The City of The Dalles is bringing its legal services back in-house.  The City Council gave its approval for staff to enter into negotiations with Jonathan Kara to become City Attorney.  He has already been acting as the City’s legal counsel as part of the City’s contract with the firm Campbell Phillips.  Mayor Rich Mays says they have been very happy with the work by the firm, but conflicts of interest that prevented Kara from providing some services had become an issue.  Mays adds bringing Kara in to City Hall will make it easier for department heads to consult with him.  Gene Parker was the City’s in-house attorney for a number of years, and Mays noted when Parker retired they did a nationwide search for a replacement but were not happy with the applicants.

An open house to mark the start of construction of Columbia Gorge Food Bank’s new warehouse and community food center in The Dalles will take place on Thursday morning.  Food Bank Manager Sharon Thornberry says they will have the open house at their current location on 3610 Crates Way.  The new facility will include a 10,000 square foot warehouse with a drive-in cooler that can hold an entire truckload of fresh product, allowing for a larger inventory to be kept on hand.  The Columbia Gorge Food Bank serves over 5,000 people in Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman counties.  The open house will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday.

The Mid-Columbia Housing Collaborative has been formed to bring a large number of housing initiatives together to address homelessness in the region.  Kenny LaPoint of Mid-Columbia Community Action says it’s an attempt to make the efforts to provide more housing less confusing for the different agencies and governments involved, and the public.  Leslie Naramore of Washington Gorge Action Programs adds the collaborative keeps all groups aware of what is being done, and generates new ideas.  Providence Health Systems have provided a grant to help put the strategic plan together.

The City of White Salmon is once again providing free access to the Hood River Aquatic Center for residents that live within the city limits.  White Salmon residents can sign up at City Hall at 100 N. Main, by sending an email to utilityclerk@ci.white-salmon.wa.us, or by calling (509) 493-1133.  Signups are not being taken at the Hood River Aquatic Center, and children should not be sent to City Hall to sign up.  Once residents have signed up, information will be sent to the Hood River Aquatic Center and they will create an account noting that the free access via the City of White Salmon.  Free access is provided from June 1 through September 30.

Home at Last Humane Society has launched a community survey to better understand The Dalles community’s priorities for its services, and recommendations for creating reliable funding sources in the face of increasing costs.  Home at Last is our region’s primary provider of animal management partnership with law enforcement, rescues, adoptions, and community spay and neuter support.  The organization has seen a 25% increase in costs of labor, food, medicine and facility maintenance over the past 18 months.  The survey asks for community input on how Home at Last should address the increasing costs of running shelter operations and maintenance of its aging facility.  One of the options for ongoing funding is a 10-cent county-wide levy that could be placed on the November ballot.  This levy of 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would generate approximately $250,000 for the shelter each year.  The survey is available through June 19, and can be accessed at homeatlasths.org.

Replacement of the Dog River water pipeline took a major step forward on Monday evening as The Dalles City Council voted to award a construction contract for the project to K&E Excavating.  The bid was for over $5.89 million, well under the City’s estimated cost of $9.47 million.  Mayor Rich Mays noted it has been a 12-year process for the City to get to this point, but now work is starting on the ground.  The project is due to be finished by the end of next year.

The White Salmon Valley Pool Metropolitan Park District will hold a virtual town hall meeting on Thursday evening to update the public on the status of efforts to construct a new swimming pool in White Salmon.  Much of the design work has been done for the pool and associated facilities that would be constructed in a first phase, but the district board voted to take a pause the development process last month.  Board member Steve Harris says that’s because their consultants have given them updated numbers showing the estimated cost to build the pool of $5.7 million reached last August has gone up by 28 percent, to $6.7 million.  The district has been fundraising in an effort to get the pool built.  Thursday’s meeting begins on Zoom at 7 p.m.  To take part go to whitesalmonvalleypool.org.

Hood River City Councilors voted to approve adding irrigation of parks into a parks maintenance contract that’s already in place.  The City is down three employees in the public works department, and already has an agreement in place with Crystal Greens Landscaping of Clackamas.  Public Works Foreman Adam Schmid told Councilors that Crystal Greens will install smart irrigation controls at twelve different locations that also allow for more efficient water use.  The City will be paying $26,720 for the services.

A new Timed Use Permit for personal vehicles along the Waterfall Corridor in the Columbia Gorge goes into effect Tuesday to help reduce congestion, increase safety and improve the overall visitor experience.  Between Tuesday and Labor Day, the Timed Use Permit will be required for personal vehicles to access federal lands adjacent to the Waterfall Corridor between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., seven days a week, between the Bridal Veil off-ramp at I-84 Exit 28 and Ainsworth State Park at Exit 35.  Multnomah County, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service launched the joint project to create a more reliable, safe, predictable and enjoyable experience for all users visiting trailheads, waterfalls and viewpoints.  In addition to the Waterfall Corridor Timed Use Permits, the Forest Service will reinstate Multnomah Falls Timed Use Permits for visitors using the I-84 Exit 31 parking lot during the same time period.  The permits are two separate systems and are not interchangeable.  The permits can be acquired at recreation.gov.

Human remains discovered over the weekend in remote Klickitat County rangeland about two miles east of John Day Dam have been tentatively identified as those of a man from The Dalles reported as missing over two years ago.  According to a statement from Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer, the remains were discovered by a hiker on Saturday afternoon, and are believed to be those of Matthew J. Palmer, who was 26-years-old when he was reported as missing to The Dalles Police in February of 2020.  A forensic pathologist will further examine the remains at the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the official cause and manner of death are pending, but it does not appear the death was the result of homicidal violence.  The investigation is ongoing.