Volleyball Hood River Valley def. Banks 3-2 Corbett def. Columbia 25-20, 25-20, 25-23 Stevenson def. Toledo 3-2 Klickitat-Glenwood def. Horizon Christian 25-9, 25-16, 25-11 Goldendale def. White Swan 25-5, 25-10, 25-16   Girls Soccer Hillsboro 4, Hood River Valley 0 Westside Christian 3, Trout Lake 1   Boys Soccer Corbett 3, Trout Lake 3

The Hood River City Council has offered its City Manager’s position to Beaverton Director of Community Services and Engagement Abigail Elder.  Mayor Kate McBride made the announcement during Monday night’s Council meeting.  Councilors had conducted a second interview with her before the meeting, and McBride said she had reached out to negotiate a contract with her.  Elder was one of three finalists for the position   Elder has 16 years of local government management experience including as Director of the Mayor’s Office and Library Director in Beaverton, Library Manager in Tualatin, Multnomah County Library Administrator, and Circulation Manager for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library.

The Hood River City Council approved asking two firms to submit proposals for development of an affordable housing project on seven acres the City owns off of Rand Road.  Bridge Housing Corporation and Community Development Partners were selected…and municipal senior planner Kevin Liburdy said the two firms have extensive experience developing affordable and attainable housing in Oregon or elsewhere.  Liburdy says they expect to have proposals from the firms and a recommendation developed in October or early November.  Both firms would partner with Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation on the project.

The Dalles City Council has approved a list of projects to use just short of $1.7 million of American Recovery Plan funds the City will receive, but also asked for more details on the two biggest recipients before the money is actually disbursed.  Those include a $650,000 property acquisition fund for which a large part would go toward Mid-Columbia Community Action’s proposed Navigation Center for low-income community members and those experiencing homelessness, and $400,000 to Northern Wasco Parks and Recreation District for rehabilitation of Sorosis Park.  Other areas of funding in the plan include replacing transient room and fuel tax revenue lost in the pandemic, police department security and safety, and downtown economic development.

Progress on clean-up of The Dalles Marina after a major fire in July continues to be slow.  Port of The Dalles Executive Director Andrea Klaas says two boats have been salvaged and removed, but others are more complex to remove from the water.  One is a large boat that is partially lodged under a walkway, so a specialist crew will need to be brought in to pull it out without damaging the docks, and the other boat is in several pieces and will also need special equipment to remove it.  After the boats are removed, Klaas says they will then be addressing removing the eight boat houses that were involved in the fire.  She says the Port of The Dalles Commission will discuss options for the boathouse cleanup at its Wednesday meeting.

Hood River County continues to identify how to use about $4.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds.  The County is still waiting for further federal guidance on what they can and can’t do, but Commission Chair Mike Oates says efforts to end the pandemic remain the top priority, and then providing support for continuing county services.  He says there are needs in Records and Assessment, Budget and Finance, Community Development, and the District Attorney’s office.  The County can also use some of the funds for economic development needs, and Oates says one possibility would be to incentivize child care businesses, noting a lack of available and affordable child care may be keeping some people from re-entering the workforce.

Daytime travelers using Washington Highway 14 about two miles east of Bingen will need to plan for extended delays starting this week.  Beginning at noon Tuesday, contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will fully close the highway for up to 45 minutes at a time, while they work to remove loose, unstable rock from the slope adjacent to the highway between milepost 68 and 69.  Starting Tuesday, work will take place Monday to Thursday for the next three weeks, and delays could occur between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.  Crews will close the highway at the top of each hour and reopen the highway at 45 minutes past the hour to allow traffic in both directions to clear. These extended closures allow crews to complete more work, shortening the project duration and ensuring the safety of travelers below.  The highway will be open during non-working hours and on weekends.

North Central Public Health District reports that between September 1 and September 8, schools in Wasco and Sherman counties reported 19 cases of COVID-19.  The district says school-based cases can be reported among students, staff or volunteers, and none were due to transmission in the school setting.  NCPHD school liaison Janelle Sandoz says the lack of cases from school settings tells her that mitigation efforts that have been in place at schools such as mask use, physical distancing, HEPA filters and good ventilation are working.  The school cases reported include four cases at Sherman County School, three each at Dufur School, Dry Hollow Elementary, and Colonel Wright Elementary, two each at The Dalles High School and The Dalles Middle School, and one each in the South Wasco County School District and Riverbend Community School.  Chenowith Elementary has not had any cases during this timeframe but has students out on quarantine related to cases outside the school.

Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation’s investment proposal for the Rhine Village apartments in White Salmon has been awarded $2.5 million from the Washington State Department of Commerce.  The funding is intended to leverage additional capital from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development to acquire the property, address physical improvements and extend the timeframe for which Rhine Village remains affordable.  Rhine Village was built in the 1980s.  West Klickitat Community Housing, CCHC and Chrisman Development have been collaborating with the goal of leveraging the state and federal capital investments to rehabilitate and preserve the 36 units in Rhine Village.

A 29-year-old man received a 90 month sentence in Wasco County Circuit Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to charges related to stealing a motor vehicle at gunpoint and then leading law enforcement on a chase through two counties last November.  Marcos Vargas stole a vehicle in Gilliam County on November 3 and eluded officers there, and then was spotted again in Wasco County and after the Oregon State Police deployed spike strips that left him on driving on the wheel rims, he stole another vehicle at gunpoint and fled onto Highway 97.  Officers deployed spike strips near Maupin that Vargas avoided.  He eventually tried to flee the vehicle and attempted to fight off multiple deputies, punching and injuring one before he was tazed and taken into custody.  Vargas plead guilty to robbery, assault, and other charges in both Wasco and Gilliam counties, and will next be taken to Jefferson County where he is facing unrelated charges before being placed in the custody of the Oregon Department of Corrections.