North Wasco County School District 21 will hold another Long Range Facilities Planning community meeting next week.  This meeting is expected to finalize a draft plan for the next 10 to 15 years after attendees at a December meeting reached consensus to put replacement of The Dalles High School on the top of a list of things to do, followed by the district’s elementary schools.  D-21 Chief Financial Officer Randy Anderson points out this plan does not try to address how to do this financially, but simply serve as a road map.  The D-21 board will have to approve the plan, which would probably happen February.  The community meeting will be next Tuesday, January 14, at 6 p.m. in The Dalles Middle School library.

The weekly “Locals Wednesday” events in downtown Hood River have started with the beginning of the New Year.  Downtown businesses and the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce have stated the promotion with the City agreeing to free parking for local residents on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. through May, along with different events and activities for families.  Downtown business owner Stephanie Adams says “Locals Wednesday” was developed in part as a response to feedback the Chamber received about local residents not feeling welcome downtown.  Downtown businesses will be offering various family activities, including a scavenger hunt that will be starting next week.  For more information, go to Hood River Downtown’s Facebook page.

The group Lift Every Voice Oregon, made up of leaders from different faiths, has submitted three petitions for gun control measures to appear on the November 2020 ballot.  The measures would restrict the sale of semi-automatic firearms through tightened background checks, raise the minimum purchase age from 18 to 21 and ban the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines.  One of the chief petitioners, Rabbi Michael Cahana, says faith leaders see addressing gun violence as a “moral imperative.”  Faith leaders, including Cahana, tried to get a similar measure restricting semi-automatic weapon sales on the ballot in 2018 in the wake of shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school, but that effort ran into legal issues.  If the state approves this year’s initiatives, backers will need to gather at least 112-thousand signatures this spring to get them onto the ballot.

Boys Basketball

Reynolds 63, Hood River Valley 58

Milwaukie 82, The Dalles 68

Hudson’s Bay 84, Stevenson 67

Corbett 59, Columbia 41

Dufur 64, Echo 22

Ione 68, Dufur 64, overtime

Ione 67, South Wasco 49

South Wasco 91, Echo 23

Condon-Wheeler 55, Sherman 39

Sherman 50, Mitchell-Spray 49

Horizon Christian 55, St. Stephen’s Academy 53, overtime

Bickleton 57, Lyle-Wishram 32

 

Girls Basketball

South Albany 51, Hood River Valley 27

Corbett 65, Columbia 48

Columbia 58, Fort Vancouver 30

Tenino 47, Stevenson 35

Echo 53, Dufur 47

Dufur 63, Ione 33

South Wasco 48, Ione 46, overtime

Echo 56, South Wasco 41
Condon-Wheeler 52, Sherman 23

Sherman 32, Mitchell-Spray 20

Lyle-Wishram 60, Klickitat-Glenwood 28

 

Wrestling

Hood River Valley finished sixth and The Dalles 14^th at the Don York Tournament at Cleveland High School in Portland.  HRV’s Chad Muenzer won the 138 pound title, while Dusty Dodge of The Dalles won at 170 pounds.  In the girls’ portion of the tournament, HRV was fourth and The Dalles 18^th.  Gracie McCafferty and Aryn Dahlstrom won their divisions for Hood River.

 

Goldendale finished 11^th at the Blackhawk Invitational in Cheney, with Bryce Waddell earning a third place finish at 126 pounds.

 

Alpine Skiing

Hood River Valley’s girls were third and The Dalles 14^th at the season opening Kelsey’s Race at Mount Hood Meadows.  Eva Jones was the top finisher for the Eagles in ninth, while Lucy Booth was 37^th for the Riverhawks.  In the boys’ race, The Dalles was 23^rd while HRV did not have a complete team finish.  Aidan Gonzalez-Haynie did finish in 21^st for Hood River.

Two meetings are set over the next three days that will determine who will succeed Cliff Bentz as Oregon State Senator for District 30.  Bentz’s resignation to run for the Congressional seat being vacated by the retiring Greg Walden became effective on Thursday.  Republican Party officials from eleven counties, including Wasco, will meet in John Day tomorrow to nominate candidates.  Bentz is a Republican, and under state law the party of the departing legislator picks at least three candidates.  Two people have publicly thrown their hat into the ring:  The Dalles City Councilor Rod Runyon and current Oregon State Representative Lynn Findley of Vale.  County Commissioners will then gather in Ontario on Monday to pick the new senator.  The Commissioner vote is weighted so each county gets one vote for every 1,000 registered voters.  The majority of the votes in this case come from Deschutes, Wasco, Malheur, Jefferson, and Baker counties.

There will be intermittent lane closures in the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge toll plaza between the hours of 9:00 p.m and 6:00 a.m. each night beginning Sunday through next Friday.  Roofing crews will be replacing the siding on the structure.  Barricades will indicate lane closures.  BreezeBy customers will be able to use their BreezeBy transponders in the center lanes whenever the BreezeBy lanes are closed.  Minimal delays are expected, depending on traffic volume. 

Swimming

Hood River Valley’s girls topped Gresham 116-53 at the Hood River Aquatic Center, while Gresham won the boys’ portion of the meet 79-70.  Faith Ocheskey and Sarah Arpag won two events apiece for the HRV girls, while David Hecksel won twice for the Eagle boys.

Hood River County Commissioners have asked administrator Jeff Hecksel and Sheriff Matt English to continue to work on financial numbers for a potential public safety tax measure to send to voters in 2020.  Commissioners held a worksession on the subject this week.  The County is seeking to be able to address four public safety areas:  patrol, investigations, emergency management, and prosecutions, identified in a recent Internet survey as most important.  But Hecksel says they are trying to do that within a tax rate of 67 to 89 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value, and that has been difficult.  The Commission holds another worksession on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the County Administration Building.

Oregon State University Extension in Hood River and Wasco counties is looking to offer extension’s Land Stewards program for property owners in the region.  OSU Extension’s Ann Harris says the program is fairly new and has been offered in southern Oregon over the last few years.  Harris says they are planning a hybrid version of what’s been offered in that part of the state with both online content and a couple of field-based courses.  She says the goal is to help property owners get their questions answered so they can use their land as they envision, from growing something to making it natural habitat.  Harris notes the program is still in development, but those who want information can call her at 541-386-3343.

The Next Door will be continuing its annual fundraising campaign through the end of January.  Justine Ziegler of the non-profit human services agency says they administer over 30 different programs in seven Mid-Columbia counties serving children and adults.  Ziegler says they have a goal of $120,000 for this year as they look to fill in the funding holes that grants don’t completely fill.  Those who would like to donate can do so at nextdoorinc.org.