Single-lane closures on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will take place in late April as crews perform annual deck welding repairs to maintain the bridge’s safety and structural integrity. Work will occur from Monday, April 21, through Friday, April 25, and again from Monday, April 28, through Friday, May 2, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. each day. Flaggers will be present to direct traffic, and drivers should expect delays during these hours, and allow extra time for your commute. Due to the narrow lanes on the bridge, drivers will be strongly urged to proceed slowly and cautiously to ensure the safety of workers. Additionally, motorists should avoid looking directly at the welding arc light when passing through the work zone.
March 28-29 Prep Sports Roundup
Softball
Columbia 14, Fort Vancouver 2: The Bruins scored 12 runs in the third inning to blow the game open. Hallie Kock and Julia Mullinix drove in three runs each for the Bruins.
Boys Soccer
Columbia 6, Toledo 0: The Bruins scored five goals in the first half on the way to their fifth straight win to begin the season.
Mariposa Village Agreements Reached
The Hood River City Council this week approved three agreements that move the deal to construct the Mariposa Village housing project on 780 Rand Road toward closing in mid-April. The agreements with developers Community Development Partners and Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation include the details to construct 129 units of housing affordable at 60% of area median income for the next 60 years. Urban Renewal Administrator Will Norris outlined the timeline the project is now on, with closing in mid-April, construction to start in mid-May, and a projection to finish in 2027. Mariposa Village units will be built to Gold Level National Green Building Standards. Units will be equipped with automatic dishwashers, air-conditioning, and programmable thermostats, and will include onsite trash, recycling, and compost.
Federal Street Vacation Initiated For Plaza
In a step toward establishing a public plaza on Federal Street in downtown The Dalles, the City Council approved beginning a street vacation proceeding for Federal between East 1st and East 2nd. Mayor Rich Mays says when the committee working on the project expects to get a final design at their next meeting. The Federal Street Plaza is envisioned as a gathering hub for community events and cultural activities, and to foster a stronger sense of community and celebrate local heritage. The April 9 committee meeting will be at 5:30 in The Dalles City Hall.
Drones To Survey Sandhill Cranes In Klickitat County
Researchers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct drone surveys over known locations of sandhill cranes in Klickitat County to assist with population monitoring. WDFW says drone flights may occur when weather permits during daylight hours from April 1 through July 31 over identified state public lands and waters in western Klickitat County where sandhill cranes are present. WDFW will seek pre-approval from other private or public landowners should the Department consider flights over additional lands. The purpose of the surveys is to capture high-quality images of sandhill crane habitat to find and locate nest locations. In 2024, WDFW biologists successfully identified sandhill crane nests at multiple locations within the survey area using drone technology. Breeding sandhill cranes arrive in Klickitat and Yakima counties in early March, with most nesting occurring from April to June in wet meadows and grasslands. The cranes and their young leave the state between late September and mid-October to winter in California’s Central Valley. WDFW has listed all three subspecies of sandhill crane occurring in Washington as state endangered.
Washington State Rep Optimistic For Bridge Funding
There are 32 days remaining in Washington’s legislative session, and lawmakers in Olympia are getting down to the key work revolving around budgets in the face of a large deficit. Among the funding decisions in the House Transportation Committee will involve the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge. 17th District Representative David Stuebe is on that committee, and he remains optimistic the funding will be approved, especially with the amount of federal funding at stake. Stuebe says the Hood River Bridge plus the Interstate 5 bridge between Vancouver and Portland and the Slough Bridge on Highway 14 west of Camas are vital to the economy of the 17th District, and all need to be funded.
WAGAP Starts Match Campaign
Washington Gorge Action Programs has started a campaign to match a surprise $15,000 offer it has received for local programs from an anonymous donor. WAGAP Executive Director Jennifer Pauletto says the offer is open through the end of April, and donations can support any of the agency’s programs in Klickitat and Skamania counties. To donate with the matching offer…go online to wagap.org, visit one of the WAGAP offices in Bingen, Stevenson, or Goldendale, or mail it to WAGAP at P.O. Box 805 in Bingen, zip code 98605.
March 26 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
South Medford 14, Hood River Valley 5: The Panthers used an eight-run second inning to pull away. Landen Pratt drove in two runs for the Eagles.
Littleton (CO) 10, The Dalles 9: Littleton scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to win in Arizona. Will Booth and Cannon Stocks had two RBI apiece for the Riverhawks.
Sherman 16, Nyssa 4: Michael Blagg, Gage Simpson, Leven Whitbeck, Blake Carnine, and Drake Dark all drove in two runs for the Huskies, who won their third straight on an eastern road trip.
Softball
Stevenson sweeps Goldendale 16-4 and 20-0: Cayden Hulsey-Bible drove in four runs for the Bulldogs in the first game and three in the second contest.
March 25 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Eagle Point 8, Hood River Valley 5: HRV’s late comeback effort fell short after Eagle Point took the lead in the middle innings. Tyson Harjo drove in three runs for HRV.
Vista Ridge (CO) 8, The Dalles 4: Vista Ridge scored three runs in each of the first two innings to jump out on top early and the hand the Riverhawks the loss in the first game of their Arizona trip. Finley Corbin had a pair of hits for The Dalles.
Columbia splits with Castle Rock, winning the opener 3-0 but losing the nightcap 8-0: Kai Brasuell allowed only four hits over six innings and Kellen Olson pitched a scoreless seventh to nail down the game 1 win for the Bruins.
Seton Catholic 26, Stevenson 1
Sherman 10, Riverside 0: Michael Blagg drove in four runs while Leven Whitbeck struck out nine over five innings.
Sherman 22, Ontario JV 12: The Huskies scored 16 runs in the final two innings to win.
Goldendale 10, Wapato 4: Brock Armstrong drove in three runs as the Timberwolves scored all of their runs in the final three innings.
Softball
Hood River Valley 12, Crook County 5: A two-run homer by Honey Bryan and a three-run double by Bella Belcher highlighted a seven-run first inning for the Eagles. Grace Rowan and Kenadie Lucas also hit home runs for HRV.
Hood River Valley 19, LaPine 3: Grace Rowan had four hits including a double and a home run while driving home seven runs. The Eagles put the game away with 14 runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Columbia sweeps Castle Rock 18-2 and 23-4: Kiera Bucher had four hits and five runs batted in game two after knocking home a pair of runs in the opener.
Seton Catholic 7, Stevenson 0
TD Council Approves Water Agreement With County & Parks
The Dalles City Council approved authorizing the City Manager to enter Intergovernmental Agreements with Wasco County and the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District to cover the cost of municipal water service to District parks and Kramer Field. The agreements replace designated amounts to the district that were removed from the Transient Room Tax Ordinance in recent revisions. City Manager Matthew Klebes says as they finish up negotiations, a goal was to provide flexibility for inter-fund transfers. Under the agreements, the funding would be in the amounts reflective of each entity’s budgeted water costs, and includes provisions for automatic funding adjustments based on future City water rate changes. In other business, the Council approved amendments to city ordinances on animals that was debated a month ago, with changes in some of the definitions around poultry and livestock.