The countdown to Northwest Cherry Festival weekend in The Dalles is underway. The festival starts Friday afternoon in downtown The Dalles, and one of the attractions is the Rainier Amusements Carnival on First Street. The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says discount carnival wristbands are on sale now until Friday at noon. Farquharson noted that last year, the discount wristbands were sold out by the day before the Cherry Festival. The carnival wristbands can also be purchased in advance for $25 at the Chamber office on 404 West 2nd, or online at northwestcherryfestival.com. Once the carnival opens on Friday afternoon, wristbands cost $35.
Newhouse Put Three Area Projects In Appropriations Requests
Washington Fourth District Congressman Dan Newhouse announced he has submitted three Mid-Columbia related projects in his Community Project Funding requests to the House Appropriations Committee. One of those is for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge, which he notes is near the end of its serviceable life and is vital to the region’s economy, transportation network, and public safety. A second is for improvements at the Goldendale Municipal Airport, including extension of the runway from 40 to 60 feet. And a request was made for $5 million to help with the pinniped predation program on the Columbia River to prevent predation of spring Chinook salmon by sea lions.
Potential Record Trout Caught And Released
A potential record bull trout was caught and released on Lake Billy Chinook on April 8. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says Ryan Mejaski amd his fishing companion Joe Wilhite reported to the agency they caught a bull trout that was 33.5 inches in length with a 26-inch girth, but maxed out the scale they had on hand at 25 pounds, and Mejaski suspects it was probably closer to 30 pounds. After taking photos of the fish, Mejaski and Wilhite released it and watched it swim away. Mejaski says he is a bit disappointed they didn’t keep it for an official record, but added releasing it was the right thing to do at the time, and they never really thought about keeping it. The current state record bull trout was caught in 1989 from Lake Billy Chinook and weighed 23 lbs., 2 ounces. The world record from Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho in 1949 tipped the scales at 32 lbs. Mejaski said they continued fishing that day and caught a second massive bull trout only slightly smaller than the one they had released.
D-21 Kindergarten Pre-Registration Scheduled For May
North Wasco County School District 21 says it will hold pre-registration for kindergarten on the first week of May. Children must be 5 years old by September 1 to enroll in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. Parents and guardians with incoming kindergartners should contact their neighborhood school from May 1st through May 5th to get started. Kindergarten orientation will be offered at each school site later in May or early June. For pre-registration, parents should bring a birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency. If you are unsure of which school to enroll your child, call a D-21 school or administrative office to find out where to go.
April 14-15 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Hood River Valley 10, Centennial 0: Jordan Webber drove in three runs and struck out nine while pitching five scoreless innings.
Gladstone 12, The Dalles 6: Nolan Donivan and Braden Schwartz each had two RBI’s for the Riverhawks.
Stevenson 8, Columbia 2
Dufur splits with Stanfield, winning game one 11-10 and losing the nightcap 17-8
Heppner sweeps Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 4-0 and 11-0
Sherman splits with Irrigon, losing the opener 7-1 and winning game two 10-0
Softball
LaSalle 6, Hood River Valley 5: HRV’s scored all of its runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in a wild rally that fell just short.
The Dalles 15, Gladstone 0: The Riverhawks had 15 hits and four home runs in a game shortened to three innings.
Columbia sweeps Stevenson 19-7 and 16-0
Grant Union sweeps Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 15-0 and 20-0
Kiona-Benton sweeps Goldendale 22-3 and 18-1
Track and Field
Columbia won both the boys and girls titles at its Bruin Invitational in White Salmon. Camden Uffelman Sara Miller, and Ella Zimmerman of Columbia, Hayley Peterson of Dufur, and Alex Lopez of Trout Lake won two events apiece.
Hood River Valley’s Jackson Bullock and Elliot Hawley each had a second place finish at the Wilsonville Invitational
Zoe Dunn of The Dalles had two second place finishes at the Sherwood Need for Speed Classic
Stevenson’s Hudson Holzauer won the boys’ discus and finished third in the shot put at the Willamette Falls Invitational in Oregon City
Sherman’s Sophie Hulke won the girls’ discus and finished second in the shot put at the Columbia River Invitational in Boardman.
