The City of White Salmon will begin repairing a water main line this evening (Tuesday).  Customers in the area beginning at Brislawn Road and Highway 141 west will experience a water outage beginning at 7:00 p.m.  This includes the Powerhouse Road and Forester Lane neighborhoods.  White Salmon officials say the water outage was scheduled in the evening to provide the least amount of disruption to customers.  The water will be back on no later than 6:00 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).  The City is also asking all White Salmon customers to use water sparingly beginning at 7:00 p.m. in order to ensure that water remains in the city’s reservoirs.  If you have any questions regarding the water outage call 509-774-7280.  

A workgroup has begun to meet in Hood River County to discuss a reopening plan for the County.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel said during a County Commission meeting on Monday that the workgroup held its first session earlier in the day with representatives from County administration, emergency operations, the City of Hood River, Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, and One Community Health, with an expectation of having a representative from Cascade Locks for future meetings.  Hecksel the initial meeting focused on the process to move forward and begin to develop a plan around the state’s framework.  Hecksel said the goal is to have a plan ready in one-and-a-half to two weeks.  They plan to meet again on Wednesday at 2 p.m.  Hecksel noted they have not yet received a template from the state to follow in developing reopening plans.

The Dalles City Manager Julie Krueger says the City is experiencing reduced revenue for the current fiscal year and what is proposed for the next one due to a loss of transient room tax revenue during the pandemic.  Krueger told Councilors during a Monday afternoon meeting they and the municipal budget committee will be receiving data to explain how staff will propose to make budget adjustments.  There will also be a special line item for economic recovery included in the 2020-21 fiscal year budget.  Krueger says what kind of help the City may have available isn’t known yet, but including the line item will allow any funds to be accounted for without having to do an amended budget.  

Skamania County has reported a death from COVID-19, its first and the fifth in Mid-Columbia counties since the pandemic began.  A Wasco County resident died on Friday from the disease.  The other three deaths from the coronavirus previously reported in Mid-Columbia counties were all in Klickitat County.  Skamania County’s numbers also moved its number of positive COVID-19 cases to four.  Klickitat County remains at 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases, Wasco County 12, Hood River County five, and Sherman County one.  Oregon reported 43 new cases on Monday, bringing the state total to 2,354, and one death for a total of 92.  Washington’s latest report showed 13,521 positive COVID-19 cases, and 749 deaths.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center has announced it is implementing a temporary furlough of what it termed “select employees” based on volume and need to care for patients.  In a statement, the hospital said it has received a significant financial impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with considerable declines in patient volume due to State and Federal executive orders, the suspension of elective surgeries and the desire of some potential patients to simply stay away for fear of exposure to the coronavirus, while at the same time facing increased costs related to the pandemic.  The furlough begins this coming Sunday and is currently expected to last through May 30, but will be re-evaluated in the middle of the month, and MCMC CEO Dennis Knox says they hope to have all staff return to work as soon as possible.  Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced that hospitals and surgical centers can begin reopening for non-urgent medical procedures on May 1 if strict new requirements for COVID-19 safety and preparedness are in place.

Klickitat County has had a cash reserve of over $23 million, and it is being used during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Commissioner Jim Sizemore says they have been using it to cover wages and benefits for all of the County’s employees.  He said they can keep doing that for a while, but they’d like to see an end in sight so they can conduct business normally.  Of course that could be in the hands of state officials.  Sizemore says County officials have not been briefed at this point on a framework for the state to reopen its economy.

Tuesday is the last day for citizens in Oregon to register to vote or change their political party affiliation for the upcoming May primary election.  Visit your county elections’ web page to find links to register online or go to www.oregonvotes.gov.

The Hood River County Commission approved opening County forestlands to local residents for recreation beginning on Tuesday.  Commissioners decided to wait until early next week to give staff and support groups time to prepare signage and other communication, noting they want to make this a soft opening.  Parking lots, staging areas, and restrooms will remain closed, as the County looks to emphasize the opening is for local residents, not for those from out of the area.  Commissioners had tried nearly a month ago to keep forestlands open for access to locals with similar closures, but recreationalists from out-of-town still came in large numbers.  In the order to open the forest trails on Tuesday, Commissioners added language emphasizing the opening is for Hood River County residents only, and a statement noting the Governor’s order against non-essential travel.  Commissioner Karen Joplin said this needs to be a low-key opening of the trails for residents only.  County Forester Doug Thiesies says holding off on the opening until Tuesday will give time for the trails to be examined to make sure they are in good condition.  The forestlands would be open for day use only.

No positive COVID-19 tests have been reported in the region for the past two days.  Klickitat County remains at 16 positive COVID-19 tests, Wasco County 12, Hood River County five, Skamania County three, and Sherman County one.  The Oregon Health Authority listed 51 new COVID-19 cases in an update of statewide numbers on Friday, moving the total to 2,177, 24 percent of which have required hospitalization.  The death count moved up by three to 86.  In Washington, the most recent statistics show 12.753 positive tests for COVID-19, with 711 deaths.  

The Oregon Health Authority released a modeling report update today that indicates the efforts of Oregonians to stay home and practice physical distancing has helped prevent as many as 70,000 COVID-19 cases in Oregon.  The report says the epidemic would have grown exponentially and cases would have doubled every week without social distancing practices.  The interventions are estimated to have averted over 70,000 infections, including over 1,500 hospitalizations, by April 16th.  State epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger says the modeling shows the efforts are working, but they also must continue even as the state moves toward easing restrictions.  The Institute for Disease Modeling works with the OHA on the weekly reports, using Oregon outbreak data with IDM research and modeling techniques to present policy makers with projections for the trajectory of the disease.  The models are updated weekly.