The Dalles Community Outreach Team has returned from its semi-annual trip to Washington, D.C. to push for projects and policies of interest to various area agencies.  City Manager Matthew Klebes says they met with a number of different agencies and representatives during the nearly week-long tour of the nation’s capital.  Among the topics the team advocated for:  a new hanger at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport with infrastructure, a Q-Life co-location facility to better distribute fiber optic service and provide disaster resiliency, improving forest management policy to protect The Dalles’ watershed from fire, Port Marina fire recovery assistance, and continuation of Payment In Lieu of Taxes and Secure Rural Schools funding.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo formally announced Tuesday the Economic Development Administration is awarding a $2.8 million grant to Klickitat County to develop an aviation maintenance training facility at Columbia Gorge Regional Airport and provide related infrastructure improvements, including water, sewer, and electrical services.  This project will provide the resources and infrastructure necessary to better prepare students for in-demand jobs in aviation maintenance.  The EDA investment will be matched with $700,000 in local funds and according to estimates is expected to help create 70 jobs, retain 53 jobs, and generate $6 million in private investment.  Washington Governor Jay Inslee said the state’s aerospace and aviation industry has a long history of providing jobs, and this project will help train and employ more people looking for a career in aviation.

A 34-year-old Hood River man was taken into custody on Sunday for his alleged involvement in two stabbings.  According to the Hood River Police Department, Feliciano Aguilar Chavez was arrested after officers responded to a disturbance at 1823 Cascade Avenue.  Police say two people, 25-year-old Julio Lopez Vasquez and 24-year-old Selvin Gomez Pirir were taken to Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries.  Chavez was booked and lodged at NORCOR on a charge of Assault 1.

Boys Soccer</p> Hood River Valley 5, Canby 2</p> Madras 4, The Dalles 2</p> Southwest Christian 5, Horizon Christian 2</p>   Girls Soccer</p> Canby 1, Hood River Valley 0</p> The Dalles 7, Madras 3</p> Trout Lake 2, Banks 1</p>   Volleyball</p> The Dalles def. Gladstone 25-7, 25-14, 25-11…now 3-1 in the TVC</p>

Klickitat County Commissioners are working on revising a decommissioning plan for large-scale renewable energy projects that are built in the County.  The ordinance was originally put together in 2008 primarily for wind projects, and the County is looking to update it to address solar projects.  County Commissioner David Sauter says changes they are looking at include no longer considering credit for recycle value of components, and specific language for battery storage and testing during decommissioning to determine if cleanup needs to be done.  The County Planning Department was asked to revise the proposed ordinance changes to include the elimination of the recycle credit and the language specifics, and will bring it back for continuation of a public hearing on Tuesday at 2:30 in the County Services Building in Goldendale.

Washington Gorge Action Programs will expand operations of its new Mobile Food Bank into Skamania County starting in October.   On the second Thursday of each month, the Mobile Food Bank will be at the Skamania General Store from 9:30 to 11:30 in the morning, and then in Mill A at Evergreen Community Church from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.  Klickitat County routes remain the same.  On the first Thursday of each month the Mobile Food Bank will be at Wishram School from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Dallesport Community Center from noon to 2 p.m., and the Lyle Lions Club from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.  On the third Thursday of each month it goes to Mt. Adams Baptist Church in Trout Lake from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and then at the BZ Corner Community Building from noon to 2 p.m.  In addition to the Mobile Food Bank, the WAGAP Food Bank Network continues to operate its permanent locations in Bingen, Goldendale, Klickitat, and Stevenson.

As the Hood River Urban Renewal Agency begins a feasibility study for a proposed Westside Urban Renewal District, there is a sense of urgency to get it the district formally established by the end of August 2023.  Mayor Kate McBride says they have put out a request for proposals to get the feasibility study done, and the goal is to be able to freeze the tax base within the district during the summer of 2023.  Otherwise, McBride says they would have to wait another year.  A timeline presented by City Manager Abigail Elder at the Council’s September 12 meeting called for the study phase to be wrapped up by March of next year.  The City is looking at establishing a Westside Urban Renewal District in order to facilitate infrastructure improvements for residential housing.

Area fire crews on Friday night dealt with a pair of brush fires alongside Interstate 84 between Mosier and Rowena.  The spot fires were reported just after 7:30 Friday night.  They burned a couple of acres along a long narrow strip alongside the freeway on the south side of I-84.  Crews from Mosier, Dallesport, Hood River, Dufur, Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, and Wy’east responded to the fire, with the Oregon State Police and Wasco County Sheriff’s Office also assisting.  Control of the fire began to be achieved about an hour-and-a-half after it started, but crews were there through the night and into Saturday morning to get the area mopped up.

Signs posted on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River in The Dalles area resulting from sewage overflow caused by a plugged sewer pipe will remain up until at least Tuesday.  The Dalles Public Works says another status update will be made Tuesday afternoon.  A plugged sewer pipe discovered Friday sent sewage overlow directly into Mill Creek and into the Columbia River.  According to The Dalles Public Works, a wastewater collection crew conducted a routine inspection at the manhole at the 9^th Street Bridge over Mill Creek, and found the lock had been broken and vandals had thrown rocks and concrete pieces into the manhole, causing a plugged sewer pipe.  The sewer pipe has been cleared and the pipe has been repaired.  Out of an abundance of caution, warning signs advising no water contact were placed at locations of public river access on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River, from The Dalles Riverfront Park to West Mayer Park boat launch.

Columbia Gorge Community College is receiving industry-standard manufacturing equipment to expand job training for students pursuing careers in technology-based careers.  The equipment is the latest addition to the college’s Columbia Gorge Regional Skills Center.  Google provided a grant of $85,000 to Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation to purchase and transport the equipment, which includes computer numerical controlled milling and lathe equipment from Prigel Machines in Odell.  The machines are used in a variety of industries including manufacturing, agriculture, aerospace and wood products.  The college also plans to make these new machines available for businesses to use for prototyping and design.  In 2021, Google contributed funding for a 3D-printer, laser engraver, watercutter, milling machine, studio system furnace, and other equipment for the Regional Skills Center’s makerspace, resolving a critical gap in training capacity.