Hood River City Councilors voted to approve adding irrigation of parks into a parks maintenance contract that’s already in place.  The City is down three employees in the public works department, and already has an agreement in place with Crystal Greens Landscaping of Clackamas.  Public Works Foreman Adam Schmid told Councilors that Crystal Greens will install smart irrigation controls at twelve different locations that also allow for more efficient water use.  The City will be paying $26,720 for the services.

A new Timed Use Permit for personal vehicles along the Waterfall Corridor in the Columbia Gorge goes into effect Tuesday to help reduce congestion, increase safety and improve the overall visitor experience.  Between Tuesday and Labor Day, the Timed Use Permit will be required for personal vehicles to access federal lands adjacent to the Waterfall Corridor between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., seven days a week, between the Bridal Veil off-ramp at I-84 Exit 28 and Ainsworth State Park at Exit 35.  Multnomah County, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service launched the joint project to create a more reliable, safe, predictable and enjoyable experience for all users visiting trailheads, waterfalls and viewpoints.  In addition to the Waterfall Corridor Timed Use Permits, the Forest Service will reinstate Multnomah Falls Timed Use Permits for visitors using the I-84 Exit 31 parking lot during the same time period.  The permits are two separate systems and are not interchangeable.  The permits can be acquired at recreation.gov.

Human remains discovered over the weekend in remote Klickitat County rangeland about two miles east of John Day Dam have been tentatively identified as those of a man from The Dalles reported as missing over two years ago.  According to a statement from Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer, the remains were discovered by a hiker on Saturday afternoon, and are believed to be those of Matthew J. Palmer, who was 26-years-old when he was reported as missing to The Dalles Police in February of 2020.  A forensic pathologist will further examine the remains at the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the official cause and manner of death are pending, but it does not appear the death was the result of homicidal violence.  The investigation is ongoing.

A 50-year-old Klickitat County man has been arrested and charged with child molestation in connection with a sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in June of last year.  According to a statement by Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer, Brandon Osborn was taken into custody late last week after being found hiding in his residence north of Goldendale.  Law enforcement, including the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office and Posse, the Washington State Patrol, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service had spent nearly a year tracking Osborn, who fled residences in Kennewick and Spokane before being traced back to his former residence near Goldendale.  Osborn is charged with child molestation in the second degree, intimidating a witness, and violation of a protection order, and was booked into the Klickitat County Jail on $250,000 bail.

The speed limit on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate bridge will be lowered to 15 miles per hour starting on Thursday.  Port of Hood River Commissioners decided to implement the speed reduction a month ago as one immediate action to help extend the serviceable life of the nearly 100-year-old steel structure until a replacement bridge is constructed.  The Port’s consulting bridge engineers have advised that two main factors cause accelerated deterioration to the bridge deck – vehicle speed and weight.  Port crews will install new speed limit signage on the bridge on Wednesday, including digital radar speed signs.

A delegation from the bi-state group working on replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be going to Washington, D.C. soon to lobby federal officials for a $195 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that would be a cornerstone for funding the new bridge estimated to cost $500 million.  Hood River Mayor Kate McBride says they want to talk personally with the people who would make a difference in getting the money.  She adds the grant could accelerate the timeline for the project.  A conceptual finance plan would include the $195 million federal contribution, $110 million each from Oregon and Washington, and local Port contribution funded by tolls of $85 million.  

Klickitat County is on the long path toward updating its comprehensive land use plan.  County Commissioner Dan Christopher says they haven’t been able to make a lot of progress on it to this point, in part because they have been trying to hire a long-range planner to do the updates over the last year, but haven’t been able to find one.  Christopher says Planning Director Mo-chi Lindblad is currently finishing critical areas ordinances and working on the shoreline master plan first.  But he adds with parts of the plan 25 years old, it will probably be a years-long process to get done.

