Long-time The Dalles City Attorney Gene Parker is retiring.  In his retirement letter to City officials that was released to the media on Tuesday, Parker says he has been considering a plan to step away for a few months, and that he intends to retire on March 1 of next year.  He added he wanted to give plenty of notice to allow the City time to select his successor and allow for a smooth transition.  Parker has been The Dalles City Attorney for 28-and-a-half years.

The first of four Wasco 2040 public input sessions to deal with housing issues will take place Wednesday evening.  Wasco 2040 is the long-range update of Wasco County’s comprehensive land use plan.  The latest phase of this effort is devoted to housing.  The first session is Wednesday at Columbia Gorge Community College in the building 2 lecture hall, with another Thursday at Tygh Valley Community Center, followed by sessions next Tuesday at the Mosier Grange Hall and March 28 at the Wamic Community Center.  All will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Bingen is continuing its effort to gain designation as a railroad quiet zone, under which trains would not have to blow their horns at every at-grade crossing.  Mayor Betty Barnes is hoping that when the new Bingen Point underpass currently in the planning stages is constructed, they can be in a better position to seek the quiet zone.  Bingen currently has two at-grade crossings, but Barnes says they hope to make one into a truck route when the underpass is constructed.  The City is currently collecting support through its website, bingenwashington.org.

Baseball

Forest Grove 7, The Dalles 6:  The Riverhawks lose their third straight game to begin the season.

Stevenson 12, Corbett 2

Softball

Estacada 14, Stevenson 1

Boys Lacrosse

Hood River Valley 15, Oregon City 4:  HRV runs its record to 2-1 in the early season.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson will be taking part in this week’s Governor’s Marketplace, where businesses meet those involved in doing federal and state contracts.  Farquharson says some businesses think you have to be a large operation to bid on a federal and state contract, but that’s not the case, and she wants to be able to help local businesses get some of those jobs.  Her goal is to come back with a guide for area businesses to use to get in the running for those contracts.  Farquharson says they will be meeting with several agencies that do direct bids for goods and services.  She adds a mobile Governor’s Marketplace will be held in The Dalles in the fall.

The Port of Hood River has maintenance tasks planned for the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge in the coming weeks.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says they will be starting soon a project to replace the skew system in the motors on top of each lift tower, and it should begin in a couple of weeks.  It will require one-lane closures for a period of time in April and May.  A second project that remains out for bid is to handle a variety of maintenance tasks on the bridge.  McElwee hopes that will occur right after the skew system project is done.

Teams from Life in the Gorge Homeschool and White Salmon won the first place awards at the Google Wind Challenge over the weekend.  More than 160 students representing 35 high school and middle school teams competed to build the competition’s top wind turbines.  Life in the Gorge won the high school division, with Stevenson High School in second place and Pacific Crest Innovation Academy third.  White Salmon took first in the middle school competition, followed by Life in the Gorge Homeschool and Goldendale Homeschoolers.  During the Wind Challenge, student teams worked together with volunteer mentors to design, build and test their turbines.  Teams compete against each other to see whose turbine can generate the highest voltage output and raise a 68 centimeter mass in the least amount of time.

Baseball

Gresham 6, The Dalles 5

Hood River Valley at Summit, cancelled

Columbia 11, Dufur 1

Softball

Hood River Valley 23, Wilsonville 2:  Makenzie Chambers had two home runs and drove in eight as the Eagles won their season opener.

The Dalles 12, Gresham 6, 8 innings

Track and Field

Hood River Valley’s girls finished seventh and the boys 12^th at the Cotton Invitational in Portland.  Henry Buckles won the boys discus and Poppy Miller the girls pole vault for HRV.

Boys Soccer

Wahluke 3, Columbia 2

Boys Lacrosse

Skyview 10, Hood River Valley 3

Girls Lacrosse

Lake Oswego 13, Hood River Valley 7

The Dalles Police Department has identified the man killed in an officer involved shooting Saturday night.  The man has been identified as 77-year-old James Young, who lived at 1921 East 10^th in The Dalles, where the incident occurred.  According to a police statement on Sunday, officers responded to a shots fired call at the home just before 10 p.m. Saturday.  Initial information from witnesses indicated there was a male subject outside his residence shooting a rifle at his neighbor’s residence.  When officers arrived, they heard gun shots and located a male subject later identified as Young outside his residence on the porch, and then observed him actively shooting rounds from a rifle.  The police statement says at some point during the incident an officer from The Dalles Police Department shot Young   Officers attempted first aid on Young who succumbed to his injuries.  No one else was injured, and the officer involved in the shooting has been put on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, and the officer’s name will be released at a later date.  The investigation is being conducted by detectives assigned to the Gorge Major Crimes Team, comprised of officers from The Dalles Police Department, Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Police Department, Hood River Sheriff’s Office, Sherman County Sheriff’s Office, the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office, and the Oregon State Police.  The Dalles Police Department says it will provide updated information on Wednesday.  If you live in the area of the 1900 block of East 10th Street in The Dalles and find anything suspicious or have damaged property from possible bullets, or bullet fragments please contact The Dalles Police Department non-emergency number at 541-296-2613.

Hood River County Commissioners will hold a public hearing Monday evening on the proposed tax measures they plan to put on the May ballot.  The County has put together a five percent prepared food and beverage tax and a five-year property tax option levy of 89-cents per thousand dollars of assessed value.  Commission Chair Mike Oates points out the 89 cents is a maximum, and the Commission could opt to lower it or not levy it all if they find it is not necessary during any given fiscal year that is in effect.  The hearing will be Monday at 6 p.m. in the Wy’east Middle School Performing Arts Center in Odell.