Hood River city officials are enthusiastic in the wake of the proposed housing project on just over seven acres on 780 Rand Road receiving a major funding boost last week as Oregon Housing and Community Services approved $15.1 million in Local Innovation Fast Track, or LIFT, program funding for the development. City Manager Abigail Elder says the funding will allow project partners Community Development Partners and Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation to begin the site plan process. CDP and CCHC plan to apply to OHCS for 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bonds next year to complete the project’s financing. The project will create 129 units of rental housing, much of it targeted for households earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income.
Conservation Groups To Sue Corps Of Engineers Over Dams
Four conservation and fishing groups have sent a formal notice to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers alleging that dams on the Lower Snake River violate the Endangered Species Act by creating hot water conditions that kill and injure Endangered Snake River sockeye salmon. The groups say they intend to seek all relief necessary to eliminate the heat pollution created by the four Lower Snake River dams, up to and including dam removal. Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, and the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association say they do continue to support ongoing efforts to replace the Lower Snake River dams’ transportation, irrigation, and energy services. The groups claim un-damming the Lower Snake in order to cool the river and allow salmon to survive is a natural complement to those broader efforts. Columbia Riverkeeper Legal Director Miles Johnson believes without profound improvements, such as Snake River dam removal, hot water created by the dams and climate change will lead to the extinction of Snake River sockeye. He thinks the Endangered Species Act gives courts the authority to prevent extinction.
D21 Seeks To Fill Zone 5 Board Position
The North Wasco County School District 21 Board is seeking qualified applicants to fill a vacancy on the Board for the Zone 5 position. To qualify for this position applicants must be a legally registered voter, a resident within the district for one year immediately preceding the appointment and a resident of the zone from which the vacancy has occurred. The Zone 5 boundary description & map can be found at nwasco.k12.or.us under School Board & Board Members. Interested persons are encouraged to submit a completed application to the Superintendent’s Office at 3632 West 10th Street in The Dalles or submit via email to millerc@nwasco.k12.or.us. For more information call 541-506-3420 ext. 1002. Applications will be accepted until August 17. Interviews will be scheduled prior to a regular school board meeting.
Dufur Cemetery Seeks Funds For Veterans Memorial
Dufur Cemetery is seeking funds to erect a Veterans Memorial to honor the current 66 Veterans interred in the cemetery. That includes fourteen who fought in the Civil War. The cemetery needs $9,000 to put up the memorial, and a GoFundMe campaign is underway. On the GoFundMe post, Darlien France indicated the goal is to establish a Veterans Memorial that will be a living legacy to future generations and perhaps spark interest for further research to find Dufur-area families who served in times of peace and war. To view the GoFundMe, go to gofundme.com and use search to go to Dufur Cemetery.
Newton Expected To Be Named HRCSD Interim Superintendent
The Hood River County School District Board is expected to appoint Bill Newton to serve as the district’s interim superintendent at a special meeting on Monday. If the board votes to approve a contract for Newton, he will hold the position for the 2023-24 school year. Newton would be taking over for Rich Polkinghorn, who resigned to take the superintendent’s job in the White Salmon Valley School District. Newton has served as the district’s curriculum and instruction executive director since the 2019-20 school year. He was principal at Westside Elementary from 2012 to 2018, and prior to that worked 14 years in Salem-Keizer Public Schools. District Board Chair Chrissy Reitz said the board was impressed with Newton’s extensive knowledge of the district’s operations and programs. The district will begin a formal process to hire a permanent superintendent in October.
Demolition Of Tony’s To Begin
Demolition begins this month on the former “Tony’s Town & Country” building in downtown The Dalles to open the site for redevelopment through the city’s Urban Renewal Agency. Sidewalk closures will occur periodically through October. The Dalles Urban Renewal Agency purchased the property on East Second Street in 2016. Since then the agency considered multiple development options, ranging from replacement with multi-story mixed-use to reuse as a fitness center, but none of the plans proved feasible. Various inspections revealed the high cost to repair and reuse the structure, as well as a significant amount of hazardous material. The Urban Renewal Board directed staff to pursue demolition and hazardous material abatement to make way for a development-ready site. The agency received assistance through the City of The Dalles Brownfield Revitalization program to conduct an environmental assessment, including removal of an underground storage tank on Federal Street.
Warm Springs Tribe Adopts Missing Persons Response Plan
In a first for Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council has unanimously adopted a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Tribal Community Response Plan. U.S. Attorney for Oregon Natalie Wight says the plan ensures that all available resources—government, law enforcement, and community members—are quickly deployed in support of a full and thorough investigation. The plan is a guide for how Tribal law enforcement and community members will respond when someone goes missing from a Tribal community, tailored to the needs, resources, and culture of individual Tribal communities. The Warm Springs TCRP establishes four different sets of guidelines relevant to MMIP: law enforcement, victim services, public and media communications, and community outreach. The plan was created in partnership with the Oregon U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of a U.S. Department of Justice national initiative. The District of Oregon is one of six pilot program districts working to develop community response plans in accordance with this initiative.
Active Firefighting Concludes On Boulder Fire
Active firefighting has concluded on the Boulder Fire, but there are tasks that must be completed before management of the incident is returned to the Mt. Hood National Forest. Northwest Team 10 Operations Section Chief Bert Thayer says Thursday was a day of transition as they send some firefighters back home to their units. Suppression repair continues to take place, and fire managers have assigned some of the remaining crews to do this work, returning disturbed areas to as natural a state as practical. The Boulder Fire burned 233 acres near Boulder Lake Trailhead in the Barlow Ranger District.
Numbers Of Overdose Incidents Close Together Not Uncommon
Emergency responders in The Dalles this past weekend were called to three separate overdose incidents within about two hours of each other, and the City’s police chief says it wasn’t that uncommon. Tom Worthy says there has been a pattern of overdoses occurring when new supplies of fentanyl come in to the area. Worthy added in this case, bystanders had Narcan and administered it before officers, who also carry it, arrived. Worthy says since Measure 110 was passed by Oregon voters and eliminated officers’ ability to arrest users, police have lost the ability to gain information that helped them work their way to apprehend those who bring in and sell the narcotics in the community.
HR Fair Open Class Open To Entrants In Four Counties
The Hood River County Fair this year is allowing entries for its open class exhibits to residents of Wasco, Skamania, and Klickitat counties along with Hood River County. Fair board member Dennis Zimmerman says they are looking to expand their pool of exhibitors. For information on how to enter, go to hoodriverfairgrounds.com. The Hood River County Fair starts this coming Wednesday.