Hood River County is closing in on establishing a parking permit system for trail staging areas.  County Commission Chair Mike Oates says both forest and trail advisory committees have been meeting to establish the system, which would provide funding for maintaining a trail system to replace a donation the County received from a company that installed a fiber optic line on County lands.  Oates hopes it can generate around $75,000 to help cover the costs that includes a full-time trails administrator to keep the recreation uses available.  Oates would like the permit system to be ready for next summer.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown outlined plans Friday for distributing the first COVID-19 vaccines the state receives to health care workers, putting staff of hospitals and other in-patient facilities that have direct contact with patients first in line.  She says that includes people in housekeeping and food services, adding it’s a necessary first step in rectifying some of the health and social inequities of the pandemic.  The next group to be vaccinated would turn to out-patient and other settings, including behavioral health programs and facilities that meet the needs of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Essential workers would come next, and Brown says a vaccine advisory council will be put together to advise on those prioritizations.  

Oregon Health Authority epidemiologist Dean Sidelinger says while the state’s COVID situation remains precarious and concerning, there is also evidence protective measures adopted by the state may be blunting the current surge.  While the state continues to see record case numbers, Sidelinger says they are not rising as steeply following the Thanksgiving holiday as initially feared.  Sidelinger added the Oregon Department of Human Services is expanding its network of COVID-19 recovery units to seven long-term care facilities to add 200 beds, giving the state more flexibility in responding to COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities and help ease demand for hospital beds.

The Hood River County Health Department has reported the first person in the County to test positive for a second case of COVID-19.  County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg said in a Facebook video this person tested positive early in the pandemic, recovered, and tested positive again recently, over 90 days after the first occurrence.  Van Tilburg also reported the County has had its fourth COVID-19 fatality.  According to the Oregon Health Authority, the 75-year-old woman tested positive for COVID on November 15 and died on Wednesday at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center in Portland.  She had underlying medical conditions.

A donor has stepped forward to make $15,000 in matching funds available in Washington Gorge Action Program’s effort to raise $50,000 to rebuild its COVID-19 Relief Fund by the end of the year.  Mary Kleihege of the Little Seven Seven Ranch says she was inspired to give by local organizations like the Lyle Lions Club assisting the community during the pandemic.  WAGAP created the COVID-19 Relief Fund in March to help pay essential bills for Klickitat and Skamania County community members who have lost a job or had work hours reduced by the pandemic.  Nearly $180,000 has been given out so far, nearly depleting the fund.  Contributions can be made online at wagap.org/donate, and designate the COVID-19 Relief Fund by typing it in the “Note” field.  Donations by check should have COVID-19 Relief Fund clearly marked on the memo line and can be sent to WAGAP at P.O. Box 805 in Bingen, or taken to the organization’s offices in Stevenson, Bingen, and Goldendale during regular business hours.

When the Oregon School Activities Association pushed back its high school athletic calendar earlier this week, it also pushed back competitions for activities like choir, band, cheerleading, and dance and drill to the end of the school year to provide programs the opportunity to rehearse in person if school district policies allow.  OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber says they are trying to give the best opportunity possible to allow those activities, the vast majority of which are held indoors, to take place.  Weber pointed out speech and debate programs have been able to move forward during the pandemic in a virtual format, and there have been discussions about doing that in cheer, dance, and solo music.

In spite of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center being closed at this time due to Wasco County’s status as an “extreme risk” county for COVID-19, it has gotten the first phase of its roof renovation done.  Center Marketing Director Mikey Goyette says the first phase of the renovation has taken place, but the second phase will have to wait until spring when temperatures warm up.  The Center continues to fundraise for the project, go to gorgediscovery.org if you would like to help.

The Dalles Salvation Army has received plenty of support in recent days to help restock its food bank pantry to make up for losses of usual donations that come in from local food drives and the Oregon Food Bank.  The Dalles Community Meal board president Chris Zukin says they have received $23,000 in donations in the last week, and both Google and the City of The Dalles have given $10,000 apiece to help restock the pantry.  But with requests for help having doubled over the past year, Zukin says long-term needs remain.  To donate to The Dalles Salvation Army Food Bank, go on-line to thedalles.salvationarmy.com and click on the Virtual Red Kettle, drop off donations at their location on Second Street, or mail a check to P.O. Box 1970 in The Dalles.

The Hood River County School District is ready to offer limited in-person instruction for students identified as struggling in distance learning, but they need the numbers of COVID cases to drop before they can do so.  Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn told the district board the students would be limited in how long they could be in a classroom, with the intention of complimenting distance learning rather than replacing it.  The district has identified about 300 students for the limited in-person program.

North Central Public Health District has found a significant amount of Wasco County’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases is due to Thanksgiving gatherings.  A steady single-digit amount of cases were reported in the six days after the holiday.  Then a double-digit increase began, reflective of the typical roughly five-to-seven-day timeframe from date of infection to onset of symptoms.  From last Thursday to Tuesday, the county recorded 97 cases, including 48 cases reported in 48 hours last Friday and Saturday.  District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says they don’t expect to see a quick decrease in cases.  The health district has received a significant amount of calls from people who said they were exposed to someone on Thanksgiving and are inquiring about testing.