With April providing a number of “awareness” months, YouthThink of Wasco County is encouraging parents to be aware of alcohol use among young people.  YouthThink’s Debby Jones says the state of Oregon will be rolling out a “Rethink Your Drink” campaign.  Jones says it is not anti-alcohol, but rather a look at the influence alcohol has on people’s lives.  Jones says YouthThink has new billboards in The Dalles with a picture of a bottle that says “common sense,” with the message that is what children need most.

Maryhill Museum of Art is open for the season and getting back to more normal operations.  Maryhill’s Rachel Bucci says they are excited about that, and this year’s special exhibition focuses on Indigenous art since 1980, with works from their own collection and on loan from other galleries.  Other special exhibitions at Maryhill this year include Navajo and Pueblo jewelry, plus avian imagery on paper in Maryhill’s Favorites Gallery.  The Exqusite Gorge II project with fiber arts is also underway.  Maryhill is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Dalles Public Works this week will repairing asphalt from the recent stormwater system main installation project on West 10th Street.  Work on Wednesday is scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a full road closure with a clearly marked detour will be in effect on West 10th from Walnut to Snipes.  Work on Thursday is scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but there will be no road closures.  That work will occur in the South bike lane and the travel lanes will be shifted over with cones.  Full and partial road closures will affect pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.  No parking will be allowed within the work area due to heavy equipment use and the location of the trench.  No parking signs will be placed on the curb 48 hours before the project moves into each work area.

Wasco County, the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, and the Link Public Transit will hold an in-person event Tuesday evening for a presentation on the Wasco County Transit Development Plan.  MCEDD Deputy Director of Transportation Kate Drennan says the plan is designed to take a 20-year view of what is possible for public transportation in Wasco County, and builds on a transit system plan put together by the City of The Dalles.  The in-person event runs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at The Link Transit Center on 802 Chenowith Loop Road in The Dalles, with the presentation beginning at 5:30.  An on-line open house continues through Friday, go to mcedd.org for more information.

The Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour is returning later this month. After being held in September last year, the event is scheduled for a more traditional spring weekend of April 22-24. Gorge Artists board member Ted Olson says 32 artists have confirmed that they will open their studios and be part of the tour. Studios of the participating artists from Cascade Locks to The Dalles on both sides of the Columbia River will be open to the public all three days. To get a tour map and more information, go to gorgeartists.org.

Baseball

Oregon City 11, Hood River Valley 0

The Dalles 4, Milwaukie 3

Battle Ground 10, The Dalles 0

King’s Way Christian 10, Columbia 2

Dufur sweeps Horizon Christian (Tualatin) 14-0 and 5-0

Pilot Rock sweeps Lyle-Wishram 17-5 and 16-12

Tri-Cities Prep sweeps Goldendale 2-1 and 6-1

  Softball

Columbia sweeps Riverside 20-2 and 16-0

Rainier 15, Stevenson 0

Goldendale sweeps Tri-Cities Prep 14-4 and 21-2

  Track and Field

Micah Castro won the boys’ pole vault to highlight the Hood River Valley effort at the Laker Classic in Lake Oswego.  The Eagles’ Shaw Burns was second in the boys’ triple jump, and Simone Tillman was third in the girls’ 400 meters.

  Goldendale’s Alden Williams was third in the boys’ 1600 meters and Emma Olson third in the girls’ triple jump at the Holden Relays in Yakima.

  Boys Lacrosse

Aloha 17, Hood River Valley 13

Baseball

Toutle Lake 15, Stevenson 1

  Softball

The Dalles 2, Putnam 1

St. Helens 7, Hood River Valley 1

  Track and Field

Aaron Smith won the javelin, long jump, and triple jump to help Lyle-Wishram’s boys finished third at the River View Invitational.  The Cougars’ David Bernier also had a first place finish in the 400 meters, while L-W’s Hannah Lind won the 100 meter hurdles.

  Olivia Fauth won the 200 meters, Sydney Cole the pole vault, Eva Battisoni the triple jump, and the four by 100 relay team all were victorious as Stevenson’s girls finished third in an eight-school meet at Napavine.  The Bulldogs finished fifth in the boys’ standings.

  Boys Soccer

King’s Way Christian 4, Columbia 0

  Boys Tennis

Hood River Valley def. Ridgeview in sets 10-8.

 

Travelers who use Washington Highway 14 in the Bingen area will need to add extra time into their trips early next week. During work to stabilize two separate slopes located along the north side of Highway 14 just west of the Chamberlain Lake Rest Area, Washington State Department of Transportation contractors discovered several large rock blocks that are too dangerous to be scaled by hand, and must be scaled and removed using a mechanical scaler. Beginning Monday and continuing through Wednesday, travelers in both directions of Highway 14 near Bingen can expect multiple, 45-minute-long roadway closures 7 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. for rock scaling work. Closures will begin at the top of each hour, with a 15 minute window to clear stacked-up traffic. Once rock scaling work is complete, travelers can expect weekday, daytime, single- and double-lane closures with 20-minute delays for the duration of the project, which is expected to be completed this summer.

Track and Field

The Dalles’ boys grabbed eight first place finishes in a three-school meet at St. Helens.  Jaxon Pullen won a pair of events for the Riverhawks.  In the girls’ portion of the meet…The Dalles’ Alana Cassidy and Zoe Dunn won two events apiece.

  Sophie Hulke of Sherman had a pair of third place finishes to lead the Huskies’ effort at the Sisters Invitational.

The Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District is in the midst of taking over management of youth sports activities that formerly operated under the Hood River County School District’s Community Education program.  Jaime Rivera recently was named the district’s recreation supervisor, and he says the goal is to provide opportunities for youth to participate and partner with organizations that are already in existence.  Recreation Assistant Gio Magana also says summer camps will be returning, with an announcement on what will be available will be coming soon.  Information on those activities will be posted at hoodriverparksandrec.org as they are announced.