Baseball Hood River Valley splits with Pendleton, losing game one 14-9 and winning game two 11-3. Mountain View sweeps The Dalles 19-1 and 18-0. Columbia splits with Seton Catholic, winning the opener 16-0 and losing the nightcap 8-5. Sherman splits with Pilot Rock, winning 10-2 and losing 23-8. Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat splits with Riverside, winning 4-2 and losing 17-3 LaCenter sweeps Goldendale 16-4 and 15-0   Softball The Dalles 19, Redmond 7 The Dalles 10, Mountain View 0 Pendleton sweeps Hood River Valley 12-2 and 3-2   Track and Field Jordyn Swyers of The Dalles won three events for the Riverhawk boys and Emily Johnson and Ashley Quisenberry won two apiece for the Riverhawk girls in a four-school meet at Sid White Field that include Lyle-Wishram, Klickitat, and Horizon Christian.   Columbia won the girls’ competition in a three-school Trico League meet with SetonCahtolic and Goldendale.  Tiana Watson won three events for the Timberwolves, while Hannah Polkinghorn and Chanele Reyes won two apiece for the Bruins.  LaCenter held off Columbia to win the boys’ portion of the meet.  Juan Acosta and Angel Sanchez each won a pair of events for CHS.

The Hood River City Council approved a five-year utility rate plan that seeks to increase water and sewer revenues by 3% and wastewater revenues by 14%.  Municipal Finance Director Will Norris explains the plan is constructed to both support on-going utility operations while also move toward planned capital improvements.  He adds the plan also intends to incrementally move into alignment the charges users are asked to pay with their impact on the system, generating the revenue increases from the heaviest users of the system.  The plan is also intended to expand utility assistance for rate-burdened households by funding an expanded low-income discount program through the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council.

Democrats have agreed to give up an advantage in redrawing the state’s political districts for the next 10 years in exchange for a commitment from Republicans to stop blocking bills in the Oregon Legislature with delay tactics.  The deal reached Wednesday night gives Republicans as many members as Democrats on redistricting committees in exchange for no longer requiring bills be read in full before a final vote.  While the deal leaves the potential for deadlocked votes for redistricting, Republican 59th District Representative Daniel Bonham points out his party has incentive to reach a deal on legislative districts, with the process shifting to Democrat Secretary of State Shemia Fagan if they can’t pass new boundaries by late September.  Should lawmakers fail to come to an agreement on new Congressional districts, the matter would be settled in the courts.  

Baseball Pendleton 10, Hood River Valley 3:  Defensive miscues put the Eagles in an early hole they could not recover from.  Jake von Lubken hit a two-run homer for the Eagles in the first inning. King’s Way Christian 29, Goldendale 1   Softball The Dalles 26, Redmond 4:  The Riverhawks sent 16 batters to the plate and scored ten runs in the first inning, and cruised to the win from there. Pendleton 12, Hood River Valley 2   Girls Lacrosse Oregon Episcopal 13, Hood River Valley 5   Track and Field Stevenson finished second in both the boys and girls team competitions at a five-school meet in Winlock.  Kalama finished first in both.  Garret Bernt won both the boys’ shot put and discus for the Bulldogs.

Warmer temperatures and strong east winds have seen fire response agencies deal with multiple fires in the Gorge related to debris burns getting out of control and campfires not fully extinguished.  Rick Fletcher of The Dalles Unit of the Oregon Department of Forestry says though burn permits are still valid, this weekend expected weather shows temperatures near 85 degrees with fairly stout dry east winds.  He’s advising people not to burn at this time, with fire loads significantly higher than usual for this time of year.  Fletcher adds while snowpack is very good in the region, it is extremely dry at lower elevations with an increased fire danger.

The Dalles Spring Community Clean Up event that usually takes place in May of each year has been cancelled for 2021.  The Dalles Public Works announced they cancelled the event to maintain social distancing and minimize the possible spread of COVID-19.  They do say long-time Spring Community Clean Up co-sponsor The Dalles Disposal is accepting yard debris, from The Dalles city residents only, at no charge during the month of April if taken to the transfer station at 1317 West First Street on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.   Landscape care companies and non-residential properties are not eligible.  For more information on this option contact The Dalles Disposal at (541) 298-5149.  The Dalles Public Works says it hopes to bring back the cleanup in 2022.  

Hood River County is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, with 14 new cases reported in the four days from Saturday to Tuesday.  County COVID-19 Response Coordinator Daron Ryan says a spike was somewhat expected in the spring, adding they aren’t seeing the numbers they saw in December.  She says if people keep wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing, the County can remain in the lower COVID risk level.  Ryan says Hood River County is still within the COVID numbers needed to remain in the lower risk level, but the state will be doing another assessment next week.  She adds 43% of Hood River County have either been partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

North Central Public Health District says it will continue with a planned COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Sherman County on Friday by using the Moderna vaccine.  It had been scheduled to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which the District is pausing distribution of in accordance with state guidance.  NCPHD is contacting everyone scheduled for the Sherman County clinic to communicate that information to them.  The clinic is being held at the same time as planned at the Sherman County Fairgrounds 4-H Pavilion, and all appointments are still at the same time.   Appointments for the second dose of the Moderna vaccine will be made at the clinic.  Anyone with questions can call NCPHD at 541-506-2600.

Hood River City Councilors reached consensus to go forward with Requests for Qualifications from developers interested in a housing project on about seven acres on Rand Road that the City purchased last year.  A number of different alternatives were put together by Leland Consulting and all will be included in the RFQ documents, with the preferred alternative adding in two nearby acres of land owned by Hood River County where owner-occupied housing would be constructed while a combination of smaller dwellings and apartments would be constructed on the City land.  Leland’s Brian Vanneman told the Council the alternatives are meant to convey that there is no one correct solution.  Vanneman did indicate that affordable apartments will require 100 or more units to be feasible, that the City will need to write down the land costs, and that having owner-occupied housing would enable developers to pay most or all of primary infrastructure costs.

The Dalles City Council has decided to adopt the Employment Buildable Lands Inventory and amend the municipal comprehensive plan to reflect it.  Councilors hesitated in making that move a couple of months ago, worried approval would prevent The Dalles from being able to seek expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary after Google constructs its fourth and fifth phase projects that would consume a large chunk of what is currently listed as buildable lands.  But City Planning Director Alice Cannon told councilors they can update the data when that happens, explaining the plan is valuable even if it might not currently point toward a UGB expansion.  The lands inventory should be incorporated into the comp plan this summer.