Hood River County has closed all of its forest trails to motorized use until further notice. The east wind event that is underway led to the decision. It is expected to bring dry conditions with low humidity…poor overnight humidity recovery…and strong winds…exacerbating already existing conditions where fires can establish and grow quickly. No campfires are allowed on Hood River County forestlands…and state law requires passenger vehicles to carry a shovel and a gallon of water to be fire safe in the woods.

Volleyball

Hood River Valley def. Parkrose 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 16-14

The Dalles def. Pendleton 25-9, 25-22, 25-13

Klickitat-Glenwood def. Horizon Christian 25-19, 25-19, 25-20

Klickitat-Glenwood def. Columbia JV 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 15-11

Columbia JV def. Horizon Christian 25-14, 25-14, 25-12

Goldendale def. Tri-Cities Prep 3-1

  Girls Soccer

The Dalles 2, Hood River Valley 0

Columbia 6, Goldendale 0

Hudson’s Bay 5, Stevenson 0

  Football

Crane 38, Dufur 8

  Cross Country

The Dalles took the top three places in the boys’ race as the Riverhawks topped Estacada at The Dalles Country Club.  Juan Diego Contreras was the winner, followed by Leo Lemann and Egan Ziegenhagen.  Alaina Casady won the girls’ race, as Estacada did not field a complete team.

 

Wasco County Commissioners conducted the first reading of an ordinance to define outdoor mass gatherings requiring a permit as 500 people or more.  Currently, outdoor mass gatherings are defined as any event in rural Wasco County.  County Planning Director Kelly Howsley-Glover says currently the requirements for a permit can be unclear, and this will attempt to streamline that process.  She adds the ordinance is based on state law, but there are two areas where the County made changes, one of which is using the 500 person cap rather than the state’s number of 3,000, and the other is for fire safety.  The ordinance is scheduled for a second reading at the County Commission’s September 21 meeting.

A campaign is underway over the next two months to provide information on solar energy in Hood River County.  Solarize Hood River County is being led by a coalition of organizations including The Next Door, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, Solar Oregon, the Hood River County Energy Council, and Energy Trust of Oregon.  The campaign, which runs through October 31, will provide a series of free educational workshops on solar and solar plus battery storage systems, and Hood River County residents who choose to “go solar” during the campaign period will qualify for a discount.  Participants will be connected with pre-qualified contractors.  Find more information about the campaign and how to get involved on the Solarize Hood River, go to bit.ly/hrcsolarize.  

A revamp of the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency’s new grant program for property owners and tenants in downtown The Dalles wishing to improve their properties, buildings, and tenant spaces is already showing signs of receiving interest.  The Dalles Interim Community Development Director Joshua Chandler says they are already processing some applications, currently working with four property owners on mainly smaller projects.  The URA board recently refreshed the grant program to include higher award caps and a streamlined process.  Information is available on the City of The Dalles’ website.

A celebration of Columbia Gorge Community College’s Regional Skills Center and Chinook Residence Hall will take place on Saturday at the school’s campus in The Dalles.  The facilities opened a year ago, but a public celebration of its opening had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  CGCC Capital Projects and Community Relations Director Dan Spatz says it will be an opportunity for the public to see the facilities up close.  Speakers during the 9:30 ceremony include Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege, The Dalles Mayor Rich Mays, and CGCC board president Tim Arbogast.  Guided tours will be available from 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hood River Shelter Services and Mid-Columbia Community Action Council have entered into an alliance to allow for continued operations of the 24-bed pallet shelter in Hood River this winter.  Under the alliance, Community Action will take over as the lead on operations of the shelter while Shelter Services will continue to play a front and center role in volunteer coordination and providing access to high quality food for the shelter clients.  For the past few winters, Community Action has provided Shelter Services with a large share of the funding needed for warming shelter operations in Hood River.  The Hood River pallet shelter site is at 1733 Oak Street, and includes a sanitation trailer with restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities, and other on-site social services through Mid-Columbia Center For Living, One Community Health, and the Bridges to Health Pathways program.

It’s been a good year for winter wheat in the Mid-Columbia as harvest wraps up.  Jacob Powell of Oregon State University Extension in Wasco and Sherman counties says farmers are seeing great to excellent yields, some 30 to 40 bushels above average.  Powell said input costs are the highest they have ever been for farmers, but timely rainfall helped the crop.  Most of the winter wheat harvested in the Mid-Columbia is exported to Asia.  Powell said prices were over $11 a bushel earlier in the summer, up from a year ago, but with more grain coming to market that has fallen to about $9 a bushel.  He did say that many growers in the area had locked into contracts to sell wheat at the higher prices.

Columbia Gorge Food Bank has a new refrigerated truck to take food to communities around the Gorge.  The 2023 Freightliner is equipped with a 24-foot box, Thermo King refrigerator unit, and Maxon liftgate.  The truck features photos of Gorge scenery and longtime Windy River Gleaners volunteer Virginia McKay, honoring her labor and all of the community partners who make the Food Bank’s work possible.  This new addition to the Food Bank’s fleet was purchased with support from a $100,000 grant from the Roundhouse Foundation with additional funding from the Concordia Foundation and local donors.  As a branch of Oregon Food Bank, Columbia Gorge Food Bank serves over 5000 people per month in Sherman, Wasco and Hood River counties by distributing food, providing food systems leadership and coordinating anti-hunger efforts.

Bingen’s Huckleberry Festival returns this weekend after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The event will be centered on Daubenspeck Park, which will be open on Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  There will be music, food, and family activities.  The parade will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m., with former Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes serving as grand marshal.  For detailed event information go to huckleberry-fest.com.