Columbia Gorge Community College is one of 17 minority-serving institutions across the United States partnering in a national college honors program. The three-year initiative, organized through Phi Theta Kappa, the national student honors society, expands access to honors coursework among minority students. It’s expected to benefit more than 11,000 students. The program will be open to high-achieving minority students who earn at least a 3.5 GPA after completing 12 hours of college credit. Students will receive leadership opportunities, access to competitive scholarships, and one-on-one transfer and career coaching. Meanwhile, faculty and staff will be offered professional development opportunities, including capacity building in institutional effectiveness, institutional research, and fundraising.
Pothole Work Starts Monday
The Dalles Public Works will be begin work on pothole repair on W. 10th St. between Walnut St. and the City Limits on Monday. Phase 1 of the project will be grinding out the old pavement. Phase 2 will be patching back new asphalt. This extensive pothole repair project is expected to be completed by April 20, weather permitting. Work hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on each scheduled work day. Lane closures will be in effect on W. 10th St. throughout the day. Intersections, business and residential access will be partially closed all day in each work area and opened to all motor vehicle traffic at the end of the day. Motor vehicles and bicyclists will be detoured to adjacent side streets. While W. 10th Street will remain open to traffic throughout the project, use of alternate routes is encouraged. Where sidewalks exist, pedestrian and sidewalk access will remain open through the duration of this work. Where no sidewalks exist, pedestrians will be flagged through the work area. No parking will be allowed within the project areas to allow room for large equipment to safely work. No parking signs will be placed on the curb 48 hours before the project moves into each
April 5 Prep Sports Roundup
Track and Field
Crook County won while The Dalles was second in both boys and girls competition in a six-school meet at Sid White Field. The Riverhawks’ Juan Diego Contreras won both the boys’ 800 and 1500 meters, while Lilly Adams won the girls’ 100 and 200 meters.
Horizon Christian’s Caleb Yuan won the boys’ 110 meter hurdles at the Southwest Christian Invitational.
Softball
Nelson 14, Hood River Valley 1
Girls Lacrosse
Oregon Episcopal 15, Hood River Valley 1
April 4 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Pendleton 11, The Dalles 1
Gresham at Hood River Valley, ccld.
Sherman 21, Dufur 8
Stanfield 12, Lyle-Wishram 5
Softball
The Dalles 5, Pendleton 4: Kaleyah Crichton-Tunai and Madalynn Sagapolutele hit back-to-back homers in a four-run bottom of the fourth inning that was the difference in the game. Kennedy Abbas induced a pop out that stranded the potential tying run at third in the top of the seventh to end the game.
Boys Tennis
Hood River Valley 5, Parkrose 3
Boys Lacrosse
Hood River Valley 15, Hillsboro 2
Homeless Town Hall Brings Different Angles
Attendees heard from a panel of agency representatives on the subject of homelessness in Wasco County during a town hall meeting Monday night. The discussion took a number of different angles on the subject. Patty Mulvihill of the League of Oregon Cities discussed some of the legal parameters that cities and counties are subject to in dealing with homelessness, saying the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled people cannot be punished for an involuntary act or condition if it is an unavoidable consequence of their status or being. Mid-Columbia Community Action Executive Director Kenny LaPoint, who fielded a number of questions on his agency’s acquisition of the former Oregon Motor Motel for transitional housing, provided data on who is homeless, adding it takes the whole community to deal with the issue. He asked attendees to change their perspective to be solutions focused rather than problem focused. Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill said he came to realization a decade ago that the state’s mental health system was broken. Magill noted that they won’t have all the solutions, but those involved will continue to work hard.
White Salmon Man Dies After Fall
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office says a White Salmon man died after falling about 40 feet while doing trail maintenance on private property near Bear Creek Road north of Carson. According to a Sheriff’s Office statement, 73-year-old Daryl Hoyt was with a group of several individuals when the accident happened. Emergency personnel responded, and due to the steep terrain rope rescue teams were used. But once crews were able to reach Hoyt, it was discovered he had succumbed to his injuries. Skamania County EMS and Search and Rescue personnel were able to retrieve Hoyt’s body from the location. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office determined Hoyt’s death was accidental.
Westside & Wy’east Fire To Receive Engines In State Program
Both the Westside and Wy’east fire departments will receive new Type 3 fire engines as part of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s $25 million Engine Program Across Oregon. Seventy-six fire service agencies in the state were selected to receive a new type 3, type 6, or water tender to boost firefighting capacity. The OSFM Engine Program is a part of the agency’s Response Ready Oregon initiative, launched in 2021 and funded by the wildfire omnibus bill passed by the Legislature. The initiative is part of a multi-pronged approach to prepare, prevent, and respond to wildfires, with a goal of attacking fires while they are small and keep them away from communities. Award recipients will enter into a contract with the OSFM to support mobilizations, boosting local, regional, and state response. The OSFM anticipates deliveries to begin in 2023 through the first two quarters of 2024.
LINK Will Add New Stops
The LINK Public Transportation says it will be adding new stops to its Red and Blue Deviated Fixed Routes in The Dalles starting on April 17. Both circle The Dalles on a one-hour loop on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The bus operates along a route with a regular schedule but is called a “deviated” fixed route because it can also leave the route to accommodate requests for “off-route” drop-offs or pick- ups. Riders can get on stops at The Dalles Transit Center, Foley Lakes, One Community Health, The Dalles City Park, The Dalles High School, DMV, Water’s Edge, Mid-Columbia Medical Center, The Next Door, and the Veterans’ Service Office downtown, along with other locations. Rides are $1.50 each way, or you can purchase the GOrge Pass, good for the rest of the year, for a price of $40 for adults and $20 for kids under 17. Purchases can be made at The Dalles Transit Center located at 802 Chenowith Loop Road. As an incentive to encourage the community to try out the modified routes, all rides are free for the first week, beginning April 17 through April 22.
ODFW Sets Regulations For Hood River Spring Chinook Fishery
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has set regulations for a spring Chinook fishery on the Hood River. The ODFW says the Hood will be open for adult hatchery Chinook from April 15 through June 30 from the tips of jetties at the mouth to mainstem confluence with the East Fork, and the West Fork from the confluence with the mainstem upstream to the angling deadline 200 feet downstream of Punchbowl Falls. The catch limit is one adult hatchery salmon per day, and five hatchery jack salmon per day. All wild Chinook salmon must be released unharmed. Fishery managers are predicting a good return of about 1,240 adult hatchery fish for the Hood River, which is similar to last year’s actual return. There will be no season for spring Chinook on the Deschutes River for 2023 due to another year of predicted poor returns of wild fish. ODFW fish biologist Jason Seals says the Hood River fishery is one of the few places a bank angler has a good chance of catching a Columbia River spring Chinook. Seals said the run usually peaks in late May due to colder water temperatures in the Hood River.
MCEDD Releases Strategy Update
The Mid-Columbia Economic Development District has finished the regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy update for 2023. The report, which MCEDD updates annually, provides a framework to support economic vitality for the Mid-Columbia region, which includes Klickitat and Skamania Counties in Washington and Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman Counties in Oregon. The strategy includes analysis of regional economic data, establishes regional goals and strategies, develops an implementation plan, and identifies investment priorities and funding sources. This year’s plan provides an updated regional project priority list, one for each state. In Oregon, this list is topped by replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge and strengthening of the Bridge of the Gods, housing issues, and the effort to establish a Columbia Gorge Child Care Center spearheaded by the Columbia Gorge Educational Service District. The top three in Washington are the Goldendale Energy Storage Project, the Port of Skamania’s Cascades Business Park Development, and Stevenson’s Cascade Avenue improvements.