The Central Gorge Master Gardener Association online Spring Plant Sale is open now through May 8. The Central Gorge Master Gardener online Plant Sale offers a selection of locally grown vegetables, heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and annual and perennial flowers, selected for success in the various growing climates of the Central Gorge. The Master Gardener Plant Sale is a fundraiser for the Central Gorge Master Gardener Association, which provides free beginning gardening classes and continuing education to home gardeners, and is a division of the OSU Hood River County Extension Service. To place an order, go to cgmgamarketplace.myshopify.com. Order pickup will be on May 12, at the Master Gardner greenhouse on the OSU Extension Service grounds.
Stormwater Utility Construction Planned On West 7th
Construction of a stormwater utility line along West 7th Street between Myrtle Street and Snipes Street in The Dalles will start Thursday and continue through March 29. The road will be operational as a lane shift has been approved to ensure the flow of traffic is maintained. Construction hours are anticipated from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please use alternate routes, if able, or use caution while navigating this area to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Firewood Cutting On Courtney Road With Permit
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Gifford Pinchot National Forest are hosting a firewood cutting event on Courtney Road, located between White Salmon and Lyle, starting Friday through April 17, while supplies last. Gifford Pinchot National Forest free-use firewood permits are required. Under the U.S. Forest Service Free-Use Firewood Program, firewood permit holders are allowed a maximum of 6 cords per household per year at no cost. Firewood harvested under a free-use permit cannot be resold. Participants must acquire permits prior to arrival, available at the Mt. Adams Ranger Station in Trout Lake, Home Valley General Store, and Wind River Market in Carson. The firewood cutting area will be posted with signs and U.S. Forest Service personnel will be monitoring the area and checking firewood permits.
March 13 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Culver at Sherman, ppd.
Boys Soccer
Skyview 3, Columbia 1
Man Arrest After Chase In Gilliam & Sherman Counties
A Prineville man was arrested after leading sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit through multiple counties on Sunday. According to the Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office, deputies there tried to stop a car for a traffic violation on Highway 206 about ten miles west of Condon. The driver refused to stop, and after being pursued west by deputies at speeds reaching over 110 miles per hour, officers discontinued the pursuit due to the unsafe speeds. A short time later, deputies with the Sherman County Sheriff’s Office located the same vehicle and initiated a pursuit, with the suspect ultimately crashing in Wasco, and being taken into custody without incident. 38-year-old Jason Day of Prineville is facing multiple charges in both Gilliam and Sherman counties along with multiple outstanding warrants in other counties.
Visit Hood River Matching Grant Program Opens
Visit Hood River’s Community Investment Matching Grant Program application process has opened for 2023. The program is designed to support businesses and community economic vitality through enhancement, promotion, and sustainability of Hood River as a destination. In 2023 the program will grant as much as $30,000 in total for all projects awarded. Each project requires its own application, and applicants must demonstrate the ability to meet the matching requirements for funding. The inaugural 2022 grant cycle awarded a total of $11,700 in matching grants, $5,200 of which helped bring The Heights Music Showcase to The Heights area, another $4,000 supported the creation of collateral and online advertising opportunities for lodging properties to promote mid-week visitation, and $2,500 went to support the development and expansion of programming for a non-profit created to engage people in watersports activities with a focus on water safety. The grant application process will continue through April 17, with information at visithoodriver.com.
HR County Planning To Join C-PACE Program
Hood River County is planning to become a part of the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program. Hood River would be the third county in Oregon to do so. County Commission Chair Jennifer Euwer says they are looking at the program at the request of the Port of Cascade Locks. but she adds it could benefit economic development around the County through long-term low-interest rate financing from private capital providers for qualified clean energy projects. County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says the program can be used for long-term financing for improvements at preferable rates that makes it attractive to develop in the County for either new or existing businesses.
Interest Rate Jump Slowing Interest In Business Expansion
The increase in interest rates is beginning to impact businesses that were considering expansion. Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the interest rate jump is making the cost of construction go up. Klaas says for smaller businesses, a number of their projects are going on hold. She adds while the Port doesn’t have a lot of developable land at this time, they are looking for grant funds to help with local projects. Klaas noted smaller businesses tend to be more impacted by the increase in interest rates than larger companies with more resources available to them.
March 11 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Goldendale sweeps Columbia (Burbank) 21-7 and 17-9
Softball
Columbia (Burbank) sweeps Goldendale 19-7 and 18-17
DEQ & EPA Monitor Air Quality In Vicinity Of AmerTies Tank Fire
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring air quality after diesel sludge and residue caught fire in a tank on Thursday night at the AmeriTies West Plant in The Dalles. EPA deployed air monitors this afternoon in neighborhoods and other areas downwind from the facility. Thus far, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds are at normal “background” levels. Wasco County Emergency Management says the fire is under control, and Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue is on-site to respond until it is fully extinguished. The tank normally contains a solution of 99 percent diesel and one percent copper naphthenate. Crews had taken the tank out of service earlier on Thursday and the copper naphthenate had been safely drained, though some amount of diesel sludge and wood residue remained in the tank and later caught fire. Vapors inside the tank heated and expanded, causing an explosion inside the tank about 30 minutes after the fire started. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. The two firefighters that were hurt in the explosion were released late on Thursday and are home and recuperating. Neither firefighter sustained long-term injuries.