No new COVID-19 cases were reported Thursday or Friday in the Mid-Columbia.  Klickitat County remains at 16 positive tests for COVID-19, with ten listed by the County as having recovered, but the County also reported a third death from the disease in Friday’s statistics from the central part of the County.  Wasco County remained at ten positive COVID-19 tests, Hood River County four, Skamania County three, and Sherman County one.  Wasco County has tallied 380 negative COVID-19 tests, Hood River County 338, Klickitat County 285, and Skamania County 70.  The Oregon Health Authority listed 49 new COVID-19 cases in an update of statewide numbers on Friday, moving the total to 1,785, 24 percent of which have required hospitalization.  The death count went up by six to 70.  In Washington, statistics compiled at the end of Thursday showed 11,152 cases of COVID-19 have been detected, with 583 deaths.  Oregon reports it has received 34,536 negative tests, while Washington has had 117,748 negative tests.

The North Wasco County Education Foundation has launched a fundraiser to get technology and basic needs to kids in North Wasco County School District 21.  The COVID Response Special Fund has been established, with a goal of raising $20,000 in the next four weeks for more Chromebooks & internet access so all students can participate in distance learning while the schools are closed due to Stay Home orders.  The fund would also be providing food for the weekend backpack program and gas cards to needy families.  Foundation Director Rebecca Thistlewaite says those were the top needs identified by the school district and its food service director.  To donate go to www.northwascoed.org.

The City of The Dalles is piloting a new prescription medication delivery program for the City’s medically vulnerable population.  Anyone who is 65 years-old or older, or who has any serious underlying medical condition that would put them at higher risk of severe illness due to COVID-19, can contact The Dalles Police Department to arrange for prescription delivery to private residences within The Dalles city limits.  Bi-Mart, Walgreens, Safeway and Fred Meyer have agreed to participate with this program.  To request prescription delivery services, call the Police Department at 541-296-2613 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays.  Before calling the police department, contact the pharmacy to order and pre-pay for the prescription over the phone, and advise the pharmacy a police officer will pick up the prescription in a marked vehicle and uniform.  Have a valid identification document available when the officer delivers the medication.  Officers delivering prescriptions will be in uniform and operating a marked police vehicle, wearing proper personal protective equipment, and maintaining social distancing requirements at all times.  Please allow 24 hours from the time the prescription is ready to be pick up, to when the officer will deliver the medication.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden says he expects some kind of agreement to be reached to put more funds into the Payroll Protection Program.  The loan and grant program to help small businesses ran out of its allotted $350 billion on Thursday, and President Donald Trump has asked for another $250 billion dollars, and Walden says talks are continuing.  He says no one objects to the program itself, and he hopes the deal will get done sometime next week.   Walden, who on Thursday was appointed to the White House Economic Task Force, said leadership can come to terms on the funding and some of the issues are being worked out.  But the question is whether a House or Senate member will demand a quorum be present for a vote, which would require members to get on planes and fly back to Washington, D.C. and lead to a 48-hour delay.

Five hikers had to be rescued Thursday night below the closed Lower Falls Recreation Site in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest about 37 miles east of Cougar.  Skamania County Undersheriff Pat Bond says a total of sixteen first responders responded after receiving a report that four of the hikers had waded across the Lewis River, and only one made it back across because they were unsure of the current due to darkness.  First responders devised a rope system to rescue the remaining trio.  The group ranged in age from 17 to 20 years old and were from University Place.  Bond says all were cited and released for violation of the County’s order restricting access.  Bond called it a “perfect example” of first responders having to respond to something unnecessary due to “the complete disregard of well publicized orders” from various governmental agencies.

Klickitat County officials are asking residents to voluntarily refrain from outdoor burning during the COVID-19 pandemic.  While recognizing fire can be a necessary tool to manage lands, they say smoke from fires can result in negative consequences for the public and first responders, including smoke inhalation causing respiratory symptoms that incorrectly appear to be COVID-19 leading to unnecessary testing of self-isolation, and increasing the risk of contracting or worsening respiratory diseases due to exposure to smoke.  In addition, first responders have a limited supply of personal protective equipment, and have limited resources to respond to out of control burns.  Klickitat County officials suggest using alternatives to burning like composting or chipping yard debris on site, or hauling yard debris to a composting site or to the transfer station for disposal.  More information is available at klickitatcounty.org.

No new COVID-19 cases have been reported Thursday in the Mid-Columbia.  Klickitat County reported two positive tests for COVID-19 Wednesday, bring the total in the County to 16.  The latest two were both in the central part of the County, which has seen 14 of the 16 positive tests.  Wasco County remains at ten, Hood River County four, Skamania County three, and Sherman County one.  Wasco County has tallied 359 negative COVID-19 tests, Hood River County 329, Klickitat County 270, and Skamania County 70.  The Oregon Health Authority listed 73 new COVID-19 cases in an update of statewide numbers on Thursday, moving the total to 1,736, 24 percent of which have required hospitalization.  The death count went up by six to 64.  In Washington, statistics compiled at the end of Wednesday showed 10,783 cases of COVID-19 have been detected, with 567 deaths.  Oregon reports it has received 31,688 negative tests, while Washington has had 123,500 negative tests.

A group of White Salmon-area service providers has been awarded $800,000 from the non-profit Southwest Accountable Community of Health to launch a multi-agency program targeting underserved children and families living in western Klickitat and far eastern Skamania counties.  The Klickitat County Link Group says the collaborative program will connect community members to vital services such as food, transportation, housing and healthcare – including mental health care and substance abuse treatment.  Although the program was conceived prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the difficulties many in the community currently face due to the pandemic make this initiative particularly important.  K-LINK partners include the Bingen/White Salmon Police Department, Comprehensive Healthcare, Mt. Adams Transportation and Senior Services, Klickitat County Health Department, NorthShore Medical Group, Skyline Health, Washington Gorge Action Programs, the White Salmon Valley Education Foundation and the White Salmon Valley School District.

There will be intermittent, single-lane closures on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge for two weeks starting on Monday.  The Port of Hood River says welding crews will be working on biannual maintenance and repairing the bridge’s grated steel deck.  The single-lane closures will be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays beginning on Monday through May 1.  Flaggers will direct traffic around the moving work zone.  Delays of up to 20 minutes are expected, depending on traffic volume.  For more information, call (541) 386-1645 or email porthr@gorge.net

The Oregon State University Extension Service Outdoor School has added a webpage with resources to support outdoor learning experiences while students stay at home.  Program leader Kristopher Elliott says they wanted to provide resources for schools, educators, and families to provide learning opportunities that connect students to the outdoors, either in the backyard or simply by looking out the window.  The resources are available at outdoorschool.oregonstate.edu, and they are updated every Friday.  The closure of schools in the state due to COVID-19 cancelled the outdoor school experience for fifth and sixth graders in the state.