The Dalles City Council, acting in its capacity as the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency, held a philosophical discussion on the future with the agency’s advisory committee at a worksession this week.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says they need to gather more information before any decisions can be made, adding they will look into bringing in an expert in urban renewal to discuss its parameters.  He also says they need to look at on-going projects to see what the agency has available to work with in the future.  Lawrence added they also need to involve whoever is hired as the new City Manager into that process.  The City Council will interview four finalists for that job next Thursday.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden is calling on the armed militia that has taken over a building at a federal wildlife refuge near Burns to step down.  Walden’s district includes Harney County.  Speaking with other House Republicans today, Walden says the issue the group raises about more than 70 percent of the county being federal land is an important one, and there is a problem in the West that must be addressed responsibly, but “an armed takeover is not the way to go about it.”  Oregon’s Second Congressional District covers two-thirds of the state…with just under 700,000 residents, more than one-third of whom live in rural areas.  It’s the seventh largest congressional district in the nation.

Oregon State University Extension is partnering with a number of groups to offer a free community meal and cooking class on the second Monday of each month beginning this coming Monday.  OSU Extension’s Lauren Kraemer says they will hold the event at the FISH Food Bank in Hood River, and it’s an effort to get people to unite around food, and learn how to use it better. The first class will be on meal planning, with future classes to highlight shopping and cooking. Dinner will be at 5 p.m. on Monday with the class to follow at 6 p.m.  For information call 541-386-3343.  The class will be in both English and Spanish.

Northwest biologists are closely monitoring chum salmon this winter as they record what might be the largest run of Columbia River chum in 13 years.  The 2015 run could be as high as 20,000, making it the largest since 2002.   The annual run of Columbia River chum salmon historically numbered more than 1 million, but habitat loss and other factors caused their numbers to plummet during the last century to a low of just a few thousand per year.   The federal government listed Columbia River chum as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999.  Chum are the last salmon of the year to return to the Columbia to spawn and the young are the first to leave for the ocean in the spring.  They generally spawn in the lower part of the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam.  The Bonneville Power Administration has funded two hatchery programs and construction of new spawning habitat for chum in several areas of the lower Columbia River.  In 2011, BPA increased the capacity of two chum salmon spawning channels located on tributaries just below Bonneville Dam.

Boys Basketball South Wasco 65, Culver 18 Goldendale 44, Highland 35 Glencoe at The Dalles, ppd. Seton Catholic at Stevenson, ppd. Damascus Christian at Horizon Christian, ppd. Nixyaawii at Sherman, ppd. Sunnyside Christian at Trout Lake, ppd.   Girls Basketball Culver 36, South Wasco 20 Highland 51, Goldendale 48 Hood River Valley at McKay, ppd. to tonight The Dalles at Glencoe, ppd. Columbia at LaCenter, ppd. to tonight Seton Catholic at Stevenson, ppd. Damascus Christian at Horizon Christian, ppd. Nixyaawii at Sherman, ppd. Sunnyside Christian at Trout Lake, ppd.

Two-Hour Delay North Wasco County School District 21 St. Mary’s Academy   Other Mid-Columbia Children’s Council The Dalles Head Start two-hour delay…morning class 10:00 to 1:30 with no afternoon class. Petersburg Head Start is closed today (UPDATE). Stevenson-Carson School District buses on snow route (classes on time) Klickitat School District buses on snow route (classes on time) Hood River Valley Christian Church Thrift Store is closed today.  

The Dalles City Council, acting in its capacity as the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency, approved an exclusive negotiating agreement between the agency and Tokola Properties of Gresham to turn the former Tony’s Town and Country building in downtown The Dalles into a mixed-use development.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says if the negotiation is successful, the development would include both apartments and retail.  Tokola was the only firm to respond to a Request for Qualifications on the project, and the firm’s website says it is focused on creating and managing mixed-use developments in the Northwest.  Agency documents indicate the cost of the property is $450,000, and is currently held under a purchase agreement between the URA and the property owners.  The sale needs to be finished by March 1.  The agreement indicates Tokola has requested public financial participation in the project, but that would be subject to negotiation.

The Oregon Food Bank is talking to community members and local governmental officials about establishing a regional food bank for Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman counties.  Mid-Columbia Community Action closed its regional food bank in The Dalles that supplied food pantries in the area at the end of November, and the Oregon Food Bank assumed those operations.  OFB Rural Communities Liaison Sharon Thornberry said the needs of a regional food bank facility have changed in recent years with an emphasis on fresh produce.  Thornberry says the facility would probably cost two to four million dollars depending on the size and scope, and most have been paid for through community fundraising and grants from foundations.

Blasting will occur over the next two weeks on property at the end of River Trail Way in the Port of The Dalles Industrial Area.  It’s to remove rock outcroppings that could not be excavated with heavy equipment to prepare the site for construction.  The City of The Dalles has approved a blasting plan.  Signage and traffic control measures will be set up along River Road and River Trail Way during the work, which will take place between January 5 and January 13.

The North Wasco County School District 21 board will hold a worksession next week to discuss how to proceed with planning what kind of facilities they would seek to ask district patrons to fund through a future bond measure.  Superintendent Candy Armstrong says the district needs to narrow down the options to do a meaningful site analysis, adding the district is pushing the issue, with the board expressing an interest in a May 2017 bond measure.  She noted D-21 has not passed a bond measure since its formation.  The worksession will take place on January 13, but a location has not yet been determined.