The Dalles Police Department says a scam that has re-surfaced has been targeting citizens that are supportive of the police department and other law enforcement organizations and causes.  In a statement, the Department says the solicitations are worded in a way that makes the reader think The Dalles Police Department and/or other police organizations are somehow a part of the solicitation and receiving benefits.  The Dalles Police Department says it will not solicit for money by way of a mailers, newspaper articles, emails or phone calls for benefit of the department.  The department has participated in various fundraising activities for causes outside of the department but they can easily and always be verified by any member of the department.  The Dalles Police Department strongly encourages any citizen that is solicited in this kind of way to contact the department for guidance.

Hood River County officials have begun to explore the long-discussed concept of an Odell urban unincorporated community boundary.  The County has looked at this in the past, but a state rule prohibits an urban unincorporated area within ten miles of an established urban growth boundary such as Hood River.  County Commission Chair Mike Oates says the continued housing issues in the Hood River Valley has led them to revisit the issue, with county and state officials meeting recently to discuss the subject.  Oates did say two other areas in Oregon have received exceptions from the Legislature, and the County is asking the Department of Land Conservation and Development to consider it. Oates added County Commissioners will discuss the subject at an upcoming meeting.

Clean-up of the Port of The Dalles Marina in the wake of July’s major fire has been completed.  Port Executive Director Andrea Klaas says there were no major surprises in the process.  Klaas says the next step is to plan for replacing the docks lost in the fire.  She says the timeline on getting that done will be lengthy, with parts probably requiring a year to arrive.  Klaas says there were also electrical, water, and sewer systems that were lost in the fire.

The Hood River County Health Department on Tuesday will conduct a clinic to administer doses of the Pfizer Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to children age 5 to 11.  It will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Health Department office on 1109 June Street.  This clinic will be conducted on a drop-in basis, with no appointments needed.  North Central Public Health District has scheduled vaccination clinics for those 12 and up on Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Sherman County Fairgrounds in Moro, and on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. at the Ft. Dalles Readiness Center.  To make an appointment for those events, call 541-506-2600 or go to ncphd.org.  And Klickitat County has scheduled a COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Wednesday from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. at the County Fairgrounds in Goldendale.  Go to klickitatcounty.org or call 509-773-4565 to get an appointment, but walk-ins are welcome.

The Port of Hood River says planned 30-minute total closures of the bridge to allow for helicopter service to an overhead utility line have been pushed back from this Wednesday to November 17.  There will still be three closures of the bridge at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. on November 17.  Intermittent, single-lane closures for the semi-annual maintenance and repair welding to the steel grate bridge deck began today and will continue through November 24.  Flaggers will be on the bridge directing traffic around the moving work zone.  Motorists should expect delays of approximately 15 to 25 minutes throughout the day, depending on traffic volume.

The Dalles City Council will consider Monday evening approving an infrastructure agreement with Design LLC, primarily addressing water issues, as a step toward Google eventually establishing a pair of new data centers on former Northwest Aluminum property.  The agreement calls for Design LLC to pay for about 28 million dollars in water system improvements that City officials have said would not only provide sufficient water to cool the data centers, but also leave The Dalles in a better position in regard to water supply than it is now.  But some are skeptical, and concerned about how the projects would impact nearby wells and the surrounding aquifer.  Google contends the amount of water it uses to cool data centers is a trade secret, and that has become the subject of a legal dispute with the Oregonian/OregonLive seeking that information from the City.  Wasco County district attorney Matthew Ellis found Google’s water use is a public record and ordered The Dalles to provide that information to the media outlet, but the City has asked a judge to intervene.  This evening’s meeting will be conducted online at 5:30, and log-in information is available at the City of The Dalles website.

Oregon Class 5A Football First Round Hood River Valley 19, South Albany 7:  Ryles Buckley had two interceptions an caught a touchdown pass, and Trenton Hughes ran for a touchdown and threw for a pair of scores as the Eagles ran their record to 9-1 on the season.  HRV visits top-seed Wilsonville for a quarterfinal game this Friday at 7 p.m.   Washington District 5 Class 2B Football Playoff Goldendale 35, Mabton 17:  The Timberwolves advance to face Forks in the first round of the state playoffs this weekend.   Oregon Class 1A Football First Round Dufur 58, Gold Beach 40:  The Rangers advance to visit top-seed Adrian next Saturday afternoon.   Cross Country Hood River Valley nipped Wilsonville by a point to finish fourth and bring home a trophy from the Class 5A girls’ cross country race at the state high school championships in Eugene.  Phoebe Wood finished eighth to lead the HRV contingent.  The Dalles was ninth in the girls’ team standings, led by Alana Casady in 33^rd place.  In the boys’ run…HRV finished fifth and The Dalles sixth.  Individually, the Riverhawks’ Juan Diego Contreras finished third, while the Eagles’ Elliot Hawley was eleventh.   Columbia’s boys finished 15^th at the Washington Class 1A Championship in Pasco.  Camden Uffelman was the top Bruin finisher in 46^th.   Stevenson’s girls were sixth and Goldendale’s boys seventh at the Washington Class B Championship in Pasco.  Isabella Spencer had the top finish for the Stevenson girls in 8^th,  while Alden Williams led the Goldendale boys’ effort in 28^th.

The Oregon Trail Rally will be run in the eastern part of the Gorge this weekend.  The 25th annual race starts tonight at the Portland International Raceway before moving to roads in the Goldendale area on Saturday and the Dufur area on Sunday.  Normally the event is run in May, but was moved to November this year due to the pandemic.  Rally chair Karen Jankowski says they will have a number of nationally-known drivers in this year’s event.  For spectator information, go to oregontrailrally.com.

A scheduled meeting of the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District Board to consider putting a pair of ballot measure on the May 2022 ballot was postponed on Thursday.  District director Mark Hickok says timing conflicts for board members led to the cancellation.  He says they hope to reschedule the meeting for Tuesday, but that has not yet been finalized.  The board is considering one measure to dissolve the current district and a second to reform with a new permanent property tax rate.  The district’s current rate is locked in under Measure 50 at 34 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value, and dates to when the district was formed and simply about swimming pool operation.  But with the Hood River Valley Aquatic Center pool needing replacement, and the district taking on parks and trails and a demand for other services, officials are considering the need for a different tax rate.

Oregon Class 5A Boys Water Polo Quarterfinal Hood River Valley 24, Ridgeview 4:  The Eagles move on to meet Ashland in the semi-finals next Friday at 2:30 in Corvallis.   EWAC Volleyball Tournament Championship Goldendale vs. Walla Walla Academy at Granger, 7 p.m.