A federal judge denied an emergency motion sought by three Christian schools in Oregon, including Hood River’s Horizon Christian School, that want to reopen this fall, finding Governor Kate Brown’s executive order for K-12 schools during the coronavirus holds up constitutionally.  The Oregonian/OregonLive reports U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman ruled Thursday after hearing nearly two hours of testimony.  The judge found the Christian schools made it clear that they have been and will be “irreparably harmed,” but Mosman said he needs to examine the law in place and finds the state’s public health concerns due to the pandemic outweigh the schools’ interests.  Attorney John Kaempf, representing Horizon Christian School, McMinnville Christian Academy and Life Christian School in Aloha, had urged the judge to grant a temporary restraining order that would have halted the governor’s order and allowed the three schools to reopen with in-person classes this fall.  Governor’s Attorney Marc Abrams argued that health concerns are paramount and the temporary limitations on in-school learning are necessary to avoid the potential loss of life and a “potential super spreader site.”

The Dalles Kiwanis Club announced it will not hold its annual Steak Feed at Sorosis Park in September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Steak Feed has been sponsored by the Kiwanis Club for 64 years to help raise funds for various community projects to support local children and families.  The Club indicated in an announcement Thursday that they look forward to bring back the event next year.  They are also taking donations to help the local programs and projects they support.  Those donations can be mailed to The Dalles Kiwanis Club Foundation…P.O. Box 604 in The Dalles…zip code 97058-0604.

The Northern Oregon Correctional Facility Board of Directors voted unanimously on Thursday to discontinue housing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.  NORCOR officials say they made the decision as the overall number of those placed in the facility has declined over the past year, decreasing NORCOR’s budgetary reliance on the ICE contract.  NORCOR managers say they will initiate the contractual requirements to terminate the ICE agreement, and give an update to the NORCOR board in September.  NORCOR’s agreement to house ICE detainees has been the subject of protests, hunger strikes, and a lawsuit over the course of the past four years.

A man has died in a single-vehicle accident on Highway 97 Thursday morning just north of Goldendale.  According to the Washington State Patrol, a pickup truck was southbound on Highway 97 at milepost 15 around 8:50 Thursday morning when it drifted off the roadway to the right, struck an embankment, spun around, and rolled multiple times, ejecting the driver.  The vehicle came to rest on its top facing the wrong way on the southbound shoulder.  The driver, 26-year-old Michael Mathias of LaPine, was pronounced deceased at the scene.  The WSP report indicated the man was not wearing a seatbelt.

The Oregon Department of Forestry says the Sevenmile Hill Fire is now at 50% containment after burning roughly 100 acres Wednesday evening.  ODF says today firefighters are looking to secure to secure Sevenmile Hill Road and place it in patrol statut.  That will require gridding the fire for hot spots, with significant work in the areas of scrub oak and brush.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office has reduced a Level 3 evacuation advisory in the area of the fire to Level 1.  The Sheriff’s Office announced that those living on Sevenmile Hill Road along Chenoweth Road to the Brownscreek Road intersection to include Oak Hill Drive and McDonald Way can return to their homes, but are encouraged to stay alert in case of a change in weather or fire conditions.  A Level 2 advisory for Brownscreek Road to the 4500 block of Cherry Heights Road was fully lifted.  Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill credited ranchers and landowners in the area for assisting in fire suppression and help in quick containment.  At this time, the cause of the fire is yet to be determined and is under investigation.  Any citizen that has information on the fire is encouraged to call 541-296-4626.  Please continue to stay out of the area to allow crews to continue work.

The White River Fire on the Mount Hood National Forest about eight miles west of Sportsman’s Park is now 450 acres in size.  The U.S. Forest Service says work Wednesday included indirect dozer line along the fire’s east flank between Forest Road 48 and the White River  Winds continue to be a key factor in suppressing the fire, with less favorable weather conditions continuing today.  Communities east of the fire will be smoky.  Given the complexities of this fire, the Mt Hood National Forest has ordered a Type 2 Incident Management Team to take over management of the fire.   Over the next two days the current Type 3 team will transition with the incoming team.  The Wasco County fairgrounds in Tygh Valley will be the Incident Command Post.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 1 Evacuation Notice this afternoon for the Sportsman’s Park and Rock Creek areas.

While the bulk of the attention of public health officials is on COVID-19, the upcoming flu season is on their minds.  Klickitat County Public Health Director Erinn Quinn told the county’s Board of Health that she plans to push out the message to the community to get their flu shots this fall.  Quinn noted one of the hurdles they will have to overcome is a people with what she termed “vaccine hesitancy,” concerned with side effects or other issues around vaccinations.

Klickitat County’s Board of Health received an update on the uptick in the County’s COVID-19 numbers as the result of an outbreak at an agricultural operation in the western part of the County.  County Health Officer Dr. Amy Person says at this point they have not seen any evidence of community spread as a result of that outbreak.  Klickitat County has been waiting for the state of Washington to lift the pause to reapply to move up to Phase 3 of reopening, and Person says it will be important for the County to address the recent increase in cases.  Person noted other counties have been able to demonstrate to the state where COVID-19 stands as a whole in a community removing an outbreak at one location.

The White Salmon City Council approved a framework to use $78,300 of COVID-19 Cares funding.  Mayor Marla Keether says the City has to use the money by the end of October or lose it, and they are budgeting most of it for community relief funds to help residents and businesses that serve customers facing financial hardships as a result of the pandemic.  Two smaller amounts of money are being reserved for city operations impacted by the pandemic and other forms of community support.

The Oregon Health Authority’s Thursday numbers reported one new positive COVID-19 case in both Wasco and Sherman counties.  That moved Wasco County’s total to 205, with the County listing 128 as recovered using a 30-day standard.  Sherman County now has seen 17 total COVID-19 cases…with eight recovered.  No new cases were listed in the Thursday report for Hood River County, which remains at 221 total cases for the pandemic, with the County listing 199 cases as what it terms “released from quarantine” leaving 22 active cases.   Gilliam County remains at four total cases, with two recovered.  The OHA reported 301 new and presumptive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, moving the state’s pandemic total to 24,165.  Four deaths that occurred in the past four days were listed, moving that total to 412.  In Washington, Klickitat County reported five new cases on Wednesday to run its total to 179, 45 of which are active, up two from Tuesday.  Skamania County did not report any new cases in its Thursday update, leaving them at 59, of which 55 are listed as recovered.