The Hood River Holidays celebration will take place this evening in the downtown area. Hannah Settje of Visit Hood River says people can browse the static parade floats and window displays beginning at 5:30. There will be a lighting of the holiday tree in downtown Hood River beginning at 7 p.m. Oak Street will be closed from 1st to 6th during the event.

Boys Basketball

South Wasco 71, Southwest Christian 22

C.S. Lewis Academy 34, Lyle-Wishram 26

  Girls Basketball

C.S. Lewis Academy 55, Lyle-Wishram 14

 

Mt. Hood Meadows says it received 22 inches of new snow in a 24 hour time frame that ended at 11:30 Wednesday morning, and it was still snowing hard.  Base area snow depth has increased to over 50 inches, as the resort has received over 42 inches of snow since Sunday evening.  Meadows opened for the season on Tuesday with three lifts, and will add Mt. Hood Express to its lift schedule on Thursday.  The Mt. Hood Express lift services North and South Canyon trails as well as Ridge Run which accesses the Bowls.   All of that terrain is expected to be open.   Meadows will groom runs but the forecast has up to another foot and a half tonight into tomorrow.  Meadows officials are reminding skiers that it is still November so early season conditions exist and you need to watch out for unmarked obstacles.  Powder seekers should follow deep snow safety precautions – definitely ride with a buddy and keep them in sight. If you’re taking lines through the trees avoid the tree wells – and carry a probe, shovel and even consider a beacon.

Hood River’s Riverside Community Church is bringing back its Advent Concert Series after a two-year hiatus due to COVID.  Janet Wood of the Walton Music Trust, which funds the concerts, says they have a 50-year history at Riverside.  The series begins this Friday with Tess and Patrik Barr and Mo Dixon, followed by Charles Crosman on December 9, and Tim Mayer and friends on December 16.  All will begin at noon.  The concerts in the Riverside Sanctuary at 4th and State in Hood River are free, while attendees can make a gift for future concerts.

Klickitat County will conduct the approval process for its 2023 budget during December.  County Commissioner Dan Christopher says they actually wrapped up work on it about a month ago, adding the County is doing much better than in previous years, after some cuts and changes the last couple of years.  Christopher added they received a million dollars more in sales tax this past year over previous years.  Christopher says citizens shouldn’t notice any difference in service levels as a result of this year’s budget.

Hood River City Councilors have asked municipal staff to prepare an ordinance to amend the regulations surrounding food trucks so they do not have to move every six months.  That was the requirement before it was suspended at the beginning of the pandemic.  City Planning Director Dustin Nilsen says they received about two-thousand comments on food carts after a survey they put out went viral.  He summed up the results in different groups, with consumers wanting the food carts to be able to stay in place where they are but business groups split on the issue.  Nilsen also noted they received some input from agencies who wanted to see health and sanitation sideboards placed on allowing food carts to establish a more permanent location…plus there are land use considerations, particularly when the carts are grouped together at one location.

Oregon State University Extension will hold classes in The Dalles and Moro during December on pesticide safety.  The session on December 12 in The Dalles at Columbia Gorge Community College will focus on wheat and cherry orchard pests in The Dalles, with another on December 16 at the Sherman County Extension Office geared specifically to wheat producers.  OSU Extension agent Jacob Powell says the classes will have four credits available for producers’ continuing pesticide education.  To sign up for either class, call Powell at the Sherman County OSU Extension office at 541-298-3581.

Visit Hood River will be holding its community Hood River Holidays celebration this Friday in the downtown area. The event will include a static parade at 5:30.  Hannah Settje of Visit Hood River says the stationary parade format used the last couple of years has proven to be popular.  The lighting of the tree will take place at 7 p.m.  Oak Street will be closed from 1st to 6th during the event.

Columbia Gorge Community College is hosting Oregon Book Award winner Omar El Akkad for a reading on Wednesday evening at the school’s lecture hall in building 2 on The Dalles campus. El Akkad’s latest title, What Strange Paradise, was selected as one of the year’s best books by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and the Globe and Mail, among others. Omar El Akkad is an author and journalist who was born in Egypt, grew up in Qatar, moved to Canada as a teenager, and now lives in the United States. He’s reported from Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and many other locations around the world. His debut novel, American War, is an international bestseller. His second novel, What Strange Paradise, won the 2021 Giller Prize, the Pacific Northwest Book Award, and the Oregon Book Award in fiction. The reading will be followed by a Q&A, and starts at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Mt. Hood Meadows will open for the winter season Tuesday in the midst of a major winter storm that has dumped nearly a foot and a half of snow the last 24 hours.  It will be a soft opening – with Daisy, Buttercup, Easy Rider chairlifts and the Ballroom Carpet providing access to groomed beginner and intermediate terrain.  The resort opens with a 31 inch snow depth in the base area and close to four feet at mid-mountain.  Storms continue to line up this week with another two feet forecast to fall through Thursday.  Meadows expects to open more lifts and terrain by the weekend, including Mt. Hood Express and possibly Shooting Star Express.  Early season conditions exist and guests are advised to stay on groomed runs and watch for unmarked obstacles.  A preview park with rails and jumps is being built in Shipyard – near the Buttercup lift for early season jibbing.  More parks will be constructed as the resort receives more snow.  The Nordic Center is scheduled to open the season Thursday based on the forecast for more snow and will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays.