The Columbia Gorge Community College Board of Education has passed its 2015-16 budget.  School officials say the budget will allow existing academic programs to continue while maintaining what they term “below average class sizes and tuition rates.”  Most cuts in the budget have already been implemented, and school officials believe returning students should not notice service level changes compared to the current spring term.  During budget committee work last month, that panel added back funding for a full-time student services employee at the front desk of Hood River’s Indian Creek Campus. Members of that committee told board members administrative overhead needs to be reduced from 30 percent of the budget to 20 percent in the next year.  The budget includes funding to renew the college’s current academic master plan.

The Hood River County School District board approved a budget for the 2015-16 school year.  The budget includes a five percent ending fund balance, but also saw the district spend $800,000 to maintain the current level of programs.  Superintendent Dan Goldman says they created a biennial reserve fund to save for 2016-17 due to the state changing its plan for allocating school funds in the upcoming biennium from 49 percent in the first year and 51 percent in the second to a 50-50 split.  Goldman said if the state allocates more to K-12 funding than expected they would invest it in early literacy efforts, reducing class sizes, and school safety.

The hot temperatures of the early portion of this week provided another challenge for Mid-Columbia cherry growers with harvest in full swing.  Oregon State University extension agent Lynn Long says temperatures up around 100 degrees make it more difficult to get the quality of fruit growers want.  Long points out orchardists take steps to pick the firmest cherries possible, including doing most of the picking in the early morning when the fruit is at its highest quality.  Bing cherries are being picked this week in the Mill Creek and Mosier areas, and starting this weekend in the Hood River Valley.

Fire season was officially declared by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s The Dalles Unit last week, and local officials are bracing for a potentially difficult summer.  ODF’s Kiel Nairns says available resources for fighting fires should be about what they have been the last few years.  Narins says there is a concern about the early hot temperatures combined with strengthening west winds.  He adds the potential already exists in the Gorge for a large fire, and very soon ODF will declare a regulated use closure, which will restrict many activities on lands that agency protects.

The Hood River County Health Department has opened up its school-based health clinic at Hood River Valley High School this week.  Department Director Ellen Larsen says the Oregon Health Authority issued their official notice that the center’s certification application has been approved, and the state will make a site visit next week.  Larsen says they wanted to get the center opened before the school year ended to qualify for two state mental health grants.  The facility is located in a modular building at the west end of Hood River Valley High School.  The center will be open every school day beginning when the 2015-16 school year starts.

The Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District is asking residential customers in the County’s irrigation districts to cut back their water use by 25 percent this summer to help orchardists and make this year’s limited supply of water last longer.  The district’s Anne Saxby says that kind of reduction of water use can go a long way towards helping everyone get through the drought conditions, noting how and when you water lawns and landscaping can help make less water go further.  Avoid watering in the middle part of the day, when temperatures are their hottest.  Saxby points out that it only takes an inch of water a week to sufficiently water a grass lawn, the equivalent of a filling a tuna can.  She adds grass will go dormant in the summer and come back healthy in the fall.  Also, a good layer of mulch on landscaping will help retain moisture.

There are spaces available in a forest collaborative in Wasco County beginning to work on getting a clearing project done in the Rocky Burn area near Wamic.  That area was badly burned in the 1970’s, and County Commissioner Steve Kramer says it needs to be cleaned up to protect the Sportsmen’s Park area from fire.  Kramer says stakeholders are working to formally put together the collaborative so they can apply for about 50-to-60 thousand dollars in state funds to put together the project.  He adds they still need representatives from the forest industry, environmental groups, community wildfire protection, watershed protection, recreation and tourism, private landowners, tribal members, and local, state, and federal agencies.  To take part, call the Wasco County Commission office at 541-506-2520.

Hood River City officials believe the municipal water supply should be fine for this summer, but it’s still not a bad idea to conserve.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says their readings at their water source to this point are down a bit from normal.  Hood River’s water source is a spring on the side of Mt. Hood about 20 miles from the city.  In other business, City Councilors approved the municipal budget for the upcoming fiscal year with no significant changes from what was put together by the budget committee.

The Dalles City Council approved a municipal budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says he is comfortable with the spending plan, noting he feels like the Council changed priorities to meet what citizens want.  Councilors did decide to not give cost of living increases to exempt employees, but also decided to leave health insurance benefits intact rather than following a recommendation to reduce them.  Lawrence says they are going to embark on a study of the best route to take on compensation and insurance issues in the future.

Motorists traveling Interstate 84 near The Dalles should be aware of “rolling slowdowns” that may affect their drive.  As part of a contract with the Bonneville Power Administration, Western Construction crews are using helicopter airlifts to haul transmission lines from the Washington side of the Columbia River to the Oregon side at the Celilo substation adjacent to Highway 97 in The Dalles.  The rolling slowdowns, near the Celilo railroad bridge, are orchestrated to keep the highway clear while helicopter operations take place overhead.  These operations will continue on an intermittent basis, daily except on Fridays, from about 9 a.m. to about 5 p.m. into the month of July.  Operations on Sundays will be from about 7 a.m. until about 3 p.m.   Motorists are advised to drive with caution in the area and be aware of traffic control operations.