The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, along with search and rescue volunteers, were inundated with another round of search and rescue missions this past week. That includes a mushroom hunter becoming lost on Tuesday in the Trail of Two Forests area near Mt. St. Helens. The Volcano Rescue Team found that person after a five-hour search and reunited him with the reporting party. On Saturday, a mushroom harvester was reported missing near the Forest Service 93 Road, and was located a short time later and reunited with his group. And last Wednesday, a hiker called the Skamania County Communications Center for assistance from the Loowit Trail, on Mount Saint Helens, advising he was “stuck” in blizzard conditions and unable to return to his vehicle. After an eight-hour mission, the hiker was extracted from the trail and safely returned to his vehicle. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind visitors and residents of the lowering temperatures, lower-altitude snow, and decreased daylight that occur this time of year.
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Second ATM Theft In Skamania County
There has been a second theft within just over two months of an Automated Teller Machine in Skamania County. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office says early Saturday morning, a suspect entered a building at Elk Ridge Golf Course and removed an ATM with a hand truck. That’s after an ATM was stolen in a similar manner from Skamania Lodge in late August. The Sheriff’s Office suspects the two crimes are related. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office says anyone who has information regarding these incidents should contact its non-emergency dispatch number at 509-427-9490 and dial 0.
Klickitat/Skamania County Election Returns as of 8:30 p.m.
Klickitat County Commission Pos. 1
Todd Andrews (R) 3,141 53.1%
Amanda Kitchings (I) 2,761 46.7%
Klickitat County Commission Pos. 3
Ron Ihrig (R) 3,464 62.6%
Dan Christopher (R) 2,015 36.4%
Klickitat County EMS Proposition 1
Yes 4,246 72.7%
No 1,595 27.3%
Skamania County Commission Pos. 1
Brian Nichols (R) 3,974 68.4%
Mary Ellen Grode (Ind. Party) 1,817 31.6%
Skamania County Commission Pos. 2
Rob Farris (R) 3,710 62.8%
Mary Repar (D) 2,204 37.2%
Skamania County PUD Board
Dan Boyes 3,062 58.2%
Mel Steele 2,178 41.8%
Skamania County Cemetery District Property Tax Lid Lift
No 4,281 73.2%
Yes 1,567 26.8%
Underwood Parks and Recreation District Six-Year Continuation of Levy
Yes 326 65.9%
No 169 34.1%
Skamania County Sheriff’s 3/10 of a cent sales tax
No 3,148 52.4%
Yes 2,864 47.6%
Wasco/Sherman County Election Returns as of 8:15 p.m.
Wasco County Commission Pos. 2
Jeff Justesen 6,193 57%
Brian Lauterbach 4,606 43%
Wasco County Sheriff
Lane Magill 8,229 81%
Write-In 1,953 19%
The Dalles City Council Pos. 3
Dan Richardson 3,097 60.3%
Debra Liddell Gomez 2,015 39.7%
CGCC Bond Measure
Yes 12,134 53.3%
No 10,628 46.7%
White River Health District 5-year local option
Yes 414 35.1%
No 764 64.9%
Dufur Mayor
Connor Reed 276
Merle Keys 108
Michael Austin 33
Dufur City Council Pos. 1
Brandon Welk 225
Josiah Dean 148
Dufur City Council Pos. 5
William Parke 270
Tony Gonzalez 96
Maupin City Council (vote for 3)
Tom Troutman 158
Madeline Rhoades 157
Matthias Kesler 156
Kathy Peck 129
Rob Miles 104
Shaniko City Council (vote for 2)
Sandi Thomas 22
Pam Brown 21
Sandy Cereghino 10
Mark Haskett 10
Antelope Mayor
Carol Raymond 11
Julianne Herman 10
Antelope City Council Pos. 4
Elizabeth Samul 14
Julie Davis 8
Rufus Mayor
Austin Evans 81
Amber Baker 23
Rufus City Council Pos. 3
Daniel Ruise 65
Wendy Boyer 58
Hood River County Election Returns as of 9:40 p.m.
