Crack sealing work will continue next week on a number of residential streets in The Dalles.  Starting Monday work is planned on Quinton, Columbia View, East Knoll, Summit Ridge, Veterans, Sherman, Wasco, East 15^th, East 16^th, East 17^th, Nevada, Montana, View Court, River View, J, and East 13th streets.  Residents in the area asked to remove all vehicles from the street between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. to allow workers access to the entire street width.  Flaggers will be in place.  Those with questions should call 541-480-0168.

Repairs to a broken water main on Union Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in The Dalles are finished, but the street will remain closed for one to two weeks.  That’s to allow the soil to dry sufficiently for repairs to be made to the street surface.  Motorists are encouraged to use Court Street or Liberty Street as alternate routes.   The break in the main caused high flows in some areas of the distribution system that resulted in stirred up sediments in the lines and some customers experienced discolored water.  City crews have flushed the system to correct the issue.   Samples have been collected and analyzed indicating that the water is safe to use.  The water main that broke was a 10-inch cast iron pipe that was constructed prior to 1900.

A fire burning on private and Bureau of Land Management southeast of Maupin near Bakeoven Creek is now at 30 percent containment.  The Oven Fire has burned 1,000 acres in short grass and brush, and was human caused but no specifics have been announced at this point.  Lisa Clark at the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center indicates no residences or structures are threatened by the fire about two miles southeast of Maupin, adding fire control efforts are going well.  The fire started on Wednesday at about 3 p.m.  Clark says two twenty-person hand crews, two helicopters, and some BLM engines are involved in the firefighting effort.

Seventh District Circuit Court Judge Janet Stauffer has filed for re-election.  Stauffer was elected to the bench in May, 2010, and was the first woman to serve as Circuit Court Judge in the District.  The bulk of Stauffer’s work involves criminal and juvenile matters in Wasco County.  However she also travels to Sherman, Wheeler and Gilliam Counties and covers matters in Hood River County as needed.  Stauffer volunteers on several judicial committees and was elected to the Oregon Circuit Court Judges Executive Committee where she will serve as President-Elect.  The judicial district encompasses Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler Counties.

It will be Huckleberry Festival weekend in Bingen’s Daubenspeck Park.  The event gets underway Friday evening and continues through Sunday afternoon, with entertainment and children’s activities planned all weekend long.  Chris Connolly says the annual parade through Bingen will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday.  Alan and Karen Patrick will be this year’s grand marshals.  The annual fireman’s huckleberry pancake breakfast starts at 6 a.m. Saturday in the fire hall on 119 NE Church Street.  Complete schedule information is available at huckleberry-fest.com.

Friends of the Columbia Gorge and Save Our Scenic Area are asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a recent Bonneville Power Administration decision to approve the Whistling Ridge Energy Project’s application to connect to the BPA’s energy grid.  The Whistling Ridge Project would be located on forested ridgelines in Skamania County near Underwood overlooking the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.  The two organizations claim the BPA failed to adequately review the environmental impacts of the proposed energy project.  Two years ago, most elements of an appeal of the state’s decision to permit the project were rejected by the Washington State Supreme Court, even though the court did say the state needed to make decisions on some aspects of the project.

Krystyna Wolniakowski has been tabbed to be the new Executive Director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission.  Wolniakowski has been serving as the Gorge Commission’s interim executive director since Darren Nichols announced his resignation earlier this year.  Commission Vice-Chair Bowen Blair praised her performance during the past five months “as a highly effective and collaborative leader who managed the agency during this interim period with a calm demeanor and extensive outreach to partners, the Governor’s offices of both states, and with elected officials.”   Wolniakowski led the Western Partnership Office of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Portland for more than 14 years as Regional Director, creating and managing conservation grant-making programs in seven Western states.  Her work included the launch of the Washington State Community Salmon Fund, the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund, and the Oregon Governors Fund for the Environment.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden is hoping this season’s large wildfires throughout the West will be the tipping point to bring concrete changes to federal forest management policy.  The Hood River Republican pointed out at one point in August the three worst fires in America were burning in his district.  Walden believes a better job has to be done to remove the fuels that are making wildfires more devastating than they have to be.  Walden says the House has passed forest management bills for three straight years that he believes would begin to deal with the problem, but the Senate has taken no action.

The Dalles and Wasco County Public Works crews are painting the center and side lines on main streets today and Thursday.  In recent years, paint with low “volatile organic chemicals” has been used in order to protect the environment, but it dries more slowly than paint used in previous years, so extra precautions are needed to give the paint time to dry.  Motorists are asked to watch for the crews and avoid driving on the wet paint.  The paint truck will be preceded and followed by warning vehicles, with signs calling attention to the wet paint.  The trucks will be spaced according to the drying time of the paint, which takes 4 minutes at best and longer under humid or cooler temperatures.  Attempting to pass or drive between the trucks will result in a messy striping job and paint damage to the motorist’s vehicle.

The Hood River County Health Department and the Salvation Army are partnering to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for families that need them.  The Health Department’s Trish Elliott says they have 200 backpacks available on a first come, first serve basis for families in need.  They are available by visiting the Hood River County Health Department office at 1109 June Street in Hood River.