Goldendale’s Raymond Holycross won both hurdles races and the triple jump at the K-Valley Rally in Kittitas
Boys Tennis
Hood River Valley 7, Estacada 1
Boys Lacrosse
Summit 11, Hood River Valley 4
Boys Soccer
LaCenter 4, Columbia 0
April 13 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Centennial 4, Hood River Valley 3, 9 innings: Centennial scored two runs in the seventh inning and one in the ninth to come back and even their Northwest Oregon Conference season opening series at one game apiece. Hunter Duckwall had an outstanding start on the mound, for HRV giving up only three hits and one unearned run over five innings.
King’s Way Christian 16, Stevenson 2
Softball
Hood River Valley 23, Parkrose 12: Abby Kahler drove in five runs on three hits while Grace Rowan went 4 for 4 with a homer and four RBI as the Eagles cranked out 20 hits on the way to their second straight Northwest Oregon Conference win.
Columbia 6, Stevenson 5: The Bruins scored two runs in the sixth inning to grab the victory, with Halle Kock’s single bring home the winning run.
Boys Soccer
Columbia 3, Winlock 1
Boys Tennis
Hood River Valley 7, Centennial 2
Girls Lacrosse
Ida B. Wells 17, Hood River Valley 9
OHA Approves MCMC/Adventist Transaction
The Oregon Health Authority has approved Mid-Columbia Medical Center becoming a part of the Adventist Health System with some conditions. In its decision issued on Thursday, the OHA said the transaction was in the interest of consumers and is urgently necessary to maintain the solvency of MCMC. In its findings, the OHA noted the recent suspension of medical oncology services at the Celilo Cancer Center and MCMC posting a $10 million operating loss in 2022, and believed there was considerable risk of a further cut in services in the next 12 months. The OHA says the transaction will substantially improve MCMC’s financial condition. The conditions placed on the approval include Adventist maintaining existing MCMC services for ten years and continuing referral policies for reproductive health care services, gender affirming care, and Death with Dignity Act services. The OHA says public comments raised concerns that Adventist Health, a faith-based organization, may restrict access to care those services. The OHA will assess the impact of the transaction one, two, and five years after the transaction is completed.
April 12 Prep Sports Roundup
Baseball
Hood River Valley at Centennial, ppd.
The Dalles 10, Madras 9: Will Brock and Braden Schwartz each drove in three runs as the Riverhawks jumped out to a 10-0 lead then had to withstand a White Buffaloes rally to get the win.
Sherman 5, Irrigon 3
Goldendale 13, LaSalle (Yakima) 3
Softball
Hood River Valley 13, Milwaukie 3: Hailey Stuben drove in three runs and Brynna Alvarez two as the Eagles won their Northwest Oregon Conference opener.
The Dalles 16, Madras 0: Madalynn Sagapolutele homered twice and drove in three runs, Keiliani Crichton-Tunai homered and had four RBI, and Maddie Brock also hit a home run to lead the Riverhawks offense.
Track and Field
Hood River Valley topped Milwaukie and fell to Hillsboro in a Northwest Oregon Conference meet in Hillsboro. HRV’s Simone Tillman won the girls’ 200 and 400 meters and the long jump.
Alaina Casady and Josefine Nielsen won two events apiece for The Dalles in a three-way Tri-Valley Conference meet with Gladstone and Estacada.
Columbia’s girls were third and boys fourth in a Trico League meet at LaCenter.
Boys Lacrosse
Hood River Valley 7, Central Catholic 6
Hood River County Rated Fourth Healthiest In Oregon
Hood River County was rated the fourth healthiest county in Oregon in the 2022 County Health Rankings put together by the University of Wisconsin Population Institute. Daron Ryan of the Hood River County Health Department outlined some of the reasons why the County rated so highly, including access to healthy foods, the large number of medical providers, and a high number of social groups to maintain connectivity. She said areas for the County to work on include sexually transmitted infections, whose rates are on the rise. Washington, Benton, and Clackamas counties were ranked the top three healthiest counties in Oregon. Sherman County was 16th and Wasco County 17th.
The Dalles Wraps Up COVID Block Grant Program
The City of The Dalles says it has wrapped up the Community Development Block Grant COVID-19 Emergency Housing Assistance program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City, with the Mid-Columbia Housing Authority as a sub-recipient, was awarded a grant to provide emergency housing assistance to low- and moderate-income households, including assistance for past due rent, mortgage payments, and utility payments. The grant provided $315,000 of emergency assistance within Wasco, Sherman, and Hood River Counties, aiding residents in Cascade Locks, Hood River, Mosier, The Dalles, Tygh Valley, and Wasco. In total, 158 households and 370 residents benefited from the grant, with 90% of people assisted living in The Dalles. Grant duration was for the year of 2022.