Bingen residents will see an uptick in their water and sewer rates in 2020.  The City’s new budget calls for a ten percent increase in water rates and five percent in sewer rates.  Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes says the water rate increase reflects work that continues on their municipal system, including replacement of the city’s water reservoir, and line replacement will be done on Humboldt Street to coincide with street repairs.  Work on both projects is planned to take place during 2020.

Girls Basketball

Columbia 56, Fort Vancouver 35:  A 21-5 second quarter lifted the Bruins to the win.  Sydney Aman scored 13 points, Mya Aman 11, and Maggie Bryan 10 to lead a balanced CHS offense.

Milwaukie 81, Hood River Valley 28

Installing the Breeze-By electronic tolling system on the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks will hopefully help relieve congestion at the bridge.  The Port of Hood River is providing the backend system for electronic tolling at Cascade Locks, and will use the same accounts as are used for the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee says the system should reduce backups at the Bridge of the Gods.  The joint system will also allow those who cross at both Cascade Locks and Hood River to use the same account for both bridges.  Sign-ups for new BreezeBy accounts are available at both port offices and their websites.

As the Pacific Northwest eyes using more renewable energy, one big question arises:  how will it be stored?   New research from the firm Energy and Environmental Economics finds the region’s current storage capacity could fall short by 10-thousand megawatts by 2030.   One solution could be pumped hydro storage facilities, which are made up of upper and lower reservoirs.  Sources like wind and solar pump water to the upper reservoir, creating stored potential energy.   Eric Steimle with Rye Development says when users need energy but the wind stops blowing or the sun isn’t shining it is released into the lower reservoir.  Rye Development has proposed a 1,200-megawatt facility 20 miles south of Goldendale and a 394-megawatt facility near Klamath Falls.  But these facilities do have some drawbacks.  They require large upfront costs and take three to four years to build.

Boys Basketball

Hood River Valley 56, LaGrande 48

Hood River Valley 70, Madras 59

Madras 69, The Dalles 62

LaGrande 53, The Dalles 49

Hoquiam 57, Columbia 44

Heppner 46, Dufur 39

Horizon Christian 51, Elgin 40

Hosanna Christian 51, Sherman 37

Cascade Christian 55, Sherman 18

Siletz Valley 57, South Wasco 55, overtime

South Wasco 75, Willamette Christian 42

Condon-Wheeler 56, Trout Lake 37

Griswold 48, Klickitat-Glenwood 42

Kiona-Benton 69, Goldendale 64

River View 76, Goldendale 50

 

Girls Basketball

Reynolds 52, Hood River Valley 36

Hillsboro 51, The Dalles 43

Columbia 48, Hoquiam 37

Heppner 46, Dufur 35

Sherman 30, Hosanna Christian 14

Cascade Christian 57, Sherman 29

South Wasco 49. Siletz Valley 27

Southwest Christian 45, South Wasco 28

Trout Lake 52, Condon-Wheeler 35

Arlington 59, Klickitat-Glenwood 37

Kiona-Benton 41, Goldendale 15

River View 52, Goldendale 41

 

Swimming

The Dalles’ girls were second and the boys third at Scappoose High School’s River City Invitational.  The Riverhawk girls had four first place finishes on the day, including two by Kendall Webber along with one for Lydia Degenaro and a first place in the 200 freestyle relay.

 

Nordic Skiing

Hood River Valley’s girls were fourth and the boys fifth in the nine-school season opening race at Meissner Sno-Park in Deschutes County.  Celia Acosta was the top finisher for the Eagle girls in 14^th place, while Sean Arpag was 31^st for the HRV boys.

 

Mid-Columbia Economic Development District Executive Director Amanda Hoey is leaving the organization to become the next Chief Executive Officer for the Oregon Wheat Commission and the Oregon Wheat Growers League.  Hoey has been with MCEDD since 2006, moving into the Executive Director role in 2008.  She grew up on a dryland wheat farm in Wasco County.  Hoey will work with MCEDD through February as that organization goes through the process of finding a successor.  MCEDD’s Executive Committee has begun the process of taking applications, and will do so through January 21.

Girls Basketball

Sandy 56, Hood River Valley 38

Trout Lake 60, Stevenson 50

 

Boys Basketball

Stevenson 101, Trout Lake 35

A wide variety of health care providers, government agencies, and non-profit groups have completed the 2019 version of a Community Health Assessment for seven Mid-Columbia counties.  The Columbia Gorge Health Council coordinates the study, which incorporates a wide range of topics that impact health, from social factors to access to care.  Providence Hood River Chief Mission Officer Mark Thomas says the study found it is predictable demographics experiencing more difficult challenges, with income being the most obvious factor.  Thomas notes the hope is that the collaborative approach taken in the Mid-Columbia can help break down some of those barriers to positive health outcomes.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Main Street program are urging residents in The Dalles to take part in a social media campaign to be featured on the Small Business Revolution program available on various streaming programs.  The Dalles is among ten towns being considered to be featured on the program and have six small businesses receive $500,000 in investment from small business financial services company Deluxe Corporation.  Chamber Executive Director Lisa Farquharson is urging people use #thedalles on social media.  She says the show uses a point system on social media activity, and the show will pick five of the ten cities being considered to move on to a final public vote starting January 14.

A faulty heater was determined to be the cause of smoke that led to the Wasco County Courthouse being evacuated on Wednesday.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office says the smoke was detected on the third floor of the building at about 8:50 a.m.  The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, The Dalles Police Department, and Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue did an investigation, and found the source of the smoke was a faulty heater.  People were allowed to return to the building about 40 minutes after it was cleared.