It’s Vintage Dufur Days this weekend.  The annual event in Dufur gives people a chance to break away from the hectic day-to-day experience and reconnect to a slower, easier pace.  Saturday starts early with a country breakfast served at Dufur City Park.  Then local farmers and ranchers will use antique farm equipment to demonstrate harvesting, threshing and more, with locally grown wheat.  There will also be steam engines, horse drawn farm equipment and a tractor pull competition.  A tractor parade, artisan craft booths, quilt show and yard sales are also planned.  Dufur City Park will host a classic car show on Sunday.  The Vintage Dufur Days schedule is available online at dufurhistoricalsociety.org.

Firefighters from The Dalles Unit of the Oregon Department of Forestry Central Oregon District were actively engaged Wednesday night in suppressing a slow moving fire west of Dufur in the area of South Valley Road and Taylor’s Grade.  ODF reports the Upper 15 Mile Road Fire was approximately six-and-a-half acres in size heading into the night, and about 50 percent of the perimeter had been lined.  Current resources on the fire include a dozer, four ODF engines, one engine from the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and one engine from the Mt. Hood National Forest.  Resources were to remain on the fire overnight, with more to arrive today.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A $19 million bond measure for improvements to Klickitat Valley Health’s facilities in Goldendale continue to trail after an updated ballot count was released Wednesday afternoon.  1,368 had voted against the hospital district’s bond measure, while 1,306 were in favor.  A supermajority was required for passage.  Ballots in the Washington primary only had to be postmarked by Tuesday, so counting will continue over the next few days.  In the two primaries for office on the ballot…Ricky Knowles had received 54 percent of the vote for position 1 on the Skyline Hospital district board with 896 votes to 552 for Kathleen Swarztrauber and 193 for Bill Hollander, while the lead for Dallesport Water District commission position number 2 flipped as David McNeal now leads Bill Clark by one vote 61-to-60, while Craig Stephens polled 23.  Meanwhile, Klickitat County is holding a special filing period through Friday for open offices in the November election where no candidates filed to run during the initial opportunity to do so.  A list of the various positions needing candidates is available at klickitatcounty.org.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has formally acknowledged PacifiCorp has completed all of the requirements in the physical decommissioning and removal of the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River.  The dam was breached in October 2011 and fully removed in September 2012.  The steps involved in decommissioning the project included constructing new bridge piers for the Northwestern Lake Road bridge to provide public access across the White Salmon River, relocation of a City of White Salmon waterline and removing the dam and remaining facilities.  The historic powerhouse remains intact.  The 13.7-megawatt Condit Project was completed in 1913 and produced hydroelectricity for the paper industry and nearby communities.  Removal of the dam restored approximately 33 miles of historic spawning and rearing area for steelhead and 14 miles for salmon in the White Salmon River basin.

The Central Oregon District of the Oregon Department of Forestry is increasing restrictions to reduce the chance of human-caused wildfires on private, state, and municipally owned lands it protects, including those in Hood River and Wasco counties.  ODF officials cite current fuel conditions, the potential of rapid fire spread, future weather forecasts with the possibility of lightning, and increased initial and extended attack activity both locally and statewide.  The restrictions include a prohibition on smoking except in vehicles on improved roads, a ban on open fires, and prohibitions between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on chainsaw use, the cutting, grinding, and welding of metal, and mowing dried grass with power driven equipment except for the commercial culture or harvest of agricultural crops.  The use of motor vehicles is prohibited, except on improved roads and except for vehicle use by a landowner and employees of the landowner upon their own land while conducting activities associated with their livelihood, and the use of fireworks and blasting is prohibited.  Industrial operations in Hood River and Wasco counties also move to Industrial Fire Precaution Level 3. 

The Neon Cruise is just around the corner.  It will take place Friday evening in downtown The Dalles, with a closed cruise limited to those who register from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Patrick Erickson of the Mid-Columbia Car Club says this will be the third year of the closed cruise, noting it’s a trip down memory lane for those who take part.  The cruise loop is on 2nd and 3rd Streets between Lincoln and Monroe.  Early registration for the Neon Cruise is being done Wednesday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Burgerville in downtown The Dalles, and also Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Dalles went 2-5 in the 10u Babe Ruth Softball World Series in Jensen Beach and Stuart, Florida.  Both of The Dalles wins came in bracket play during the 13-team tournament, a 4-0 victory over Sikeston and a 7-6 win over Arma Bulldogs.  Duplin County of North Carolina won the tournament.

Thunder Island Brewing Company in Cascade Locks announced it will construct a new building to accommodate expanded operations.  The 10,000 square foot building on 601 WaNaPa Street will showcase a 15 barrel custom system, a full restaurant, private event space, and views of the Columbia River and Cascade Mountain Range.  A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Tuesday. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately after the groundbreaking. 

Crews dealt with some fires in the region on Tuesday.  A brush fire in the median of Interstate 84 approximately one mile west of Biggs was knocked down fairly quickly.  The Moro Fire Department responded at around 4:40 p.m. and were able to put the fire out quickly.  In Klickitat County, there was a fire reported north of Three Creeks Resort along Highway 97 north of Goldendale.  Rural Fire District 7 crews were able to quickly bring it under control.