Hood River County Commissioners have taken another step toward establishing a parking permit program at seven different staging and day use areas, telling County staff to move forward with preparing an ordinance to establish it.  Commissioners heard a presentation from County Forester Doug Thiesies on the proposal to establish a $30 annual pass and $5 daily fee in an effort to generate $100,000 to put back into the trail program.  Thiesies noted a committee that developed the program looked for a price point that would be agreeable to the varied users of the system.  Staging areas and day-use areas that would be covered under the parking permit program would include Lower Post Canyon Road, Seven Streams, Post Flats, Family Man, Binns Hill, Kingsley Reservoir, and Pinemont.

The Dalles Mayor Rich Mays says he’s trying to step up efforts to find long-term steps for dealing with the city’s homeless issues.  Mays says he was asked by members of faith groups to take a leadership role, and he’s working on forming a nucleus group of seven to nine people to tackle the problem that would then bring in others with expertise in particular areas as needed.  Mays adds he is working closely with the new Mid-Columbia Community Action executive director Ken LaPoint on this, and the group will develop a mission statement and ground rules with an aim to do something meaningful and effective for those who are homeless.

Washington Department of Natural Resources has received the go ahead from the White Salmon City Council to pursue the first phase of a fire fuel break on the eastside of the city.  DNR representatives made a presentation to Councilors recently outlining the project, which would aim to reduce wildfire severity by reducing stem density and fuel loading and forming a north to south fuel break adjacent to Jewett Creek.   Mayor Marla Keethler says the Council agreeing to move forward is just a first step, as DNR will now to work with landowners and other stakeholders.  DNR has identified the White Salmon area as a high priority watershed for forest health restoration, and m has proposed a multiphase treatment consisting of four different shaded fuel breaks positioned around the city.  

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said at a press conference Tuesday that the two-week freeze prevented a surge in COVID-19 cases, and asked Oregonians to continue measures to stop the spread of the virus.  Brown says thanks to Oregonians making changes to their plans and respecting safety measures, the state did not see the Thanksgiving holiday spike they feared, but it needs to continue through Christmas and New Year’s Day.  Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said the state’s new COVID-19 cases dropped by 11% last week.  Brown also said Oregon’s educators and school staff members are essential workers, and should be included in “Phase 1B” of the state’s vaccine rollout, saying it “will help ensure we are making learning environments as safe as possible.”

Oregon residents with a vehicle registration, permit or driver license expiring between November 1 and April 30 will have up to three months after their expiration date without being cited by law enforcement for an expired license or tags.  The Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon law enforcement agencies agreed to the new grace period as DMV catches up with a backlog due to COVID-19 restrictions.  Under the agreement, Oregon law enforcement officers will exercise more discretion for recently expired licenses and registration before choosing whether to write a citation.  Law enforcement can verify the status of a driver or vehicle registration electronically during a traffic stop.  A law enforcement moratorium under Senate Bill 1601 from an Oregon Special Legislative Session last summer will expire at the end of the year.

Washington 14th District Representative Gina Mosbrucker of Goldendale will serve as the lead Republican of the House Public Safety Committee.  That committee considers issues relating to law enforcement agencies, crime prevention, criminal penalties and sentencing, impaired driving, registration and civil commitment of sex offenders, and adult correctional programs and institutions.  Mosbrucker retains a leadership position on the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee as assistant ranking Republican.  She also has been chosen to serve on the House Capital Budget Committee.

The Oregon Health Authority announced that 4,475 health care workers had been vaccinated in the first week of the state’s COVID-19 immunization program.  The new data are part of a new public data dashboard showing the status of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination effort.  The dashboard will provide updates on the number of people partially and fully vaccinated, along with key demographic information showing race, ethnicity, sex and age of everyone who has been immunized.  The dashboard also shows information by county.  Currently the only people prioritized to receive the vaccine are health care workers and people who live or work in long-term care facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities.   Through December 20, Oregon has received 35,100 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with another 25,350 doses scheduled to arrive this week.  Oregon also expects to receive an allocation of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which received Emergency Use Authorization from the federal government over the weekend.  No shipments of Moderna vaccine have arrived in Oregon yet.

Washington 14th District Representative Chris Corry, who earlier this year was elected by his Republican colleagues as assistant floor leader, has also been selected as the assistant ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee.   The panel considers fiscal matters for the state, including the biennial operating budget, the supplemental budget, and other bills with large financial impacts. Besides his role on the Appropriations Committee, Corry will serve on the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee, and the newly created House Community and Economic Development Committee.  That group will consider issues relating to community development, community investment programs, and underrepresented communities.  It will also consider issues relating to economic development and economic resiliency, including small business assistance; business financing; international trade; tourism; parks and recreation; telecommunications; and broadband; as well as emergency preparedness, response, and resiliency.

Hood River County Commissioners made are pushing to hire a COVID Response Coordinator to deal with many of the management and communication challenges of the pandemic.  County Commission Chair Mike Oates says the issues they have to deal with from the pandemic will be around for awhile.  Oates says duties could include managing economic information to businesses and distributing health information to the public, helping the health department with process and developing testing strategies, and allow other County staff to be able to focus on their other duties.  Administrator Jeff Hecksel was given the go-ahead to formulate the position and determine where funding for it will come from.          

Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott told County Commissioners on Monday evening that there are 156 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday, and there will be more Tuesday.  Elliott said 248 of the 722 cases diagnosed in the County during the pandemic have been since the start of December.  She told Commissioners that Hood River County started its surge later than other parts of the state, adding with the arrival of winter they has been a shift from diagnosing one or two cases in families to all of the family, and that there have been a number of high risk outbreaks in workplaces.  Elliott says there have been 16 hospitalizations and 11 deaths related to COVID in Hood River County during the pandemic.