Mid-Columbia Medical Center is purchasing a Cepheid Rapid Analyzer to enable quick results for COVID-19 tests.  MCMC Chief Executive Officer Dennis Knox says as they test every elective surgery patient for the coronavirus, acquiring the analyzer will speed that procedure to allow test results to be known within 45 minutes.  Knox emphasized this is a different analyzer than the much-criticized Abbott analyzer.  He said the Cepheid analyzer provides 99 percent true results.  Knox says the equipment, along with cassette test kits, will arrive in mid-July.  The Mid-Columbia Health Foundation provided $110,000 to purchase the analyzer, along with $20,000 for the test kits.

North Central Public Health District officials continue to work with orchardists as seasonal workers continue to arrive for cherry harvest.  District Director Teri Thalhofer told Wasco County Commissioners Wednesday morning that the work being done to help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in the orchards is being used as a model for the rest of Oregon.  Thalhofer says masks and cleaning supplies were distributed to orchardists last week, and they are looking for more supplies.  She added work is being done on migrant housing and education needs.

Mid-Columbia Community Action has received about $900,000 from various sources to provide assistance for energy payments and housing and homeless funds.  Community Action Executive Director Jim Slusher says they will be contacting 200 households that were on a waiting list for this past winter’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program to provide financial assistance, and then there are other funds for both energy and rent assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.  Mid-Columbia Community Action serves Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties.   For information on programs, go to mccac.com, or call their office in The Dalles at 541-298-5131.

The Hood River City Council voted 4-3 to lift its current moratorium on lodging for recreational and leisure travel during its meeting Tuesday evening.  The decision came after about an hour and 15 minutes of discussion, with nearly all Councilors acknowledging there are numerous unknowns moving forward.  Councilor Tim Counihan said he thought the City should wait until a successful completion to Phase 1 reopening before allowing lodging to move forward, while fellow Councilor Erick Haynie said it was a careful and appropriate step and that the lodging sector must stand by state guidelines.  A group of Hood River lodging industry representatives have written a letter to City and County officials asking for the restriction to be lifted, saying it will be critically important for the tourism industry to transition to inspirational messaging inviting responsible visitation in slow stages.  The lift will occur on May 29 as the City extends its emergency orders into mid-June.  Mayor Kate McBride, Haynie, Jessica Metta, and Mark Zanmiller voted yes, while Counihan, Megan Saunders, and Gladys Rivera voted no.

For the first time in over a week, there were new positive COVID-19 tests were reported in Mid-Columbia counties on Tuesday.  Wasco County reported two new positive tests on Tuesday, bringing its total to 20 since numbers began to be tallied.  Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott said on Tuesday that the County has had a 13th positive test, adding the other 12 have been listed as recovered.  Wasco County has reported 13 as recovered.  Klickitat County remains at a cumulative 24 since numbers began to be tallied, including 20 in Goldendale, Skamania County has had three, and Sherman County one.  The Oregon Health Authority on Tuesday reported 18 new confirmed cases and one presumptive to run the state total to 3,967, with no new deaths to leave that number at 148.  The Washington State Department of Health on Tuesday reported 116 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths.  Statewide totals in Washington from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 20,181 cases and 1,078 deaths.  

A resurgence in the tree infection known as little cherry disease has raised concerns in area orchards, but Oregon State University Extension horticulturalist Ashley Thompson thinks it won’t impact cherry harvest yields in the Mid-Columbia the way it has in other locations.  Thompson says orchardists have been staying out in front of the disease, unlike some areas farther north in Washington that have had to remove acres of trees, while in the Mid-Columbia that hasn’t been the case.  She did say there will be orchardists removing trees and re-planting over the next year or two.  She added if growers don’t remove infected trees, the disease can spread very quickly.  Thompson says OSU has been producing waterproof cards with little cherry disease symptoms on them to distribute to pickers throughout the region so they can identify diseased trees.

Scott Randall was selected from seven candidates to take the vacant seat on The Dalles City Council.  Randall takes the position vacated by Russ Brown, who resigned in February.  Randall is a long-time resident of The Dalles who works for the Army Corps of Engineers at John Day Dam.  He listed economic development and improving and upgrading infrastructure has key issues of interest in his application for the position.  Councilors unanimously approved his nomination.  Randall will take the seat at the next Council meeting on June 8.

Hood River County Commissioners will meet Friday to consider lifting its prohibition on short-term rentals and lodging established at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis two months ago, and move toward opening forestland staging areas and restrooms by June 8.  County officials discussed the moves in a worksession on Tuesday.  If the Commission lifts its current orders on Friday, short-term rentals and lodging could operate under state guidelines.  The instructions for the opening of the forestland staging areas and restroom facilities will be worded to happen by June 8, but it could be earlier if staff can get all the necessary preparations taken care of.  County Commissioner Les Perkins noted in the worksession that we are entering the stage where personal responsibility will be at the forefront.

The Mt. Hood National Forest will reopen most developed day-use and trailhead sites to recreational users this Friday (May 29).  Forest officials say several sites will not open immediately, including most campgrounds.  These sites will open slowly as they are assessed for public and employee safety.  Recreation managers are coordinating with campground concessionaires, completing spring maintenance, and training seasonal staff in preparation for opening sites.  Some facilities, such as vault bathrooms, may not be maintained daily.  Forest officials recommend that all visitors be prepared to provide for their own sanitation and be as self-contained as possible while recreating.  A complete list of open and closed recreation sites will be on the Mt. Hood National Forest website.

The Dalles Planning Commission decided to continue a public hearing on a proposal to subdivide a 6.2 acre lot west of Richmond Street into 72 lots for a housing development.  An application for the project was approved by the City on the land that is zoned for high-density residential, but brought an appeal from neighbors who don’t believe it’s appropriate for the area in the east portion of The Dalles.  The continuance was for further evaluation of a required traffic impact study submitted by applicant Legacy Development earlier this week.  Some of the neighbors who testified during the hearing and had seen the study felt it was not comprehensive enough.  The hearing was continued to a virtual Planning Commission meeting on June 18 at 6 p.m., and the record has been held open.