For employers, finding employees remains difficult.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says it doesn’t matter whether it is a front-entry job or administration, getting applicants has been a challenge.  Farquharson says the shortage of employees has forced some businesses to adjust and shorten their hours and cut some services.  She adds there are many different factors, ranging from people being able to work from home to housing costs in the Gorge, but adds this is a nationwide issue, and businesses are having to adapt to it.  

With large numbers of people recreating in the Hood River Marina and Waterfront areas, the Port of Hood River is reminding people to keep in mind water safety.  The Port’s interim executive director Genevieve Scholl says they’ve been using signage and other information outlets to remind people how the Columbia River have underwater currents and very steep drop-offs.  Adding to the safety issues this summer are higher than usual Columbia River water levels.

A contingent of local officials will be in Washington, D.C. this week lobbying for federal funds for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  An application for a 195 million dollar federal grant was submitted a few weeks ago.  Hood River Mayor Kate McBride, White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler, Klickitat County Commissioner Jacob Andersom. Port of Hood River Commissioner Mike Fox, and bridge replacement director Kevin Greenwood are all taking part.  The Port’s Genevieve Scholl says Congressional representatives in the region have expressed support for the grant in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.  Scholl said there should be a decision on the application by the end of the year.

A driver was arrested Sunday morning after a reported hit and run near 10th and Cherry Heights in The Dalles.  According to The Dalles Police Department, the suspect vehicle sideswiped another vehicle and continued to drive on 10th Street, weaving badly and leaving its lane.  With help from the victim, who continued to follow the suspect, officers intercepted the suspect vehicle and pulled it over.  The suspect was transported to NORCOR and took a breath test with a result of 0.29% blood alcohol content, which is over three times the legal limit.  The driver was booked into NORCOR on charges of hit and run with property damage and driving under the influence of intoxicants.  The incident occurred just before 9 a.m. Sunday.  The Dalles Police Department says it has made 28 DUII arrests so far this year.  

A 36-year-old White Salmon woman died in a one-vehicle accident on Highway 141 in Klickitat County on Sunday.  According to the Washington State Patrol, the pickup driven by 36-year-old Irina Jasiukonis was going southbound on Highway 141 at milepost 4 when it went over the center line.  The WSP says the vehicle went onto the northbound shoulder, and then overcorrected and traveled back across the lane and off the embankment.  Jasiukonis was pronounced deceased at the scene.  The accident occurred at about 12:25 on Sunday afternoon.

The Oregon State Police reports a motorist from Antelope who had not returned home as expected has been found dead in his vehicle off Highway 293.  According to an OSP statement issued Monday morning, the agency received the report that 35-year-old Nilton Vilchez Cardenas was missing on Thursday night.  The car was located off Highway 293 in a marsh area concealed by tall weeds, and Cardenas was found deceased in the vehicle.  Witnesses reported the driver passed them on the highway at a high rate of speed on Thursday morning around 3:00 a.m.  It appears the driver left the roadway shortly after passing the witness and rolled several times before coming to rest.  The OSP was assisted by the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The discharge to the Columbia River from The Dalles Wastewater Treatment Plant has returned to compliance with permit limits for E. coli as of Sunday morning.  The average of five samples taken throughout the day on Saturday at the City discharge point to the river were within limits.  The delay in reading out the test results was due to the 24-hour incubation time that the test requires.  Recent Columbia River samples show that E. coli levels at the sample locations were well below bacterial criteria set by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for freshwater recreation.  Signs which were placed at locations of public river access on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River on Thursday to warn of contaminated water were taken down Sunday morning.  The Dalles Public Works Department was in communication with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and local health department officials to coordinate demobilization.

With the June authorizations of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for both the 6 months to 5 years age group and the 6-17 age group, North Central Public Health District has switched to offering only the Moderna vaccine to everyone ages 6 months and up.  For both age groups, the vaccine is a two-dose series, given 28 days apart.  NCPHD officials say they opted to go exclusively with Moderna for two reasons.  One is to offer a vaccine choice to the community, since most other entities are offering only the Pfizer vaccine.  The other is to simplify the COVID vaccine system to maintain the agency’s track record of avoiding vaccine errors.  By offering only Moderna, NCPHD has just three vaccine formulations to consider.  With Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, it would have been eight.  NCPHD offers vaccinations free to everyone Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.  Please call 541-506-2600 to make an appointment.

Hood River’s Overwatch Imaging received a Business Oregon matching grant of more than $45,000, backed with Oregon Lottery funds, to help design, build and test upgraded search and rescue technology for maritime environments.  The grant is part of a larger state program to leverage federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grant awards.  Founded in 2016, Overwatch Imaging designs and manufactures imaging systems with custom onboard artificial intelligence software for both piloted and unmanned aircraft.  By helping organizations of all kinds move to autonomous aerial detection, Overwatch Imaging assists in improving efficiencies, reducing costs and enhancing safety.  The $45,590 grant was awarded by Business Oregon and the Oregon Innovation Council as part of a larger state grant program to help innovative small businesses leverage the federal grants.

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is proposing to charge new or increased fees at numerous developed recreation sites.  The Northwest Forest Pass and the full suite of interagency passes will be honored at, U.S. Forest Service, day use sites.  The public is invited to review the fee proposal and provide comments, with the comment period running through September 16.  Even if proposed changes are implemented, about 70% of the 234 developed recreation sites on the Forest would remain non-fee.  The forest currently waives fees at all Forest Service managed day use sites six days throughout the year.