New signs on the Hood River waterfront will help emergency responders reduce the time it takes to reach those in need.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says nine new graphic signs have different numeric designations for those who call for emergency help to use.  The Port worked with the Hood River Fire Department to put the emergency location signs up.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has activated a new gate at the exit from eastbound Interstate 84 to Multnomah Falls that will close when the parking lot is full to prevent dangerous backups onto the freeway travel lanes.  The parking lot exceeds capacity several times a year, especially on weekends, and cars waiting for parking spaces sometimes back up onto the eastbound I-84 travel lanes, creating a safety hazard.  ODOT has installed a gate that will close automatically when the parking lot is full.  It is accompanied by signs announcing the closure.   In addition, two large message boards will notify eastbound motorists when the parking lot is closed.  The first deployment of the gate is expected to take place over the coming Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden is calling the VA Management Accountability Act that passed the House a much-needed plan to bring accountability to senior Veterans Administration managers.  The Hood River Republican co-sponsored the measure, and he says the Senate should pass it as quickly as possible.  Walden says the latest numbers from the Portland V-A office shows 62 percent of veterans’ claims are older than 125 days.

Softball Mac-Hi 1,  Hood River Valley 0:  The Eagles could not generate a run in the tune-up game for the state playoffs for both teams.  HRV’s ten-game winning streak was snapped with the loss, which does not impact the final Class 5-A RPI rankings, which were frozen on Monday.  The second-ranked Eagles will host a first round state playoff game next Wednesday. Southwest Washington Class 1-A District Softball Tournament at Centralia Hoquiam 18, Stevenson 3 LaCenter 7, Stevenson 1

One incumbent Wasco County Commissioner won re-election while a second faces a run-off in November as a result of the results in last night’s primary vote.  Bridget Bailey narrowly edged incumbent Rod Runyon in the three-way race for Commission position three with over 45 percent of the vote with 2,054, while Runyon received just under 45 percent with 2,026, and Chuck Langley polled 406.  Because no candidate received a majority of the vote the top two, Bailey and Runyon, will be on the ballot in November.  For position one, Scott Hege received just over 64 percent of the vote, polling 2,780 votes to 1,532 for challenger Nora Ferguson.  Hege won election to his second four-year term on the Commission.  It was a light night for local contested races.  John Huffman received over 90 percent of the vote to win the Republican nomination for his Oregon House seat in District 59 over Britt Storkson, and there was no Democrat on the ballot.  Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden won the GOP nomination by a three-to-one margin over Klamath County Commissioner Dennis Linthecum, while Aelea Christofferson received over 62 percent of the Democrat vote to advance to November over two other hopefuls.  And in Cascade Locks ballot measure 14-52 to create an Emergency Medical Services fee was approved by a count of 138-to-78.

A recovery mission was launched this morning to retrieve the body of Robert Cormier, the climber from New Jersey who died in a fall on the top of Mt. Hood.  Members of the Hood River Crag Rats and Portland Mountain Rescue started from both Timberline Lodge and Cloud Cap at about 1 a.m., with one team ascending from the south side of the mountain to where Cormier fell and reaching him at about 6:45 a.m.  Hood River County Sheriff’s Sergeant Pete Hughes says that group is working to find a safe route to bring Cormier’s body to the north side team, which would then bring him to cloud Cap.  Conditions on the mountain this week have allowed the teams to make the recovery.  While the mission is still very dangerous, cooler temperatures and good wind conditions have made today’s efforts significantly safer than the prior week.

Golf Illiana Telles of The Dalles shot an 84 on Tuesday to finish eighth in the Oregon Class 5-A girls’ golf tournament at Emerald Valley Golf Course in Creswell.  Telles ended up at 32-over-par for the tournament.  Madison Odiorne of Summit was the champion at 14-over-par.   Dan Kuechmann of Hood River Valley fired a 78 in the final round of the Oregon Class 5-A boys’ golf tournament and move up to a tie for 32nd at Quail Valley in Banks.  Kuechmann was 21-over-par for the two rounds of the tourney.  Chase Snodgrass of The Dalles shot a 93 on Tuesday to finish at 29-over and in a tie for 49th.  Crescent Valley’s Kevin Genzia won the tourney at three-over-par.   Goldendale’s Bree Wanderscheid won the SCAC girls’ golf title for a fourth straight year while leading the Timberwolves to the team championship.  Wanderscheid shot a three-over-par 75 on the Suncadia Rope Rider course to win by eight shots.  Three Goldendale boys qualified for state as the Timberwolves finished third as a team:  Mitch Anderson, Bryce Wilkins, and Daniel Wedgewood.   Washington Class 1-A Boys Soccer Tournament First Round University Prep 5, Columbia 2:  University Prep scored the first four goals of the match and never looked back in the game in Bellevue.  Columbia’s Ivan Cortes scored both of the goals for the Bruins.   Baseball The Dalles 12, Madison 11, 8 innings:  Nolan McCall’s bases loaded single scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning and capped off an Eagle-Indian comeback from an 11-6 deficit in the sixth inning.  McCall went five for six on the day, while Ausin Wilson had three hits and Steven Bartells drove in three runs.  The Dalles will host Marist in a Class 5-A play-in game on Friday at 5 p.m.

Final preliminary Wasco County Commission election results: Position 1 Scott Hege…2,780…64% Nora Ferguson…1,532…35% Position 3 Bridget Bailey…2,054…45.6% Rod Runyon…2,026…45% Chuck Langley…406…9% Bailey and Runyon advance to a runoff in November.

About 600 Pacific Power customers in Mosier will experience a six-hour electric service outage from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday so crews can replace a storm-damaged pole and key connectors, and tighten the primary wire to keep it stable in high winds.  In addition, new equipment will be installed near Mosier School where a semi-truck recently struck a pole that should allow Pacific Power to speed up restoration of power in future outages by shifting the power supply from other facilities.  Those customers directly affected have been notified individually.   In addition, Wasco County will make reverse 911 calls to the impacted area.   It is possible high winds forecast in the area could cause the work to be delayed for another time.   If that occurs, Pacific Power will again notify customers about the re-scheduled work.

Hood River County and Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers will be applying to the National Rural Conservation Service’s Conservation Innovation Grant program to purchase an air curtain burner.  County Administrator David Meriwether says it’s an effort to dispose of orchard waste in a more environmentally friendly manner by eliminating air emissions when orchards wastes are burned.  Meriwether noted a couple of dozen orchards have signed on to participate.  In other business, the County transferred ownership of the History Museum of Hood River County to the recently formed Hood River County Heritage Council, which is a non-profit that will take on the role of financially supporting the museum’s mission, while utility and facility needs will still be overseen by County Public Works.