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Pair Arrested In Drug Bust

Posted on by mbailey

Two people were arrested as the result of a Mid-Columbia Interagency Narcotics Task Force drug search late last week.  The Dalles Police Department says investigators seized 2.2 pounds of Cocaine, 1.3 grams of Methamphetamine, and $41,241 in cash.  A man and a woman were arrested and lodged at the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility, with charges including possession and delivery of a controlled substance, delivery within one-thousand feet of a school, and in the man’s case being a felon in possession of a weapon.  The Dalles Police Department says this case and the subsequent search warrant resulted from an in-depth investigation into the delivery and possession of narcotics in The Dalles.  Agencies supporting the investigation included the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, The Dalles City Police, the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, and Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office K-9 teams.

 

Bridge Closure Early Friday Morning

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The Hood River- White Salmon Bridge will be closed to all traffic early Friday morning (April 3) from 12:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. for scheduled maintenance.  The Port of Hood River says crews will be completing a bridge gasket replacement on the Oregon side and installing new bridge signage.  There will be another bridge closure next Friday morning (April 10) during the same times.

Fire Prep Time

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As we head toward summer, preparing homes and property in case of wildfire is once again a key topic for the region.  Oregon State University Extension Forester Glenn Ahrens says with every wildfire event, we see examples where people who have attended to fire preparedness experience less damage.  Ahrens says it may seem overwhelming, but there is a lot that can be done to reduce vulnerability to fire damage, but it can help to compare to winterizing your home, and take it step-by-step.  He notes the state fire marshal’s office has a program where an expert will come to your property and evaluate what needs to be done.  Forest and farm landowners can apply for Natural Resources Conservation Service funding for fuel reductions in Hood River and Wasco counties, and the Oregon Department of Forestry has some cost-share programs for creating defensible space around homes in Hood River County.

Drones To Be Used For Crane Surveys

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Researchers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will use a drone to survey known sandhill crane locations in Klickitat County to support population monitoring.  Drone flights may occur, weather permitting, during daylight hours through August over identified state public lands and waters in western Klickitat County where sandhill cranes are present.  WDFW will seek approval from private or public landowners if flights are considered over additional lands.  The purpose of the surveys is to capture high quality images of sandhill crane habitat and locate nest locations.  Since 2024, WDFW biologists have successfully identified sandhill crane nests at multiple locations within the survey area using drone technology.  Breeding sandhill cranes arrive in Klickitat and Yakima counties in early March, with most nesting occurring from April to June in wet meadows and grasslands.   The cranes and their young leave the state between late September and mid-October to winter in California’s Central Valley.

John Day Dam Rec Sites Going Cashless

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Three recreation sites near the John Day Lock and Dam will transition to a fully cashless fee collection system on April 15.  The Army Corps of Engineers Portland District says the change will be at Plymouth and LePage campgrounds and LePage Day Uese Park.  The Corps says the change will streamline operations, reduce administrative costs, and ensure fee revenue is reinvested directly into facility maintenance and improvements.  For the two campgrounds, visitors can pay with a debit or credit card at the park entrance between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and make reservations in advance on Recration.gov.  At LePage Day Use Park, visitors can pay with a credit or debit card at the entrance booth, purchase an activity pass online at Recreation.gov, or use the “scan & pay” feature in the Recreation.gov mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at the App Store or Google Play.

April 1 Prep Sports Roundup

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Track and Field

Hood River Valley’s girls defeated both Hillsboro and Milwaukie in a Northwest Oregon Conference meet.  Georgina Williams, Diyora Khudoidodova, and Karina Little won two events apiece for the Eagles.  The HRV boys lost to Hillsboro while defeating Milwaukie.  The Eagles’ Matt Trickey won both the 100 and 200 meters.

Wasco County Proceeds With Basalt Commons Deal

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Wasco County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to enter into an agreement to purchase the former Griffith Motors lot on 523 East 3rd Street in The Dalles, and then lease the property back to a group headed by developer Mary Hanlon for the long-discussed Basalt Commons mixed use development including 116 units of housing.  The County will purchase the property for $3,080,000, then lease it to TD3RD, LLC for $154,000 per year for the first five years of a 35-year lease, during which the company will have the option of purchasing the property for $3,180,000.  If the lease continues beyond five years, the annual payment will go up 3% a year.  County Commission Chair Scott Hege says they are using economic development funds for the transaction, and believes the project is an important step for the entire community with benefits “way beyond earning a return.”  According to information in the Commission’s meeting packet, this step sets the stage for Hanlon to proceed to loan documents and get an updated term sheet and construction bid, with a working start date of June 1 for the project.

TDHS Robotics Club Raising Funds For World Championships Trip

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The Dalles High School robotics club is raising funds to send two teams to the VEX Robotics World Championships in St. Louis later this month.  Team member Everest Lenardson told Wasco County Commissioners they have a goal of $15,000 to allow the students to make the trip to what is the biggest robotics competition in the world.  The teams qualified through the state robotics championships earlier this year.  You can help by donating with a check to TDHS Robotics at The Dalles High School office.

Northern Wasco PUD Receives Reliability Honor

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Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District has earned the Certificate of Excellence in Reliability for 2025 from the American Public Power Association.  The award recognizes exceptional electric reliability and Northern Wasco PUD is one of only two utilities in Oregon to receive it this year.  APPA is a trade group that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities, tracks power outage and restoration data for public utilities nationwide, and each year compares that data to national statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  In 2025, Northern Wasco PUD customers experienced an average of about 27 minutes of outage time, well below the national public power average of 55 minutes and significantly below the regional average of 134 minutes.