Wasco County is forming a Wolf Compensation Committee.  It will be made up of one County Commissioner, two livestock producers, two wolf advocates, and two local businesspersons nominated by the other five members.  County Commissioner Steve Kramer says it’s part of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s wolf program…and he hopes they never have to deal with livestock losses, but the committee needs to be in place to qualify the county for potential funding.  He adds there is a feeling some wolves are now in Wasco County.  Information on how to apply for the committee is available on the Wasco County website, and can be obtained by calling the County Commission office at 541-506-2520.

About one-thousand Pacific Power customers in Sherman County will experience a seven-hour electricity outage beginning at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night while the Bonneville Power Administration works on the transmission system serving the area.  Service should be restored by 5:30 a.m. Friday.  The outage will affect customers in Wasco, Moro, Biggs Junction, Grass Valley, Kent and surrounding areas.  Pacific Power customers in those areas are being notified individually about the outage.   They are also being reminded, as a precaution, to unplug any sensitive electronics during the outage and charge their cell phones before the outage or have extra batteries available.  Customers with questions about the planned outage can call Pacific Power toll free at 1-888-221-7070.  Any outages during that time outside the affected area should continue to be reported to Pacific Power at 1-877-508-5088.

There is one week left to get ballots turned in for the Oregon primary election.  The ballot return rate in Wasco County is just shy of 17 percent, while in Hood River County it is at 12 percent.  Election officials recommend not mailing ballots in after Thursday.  Those who wait past that day should drop their ballots off at designated locations. The deadline for ballots to be received at county election offices or drop boxes is next Tuesday at 8 p.m.  

The filing period for Washington’s August primary elections is underway, and there have been a number of candidates turn in their paperwork.  In Klickitat County, incumbents filing for re-election include assessor Darlene Johnson, auditor Brenda Sorenson, clerk Renea Campbell, and East District Court Judge Rick Hansen.  Other filings include Bob Songer for Sheriff, Greg Gallagher for treasurer, Dave Brown and Jeff Baker for West District Court Judge, and Dan Gunkel and Sherry Carver for PUD Commissioner.  In Skamania County, incumbent Bob Anderson and challenger Bob Hamlin have filed for Commissioner position three, along with two incumbents, clerk Sharon Vance and Sheriff Dave Brown.  In addition, Vickie Clelland has filed for the treasurer’s position.  The filing period continues through Friday.

A fifth-wheel trailer burned late Saturday night in a fire at 1201 East 1st Street near Oregon Cherry Growers in The Dalles.  According to Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue reports, the people who were living in the fifth wheel were outside when they smelled smoke, and when they went inside to investigate found smoke coming out of a closet area.  The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but electrical failure is a possibility.  Nobody was hurt in the fire.  Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue and Dallesport Fire Department crews responded to the call at around 11:45 p.m. Saturday.

Hood River County is starting to plan for the future of the County Courthouse.  County officials are beginning to look into a program from the Oregon Department of Justice that provides for appropriations for courthouse improvements.  County Administrator David Meriwether says an architectural analysis by the state eight years ago put the Hood River County Courthouse 46th out of 48 similar facilities.  Meriwether says they hope to secure funds in the 2017 Legislative session for an analysis of the County’s courthouse needs. The courthouse was built in 1954.  Meriwether says the County will initially ask the state for $350,000 to $500,000 for design costs.

The Mosier Fire District’s public protection classification by the Insurance Services Office has improved.  Many insurance companies use the ISO’s classification ratings as part of the basis for setting premiums, and an improvement in the public protection classification often means lower premiums for property owners.  Improvement in training and equipment for the Mosier Fire Department account for most of the new classifications.  The classification upgrades are in both the City of Mosier and the rest of the fire district.  Mosier Fire Chief Jim Appleton said he is cautiously optimistic the protection classification can see further improvement.

Soroptimist of Hood River will hold its Women of Distinction luncheon on Wednesday at the Hood River Inn’s Gorge Room.  The three women to be honored this year are Jacquie Brown-Barone, who helped found the Hood River Downtown Business Association, provided volunteer landscaping for Hood River’s Waterfront Park and the Willow Ponds neighborhood, and organized many community events, Bette Lou Yenne for her work with the Hood River County Library, FISH Food Bank, and Asbury/Our Redeemer partnership, and Lorinda Hoffman of FISH.  Tickets are available for the event, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.  Cost is $18 and they are available at Waucoma Bookstore or by calling 541-386-3748.

Softball Hood River Valley 10, Pendleton 4:  Annie Veatch and Kayla Byers homered, and Erika Enriquez laced a two-run double in the fourth inning to give the Eagles the lead for good, and pulled them into a tie for first in the Columbia River Conference with the Buckaroos.  Byers struck out 11 and retired the final 10 batters she faced.  HRV has won eight in a row, and are now second in the Oregon Class 5A RPI rankings.   The Dalles 9, Hermiston 6:  Ruthie Ford hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to snap the Eagle-Indians six game losing streak.   Baseball Hermiston 7, The Dalles 4 Hood River Valley at Pendleton, rained out, rescheduled for today Dufur sweeps Condon-Wheeler 10-0 and 21-3:  Trever Tibbets pitched a perfect game in the opener, as the Rangers ran their winning streak to 19 games.   Track and Field The Dalles won nine events and Hood River Valley seven at the Columbia River Conference Last Chance Meet at Sid White Field, as both teams got a final tune-up in before the district meet this coming week.  Zach Nerdin, Katie Conklin, and Yasmin Hill won two events each for The Dalles, while HRV won both girls’ relays.   Sherman won both the boys and girls team titles at the Class 1-A Classic at Portland Christian.  Isaiah Coles won three events for the Husky boys, while Meagan McKinney won two for the Sherman girls.  Horizon Christian was third among the boys and fifth among the girls, while Austin Olson of Dufur won both the boys’ shot put and discus.   South Wasco’s Loreto Morelli, Zoe Morelli, and Katherine Popchock and John Stephens of Lyle-Wishram won two events apiece at the Pirate Invitational in Bickleton.   Goldendale’s boys were third and the girls 13th at the Ron Vanderholm Invitational in Royal City.  Brian Golding won the boys’ 300 meter hurdles and Kenner Milliren the boys’ triple jump for the Timberwolves.   Stevenson’s Madison McCrum finished third in the long jump to highlight the Bulldogs effort at the Spudder Classic in Ridgefield.   Boys Soccer Columbia 2, Montesano 1:  The Bruins advance to the semi-finals of the Southwest Washington Class 1-A District Tournament at Toledo Tuesday.

A recent conference of economic development professionals in the Northwest met with those who help companies find places to locate, and learned there is a bit of trend toward giving greater consideration to rural areas.  Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the companies are finding rural areas have a lower cost of labor while skill sets are still there, and they now have the amenities urban locations have.  The companies also finding a number of smaller locations can be more cost-effective than one large location.  Klaas says she thinks of this as a potential niche for downtown The Dalles, where small offices can be set up that fit this kind of profile.