The Hood River Urban Renewal Agency Board has decided to move forward with an evaluation of potential traffic modifications in the Heights urban renewal area that will include increased community outreach.  City Manager and Urban Renewal Administrator Rachel Fuller says staff will being contract negotiations with consulting firm MIG to move ahead with the project that will likely exceed $300,000.  Fuller notes when the Heights Urban Renewal Plan was put in place in 2011 it didn’t include traffic modifications, but recent community involvement has brought up the question of whether that should be looked at.  Funds for this effort will come from Heights Urban Renewal funds.

A trio of scheduled events in the area this week have been cancelled…and all have cited concerns with the COVID-19 coronavirus.  Wednesday’s scheduled Wasco County all-staff training has been cancelled, with a statement from the County indicating that was done on the advice of the North Central Public Health District.  As a result, Wasco County offices will now be open on Wednesday.  The Hood River County Chamber of Commerce has cancelled their Small Business Showcase planned for Thursday.  And the Hood River County Library Foundation’s Feast of Words fundraiser scheduled for Saturday is being postponed, with Rachel Fox of the Hood River Library District indicating they hope to be able to reschedule at a later date.

Four bills authored by Washington 14th District State Representative Gina Mosbrucker are on their way to the governor for a signature.  One of the most notable is a bill to make the proposed pumped storage project along the Columbia River near Goldendale a “project of significance” Mosbrucker notes this gives the pumped storage project priority for state agencies to deal with issues surrounding it.  Other bills authored by the Goldendale Republican that have reached the Governor’s desk include Cody’s Law to develop better protocols for dealing with missing and unidentified persons, a bill to increase the pool of applicants that can be considered for County sheriff vacancies, and creation of a task force to deal with domestic violence.

Oregon and Washington fishery managers say the recreational sturgeon season in the John Day Pool of the Columbia River between John Day Dam to McNary Dam and adjacent tributaries will close effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.  The states decided to close this fishery based on recent harvest data that indicated recreational fishermen have achieved their allowable harvest of 105 fish.  Sturgeon retention previously closed in Bonneville and The Dalles pools when those respective harvest guidelines were met.  Catch and release fishing for sturgeon continues to be allowed in all three areas, except in designated sturgeon spawning sanctuaries defined in the 2020 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.

Water has been restored to downtown White Salmon after a break in a main water line cut off service this morning.  City officials reported the water was turned back on at around 11:30 this morning.  If customers encounter cloudy water, that is probably air bubbles in the line.  Run cold water for 10 to 15 minutes to flush the air out of the system.  City officials say a contractor broke a main line this morning at Main and Jewett, and water had to be shut off to repair the line.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown on Sunday declared a state of emergency to contain the new coronavirus after the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 doubled to 14 from the previous day.  Dr. Mimi McDonell of North Central Public Health District, which serves Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties, says with that declaration it enables local districts to use more resources in combatting spread of the virus.  She said one example is the Oregon Medical Reserve Corps, which can help provide emergency support to vulnerable populations.  Aggressive outreach is also a part of that effort.  State lawmakers on Monday were to consider an emergency request of $5 million to fight the virus.

The Columbia River Gorge Commission has cancelled its meeting scheduled in The Dalles on Tuesday, and is planning to conduct its next meeting online due to coronavirus concerns.  Commission Chair Robert Liberty said in a statement that as a bi-state agency they should respect Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s advice to avoid nonessential meetings of ten or more people or to hold them virtually.  Liberty added until there is more information about coronavirus, the Gorge Commission will be scheduling and holding its next meeting, and possibly more, using online video technology.  He also says they are exploring policies and procedures regarding the best way for the public to provide input using the online meeting technology format. 

A Hood River attorney has filed to run for Wasco County District Attorney.  According to his filing with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, Matthew Ellis has been an associate attorney for the Morris and Sullivan firm, dealing with criminal defense and juvenile law.  He also has been part of the public defense contract in Oregon’s Seventh Judicial District that includes Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties.  Ellis also has been a part of Wasco County’s Drug Court and Family Dependency Court programs.  Incumbent Eric Nisley has filed to run for re-election.  Nisley is currently serving a 60-day suspension, and is in a dispute with the Oregon Department of Justice over whether he can continue to hold the D.A.’s position.

 

The Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility is about to enter into its budget process for the 2020-21 fiscal year.  NORCOR board chair and Hood River County Commissioner Bob Benton says some outside revenue sources are helping to somewhat stabilize the jail’s facility budget picture, including contracts with the federal government and Benton County to house inmates along with lease of a building to Insitu providing about $2 million of revenue.  Benton notes the new federal government contract signed in February is with the U.S. Marshal’s office rather than Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which allows NORCOR to house people in custody of the U.S. Marshal and not necessarily ICE detainees, even though they are taking them at this time.  Benton said at any point they can opt out of the ICE component without invalidating the contract.  Revenue from the outside contracts helps maintain current service levels at NORCOR for the four counties that operate the regional jail.  The NORCOR budget committee will hold its first meeting for developing the 2020-21 fiscal plan on March 19.

Oregon Class 5A Girls Basketball Tournament

First Round

Silverton 53, The Dalles 32:  The top-ranked team in the state took control early and cruised to the victory.  Silverton led 37-12 at halftime.   Truitt Reilly led Silverton with 17 points, while Kilee Hoylman topped the Riverhawks with 10.  The Dalles finishes the season with a 13-12 record.

 

Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association

Hood River Valley’s girls finished fourth in the state alpine skiing championships at Mt. Ashland.  Sarah Davies led the Eagles’ effort by finishing fourth in the combined standings, as Summit won the team title.  HRV’s Aidan Gonzalez-Haynie finished 33^rd in the boys’ giant slalom.