Mid-Columbia Medical Center CEO Dennis Knox expects the hospital’s process of looking for a partner, and deciding whether to take one on, to be methodical but also should be wrapped up in late spring.  Knox says they had have had about 20 preliminary inquiries as they work with a firm that specializes in this area, and are beginning to talk with interested parties.  Knox says the process will probably take until the end of May to make a decision, adding it is possible they will choose not to partner with anyone at all and remain independent.  Knox noted the firm they are working with has helped about 250 not-for-profit hospitals do similar searches, and about half have decided to stay independent.

Washington 14th District State Representative Gina Mosbrucker is sponsoring a bill to change knowingly possessing of fentanyl from a simple misdemeanor to a class C felony.  The Goldendale Republican says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control now says overdose from fentanyl is the leading cause of death between the ages of 18 and 45.  She says under the Washington State Supreme Court’s Blake decision last year, police can do almost nothing when encountering a fentanyl user.  House Bill 1937 has been referred to the House Public Safety Committee, but no hearings have been scheduled as of yet.

Boys Basketball

Hood River Valley 56, Woodburn 53:  Tommy Ziegler scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, and Emanuel Romero tallied six of his 11 late in the game, as the Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak.

King’s Way Christian 59,  Columbia 40:  Carson Lanz led the CHS effort with 17 points.

Goldendale 53, Granger 45

  Girls Basketball

Mountain View (WA) 53, Hood River Valley 51:  HRV’s Marina Castaneda had a big night with 36 points, but it wasn’t quite enough to get the win against a balanced Mountain View squad.

Granger 35, Goldendale 30

Fire crews rescued a person from a commercial structure fire in The Dalles early Tuesday morning.  In a statement, Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue says they were dispatched to the fire shortly after 3 a.m.  The first engine and fire medic crews entered the burning structure upon arrival to conduct a primary search, and rescued the person still inside the structure.  MCFR says the fire is still under investigation, and further details are not being released at this time.  Wasco County 9-1-1 logs show the fire occurred on West 6th in The Dalles.

The City of The Dalles and the Oregon Department of Transportation have reached an agreement to move forward with extending the center turn lane on West 6th Street from Snipes where it currently ends to Hostetler.  A City application to ODOT’s All Roads Transportation Safety program was approved, which would provide up to $922,000 for the estimated $1 million project.  This section of roadway has been the site of numerous motor vehicle accidents over the years, the majority of which have been related to attempted left-turns by westbound vehicles.  City Police officers have also observed head-on near misses as drivers move into the oncoming lane to make a left turn not realizing that the center turn lane has ended.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center CEO Dennis Knox says they have been able to take in all patients to the hospital during the current COVID-19 Omicron surge, but they have been close a number of times to not being able to do so.  Knox says they have hovered around capacity, but they’ve been able to take all patients to date.  One of the problems they have had is finding places to send patients in need of a higher level of care due to a lack of available beds in the Portland metro area.  Knox estimated about three-quarters of the COVID-19 positive patients at MCMC at any given time are unvaccinated.

Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital will be limiting visitors to one per stay for most patients due to Omicron variant concerns.  According to a statement, the new policy takes effect at all Providence Oregon hospitals on Wednesday.  One designated visitor per patient stay is allowed in adult inpatient units, mother/baby units, emergency departments and hospital-based outpatient and procedural areas.  Special rules apply for people with disabilities or COVID-19 and for those in behavioral health inpatient units.  Pediatric and labor & delivery patients can have two designated visitors.  To prevent the spread of disease, everyone must wear a mask in the hospital and maintain a safe physical distance of six feet.  

Saturday will be the last day of white sturgeon retention fishing in the Bonneville Pool of the Columbia River, from Bonneville Dam to The Dalles Dam and adjacent tributaries.  Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon expect effort to be high for the next few days due to good weather.  Catch rates indicate the harvest guideline of 675 sturgeon will be reached this weekend, marking the second consecutive year that Bonneville Pool recreational sturgeon retention will close in January.  Fishery managers extended the sturgeon retention season for an additional 14 days in The Dalles Pool, from The Dalles Dam to John Day Dam, with the season open three days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from January 29 through February 28 or until the allowable catch of 190 sturgeon is reached.  Sturgeon retention remains open per permanent regulations in the John Day Pool, from John Day Dam upstream to McNary Dam, for seven days per week until the guideline is met.  Catch rates are currently low in the John Day Pool so no management action is needed at this time.

Klickitat County officials are pushing for both the Oregon and Washington legislatures to pass what is needed to create a bi-state bridge authority to oversee a new Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  County Commissioner Jacob Anderson says the hope is the Washington Senate Transportation Committee will pass it this week.  Anderson said once they can get the bi-state bridge authority legislation done, they will move into asking for more financial help for bridge design.  He notes having 14th District Senator Curtis King as the ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee is a big help in their efforts.  

The City of Hood River appears to be in good fiscal shape halfway through the fiscal year.  In a report to City Councilors for their meeting Monday night, City Finance Director Will Norris indicates the City’s revenues and expenditures are balanced with neither a sizable surplus nor deficit to report.  Mayor Kate McBride says their next chunk of federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars was supposed to arrive this fiscal year, but now won’t be in hand until after July 1, but says that won’t cause a problem thanks in part to budgetary actions by past councils.  Norris’ report says city-wide revenues are generally returning to normal as the economy adjusts to the persistent presence of COVID.  The Q2 financial data doesn’t include the largest impacts of the Omicron variant which is projected to peak in Oregon in late January.