A 45-year-old man described by the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office as a transient is now facing murder charges in the death of a Carson man in an incident originally reported as a fall from a seizure.  The Sheriff’s Office says 50-year-old Damon Vlietstra died at Peace Health Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver on Wednesday.  Skamania County EMS was called to the man’s home on February 20 on a report of an unconscious male experiencing continual seizure type symptoms, and took Vliestra by ambulance to Peace Health.  Two days later Vlietstra’s son called the Sheriff’s Office to report a man had come to his residence and said he had assaulted his father.  Last Tuesday Nathan Goncalves came to the Sheriff’s Office to give a statement, and was arrested at that time on felony assault charges.  After Vlietstra died, second degree murder and first and second degree manslaughter charges were added.

A Forest Grove man was arrested in Hood River last week after a high speed chase and attempt to flee on foot.  The Hood River Police Department says officers went to Columbia State Bank on 2650 Cascade late last Tuesday night after a member of the bank’s security team observed a man removing a Federal Express box from the ATM, and then drove an SUV into the nearby Walmart parking lot.  An Oregon State Police trooper was almost hit be the SUV accelerating at a high rate of speed, and the vehicle went onto Westcliff Drive and then came back toward officers, who deployed spike strips to flatten the SUV’s tires.  The suspect tried to run near Bradley Drive, but was taken into custody by the OSP a short time later.  22-year-old Matthew Hodgson was booked and lodged at NORCOR on several charges including DUII, attempting to elude, and possession of methamphetamine.

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office says a Willard man died in a one-vehicle accident in the Underwood area.  According to the Sheriff’s Office, a citizen reported last Monday a vehicle over a cliff off of Cook-Underwood Road.  Deputies found 67-year-old David Graham deceased inside the SUV.  Graham had been reported missing a day earlier by family members after not returning from a drive.  An initial investigation indicates Graham’s vehicle left the roadway at milepost 11.2 on Cook-Underwood Road around 11:30 a.m. on February 21 and traveled down the bluff about 550 feet before coming to rest on a small outcropping.

26th District Oregon State Republican Senator Chuck Thomsen is introducing legislation that would assist families and students who have been dealing with school closures.  Under the legislation, a Restorative Equity Education Fund would be created and dedicate $3 million to give low-income students access to financial assistance to pay for summer tutoring.  To make up for lost learning, families could qualify for up to $2,000 to pay for tutoring.  Hours spent in tutoring would count towards graduation for high school students.  Others would qualify for a tax credit to put the cost of tutoring within reach for middle-class families.  Thomsen is the vice-chair of the Senate Education Committee.

North Central Public Health District says it has had a number of people coming to COVID-19 vaccine clinics who do not meet any current eligibility criteria.  The health district is asking people who have made appointments for their first dose but do not meet current eligibility guidelines to cancel their appointments.  The health district will begin checking eligibility for those coming to the clinics and will turn away anyone who does not meet criteria.  In a statement, the district said it is getting relatively few vaccines each week and a growing number of senior citizens who are currently eligible and seeking the vaccine, so in fairness to them, ineligible people will be turned away.   Currently eligible groups include first responders, healthcare workers, educators, childcare providers and, as of Monday, those 65 and older.  

Columbia Gorge Community College’s Pre-College programs will be launching a new website on Tuesday.  The address is ged.cgcc.edu.  CGCC pre-college programs director Matt Fitzpatrick says they have been preparing the website for the last six months using grant funding, and he says one of its features is an initial needs survey for potential students.  The site will also include general information on the pre-college programs at CGCC.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland and Walla Walla districts will close all Corps navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers this Saturday at 6 a.m. for regularly-scheduled annual inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs.  Navigation locks on the Columbia River are located at Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, John Day Dam, and McNary Dam.  Navigation Locks on the Snake River are located at Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams.  Corps officials anticipate all Columbia River locks along with those at Lower Monumental and Little Goose dams on the Snake River will return to service March 22.  The other Snake River navigation locks will be put back into service by March 29.

The state of Oregon’s new COVID-19 risk levels go into effect on Friday.  Wasco County drops from the “extreme risk” category all the way to the “lower risk” designation, while Hood River County moves from “high risk” to “moderate risk.”  Health officials emphasize the need for people to continue to practice public health measures.   In Wasco County, when the designation change takes place Friday, in-person dining at restaurants and bars in Wasco County can resume at 50 percent capacity with a closing time of midnight.  Churches in Wasco County can operate at 75 percent capacity indoors, theaters, museums, and gyms can operate at 50 percent capacity, long-term care facilities can have inside visitation, offices can have limited in-person work, retail stores can operate at 75 percent capacity, and indoor social gatherings can have up to ten people with a recommended limit from up to four households.   In Hood River County, in-person dining at restaurants and bars in Hood River County can resume at 50 percent capacity with a closing time of 11 p.m.  Churches in Hood River County can operate at 50 percent capacity indoors, theaters, museums, and gyms can operate at 50 percent capacity, retail stores can operate at 75 percent capacity, and indoor social gatherings can have up to eight people with a recommended limit from up to two households.

The state of Oregon’s latest revenue forecast is now saying the state will take in hundreds of millions of dollars more in the current budget cycle than expected, to the point where there is a possibility of $570 million of “kicker” payments could go back to citizens.  The kicker comes into play if state revenues are two percent above initial projections.  Democrat 52nd District Representative Anna Williams says the forecast still leaves budget questions, adding while the “kicker” payments go out they could still be facing cuts to human services and public health care that she believes need to be invested in for the state to make a full recovery from the pandemic.  Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod pointed out the forecast shows how the state has benefited from federal coronavirus relief funds, and warned against the legislature instituting new taxes or rollbacks of COVID-19 relief.

The Washington State House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill authored by 14th District Representative Gina Mosbrucker that seeks to provide greater security against data breaches within the Employment Security Department and the Department of Labor and Industries.  Mosbrucker says House Bill 1455 contains two important components to increase security and avoid hackers:  examining practices individual Social Security numbers are disclosed in agency correspondence with third party entities, and requiring those agencies, whenever possible, to institute procedures to replace the use of a full nine-digit Social Security number.  Mosbrucker owns and operates several businesses in Goldendale, including a motel.  She says many businesses discontinued the use of full nine-digit Social Security numbers in transactions many years ago, and it makes sense for state government to do the same.