The Dalles City Council spent much of their Monday meeting hearing from Public Works Director Dave Anderson and discussing Google’s water needs for a proposed new data center on the former aluminum smelter site.  Mayor Rich Mays noted the agreement that will come to Council next month calls for Google to spend an expected $28 million on improvements to the municipal water and sewer system, and the improvements will result in additional capacity for the rest of the City.  He also adds the agreement will call for Google to pay the same water and sewer rates as other industrial and commercial users in The Dalles.  Mays was part of the team that has negotiated with Google.  He says both the water agreement and a separate Strategic Investment Plan contract will come before the Council at its October 25 meeting.

The Hood River City Council authorized Mayor Kate McBride to sign an employment agreement with their selection for City Manager.  Councilors came out of executive session Monday evening and voted unanimously to have McBride sign the contract with Abigail Elder.  McBride had announced the selection of Elder two weeks ago, and negotiations have been continuing since then.  Elder is currently Beaverton’s Director of Community Services and Engagement.  She has sixteen years of local government management experience.

The Oregon State Police is looking for information about a Saturday incident on Interstate 84 in Sherman County that left a man with severe head trauma.  According to the OSP, an emergency call said a subject was lying face down in the gravel in front of his pickup that was pulling a travel trailer.  Troopers found the vehicles parked at the bottom of the exit 109 westbound off-ramp and found 38-year-old Derek Martell of Veneta behind the wheel and unresponsive.  The OSP says Martell was headed home from an elk hunting trip with friends.  Troopers found out that Martell spoke to his wife at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and there were no issues, the 9-1-1 call was received 28 minutes later, and troopers located him at 12:26.  The OSP is requesting anyone who might have been traveling from Arlington to Rufus during that time of day or anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Oregon State Police Dispatch at 1-800-442-2068 or *OSP from your mobile device, reference case #: SP21274660.  Martell was life-flighted to a hospital for treatment.

Cemetery Tales is returning in a virtual form last week.  The fundraiser for The History Museum of Hood River County was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This annual theatrical performance about influential community members from the past has been created on video for this year.  The individuals portrayed included early white settlers in the 1850s; the first Black family to live in Hood River in the 1870s; a Japanese-American man born in Parkdale but affected by internment and racism during and after World War II, and one of the first Mexican-American families to settle here in the late 1960s.  Video on demand via ShowTix4U.com is available for Friday through Sunday, and the video can be viewed for a 48-hour period once you start watching.  Tickets are $15 for an individual or $25 for a family or group.  Screenings are being planned at senior living communities around the Gorge, and public in-person screenings are in the works as well, for this fall and winter.

After a year’s absence, the Pig Bowl returns to Sid White Field in The Dalles Saturday night, with Oregon and Washington law enforcement playing flag football to raise funds for the families of two area youngsters.  The families benefiting from the game include that of three-year-old Ezra Blue Duckwall, who was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma, a particularly aggressive and malignant cancer, and 15-year-old Maleigha Barrett, who has Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and whose family needs a new van equipped to be able to transport her.  The game will be Saturday at 7 p.m., but you can donate by buying points for your preferred team at pigbowl.net.  Washington currently leads 2,235 to 2,017.

Columbia Gorge Community College will host a pair of COVID-19 vaccination events this week.  The first event will be held at The Dalles campus amphitheater Wednesday and the second Thursday at the Hood River campus parking lot, with both running from noon to 2 p.m.  CGCC is offering an incentive to get the shot:  four free credits for enrolled students, and vouchers for two Community Education classes for non-students.  Those choosing the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be given a voucher on site, while those taking the first of a two-dose series will receive information on how to get their voucher once the second shot is completed.  And those who are already vaccinated and show their completed card at the events will be entered into drawings for credits and community education vouchers.

Boys Soccer Trout Lake 5, Central Christian 0 Horizon Christian 2, Southwest Christian 2   Girls Soccer Toledo 4, Stevenson 0

The Washington State Department of Transportation says crews on Wednesday were able to successfully remove large portions of loose, unstable rock from a slope adjacent to Highway 14 about two miles east of Bingen, so they are cancelling upcoming blasting work that would have required 45 minute full highway closures.  Daytime travelers on Highway 14 will still need to plan for some delays throughout the fall.  Mondays through Thursdays until further notice, travelers in both directions going through the work zone should expect delays of up to 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Travelers should use caution and lower travel speeds through the area.  This work is part of a $1.6 million slope stabilization project scheduled for completion this fall.

The City of White Salmon has scheduled a planned water outage on Tuesday night from 8 p.m. to midnight for properties that receive their water from the Strawberry Mountain Reservoir.  Areas affected included NW Country View Rd, Rio Vista, Palos Verdes, Via Casa, El Camino Real, Alta Vista, NW Spring St west of Strawberry Mountain Rd, NW Strawberry Mountain Rd, Northview Dr, Schoolview Pl, Champion Ln, Kiowa Ln, Shambo Dr, Cochran Ln, NW Holli Ln, Patricia Ln, Jordan Rd, Sundown Ln, Nickols St, N Main from Spring to Nickols St, S Indian Ln, Snowden Rd to Krenz Rd, NE Krenz Rd, Off Rd, NW Wedrick Dr, NW Simmons Rd, and Florence Dr.  If you have questions, please contact White Salmon City Hall at (509) 493-1133.

Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 6, Ridgeview 1 The Dalles 3, Crook County 1 Trout Lake 7, Willamette Valley Christian 0   Girls Soccer Ridgeview 2, Hood River Valley 1 The Dalles 6, Crook County 0 Tenino 7, Columbia 0 Goldendale 3, Granger 3   Volleyball Redmond def. Hood River Valley 3-0 Kalama def. Stevenson 25-21, 25-11, 25-6 Goldendale def. Cle Elum-Roslyn 3-0   Cross Country Columbia was the boys’ winner and Stevenson topped the girls’ standings in a four-school race at Stevenson.  Camden Uffelman led the Bruins as they took six of the top seven places in the boys’ race.  The Bulldogs’ Isabella Spencer was the girls’ victor.