The holidays can be a challenging time for those who have recently lost a loved one.  Providence Hospice of the Gorge chaplain Jan Schiering says it can be a very stressful period, and she tells those facing that situation to simplify.  Schiering says it is important to focus on determining what’s really meaningful to you, share your needs with your loved ones, and perhaps have a checklist to determine what you really want to do during the holiday and remove some of the stress from it.  Schiering says there are grief groups for adults and youngsters that meet regularly in both The Dalles and Hood River that can provide support.  Call 541-387-6449 for more information.

Roger Kline has been tabbed to be the new general manager at Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District.  Kline has worked in the energy industry for more than 22 years, holding positions in enterprise risk, generation operations, maintenance and senior management.  He comes from the Eugene Water & Electric Board, and has held positions with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Calpine Corporation, Texas Independent Energy, Solar Turbines Inc., and the United States Navy.  Kline takes over for the retiring Dwight Langer, who spent 23 years in the position.

Girls Basketball The Dalles 56, Wilson 41:  The Riverhawks win their first game of the season after opening with two losses.

72-hour rainfall totals from the National Weather Service illustrate the strength of the storms that have come through the region the past three days.  Those statistics show just over nine inches of rain had fallen in North Bonneville, eight-point-four inches at Kingsley Reservoir, slightly over eight inches at Buck Creek, six-point-two inches at Dee Flat, five-and-a-half inches on Middle Mountain, four-point-seven inches at Tucker Bridge, three-and-two-third inches at the Hood River Agricultural Station and at Pine Grove, and three-and-one-tenths of an inch in Hood River and in Underwood.  All of the readings are as of early this morning.

Wasco County Commissioners may try again to hold a discussion on options how to best handle building code services.  An evening session during wintry weather last week drew only one person, but County Commissioner Steve Kramer said it may be worth rescheduling to give others a chance to comment.  Mid-Columbia Council of Governments currently handles those services, and Commissioners are trying to determine whether to continue with that, take them in-house, or seek another outside entity to do it.

Local health officials are reminding parents to make sure their school-age children have their immunizations up to date with the annual exclusion date looming in February.  Trish Elliott of the Hood River County Health Department says schools are beginning to review their immunization records now, and will submit their reports to County health departments by January 13.  Students whose immunization records are not up to date by February 17 will be taken out of school.

Public works and utility crews have been busy in Hood River County since last night’s rain and wind brought down trees and branches.  There were scattered power outages throughout the County during the early morning hours.  Hood River County Sheriff Matt English says a tree fell and hit an apartment building on 1585 9th Street in Hood River, and a tree also hit a house on Highway 35 near Hanel Mill.  Country Club Road between Barrett Drive and Riordan Hill was expected to be closed for most of the day due to a downed power line and tree issues.  Klickitat PUD worked through the night to repair outages in the areas of Little Mountain Road, Northwestern Lake, Highway 141, Lyle-Snowden, McGowan, and Bertha Orchard area of Appleton.

Boys Basketball LaSalle 64, Hood River Valley 56 Barlow 84, The Dalles 66 Kalama 60, Columbia 29 Ridgefield 73, Stevenson 45 Dufur 62, Culver 36 South Wasco 63, Lyle-Wishram 42 City Christian 57, Horizon Christian 39 Klickitat-Glenwood 41, Open Door 32 Southwest Christian 67, Trout Lake 40   Girls Basketball Putnam 43, Hood River Valley 20 Ridgefield 40, Stevenson 24 Culver 41, Dufur 24 Lyle-Wishram 53, South Wasco 16 Horizon Christian 35, City Christian 24 Trout Lake 25, Southwest Christian 23 White Swan 55, Goldendale 36

Crews are dealing with storm related issues in Hood River County this morning.  The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office is reporting Country Club Road is closed from Barrett Drive to Riordan Hill due to downed trees and power lines.  A tree has been reported falling into a house on Frankton Road…and another on an apartment in the Heights area, with no injuries reported.  Cascade Locks is reported to be having a power outage at this time, and there are sporadic power outages in the Hood River area.  Sheriff’s dispatch says Pacific Power crews are out working to restore power where there has been outages.  There have been no flooding issues reported on the Hood River as of early this morning.

The Hood River County Planning Commission will receive code language to regulate short-term rentals sometime in January.  Planning Commissioners spent Monday evening being brought up to speed on the direction Councilors gave for developing the code.  Last month, Councilors reached consensus on wanting to put regulations in place for the short-term rentals, and to seek a cap on the number of permits to issue for them at current levels, with no cap on short-term rentals of rooms in primary residences.  City Planning Director Cindy Walbridge said commissioners did not deliberate on anything, nor will they until a public hearing early in 2016.  Walbridge notes the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development must receive notice 35 days in advance of the hearing.