In spite of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center being closed at this time due to Wasco County’s status as an “extreme risk” county for COVID-19, it has gotten the first phase of its roof renovation done.  Center Marketing Director Mikey Goyette says the first phase of the renovation has taken place, but the second phase will have to wait until spring when temperatures warm up.  The Center continues to fundraise for the project, go to gorgediscovery.org if you would like to help.

The Dalles Salvation Army has received plenty of support in recent days to help restock its food bank pantry to make up for losses of usual donations that come in from local food drives and the Oregon Food Bank.  The Dalles Community Meal board president Chris Zukin says they have received $23,000 in donations in the last week, and both Google and the City of The Dalles have given $10,000 apiece to help restock the pantry.  But with requests for help having doubled over the past year, Zukin says long-term needs remain.  To donate to The Dalles Salvation Army Food Bank, go on-line to thedalles.salvationarmy.com and click on the Virtual Red Kettle, drop off donations at their location on Second Street, or mail a check to P.O. Box 1970 in The Dalles.

The Hood River County School District is ready to offer limited in-person instruction for students identified as struggling in distance learning, but they need the numbers of COVID cases to drop before they can do so.  Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn told the district board the students would be limited in how long they could be in a classroom, with the intention of complimenting distance learning rather than replacing it.  The district has identified about 300 students for the limited in-person program.

North Central Public Health District has found a significant amount of Wasco County’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases is due to Thanksgiving gatherings.  A steady single-digit amount of cases were reported in the six days after the holiday.  Then a double-digit increase began, reflective of the typical roughly five-to-seven-day timeframe from date of infection to onset of symptoms.  From last Thursday to Tuesday, the county recorded 97 cases, including 48 cases reported in 48 hours last Friday and Saturday.  District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says they don’t expect to see a quick decrease in cases.  The health district has received a significant amount of calls from people who said they were exposed to someone on Thanksgiving and are inquiring about testing.

Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital reports that at this point it has not had a surge in COVID-19 in-patients at its facility.  Providence public relations director Susan Frost says they are managing well at this point, and have taken a couple of non-COVID patients from Providence Portland Medical Center in the past week to help ease capacity issues there.  She adds the hospital is remaining prepared with Chief Nursing Officer Becky Kopecky on daily calls with other hospitals in the Providence system to monitor COVID trends.  Frost added that at this point, Providence Hood River has not paused elective surgeries.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden delivered his farewell remarks in the House on Wednesday as he prepares to retire after 22 years in Congress and over 30 years in public service, including eight years in the Oregon Legislature.  The Hood River Republican said he would miss the process and his colleagues in the House, but also was happy to leave on his own terms. Walden served in the Oregon House of Representatives for six years, from 1989 to 1995, which included serving as the House Majority Leader during both 1991 and 1993 sessions.   He then served in the Oregon Senate in 1995 to 1997.  Walden was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 10,355 new daily COVID-19 cases during the week that ended Sunday, a 14% increase over the previous week and the seventh consecutive record high weekly case count.  Hospitalizations associated with COVID-19 increased to 494, a 24% increase and an average of 70 per day.  There were 133 reported COVID-19 reported deaths, up from 86 the previous week and an average of 19 per day – the highest since the pandemic began.  People aged 20 to 49 have accounted for 55% of the cases, while people 70 and older have accounted for 76%of the deaths.  During the week of November 29 to December 5, the number of COVID-19 tests administered to Oregonians increased significantly to 170,964.  The percentage of positive tests was 8.1%.

The Klickitat PUD board has decided against a retail electric rate increase in 2021.  Commissioner Doug Miller indicated that while a proposed 1.5 percent rate increase is needed to support budgets in 2021 and the future, now is not the time to do so, with fellow board member Randy Knowles pointing out there is no better time to use the PUD’s rate stabilization fund to offset an increase than now.  Klickitat PUD board president Dan Gunkel asked staff to continue to work with Klickitat County in applying for federal CARES Act funds to assist customers impacted by COVID-19 and to put a plan in place to utilize their rate stabilization fund to offset the proposed rate increase.

An additional reward is now being offered for assistance with identifying whoever was responsible for the unlawful taking of a buck deer in the White River Unit last weekend.  The Dalles chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association has offered an additional $500 for information leading to an arrest or issuance of a citation in this case.  The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division says a citizen reported finding a fresh deer on Sunday that had been dumped near a fence line off of Highway 30 on United States Forest Service property about five miles east of Mosier near Marsh Cut-off Road.    Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to call the Turn in Poachers hotline at 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP on mobile devices.

Oregon Food Bank has purchased a warehouse building in The Dalles to be the permanent home for the Columbia Gorge Food Bank.  The building at 3525 Crates Way has five times more space than the organization’s current leased facility.  This purchase was funded by what the Columbia Gorge Food Bank called a “generous donor.”  The building does require renovation and additional equipment to be an effective food bank, including freezer and cooler capacity and other food handling and storage equipment.  Oregon Food Bank plans to raise additional funds for the renovation process and equipment, and a formal assessment and buildout planning is currently underway.  A grand opening will be held when renovations are complete and gatherings are no longer a risk to public health.