The Dalles Public Works is beginning to pave back Brentwood Drive and Crest Court with new asphalt beginning Monday. Work hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on each scheduled work day. Full street closures will be in effect most of each work day. Motor vehicles and bicyclists will be detoured to adjacent side streets. Where sidewalks exist, pedestrian and sidewalk access will remain open through the duration of this work. No parking will be allowed within the project areas due to curb-to-curb asphalt removal and replacement. No parking signs are being placed on the curb 48 hours before the project moves into each work area.
Crews Fight Friday Fire Near Apartment Complex
Fire crews dealt with a Friday afternoon fire on the west side of The Dalles. According to Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, crews arrived in the 2400 block of West 10th to find a pine tree, shrubs, an SUV, and pickup with a motorcycle in the bed all on fire, which was threatening an apartment complex. Shortly thereafter fire was reported on the roof of the upper part of the complex, but crews used a 550 foot bulk bed stretched up the driveway to stop it. MCFR says structures were saved with no one displaced, and no injuries were reported. Crews from Mosier, Dufur, Wy’east, Dallesport, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Oregon Department of Forestry assisted Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue at the scene. The cause is under investigation.
April 28-29 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Hood River Valley 13, Milwaukie 1: Jordan Webber drove in three runs at the plate and struck out seven in four innings on the mound to lead HRV to the series win.
Seton Catholic 10, Columbia 0
Castle Rock 8, Stevenson 5
Heppner sweeps Dufur 12-1 and 24-0
Sherman sweeps Stanfield 10-9 and 10-5
Irrigon sweeps Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 6-0 and 14-0
Goldendale splits with Kittitas, winning game one 9-6 but losing game two 11-1
Softball
Hood River Valley at Hillsboro, ppd. to Monday in Hood River.
Columbia 22, Seton Catholic 2
Stevenson 14, Castle Rock 4
Track and Field
Hood River Valley’s Simone Tillman won both the girls’ 400 meters and long jump and Sylvaine Farr was first in the pole vault at the Kiwanis Invitiational in Hermiston
Eduardo Rubio and Sophie Hulke of Sherman each won a pair of events at the Condon Invitational
Hood River Valley’s boys 4 by 800 meter relay team grabbed a second place finish at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays, while Zoe Dunn of The Dalles finished fourth in the girls’ long jump and triple jump.
Goldendale was the boys’ winner and Columbia the girls’ victor at the Jeff Agar Memorial Invitational at Trout Lake. Goldendale’s Raymond Holycross won four boys’ events while Austin Fink of Klickitat won three. Columbia’s Jessica Polkinghorn won three events in the girls’ portion of the meet.
Girls Lacrosse
Grant 17, Hood River Valley 2
LINK Proposes Rate Changes
The LINK Public Transit in The Dalles is proposing decreasing its fixed route fare and increasing the Dial-A-Ride fare. Under the proposal, fixed routes will decrease from $1.50 to $1.00 and Dial-a-Ride service will increase from $1.50 to $2.00 for all one-way rides within The Dalles city limits, starting on May 29. The changes in price will make the Link’s fares equal to the cost of fares charged by other transportation providers within the Gorge, so that the whole regional transit system is consistent in price. Public comment is being taken on the proposal, with open house sessions planned for May 17 from 10 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Dalles Transit Center on 802 Chenowith Loop Road. Individuals can continue to use or purchase the GOrge Pass for all fixed bus routes in the area during 2023. The LINK will continue to offer discounted or free passes to low-income riders through the Gorge Transit Connect program.
Soda Works Building Demolition Complete
The City of The Dalles and the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency say the old “The Dalles Soda Works” building on 800 East 2nd Street has been successfully demolished with hazardous materials abatement. The building received $18,000 from the City’s Brownfield Revitalization Program and a new URA incentive program contributed about $21,000 to put toward the work. The building was originally built in 1928 and house a number of different businesses including cold storage, a food store, a warehouse, and most notably “The Dalles Soda Works” between 1948 and 1960. Aside from storage uses, the building has been vacant since 1995.
April 27 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
The Dalles 9, Estacada 3: Will Booth had three hits while seven different Riverhawks drove in runs. Braden Schwartz struck out six in three innings of relief on the mound.
Culver 14, Sherman 2
Softball
The Dalles 15, Estacada 5: Madalynn Sagapolutele homered twice and drove in four runs and Zoe Lebreton and Jeliani Stewart also hit home runs as the Riverhawks moved two-and-a-half games in front of the Rangers atop the Tri-Valley Conference.
Boys Soccer
LaCenter 6, Stevenson 1
Boys Tennis
Hood River Valley 7, Canby 2
Girls Tennis
Hood River Valley 5, Canby 4: Emily Doss and Charlotte Fuller pulled out a third set, 10 point break to lift the Eagles to the win.
Port of HR To Launch Pilot Project For Nighttime Cashless Tolling
The Port of Hood River will launch a two-month pilot project to test the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge’s toll system capacities for cashless tolling during the off-peak hours of 10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. beginning on Monday. Customers that would normally pay their toll with cash or credit card will have two options to pay tolls. One is to pay online at csc.portofhoodriver.com and select the Pay Tolls Before Invoice option. The other option is to pay by mail with an invoice that will be mailed to the address on the vehicle registration about a week after the crossing. Both payment options will have no additional ancillary fees added to the amount due for any crossings during these hours. BreezeBy customers will be unaffected by the pilot project and should continue to pass through the toll plaza as usual. For more information, contact the Port of Hood River via email to porthr@gorge.net.
Bowers Named Deputy District Ranger On Mt Hood Forest
John Bowers has been selected as the deputy district ranger for the Barlow and Hood River Ranger Districts on the Mt. Hood National Forest. He will help manage the eastern side of Mt. Hood as the Forest expands its wildfire risk reduction work on national forest lands. Bowers joins the Forest on May 8 and will be based in Parkdale. Bowers has a Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee in forestry with an emphasis in silviculture. He worked as a research assistant for forest ecology and silviculture projects across the South. Most recently Bowers served as acting deputy district ranger on the Carson Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada.
CGCC Residence Hall Occupancy Climbs
Occupancy at Columbia Gorge Community College’s Chinook Residence Hall in The Dalles reached 87 percent of capacity in its second year of operation. CGCC Director of Housing and Student Life Tiffany Prince says it is a dramatic increase after opening in the midst of the pandemic. Prince says they are finding a diverse group of students that are interested in on-campus housing, including those from The Dalles area as well as those from out of the area. The residence hall can house up to fifty people. Those who are interested in on-campus housing can get information on how to apply at cgcc.edu.
Cider Fest Set For Saturday
Hood River’s annual Cider Fest takes place Saturday at its new home at the Waterfront Event Site. Hannah Settje of Visit Hood River says tickets for the event are going fast, with a large lineup of cideries presenting their products there. Cider Fest will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Event Site. Tickets, including a tasting glass and chips redeemable for cider samples, are available at hoodriverciderfest.com.