Home At Last Humane Society’s inaugural Dimes For Dogs Walkathon will take place on Saturday.  People, and their dogs, will do a self-paced walk along portions of the Riverfront Trail between the shelter on River Road in The Dalles to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center.  Erin Foote Morgan of Central Oregon Animal Friends says it’s $10 to take part, or bring a 13 gallon bag filled with cans and bottles to take part.  Day-of-walk registration begins at 9 a.m., the walk begins at 10:10, followed by an after-party at the shelter at noon.  Go to homeatlasths.org for more information.

For the first time in over two years, the Wasco County Children’s Fair will return on Saturday in The Dalles City Park.  A number of agencies in the region will be involved in the event.  Nancey Patton of Child Care Partners emphasizes it is a free event.  There will be carnival-style games, face painting, arts and crafts, music and dancing and much more, along with an opportunity for parents to learn about programs available to them.  The Children’s Fair will be Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in The Dalles City Park.

Following a second run upgrade, fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted additional fishing for recreational spring Chinook salmon in the Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam today during a joint state hearing.  With the days added, the spring Chinook season below Bonneville Dam runs through Sunday, then again from this coming Tuesday to June 15.  The additional opportunity is based on an updated May 16 forecast that projects the return of 180,000 upriver-origin adult spring Chinook, up from 161,000 projected a week ago.  At this level, the updated projection would be about 118 percent of the recent 10-year average return of these fish.  Above Bonneville Dam, there are two days allocated for recreational spring Chinook salmon fishing, May 26 and May 28.  The latest details on Columbia River fishing regulations are available at myodfw.com.

A ban on outdoor burning for Klickitat County Burn Ban Zone Two will go into effect on June 1.  The zone includes lands between the Klickitat County Fire District #7 eastern boundary west to the western boundaries of Klickitat County Fire Districts #4, 12 and 15 then north on the Klickitat River to the north county line that are outside the jurisdiction of the Yakama Indian Nation and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.  The ban will prohibit the issuance of burn permits except for authorized agricultural burning.  Residential barbecues will be allowed.  The ban will be in effect until September 30.  Klickitat County Burn Ban Zone One in the eastern part of the county went into effect on May 1, while dates for Klickitat County Burn Ban Zone Three for this year have not been finalized.

Timed use permits will be required for each personal vehicle accessing federal lands adjacent to the Waterfall Corridor of the Historic Columbia River Highway from just east of Bridal Veil to Ainsworth State Park between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day beginning on Tuesday. Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Recreation Officer Stan Hinatsu says this is a pilot project in partnership with Oregon State Parks, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and Multnomah County to try to deal with the increase in visitor use of public lands. Daily permits are available for a $2 transaction fee at recreation.gov, and a limited number will be available each day at no cost at the Cascade Locks Historical Museum and at the Gateway to the Gorge Visitors Center in Troutdale.

Baseball

Summit 15, Hood River Valley 3: The Eagles scored three runs in the first inning, but were unable to stay with the Storm in HRV’s final game before the Class 5A playoffs next week broke their five-game winning streak.

Softball

Mountainside 7, The Dalles 3: Kennedy Abbas had two hits and drove in a run for the Riverhawks, but Mountainside’s four-run fourth inning was the difference.

Track and Field

Two area athletes won events on the first day of the Oregon Class 1A Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene. Sawyer Dean of Trout Lake won the boys’ pole vault, clearing 13 feet, two inches, while teammate Landon Heberling was second. Sherman’s Sophia Hulke won the girls’ discus with a toss of 102 feet, 10 inches.

Columbia’s girls finished second to Montesano at the Southwest Washington Class 1A Championships at Seton Catholic. The Bruins’ Chanele Reyes won both hurdles races, Hannah Polkinghorn was victorious in the 200 meters, and the 4 by 100 meter relay team also grabbed a first place finish, as the CHS girls earned 11 entries to next week’s Class 1A state meet. The Bruin boys had three state qualifications, led by a second place finish by the 4 by 400 meter relay team.

Baseball

Dufur 4, St. Paul 3

  Track and Field

Goldendale’s boys finished third at the Washington Class 2B District 5 Championships at Cle Elum-Roslyn.  Alden Williams won both the 800 and 1600 meters for Goldendale, while Issac Call won the 3200 meters.  The Timberwolf boys earned six entries to next week’s state meet.  Goldendale’s girls grabbed four entries for state.  The Timberwolves’ won the girls four by 200 meter relay with Jenna Casey, Graeson Mobley, Charlotte Matulovich, and Emma Olson.

 

Port of Hood River Commissioners voted to proceed with applying for a $195 million dollar multimodal projects discretionary grant for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  That would be a major cornerstone towards the estimated $500 million that would be needed to replace the bridge.  Port Commissioner Mike Fox says they are trying to take advantage of a decision by officials working on replacement of the Interstate 5 Bridge in the Portland metro area not to seek funding during this grant cycle.  There is a short turnaround time to submit the application, which is due on May 23.  A conceptual finance plan would include the $195 million federal contribution, $110 million each from Oregon and Washington, and local Port contribution funded by tolls of $85 million.      

Wasco County Commissioners approved moving forward with having a market and feasibility study for a potential youth sports complex on former aluminum plant property it would receive from Google as part of a Strategic Improvement Plan for two new data centers.  Mid-Columbia Medical Center has proposed using the current Kramer Field for a new hospital, and replace it with a new youth sports facility.  County Administrator Tyler Stone says doing the feasibility study will be part of the due diligence process.  Stone says they are seeking to have some of the study costs covered by the Brownsfields grant that the City of The Dalles has received, as the property qualifies with not only by having been former aluminum plant land but also a City landfill.  

As the White Salmon Valley School District does its budget work for 2022-23, the good news is it is about the same as it was last year.  But with reduced enrollment since the pandemic, state legislators have been telling school officials they will need to adjust in future years if that trend continues.  District Superintendent Sean McGeeney says White Salmon schools are down 150 students from before the pandemic.  McGeeney says they will be watching their kindergarten numbers to see if the decrease in enrollment continues.  McGeeney adds housing costs in the Gorge are a factor in the drop in students.