The Port of Hood River is once again making changes to operations of its recreation facilities after another weekend of crowded facilities where social distancing was not observed.  The Nichols Basin Dock is now closed to the public, and Marina Beach is closed to all kiteboarding activities while picnickers and family groups are urged to stay spread out and comply with state masking requirements.  Frog Beach will remain open, but users are urged to spread out there as well.  On weekends the Event Site parking lot will be open to annual pass holders only, and will close if overcrowding on the beach occurs.  Lot 1 is closed to all vehicle parking, and the entire east side curb of North 1st Street will be closed to parking on weekends.  The City-owned Waterfront Park is open, but social distancing needs to be maintained and the playground area is closed.

The Hood River County School District has once again closed all its facilities, schools, and grounds to the public until further notice.  The closure comes after the Hood River County Health Department announced that what it termed as “multiple members” of Hood River Valley High School athletic teams tested positive for COVID-19 after beginning conditioning programs earlier in July.  Hood River County School District Superintendent Rick Polkinghorn says high school sports practices have been cancelled for a period of two weeks at the request of the health department.  The Health Department said there has been family members and close contacts of individuals involved that have tested positive for COVID-19.

While announcing new indoor venue and face covering requirements to take effect Friday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown said the state is seeing a number of COVID-19 cases due to tourism, and is asking her staff to evaluate how to restrict travel into the state by people from locations with higher levels of the virus.  Brown says she plans to take action soon with her office talking to neighboring states about the issue, and asked her staff to evaluate the process for restricting tourist travel into Oregon from states with high infection rates, or requiring mandatory quarantine for those coming from hot spots.  Twenty states have measures in place for visitors ranging from mandatory testing to quarantine requirements.

An interagency management team says the Bertschi Road Fire is south of Glenwood is 80% contained.  Hand held infra-red devices used to detect heat continue to be utilized within the perimeter of the fire footprint.  Today crews were focusing on mopping up any areas of remaining heat near the edge of the fire.  In some areas around the perimeter, up to 300 feet of mop up has been achieved.  The Temporary Flight Restriction over the fire has been lifted.  The fire started last Thursday and its cause remains under investigation.  On Tuesday researchers from the University of Washington in Partnership with the Vulcan Group, a company founded by former Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, arrived at the fire camp.  Their mission is to learn about the different challenges wildland firefighters face on the fire lines in order to find solutions using new technologies.

The 2020 Hood River County Youth Livestock Auction goes live on-line on Thursday evening.  The virtual auction was set up to replace the annual Livestock Auction that would have been a part of the Hood River County Fair that was cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions.  Auction Committee member Jason Johnston             says people can sign up online to register.  For information on how to register as a buyer for the auction, go to the Hood River Youth Auction Committee Facebook page for complete information.  The auction will go live on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. and stay open until Friday at 8:00 p.m.

A multi-jurisdictional plan for parks and recreation facilities put together by the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District, Hood River County, the Port and City of Hood River, and the Hood River County School District is about to go to all five agencies for adoption.  Parks and Recreation District Director Mark Hickok says the plan looks at both facility needs, how to maintain them, and how to work together to make them happen.  All five agencies have responsibility for park lands or facilities in the region.  Hickok says there are examples of where agencies have come together to develop quality recreation opportunities, but also opportunities to enhance cooperation and do better.

Washington Gorge Action Programs is continuing its effort to fundraise to establish a domestic violence hostel house in Klickitat County.  WAGAP’s Executive Director Leslie Naramore says they have $250,000 from the Washington Legislature and another $67,000 on hand, leaving them about half way to their goal.  She adds Klickitat County currently does not have a domestic violence shelter.  Naramore says they are working with a church in Goldendale to locate the shelter.  Those who would like to help with the project can go to wagap.org to make a donation.  

Hood River County School District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn has sent a letter to parents outlining a framework for starting school in September, including an option for students to use a completely on-line instruction model aligned with the Hood River Options Academy.  The other option would involve on-site learning that would probably start with a hybrid of in-classroom and on-line learning with the ability to go to full distance learning on a short-term basis if necessary.  Polkinghorn says in upcoming weeks the district will present parents with details about how and when families can make their choice.  Online forums are planned in English on July 28 and 29, and in Spanish this coming Thursday and July 30.  Times and details will be available, along with the information Polkinghorn sent to parents, at the district’s website at hoodriver.k12.or.us.  

An interagency management team says the Bertschi Road Fire south of Glenwood is nearly 75% contained.  With minimal activity seen on the fire Monday, crews were able to remove remaining areas of heat near the perimeters while increasing levels of containment.  Crews have placed hose lines around the perimeter of the fire and a handheld heat sensing tool is being used to search for heat sources within the containment lines where crews will focus on mopping up.   Eight water tenders are located on site to support hose lines as crews are tasked to achieve 100% mop up along and within the fire perimeter.  In some areas around the perimeter of the fire, up to 300 feet of mop up has been achieved.  The fire started on July 16 and remains under investigation.

Hood River County Commissioners approved a change in the new 10-year average revenue formula for the timber deposit fund to help avoid potential shortfalls in the future.  County Forester Doug Thiesies made the proposal to make the formula the ten year average revenue from allowable cut harvested plus the average revenue from mortality sales, saying it will reconnect the transfer to the timber deposit fund balance, changing in the allowable cut, and actual revenue, rather than based on a constant that’s not based on actual revenue.  The budget for the current fiscal year reflects the new formula.  It results in an increase of $135,513 in the County’s general fund for 2020-21.