum will start on the job Monday, assisting Forest Supervisor Donna Mickley in managing the 83,000-acres of National Forest System lands within the National Scenic Area. Granum comes to the Scenic Area from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he was a Section Chief with Public Assistance Regional Operations in the Seattle area. During his time at FEMA, he worked with various Federal response and recovery programs for disasters from Alaska to the Caribbean. Most recently he has been supporting joint state and FEMA preliminary damage assessments as the region begins recovery efforts from last month’s ice storm. Granum has a master’s degree in public administration and a BS in Geography from Portland State University, and served in the United States Peace Corps in South Africa. He also managed a unique program for socially complex adults facing homelessness in Portland, and spent just over 10 years as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.