The City of Hood River is beginning the process of preparing for a bond measure in November of 2026. City Manager Abigail Elder presented City Councilors a timeline for exploring going to the voters with a bond proposal, starting with a presentation on the process at the panel’s next meeting on September 8. Elder says they will have a special facilitated meeting on September 29 to consider a potential project list for bond funding. Once a list is gathered and levy rate estimates are put together, the final two months of this year the City will work with a consultant to do polling to gauge public support for a bond measure. The City Council identified general obligation bond funding as a “critical project” in its 2025-26 work plan.
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HR County Hears From ODOT on Possible Cuts
Hood River County emergency officials and the Oregon Department of Transportation held a meeting to discuss issues when traffic jams up in the Hood River area due to a freeway closure, but a large part of it became ODOT talking about what will happen if a transporation funding package does not pass in a special legislative session at the end of the month. County Commission Chair Jennifer Euwer says ODOT representatives told them if a package does not pass, service to major roads in the area like Highway 35 will decrease. The ODOT representatives floated the idea of local governments backfilling, but Euwer pointed out Hood River County doesn’t have the money to do that. She added emergency agencies represented at the meeting, including Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, expressed their concerns about their employees being able to report for work if plowing levels decrease.
Hege Says Work Continues To Pay For Phase 2 Of Fire Recovery
Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege says they are still working with state officials to do phase two of Rowena Fire. Hege says in a meeting with the Governor’s office, Oregon Office of Emergency Management, and the Department of Enviromental Quality, local officials were given an estimate of $5.9 million, but that number is going to get revised. Hege says a meeting next week will look at developing a more accurate estimate. Hege says once the number is refined, they hope to go to the Legislative Emergency Board and get the money to do the phase two work from there.
Outreach Team To Talk Child Care Project In D.C.
When The Dalles Community Outreach Team goes to Washington, D.C. on its bi-annual trip, trying to revive a project that would have remodeled the Chenowith Middle School into a child care center for up to 200 will be a big part of it. Federal officials cancelled a contract for a $21 million grant for the project when the new administration took over this past winter. Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas says they want to find out if the grant will be reissued. The grant was from the Environmental Protection Agency, as the facility would also have served as an emergency response center during extreme weather events.
Bridge Design Expected To Take Over A Year To Complete
It will probably take about a year-and-a-half for Kiewit Construction to complete design plans for the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge. The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority signed documents two weeks ago to allow the design to move forward after legislatures in Oregon and Washington approved their shares of funding for the bridge. Authority board member Jacob Anderson says there will plenty of other tasks going on while the design work is in progress. The next big marker for the bridge project is learning whether it will receive $532 million from the federal Bridge Investment Program. Anderson says they should learn that in the first quarter of 2026.
Carson Woman Injured In Highway 142 Motorcycle Accident
A 76-year-old Carson woman was flown to a Portland hospital after a Saturday afternoon motorcycle accident on Highway 142 in Klickitat County. According to a Washington State Patrol report, the woman was westbound on Highway 142 near milepost 10 at around 3:10 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The report says the motorcycle the woman was driving failed to negotiate a curve, struck the guardrail, and then she was ejected from the bike. Both the woman and the motorcycle came to rest on the right shoulder of the highway. The woman was taken by LifeFlight to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland. There was no information on her condition.
The Dalles Wastewater Plant Back In Compliance
The discharge to the Columbia River from the The Dalles Wastewater Treatment Plant has returned to compliance with permit limits for E. coli as of Friday night. A statement from the City says the average of five samples taken throughout Thursday at the City discharge point to the river were within limits. The delay in reading out the test results is due to the 24- hour incubation time that the test requires. Recent Columbia River samples show that E. coli levels at the sample locations were well below bacterial criteria set by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for freshwater recreation. Signs that had been placed at locations of public river access on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River, to warn of contaminated water, were taken down on Saturday morning.
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Crews Bring Steele Fire Under Control
Crews were able to get under control a late Thursday afternoon fire southeast of The Dalles in the area of the 2500 block of Steele Road. Three single-engine scoopers were mobilized to help ground crews contain the fire driven by strong winds that forced evacuation advisories in the nearby area for a short time. The fire also shut down a portion of Highway 197 and 8 Mile Road. It was blown to the southeast by 25 to 30 mile per hour winds, but crews kept the fire west of Highway 197 and north of 5 Mile Road. Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue said the fire will remain in patrol status through Friday. The Petersburg Rural Fire Protection Association, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office, Dufur Fire, the Dallesport Fire District, and private landowners were all involved in the firefighting effort.
Treatment Plant Improving
Operations at the City of The Dalles Wastewater Treatment Plant are improving but are not yet back in compliance after a recent plant upset that resulted in discharge to the Columbia River of treated wastewater exceeding the plant’s limit for E. coli. Samples were taken on Wednesday at five different locations in the Columbia River to determine the effect of the discharge on water quality in the river. The five samples taken between River Mile 186.5 and 189.5 show that E. coli levels at the sample locations were well below bacterial criteria set by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for freshwater recreation. City Manager Matthew Klebes emphasized on Thursday E. coli levels are exceeding DEQ limits only within the wastewater treatment plant. As a precaution, signs will remain in place at locations of public river access until the discharge from the wastewater treatment plant returns to compliance. Signs are posted on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River, from The Dalles Riverfront Park to West Mayer Park boat launch.
First Phase Of Rowena Fire Cleanup Finished
The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office says the first phase of Rowena Fire cleanup, removing household hazardous wastes from fire impacted properties, has been completed, and the recovery effort is entering an interim phase to allow residents to return and survey their properties before Phase 2 cleanup operations begin. During the interim period, property owners will have the opportunity to survey for any personal belongings or items they wish to preserve, document remaining debris, coordinate with insurance adjusters, and prepare for phase 2 that will focus on final debris removal and site cleanup, soil remediation, final safety clearances, and preparation to rebuild. But when phase 2 will start is unknown. County officials say it is contingent on funding approval, which they are advocating for. They add phase 2 will begin as soon as the funds are secured.