With Wasco County entering the extreme risk category of the state’s COVID-19 categories Friday, it does appear the County’s pace of new COVID cases this week is down from past couple of weeks.  North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell says after Wasco County saw 39 cases for the week of April 18-24, it has seen 21 cases so far this week with a couple of days remaining.  McDonell does point out that won’t immediately take Wasco County out of the extreme risk designation.  McDonell added it appears that this week the state will be over the 300 hospitalized metric that activates the extreme risk designation.  38 percent of Wasco County’s population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with 26 percent having completed their series.  In addition, NCPHD released numbers showing nearly 48 percent of eligible County residents, those over 16, had received at least one shot.

Hood River County continues to be among the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Oregon, but like other areas of the state it has seen an increase in cases in recent weeks.  County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg said in a Thursday Facebook video that tracing shows many of the cases stem from a familiar source:  large social and family gatherings.  According to Oregon Health Authority statistics, 49 percent of Hood River County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with nearly 37 percent having completed their series and 13 percent in progress.  Hood River County went into the high risk category in the state’s COVID-19 categories Friday.

Track and Field Hood River Valley’s boys and girls finished second to Crook County at a three-school Intermountain Conference meet in Prineville.  Michael Goodman and Chloe Bullock each won two events.   Stevenson’s girls finished fourth at the Class 2B District 4 Championships at Rainier.  Braeden Nissen along with the Bulldogs’ 4 by 100 and 4 by 200 meter relay teams led the way with second place finishes.  Stevenson was tenth in the boys’ standings, with Garret Bernt taking second in both the shot put and discus.

Hood River County School District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn told district board members that even though the County moves into the high risk category for COVID-19 on Friday, nothing changes for school operations.  Polkinghorn noted the COVID metrics used to assess school safety are different than the County metrics, and the Hood River district remains in a lower risk category.  Polkinghorn said they have had five known cases of COVID-19 in students so far this year, but there have been no cases of transmission within the schools linked to them.  He did add that if COVID rates continue to rise, they will continue to partner with the Hood River County Health Department to ensure health and safety in the schools.  

The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released Wednesday, shows a fifth consecutive week of surging daily cases and surging hospitalizations from the previous week.  The OHA reported 5,729 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week that ended Sunday.  That represents a 21% increase from the previous week and marks the fifth consecutive week of 20% or higher increases in daily cases.  New COVID-19 related hospitalizations nearly doubled from 171 to 333.  There were 26 reported COVID-19 related deaths.  There were 133,563 tests for COVID-19 for the week of April 18 through April 24.  The percentage of positive tests was 6%.  People 70 years of age and older have accounted for 39% of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 76% of COVID-19 related deaths.  

Republican Oregon Second District Congressman Cliff Bentz is criticizing the decision by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delay implementation of a Trump Administration critical habitat rule for the Northern Spotted Owl.  The rule lifted critical-habitat protections for the bird from 3.4 million acres in Oregon, Washington and California.  The Agency noted that it ultimately intends to revise or withdraw the January 2021 final rule.  Bentz believes revision or withdrawal of the rule would stop efforts to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

Oregon voters will soon begin receiving their ballots for the May 18 special district elections.  The ballot includes races for local school boards, port districts, and other special districts that provide leadership and direction on essential public services.  Voters can mail back their ballot using the pre-paid postage envelope that accompanies each ballot or they can return their ballots to any official drop box location throughout the state.  Voters with questions about their ballot should contact their county elections office.  More information is available oregonvotes.gov.  

Oregon and Washington fishery managers announced seasons and regulations for 2021 Columbia River summer and fall salmon and steelhead fisheries.  Improved forecasts for summer Chinook, fall Chinook and coho salmon will allow for increased opportunity to target these fish. However, the forecasts for sockeye salmon and upriver summer steelhead are below average and will require conservative retention seasons.  For the summer season, retention of adult hatchery Chinook will open June 16 and continue through July 5 downstream of Bonneville Dam and through July 31 from Bonneville Dam upstream to the Oregon-Washington border.  In both areas, sockeye and hatchery steelhead retention will be allowed June 16 to July 31, but with a reduced bag limit for each.  Fall Chinook retention seasons start August 1 and are longer than recent years, but regulations do vary by river section, and anglers are encouraged to review the detailed descriptions.  Hatchery coho retention will be open throughout the fall season based on the much-improved forecast.  Due to the low forecast for upriver summer steelhead, protective regulations will again be in effect for 2021 fisheries.  These include a one hatchery steelhead daily bag limit, area-specific retention closures, and Thermal Angling Sanctuaries in portions of Eagle Creek, Herman Creek, the Deschutes River, and the Columbia River near the mouths of these tributaries.  

Softball Hood River Valley 12, Gresham 0:  The Eagles win their fourth straight game to get back to .500 on the season.   Southwest Washington Class 1A Boys Soccer Tournament First Round Elma 4, Stevenson 0:   The Bulldogs will play a loser-out game at home against Montesano this evening at 6 p.m.   Boys Tennis Redmond 8, The Dalles 0   Boys Lacrosse Hood River Valley 8, Lincoln 6

North Central Public Health District will start taking walk-ins at its COVID-19 vaccination clinics, starting on Thursday.  The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center.  NCPHD’s vaccine clinics have numerous openings, including an evening clinic this Friday with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is authorized for those 16 and older.  To book an appointment, visit ncphd.org.  The Hood River County Health Department is hosting a walk-in clinic each Thursday morning starting this week for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  It will run from 9 a.m. to noon each Thursday morning at the department on 1109 June Street.  No appointments are necessary, and the vaccines are free.