A field of 1,500 runners from 40 states and five countries will be in Hood River on Sunday for this year’s Columbia Gorge Marathon.  The full marathon starts at 8:30 Sunday morning at the Mark O. Hatfield West trailhead near Hood River and travels to Rowena Crest and back to the Hood River Event Site.  The half-marathon starts an hour later from the Event Site to head up the same section of the Historic Columbia River Highway and then returning.  Event organizers are warning local residents that they may encounter traffic delays between about 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Highway 35 and State Street, and heavy pedestrian traffic on the Mark O. Hatfield Trail between Hood River and Mosier throughout the day.

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council will begin accepting applications for energy and water payment assistance programs on Monday.  Community Action’s utility assistance programs help qualified individuals and families stay current on their utility bills while allowing them to keep the lights, water and heat running throughout the year.  Appointments for assistance will be scheduled at Community Action’s main offices in The Dalles and Hood River along with outreach appointments in Moro, Maupin, Cascade Locks and Parkdale.  In order to apply, call 541-298-5131 ext. 206 or you complete an application online at mccac.com.  Applications are available in both English and Spanish.

The Oregon Department of Forestry’s John Day Unit’s Regulated-Use Closure was ended on Friday. The fire prevention measures were terminated for The Dalles and Prineville units last week, but fire Season remains in effect across the Central Oregon District. Wildland fuels, including live vegetation and down woody material are extremely dry. Limited precipitation, combined with long-term drought conditions continue to elevate the risk of fire ignition and increase fire behavior in wildland fuels. Fire managers regularly evaluate conditions to determine current fire danger and necessary restrictions to limit impacts from wildfires. During Fire Season backyard debris burning, including burn barrels is allowed by permit only. Many counties have burn bans in place prohibiting debris burning at this time. Check restrictions in your local area to help prevent wildfires. Other activities prohibited during fire season include smoking in forest operation areas, blasting without a permit, use of exploding targets and tracer ammunition. Failure to follow Fire Season restrictions can result in citations, fines, and liability for costs associated with putting fires out. For additional information on ODF’s Central Oregon District, visit www.ODFcentraloregon.com.

Boys Soccer

Estacada 4, The Dalles 2

Grand View Christian 4, Trout Lake 1

  Girls Soccer

Stevenson 2, Fort Vancouver 2 (Stevenson wins on penalties 3-1)

King’s Way Christian 3, Columbia 0

Trout Lake 1, Corbett 0

  Volleyball

The Dalles def. Gladstone 25-5, 25-2, 25-10

Castle Rock def. Columbia 3-1

LaCenter def. Stevenson 25-15, 25-14, 25-17

South Wasco def. Horizon Christian 25-14, 25-8, 25-3

Klickitat-Glenwood def. Dufur 25-20, 16-25, 26-24, 25-21

Goldendale def. Granger 3-2

  Cross Country Goldendale won the boys’ portion of an eight-school EWAC meet in Pasco. Sean Henrikson finished second, Issac Call fourth, and Raymond Holycross sixth for the Timberwolves.  Goldendale was third in the girls’ race, led by a fifth place finish from Emily Cazares.

 

Washington Gorge Action Programs says it will receive a three-year grant from the Group Health Foundation to help the agency advance its recently released five-year strategic plan.  WAGAP is receiving a $682,500 grant to follow up on a $37,500 grant it received from the foundation earlier this year to do more outreach to the Spanish-speaking community and help those who might not otherwise be eligible for services due to their documentation status.  With the new funding, WAGAP says it plans to hire a Director of Equity who will review the agency, staff, and training plans, and make recommendations to ensure it effectively incorporates policies and practices that support equitable programs.  Then they will expand into the community, offering equity issues training to residents and organizations.  Over time, WAGAP says it plans to create programming for groups such as migrant and seasonal farmworkers to empower them to have a voice.

Tidewater Barge Lines has received a grant of over $4.1 million from the U.S. Maritime Administration to acquire equipment to expand regional barge service on the Columbia River. Tidewater will provide nearly $2 million in matching funds. The grant will provide two new low and zero emission cranes to enable the loading of additional solid waste containers on barges for shipment from southwest Washington to eastern Oregon. Tidewater President and CEO Todd Busch says the funds will allow the company to barge thousands of additional containers that would normally be trucked on the region’s highways. The cranes will be installed at Tidewater’s Vancouver and Boardman terminals. Previous grants from the Maritime Administration to Tidewater and the Port of Morrow helped improve terminal infrastructure and construct a specialty-built barge.

Boys Soccer

Wilsonville 4, Hood River Valley 2

  Girls Soccer

Wilsonville 8, Hood River Valley 0

  Volleyball

Parkrose def. Hood River Valley 25-9, 25-18, 25-11

Centennial def. Hood River Valley 25-11, 25-21, 13-25, 25-19

  Cross Country

Hood River Valley cruised to a win in the girls’ half of a four-school Northwest Oregon Conference cross country race at home, while finishing second in the boys’ portion to Canby.  In the girls’ run Phoebe Wood was first and Liv Nickson fourth as HRV had five of the top eight finishers.  HRV’s Elliot Hawley won the boys’ race with teammate Logan King in fourth.

  The Dalles grabbed three of the top four places in winning the boys’ portion of the Estacada Invitational.  Juan Diego Contreras won the race with Riverhawk teammates Leo Lemann in second and Egan Ziegenhagen in fourth.  The Dalles was second to Oregon City in the girls’ run, as Alana Casady finished sixth.

  Stevenson’s girls were second to Seton Catholic in a four-school Trico League race at King’s Way Christian.  Ruby Langer was the top Stevenson finisher in sixth.  The Bulldogs were fourth in the boys run, with Leavitt Woodall-Schafer their top finisher in 15th.

 

The Dalles City Council approved a reorganization of the City’s Community Development Department to create a new Economic Development Officer position and move General Services from the City Manager’s supervision to the department.  New City Manager Matthew Klebes made the proposal to the Council, looking to strengthen municipal economic development efforts distinct from planning duties.  Klebes said the intent of moving General Services to the Community Development Department is an attempt to improve the focus and resources associated with maintenance needs for all City facilities and the public infrastructure associated with community development efforts.  The City is currently in the midst of searching for a new Community Development Director.  The City Council voted unanimously to approve the restructure.  

Signs warning of contaminated water were being removed from The Hook area.  They were put up after a weekend spike in E. coli levels in effluent discharged from the Hood River Wastewater Treatment Plant.  New Hood River Public Works Director Rich Rice told City Councilors Tuesday evening that water samples showed the discharge was back within Oregon Department of Environmental Quality limits.  Rice adds a new ultraviolet system is being installed in the plant to help reduce these kinds of issues.  That should be operating in a few weeks.  Rice said an investigation in to what may have caused the spike is underway.  There was a similar spike in September of 2021.

Klickitat County has re-established a burn ban in the western portion of the county through the end of October, along with extending the ban in the rest of the county until Halloween.  County officials decided to reinstate the burn ban in its Zone 3 due to the persistence of dry conditions.  The ban prohibits the issuance of burning permits in unincorporated areas of Klickitat County except for authorized agricultural burning.  Residential barbecues are still allowed.  Burn ban zone maps are available on the Klickitat County Department of Emergency Management webpage.