The Oregon Community Foundation will award $10,000 in four scholarships to students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program this fall at Columbia Gorge Community College.  There is a significant shortage of qualified child care professionals in the Mid-Columbia region and across the Northwest.  The college offers instruction leading to certificates and Associate’s degrees in Early Childhood Education.  Those interested in pursuing a career in early childhood care and education and would like to find out how to access the scholarships can contact Child Care Partners professional development navigator Ryan Brusco by phone at (541) 506-6133 or email at rbrusco@cgcc.edu.

May is stroke awareness month. People need to act quickly to avoid lasting damage when they happen – and remember the acronym “BE FAST.” ‘B’ stands for balance and watch if someone is losing it. ‘E’ stands for eyes and changes to vision. ‘F’ is for face and signs of it drooping. ‘A’ is for arms and looking for signs that one arm is dropping when raised. ‘S’ is for speech, listening to hear if it’s slurred. And ‘T’ stands for time to call 9-1-1 if any of these signs are present.  Dr. Jennifer Pary is a stroke neurologist at Kaiser Permanente in Spokane. She says in a stroke, time equals brain. Pary says there are factors that increase the risk of stroke, including diabetes and high cholesterol, but the main factor people should keep in mind is blood pressure.

Track and Field

The Dalles’ Taylor Morehouse won the boys’ pole vault to highlight the Gorge effort at the Oregon Class 5A Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.  The Riverhawks’ Zoe Dunn finished second in both the girls’ long jump and triple jump while also helping The Dalles 4 by 400 meter relay team including Lilly Adams, Madelyn Harrison, and Amyrah Hill to a second place finish.  The Dalles’ Juan Diego Contreras was fourth in the 3,000 meters and sixth in the 1500.  Hood River Valley’s Lauren Griggs was fifth in the high jump.

  Stevenson’s girls finished third at the Washington Class 2B District 1/4 Championships at W.F. West in Chehalis.  The Bulldogs’ Sydney Cole won the girls’ pole vault and Olivia Fauth was first in the 400 meters.  They joined Ramy Nielson and Ema Fuller to win the 4 by 400 meter relay.   Stevenson earned eight girls and three boys entries in next week’s state meet.

  Southwest Washington Class 1A District Softball Tournament

Columbia went 2-2 in the tournament, falling just short of a state tournament invitation.  The Bruins started off by defeating Montesano 7-4, then lost to Eatonville 15-0.  CHS bounced back with a 13-8 win over Elma, but the fell to Castle Rock 5-1 in the third place game.

  EWAC District Tournament

Goldendale won two out of three games to qualify for the Washington Class 2B Tournament.  The Timberwolves lost to Kittitas 15-11, but then defeated Cle Elum 17-13 and River View 14-4 to next weekend’s tournament in Yakima.

  Oregon Class 5A Tennis Tournament at Portland Tennis Center

Boys Doubles First Round

Paul Capek & Paul Kelly of The Dalles went 3-1 to finish third in the tournament.  They opened with a 6-4, 6-3, win over Henry Pappas & Bryan Chen of Crescent Valley, then knocked off top-seeds Eldon & Breslin Nichols of LaSalle 6-3, 7-6.  Redmond’s Tanner Jones & Nico Afti took Capek & Kelly out of championship contention in the semi-final 6-2, 6-4, but the Riverhawk pair bounced back in the third place match to defeat Caleb Simpkins and Hudson Clark of West Albany 6-4, 7-6.

  Boys Singles First Round

Eric Langlouis of Hood River Valley reached the quarterfinals, defeating Chad Romrell of Corvallis 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 before falling to eventual champion Aidan McBride of LaSalle 6-1, 6-1.

  Girls Doubles First Round

Brissa Rojas & Vivian Olson of Hood River Valley lost to Adrianna Frank & Olivia Knutson of North Bend 6-3, 6-0, then fell to Shayla and Cindy Nyguen of Parkrose in a consolation match 9-8.