This year’s Bing cherry crop in the Mid-Columbia has been hurt by both freeze damage to trees in November and the hot temperatures of last week.  Oregon State University Extension Agent Lynn Long told Wasco County Commissioners that the heat arrived just as the Bings, which is the predominant cherry variety in the region, were ripening.  He says that stressed the fruit, reducing fruit size.  But Long points out later varieties being picked now are sizing well and were not impacted by the heat, so he’s hopeful the overall crop will be of very good quality.  Long noted early varieties were of excellent quality, even though crop size will be down by about 50 percent this year.  Kevin McIntyre of the Farm Service Agency said Wasco County has received a federal disaster declaration for drought, which will make all farm producers eligible to receive relief, while an application for a freeze damage declaration has been submitted.

Hood River County is studying an upgrade to its emergency communications system.  County Administrator David Meriwether says they are trying to eliminate dead spots in the law enforcement radio system.  Meriwether says the problem is particularly noticeable when officers use their portable radios.  He adds many of the dead spots are in the Upper Valley.  Meriwether says a company has preformed a study of what the County already has with the hopes of improving the coverage over the next couple of years, probably through the use of repeaters.

Mid-Columbia Community Action is in the process of receiving a $300,000 grant from the federal Supportive Services for Veteran Families program.  Community Action’s Jim Slusher says the money earmarked to help identify and bring help to homeless veterans in Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties.  Slusher says they are in the process of hiring a person to oversee the program and do outreach.  The grant will provide three years of funding for the program.

The new swimming pool at the Northern Wasco County Aquatic Center at Thompson Park has passed health department inspections, and will be ready for its grand opening on Saturday.  Scott Hege has been overseeing construction of the pool for the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District, and said the inspections took place Tuesday.  Hege says the fence around the pool was finished Tuesday morning.  The grand opening ceremonies are planned for 1 p.m. Saturday.

Hood River County Commissioners are planning to hold a special meeting next Wednesday (June 24) to discuss a drought declaration.  County Administrator David Meriwether says all water and irrigation system stakeholders will be invited to take part in the meeting, adding the Commission has been receiving requests for the drought declaration.  The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. June 24 at the Westside Fire Department’s Rockford station.  

The Dalles City Council held a town hall meeting Monday evening on downtown economic development.  The City’s group that has been at the forefront of efforts to bring business to the downtown district spoke to the group, with Economic Development Director Gary Rains saying they have put together deals involving seven buildings in recent months.  Mayor Steve Lawrence noted there are two breweries coming to downtown in the very near future, with both currently in the City planning process.  Lawrence added he feels the City needs to do a better job of telling citizens about the work they are doing downtown, and the success he feels they are beginning to have.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says he will hold up the full Senate proceeding to vote on the nomination of Monica Regalbuto as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management until the Energy Department takes “concrete action” to address both the culture of hostility toward Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers and the department’s failure to clean up any high-level radioactive nuclear waste after 25 years and billions of dollars spent at the site.  After questioning Regalbuto during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Wyden said he would vote in favor of reporting the nomination out of committee, but wants to see the Energy Department take corrective action to make changes at Hanford.  Wyden did say he felt Regalbuto is very qualified to lead the Office of Environmental Management.

A single-wide mobile home was destroyed in a fire Monday morning at Viewpoint Trailer Park in The Dalles.  Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue Chief Bob Palmer says the fire was caused by an electrical failure in a fan…and when firefighters arrived the home was fully involved.  Palmer says crews from Dallesport, the Oregon Department of Forestry, and the U.S. Forest Service were brought in to protect adjacent wildland areas.  The man who lived in the home was unhurt in the fire.

Hood River County Commissioners will consider a resolution on oil trains going through the Gorge at their meeting in July.  Commissioners directed staff to draw up a resolution at their Monday night meeting.  County Administrator David Meriwether says Commissioners are looking at various resolutions already done by different Gorge entities and being moderate in approach.  In other business, the County approved its budget for the 2015-16 FiscalYear.  

Oregon’s unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.3 percent in May compared with 5.2 percent in April.   This kept the state’s rate close to the national level, with the U.S. unemployment rate at 5.5 percent in May.  Payroll employment growth paused in May, posting a seasonally adjusted decline of 1,400, the first monthly drop since September 2012.  Despite the one-month decline in jobs, payroll employment was still up substantially over the year, having added 50,500 jobs since May of last year.  Taking a breather from rapid growth in recent months, most industries hired close to their normal, seasonal numbers of jobs in May.