Work this week on several pavement preservation projects in The Dalles have been delayed a day by rain.  Work will now take place Tuesday through Thursday.  The chip seal projects will require short duration road closures between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at each location on the date the work is scheduled to take place.  Detours will be in place during work hours.  To view a map of the work and learn more about the 2020 The Dalles Pavement Preservation Program go to thedalles.org/transportation.

Hood River County Commission Chair Mike Oates said he wasn’t surprised by Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s decision to put a pause on approving applications for further reopening on hold for seven days, leaving Hood River County’s application to move to Phase 2 in limbo, but he also didn’t feel it was fair.  Oates said he cast the deciding vote on the Commission to not seek the Phase 2 designation last week to make sure the County had the contact tracing in place to handle the Duckwall Fruit COVID-19 outbreak, and when he voted to proceed on Monday he felt the County was ready to go, noting Brown calling it a “pause” is a generic statement.  Brown said at a press conference Friday that a noticeable increase in COVID-19 infections was cause for concern and she wanted to give state public health experts time to assess what factors are driving the spread of the virus and determine if there needs to be an adjustment in the approach to reopening.

The long-discussed replacement of the Dog River water pipeline, a three-and-a-half mile wooden pipeline that carries over half of The Dalles’ water supply through the Mt. Hood National Forest and is over 100 years old, may be finally nearing approval from the Forest Service.  The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson said the Forest Service has published a draft decision related to the environmental assessment of the project.  The draft is currently into a 45-day period for objections to be filed from those who have commented earlier, and Anderson said they are probably about 90 to 120 days from getting a final decision notice from the Forest Service.

Crews will work early next week on several pavement preservation projects in The Dalles.  Work will take place Monday through Wednesday.  The chip seal projects will require short duration road closures between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at each location on the date the work is scheduled to take place.  Detours will be in place during work hours. To view a map of the work and learn more about the 2020 The Dalles Pavement Preservation Program go to thedalles.org/transportation.

The Hood River County School District announced a pair of personnel moves.  Chief Financial Officer Saundra Buchanan is retiring at the end of the month.  Buchanan has been the district’s CFO for seven years, and has agreed to work back with the district as a retiree until a suitable replacement is found.  Columba Jones was named interim principal at Hood River Valley High School to take over for Rich Polkinghorn, who moves into the district superintendent’s role on July 1.  Jones has been an assistant principal at HRV since 2018, and prior to that was a teacher in the district and the principal at Stevenson Intermediate School in White Salmon.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 178 new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, marking the highest daily count in the state since the start of the pandemic.  Officials said part of the reason for the increased case number is due to the expansion of testing, contact tracing, and active monitoring of close contacts along with recent workplace outbreaks.  During a Thursday media briefing, OHA Director Patrick Allen says his biggest concern is that people are thinking counties moving into phases one and two of reopening can go back to life before the pandemic, but nothing could be further from the truth.  He says residents need to continue to cover their coughs, wash their hands, stay home from work when sick, maintain physical distancing, and wear face coverings.  Allen did say the hospitalization rate of COVID-19 cases is currently at 16%, below an earlier peak of 24%, and the percentage of cases without a known source and with full contact tracing are within their benchmark goals.  The OHA numbers added one additional case each in Hood River and Wasco counties, moving Hood River’s total number up to 68 and Wasco to 35.

There is no word from the state yet on whether Hood River County’s application to move into phase two has been approved.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel said early Thursday afternoon they had received word from the Governor’s office that the application has been passed on to the Oregon Health Authority for review.  The County’s application had sought to move to Phase 2 on Friday.  Hecksel said they would probably receive word by Friday afternoon.  There are currently 29 counties in Phase 2, including Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties.  Hood River, Marion, and Polk counties have applications pending to move into Phase 2.

The Klickitat County Public Health Department is investigating two new COVID-19 cases in the Goldendale area that have the potential for wider community spread.  Klickitat County Emergency Management said on Wednesday the Health Department is working to gather as much information as quickly as possible in order to be able to identify close contacts of confirmed cases.  David Kavanaugh of Klickitat County Public Health explains the concern is when you can’t find a source of the infection, that indicates the virus is circulating in the community, and you can’t measure the extent of the spread.  Since entering Washington’s phase 2 on June 1 Klickitat County reports an increase of 19 cases bringing its total count to 44 cases, with 12 of those positives in the Goldendale area.  County officials are once again asking everyone to follow all health precautions that have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.  If you test positive for COVID-19 or if you are a close contact to someone who has tested positive you are asked to cooperate with Klickitat County and voluntarily quarantine or isolate yourself.  

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area manager Lynn Burditt said at Wednesday’s Wasco County Commission meeting that reports from recreation sites have been positive as they have been reopened.  Burditt said visitors appear to be doing the right things, with trailheads being the most problematic issue, as that where people tend to congregate.  Burditt noted the various agencies are not trying to do social distancing policing, but rather providing information and guidelines and urging people to follow those.  She added the agencies are still discussing how to handle the Waterfall Corridor, which remains closed.

As they discussed trying to get people to wear masks when in public to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Wasco County Commissioners pointed out this shouldn’t be a political issue.   Commissioner Scott Hege said the masks are intended to protect those who are most vulnerable in the community and the front-line workers who are providing services to citizens.  And fellow Commissioner Steve Kramer pointed out the panel is a non-partisan body that just is trying to help its citizens get through the situation as best they can.  The third Commissioner, Kathy Schwartz, encouraged people to do business where there is compliance with masking and social distancing.