The vision for the building at 3525 Crates Way in The Dalles recently acquired by the Columbia Gorge Food Bank goes beyond simply storing food.  The Food Bank’s Sharon Thornberry says they will have five times the space they have now, and they can do more the community.  One aspect will be a flexible space that can be a food pantry and be a place where produce can be repacked by the Food Bank and the agricultural community.  Another goal is to have a community room with a kitchen where nutrition education and meetings can take place.  Thornberry says they are currently doing buildout planning before beginning a fundraising drive, with a goal of moving into the facility in October.

The White Salmon Valley School District will reassess Klickitat County’s COVID-19 situation after the winter break to determine possible opportunities to get students back in classroom in a hybrid model.        District Superintendent Jerry Lewis, who is currently in quarantine himself after a family member tested positive for COVID, says he has seen other districts in Washington look at various options, but adds the bottom line is they want to get kids back in classrooms as soon as safely possible.  Lewis noted the district has been looking at data on how students are able to progress during the pandemic, and the numbers of students struggling has increased while in distance learning.

Hood River City Councilors voted to deny an appeal of the site plan for the Adams Creek co-housing project on a 2.4 acre site on Sherman Avenue.  City planning officials gave Councilors revised conditions of approval to respond to some of the issues raised on appeal, specifically screening and dealing with a parking lot on the west side of the property.  Some councilors noted there was only so far the City can go in asking for conditions.  The Council voted 5-0 to deny the appeal, with Erick Haynie and Mark Zanmiller having recused themselves before the hearing one month ago.  The development would consist of 26 dwelling units in three buildings along with two common buildings, a parking lot, carport, pathways and walkways, street frontage improvements, and associated site improvements.

After a lengthy amount of discussion, The Dalles City Council gave a split consensus for City Manager Julie Krueger to move forward with using some CARES Act dollars to purchase six more pallet shelters for the homeless to add to those already installed on municipal property on Bargeway Avenue.  Along with the six that are already there, five being acquired by Mid-Columbia Community Action, and one by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, it would bring the total on the property to eighteen.  Councilor Darcy Long-Curtiss, who has been spearheading the project that is not being managed by the City, said they have a waiting list for the shelters.  There was hesitancy from some on the Council to add that many shelters for a variety of reasons, including liability and safety.  Long-Curtiss says the YWCA of Greater Portland is now acting as a fiscal sponsor for the project.

The death toll from COVID-19 is going up.  Hood River County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg said in a Facebook video posted on Monday night that three more COVID deaths have occurred in the County, moving the pandemic total to eight.  He gave no details other than to say all three were in their 70’s.  He added there are currently over 100 active COVID cases in Hood River County.  Van Tilburg also said Hood River County’s first shipment of vaccine will arrive very soon, sometime this week.  The first vaccines will be going to frontline health care workers.

The Hood River County School District is offering secondary students to transfer between their school and the Hood River Options Academy until early January.  District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn says they had told families when they made their choice between their usual school and distance learning and the full-time on-line Options Academy they would have a chance to transfer for the start of the district’s second semester in late January.  Steps for transferring are available on the Hood River County School District website, with a deadline of January 8.  Polkinghorn added about 20 to 25 percent of families opted in the fall for the Options Academy.

The death toll from COVID-19 is going up.  Hood River County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg said in a Facebook video posted on Monday night that three more COVID deaths have occurred in the County, moving the pandemic total to eight.  He gave no details other than to say all three were in their 70’s.  He added there are currently over 100 active COVID cases in Hood River County.  Van Tilburg also said Hood River County’s first shipment of vaccine will arrive very soon, sometime this week.  The first vaccines will be going to frontline health care workers.

Maintenance technicians at John Day Dam estimated 63 gallons of oil spilled into the Columbia River from a pinhole leak in a turbine guide bearing chiller discovered on Monday.  According to a statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, the leak was discovered near the downstream side of the dam.  The Corps says staff isolated the system, began identifying the exact number of gallons lost and started fixing the issue.  Operations Division chief Dwane Watsek says the turbine guide will be out of service until it is repaired.  This is the second spill at Corps dams on the Columbia River this month.  The Dalles Dam spilled 45 gallons of oil into the river on December 3.  Corps technicians originally estimated the impacted turbine could have lost up to 200 gallons, but they confirmed the lesser amount on Friday.

The City of The Dalles Small Business Relief Grant program is now accepting applications from eligible small businesses and small non-profits based in The Dalles until 5 p.m. this coming Monday.   City officials say the goal of the relief grant is to provide immediate financial relief to The Dalles’ hardest-hit small businesses and non-profits in the form of unrestricted grants to support rent, employee salaries, and operating costs as a stop-gap relief.  Grant funds are to be awarded the last week of December.  For eligibility and application information, go to the City of The Dalles’ website.

Mid-Columbia Economic Development District is administering business assistance grants for both Wasco and Hood River counties with applications due by this coming Sunday.  MCEDD’s Carrie Pipinich says both counties have about $700,000 apiece to distribute in funds that came from the state through federal CARES Act provisions.  She says the money has to be distributed by the end of 2020.  Each county has some differing eligibility requirements.  For application information go to mcedd.org/bizgrants.