A 42-year-old Appleton man was arrested by Klickitat County Sheriff’s deputies on charges related to burglaries in the area.  In a statement, Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said Arthur Smith was taken into custody after trying to flee after officers spotted a pickup truck that had been reported stolen last week in the Murdock area at a campsite off Fisher Hill Road near Appleton.  Officers used tire tracks from the truck to link it to burglary scenes in the last week in the Appleton and Snowden Road areas.  Songer said the Sheriff’s Office had been actively looking for Smith since August 2021 on an outstanding felony warrant for assault.  The Sheriff’s Office has submitted numerous charges against Smith to the Klickitat County Prosecutor’s Office.

Hood River County Reads gets started this weekend.  Kickoff programs and book distributions are planned for Saturday at the Hood River, Cascade Locks, and Parkdale library branches, with a program at the Hood River library at 2 p.m.  This year’s book is a graphic memoir A Fire Story by Brian Fies, which chronicles the 2017 wildfires in Northern California in which his home and thousands of others were burned.  Hood River County Reads member Bonnie Withers says she’s excited about choosing a book with the graphic format.  A complete schedule of Hood River County Reads events to take place in April and early May are available at hoodriverlibrary.org.

There is a week left to get applications in for full-year Columbia Gorge Community College Foundation scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year.  Wendy Patton of the CGCC Foundation says they will be taking applications for the $2500 scholarships through next Thursday.  Patton says the application is available online.  To apply, go to cgcc.edu, click on financial aid, and then scholarships.  

Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a measure into law Thursday morning that will expand training opportunities for sexual assault nurse examiners online and at Washington State University’s College of Nursing.  The bill’s prime sponsor, Goldendale Representative Gina Mosbrucker, says this legislation is a way to address a serious shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners across the state in rural and underserved areas, particularly in Eastern Washington.  House Bill 1622 requires the Washington State University College of Nursing to establish online training to provide nurses in rural and underserved communities access to at least 40 hours of training, a clinical training site at the WSU College of Nursing with clinical training requirements established by the U.S. Department of Justice, and scholarships for nurses to complete the training.  Mosbrucker says the WSU College of Nursing is already prepared to begin its first training in Spokane. She also expects training to expand in the future into Central Washington, including Yakima.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking to engage anglers and other stakeholders on potential fishery management actions for this year and into the future.  Returns of summer steelhead to areas above Bonneville Dam hit a record low in 2021, closing the Deschutes River to steelhead fishing for the first time since 1978 and impacting fisheries throughout the mainstem and tributaries, and another lo return is expected this year.  ODFW is asking anglers and other stakeholders to complete a listening survey by April 11 that is being conducted by the Oregon State University Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.  On April 19 at 6 p.m., ODFW fish biologists throughout the Columbia Basin will present a webinar to discuss summer steelhead management, what was learned from the survey, decision frameworks for fishery restrictions and more. This webinar will be livestreamed over ODFW’s YouTube channel and include a Q&A session where fisheries biologists will answer questions submitted during the livestream.

Baseball

Hood River Valley 7, Sandy 0: Jacob Von Lubken pitched a five-hitter as the Eagles won the first of four games at a tournament at Nelson Sports Complex at Happy Valley.

Kalama 7, Stevenson 1

Columbia 20, Riverside 2

Softball

Seton Catholic sweeps Stevenson 10-0 and 17-0

Track and Field

Columbia took first in the girls’ team standings while Stevenson tied for second in a seven-school meet in Stevenson. Jessica Polkinghorn of CHS won a pair of events. In the boys’ portion of the meet, Columbia’s Camden Uffelman and Calvin Andrews won the hurdles races, while Kasey Ditlefsen of Stevenson won the 400 meters.

Current Wasco County Administrative Services Director Matthew Klebes will be next City Manager of The Dalles. Mayor Rich Mays made the announcement Wednesday night that Klebes had accepted the offer extended after City Councilors chose him from four candidates during an executive session late last week. The City Council will formally vote on the contract at an upcoming meeting. Klebes has been a part of The Dalles scene since 2014, when he worked with the Main Street program. He was assistant city manager in The Dalles for three years before taking his current role with Wasco County, where he has been deeply involved in putting together the Strategic Investment Plan with Google for the company’s two proposed data centers on former aluminum plant property it owns. Klebes will move to his new job in mid-May.

North Central Public Health District says the antiviral medicine Paxlovid, used for treating mild to moderate COVID-19, is available locally. Paxlovid, a five-day course of two separate medications, is available to those 12 and up who have tested positive for COVID and are at high risk for getting severe COVID. NCPHD officials say Paxlovid has been proven to reduce the chance of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 by nearly 90%. It must be started within five days of symptom onset. High risk persons include those who are 65 or older and those with underlying conditions such as cancer, diabetes or obesity. People with severe liver or kidney disease should not receive Paxlovid. NCPHD officials say it is very important for all people with high risk medical conditions to contact their health care provider if they contract COVID-19 to see what treatments are available, and to get tested as soon as any symptoms develop. Paxlovid is available at Mid-Columbia Medical Center, which NCPHD says has given the medicine to over 20 people.

Baseball

Roseburg 11, The Dalles 1

  Softball

The Dalles 10, Parkrose 4

Columbia Area Transit is in the midst of gathering public input for to update its transit master plan.  A survey is currently available online at engagecatbus.org, along with a report on their existing services.  CAT’s Patty Fink says the plan will integrate how services can facilitate new development in Hood River County along with expanding what’s available in more established areas.  CAT is planning to be at community events to gather public input.  They will be doing analysis of the feedback in summer and autumn, with an aim toward adopting a new plan in 2023.