The Washington State Department of Commerce announced this week that the City of White Salmon has been selected to receive up to $400,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant funds to continue providing a regional housing rehabilitation program with Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation.  CCHC and the City of White Salmon teamed up for the successful investment proposal and will continue their partnership over the next two years.  The minor home repair program will provide zero interest, deferred loans up to $25,000 for lower income homeowners seeking health and safety repairs to their homes using local contractors.  It’s available to homeowners throughout Klickitat and Skamania Counties earning at or below 80% of the Area Median Income.  Interested homeowners should call 888-356-8919 for additional information.

Football Hood River Valley 27, Ridgeview 26, overtime Redmond 76, The Dalles 12 Dufur 48, Sherman 8 Goldendale 76, Mabton 56   Volleyball Columbia def. Stevenson 3-0 Dufur def. Condon 3-0 Goldendale won four out of five matches at the Yakama SunDome Tournament.   Girls Soccer Columbia 3, Stevenson 2 The Dalles 7, Goldendale 0   Cross Country The Dalles’ Juan Diego Contreras finished second in the boys’ race at the Oregon City Invitational, leading the Riverhawks to a sixth place team finish.  The Dalles finished 12^th in the girls’ race.   Today’s Schedule Boys Soccer Horizon Christian at Columbia Christian Trout Lake at Faith Bible   Girls Soccer Napavine at Stevenson, 6 p.m.  

Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden signed on to a letter urging Senate leadership to prioritize investing in hazardous fuels reduction to lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires.  In the letter, signed by several Senate colleagues, the senators highlighted the millions of acres of forest decimated by increasingly severe wildfires.  It urged Senate Leadership to provide funding to help meet the estimated $20 billion required to reduce wildfire risk across the National Forest System in any further infrastructure legislation.  Merkley also introduced legislation earlier this summer to provide $30 billion in mandatory funding to reduce thinning across all public lands.

With rain in the forecast, Oregon Department of Forestry fire officials are reminding the public that both Hood River and Wasco counties still have a burn ban in place, prohibiting all open burning, including debris pile burning and burn barrels.  Fire District officials will continue to monitor conditions, including fuel moisture levels, forecast temperature and wind, and relative humidity.  In addition to the burn ban, Fire Season and a Regulated-Use Closure are still in effect for private ownership, as well as state and municipally owned lands in Hood River and Wasco counties within ODF’s Central Oregon District.  Recent rain and precipitation forecasted for this weekend is not enough to eliminate the effects of long-term drought and a dry summer on vegetation and forest fuels.

With increased moisture and cooling temperatures, Forest Service fire officials recommended the elimination of public use restrictions on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest effective today.  Fire danger levels across the Pinchot forest will be lowered from extreme to high, and campfires, as well as target shooting, will be allowed once again.  Industrial Fire Precaution Levels across the Forest recently moved to an IFPL 2, allowing personal firewood cutting to resume, but chainsaw use is not allowed from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and must be followed by a one-hour fire watch after equipment is shut down.  Fire officials would like to remind people to continue being diligent with possible ignition sources.  Vegetation remains dry and is susceptible to sparks.  Remember to have plenty of water and a shovel on-hand when maintaining a campfire. Make sure your campfire is cold to the touch before you leave it unattended.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public comments on a request to exempt the fish passage requirements at the Indian Creek culvert on Highway 281 in Hood River County.  Oregon Department of Transportation emergency repairs triggered state fish passage requirements.  ODOT proposes to remove two water diversion structures, remove and replace a road crossing to full fish passage, and move a water return line upstream, adding additional flow instream on Evans Creek, as mitigation for not providing fish passage at the waiver site.  Indian Creek could provide passage for cutthroat trout if passage were provided at the culvert location.  ODFW has made the initial determination that providing the proposed mitigation package at Evans Creek will provide a greater benefit to native migratory fish than providing passage at Indian Creek.  The Fish Passage Task Force will be asked to consider the waiver application on October 15.  

Boys Soccer The Dalles 1, Hillsboro 1 Damascus Christian 5, Trout Lake 4   Girls Soccer Hillsboro 4, The Dalles 0 Goldendale 2, Warden 0   Volleyball Crook County def. The Dalles 24-26, 25-13, 25-17, 25-11 Ridgeview def. Hood River Valley 25-6, 25-15, 25-5 South Wasco def. Klickitat-Glenwood 25-12, 25-23, 25-6 Goldendale def. Mabton 25-5, 25-16, 25-17   Football Montesano 53, Columbia0 Toledo 47, Stevenson 12 Prairie City 36, South Wasco 18   Cross Country Isabella Spencer’s first place finish led Stevenson to the girls’ victory at a Central 2B League meet in Onalaska.  The Bulldog boys finished fifth in their race.   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 16, David Douglas 5

COVID-19 case rates in Wasco County remain high, but there are signs it is beginning to come down.  In a report to the Wasco County Commission, North Central Public Health District clinical programs supervisor Martha McInnes said the County had 97 cases for the week that ended September 5 after being over 150 the week prior.  She said they still about 20 cases per day.  Wasco County’s vaccination rate is up to 66.8% of those 18 years of age or older.  The statewide rate is 73.6%.

After three weeks of classes, new White Salmon Valley School District Superintendent Sean McGeeney says it has been a successful and safe start to the school year.  McGeeney says it has been better that he expected, and the word that comes to his mind is “joy,” seeing that emotion in classrooms every day.  McGeeney says face coverings are being used by everyone in the classroom with students separated by at least three feet and air filters in the rooms.  He adds they are getting students outside as much as possible.  In addition kindergarten through eighth graders are eating lunch in a six-thousand square foot outdoor pavilion.

Friends of the White Salmon Valley Library’s Community Reads program, KOOBDOOGA, is getting underway.  The group’s Shari Bosler says this year’s book is A River Lost:  The Life and Death of the Columbia by Blaine Harden.  Copies of the book are available at the White Salmon Valley Community Library.  There will be online events taking place every Thursday evening at 6:30 beginning September 30 and continuing through October.  For information on the events and how to take part, go to fvrl.org.