Boys Basketball

King’s Way Christian 47, Columbia 30

Goldendale 60, Columbia 51

Goldendale 63, Highland 52

Napavine 72, Stevenson 42

Rainier 70, Stevenson 41

  Girls Basketball

Redmond 36, Hood River Valley 32

Ridgeview 47, The Dalles 18

LaCenter 60, Columbia 49

Goldendale 54, Columbia 46

Goldendale 46, Highland 44

Morton-White Pass 52, Stevenson 27

Napavine 90, Stevenson 22

  Girls Wrestling

Columbia’s Jessica Polkinghorn won the 155 pound title to highlight local efforts at the Hood River Classic.  LaGrande won the team title.

  Skiing

Hood River Valley’s Thorson Welch was second in the Mt. Hood League boys’ giant slalom race at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl.  Cooper Klindt of The Dalles was eighth. In the girls’ race, Lucy Booth of The Dalles was sixth.  Maya Corcoran was the top finisher for HRV in 17th.

A 28-year-old Idaho man was rescued on Mt. Hood after falling from the Hogsback snow ridge in the Mt. Hood Crater, sliding into the Devil’s Kitchen fumarole, and landing on rocks deep in the cavity and sustaining serious injuries.  According to the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, George Stevens and two friends started for the summit late in the day on Wednesday, and when they reached the steep Hogsback snow ridge on their descent, the surface was slick with frozen ice.  The climber attempted to snowboard down from this ridge, but lost his edge and slid out of control into the open fumarole a few hundred feet below.  The Hood River County Sheriff’s office led the rescue response and deployed more than 20 volunteer rescuers from the Hood River Crag Rats and Portland Mountain Rescue.  Two teams of rescuers were sent high on the mountain to extract and lower the injured climber to safety, with a rescuer wearing a respirator and using gas monitors lowered to Stevens around midnight.  The team stabilized Stevens and hoisted him to the surface where he was loaded in a litter.  Using ropes, the rescuers then lowered him down steep ice slopes to the top of the Palmer ski lift, where he was transferred to a snow cat that transported him to Timberline Lodge parking lot and a waiting ambulance.  This was the third rescue on Mt. Hood in only five days.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce announced its 2021 Distinguished Citizens Awards during a virtual presentation Thursday evening.  North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell was named Woman of the Year, Hew Hillis was named Man of the Year, and Columbia Bank received Business of the Year.  Rachel Carter was selected as Volunteer of the Year, Kimberly Koch received Educator of the Year, and Darlisa Black and Mack Lamb were honored as First Responders of the Year for their work on the Columbia Gorge Wildland and Fire Information Page.  Maddie Dollarhide was tabbed as Youth of the Year, Vesta Smith was honored with the Philanthropic Excellence Award, and Ken Bailey was given the Agricultural Achievement Award.

The Washington State House has unanimously approved a bill by 14th District Representative Gina Mosbrucker that would increase sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE, education in rural and underserved areas of Washington.   House Bill 1622 would require the Washington State University College of Nursing to establish an online and clinical training program and a regional SANE leader pilot program.  The Goldendale Republican said previously the only opportunity for the training had been through Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  The measure passed the House 97-0.  It now goes to the Senate for further consideration.

Boys Basketball

Redmond 80, Hood River Valley 54:  Garrett Osborne scored 35 points as the Panthers led from start to finish.  Ryles Buckley led HRV with 20 points.

Ridgeview 60, The Dalles 50:  The Riverhawks lost on the road in their first game in two weeks after a COVID-19 pause.

LaCenter 73, Columbia 53

Morton-White Pass 70, Stevenson 25

Columbia Gorge Community College is in the initial phases of studying a potential ag-tech program for the school.  CGCC Dean of Library and Learning Commons Dylan McManus says the school is looking at how it can assist the agricultural community in the region, communicating with 75 different agencies.  Topics like sustainability, the potential influence of robotics on the ag industry, and the future of small and medium sized farms are all being considered in studying an ag-tech program.

Like other points of the pandemic when the Mid-Columbia area tended to lag behind trends in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the Omicron surge appears to be similar.  North Central Public Health District Chief Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties are lagging a bit behind the larger areas of the state.  McDonell also said vaccinations in the district remain on a slow and steady pace, noting challenges in communicating that boosters are available to most people may have slowed that pace.  She added the Oregon Health Authority will be doing a week-long vaccine clinic in Wasco County during February.

The Oregon Health Authority’s weekly COVID-19 report released Wednesday showed a decline in weekly cases, but sharply rising hospitalizations and a high test positivity rate. OHA reported 47,361 new cases of COVID-19 during the week that ended Sunday – a 9.5% decline from last week’s pandemic high. There were 638 new COVID-19-related hospitalizations, a 45% increase over the previous week, and the highest since the Delta surge peaked at 1,036 hospitalizations. COVID-19-related deaths fell to 59, from 83 the previous week. Reported COVID-19 test results dropped 9.9% to 288,232 for the week ending January 22. Test positivity rose from 22.5% to 25%. Oregon remains well short of meeting Gov. Kate Brown’s goal of getting 1 million more people in the state a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of January. When the challenge began in mid-December, 949,749 people had received a booster dose. Since then, 469,740 Oregonians have received a booster. As of Wednesday, Oregon needs 530,260 people to get a booster to reach the goal.

Wrestling

Ridgeview 54, Hood River Valley 21

Pendleton 39, Hood River Valley 36:  Connor Farlow and Jaime Rodriguez-Estrada each won a pair of matches by fall for HRV.

A 31-year-old man was arrested in The Dalles after being reported as attacking someone and stealing a vehicle in the 1200 block of West 2nd Street Monday evening.  According to The Dalles Police Department, officers from The Dalles Police, Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, and Oregon State Police pursued the vehicle through the west end of the City, up Seven Mile Hill into Wasco County, and eventually back into The Dalles.  After using specialized equipment to deflate tires, they were able to get the vehicle stopped in the area of 8th and Cherry Heights.  31-year-old Daniel Wood was arrested and lodged at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility on numerous charges including robbery, attempted assault, and strangulation.