With the summer Chinook run tracking significantly below pre-season expectations, retention of adult summer Chinook will close on the Columbia River mainstem downstream of Priest Rapids Dam on Saturday. Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon made the decision Wednesday. Retention of sockeye salmon, hatchery steelhead and jack Chinook remains open from the Astoria-Megler Bridge upstream to the Hwy 395 Bridge at Pasco. The daily adult bag limit is two adult salmonids, with only one hatchery steelhead, and five hatchery jack salmon. All sockeye are considered adults. With summer Chinook abundance lower than expected, the number of fish available to harvest in lower river recreational fisheries decreased by more than half, making a Chinook closure necessary. Chinook fishing will reopen for fall seasons on Aug. 1
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Cooling Kits To Replace Shelters This Summer
Washington Gorge Action Programs and Mid-Columbia Community Action are shifting away from opening cooling shelters during extreme hot temperatures this summer to distributing cooling kits to those who need them. WAGAP Associate Director Jennifer Pauletto says their cooling shelters simply weren’t being used. The cooling kits will include essential items like water, sunscreen, and other supplies as available, along with information to help explain what to do during a heat emergency. Kits will be available at WAGAP and Mid-Columbia Community Action offices, at WAGAP’s Second Hand Rose thrift store in Bingen, and through other community organizations. Outreach efforts to distribute the kits are also being planned.
Small Fire Tuesday Near Highway 197
Area firefighters had to deal with a small grass fire on Tuesday afternoon on Highway 197 between Old Dufur and Lambert roads. Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue crews responded shortly before 3 p.m. and were able to control the fire very quickly. MCFR Division Chief Jay Wood says with dry and windy conditions, all fires have to be dealt with quickly. Wood adds this year MCFR has a dedicated crew to responded to wildfires, and numerous agencies help each other throughout the region.
The Dalles Council Approves Moving Toward Watershed Purchase
The Dalles City Council took the next step toward buying 3,445 acres of land within the municipal watershed, approving moving forward with an over three-year option to make the purchase. The option agreement with Lupine Forest LLC comes at the cost of $1. The non-profit Conservation Fund is currently seeking a grant of just over $2 million to supplement $675,000 in City funds to buy the land. The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson told Councilors owning watershed land makes it easier to protect water quality by controlling timber harvest practices to use selective techniques rather than clearcuts, avoiding herbicide use, and closing the land to public entry except on a permit basis to prevent human-caused fires and illegal dumping. Anderson notes the City already owns 5,000 acres of its watershed, and this represents the last significant piece of private land in the watershed.
HR Council Seeks More Info For Vehicle Parking Ordinance
The Hood River City Council has asked staff for more information before continuing toward amending ordinances that deal with vehicle that are parked in the public right-of-way for a long length of time. Police Chief Neal Holste and City Attorney Dan Kearns made a presentation that included a proposed 72-hour time limit, which is used in a number of other cities. Kearns says the goal is to have engagement rather than punitive actions, and give officers to opportunity to talk with vehicle owners about their plans. But Councilors brought up a number of concerns, including whether the length of time is not long enough and how far a vehicle has to be moved. They are asking information on options for those standards, along with how many neighborhoods in Hood River don’t have off-street parking, and potential rules for boats and recreational vehicles.
TD Council Votes To Restrict Personal Fireworks Use
The Dalles City Council voted unanimously to restrict the use of personal fireworks with the city limits. Mayor Rich Mays says the prohibition will be in place until the end of September. Mays adds they are asking people to use common sense, and noted The Dalles Police Chief Tom Worthy says compliance in years past to the ban has been very good. The personal fireworks prohibition does not affect the big Fort Dalles Fourth fireworks show on the Columbia River.
HR Fireworks Show Seeks Donations
Donations are being taken to help pay for the annual Hood River Fourth of July fireworks show. Brett Stomps is one of the organizers of the show that is completely community funded. He says the cost of this year’s performance is $20,000, down from last year’s $25,000, and they’ve raised $9,500 so far. Donations can made at hoodriverfireworks.com by Venmo or Paypal, or by mailing a check to Hood River Fireworks, P.O. Box 403, in Hood River, zip code 97031. Donations will also be collected during the parade on Hood River’s Heights on the morning of the Fourth.
Man Wounded As Result Of Father-Son Fight
A man was wounded when a fight between a father and his son led to a shooting late Saturday morning in The Dalles. According to The Dalles Police Chief Tom Worthy, the two men were fighting for an unknown reason just before noon Saturday near 2315 East 2nd. The fight devolved into the shooting, with the son hit in the hip area. Worthy said the son was taken to Adventist Health Columbia Gorge for treatment of the wound. Investigators gathered information, with Worthy adding there was an uninvolved witness to the incident, and referred the case to the Wasco County District Attorney’s office, which will make a determination on charges. There have been no charges filed as of yet.
Maryhill Announces New Executive Director
Maryhill Museum of Art has selected Amy Behrens as its new executive director and chief executive officer. Beherns succeeds Colleen Schafroth, who is retiring in August after 37 years at Maryhilll, the last 22 as executive director. Behrens will join Maryhill in August after serving as executive director at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, a nationally-registered historic site and visitor destination for arts, education, and botanical gardens in Southern California. During her tenure there, annual membership subscriptions more than doubled and cultural programs grew and diversified from less than 50 to nearly 150 events annually. Behrens previously held positions as interim associate director of Ace Gallery, one of the largest gallery-held collections of blue-chip fine art in the western United States, and gallery manager of River Gallery in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach.
Klickitat County Approves Addendums To Republic Contract
Klickitat County Commissioners have done an addendum with Republic Services to allow the company to take up to 150,000 tons of trash to the Cowlitz County Landfill if necessary. It’s a move being made in an attempt to retain a contract for the Roosevelt landfill to continue to receive Skagit County’s waste. Klickitat County Commissioner Dan Christopher says Republic currently doesn’t have an emergency truck source to haul trash to Roosevelt when rail service is disrupted. He added they are looking to increase the landfill’s revenue streams. Christopher says they are trying to reduce the turnaround time for the trains coming into the Roosevelt landfill to the point where they can double the volume being taken in. In addition, there will be some consumer price index adjustments to the transfer stations.