The White Salmon Valley School District expects to be able to announce some plans for graduation sometime next week. The district’s ceremonies are scheduled for June 13. Superintendent Jerry Lewis says they have received guidance from the state depending on whether Klickitat County remains in phase 1 of reopening as it is now or gets to move up to phase 2. Lewis said they are working on plans to honor graduates in some way, including posters of students to put up around the community. Lewis also said they will be probably have two plans depending on which phase Klickitat County will be in on June 13.
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Manager Lynn Burditt told Wasco County Commissioners on Wednesday that the plan of public land agencies is to keep access to their recreation lands restricted through the Memorial Day weekend. Burditt says various agencies continue to work to coordinate their strategies for reopening recreation opportunities. She told the Commission that a number of agencies still have steps to take to be ready to open safely, but on the Oregon side of the river they are tentatively looking at easing restrictions on most day-use areas east of the Eagle Creek Closure this coming Wednesday. On the Washington side of the Columbia Burditt said they are looking at easing restrictions on most day-use sites except Beacon Rock State Trail and Dog Mountain Trailhead. She also said a few Corps of Engineers day-use sites will be delayed from opening.
Some Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife areas in eastern Oregon that allow overnight camping have reopened for that activity, including two in Wasco County. The Lower Deschutes and White River wildlife areas are both reopened to dispersed overnight camping. Visitors are reminded to bring their own supplies. They are also reminded to stay home if sick, check for access before going, stick close to home, and avoid crowds and practice social distancing. Also pack out what you pack in and take any garbage with you, including disposable gloves and masks.
North Wasco County School District 21 and the Parkdale Rural Fire Protection District are receiving seismic rehabilitation grants from Business Oregon. D-21 will receive over $2.27 million for work on The Dalles High School gymnasium. The Parkdale Fire District will receive over $1.43 million for its station in Parkdale. The state agency announced 35 grants totaling over $74 million this week in the sixth round of funding from the program.
Wy’east Middle School industrial technology teacher Patrick Getchis has been named the Columbia Gorge’s 2021 Regional Teacher of the Year in the program put on by the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Lottery. Oregon educators are identified through a regional application and selection process facilitated by local Education Service Districts. Applicants submitted testimonials and letters of support and were assessed on leadership, instructional expertise, community involvement, understanding of educational issues, professional development and vision by a diverse panel of regional representatives. Each Regional Teacher of the Year receives a $500 award from the Oregon Lottery, and is automatically considered for the honor of 2021 Oregon Teacher of the Year which will be announced this fall. Getchis has been a teacher for fifteen years.
Hood River County voters have approved a five-year public safety levy that County officials asked for. The levy of 78-cents-per-thousand dollars of assessed property value was approved by nearly 57 percent of voters, winning approval with 4,460 votes to 3,369 against. Passage marks an important moment for County officials that have been battling budget woes for a number of years. County voters had turned down a pair of tax measures one year ago. Carrie Rasmussen will be Hood River County’s new district attorney, as she received about 59 percent of the vote to succeed long-time D.A. John Sewell. Rasumssen received 4,477 votes, while Sean Kallery received 3,109. Former Hood River Mayor Arthur Babitz won a seat on the County Commission in District 2, receiving 1,150 votes to 792 for Paul Henke. Babitz will succeed Rich McBride, who did not run for re-election and whose term will finish in January.
Wasco County voters have decided to make a change in the District Attorney’s office. Local defense attorney Matthew Ellis unseated Eric Nisley with over 72 percent of the vote, 5,679 to 2,115. Nisley has been Wasco County’s District Attorney for nearly 20 years, but had recently been surrounded by controversy that resulted in a 60-day suspension from practicing law from the state that he had recently completed. Steve Kramer won re-election to position two on the Wasco County Commission, receiving 4,043 votes to 3,671 for challenger Marcus Swift. Kramer won his third four-year term on the Commission. In The Dalles, revisions to the City Charter that include eliminating using zones for City Council representation and making the Mayor’s term four years beginning in 2022 was approved easily. 2,640 said yes to 1,409 no. In the three-way primary for Sherman County Justice Court Judge, Ron McDermid received 329 votes, Deanna Christiansen 282, and Geremy Shull 190.
New data from the Oregon Employment Department shows Oregon’s unemployment rate went from a historic low of 3.5% in March to a record high of 14.2% in April. The state lost 266,600 jobs in April, or one in eight jobs statewide. Employment Department senior economic analyst Anna Johnson says the numbers probably significantly understate the crisis since they cover only the opening weeks of the epidemic. The April jobless rate of topped the worst days of the Great Recession, when Oregon unemployment peaked around 12% in 2009. Oregon’s jobless rate was comparable to the national rate, which was 14.7% in April – the highest since the Great Depression, when unemployment topped 25%. The state’s lodging sector shed nearly 60% of its jobs, while restaurants and bars lost more than half of their jobs. Health care and retail also tallied substantial losses.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced ten more counties were eligible to apply for Phase 2 in the state’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, but Klickitat County was not among them. There are now 22 counties in the state either eligible to apply for or already in Phase 2, representing about 30 percent of Washington’s population. Most of the ten made eligible for consideration today were in Western Washington. Inslee said a new piece of criteria has been added to be able to apply for the variance, requiring counties to have less than 10 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span. Inslee said that meets Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Skamania County is already in Phase 2.
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