Starting Thursday, no campfires will be allowed in Oregon state parks and in state-managed forests east of Interstate 5, even in designated campfire areas.  The Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department say this includes charcoal fires, cooking fires, warming fires, charcoal briquettes, pellet grills, candles, tiki torches and other devices that emit flames or embers.  Portable cooking stoves or propane lanterns using liquefied or bottle fuels are allowed, though propane fire pits are not.   This ban covers all state-managed parks and forestlands east of Interstate 5, and includes prohibitions on fires in designated fire rings.  The agencies say the public can also anticipate restrictions in other areas based on fire danger.  Restrictions may increase as fire danger rises in other parts of Oregon and will remain in place until conditions moderate.  State agencies strongly encourage checking fire danger levels and associated restrictions in a given area before traveling and daily during a visit.

Two COVID-19 testing research studies have begun in The Dalles this week at the North Central Public Health District office.  Oregon Health Sciences University research coordinator Laura Ferrera says the goal of the research project is to create a reliable, self-serve COVID test that people could operate themselves at venues such as at sports bars or airports.  She adds researchers hope to get 100 local participants in the study.  The larger study is open to anyone 18 and older, regardless of whether they’ve had COVID or been vaccinated.  It asks people to complete a survey and provide either a saliva sample and a nasal COVID-19 test, or two nasal COVID tests. The nasal tests are not the deep probe swab, nor are they the shallow swab.  They are midway between the two.  Researchers, who speak English and Spanish, will be in The Dalles most weekdays for the next two weeks, and will take walk-in or scheduled appointments.  To participate, call 503-593-3076 or email RADxOregon@ohsu.edu.  Participants receive a $50 VISA gift card.  The study is funded by the National Institute of Health, and Oregon Health & Science is partnering with NCPHD in The Dalles and One Community Health in Hood River on the research.  The two study sites in the Gorge are the only rural study sites in the nation.  The saliva and nasal samples collected will go into a biorepository bank at the University of Massachusetts.

Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden introduced three bills to help combat the effects of wildfire smoke, and recover from the damage it causes.  The Wildfire Smoke Emergency Declaration Act would allow the president to declare a “smoke emergency” when wildfire smoke creates hazardous air quality conditions, authorizing federal agencies to provide emergency assistance to communities.  The Smoke Planning and Research Act would provide federal funding to help communities research, develop, and implement plans to help mitigate smoke by establishing four Centers of Excellence at colleges, authorizes $20 million in funding through the Environmental Protection Agency to study the public health impacts of smoke, and create an EPA grant program to help local communities plan and respond to wildfire smoke.  The Wildfire Smoke Relief Act would provide federal emergency assistance to at-risk individuals in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires by authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide low-cost home improvements and smoke inhalation prevention equipment when wildfire smoke causes unhealthy air quality levels for three consecutive days, plus transitional sheltering assistance in extreme circumstances.

Home At Last Humane Society in The Dalles is in the midst of a fundraising drive to acquire 75 kennel sponsors and generate $45,000 by September 1.  Home At Last Executive Director Stephen Drynan says they have 45 kennel sponsors so far.  Kennel sponsors donate $600 per year to cover the operations of one kennel through a one-time donation or $50 monthly through an automatic withdrawal.  The money provides a full year of support to cover the costs of the kennel, including food, heating and cooling, caretakers and vet care.  For more information go to homeatlasths.org.

Mid-Columbia Community Action says it has received nearly $550,000 in American Recovery Plan Act and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds from Oregon Housing and Community Services to assist low-income residents in Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties keep current on their household utility bills this summer.  Community Action executive director Kenny LaPoint says the funding could not come at a better time with record setting heat this summer, and he is encouraging anyone who needs help in the three-county area to apply.  For information call Community Action at 541-298-5131 or email energy@mcccac.com.

The Hood River County Fair returns Wednesday after a one-year absence.  The fair will open in Odell at noon, with the carnival opening at 1 p.m.  One of the highlights of the opening day will be a celebration of Hood River Valley resident Naomi Frisbee’s 100th birthday.  She has been a part of the Odell Garden Club for a number of years, and fair manager Clara Rice says there will be a celebration at 7:30 p.m. on the park stage.  Full-day carnival ride bracelets remain on sale at a discounted price of $25 until 5 p.m. Wednesday.  They are available at the fair office in Odell, Mid-Valley Market, McIssac’s, Hood River Supply in Hood River and Odell, Columbia Bank in Hood River and White Salmon, and Juanita’s in Hood River and The Dalles.

The City of White Salmon has hired its first full-time land use planner.  Brendan Conboy is a 2015 graduate of UMass-Amherst with a Masters degree in Regional Planning,   Mayor Marla Keethler had sought adding the position in her 2021 budget proposal that was adopted by the White Salmon City Council, adding it’s a good time for Conboy to arrive with the City nearly finished with its comprehensive plan.  Conboy most recently worked in Park City, Utah, as a Senior Planner, and prior to that spent time as an Associate Planner in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The White Salmon Council is holding a public hearing on a comprehensive land-use plan next Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a hybrid format, both in-person at the Fire Hall and online via Zoom.

Klickitat County Health Department announced the County’s 1,000th confirmed COVID-19 case on Sunday.  In a statement, the department said that just under 1 year ago, on July 27, 2020, Klickitat County had only 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19.   The County Health Deparatment announced last week the highly transmissible Delta variant was detected in Klickitat County.  Current research supports that the vaccines available to the public are effective against preventing severe symptoms and hospitalizations caused by the Delta variant.  Klickitat County health officials say it is still important to wash your hands and stay home when you are sick, and recommends that residents who are unvaccinated continue to maintain social distance, and wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth while in public.  The department says it will continue to respond to COVID-19 with its current course of action, including encouraging community members to get vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Dalles Public Works Department will be painting the center and side lines on several streets throughout the community next Monday through Thursday beginning at 6:00 am each day, weather permitting.  Motorists are asked to watch for the crews and avoid driving on the wet paint.  The paint truck will be preceded and followed by warning vehicles, with signs calling attention to the wet paint.  The trucks will be spaced according to the necessary drying time of the paint.  Attempting to pass or drive between the trucks will result in a messy striping job and paint damage to the motorist’s vehicle.  The purpose of this project is to provide clear lane and bike path designations for the safety of the traveling public.  Motorists are strongly advised to avoid the wet paint because it cannot be easily removed from vehicles.

A 38-year-old Georgia man was found dead on Hood River’s Indian Creek Trail after running through the town Saturday morning throwing fireworks, running with a shotgun, and firing at streetlights as he ran from police.  According to the Hood River Police Department, officers responded to a nuisance call at about 3:17 Saturday morning regarding a person yelling and throwing fireworks in the 100 block of East State Steet.  Police found the man. eventually identified as Herbert Victor Blount of Tyrone, Georgia, running with a shotgun.  He began running in the downtown, firing at streetlights while police attempted to give the man verbal commands.  Officers located Blount near 7^th and Sherman, and he continued to fire rounds.  One deputy was hit by shotgun pellets, but a police statement said he was uninjured.  Officers lost sight of Blount, but he was located by a Hood River County Sheriff’s Office airplane on the Indian Creek Trail at 5:41 a.m. and was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.  Police say no shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident.  The investigation is on-going, and anyone with information is asked to call Hood River Police at 541-387-5256.