With 46 cases of COVID-19 reported in the 14-day period ending Saturday, Wasco County will move from the lower risk category two levels up to the high risk category, beginning Friday.  It is one of six counties moving up two risk levels.  Wasco County had previously dropped three risk levels in late February, from extreme risk of community spread to lower risk of community spread.   As a county with 15,000 to 30,000 population, risk is measured by the number of cases within a 14-day period.   Lower risk is less than 30 cases over 14 days, moderate risk is 30 to 44 cases, and high risk is 45 to 59 cases.  The lower risk category allows 50 percent indoor seating capacity at restaurants and a midnight closure, but in the high risk category it drops to 25 percent indoor capacity and an 11 p.m. closure.   Faith institutions can have 75 percent in-person capacity at the lower risk category, but falls to 25 percent at high risk. Indoor gyms that were at 50 percent capacity at lower risk are now at 25 percent in high risk.  Grocery stores and other retail stores could have 75 percent capacity at lower risk, but it’s down to 50 percent at high risk.

With 40 cases of COVID-19 reported in the 14-day period ending Saturday, Hood River County will move from the lower risk category to the moderate risk category, beginning Friday.   The moderate risk category allows 50 percent indoor seating capacity at restaurants and an 11 p.m. closure.  Faith institutions can have 50 percent in-person capacity at moderate risk.  Indoor gyms can remain at 50 percent capacity, while grocery stores and other retail stores can stay at 75 percent capacity.

White Salmon Valley Schools on Monday will be able to increase the days students can be in classrooms from two days to four.  That’s because of the updated guidance allowing the space between students at their desks to drop from six feet to three.  District Superintendent Jerry Lewis says the new spacing is close to what they would have normally.  Lewis pointed out that the actual hours each day in school will remain the same, and that the six-foot distancing rule still applies in other settings like lunch.

Baseball Hood River Valley 9, Crook County 3:  Harrison Howell drove in three runs with a triple and a double, while Mason Spellecy gave up just four hits in five strong innings on the mound. The Dalles 13, Ridgeview 8:  The Riverhawks get their first win of the season in Central Oregon.   Softball Crook County 15, Hood River Valley 12:  The Cowgirls scored eight runs in the fifth inning to grab the win.  HRV’s Jessa Nickelsen and Marina Castaneda drove in four runs apiece. Ridgeview 15, The Dalles 0

The North Central Public Health District says an 82-year-old resident of Sherman County tested positive for COVID-19 on January 11 and passed away on January 27 in another state.  The Oregon Health Authority recently received that information from Arizona.  North Central Public Health District confirmed the information late last week.  According to the OHA, the man died at Yuma Regional Medical Center.  The presence of underlying conditions is being determined.

A Pasco man died in a motor vehicle accident Monday on Highway 97 in Wasco County.  According to the Oregon State Police, troopers and emergency personnel were called to the crash on Highway 97 near milepost 52 between Shaniko and Kent at about 6 p.m.  A preliminary investigation revealed a car driven by 39-year-old Jesus Lopez was northbound when it left the roadway and struck a tree.  The OSP says Lopez sustained fatal injuries.  The OSP adds it believes the crash happened sometime around 4:00 a.m. Monday, but was not reported until about 14 hours later.

Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott told County Commissioners on Monday that with 40 COVID cases in the County for the two week period that ended Friday, she anticipates the County will be moved up to the moderate risk category by the state.  But she also noted the County is second in Oregon in percentage of residents vaccinated, with 8,479 people fully vaccinated and 3,192 in progress.  Elliott says moving forward, county health officials plan to stick with their current plans, but also emphasize smaller scale vaccination events.  Elliott said the increasing case numbers are a product of large social gatherings.  She added there is a possibility the Oregon Health Authority may start to use hospitalization numbers in their metrics, and pointed out that Hood River County has had only one COVID related hospitalization in the last month.

Through last week, over 15,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in North Central Public Health District’s three-county service area of Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties.  Wasco County has vaccinated 34.95 percent of its population; Sherman County 33.63 percent and Gilliam County 27.82 percent.  Through April 10, entities in the district have administered 15,284 vaccines, including first and second doses.  NCPHD has multiple Moderna appointments open.  To book a vaccine appointment, visit ncphd.org or call 541-506-2600.

The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals has reversed Hood River County’s extension of a permit for an amphitheater on the former Dee Mill site.  An extension for Apollo Land Holdings’ permit was granted at the administrative level in September of 2019, and upheld by both the County Planning Commission and the County Commission.  It was the fourth such extension for the project, but LUBA found that the Board of Commissioners’ decision to grant the extension was inconsistent with Hood River’s zoning code and that their decision “violated a provision of applicable law and was prohibited as a matter of law.”  Thrive Hood River filed the appeal.  Apollo Land Holdings and the County have the right to appeal this decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The Dalles Police Department arrested a man last week in connection with a drive-by shooting at the Police Department headquarters during the early morning hours of March 28 that resulted in two marked police vehicles being struck by bullets.  A 40-year-old man was arrested when a search warrant was executed at 1126 East 8th in The Dalles.  The man was lodged at NORCOR on the charges of attempted assault in the first degree, unlawful use of a weapon, and criminal mischief in the first degree.  Evidence seized at the scene is still being processed and further charges are expected.  The case has been referred to the Wasco County District Attorney.  No one was injured in the shooting incident.