The White Salmon Valley School District is working on a new communication plan in the aftermath of last month’s situation where social media rumors about a threat to the Columbia High School campus led to a number of parents pulling students out of school.  Superintendent Jerry Lewis says they are taking what they learned from going through the experience and the input they received at a later public forum to put together a mass communication protocol.  Lewis hopes the communication plan is finished by next month.

Municipal voters in Hood River are being asked to vote on an initiative that would amend the City Charter to require a public vote before the City can “dispose” of a City park, including a sale, lease, or transfer of property rights unless it is to enhance recreation for the public.  One of the proponents, Tracy Tomahspool, believes changing the charter is the only sure protection for parks.  Opponents believe the measure hinders the City Council’s ability to manage municipal assets.  The measure is on the November 5 ballot.

The Dalles City Council received a downtown visioning plan that was developed through discussions with the public and stakeholders over the course of this year.  Community Development Director Steve Harris presented the plan, which includes four vision statements that calls for addressing the past and welcoming new ideas and people, and providing various opportunities while at the same time being a place to provide the essentials for a growing community.  The plan divides the downtown area into four improvement areas including industrial along the freeway, a makers area as the backbone of retail in the Second Street corridor, a service business area in the Third Street corridor, and a landmark district as downtown transitions into neighborhoods.  It also includes a map of “opportunity sites,” identifying land that is vacant, used for parking, or considered underutilized.  Councilors were generally supportive of the plan.  Harris noted the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency board will also review the document, and a strategic plan will be drafted based on the vision statements.

 

The White Salmon City Council on Wednesday evening will consider Mayor David Poucher’s veto of a single-use plastic bag ban ordinance over the inclusion of requiring retailers to charge ten cents per paper bag.  Poucher says he is in favor of the plastic bag ban, but he also doesn’t believe the citizens need the charge to encourage them to do what is best for the environment, adding he doesn’t think government should tell businesses what to charge for any item.  Proponents of the charge say it is necessary to encourage people to switch to reusable bags.  Poucher has suggested alternate wording for the ordinance to encourage retailers to charge the fee, and requiring the Council to review that each year and allowing it to adopt a bag fee by resolution after 2020, which would not be subject to a veto.  The Council had passed the ordinance on a 4-0 vote two weeks ago, and can overturn the veto with four votes.  The meeting will be at 6 p.m.

Court Street between East 8th St. and East 7th Place in The Dalles will be closed to thru traffic Wednesday through Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.  to allow for installation of a new water main vault.  No parking within the work area will be allowed during work hours due to heavy equipment use and the location of the trench.   Court Street will be open for through traffic during non-working hours.   Through traffic on East 8^th Street will remain open throughout work on the project. and access to businesses and residences will remain open.  Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes around the closure on Court Street.

Last week, Hood River County Commissioners went through a process of prioritizing 88 different services as the County deals with its budget problems.  When they meet next Monday (October 21), they will discuss other factors that will contribute to budget decisions.  Commission Chair Mike Oates says funding source considerations will be one of those.  Law enforcement, managing the County tree farm for general fund revenue, maternal and child health, jail operations, and tax collection were ranked by the Commissioners as the highest priority County services during last week’s exercise.

 

The Port of The Dalles has received a consultant’s report on whether the Port should get involved in developing some kind of food processing facility.  Port Executive Director Andrea Klaas says the report suggested a focus on building and leasing a purpose designed processing space.  Another recommendation was to partner with a non-profit agency to oversee and manage the space.  The report also said the Port should not get into development of a commercial or shared use kitchen, as other groups in the region are better suited to do that, and that there is not a need for a co-packing space.  Klaas says now that they have the report there will be research done on how much it would cost to build a processing building, and then they will look for private sector partners who might be interested.

 

There will be single lane closures of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge Monday night.  That’s to allow for roadway asphalt repairs of the Oregon approach to the bridge.  The single-lane closures will be from 8 p.m. tonight until 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.  Flaggers will direct traffic around what will be a moving work zone, and bridge users should expect delays during that time.  For more information, contact the Port of Hood River by e-mail at porthr@gorge.net

The search is continuing Monday for a 74-year-old Vancouver woman who has not been seen since Saturday when she was picking mushrooms in Skamania County northwest of Stevenson.  According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, a friend reported 74-year-old Jung VanAtta as overdue from hiking and picking mushrooms on property on Beacon Highlands Road in Skamania, about 15 miles northwest of Stevenson.  The Sheriff’s Office says VanAtta had never picked in the area and was not familiar with the property.  Searchers on Sunday used dog teams, three drones, and a helicopter to aid in the effort, and a reverse 9-1-1 alert was initiated to inform homeowners in the area.

Celilo Village will unveil its new high-speed wi-fi this weekend.  With a grant from Google and a partnership with the Dufur School District, all sixteen homes in the village, the Celilo Education Center, and the longhouse will have access to high speed internet for the first time.  That will enable students to complete school projects, families to pay bills online, residents to attain higher education and business owners to access global markets.  The wi-fi will be unveiled during a community celebration Saturday at the Celilo Education Center.  In addition to wi-fi access, this project enabled the development of a refreshed computer lab in the Celilo Education Center.  Celilo Village is home to nearly 100 Native Americans, including approximately 35 school-aged children that attend school in the Dufur School District.   The school district operates the Celilo Pre-School and the village’s Education Center.