The North Central Public Health District is nearing completion of a comprehensive list of all the entities in its three-county service area that fall within the four groups of Phase 1a of the Oregon vaccine sequencing plan. The health district is offering vaccine clinics to eligible individuals in the four groups.   District officials say there are many hundreds of people in Phase 1a and it will take time to get through them. Thus far, the district has been getting 100 doses of vaccine a week the last several weeks.  Counties may not be in the same phase due to population size and availability of the vaccine.  The District says the Sherman County Medical Clinic in Moro got its own vaccine supply and was able to proceed through Phase 1a quicker.

There will be a single-lane closure on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as Port crews work to repair potholes on the approach ramp.  Flaggers will direct traffic around the work zone, and delays of about 20 minutes should be expected.  Due to the close proximity of the work area to Washington Highway 14, motorists may experience delays or traffic backups on the highway as well.  

The eastbound, uphill lane on Brewery Grade in The Dalles will be closed to all vehicle traffic Thursday morning for about four hours starting at 7 a.m.  That’s to allow The Dalles Public Works Department to remove debris from behind the concrete barriers along the sidewalk on Brewery Grade.  Eastbound traffic on Brewery Grade will be detoured to East 2nd and Fremont druing the closure.  The roundabout will remain open during the work, and eastbound pedestrian traffic will be escorted by City staff on the Brewery Grade sidewalk.  Motorists are asked to use alternate routes around the work zone during the closure.

The Washington State Department of Transportation says Highway 14 about seven miles east of Carson has been reopened after a debris slide last night.  The department’s Celeste Dimichina said technicians found the hillside is stable. The Oregon Department of Transportation says eastbound Interstate 84 is open to traffic east of Troutdale following a debris slide that closed the road four miles east of Multnomah Falls earlier today. However, traffic is limited to one lane between mileposts 34-37 in the slide area. Motorists should drive with extra caution through this area.

Southwest Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler announced late Tuesday that she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump when the matter comes before the House today.  Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Battle Ground, released a statement on Twitter at 8:29 p.m. announcing her decision and reasoning why she believes Trump acted against his oath of office.  Her statement says “The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. That riot led to five deaths.”  She goes on to say “Hours went by before the President did anything meaningful to stop the attack. Instead, he and his lawyer were busy making calls to senators who were still in lockdown, seeking their support to further delay the Electoral College certification.”  Herrera-Beutler goes on to write “The President’s offenses, in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have.” and “I see my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.”

The White Salmon Valley School District board has approved a plan for starting in-person instruction for kindergarten through eighth grade that would go into effect once the district drops to the moderate level of risk for COVID-19, involving the case rate dropping below 350 per 100,000 residents and test positivity rates falling under ten percent for two straight weeks.  Under the plan, kindergarten and first graders and fourth graders would return the first week, grades two, three, five, and six in the second week, and seventh and eighth graders the following week.  District Superintendent Jerry Lewis says they can be ready quickly once the metrics are reached.  For high schoolers to return, the case rate must drop to 200 cases per 100,000 residents.

The Dalles City Council reached a unanimous consensus to expend $100,000 of COVID relief funds to locally-owned restaurants and fitness centers and another $50,000 to other small businesses.  Councilor Dan Richardson brought up the move, noting the restaurant and fitness sectors are particularly impacted by the state’s current restrictions.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Farquharson says this would provide a bridge to another round of Payroll Protection Program funding from the federal government.  The City gave out 60 grants to small businesses in December.  Councilors asked City Manager Julie Krueger to put together a plan to disburse the funds.  The City currently has $300,000 available in COVID relief funds.

Under the revised plan for determining phasing of COVID-19 reopening, Klickitat and Skamania counties are joined with Clark, Cowlitz, and Wahkiakum counties.  Klickitat County Public Health District Director Erinn Quinn says she’s sees some logic to the regional approach to take into account hospital bed usage in the larger counties where patients from this area are sent.  But otherwise, she struggles with being tied to counties whose metrics have tended to not be as good as those in Klickitat County.  She also says it makes messaging of the process to the community difficult.  Metrics includes case rates per 100,000 residents over two weeks, COVID test positivity rates, hospital admissions, and average seven-day occupancy of intensive care unit beds.

Wasco County Commissioner Kathy Schwartz is hoping to see the technology used for on-line meetings during the pandemic be incorporated into their regular way of holding in-person meetings.  Schwartz is working with some County staffers on how to use this technology for more engagement with citizens.  Schwartz points out with the large size of Wasco County, using virtual conferencing allows residents miles away from The Dalles to talk with commissioners without having to drive to the Courthouse to take part.  She adds they are currently putting live recordings of Commission meetings on the Wasco County website.

Hood River County Commission Chair Mike Oates says the County should have a COVID Response Coordinator in place by the end of the week.  Oates says duties the position will be responsible for include preparing a weekly situation report, coordinating with those involved in public communication to identify gaps in that area, assembling and reporting on epidemiological data, attending various COVID response meetings with different groups, and developing strategies to improve local response to the pandemic.  The Health Department did announce Monday it will have 130 doses of vaccine to provide this week, and are scheduled to complete giving shots to group 1 of Phase 1a, will be planning for the remaining groups of phase 1a once enough vaccines arrive, and forecasting how many vaccines will be needed for required second doses.  Hood River County has established a new website for COVID-19 vaccine information at hrccovid19.org.