The “All Together The Dalles” mural will be unveiled online Saturday morning.  The mural, which is going up on the South wall of the old Tum-A-Lum building on 2nd Street in downtown The Dalles, is a collaborative project between The Dalles Art Center, The Mural Society, The City of The Dalles, Eagle Publishing and numerous volunteers.  The Dalles Art Center Executive Director Scott Stephenson says the mural will serve as an entrance to the east end of the City.  The mural is based on a print created by artist Beth Kerschen featuring the historic landmark list of buildings.  The livestream of the unveiling will be on The Dalles Art Center Facebook page Saturday at 11 a.m.  The website alltogetherthedalles.com provides a history of each building in the mural and the story project, the artists and the collaborators.

Ballots continue to flow into county election offices throughout the region over the past week at a record pace.  As of Thursday morning, 10,006 of 15,726 ballots distributed in Hood River County have been returned, 63.6%.  And in Wasco County the return rate is 55.3%, 10,056 out of 18,196.  As a comparison, at the same time in 2016 47.4% of ballots had been returned in Hood River County and 41.9% in Wasco County.  In Oregon ballots must be returned to county election offices or official drop boxes by Tuesday at 8 p.m.  

The Hood River County School District board went through operational blueprints for a return to in-person instruction during a three-hour worksession.  District staff went through the blueprints that cover both district-wide and school-specific protocols once the County meets the state’s metrics to allow students back in buildings.  Board members were positive about the plans, with Corinda Hankins-Elliott pointing out that communication with the community will be key.  The operational blueprints will be available on the Hood River County School District website at hoodriver.k12.or.us.  The district is hoping to bring K-3 students back to classrooms in late November if the County metrics allow.  The district had previously announced that students in grades 4-12 will remain in comprehensive distance learning until February 2, which coincides with the end of the first semester for middle and high school students.

Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital is at about 85 percent of normal operations for surgeries, clinic, and its Senior Village.  Providence Hood River Chief Nursing Officer Becky Kopecky says they are currently assessing what might be coming next in the pandemic, as they stay ready should they experience a surge of COVID-19 patients.  She notes the hospital’s incident command team meets on a weekly basis, evaluating numbers and updating personal protective equipment supplies.  Kopecky said they have never run low on supplies.  Kopecky said a focus of hospital staff has been to relax the anxieties patients may have regarding COVID-19 when coming in for procedures.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will close all primitive camping areas for the season on Sunday at The Dalles and John Day dams.  The closures area part of a new camping policy the Corps is implementing this year, and will continue through March.  In addition, The Wall at The Dalles and Biglow Canyon River Access, Cliffs Park, Railroad Island Park and Rock Creek Park at John Day will no longer permit overnight camping as of Sunday.  Season closures at LePage, Plymouth, and Philippi Park campgrounds remain unchanged.  Year-round day-use and seasonal camping continues to be an option at various Corps -managed locations in the Gorge.

The Dalles City Council approved a resolution authorizing City Manager Julie Krueger to proceed with efforts to construct pallet-style shelters for the homeless this winter on the right-of-way on Bargeway Road where it turns behind the City Public Works Department next to NW Natural.  Krueger told Councilors the City will be providing the infrastructure for six eight-by-eight units that can accommodate two people each, but won’t be operating them.  The City will provide the site, portable toilets, a trash dumpster, and electricity.  Krueger said it was her understanding shower and laundry facilities at St. Vincent dePaul will still be available for those who stay in the shelters.  Councilor Darcy Long-Curtiss says now that a location for the shelters has been found, assembling operational plans can move forward.  Tonya Brumley of NW Natural did express concern for the lack of lighting in the area, and The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson noted the site’s closeness to the Riverfront Trail.  Krueger said those issues will be monitored and addressed.

The Hood River County School District’s hope to return to in-person instruction for K-3 students has been pushed back at least two weeks, and probably three.  Hood River County did not meet COVID-19 health metrics for the week of October 18 to make that move, which the district hoped would happen on November 3.  The County reported a COVID case rate of 35.3 cases per 100,000 people, which exceeds the state metric of 30 per 100,000.  It must meet that standard for three straight weeks for in-person classes to resume at the K-3 level.  The earliest possible return to in-person instruction for Hood River County’s K-3 students is Monday, November 23, but District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn says it would probably be at least a week after that, due to the week of November 23 being Thanksgiving week, with only two instructional days planned.  The district had previously announced that students in grades 4-12 will remain in comprehensive distance learning until February 2, which coincides with the end of the first semester for middle and high school students.

Ballots have been coming into county election offices throughout the region over the past week at a record pace.  As of Wednesday morning, 56.8% of ballots have been returned in Hood River County, and in Wasco County the return rate is 50.3%.  Wasco County Clerk Lisa Gambee says when a ballot arrives in her office, it is scanned so they know which voter ballot has been returned, followed by staff doing signature verification.  And she says Wednesday is the first day ballots are opened, processed, and scanned to begin preparing to release after 8 p.m. on election night.  Election results are not certified until 20 days after the vote, as those whose signatures are challenged or forgot to sign the return envelope have 14 days after the election to go to their County election office and correct that situation.  

The Oregon Health Authority on Tuesday confirmed a 79-year-old woman in Wasco County died from COVID-19 on Saturday, the 16th death in the County attributed to the virus and 13th in connection with the outbreak at Flagstone Senior Living’s memory care unit.  The OHA reported one new COVID-19 case in Wasco County in its Tuesday report.  In Washington, both Klickitat and Skamania counties each reported one new COVID case on Tuesday.

The race is on to finish the Jewett Boulevard project in White Salmon.  Mayor Marla Keethler says they are in the home stretch, but weather is a concern in that effort.  They need mild temperatures to finish.  Keethler says this week is critical in that effort.  Last week saw a flurry of work on Jewett, with both paving and power pole installation taking place.