Google announced it is contributing $100,000 to the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council to benefit their forthcoming Navigation Center, an inclusive space for those experiencing housing instability or poverty in Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman counties.  The Center will act as a community space where guests can access housing and job services, dining and shelter options, healthcare support, and more.  It’s the largest of three grants Google announced on Wednesday.  In addition, Google said it is renewing an investment to provide the roughly 100 residents of Celilo Village with continued high-speed internet access.  And the company is providing funding to the Dufur School District that will directly support its growing computer science program through the purchase of VEX educational robots that will allow K-12 students to get hands-on STEM experience and provide enrichment opportunities in after school and summer programs.  The three grants being made by Google total $145,000.

Mt. Hood Meadows says it is on track for a Friday after Thanksgiving opening, and perhaps earlier with more snow.  Meadows received 17 inches of snow in the base area through Monday – lifting the snow depth to 23 inches.  Snow harvesting efforts will begin this week to fortify the base area snowpack, with an emphasis on lift loading zones.  The forecast has dried out over the next ten days, but temperatures continue to be cold which is good for snow harvesting and reinforcing the base.  Meadows harvests snow from the parking lot and hauls it to base area lifts to supplement the natural early season snowpack.  The storm deposited more snow at mid-mountain, but the upper mountain looks a bit scoured due to the high winds which peaked at 115 mph at the top of Cascade Express.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce says it has arranged an official flyover Friday morning during the city’s annual Veterans Day Parade.  The flyover will feature an F-15 Eagle, and will fly over The Dalles on Friday morning at about 11:25.  The annual Veterans Day Parade in The Dalles will begin at 11 Friday morning.  It will take the usual route through downtown The Dalles.

Wasco and Hood River counties will continue counting ballots that arrive in their offices by mail with postmarks from yesterday or before.  Wasco County says it will post updated results on Monday, with final counts to be posted once they are certified, which Clerk Lisa Gambee says will be sometime around December 2.  Hood River County plans to issue an update next Wednesday, with another update including resolved challenged ballots set for November 30, and certification no later than December 5.  Turnout was 65 percent in Hood River County and just under 62 percent in Wasco County.

The elevator at the Wasco County Courthouse is currently out of order and will need to be replaced, and County officials say it will take a while for that to happen.  Due to delays in the global supply chain, we do not expect to have a new elevator for nine months or longer.  During this time, the public is asked to use the entrances on 5th Street, Washington Street or the alley adjacent to the building.  If you need an accommodation due to a disability, a phone will be located at the south-side elevator entrance to call the offices on the second and third floors.  The County is asking people with mobility or physical disabilities to try to complete county business by phone if possible.

Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington modified the permanent rules for 2023 Columbia River sturgeon retention seasons upstream of Bonneville Dam during a hearing Wednesday. Fisheries in both The Dalles Pool and Bonneville Pool will shift to a three-day-per-week season in 2023, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, similar to the retention season in The Dalles Pool during 2022. Retention will be open on Sunday, Jan. 1 as well. The change is intended to reduce season volatility and help anglers plan fishing trips by extending seasons later into the year. The current 7-day-per-week structure makes it difficult to provide advance notice to anglers about retention closures. The season in the Bonneville Pool will run from January 1 to March 22, and in The Dalles Pool from January 1 to March 4.

Cross Country

The Dalles won the Oregon Class 4A boys’ cross country title at Lane Community College in Eugene, nipping Philomath by three points with five runners finishing in the top 25.  Juan Diego Contreras led the Rivehawk contingent with a second place finish behind individual winner Alexander Garcia-Silver of Marshfield.  Leo Lemann was the next Riverhawk in 4th, followed by Vincent Ziegenhagen in 18th, Egan Ziegenhagen in 19th, and Kayden McCavic in 23rd.   The state championship is the second for The Dalles in boys’ cross country, with the first at the Class 3A level in 1997.

  The Dalles finished eighth in the girls’ 4A competition.  Alana Casady led the Riverhawk girls with an individual seventh place finish.

  Hood River Valley finished fourth in the Class 5A boys’ cross country race at LCC, holding off Crescent Valley for a trophy.  Elliot Hawley led the Eagles with a  seventh place finish, and William Bunch was 26th.

  HRV was seventh in the 5A girls’ race.  The Eagles’ Phoebe Wood was 20th, and Liv Nickson 23rd.

  At the Washington high school cross country championships in Pasco, Goldendale finished eighth in the Class 2B boys’ race.  Sean Henrikson was 26th for the Timberwolves, while Issac Call took 34th.  Columbia was 15th in Class 1A girls, paced by Ella Zimmerman in 32nd.  Noah Slayton of Columbia was 60th in the Class 1A boys’ race.

  Volleyball

The Dalles lost both of its matches at the Oregon Class 4A tournament in Springfield in five sets.  In the quarterfinal, The Riverhawks fell in a back and forth match to Mazama, 25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-9.  Then in the consolation round, the Riverhawks fell victim to a comeback by Henley, 24-26, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-13.

  Washington District 4 Class 1A Tournament

Montesano def. Stevenson 3-2

  Football

Oregon Class 5A Playoffs

Round 1

Summit 42, Hood River Valley 6

Oregon Class 1A 8-Man Football Playoffs

Round 1

Adrian 66, Dufur 6

Myrtle Point 66, Sherman 8

  Oregon Class 1A 6-Man Football Playoffs

South Wasco 46, Elkton 12:  The Redsides will play Triangle Lake in the semifinals this coming weekend at a site and time to be determined.

  Washington District 5 Football Playoff

Goldendale 42, Tri-Cities Prep 0:  The Timberwolves advance to the Washington Class 2B playoffs starting this coming weekend.

Frontline nurses at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital overwhelmingly voted to approve a new contract.  The Oregon Nurses Association says the two-year agreement increases wages for nurses, with frontline nurses receiving 14 to 21 percent increases over the life of the deal.  The union says the most significant raises will go to the lowest paid nurses.  The ONA also says the contract incorporates Oregon’s nurse staffing law, ensures adequate training for nurses who move between multiple hospital departments, caps health insurance cost increases and creates accountability for rising health care prices, and incentivizes more health care workers to learn and maintain fluency in multiple languages.  The Oregon Nurses Association represents nearly 150 nurses working at Providence Hood River.  The new contract runs through March 31, 2024.

Police in The Dalles seized a large amount of fentanyl in a search on Thursday.  According to a statement from The Dalles Police Department, officers from TDPD and Wasco County Parole and Probation served the search warrant following a narcotics investigation.  The warrant resulted in one arrest and the seizure of 1,109 suspected fentanyl pills.  The statement says the case has been referred to the Wasco County District Attorney for prosecution.

Wasco County announced its county buildings would be illuminated green during the upcoming week as part of Operation Green Light, a new national collaborative initiative of the National Association of Counties to support military veterans, as well as raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by many veterans and the resources that are available to assist them.  In addition to lighting county buildings, residents and businesses are encouraged to participate by simply changing one light bulb in their house to a green bulb.  This can be an exterior light that neighbors and passersby see, or an interior light that sparks a conversation with friends.  Initative organizers say by shining a green light, we let our veterans know that they are seen, appreciated, and supported.  While this event is focused around the week of Veterans Day, participants are encouraged to continue shining the light year-round.  Residents can share their participation on social media using the hashtag #OperationGreenLight.