Hood River County voters have approved a five-year public safety levy that County officials asked for. The levy of 78-cents-per-thousand dollars of assessed property value was approved by nearly 57 percent of voters, winning approval with 4,460 votes to 3,369 against. Passage marks an important moment for County officials that have been battling budget woes for a number of years. County voters had turned down a pair of tax measures one year ago. Carrie Rasmussen will be Hood River County’s new district attorney, as she received about 59 percent of the vote to succeed long-time D.A. John Sewell. Rasumssen received 4,477 votes, while Sean Kallery received 3,109. Former Hood River Mayor Arthur Babitz won a seat on the County Commission in District 2, receiving 1,150 votes to 792 for Paul Henke. Babitz will succeed Rich McBride, who did not run for re-election and whose term will finish in January.
Wasco County voters have decided to make a change in the District Attorney’s office. Local defense attorney Matthew Ellis unseated Eric Nisley with over 72 percent of the vote, 5,679 to 2,115. Nisley has been Wasco County’s District Attorney for nearly 20 years, but had recently been surrounded by controversy that resulted in a 60-day suspension from practicing law from the state that he had recently completed. Steve Kramer won re-election to position two on the Wasco County Commission, receiving 4,043 votes to 3,671 for challenger Marcus Swift. Kramer won his third four-year term on the Commission. In The Dalles, revisions to the City Charter that include eliminating using zones for City Council representation and making the Mayor’s term four years beginning in 2022 was approved easily. 2,640 said yes to 1,409 no. In the three-way primary for Sherman County Justice Court Judge, Ron McDermid received 329 votes, Deanna Christiansen 282, and Geremy Shull 190.
New data from the Oregon Employment Department shows Oregon’s unemployment rate went from a historic low of 3.5% in March to a record high of 14.2% in April. The state lost 266,600 jobs in April, or one in eight jobs statewide. Employment Department senior economic analyst Anna Johnson says the numbers probably significantly understate the crisis since they cover only the opening weeks of the epidemic. The April jobless rate of topped the worst days of the Great Recession, when Oregon unemployment peaked around 12% in 2009. Oregon’s jobless rate was comparable to the national rate, which was 14.7% in April – the highest since the Great Depression, when unemployment topped 25%. The state’s lodging sector shed nearly 60% of its jobs, while restaurants and bars lost more than half of their jobs. Health care and retail also tallied substantial losses.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced ten more counties were eligible to apply for Phase 2 in the state’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, but Klickitat County was not among them. There are now 22 counties in the state either eligible to apply for or already in Phase 2, representing about 30 percent of Washington’s population. Most of the ten made eligible for consideration today were in Western Washington. Inslee said a new piece of criteria has been added to be able to apply for the variance, requiring counties to have less than 10 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span. Inslee said that meets Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Skamania County is already in Phase 2.
Hood River County Commissioners decided not to make any changes to their current COVID-19 emergency orders. Commissioners on Monday did discuss whether or not to lift restrictions on lodging, but elected to wait until at least June 1. County Administrator Jeff Hecksel said as time goes on more and more people from out of the area are coming to use the County’s open forestlands, even though he doesn’t think that represents the majority of users. He added they are continuing to get reports of good practices by forest users. The County Commission did continue two hearings to June 1, including on a Crystal Springs Water District easement and lease on County forestland, as they continue to work on how to better hold them and take public input under current restrictions.
The White Salmon City Council will discuss on Wednesday how they should move forward on both dealing with a moratorium on building in residential zones and an update on the City’s comprehensive plan. Both are issues that require public input. Mayor Marla Keethler says it’s not likely they can get back to true public hearings for some time, and they will need to be realistic about what kind of work they can do. The Council will meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. For information on how to listen, go to white-salmon.net.
There were no new positive COVID-19 tests reported in Mid-Columbia counties on Monday or Tuesday morning. Klickitat County is at either 24 or 25 with 21 or 22 in the central part of the County. Klickitat County officials say Public Health is trying to determine the residency of what would be the 25th case. Wasco County remains at 18, Hood River County 14, Skamania County 3, and Sherman County 1. The Oregon Health Authority reported 39 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the state total to 3,726. Two deaths from COVID-19 was reported in Oregon on Tuesday, moving that total at 140. The Washington State Department of Health reported the number of deaths in Washington because of the coronavirus went up by one on Monday to 1,002. It listed the total number of confirmed cases at 18,611, up 178 on Monday.
The Port of Hood River has put together a budget for the 2020-21 Fiscal Year similar to the current fiscal year, but pre-identified reductions to carry out as it deals with pandemic-related revenue losses. Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says a loss of revenue from leased properties and the Interstate Bridge are the biggest impacts they are feeling, but the full extent is still unknown. McElwee says they will be monitoring revenues on a weekly basis, and staff will bring recommendations to the Port Commission when they know the full impact of the pandemic. McElwee noted their areas to look for reductions would be in capital expenditures and personnel expenses.
The White Salmon Valley Education Foundation will receive $100,000 in funding for the White Salmon Valley School District’s Health and Wellness Center, to be utilized in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. The funding is provided by the Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health, a Vancouver-based nonprofit organization. The school district and foundation partnered with NorthShore Medical Group to launch a program this school year to provide mental health and substance use services directly to students, thanks to an initial $75,000 grant from the non-profit. So far this school year, the program has provided 46 students with regular, one-on-one therapy sessions at school with mental health professionals employed by NorthShore. The $100,000 in new funding will help continue to fund the district’s health and wellness coordinator, and will also launch new programs such as family support groups and mental health training for teachers.
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