The Hood River County Commission voted to inform the Columbia River Gorge Commission that it intends to adopt recent revisions to the National Scenic Area’s Management Plan into its zoning ordinance, but Commissioners are going to express their unhappiness with how the county has been treated in the process.  Commissioners will insert into their notice that funding for implementing the ordinances does not match the County’s costs, and that their views during the recent management plan revisions went largely unheard.  Commissioner Les Perkins felt work County planning staff did to provide input during the management plan revision process seemed to be ignored.  But Perkins and other commissioners did say it wouldn’t help the community to pull out and have the Gorge Commission handle permits in the National Scenic Area, noting it would make the situation worse for those who live in the Scenic Area.

North Central Public Health District will hold a mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinic this Friday that will visit several local restaurant/pubs and offer the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine, with all participants receiving $10 in tokens for food.  District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says they are trying to take the vaccine to where people are.  The mobile clinic will run from 5 p.m. until about 9 p.m. on Friday, and will begin at Freebridge Brewing, then at around 6:15 will head to the Bargeway Pub, and then wrap up at about 7:45 p.m. at Sunshine Mill Artisan Plaza and Winery.  More establishments may be added later.  Participants will receive the free vaccine and two $5 tokens that can be redeemed Friday evening for food.   Participants will be vaccinated in a van provided by Wasco County, and then will hang out in chairs on the sidewalk for a 15-minute observation period.

Hood River County Health Department is moving toward holding smaller COVID-19 vaccination events.  Department Director Trish Elliott told County Commissioners on Monday that they are moving toward getting away from events that utilize appointments as vaccine becomes more readily available.  She notes that for some people having to make an appointment is a barrier to getting the vaccine.  There will be a drop-in clinic using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Hood River County Health Department on 1109 June Street.  For more information go to hrccovid19.org or call 541-387-6911.

The Dalles municipal budget committee started its work on Monday evening.  In her budget message, City Manager Julie Krueger told the panel the budget for the 2021-22 Fiscal Year reflects the City Council’s goal of maintaining fiscal stability.  Krueger said the proposed total city budget for FY 2021-22 is up by about three percent from the current year.  During public testimony before the committee began reviewing the budget with department heads, former Mayor Steve Lawrence called for money to be allocated toward establishing an economic development coordinator to help attract businesses into the downtown area.  The budget committee continues its work Tuesday at 5:30, and the meeting can be accessed via Zoom by going to the City of The Dalles website, thedalles.org.

Work continues to progress toward establishing an energy storage project on former aluminum plant property south of Goldendale along the Columbia River in Klickitat County using a closed hydro system that moves water between two reservoirs to create energy.  Erik Steimle of Rye Development, which is developing the project for Copehagen Investment Partners of Denmark, says they are currently working through Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Washington State Department of Ecology processes that began in 2018.  Steimle says those agencies are working through their own environmental reviews, which should wrap up sometime in 2022, and could allow construction to begin in the 2023-24 timeline.  Steimle says the $2 billion project is estimated to create 3,000 construction jobs while it is being built, and 60 permanent jobs.  

The North Wasco County Education Foundation has received a donation to start movement towards a school-based health center at The Dalles High School.  The foundation says it has received a $200,000 donatoin from long-time Mosier resident and Columbia Gorge Educational Services District board member Susan Gabay in honor of her deceased husband and daughter.  It is estimated establishing a school-based health center in The Dalles will cost between one-to-two million dollars.  The Foundation says it soliciting other contributions while holding the initial donation in an earmarked fund, and it will be a catalyst for applying for grants that require a matching contribution.  Those who would like to donate can do so at northwascoed.org.    

Gar Abbas has been selected as the Deputy Forest Supervisor for the Mt. Hood National Forest.   He will join the Mt. Hood in early June.  Abbas is currently the Budget Field Service Operations Leader for the Pacific Northwest Region, which includes Oregon and Washington.  Previously, Abbas was the Cowlitz Valley District Ranger on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southwest Washington for seven years.  Abbas has nearly 25 years of Forest Service experience across the western U.S. in fisheries, wildland fire, forest products, natural resources management, and forest leadership.  Acting Forest Supervisor Duane Bishop says Abbas was raised in Central Oregon and has roots in many of Mt. Hood’s east and west side communities.

Klickitat County Sheriff’s and Columbia River Inter-tribal officers helped rescue three men early Sunday morning after their boat overturned on the Columbia River near the mouth of the Klickitat River.  In a post on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Sheriff Bob Songer said 9-1-1 dispatchers received the call of the overturned boat shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday.  One deputy located the headlamps of the three tribal fishermen and was able to direct other officers on the County’s patrol boat to them.  The officers were able to pull the trio from the water, who were taken to be examined by emergency medical personnel, who cleared them with no injuries.  The three men that were rescued were all Klickitat County residents in their 30’s.  

Volunteers are needed to help with the planned Bingen and White Salmon Community Clean-up the weekend of May 21.  Mt. Adams Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tammara Tippel says the event can’t operate without volunteers, and there are a variety of ways people can help out.  She says their biggest need is heavy equipment operators who can operate an excavator with a grapple.  To volunteer to help call the Mt. Adams Chamber at 509-493-3630.

The two-year state operating budget that passed the Washington Legislature last week includes two provisos from 14th District Representative Gina Mosbrucker that will help those afflicted with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and fund a program that provides for expedited DNA processing in crime cases.  One requires the Department of Social and Health Services to consider pediatric and juvenile rheumatologists for eligibility of the health professional loan repayment and scholarship program.  Mosbrucker said this will help expand the pool of rheumatologists across the state.  The second appropriates funding for an enhanced forensic capabilities pilot program that provides expedited DNA technology and forensic services to assist in crime scene evidence.  The Washington State Patrol is required to submit a plan to the Legislature by the end of the year that addresses protocols for the use and operation of the pilot program, while maintaining civil liberties and protecting individual privacy.