The Wasco County Fair and Rodeo is just a week away.  It gets underway next Thursday at the fairgrounds in Tygh Valley.  Preparations for the fair were delayed slightly by the fairgrounds being used as a fire camp last week during the nearby Miller Road Fire, but fair manager Zach Harvey says they will have everything ready for next week.  This year’s fair will feature a combination of expanded entertainment attractions and long-time favorite activities.  For detailed information go to the Wasco County Fair and Rodeo Facebook page.

Columbia Gorge Community College will participate for the second consecutive year in the Metallica Scholars program.  The CGCC Foundation matched the award to offer $100,000 in scholarships for students enrolled in career-technology training.  Funds are also used to purchase toolkits for students in construction trades and advanced manufacturing.  Funded by Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation and led by the American Association of Community Colleges, the Metallica Scholars Initiative directly supports students while elevating the importance of career and technical education.  This year there are ten more colleges being added to the program, with an investment of $1.8 million.  To learn more about the program at CGCC, go to cgcc.edu.

Providence Health System will be bringing its Better Outcomes thru Bridges behavioral health program to Hood River this fall. Program manager Becky Wilkinson explains the program works with patients dealing with homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues after they leave the hospital.  She says the program is person-centered. letting the patient drive their care rather than telling them what to do.  Wilkinson said they have found that approach has led to many of their clients making the decision to seek help on their own.  Wilkinson says they will be hiring two staff members for the program in Hood River, an outreach specialist that is essential a case manager and a peer support specialist.

 Washington Gorge Action Programs received a surprise $25,000 donation from First Interstate Bank this week.  The funds are part of the bank’s Believe in Local campaign and will help support a new Mobile Food Bank set to launch in September to serve less populated areas.  WAGAP was nominated by local First Interstate employee Maria Pike and selected from a pool of over 400 nominees thanks to its alignment with the Bank’s philanthropic goals.  Bingen First Interstate employees have been volunteering at the Food Bank since January.  WAGAP is one of forty nonprofit organizations across First Interstate’s recently expanded 14-state footprint will receive a $25,000 donation to support their work.

Wasco County Commissioners are pleased the Oregon Department of Forestry decided to pull back a Wildfire Risk Map for revision and to do a better job of public outreach before putting it into practice.  But they also emphasized at a meeting this week the need for people to protect their properties from wildfire.  Commissioner Steve Kramer says it’s important for the public to be involved, and for state officials to listen.  Commissioner Scott Hege added it is important for property owners to keep their properties defensible from wildfire.

Cruise The Gorge weekend will take place in The Dalles this weekend.  The Neon Cruise on Friday evening will once again be an open cruise and begin around 7 p.m. in downtown The Dalles.  Then on Saturday the car show will take place in downtown The Dalles from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Steve Hudson of the Mid-Columbia Car Club says the show will be centered on the 1st Street parking lot.  Those wishing to register for the car show can do so at midcolumbiacarclub.org.

The Hood River County Health Department is planning to have vaccination pop-up events at some school registration events later this month.  The department’s Daron Ryan says they plan to have COVID-19 vaccines and other immunizations as well.  It’s part of encouraging parents to get their children the shots required for school attendance in Oregon.  Ryan says the health department plans to be at registrations at Wy’east and Hood River middle schools on August 24 and 25.  Those who would like more information can call the Hood River County Health Department at 541-386-1115.

The Wasco County Commission voted to proceed with the purchase of 154 acres west of Chenowith Creek for $1.5 million.  Formerly owned by Bert Hodges, Commissioner Scott Hege said the County has been looking at the property for a number of years.  Hege says the purchase is a long-term vision…with the potential of using part of the land for an athletic complex to replace Kramer Field rather than on 35 acres in the Port area the County is to receive from Google as has been proposed by Mid-Columbia Medical Center.   The acreage from Google could then be used to create jobs.  Hege says there are plenty of hurdles to use of the land, with most of it in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, noting recreational facilities are not prohibited in the NSA.  He added the purchase is being made with the future growth of the community in mind.  

The Hood River Urban Renewal Agency board voted to move forward with having staff draft contracts with consultants MIG to develop a final Heights Streetscape design using Alternative 3 as the preferred alternative.  That alternative was a mix of two others that went through a public process over the first part of the year.  In the next phase of work, MIG will produce a more specific design along with a project implementation strategy.  Board member Mark Zanmiller pointed out there will still be opportunities for more public input as the process continues, noting this alternative will still be refined with more detail.  The URA board is made up of the Hood River City Council and two Port of Hood River representatives.

Matt Dumolt appears to have grabbed the second spot on the November general election ballot for District 2 Klickitat County Commissioner.  The latest vote count released by the County late Monday showed Dumolt with 599 votes, to 571 for William Morris.  Lori Zoller was the top vote-getter with 1,073 votes, while Rick Essacson received 313.  The County will release one more set of results next Monday, but the latest returns indicated only two more ballots remained to be counted.  Ballots only had to be postmarked last Tuesday, and the County has until August 16 to complete the count and August 19 to certify the results.  In Monday’s results reported, the County reported a turnout of 51.6 percent of registered voters.