This weekend provided a reminder of an early fire season, as Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue crews dealt with two grass fires.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office says on Friday night crews were at the scene of a brush fire on Highway 30 on the west side of The Dalles that closed Interstate 84 for a short time.  Then on Sunday afternoon there was a grass fire on the 4300 block of Cherry Heights Road.  That one burned about an acre and a half, and was caused by a burn pile.  The Oregon Department of Forestry declared the start of the fire season on the lands it protects over the weekend, and both Wasco and Hood River counties are planning burn bans to begin on June 1.

Businesses are awaiting word from the state on what the guidelines will be for the lifting of mask requirements in certain indoor and outdoor settings if people are fully vaccinated.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says the state Chamber organization is asking the Governor’s office to provide liability protection to businesses and not make them be “vaccination cops.”  Farquharson says she is asking people to continue to wear their mask in businesses until they can adjust their operations for whatever the requirements turn out to be.

North Central Public Health District is setting up COVID-19 vaccine clinics aimed at youth 12 and up and their families at four schools in the health district’s three-county service area of Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties.   Pfizer clinics are planned at Dufur School on Wednesday, The Dalles Middle School Saturday, Arlington High School May 25, and Sherman County High School on May 26.  To sign up for the Dufur event or the event at The Dalles Middle School, please visit ncphd.org/book-vaccine and select “Schedule Pfizer Vaccine Appointment” to book your own appointment.  Select either the Dufur School event or The Dalles Middle School event.  To register for the Pfizer clinic in Arlington, call the school at 541-454-2632.  To register for the clinic at Sherman County High School, call the school at 541-565-3500.  If you have questions, call NCPHD at 541-506-2600.  Those families who were signed up on a waiting list will be emailed a link to the booking system.

Ballots in Oregon’s special districts’ election are due in County election offices or designated drop-boxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday.  In Wasco County, ballots can be taken to the County Courthouse in The Dalles.  The Dalles Rotary will be hosting the Ballot Drive-Thru collection from 7 am – 8 pm on Election Day, which is the same hours the County elections’ office is open.  Wasco County also has ballot boxes in Dufur, Mosier, Maupin and Simnasho.  In Hood River County, ballots can be dropped at the County Election Office on 601 State Street in Hood River or at Cascade Locks City Hall.    

A full week of lift-span inspections on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge was completed, and Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee says the results were good.  McElwee says this was the first year in a significant amount of time that all the ropes were fully inspected.  McElwee did say there were a couple of anomalies, including a deformation of a small portion of one of the northeast corner cable ropes, that will be monitored.

The City of Hood River will hold a community meeting on its City Manager recruitment process on Thursday, and a community survey is available through Friday.  The survey and community meeting are facilitated by Jensen Strategies, the recruitment firm selected by the City to help with the process.  The community input meeting will be held Thursday at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom.  Community members may register for the virtual meeting by sending names and email addresses to sandy@jensen-strategies.com by Wednesday.  A link to the online survey is available in English at surveymonkey.com/r/HR-community.

Track and Field Hood River Valley finished second to Crook County in the girls’ portion of the Intermountain Conference track and field championships, while The Dalles was fourth.  HRV’s Chloe Bullock won both the 800 and 1500 meters, while teammates Simone Tillman won the 200 meters and Poppy Miller the pole vault.  HRV also won the 4 by 100 meter relay.  For The Dalles, Emily Johnson took first in the 3,000 meters and Zoe Dunn won the long jump.   In the boys’ competition The Dalles had a pair of double event winners on the way to a sixth place finish.  Jaxon Pullen won the 100 and 200 meters, and Juan Diego Contreras won the 1500 and 3,000 meters.  HRV was fourth with Josh Haynes winning the 800 and Steven Stanley the pole vault.  Pendleton won the team title.   Arlington was the boys winner and South Wasco took first in the girls standings at the Sherman County Invitational.  Remington Sheer of South Wasco and Mercedez Cardona of Sherman were triple event winners.   Dufur was the girls’ winner and Bickleton the boys’ victor in the Pirate Invitational at Bickleton.  Lyle-Wishram’s Aaron Smith won three events.   Baseball Hood River Valley sweeps The Dalles 9-1 and 11-1 Dufur sweeps Heppner-Ione 2-0 and 13-3 Sherman sweeps Riverside 12-0 and 17-2 Irrigon 10, Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat 0   Softball The Dalles 9, Hood River Valley 5 Hood River Valley 16, The Dalles 5   Boys Basketball Toledo 52, Stevenson 35 Kittitas 62, Goldendale 52   Girls Basketball Goldendale 51, Columbia 40 Goldendale 60, Kittitas 23 Adna 68, Stevenson 14

Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced the state will follow guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention easing indoor mask-wearing and social distancing for fully vaccinated people.  Brown said in a video statement Thursday that the new CDC guidance means Oregonians who are fully-vaccinated no longer need to wear masks or social distance in most public spaces.  She also said the guidance makes clear that vaccines are the fastest way to get back to a sense of normalcy.  The federal guidance issued Thursday still calls for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters.  Brown added mask requirements also will remain in place in Oregon schools this school year.  She says the Oregon Health Authority in coming days will provide updated guidance for businesses.

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center is looking for volunteers.  Discovery Center Marketing Manager Mikey Goyette says there are a number of opportunities available for volunteers.  If you are interested in volunteering at the Discovery Center, e-mail the Center at volunteers@gorgediscovery.org.

Boys Basketball Goldendale 60, Columbia 56 Adna 71, Stevenson 33   Boys Lacrosse Oregon High School Lacrosse Association Metro Tournament First Round Lake Oswego 15, Hood River Valley 4   Girls Lacrosse Lincoln 15, Hood River Valley 6