The Oregon School Activities Association Executive Board on Tuesday approved the final recommendation from its redistricting committee that will see Hood River Valley move to the Class 5A Northwest Oregon Conference and The Dalles move from Class 5A to the Class 4A Tri-Valley Conference in September of 2022.  For HRV, it’s a move to play in a Portland-metro area based league for the first time in a number of years, joining a Northwest Conference that will include Canby, Centennial, Hillsboro, LaSalle, Milwaukie, Parkrose, Putnam, and Wilsonville.  The Dalles joins the Tri-Valley Conference made up of Gladstone, Estacada, Madras, Molalla, and Crook County.  These leagues are for most sports but does not include football.  A separate committee will meet to determine Oregon’s high school football leagues starting early in the new year.

With cold winter weather in the forecast, including ice and snow, work to construct the new Highway 97 located between Indian Service Road and Wilson Charley Road, in Klickitat County, is on hold until next year.  On Wednesday, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s contractor, Cascade Bridge, will pause work to replace the existing two-lane concrete slab bridge with a new concrete structure that will meet current bridge safety and functionality standards.  The work will resume next spring when warm, dry weather returns.  This $7.5 million dollar project is now scheduled for completion in fall 2022.

The Port of The Dalles was part of an eight-month effort looking at what needs to be done for The Dalles to be attractive for technology companies and how to support entrepreneurs in that sector.  Port Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the group will begin early next year taking action, and one of the big needs is to help develop the workforce companies in the region require to fill their employment needs within the community.  Google helped fund the study that was done in conjunction with the Center for Rural Innovation.

The ordinance to create a parking permit program at access points to seven trailheads on Hood River County forestlands will go to a hearing in January.  County Commissioners passed the first reading of the ordinance last week, after it received technical revisions for wording following a hearing earlier this fall.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says the goal is to get the program started this spring.  Hecksel did say the County Forestry Department is already beginning work to get ready for the program.  

An adult and two juveniles were arrested in Hood River on Friday after  a large amount of fentanyl and cash was found in a vehicle they were in following a traffic stop.  According to the Hood River Police, an officer had observed several signs of impairment in the adult driver of the vehicle, and in conducting a consent search of the vehicle located over 1,700 suspected fentanyl pills, an ounce of heroin, and a large amount of money.  The man was lodged at NORCOR on numerous charges along with a felony warrant.  One of the juveniles lodged at NORCOR’s juvenile detention center, while the other received a citation and was released to a family member.  Police say the street value for the pills and heroin is estimated at approximately $37,000.  Police also said two of the suspects have an extensive history involving the sale and delivery of narcotics.

The Hood River County Christmas Fire Truck parades will be held this week.  Local fire departments will collaborate for four nights of lighted fire truck parades from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., traveling throughout the county through the course of the week.  Tonight the parade will be in the Odell and Pine Grove areas, tomorrow it goes through Parkdale and Dee, Wednesday it will be in the Westside and Hood River areas, and Thursday in Cascade Locks.

The North Wasco County School District 21 Board is moving its monthly board meetings to a virtual format until further notice.  A D-21 statement said recent board meetings have been over capacity with many attendees disregarding state social distancing and masking requirements.       The district statement goes on to say it determined that the safest course of action is to return to a virtual format, as was used during the spring and fall of 2020.  In accordance with state law, live streaming will continue to be available via D-21 YouTube and Facebook accounts.  The board will continue having public comment as part of its agenda, and interested parties can sign-up to speak by emailing millerc@nwasco.k12.or.us or by submitting a written comment to publiccomments@nwasco.k12.or.us.  

Boys Basketball The Dalles 69, LaSalle 55:  Henry Begay scored 18 points and Styles DeLeon 15 to lead the Riverhawks, who led by 37 points after three quarters. Lincoln 78, Hood River Valley 42 Hood River Valley 66, Centennial 57 Elma 67, Columbia 48 Morton-White Pass 73, Stevenson 54 Ione-Arlington 51, Klickitat-Glenwood 32 Four Rivers 56, Klickitat-Glenwood 12 Dufur 45, Imbler 42 Prairie City 61, Dufur 37 Sherman 54, Elgin 3 Open Door Christian 89, Trout Lake 30 Trout Lake 58, Wallowa 44 Horizon Christian 64, Wallowa 29 Open Door Christian 47, Horizon Christian 31 South Wasco 86, Dayville-Monument 25 South Wasco 56, Cove 30 Columbia (Burbank) 83, Goldendale 29   Girls Basketball Hood River Valley 49, St. Helens 31:  Marina Castaneda scored 23 points and Reese Leiblien 10 as the Eagles won their third straight game. West Valley (WA) 49, The Dalles 19 Corbett 60, Stevenson 15 Morton-White Pass 51, Stevenson 26 Sherman 43, Elgin 40 Ione-Arlington 52, Klickitat-Glenwood 17 Four Rivers 31, Klickitat-Glenwood 29 Dufur 37, Imbler 26 Dufur 37, Prairie City 32 Trout Lake 61, Open Door Christian 22 Trout Lake 37, Wallowa 30 Wallowa 51, Horizon Christian 12 Open Door Christian 25, Horizon Christian 19 South Wasco 44, Dayville-Monument 13 South Wasco 42, Central Christian 25 Columbia (Burbank) 39, Goldendale 38       Wrestling Stevenson had three individual winners at the Rick Sanders Invitational at Lincoln High School in Portland.  Wesley Turrietta, Chad Polzel, and Gavin Gantner all won in their weight classes.  Carson Farlow of Hood River Valley also grabbed a first place finish.   Blake Madsen of Goldendale won two matches as the Timberwolves fell to Sunnyside and Davis  at the Wild West Showdown Duals in Goldendale.   Swimming The Dalles boys and girls finished third at both the River City Invitational in St. Helens and at a meet in LaGrande over the weekend.                        

The Oregon Department of Transportation is currently holding a virtual open house as it begins to revise the state’s transportation plan.  The plan has not been revised since 2006.  Michael Rock of ODOT says the plan is a long-range document covering all facets of transportation, and sets long-term goals to guide decisions in the agency’s investment decisions.  He calls the Gorge a unique transportation area in the state, with agriculture, tourism, high tech, and renewable energy sectors all providing unique transportation challenges and opportunities. The open house that is a part of the early stage of the revision process is available by going to odotopenhouse.org/oregon-transportation-plan-update.

Columbia Riverkeeper is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, claiming it is illegally polluting the Columbia River with hot water, oil, and toxic chemicals.  The organization says four dams operated by the Corps on the Columbia River between Portland and the Tri-Cities discharge illegal pollution in violation of the Clean Water Act, claiming in the suit filed in federal court that pollutants continued to be discharged, including heated cooling water and oils and greases, from The Dalles Dam, John Day Dam, and McNary Dam without obtaining required permits.  The suit also says in 2014 the two parties settled litigation by giving the Corps seven years to apply for those permits and take other action.  In response, the Corps says it applied for the permits in 2015, and continues to work to balance all of the purposes of the Columbia River system.  The Corps also says although the pools behind Lower Columbia River dams are considered reservoirs, they are not storage reservoirs, but rather run-of-river facilities, limiting the ability to impact water temperatures by drawing down water levels in the spring.