North Central Public Health District announced a free, walk-in, three-day COVID-19 vaccine clinic will take place next Monday through Wednesday at the former Griffith Motors building on 523 East 3rd in The Dalles.  The clinic runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and will offer the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.  The Pfizer vaccine is available for children 5 and up.  No appointment is needed, and no insurance or ID are required.  NCPHD’s last vaccine clinic saw over 200 people vaccinated, including 26 people who got their first dose.  For information, call North Central Public Health District at 541-506-2600.

The current exhibit at the History Museum of Hood River County is examining the history of laundry, and how it has helped shaped our culture and community.  Museum Executive Director Anna Goodwin says the exhibition explores the development of laundry technology, and how an ordinary chore can reveal other details.  The exhibit will be open through June 25.  The History Museum of Hood River County is located in Port Marina Park, and is open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  

The Hood River City Council has received report on potential Safe Routes to School projects for the May Street Elementary and Hood River Middle School areas.  The City was awarded a grant in 2020 to identify and prioritize projects that address existing barriers and improve walking and biking safety within a one-mile radius of the two schools.  City Manager Abigail Elder says some of what was identified is fairly easy to do, including improved signage and striping, while others are more complex and will require funding.  Some of those steps could be folded into an urban renewal plan for the Heights area.  City Councilors are being asked to accept the report as a guide to identify projects to be implemented over time by the City, the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District, and the Hood River County School District.

Klickitat County is in the process of replacing the software and hardware for its financial accounting system.  Commissioner David Sauter says the current system dates back to the 1990’s, and is old and antiquated.  Sauter says they are in the process of hiring a firm to help identify exactly what the County needs to modernize their financial system, with a plan to use federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to do the overhaul.  Sauter says for the public, a goal of a new finance system will be to make it more user-friendly.

Landowners in Hood River County will now have access to a free chipping program this spring and fall.  The Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District and Hood River Forest Collaborative received a grant from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.as part of its Alternatives to Burning Grant Program.  Mount Adams Resource Stewards will have their local stewardship crew available to chip branches, small trees, and other woody debris for private landowners two days this spring on April 29 and May 2.  All landowners and homeowners in Hood River County are eligible to participate in this free program, but must sign-up to participate by calling 541-978-9615.  The grant from DEQ is also providing orchardists in Hood River County with options to get rid of orchard waste through use of an air curtain burner that incinerates wood waste and reduce emissions and particulate matter.  To participate, call the Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District at 541-386-4588.

Baseball

Hood River Valley 9, Nelson 4

Sandy 1, Hood River Valley 0

Hood River Valley 13, McDaniel 0:  HRV goes 3-1 at the Nelson Tournament.

Napavine 12, Stevenson 7

  Softball

Columbia sweeps Fort Vancouver 30-2 and 17-7

  Boys Soccer

Winlock 9, Stevenson 1

  Track and Field

Goldendale’s Alden Williams won the boys’ 1600 meters and Emma Olson was second in the girls’ triple jump at the Ramos Relays in Selah.

A 42-year-old Appleton man was arrested by Klickitat County Sheriff’s deputies on charges related to burglaries in the area.  In a statement, Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said Arthur Smith was taken into custody after trying to flee after officers spotted a pickup truck that had been reported stolen last week in the Murdock area at a campsite off Fisher Hill Road near Appleton.  Officers used tire tracks from the truck to link it to burglary scenes in the last week in the Appleton and Snowden Road areas.  Songer said the Sheriff’s Office had been actively looking for Smith since August 2021 on an outstanding felony warrant for assault.  The Sheriff’s Office has submitted numerous charges against Smith to the Klickitat County Prosecutor’s Office.

Hood River County Reads gets started this weekend.  Kickoff programs and book distributions are planned for Saturday at the Hood River, Cascade Locks, and Parkdale library branches, with a program at the Hood River library at 2 p.m.  This year’s book is a graphic memoir A Fire Story by Brian Fies, which chronicles the 2017 wildfires in Northern California in which his home and thousands of others were burned.  Hood River County Reads member Bonnie Withers says she’s excited about choosing a book with the graphic format.  A complete schedule of Hood River County Reads events to take place in April and early May are available at hoodriverlibrary.org.

There is a week left to get applications in for full-year Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year.  Wendy Patton of the CGCC Foundation says they will be taking applications for the $2500 scholarships through next Thursday.  Patton says the application is available online.  To apply, go to cgcc.edu, click on financial aid, and then scholarships.  

Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a measure into law Thursday morning that will expand training opportunities for sexual assault nurse examiners online and at Washington State University’s College of Nursing.  The bill’s prime sponsor, Goldendale Representative Gina Mosbrucker, says this legislation is a way to address a serious shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners across the state in rural and underserved areas, particularly in Eastern Washington.  House Bill 1622 requires the Washington State University College of Nursing to establish online training to provide nurses in rural and underserved communities access to at least 40 hours of training, a clinical training site at the WSU College of Nursing with clinical training requirements established by the U.S. Department of Justice, and scholarships for nurses to complete the training.  Mosbrucker says the WSU College of Nursing is already prepared to begin its first training in Spokane. She also expects training to expand in the future into Central Washington, including Yakima.