Two people have been arrested in the death of a Hood River man was killed Friday afternoon after being hit by a truck following a confrontation with someone he had caught stealing property from his vehicle. Hood River Police Chief Neal Holste says 36-year-old William Edward Hardy Jr. and 41-year-old Elizabeth June Bowman were arrested on Saturday were booked and lodged at NORCOR on charges of second degree manslaughter, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, first degree theft, and first degree robbery. Holste says 38-year-old Stephen Hayes was found laying in the roadway in the area of 5th and June at around 3:45 Friday afternoon. The Hood River Fire Department attempted life saving measures, but Hayes was pronounced deceased a short time later. Holste said upon further investigation, officers found Hayes confronted a person who was stealing property from his vehicle, and was mortally injured while the suspect vehicle attempted to flee the scene. That vehicle was described as a white truck with an extended cab. Holste says the investigation is on-going. Anyone with information is asked to call Hood River Police Detective Erin Mason at 541-387-5257.
April 10 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Philomath 6, The Dalles 4: Philomath scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to win it. The Riverhawks hurt themselves by issuing 12 walks in the game. Will Booth had a double and drove in two runs for The Dalles.
King’s Way Christian 12, Columbia 1
LaCenter 24, Stevenson 0
Softball
Hood River Valley 5, The Dalles 3: Grace Rowan went four for four with a home run and two doubles, and drove in three runs, and struck out eight in the circle to lead the Eagles to their fourth win in a row.
Columbia 12, King’s Way Christian 2: Julia Mullinix went three for three and scored three times as the Bruins scored in all five innings.
Boys Soccer
LaCenter 1, Columbia 1
Seton Catholic 1, Stevenson 0
Superintendent Advises HR School Board Of Recommended Reductions
The Hood River County School Board heard from Superintendent Bill Newton personnel reductions planned as the district seeks to balance its budget for the 2025-26 school year in the face of declining enrollment and increasing costs. Those cuts include the full time equivalent of six-and-a-half elementary school teaching positions, two-and-a-half at middle schools, and just over four teaching positions at Hood River Valley High School. Cuts are also proposed to instructional coaches and classified positions, and a reduction of two-and-a-third district-wide positions plus an executive director already announced. Newton told the board he was particularly disappointed with reducing the instructional coach positions. Newton says the reduction in force process is underway, with notifications to be done next week. The district’s budget committee will begin to meet later this month.
April 9 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Hood River Valley 9, Corvallis 0: Trevor Jacobs and Nick Tuttle drove in two runs apiece as the Eagles used a seven-run sixth inning to blow the game open. Bodie Stuben pitched four-hit scoreless ball over six innings while Jacobs finished the shutout in the seventh.
Umatilla 10, Sherman 3: The Vikings scored eight runs in the last two innings to pull out the win. Leven Whitbeck and Drake Dark had two hits apiece for the Huskies.
Goldendale 14, Riverside Christian 2: Jackson Gamble, Josh Boe, and Wyatt Bolton drove in two runs each for the Timberwolves.
Softball
Hood River Valley 17, Corvallis 12: The Eagles scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to come from behind to win. Kenadie Lucas went five for five with two doubles, while Isa Rivera drove in four runs.
Columbia 13, King’s Way Christian 12: Joella Posini’s two-run triple in the bottom of the fifth inning scored the game-winning runs for the Bruins.
Track & Field
Wyatt Droege won three events and Omar Sedano and Jacob Smith won two each as Hood River Valley’s boys won a Northwest Oregon Conference dual meet at Putnam. Putnam won the girls’ matchup, as Georgiana Williams and Savina Davis each won two events for HRV.
Crook County came out on top in both the boys and girls portions of a three-school Tri-Valley Conference meet at Sid White Field. Willow Ziegenhagen had two wins for the Riverhawk girls, while six different athletes earned first place finishes for The Dalles’ boys.
Columbia’s girls were second to Seton Catholic in a four-school Trico League meet at LaCenter. Sara Miller won three events for the Bruins. The CHS boys finished fourth in their half of the meet.
