The Sherman County Sheriff’s Office says an off-duty deputy from the Northern Oregon Correctional Facility helped prevent a driver who had been in a motor vehicle accident on Highway 97 from jumping off a cliff. According to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office, crews responded to the crash Wednesday afternoon just south of Biggs Junction on Highway 97, and the incident turned into a report of the driver threating to jump. Officers found the driver up the side of a hill near a cliff. The Sheriff’s Office statement says off-duty NORCOR Deputy Nathan Christensen was passing by when he saw what was going on, and went to help the distraught driver. Christensen walked the driver back down the hill without further incident. The Oregon State Police is investigating the crash.
October 11 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Football
The Dalles 14, Parkrose 12: The Riverhawks moved to 2-1 in the Tri-Valley Conference with the victory.
Boys Soccer
Hood River Valley 3, Wilsonville 2
Girls Soccer
Wilsonville 7, Hood River Valley 0
Volleyball
Putnam def. Hood River Valley 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-8
Wilsonville def. Hood River Valley 25-10, 25-10, 25-15
Cross Country
Hood River Valley topped both Putnam and Canby in both the boys and girls races in a three-way Northwest Oregon Conference meet at Putnam. HRV’s Kai Wagner was the individual winner in the boys’ race, while Syl Perrin’s second place finish led the Eagle girls, who grabbed places second to sixth.
The Dalles girls were second and the boys third at the Estacada Invitational. The Riverhawks’ Alana Casady was second in the girls’ race, while Tyson Long of The Dalles was fifth in the boys’ run.
Columbia won the girls’ race and LaCenter took the boys’ run in a Trico League dual meet in White Salmon. Lilah Zimmerman of CHS was the girls’ victor, while Noah Slayton was the top Bruin finisher in the boys’ race in fifth.
Stevenson’s girls were second and the boys third in a four-school race at King’s Way Christian. The Bulldogs’ Daisy Jones was fourth in the girls’ race, with Leavitt Woodall-Schaeffer the top Stevenson finisher among the boys in 20th.
Seven-Year Mark For Hood River STR Regulations Arrives Friday
A milestone date in the City of Hood River’s short-term rental regulations will arrive on Friday. That will mark the seventh anniversary of their adoption, and that will end the amortization period for 60 licenses that involved pre-existing non-conforming uses. City Planning Director Dustin Nilsen says those primarily involved home ownership and primary residency. Nilsen said all affected license holders have been notified by mail. He added that this marks the end of the implementation phase of the STR licenses.
Governor’s Housing Council Entering Final Weeks Of Work
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council is in to its final weeks developing recommendations towards creating 36,000 housing starts per year. Mid-Columbia Housing Authority Executive Director Joel Madsen has been on the group’s Land Availability and Finance subcommittees. He says one proposal that is making it through the process is to leverage state-owned and leased lands available for housing production, and they are also looking at publicly-owned lands in general. The advisory council is to have its recommendations to the governor finished by the end of the year.
HR Council To Have Consultant Analyze Bond Options
The Hood River City Council approved moving ahead with hiring a consultant to analyze the City’s capital project needs and recommend bond and financing options. The City will be contracting with D.A. Davidson & Co. for up to $20,000. Municipal Finance Director Christopher Longinetti told the Council the focus will be to understand what they don’t know as they consider the pipeline of capital projects they have and what Council wants to pursue. The Council also approved a $59,870 contract with FCS Group to complete an analysis of municipal systems development charges for water, wastewater, stormwater, and transportation.
HR Health Department Reminding Parents About Vaccinations
The Hood River County Health Department is reminding parents to begin to get their children’s vaccinations up to date before the state begins its school exclusion process. Department Director Trish Elliott says that process begins next month with schools beginning to review records to determine the vaccination needs of each student. The exclusion date in Oregon schools will be February 24. All children who are not up-to-date or complete on their immunizations will be excluded from their school or child care facility on that date.
October 10 Prep Sports Scoreboard
Volleyball
The Dalles def. Madras 25-17, 25-12, 25-16
King’s Way Christian def. Stevenson 3-0
Lyle-Wishram def. Horizon Christian 13-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 15-1
Condon def. Sherman 25-17, 18-25, 29-27, 25-21
South Wasco def. Dufur 23-25, 25-19, 25-22, 26-28, 15-10
Goldendale def. White Swan 3-0
Boys Soccer
Livingstone Adventist 4, Trout Lake-Glenwood 2
Girls Soccer
Goldendale 3, Mabton 1
Trout Lake-Glenwood 1, Corbett 0
Cross Country
Goldendale’s boys easily won the team standings in an eight school meet at an EWAC Meet in Pasco. Sean Henriksen was second and Raymond Holycross was third to lead the Timberwolves. In the girls’ race, Goldendale’s Emma Meagher was the individual winner.
City of The Dalles Establishing IT Department
The Dalles City Council approved establishing an Information Technology Department. City Manager Matthew Klebes requested the reorganizational move, noting IT has been in the City Clerk’s office. Now IT will be its own department with a director that will report directly to the City Manager. Klebes says they will be adding a full-time Systems Administrator at a cost of just over $105,000 in the annual budget, but adds the City’s reliance on its IT infrastructure makes this an important change to undertake. Klebes notes it’s important the City protect itself as best it can from the sort of cyberattacks other municipalities have dealt with.
Sherman County Justice Takes Steps On Speeding
Sherman County’s Justice of the Peace is mandating in-person hearings for all citations of vehicles identified as exceeding the speed limit by over 30 miles per hour. In a statement, Justice of the Peace Shandie Johnson says she has seen an increase in those kind of citations over the last few months. If an individual is found guilty of being 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit within Sherman County and has received at least one prior conviction for speeding in the prior 12 months, then a 30-day suspension of driving privileges will be issued, along with a fine and a mandate to attend a traffic safety education course. Johnson adds there has been an increase in citations for speeds over 100 miles per hour on Interstate 84 and Highway 97, and those will now be subject to up to a 90 day suspension based on the individual’s driving record.
Highway Delays Around White Salmon
Daytime travelers who use Highways 14, 141 and 142 near White Salmon at the Skamania and Klickitat County lines, should plan for potential delays. Starting Tuesday, Washington State Department of Transportation’s contract crews will start work to improve stormwater drainage in that area. This work involves targeted stormwater quality retrofits using vegetated filter strips for the purpose of improving highway runoff stormwater quality. Travelers can expect daytime single lane and shoulder closures with flaggers along both directions on Highway 14 between milepost 31.5 near Franz Road and milepost 36.2 near Hardy Creek, on Highway 141 between milepost 5.5 near Powerhouse Road and milepost 6.2 near Campbell Road, and on Highway 142 between milepost 5 near Rivervista Drive and milepost 8. Expect delays of up to 20 minutes when flaggers are present. The project is scheduled for completion this winter.