Hood River County Commissioners have asked their legal counsel to make some wording changes to a proposed public safety levy expected to go before voters in May.  Commission Chair Mike Oates says they want to make sure voters understand exactly what the County is asking for and where the money from a levy of 78 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value that would be in effect for five years is going to go, most notably toward pushing the Sheriff’s Office toward 24-hour coverage.  The Commission will hold one more worksession this Monday at 9:30 a.m. in the County Administration Building to review the wording changes.  The measure will be the subject of a public hearing on February 18 before the Commission formally votes on whether to place it on the May ballot.

The Dalles Middle School gymnasium is back in use by physical education classes after cleanup of water damage suffered on Friday when a kicked ball led to the fire sprinkler system in the building going off.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says the walls of the gym are concrete so water intrusion under the walls is not a worry, but there is some sponginess on the floor and they won’t know for a few days how bad that damage is.  Armstrong added the kicked ball hit a fire sprinkler deflector, which caused the system to discharge water.  She says they are working with the sprinkler contractor to come up with a solution to prevent this kind of discharge from happening again.

The Washington House Environment and Energy Committee is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill to designate the proposed Goldendale Pumped Storage Project as a “Project of Statewide Significance.”  14th District Representative Gina Mosbrucker of Goldendale authored the bill.  She says the designation would allow the project to receive expedited permitting by local government jurisdictions and put it in line for funding opportunities.  The Goldendale Republican adds the project would move Governor Jay Inslee toward his goal of 100 percent “green” energy generation, and could bring 3,000-plus jobs to the region for four years.

 

The White Salmon City Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday evening on the six-month moratorium on development in residential zones that Councilors adopted last month.  The moratorium was instituted to address what is being termed as “inconsistencies” between city codes and the current comprehensive plan as they relate to attainable housing, but with a number of exemptions, most notably development of single-family residences.  Councilors indicated they want to focus on zoning review and amendments, taking input on actions the council is considering regarding funding, encouraging, and implementing affordable housing development, determining affordable housing thresholds as they relate to development in the form of accessory development units, townhomes, duplexes, and multi-family residences, and steps to stop the continuing decline of mobile home residences in designated residential zones.  The hearing will be Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the White Salmon Fire Hall.

Boys Basketball

Sherman 58, Dayville-Monument 25

Yakama Tribal 87, Lyle-Wishram 33

 

Girls Basketball

Sherman 47, Dayville-Monument 16

Yakama Tribal 75, Lyle-Wishram 44

The Hood River city public works department says crews will perform night-time street-sweeping operations starting this coming Sunday night and continuing until Thursday night.  Sweeping will take place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night.  City officials say that in preparation for the city-wide sweeping, residents will be allowed to sweep their sidewalk debris into the street in advance of this schedule.  That’s normally treated as a storm-water violation and is against municipal code.  Residents are asked to park off-street when possible during the street-sweeping schedule, particularly on State Street between 6^th and 9^th streets on Sunday and Monday nights in order to completely clean the north and south sides of State Street.       

The Dalles Police Department says a 9-1-1 call Monday morning claiming a fourth grader at Dry Hollow Elementary School had a gun was a hoax and the caller was a student at Chenoweth Elementary.  According to a joint statement by North Wasco County School District 21 and the police department, the initial call came at about 9:13 a.m.  Dry Hollow was placed in lockdown per protocol at that time, with 26 officers from The Dalles Police, Oregon State Police, and Wasco County Sheriff’s Office responding.  But 25 minutes later, based on multiple calls from the same caller to 9-1-1, it was discovered the calls were coming from the area of Chenoweth Elementary.  At about 9:50 law enforcement located and identified the caller, determined the calls were a hoax, and that there was no threat to any D-21 school.  Police did state misuse of 9-1-1 and initiating a false police report are crimes that they take seriously and are thoroughly investigated.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is monitoring reports of cougar activity close to The Dalles city limits.  ODFW says cougars that are seen repeatedly in town during daylight hours, or that are known to kill pets or livestock close to residences, are considered a safety risk.  Residents who see a cougar in town are urged to immediately call ODFW’s local office during regular business hours at 541-296-4628, or The Dalles Police Department after hours.  ODFW also says it’s a good idea to feed your pets indoors and keep them inside at night in areas where there is cougar activity.  ODFW has tips on living with cougars available online at its website.

North Wasco County School District 21 officials are examining how much damage was suffered when a broken gasket in the sprinkler system forced closure of The Dalles Middle School gymnasium.  The break occurred on Friday afternoon.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says the district’s facilities personnel is looking over the situation, noting they think the break occurred when a ball hit a sprinkler head.  The Dalles Middle School gym has been closed to all activities and events until further notice. 

Boys Basketball

Redmond 49, Hood River Valley 39

Pendleton 83, The Dalles 59

South Wasco 55, Ione 49

South Wasco 63, Echo 21

Dufur 62, Echo 18

Ione 58, Dufur 34

Condon-Wheeler 55, Sherman 50

Mitchell-Spray 55, Sherman 45

Yakama Tribal 93, Trout Lake 43

Sunnyside Christian 72, Klickitat-Glenwood 27

White Swan 74, Lyle-Wishram 17

Kittitas 81, Lyle-Wishram 16

Naches Valley 62, Goldendale 47

LaSalle (Yakima) 102, Goldendale 29

 

Girls Basketball

Redmond 54, Hood River Valley 33

The Dalles 37, Pendleton 32

LaCenter 67, Columbia 44

Stevenson 54, Castle Rock 22

Ione 59, South Wasco 53

Echo 74, South Wasco 36

Dufur 41, Echo 30

Ione 47, Dufur 36

Condon-Wheeler 41, Sherman 31

Sherman 55, Mitchell-Spray 30

Trout Lake 72, Klickitat-Glenwood 42

Trout Lake 58, Yakama Tribal 53

Sunnyside Christian 63, Klickitat-Glenwood 18

White Swan 68, Lyle-Wishram 31

Kittitas 59, Lyle-Wishram 42

Naches Valley 60, Goldendale 40

LaSalle (Yakima) 69, Goldendale 16

 

Wrestling

Hood River Valley 58, The Dalles 14:  HRV used six wins by fall to cruise to the Intermountain Conference dual match win.

 

Swimming

Both The Dalles’ boys and girls teams finished third at the LaGrande Invitational.  The Riverhawks’ boys 400 yard freestyle relay took home a first place finish.