The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce is planning to move forward with its plans for a “reverse” Starlight Parade next week.  Chamber CEO Lisa Farquharson says the changes they had already made to the event by keeping the floats stationary and having the community drive by them were already mostly complaint with the new restrictions, and any changes would be to the floats themselves and the ability to have people on them.  The “reverse” parade will be next Friday, November 27 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Third Street in downtown The Dalles, with floats parked in the left hand lane and cars slowly driving by in the right hand lane.

Hood River County School District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn and County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg conducted an on-line forum Monday night to present information and answer questions about safety plans for reopening schools.  Polkinghorn says he recognizes the anxiety people feel about going back into classrooms at some point, particularly with increasing rates of COVID-19.  But he also notes while comprehensive distance learning works well for some families, for others it has been difficult, so the district now plans to focus on in-person learning for students who are struggling.  Polkinghorn says students experiencing Internet connectivity issues and needing to complete federally-mandated assessments that can only be done in person are their first priority for in-person learning, followed by students in the district they have identified as struggling.

The North Central Public Health District says Wasco County’s surge in COVID-19 cases over the weekend did not involve any large outbreaks that would have met public reporting thresholds of five or more cases at businesses with 30 or more employees.  23 new COVID cases were reported for Wasco County over the weekend, with 17 on Saturday.  In a statement on Monday, the district said a majority of them were due to family get-togethers.  That’s in line with what’s being seen throughout the state, with social gatherings as a driver of COVID transmission.  The district indicates while many of the weekend’s cases were due to household spread or from small gatherings, Wasco County has also seen an increase in the proportion of “sporadic” or “community spread” cases, or those with no known link to another case.

Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott told the County Commission on Monday that the Oregon Health Authority has developed a plan for continuity in contact tracing for counties to utilize in surge conditions.  Elliott said they’ve been having difficulty keeping up with contact tracing with recent increases in COVID cases.  She outlined that the OHA guidance provides for less contact with people on a daily basis to allow a more manageable number for staff.  Elliott says they would continue notification of positive cases and close contacts, but not on a daily basis.  She added the OHA is going to assist the County with non-COVID communicable disease cases, and they are working with community based organizations to provide wrap-around services for COVID patients.

Wy’east Middle School’s STEAM, or science, technology, engineering, art, and math, teacher Patrick Getchis has been tabbed as a runner-up for the state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.  The Oregon Department of Education, in partnership with the Oregon Lottery, is awarding both Getchis and his school a $2,000 cash prize.  Getchis has been teaching at Wy‘east Middle School for 5 of his 15 total years in education and founded the Wy‘east Middle School Robotics program by writing grants and coordinating with mentors and coaches.  Since then, Wy‘east has won three state robotics championships.  Getchis also co-led additional STEM projects which have included a biodiesel reactor and solar cell phone chargers.

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped a full point in October to 6.9 percent, mirroring the national trend.   Oregon Employment Department Economist Gail Krumenauer says it’s a significant improvement from a rate of nearly 15 percent in April, but she adds the number of people jobless for a long period of time is up considerably.  The number of those without a job for more than half-a-year has tripled in the past six months.  Krumenauer says the state has regained a little less than half the jobs it lost at the onset of the pandemic.  But she notes these figures don’t take into account the two-week “freeze” restrictions the state will be under.  Those changes will probably be reflected in numbers released next month.

The Hood River County Christmas Project says it needs donations from the public more than ever after the first two weeks of on-line registration of assistance has resulted in enrollment already up by more than 100 families from last year, and there’s still three weeks of signups remaining.  The project’s Bruce Holmson says they may see family registrations go above the 700 mark by the time the reach the December 7 deadline.  Families who register receive a food gift card from their choice of four local grocery stores and a toy gift card for each child up to 18-years-old.  To support the 2020 Hood River County Christmas Project, go to hoodrivercountychristmasproject.com, or mail a check to the organization at P.O. Box 872 in Hood River, zip code 97031.  All donations are tax deductible.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s limitation of 75 percent capacity at retail stores for at least the next two weeks may not be ideal, but it’s not a closure.  That’s the message from The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson.  She’s advising those retail businesses to be creative to keep busy, and keep pushing out their messages on safe shopping in their establishments.  Farquharson says she is reaching out to restaurants to find out who is doing take out, so the public can be informed so they can help support them while they are limited to that service.

The supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge should be released to the public next week.  Project Manager Kevin Greenwood of the Port of Hood River says it’s the culmination of over two years of work to update an EIS that was first done over ten years ago, calling it a huge milestone for the project.  Greenwood says the 200-page document covers every environmental impact a new bridge would have on the region.  A virtual public meeting on the EIS is planned for Thursday, December 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., including an opportunity for public comment.  Log-in information will be available at portofhoodriver.com.

The White Salmon Valley School District pushed back its reopening dates for in-person instruction for at least two weeks after an increase in COVID-19 cases in Klickitat County pushed the district over the metrics established by the Washington State Department of Health.  In a letter to parents, district administrators said when the numbers fall back within the state guidelines, they will continue with its phased-in hybrid reopening plans.  Tentative reopening dates now include November 30 for kindergarteners and first and fourth graders, December 7 for grades two, three, five, and six, and January 4 for secondary grades.  The increases in cases has also led the district to pause individualized instruction and support to a prioritized small group of students until further notice.  The district will re-evaluate the metrics next Monday.