Starting this weekend, The Dalles Bridge will be closed from Thursday nights at 8 p.m. through Monday mornings at 6 a.m. through Memorial Day weekend 2022 to facilitate a bridge deck replacement project.  Peter Murphy of the Oregon Department of Transportation says a number of different closure options were considered for the project, but this was determined to cause the least disruption.  Murphy added ODOT has worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to allow emergency vehicles to cross at The Dalles Dam when needed.  ODOT is recommending the Biggs Junction Bridge to the east to provide access across the Columbia River when The Dalles Bridge is closed.  

Columbia Gorge Community College has decided to postpone its Saturday ribbon-cutting for two new facilities on its campus in The Dalles.  CGCC ‘s Dan Spatz said with hospitals at capacity and new infections anticipated to peak in the next week or two, there is too much risk in gathering people together to hold a formal opening ceremony for the Columbia Gorge Regional Skills Center and the Chinook Residence Hall.  He added based on RSVPs to date, the event would already be well past the maximum number of attendees recommended by health officials even with masks and social distancing.  The college will reschedule a recognition or dedication event for the two facilities when conditions allow.  The buildings themselves will still open on time.

Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association is staring a new monthly music series called Music from the Global Village.  Association artistic director Mark Steighner says the inspiration for the series came from an online class he taught on world music.  The first concert will be this Sunday featuring Boka Marimba performing music from Zimbabwe and southeastern Africa.  It will take place at 2 p.m. outdoors at Hood River Valley Christian Church.  No tickets are required, but donations will be accepted.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the Hood River County Prevention Department will be observing it on Thursday by putting up multiple signs on the Hood River County Library lawn with messages of hope.  Prevention Department director Belinda Ballah says they want to destigmatize talking about suicide.  The signs will also be at the Hood River campus of Columbia Gorge Community College and Hood River Valley High School.

The Oregon State House and Senate Committees on Redistricting will hold virtual public hearings on the future of Oregon’s congressional and legislative district maps starting Wednesday and continuing through Monday.  Hearings for residents of Oregon’s Second Congressional District will take place Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.  Hearings open to residents of any congressional district will be on Monday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  For log-in information, go to oregonlegislature.gov/redistricting.

A community reception for the three finalists for the Hood River City Manager position will take place Tuesday evening at six in the Stratton Rose Garden above Overlook Memorial Park.  The three finalists:  Jeffery Durbin, who has been a Town Manager in Colorado, current Beaverton director of community services and engagement Abigail Elder, and current Sisters City Manager Cory Misley, are all scheduled to be there.  A fourth finalist, Charlie Bush, accepted a job with another city.  The candidates will be interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday, with the Hood River City Council expecting to make a final selection on Friday.  

Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 6, St. Helens 0   Volleyball Gladstone def. Hood River Valley 25-12, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20

Wasco County Commissioners on Wednesday approved a settlement with Union Pacific Railroad in a long-running legal dispute over the County’s denial of in 2014 of an application for a track expansion in the Mosier area because of the impact on Treaty Rights in the area.  Union Pacific appealed that decision to several venues, including in federal district court where the County won a ruling on a corollary issue, leading to mediation that produced this settlement.  The settlement contains a moratorium that prevents Union Pacific from submitting any other land use application within the Mosier footprint for five years.  County Commissioners expressed relief that the issue was behind them…but Commissioner Scott Hege noted the County did not receive reimbursement for legal fees in the settlement.  The settlement also requires Union Pacific and Treaty Tribes enter into a written memorandum of agreement to establish a conferral process for current and future railroad activities within the Portland Subdivision that may affect the Treaty Tribes’ interests.

As work continues on NW Natural’s pipe system improvement project in White Salmon and Bingen, there will be traffic impacts at Dock Grade Road and East Jewett Boulevard through September 10.  The Intersection will be temporarily closed during construction hours.  One lane traffic will continue on East Jewett with flaggers directing traffic.  Detours around the construction site are in place.  Construction will not take place on Friday, and will resume on Tuesday.  Some intermittent work will also occur at the intersection of Ingram Place and E Jewett Blvd during this time.  Phase one of the project at East Jewett and Dock Grade is nearly complete.  Phase two will be from the intersection of East Jewett and Dock Grade to the intersection of Northeast Tohomish and North Main in White Salmon.  

The Oregon Health Authority Wednesday reported a continued increase in the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the state, and local numbers reflect the trend.  The number of hospitalized patients with COVID across Oregon is 1,178, which is 16 more than Tuesday.  There are 358 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds, which is 36 more than Tuesday.  Locally, OHA statistics show for the state’s hospital Region 6, which includes Mid-Columbia Medical Center and Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital…eight of 10 staffed adult ICU beds were occupied as of this morning for various reasons…while 42 out of 50 adult non-ICU beds were being used.  Oregon Health Authority reported 2,827 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, bringing the state total to 279,086.  Hood River County had 20 new cases, Wasco County 18, and Sherman County five.  There are 23 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,221.