Klickitat County Commissioners will discuss needs for its planning department at its meeting on Tuesday.  County Commission Chair David Sauter says the County’s Comprehensive Plan is “woefully out of date” and needs to be updated.  He says that would be a huge multi-year project, but the Commission is committed to doing it.  They due to need to consider staff and budgetary needs to move forward on the plan update.  In addition, the County has a pending discussion on solar farm projects seeking to use the conditional use permit process, and Sauter notes a significant number of citizens want further sideboards on the scale and size of project that could be considered.

North Central Public Health District says through March 13, it had administered over 9,600 COVID-19 vaccine doses in its three county service area of Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties.  Vaccines are being given to healthcare providers, emergency responders, educators and childcare providers, and those 65 and older.  Wasco County has vaccinated 20.62 % of its population, including nearly 49.38% of those 65 and older.  Sherman County has vaccinated 21.61% of its population, including 43.1% of those 65 and older.  Gilliam County has vaccinated 21.69% percent of the population, including 44.33 percent of those 65 and older.

The North Central Public Health District says even though a section of Scenic Drive is closed until next Monday for installation of a new sanitary sewer line, there will still be vehicular access to the district’s vaccine clinics held at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center.  The Readiness Center shares an entrance with Columbia Gorge Community College on Scenic Drive.  But the road closure will be west of that entrance. The Readiness Center will remain accessible from the east.  Open routes to the readiness center include taking Kelly Avenue to Scenic Drive, or going up Jefferson Street to Scenic Drive.

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley say nine Oregon tribes will receive more than $10.5 million in affordable housing grants under the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to help with the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.   Among the disbursements:  the Umatilla Confederated Tribes will receive $1.38 million and the Warm Springs Confederated Tribes $1.06 million.  Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees Chair Kat Brigham says the grant will go a long way to providing options for the tribes.  Wyden said tribes in Oregon have been rocked by COVID-19, and affordable housing is a must to keep community members safe during this pandemic and beyond.  

Football Pendleton 26, Hood River Valley 6 LaSalle 41, The Dalles 6 Columbia 28, Goldendale 14 Dufur 52, Ione 14 Sherman 29, Dayville-Monument 7 South Wasco 49, Echo 24   Boys Soccer Grand View Christian Academy 1, Horizon Christian 0   Southwest Washington Class 1A District Tournament Championship Goldendale def. King’s Way Christian 16-25, 26-24, 25-18, 21-25, 15-8   Volleyball Hood River Valley def. Redmond 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 Hermiston def. Hood River Valley 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 Joseph def. South Wasco 25-13, 25-18, 25-17 Wallowa def. South Wasco 17-25, 25-17, 25-14, 16-25, 16-14

The filing deadline for Oregon’s 2021 Special Districts election has passed, and there are a number of contested seats, including three on the North Wasco County School District 21 board.  Incumbent Rebecca Thistlethwaite and Mary Morehouse are the candidates for the Zone 1 seat, current board chair John Nelson and Carla McQuade are the choices for Zone 4, and Holly Gove and Brian Stevens are seeking the Zone 5 position.  Both positions on the ballot for the Port of The Dalles Commission have two candidates, incumbent Robert Wallace and Jack Hay for position 1, and John Willer and Marcus Swift running for position 3.  There is one contested race for the Hood River County School District board, with Heidi Parr and Jennifer Kelly seeking the at-large position.  The Port of Hood River Commission has two people seeking position 3:  Michael Fox and Lach Litner.

Klickitat County reports it has only two active COVID-19 cases, and has had only four new cases in the past fourteen days.  The County issued the update as the state of Washington enters into Phase 3 of reopening on Monday, allowing all indoor spaces to open at a 50% occupancy or 400 people maximum, along with allowing in-person spectators at events as well as participation for indoor events with capacity limits specific to the size of the event.  The County says required metrics to remain in phase 3 include maintaining 30 or fewer COVID-19 cases in a fourteen day period and three or fewer hospitalizations in a seven day period.  Klickitat County officials also emphasize that vaccines are an important aspect of maintaining the low case counts, and almost 10,000 have been given out in the county so far.

The U.S. House has passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 with bipartisan support, sending it to the Senate.  Oregon Second District Congressman Cliff Bentz was joined by 29 other House Republicans in passing this legislation, which seeks to address the labor shortage faced by many food and fiber producers.  The bill looks to help streamline and reduce costs in the H-2A visa program, which has been criticized for being cumbersome, inefficient, and slow.  But many in the agriculture sector rely on H-2A visas to help fill gaps in their workforce.  The legislation would also institute a mandatory E-Verify system for all agricultural employment.  

The Dalles Public Works on Monday will begin installation of a sanitary sewer main on East Scenic Drive between the entrance to Columbia Gorge Community College and the entrance to Sorosis Park.  Construction is expected to take about a week, with expected completion by March 29.  A full road closure will be in effect 24 hours a day.  A detour to East 14th Street between Lincoln and Jefferson streets will be in place until the project is complete.  The sidewalk will remain open to pedestrian traffic during construction.  The purpose of this work is to increase sanitary sewer capacity.

There will be intermittent, single-lane closures of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. weekdays starting on Monday through April 2 for semi-annual maintenance and repair welding to the steel grate bridge deck.  Multiple Port crews will be on the bridge during those hours and flaggers will direct traffic around the moving work zones.  Motorists should expect delays of approximately 15-20 minutes.  Since the bridge’s narrow traffic lanes and lack of shoulders create a very compact work zone, motorists are urged to drive slowly and with extreme caution for worker safety, and to avoid looking directly at the welding arc light as they pass the work shield.