Improvements to the south campground and day-use area at Viento State Park seven miles west of Hood River have started as part of an overall project constructing the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail from the park east to Mitchell Point.  The south campground and day-use area are closed through spring 2023.  Work began for a two-mile segment of the state trail in early 2022 and work to prepare for campground improvements, including removal of trees necessary to construct the improvements, is now underway.  Travelers on Interstate 84 and park neighbors will see activity in the area for this project and another project to improve oak habitat.  Big leaf maple and Douglas-fir will be removed from a one-acre site in the park, which will allow the existing Oregon white oak ecosystem to thrive and produce new trees.  Work on the habitat restoration begins in late September.  Although the day-use access to the trail is closed during the work, the Starvation Creek State Park access to the historic trail remains open.

The Federal Aviation Administration has given Columbia Gorge Community College its “Air Agency Certificate” as home of the nation’s newest aviation maintenance technician training program.  That follows four years of the college working with industry partners and the FAA to develop a curriculum to meet rigorous technical requirements for training.  Students graduating from the program will be prepared for their FAA licensing test as aviation maintenance technicians that would allow them to maintain fixed-wing aircraft anywhere in the United States.  CGCC Capital Projects and Community Relations Director Dan Spatz says the Gorge is an ideal location for the program, with the amount of rural aviation in the region, and no maintenance training opportunities east of the Cascades.  A 2020 estimate by the Aviation Technical Education Council shows America’s aviation industry faces an estimated shortage of 79,000 maintenance technicians by the year 2039.

Visit Hood River’s First Friday event in downtown Hood River this week will have a “back to school” theme.  Hannah Settje of Visit Hood River says it’s the third month of the restart of the event coming out of the pandemic, and August’s event was well-received.  She adds First Friday is an opportunity to bring the community together, and this Friday will celebrate the start of the school year with Hood River County School District booths on site to provide information.  There will also be vendors and live music.  The event runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, with Oak Street from 6th to 1st closed to vehicle traffic beginning at 4:30.

The Wasco County Fair begins in Tygh Valley on Thursday and will continue through Sunday.  Thursday is a free admission day sponsored by The Dalles Disposal.  Headliner Whey Jennings, grandson of country music icon Waylon Jennings, will perform before the rodeo on Friday evening.  Updated fair information is available on the Wasco County Fair and Rodeo Facebook page.

The Klickitat County Fair is getting underway in Goldendale and will run through Sunday.  Thursday will feature the annual kickoff barbecue at 5 p.m.  The annual Fair parade through Goldendale is at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the rodeo will be at 12:30 on Saturday and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.  Updated fair information is available on the Klickitat County Fair and Rodeo Facebook page.

Oregon’s unemployment rate remained at 3.5% in July, unchanged from the month of June.  Oregon’s unemployment rate has tracked very closely with the national unemployment rate for the past two years, with both rates declining rapidly during May 2020 through early 2022 as the economies recovered.  Over the past five months, unemployment rates for the U.S. and Oregon have averaged 3.6%, near record lows dating back almost 50 years.  As of July, Oregon has regained 94% of jobs lost at the onset of the pandemic.  The U.S. has regained 100%. Oregon’s private sector is close to a full jobs recovery, having regained 99% of pandemic recession losses.  However, Oregon’s government sector has only regained 49% of the jobs it lost during March through June 2020.  

The restart of resurfacing work on Highway 142 between Lyle and the Little Klickitat River has been pushed back a day to Thursday.  The Washington State Department of Transportation says work was paused in mid-June to allow recently applied crack sealant time to cure before a chip seal is applied.  The chip seal work will resume Thursday, .and when it does travelers should expect daytime delays of up to 20 minutes on weekdays and some Saturdays, with flaggers or a pilot car directing vehicles through the work zone.  This coming Saturday, Highway 142 will be fully closed from mileposts 19 to 22.5 for the chip seal application.  The project is scheduled for completion this fall.

Family Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Hanlon-Wilde, a well-known, a longtime provider of women’s healthcare services in The Dalles, has joined North Central Public Health District.  Hanlon-Wilde worked at Columbia River Women’s Center for 18 years.  She got her Doctorate in Nursing Practice in 2022 and recently was hired as a professor of nursing at Washington State University, but she will continue clinical work.  A nurse practitioner is an advanced practice registered nurse who can diagnose and prescribe, and provide primary healthcare for people of all ages.  Hanlon-Wilde’s main focus at NCPHD is reproductive health, which includes services like family planning, treating sexually transmitted infections, doing annual exams and pap smears and offering vaccinations.

The Hood River County Commission reached agreement on a fireworks ordinance combining two proposals that were on the table.  Under the ordinance to be put together, fireworks would not be allowed in the County from July 5 to November 15.  If the Oregon Department of Forestry declares a regulated use closure for the lands it protects due to high fire danger by June 15, the County Administrator and Commission Chair would be empowered to place a ban on fireworks for earlier than July 5 in consultation with the County Forester.  One option used the ODF trigger alone, and the other left it in the hands of the administrator and Commission Chair.  Commission Chair Mike Oates called the combination a good compromise.  The ordinance will come back to Commission for a vote in September.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center CEO Dennis Knox says it will take about 90 days for the due diligence process to take place on a proposed agreement to join Adventist Health.  MCMC announced last week it had signed a non-binding agreement with Adventist.  Knox says there is a lot of detail work to be done to reach a final deal.  He says if the agreement is finalized they would be a part of the Adventist Health system, but there would still be decision making taking place at the local level.  Knox says Adventist traditionally relies on local governance at their affiliate hospitals.  Knox noted they would like to make a decision on the agreement at MCMC’s Board of Trustees meeting on October 26, but he also noted there was no specific date placed in the letter of intent.