The Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District continues to consider whether to purchase 20 acres at the intersection of Fairview and Belmont just west of Hood River for a potential park.  District executive director Mark Hickox says the district is looking to make a decision on whether to pay for a second year of option on the land.  Hickox says a recent survey and virtual open house showed support for a park for a variety of potential uses, but he added that purchasing the land does not mean building a park on it would be imminent.  Hickox noted the district is considering going to voters next year to deal with both capital needs like renovating the aging Hood River Aquatic Center and increasing operational capacity.

With last week’s announcement by Southwest Washington Congresswoman Jamie Herrera-Beutler that over $583,000 has been included in a federal appropriations bill to help develop a child care center in Goldendale, local officials backing the project have been energized.  Washington Gorge Action Programs executive director Leslie Naramore says the federal dollars are a good start toward generating the estimated $2 million needed to construct the center.  Naramore says they are seeking grants from other federal, state, and private sources.  A recent study done by the Klickitat County Childcare Committee showed there are no licensed care providers for infants and toddlers in Goldendale, and just one Head Start program for pre-schoolers.

North Central Public Health District reports it is seeing more people seeking first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in light of the highly transmissible Delta variant.  There has been an uptick in COVID cases in Wasco County, with 31 in the most recent 14-day lookback released on Monday.  The district also reports Mid-Columbia Medical Center has begun offering COVID-19 vaccine at its Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Immediate Care locations for patients coming in for routine appointments.  The district called that encouraging, as nationwide polling has consistently shown that healthcare providers are the most trusted source for accurate information regarding the vaccines, and many people may prefer getting the vaccine in a private setting rather than at a vaccine clinic.  The vaccine is also offered every weekday at One Community Health in The Dalles, and is offered Thursdays and Fridays at North Central Public Health District in The Dalles.  Wasco County has vaccinated 64.3 percent of those 18 and older, Sherman County 55.1 percent and Gilliam County 43.5 percent.

The Oregon State Marine Board will be partnering with county sheriff’s offices and the Oregon State Police, looking for expired motorboat boat registrations as part of a targeted annual “Operation Ship Shape” exercise on August 7 and 8.   If you own a motorboat in Oregon, check your “OR” numbers on the front of your boat and make sure you’ve applied your current registration decals.  The OR numbers are a boat’s license plate and registration decals are the tags that tell marine officers if your boat is legally registered and to whom it belongs, similar to motor vehicles.  Registrations are valid for two calendar years.  If you’ve just purchased the boat or are in the process of registering it, be sure to carry the temporary registration and present it to marine officers, just like vehicle registration.  Boaters can renew their motorboat registration online at boat.oregon.gov or by visiting their local registration agent.

Oregon’s entire congressional delegation joined with Western colleagues in the House and Senate to urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to secure more relief for farmers, ranchers, and other agriculture producers in the West affected by historic wildfires, droughts, and extreme heat.  In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack signed by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Cliff Bentz, Peter DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader, and Suzanne Bonamici, the Western lawmakers seek to open USDA relief programs up to more producers that have lost crops and livestock to the ongoing droughts, extreme heat, and wildfires.  The legislators say Cherry growers in the west have so far lost an estimated 20 percent of their overall crop, and the full extent of losses for apple and pear growers may not be known until harvest in the fall, or later if damage manifests in storage.

The City of The Dalles is looking for high resolution photos of the community to include on its new website that is under development, so they’ve started a contest to find some.  E-mail photos to cityinfo@ci.the-dalles.or.us or post tem to the Facebook by tagging City of The Dalles-City Hall and adding the hashtag #CityofTheDallesPhotos2021.  There are prizes for the top three photos:  $100 for first prize, $50 for second and $25 for third.  The contest is open until August 31 at 5 p.m.  All photos will receive proper credit to the photographer.

The City of Hood River has received plenty of interest from people who would like to be part of an advisory task force to provide input on policy alternatives in the formation of an affordable housing production strategy.  Interim City Manager Will Norris says they have had about 30 applicants, and the intent is to have different categories of interest represented on the panel so they get a wide perspective on the issue.  Norris says municipal staff will be checking with City Councilors during their Monday night meeting to make sure they are on the right track before bringing a list of proposed appointees back in two weeks.  The consulting firm EcoNorthwest is being retained to help in the strategy development process.

The City of White Salmon is clarifying the details of a six-month moratorium on short-term rentals adopted by city councilors last week.  A statement from the City says the moratorium allows any short-term rental that is currently permitted by the city through a municipal business license obtained by the property owner that has registered their short-term rental with the City to continue to operate.  The moratorium also provides an amnesty program for any property owner that currently has bookings for their short-term rental as of July 21.   Those property owners will need to document their bookings, and then obtain a city business license and register their short-term rental with the City within 30 days of the date of the moratorium.  Other new short-term rentals will not be allowed during the moratorium.  A public hearing will be held before the White Salmon City Council on September 1.

With Klickitat County in extreme drought conditions, a conversation among local officials and area land managers is planned for later this week to discuss land closures due to high fire danger.  County Commissioner David Sauter says he will take part in the discussion.  Sauter says with extreme fire danger, the County may have to consider closures, but he adds some coordination has to take place with a patchwork of land ownership in the Gorge.  Last week, the Washington Department of Natural Resources closed its lands in the eastern part of the state.

Hood River County Chief Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg says their numbers show like in most of the country, the vast majority of COVID-19 cases they are now seeing are in unvaccinated individuals.  In a Facebook video, Van Tilburg says there were 30 COVID cases reported in the last month in Hood River County, and 28 involved people who were unvaccinated.  Van Tilburg emphasized the available COVID-19 vaccine are effective against the Delta variant, and no booster is necessary.