The lower viewing platform at Multnomah Falls was closed Monday for public access while crews break up a rock overhanging the cliffs above a trail that leads to the upper falls.  The hazards posed by the rock were discovered in April after about a cubic yard of rock split off, falling onto the trail between Benson Bridge and the upper viewing platform.  A geological assessment found that unstable sections of the rock could detach at any time, and noted it would likely impact the trail below.  To address the hazards, officials hired a contractor remove the unstable, overhanging sections of the rock.  The lower viewing platform will be closed while operations are underway to prevent risks to visitors from any falling rocks in the vicinity.  The work is expected to last up to three business days, so visitors should anticipate possible closures on the lower platform through Wednesday, and the trail to the upper viewing platform may take additional time to reopen, as crews clear the rock and repair any damages.  Geologists believe the rock likely splintered as a result of natural weathering that occurs each spring in the Gorge, when snowmelt and thawing can cause rock formations to destabilize.

Teachers in the Hood River County and North Wasco County school districts opted for after-school rallies and marches to call for passage of the Student Success Act rather than walking out of classes as teachers in some other districts in Oregon did on Wednesday.  In Hood River, Superintendent Dan Goldman told a crowd of about 200 teachers, classified staff, and other supporters in Jackson Park that the state had practiced “disinvestment” in schools for 29 years.  He also pointed out that with a local option levy, the Hood River district was in the position to add the equivalent of over 18 full-time positions in their budget for next year and add programs, but the rest of the state should experience that as well.  The Hood River group marched from Jackson Park to downtown Hood River.  Teachers in The Dalles marched from North Wasco County Aquatic Center into the downtown area.

Oregon 59th District Representative Daniel Bonham is hoping two bills to expand accountability and transparency within the Good Neighbor Authority to allow the Oregon Department of Forestry to do forest management projects on federal lands will be approved.  One bill is awaiting approval in the Senate, and Bonham says it would allow ODF to put monies earned from the projects into an account to fund further projects without having to go back to the Legislature for authorizations.  Bonham and fellow representative David Brock Smith of Port Orford have co-sponsored the Good Neighbor Authority bills.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service reports a warm April combined with above average precipitation for the month dropped the snowpack in the Hood, Sandy, and Lower Deschutes Basin to 66 percent of normal as of May 1.  April precipitation was 165 percent of average, .while it has been 86 percent of average since the beginning of the water year on October 1.  The Clear Lake SNOTEL site in Wasco County set a new record for the highest April precipitation in 35 years of measurements.  April also brought high streamflows in many locations in the basin, and NRCS forecasts for May through September streamflows range from 77 to 102 percent of average.  The NRCS report indicates water managers in the basin should expect well below normal to near normal streamflows this summer.

Recreational fishermen will get another two days to go after spring Chinook salmon in the Columbia River above Bonneville Dam under rules adopted by Oregon and Washington fishery managers.  The season will take place this Saturday and Sunday.  The open area is from the Tower Island power lines about six miles below The Dalles Dam upstream to the Oregon/Washington border, plus the Oregon and Washington banks between Bonneville Dam and the Tower Island power lines.  The bag limit is two adult Chinook or steelhead of which no more than one may be a Chinook.  Only hatchery fish may be kept.  The season was approved after fishery managers reviewed recent data that showed harvest and effort during the original fishing period was lower than expected due to late passage timing and poor conditions, leaving additional fishing opportunity under the allowable harvest guideline.  No additional spring season re-openings were adopted for the lower Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam.

Southwest Washington Class 1A Boys Soccer Tournament

Columbia 5, Montesano 2:  The Bruins kept their state tournament hopes alive with the win.  CHS visits Seton Catholic on Friday at 5:30 with the winner advancing to the state Class 1A tournament.

Track and Field

Hood River Valley earned five first place finishes in a meet at Oregon City.  Josh Haynes won the boys’ 800 meters, Henry Buckles topped the boys’ shot put, Lauren Griggs was first in the girls’ high jump, Poppy Miller was victorious in the girls’ pole vault, and Frances Dickinson took first in the girls’ 800.

Glenwood’s Brooklyn Emerson won four events in the Mt. Adams Invitational in Glenwood.  Emerson won the girls’ 100 and 200 meters, pole vault, and long jump.  Glenwood’s Kevan Brun took first place in the boys’ 100 and 200 meters and the long jump.

Girls Lacrosse

Hood River Valley 14, Summit 5:  Kathryn Koenig scored five goals in the non-league win.

The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office says a man is facing several charges in relation to eleven burglaries in the region, mostly from fire halls and cabins.  The Sheriff’s Office says deputies arrested 34-year-old Dustin Randall in Klickitat on a warrant late last month and spotted several items in his vehicle that had been stolen from a fire hall in the county.  A search warrant of the vehicle later yielded the recovery of a large amount of the stolen property.  Randall was booked into the Klickitat County Jail on possession of stolen property, residential burglary, burglary, malicious mischief, and possession of burglar tools charges.

A bill that will allow people in Washington who have converted their motorcycles into snow bikes to hold concurrent motorcycle/snow bike licenses was signed into law Tuesday by Governor Jay Inslee.  The measure was sponsored by 14^th District State Representative Gina Mosbrucker.  Under House Bill 1436, the owner of a motorcycle may maintain concurrent licenses for the vehicle for use as a motorcycle, or for use as a snow bike.  When registered as a motorcycle, the motorcycle registration laws apply, including applicable fees.  When registered as a snow bike, the snowmobile registration laws apply, including applicable fees.  The bill takes effect on September 1.

With higher temperatures and lower humidity in the region, the Oregon Department of Forestry is asking people to put off pile and debris burning until the fall.  Rick Fletcher of ODF’s The Dalles Unit says that kind of burning is legal until May 15, but they are encouraging people to wait until later in the year.  Fletcher adds now is the time for property owners in the wildland-urban interface to think about how to protect their home from wildfire.  For tips on how to do that go to firewise.org.

North Wasco County School District 21 is trying to speak to as many groups as it can about its recently completed Oregon Department of Education Facility Condition Assessment Report.  That report found many of the district’s buildings are in poor condition and warrant replacement, and many of the rest will move into that category over the next few years.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says they’ll talk to anyone willing to listen, including various governmental panels.  The district is not planning to conduct another community meeting on facilities until they get more feedback on the topic.