Boys Tennis
The Dalles 7, Estacada 1
Grant 8, Hood River Valley 0
Girls Tennis
Grant 4, Hood River Valley 4
Williams Gives HR County Commission Budget Message
The Hood River County Commission held a worksession on Tuesday to discuss budget philosophy as they head into planning for fiscal year 2025-26 and beyond. In her budget message, County Administrator Allison Williams says there is a lot of long-term planning that needs to be done. Williams says this year’s budget will be about maintaining what the County has. She says the wildcard in this year’s fiscal planning is what is happening at the federal level, noting the County started a number of years ago to access as many grant resources as possible. Another issue: increases in Public Employees Retirement System costs and other rising costs of doing business.
Justesen Seeks To Restart Wolf Compensation Committee
Wasco County Commissioner Jeff Justesen says he’s trying to restart a wolf compensation committee. There had been a panel ten years ago that had some momentum, but it then dropped off. Justesen says it is time to bring it back with increased wolf activity in the southern portion of the County. He says they would work closely with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to show the need for the group. Justesen says the state can be reluctant to give specifics on where wolves are roaming. But he points out sightings have occurred not just in the remote southern parts of the County, but in the Dufur and Maupin areas as well.
April 8 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Pendleton 5, The Dalles 0: Evan Lehnert twirled a three-hit shutout for the Buckaroos, striking out nine.
King’s Way Christian 18, Columbia 8: A nine-run second inning for the Knights was the difference. Wyatt Stelma had three hits and three runs batted in to pace the Bruins offense.
LaCenter 30, Stevenson 0
Softball
Pendleton 7, The Dalles 2: The Buckaroos got off to a quick lead and never trailed. Maddie Brock hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for the Riverhawks.
Track and Field
Stevenson’s girls topped Fort Vancouver and King’s Way Christian in a Trico League meet. Olivia Fauth won two events for the Bulldogs. The Stevenson boys were second to King’s Way. Matthew Troller had a first and a second for the Bulldogs.
Boys Volleyball
Parkrose def. Hood River Valley 25-17, 25-13, 25-15
Judge Upholds Hood River STR Ordinance
A federal judge has upheld a requirement in the City of Hood River’s short-term rental ordinances requiring that STR license holders in residential zones either reside on the property as their primary residence or have a designated lessee who does. A group of homeowners challenged the law, arguing the ordinance’s residency requirement violates the Dormant Commerce Clause by discriminating against out-of-state homeowners, thereby limiting their ability to participate in the vacation rental market. Federal District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson ruled the threshold requirement of showing that the ordinances impose a substantial burden on interstate commerce was not reached. She added the Court “accepts the explanation provided in the ordinances that their purpose is to ensure housing supply, promote quality of life, avoid clusters of vacation rentals, and reduce hardship on out-of-state property owners.” Mayor Paul Blackburn said the City was pleased with the court’s decision.
Child Dies, Others Injured In Highway 97 Accident
A seven-year-old died and a four-year-old was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on Friday night on Highway 97 in southern Wasco County. The Oregon State Police says a preliminary investigation indicated a southbound Honda CRV, operated by 34-year-old Eduardo Enrique Aguirre of Spokane, attempted to pass a commercial motor vehicle in a no-passing zone near milepost 65 just after 9 p.m. and struck a northbound Volkswagen Atlas, operated by 45-year-old Eric Daniel Smidt of Pendleton, head-on. A seven-year-old boy in Aguirre’s car was transported by Lifeflight and later declared deceased. Aguirre and another young passenger in his vehicle, a four-year-old boy, were seriously injured and transported to an area hospital for treatment. Smidt and his passengers, 46-year-old Heather Marie Smidt and a 15-year-old boy, were also seriously injured and transported to an area hospital for treatment. The highway was impacted for approximately five hours during the on-scene investigation. The OSP says an unlawful pass is considered a primary cause of the crash. OSP was assisted by the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and ODOT.
Snowpack In Hood-Sandy-Lower Deschutes Basin Near Normal
Snowpack in the Hood-Sandy-Lower Deschutes basin is now at 94 percent of normal. That’s within the 90 percent to 110 percent parameter the Oregon Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Survey labels as “near normal.” Supervisory Hydrologist Matt Warbritton says significant accumulation in February and March helped bring up snowpack after it had sagged in January. Most of the state is above 100 percent of normal, with eastern Oregon basins well above their averages. Warbritton says storm patterns this year favored southern and eastern Oregon basins, areas that have experienced more long-term drought.