SafeSpace Children’s Advocacy Center of the Gorge will hold a fundraiser this coming weekend in Hood River.  SafeSpace does child abuse assessments in Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat, Sherman, and Gilliam counties, working with law enforcement and the Oregon Department of Human Services to conduct interviews with children in a safe and welcoming environments.  Executive Director Beatriz Lynch says “Harvest Hope for Kids” is their first fundraising event in about two years, and will be outside at the Griffin House off of Westcliff Drive in Hood River on Sunday at 1 p.m.  There will also be live and silent auctions, live music, and food from Michochan Grill.  For ticket information, go to safespacecac.org.

The Hood River City Council has formally announced that Abigail Elder will be Hood River’s next city manager beginning November 1.  Mayor Kate McBride had said last month that Elder had been selected from three finalists for the job, and the City Council last week voted to authorize McBride to sign a contract with Elder after a couple of weeks of negotiations.  Elder was most recently Director of Community Services and Engagement for the City of Beaverton.  She has more than 15 years of local government management experience in Oregon, from public library administration to serving as director of the mayor’s office in Beaverton.  Originally from Minnesota, Elder holds master’s degrees in Public Administration from Portland State University and in Library and Information Studies from University of Wisconsin ‐ Madison.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from Saint Olaf College.  Elder succeeds Rachael Fuller who left her post on July 1

Washington’s Republican Congressional delegation is asking U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to prioritize the hiring of state executives for the Farm Service Agency to help process a backlog of disaster relief applications.  Jamie Herrera-Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers say in a letter to Vilsack that agricultural operations in Washington have been significantly impacted by wildfires and ongoing severe drought.  They add constituents tell them that creeks have gone dry and that cattle and crops have been lost.  The trio says eligible producers are now waiting months for paperwork to be approved solely due to a lack of staffing.  They add getting timely assistance out to ranchers and farmers could mean the difference for many operations between being able to stay open or closing for good.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 3,286 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 for a three-day period ending at 12:01 a.m. Monday, bringing the state’s pandemic total to 334,971.  Locally, 48 cases were reported in Hood River County, 39 in Wasco County, two in Sherman County, and one in Gilliam County.  There were eight new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon reported during the three-day period, raising the state’s death toll to 3,823.  The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon was at 769 as of Monday, which is two more than Sunday.  There were 207 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds, which is six more than Sunday.  There were 61 available adult ICU beds out of 687 total, and 351 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,216.  

Football Pendleton 70, The Dalles 6 Kalama 65, Stevenson 14   Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 6, Redmond 0 Ridgeview 3, The Dalles 0 Horizon Christian 6, Life Christian 0   Girls Soccer Ridgeview 0, The Dalles 0 Redmond 2, Hood River Valley 0 Seton Catholic 2, Columbia 0 Goldendale 11, Columbia (Burbank) 0   Volleyball The Dalles def. Hood River Valley 25-17, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21 Columbia def. Seton Catholic 3-2 Klickitat-Glenwood def. Horizon Christian 25-3, 25-11, 25-6 Goldendale def, Granger 18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-10  

Klickitat County Public Health Director Erinn Quinn says it looks like the County’s number of COVID-19 cases will be about the same in September as in August, but there is some hope this week might bring the start of a downward trend.  Quinn said they had over 100 COVID cases last week, but only 32 so far this week, and hopefully that will hold up.  She notes Klickitat County has tended to be about two weeks behind statewide trends.  There have been 331 COVID cases reported in Klickitat County so far in September after there were 338 in August, which was the highest for any month during the pandemic.

A 25-year-old Vancouver man drowned on Wednesday after falling or being swept over the Lower Lewis River Falls in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, divers located Benjamin K. Jones in fourteen feet of water just west of the main pool.  The Sheriff’s Office says Jones had been in the area with friends on a hiking trip.  Jones was last seen on a ledge just west of the falls when his party lost sight of him.  Witnesses at the bottom of the falls observed a person in the water yelling for help.  The Sheriff’s Office says witnesses attempted to reach Jones, but he went under and did not resurface.  Skamania County Search and Rescue and Dive Rescue Unit, North Country EMS, and the Volcano Rescue Team all responded to the incident.  The Sheriff’s Office noted the accident is a reminder to use established overlooks and stay on trails when visiting the Falls.

Healthcare executive Anthony Masciotra, Jr., has been elected to the board of trustees of Mid-Columbia Medical Center.  Masciotra is the chief executive officer of the Oregon Health & Science University Practice Plan, a 2,100-member group of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed independent providers involved in all aspects of clinical care at OHSU.  He also serves as Chief Ambulatory and Professional Practice Officer at OHSU Health and is a member of the School of Medicine senior leadership team.  Masciotra is a member of the Academic Medical Group Leadership Roundtable and the Group on Faculty Practice of the Association of American Medical Colleges and is a member of several professional organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Medical Group Management Association and Healthcare Financial Management Association.

The Oregon Health Authority reported a Hood River County death related to COVID-19 in its Wednesday update.  The OHA said a 64-year-old man from Hood River County who tested positive on September 15 and died on September 28 at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital.  The OHA indicated he had underlying conditions.  On Wednesday the number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon was at 811, which is 11 fewer than Tuesday.  There were 235 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds, which is two fewer than Tuesday.  The OHA reported 2,011 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, bringing the state total to 328,184.  26 cases were reported for Wasco County, 11 in Hood River County, and one each in Sherman and Gilliam counties.  There were 21 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,771.

The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office and Crime Stoppers of Oregon is asking for the public’s help to solve the disappearance and homicide of a woman whose remains were found over eighteen years ago in a remote location of a forest road in Hood River County.  Earlier this year, the Oregon State Medical Examiner identified the remains as Tisha Ann Dyer, who had been missing since 2002.   At the time of her disappearance, Dyer was 36 years old, approximately 5’5” tall, and weighing 130 pounds.  She was thought to be living the Portland area at the time of her disappearance.  According to the investigation, Dyer was not known to be involved in hiking or any other outdoor activities that would have taken her to a remote location on Mount Hood.  Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers cash rewards of up to $2,500 cash for information reported to them that leads to an arrest in any unsolved felony crime, and tipsters can remain anonymous.  Anyone wishing to submit a secure and anonymous tip regarding any unsolved felony crime should visit crimestoppersoforegon.com or visit the App Store and download P3 Tips for your smart phone or tablet.