Klickitat County is in the midst of its 2022 budget process.  County Commissioner David Sauter says this has been a much more intense process this year with two new commissioners and looking a reprioritizing what they are spending their resources on.  One example is a proposal cutting the County’s general fund contribution to road projects in half to help make the bond payments for the new administrative building.  Sauter thinks those funds will be made up in time, in large part when tax revenues on two solar projects in the eastern end of the County are operating.  Sauter does not expect to see that revenue in 2022, but that will likely happen in 2023.

Hood River’s Urban Renewal advisory committee discussed potential design options for the Heights district at a recent worksession.  Mayor Kate McBride says the purpose was to give their consultant more information on whether those concepts are going in the right direction.  The next step is for the consultant to integrate information from the meeting into the concepts, and getting final results of a parking study that was done on the Heights to develop projections for future needs.

Football Hood River Valley 41, Putnam 0 The Dalles 49, Parkrose 20 Goldendale 60, Highland 0 Columbia 33, Fort Vancouver 22 Wahkiakum 41, Stevenson 2 Dufur 32, Imbler 14 Sherman 58, Pilot Rock 44 Enterprise 50, Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat 14   Volleyball Big Sky District Tournament at Echo Semi-Final:  South Wasco def.. Klickitat-Glenwood 25-19, 25-19, 25-15 Third Place:  Ione-Arlington def. Klickitat-Glenwood 3-1 Championship:  Echo def. South Wasco 25-19, 25-23, 25-18:  South Wasco hosts Open Door on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the first round of the OSAA Class 1A playoffs.

Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 4, Redmond 0:  HRV clinched a share of the Intermountain Conference championship with the win. The Dalles 2, Ridgeview 2   Girls Soccer Redmond 1, Hood River Valley 0 Ridgeview 5, The Dalles 0 LaCenter 8, Columbia 0 Stevenson 6, Toutle Lake 2   Volleyball Hood River Valley def. The Dalles 25-22, 14-25, 25-20, 26-24 LaCenter def. Columbia 25-13, 13-25, 25-6, 27-25 Stevenson def. Winlock 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 Goldendale def. Highland 25-21, 25-16, 25-7   Cross Country Juan Diego Contreras won the high school boys “Blue” division race at the Valiant Invitational at Valley Catholic.  The Riverhawks finished second to the host Valiants in the team standings.  The Riverhawks finished sixth in the girls’ race, with Alana Casady was the top finisher for The Dalles in tenth.   Stevenson’s girls finished second at the Central 2B League Championship in Onalaska.  The Bulldogs’ Isabella Spencer finished second while Sofia Spencer was fourth.  In the boys’ race, Raymond Hays was the top Stevenson finisher in 21st.   Goldendale’s boys won a three-school EWAC League Meet at home.  Issac Call was second and Aiden Williams fourth for the Timberwolves.  

Dufur and Hood River are both in line to receive federal funding for infrastructure projects in a bill that funds the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service.  Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley’s office says the bill includes federal funding for specific conservation, water infrastructure, and other projects throughout Oregon.  That includes $1 million for the City of Dufur’s wastewater treatment expansion project, and $500,000 for the City of Hood River’s Phase IV of its waterfront stormwater line relocation.  The bill will now be the basis for negotiations with the House.  Merkley is chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that works on funding of the Interior Department and the Forest Service.

The Hood River County School District announced it is moving its board meetings back to a virtual format until further notice, starting with its next regular meeting this coming Wednesday.  According to a statement from the district issued Thursday, the board and district personnel agree their preference is to hold in-person meetings, but escalating safety concerns led them to determine to return to a virtual format used in the fall of 2020.  The district says Oregon public meetings law allows meetings to be conducted by what is termed “other electronic communication.”  The district says it will continue live streaming its meetings, and regularly reevaluate the need for a virtual meeting format.  One September board meeting was disrupted when some attendees did not want to wear face coverings, and the October 8 meeting saw the district use new protocols for attendance and giving testimony, but that led to protestors demonstrating against the limited capacity outside of the district office.

The FBI is warning Oregonians about a bomb threat scam.  The agency says it has received several reports of the threats being received by businesses and agencies in the state through its Internet Complaint Center.  The language in every case appears to be very similar.  The threat message says the bad actor has planted bombs in the organization and that if anyone contacts police, the bombs will be detonated remotely.  There is a demand for a payment of $5,000 – $20,000 to be made through an email or cryptocurrency address.  The messages also include death threats to the recipients and their families.  So far, the threats are targeting internet service providers, education institutions, and health care providers.  If you receive such a threat, the FBI recommends that you do NOT pay the ransom and that you notify them at www.ic3.gov. 

The Wasco County Commission approved a Strategic Improvement Plan agreement with Google and the City of The Dalles for development of a portion of the former aluminum plant site the company purchased.  The agreement actually covers two data center projects to be developed in the next 25 years, with a 15-year tax abatement for each.  There would be a one-time $3 million payment to the County and City for each project, a prescribed Community Service Fee, and a guaranteed annual payment for 15 years based on 50 percent of property tax due for the first project, and 60 percent for the second.  Wasco County administrative services director Matthew Klebes said this agreement brings more to local governments than the Enterprise Zone agreements used for previous Google developments.  The agreement will now go The Dalles City Council on Monday evening.  Google would still need to get various land use permits for each project to move forward.

Klickitat County Board of Health members were told on Thursday that the County is starting to see the decrease in COVID-19 cases much of the rest of Washington had already been experiencing.  County Health Officer Dr. Amy Person said nearly all of the COVID cases are the result of the Delta variant.  County Public Health Director Erinn Quinn says she is heartened by the new case numbers so far this week, with only 29 reported as of Thursday morning.  Quinn says Klickitat County currently has 108 active COVID-19 cases, adding they are heavily concentrated in the Goldendale area.  She also said 47.2 percent of Klickitat County residents over the age of 12 have been vaccinated.

Hood River Adopt-A-Dog will hold its annual Art of Bark calendar release party online this weekend.  Adopt-A-Dog Executive Director Sherry Bohn says this year’s calendar theme is “It’s A Dog’s Life.”  Proceeds from the event and the calendar go to Hood River Adopt-A-Dog medical and spay and neuter funds.  The release party starts at 6 p.m. Friday and continues to 6 p.m. Sunday.  Go to hoodriveradoptadog.org for more information.