Hood River County Public Safety Levy
Yes 8,416 73.4%
No 3,049 26.6%
Hood River City Council
Amanda Goeke 2,606
Gladys Rivera 2,593
Anna Cavaleri 2,465
Curt Ivy 1,415
Cascade Locks Mayor
Brenda Wood 331 50.5%
Pete Happy 319 48.7%
Cascade Locks City Council (vote for 3)
Tiffany Pruit 308
Marianne Bump 296
Bernard Seeger 287
Emily Seely 189
Courtnee Keilman 187
Butch Miller 181
Samuel Murillo 175
Sean Crompton 88
Scott Jackson 40
Cascade Locks EMS Fee to Fund EMS Services
Yes 477 72.3%
No 183 27.7%
New Cascade Locks City Charter
No 353 54.5%
Yes 295 45.5%
Wasco County & The Dalles City Council Agree To Split Google SIP Funds
Wasco County Commissioners and The Dalles City Councilors agreed to simply split Strategic Investment Plan funds that will be generated from the construction of two new Google data centers 50-50 while leaving the door open for combining the funds for community projects down the road. City officials noted they have a list of water infrastructure projects they need to address that this money can help, while County Commissioners have been discussing establishing an endowment-style fund with their share. County Commission Chair Steve Kramer noted none of this precludes the two bodies coming together to contribute funds to a worthy community project in the future. This part of funds generated from Google developments that will be paid instead of property taxes when the two new data centers are constructed.
November 1-2 Prep Sports Roundup
Football
Glencoe 21, Hood River Valley 7: Glencoe won the Oregon Class 5A Special District 1 title, while HRV will go to Dallas for a first round playoff game on Friday.
Ontario 53, The Dalles 46
Columbia 42, Stevenson 18
Sherman 46, Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat 26: Both teams advance to the state playoffs, with the Huskies heading to Mohawk this weekend and the Cougars going to Union.
Dufur 34, Pilot Rock 0: The Rangers clinched the Class 1A Special District 3 championship, and will host Powder Valley in the first round of the state playoffs.
Goldendale 35, Columbia (Burbank) 12: The Timberwolves will host Lake Roosevelt in a playoff game on Friday.
Saturday Schedule
Oregon Class 4A Volleyball First Round
The Dalles def. Scappoose 25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 25-22: The Riverhawks advance to the final eight in North Bend, where they will face Tri-Valley Conference rival Crook County in the quarter-finals on Friday at 1 p.m.
Oregon Class 1A Volleyball Second Round
Crane def. South Wasco 25-11, 25-18, 25-13
EWAC Volleyball Third Place Game
Warden def. Goldendale 3-1: The Timberwolves face Okanagon for a state tournament bid next Saturday at Quincy.
EWAC Girls Soccer Third Place Game
LaSalle (Yakima) 5, Goldendale 0: The Timberwolves will meet Pateros for a state playoff berth on Wednesday in Ephrata.
Cross Country
Goldendale’s Emma Meagher won the girls’ District 5 Class 2B Championship at Walla Walla Point Park. Meagher’s victory led the Timberwolves to a third place finish to advance to state next week at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. The Timberwolves finished fifth in the boys’ race, led by Malachi Lawson in 11th.
MCFR Responds To Brush Fire
Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue crews responded to a brush fire early Sunday afternoon off Dry Creek Road in The Dalles. MCFR officials indicated the fire was roughly three-quarters of an acre in size, and crews were able to knock it down quickly despite high winds. Two brush engines responded to the fire along with a truck from Mosier. Early Saturday morning, MCFR crews dealt with a kitchen fire in the 3300 block of West 7th Street in The Dalles.
Ballot Turnout As Of November 1
Heading into the weekend, ballots continued to return to local election offices. In Hood River County, ballot return had just cracked the 50 percent mark, at 8,429. Wasco County’s return rate was at 46.63%, or 8,784 ballots returned. Both counties were well behind the ballot return pace of 2020. The Washington State Elections Division said 48.35% of ballots had been mailed back in Klickitat County, while Skamania County was at 45.78%.
White Salmon Bluff Trail Meeting November 14
The City of White Salmon will hold its last public stakeholder meeting regarding the White Salmon Bluff Connector Trail Study on November 14. The City has been working with consultants from Harper Houf Peterson Righellis and Columbia West Engineering to explore and develop a trail connection that will span approximately two-tenths of a mile from Highway 14 to Highway 141. This trail will navigate a steep, rocky hillside and pass close to several private properties. At the November meeting, they will review public comments from these events and discuss opportunities and constraints based on existing conditions and feedback. The team will also present “50% Design” preliminary concepts developed by HHPR, which focus on trail alignment, topography, fire mitigation, mobility, and walkability, incorporating stakeholder and public insights. Those concepts will be available for review at whitesalmonwa.gov a week before the meeting. The meeting will be at 5 p.m. at November 14 at the White Salmon City Council chambers.