The Skamania County Emergency Warming Shelter in Stevenson is open near the Hegewald Center, and will be five nights a week through mid-March. Washington Gorge Action Programs is operating the shelter for houseless persons needing to escape life-threatening winter weather. Check-in times are between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday through Monday. It is available to adults, children accompanied by their parents and guardians, and emancipated minors. Unaccompanied minors will be referred to law enforcement or the Youth Empowerment Shelter in The Dalles. If emergency needs arise on Tuesday and Wednesday nights that the shelter is not open, clients can connect with WAGAP during regular office hours for alternate assistance. The WAGAP office in Stevenson is at 683 SW Rock Creek Drive and is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The office phone number is 509-427-8229. There is no shelter in Klickitat County, but those in need can contact WAGAP’s Bingen office at 115 West Steuben by calling 509-493-2662, or the Goldendale office at 150 West Main by calling 509-773-6834. Both the Skamania and Klickitat County offices have some resources available to assist clients in the cold weather.
Sense Of Place Looks Back At Eagle Creek Fire On Wednesday
The latest in the Sense of Place lecture series coming up next week will be a discussion on Wildfire in the Gorge: the Good, the Bad, and Lessons from Eagle Creek, focusing on the 50,000 acre fire of 2017. Jessica Hudec and Loretta Duke of the U.S. Forest Service and Dr. Brian Harvey of the University of Washington will all take part in the talk. Sense of Place host and curator Sarah Fox says each of the trio look at the fire from a different perspective. The lecture will be Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River. Ticket information is available at eventbrite.com, and livestream information is at mtadamsinstitute.org.
The Dalles Meals On Wheels Needs Drivers
The Dalles Meals on Wheels program is in need of drivers to deliver meals. Rob Garrett at Mid-Columbia Senior Center says they need help to get meals to those in need, particularly during the winter when weather is treacherous. Garrett says volunteering to help only takes a couple of hours a week. To volunteer to be a driver for The Dalles Meals on Wheels, call 541-298-8333.
Comment Meeting On Smoke Plan Scheduled
Public comment is going to be taken on a community smoke plan being developed by OSU Extension through a grant from the Department of Environmental Quality. OSU Extension’s Lauren Kraemer says a listening session on Zoom is being planned for February 3 at noon. To sign up for the session…register through the OSU Extension Facebook or the Hood River or Wasco County Extension websites.
Car Drives Into Funeral Home
The Dalles Police Department is investigating what caused a car to crash into Spencer, Libby, and Powell Funeral Home on New Year’s Day. According to TDPD, police and Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue received a call of a car having come into the building at 10th at Kelly at about 10:25 Monday morning. Officers arrived and located a 2020 Subaru intruding fully into the front of the business. The driver was transported by ambulance to Mid-Columbia Medical Center with unknown injuries and he checked himself out later that day. Nobody in the business was injured. The crash remains under investigation.
MCSC Seeks Medical Equipment Donations
Mid-Columbia Senior Center is seeking donations for its medical equipment loan closet. The Center says they take donations of items like four-wheeled walkers, wheelchairs, transfer chairs, and knee scooters, clean them up, and loan them to those who need them. Center Executive Director Rob Garrett says right now they are a bit short on items to check out. If you have equipment to donate, call Mid-Columbia Senior Center at 541-296-4788, or drop it off at the Center on 1112 West 9th in The Dalles during business hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Foster Families Needed For Klahre House
The Next Door is seeking more foster families for its Klahre House therapeutic foster program. It serves teenage boys from throughout Oregon who come into the program for therapy and behavioral rehabilitation services while attending school at Klahre House. The Next Door’s Timber Hudson says they need more foster homes to be able help more youth in need. She says they look for a stable environment, with a bedroom available for the youth. Those who are interested in providing foster homes can contact Hudson or Amy Lindley at The Next Door by email at timberh@nextdoorinc.org or amyl@nextdoorinc.org.
Parent Café Planned
The Hood River County Prevention Department and Four Rivers Learning Hub will be hosting a Parent Café later this month. The Department’s Belinda Ballah says this event will be called “Enhancing and Empowering: Conversations for Positive Change, ” and will be held at the Mosier Community School on January 24 at 5 p.m. Ballah notes the discussions occur in small groups while sharing a meal. To register, search for Hood River Prevention Linktree, and click on Community Connection Parent Café to sign up.
ODOT Says I-84 Closure To Remain In Place Until Storm Passes
The Oregon Department of Transportation says there is no re-opening in sight for Interstate 84 from Troutdale to Hood River until the current storm runs its course.
ODOT says it will open the freeway when it’s safe, but the storm is expected to last into Saturday.
A dangerous combination of snow, ice and high wind has created conditions unsafe for even the most experienced travelers, and the dangers reach way beyond the Gorge.
Many routes across the northwest are feeling the impact of the storm and have seen closures in the last 24 hours.
Tripcheck.com is up-to-date with all current closures and traffic impacts around Oregon.
Truck parking is quickly filling along I-84 in Hood River, The Dalles, and Biggs Junction.
ODOT is encouraging drivers to delay their trip or wait out the closure from their current location and not continue on to the hard closure points. Parking on the interstate is not an option once designated lots are full. Blocking lanes of travel creates a hazard and strands people in areas with no services.
ODOT says its crews are working around the clock tending to the roads, but there is no single tool that can defeat the challenge presented by ice.
ODOT is encouraging everyone to delay travel until the storm is over.
MCCAC Warming Shelter Open Through Saturday
Mid-Columbia Community Action Council says its emergency warming center at the St. Vincent de Paul’s building at 315 W. 3rd St. in The Dalles will be open 24 hours a day until at least Saturday. Community Action also indicated there may be spaces at its regular shelter in The Dalles on the corner of Bargeway and Terminal, call 541-980-0855. The Hood River Shelter at 1733 Oak can be contacted about available beds at 541-965-0990. Free warming supplies can be picked up at 312 East 4th in The Dalles on Friday from 8 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and at the Hood River Shelter at any time. Blankets, tarps, clothes, food, hand warmers, and other supplies are available. If you need a ride to shelter…call the CAT bus at 541-386-4202…the LINK at 541-296-7595…or PacificSource/OHP at 855-397-3617.