Holiday season celebrations are scheduled in Stevenson and White Salmon this coming weekend.  Christmas in the Gorge is in Stevenson this weekend, starting Friday evening with caroling in the Courthouse Plaza at 6:30 followed by the lighting of the Courthouse Christmas tree at 6:55 and the Starlight Parade at 7:00.  A number of events are planned for Saturday, go to cityofstevenson.com for more information.  “Dreaming of a White Salmon Christmas” is Saturday, starting with the Santa’s Breakfast at Henkle Middle School at 7:30 a.m., followed by the Holiday Wassail at the White Salmon Valley Community Library at 2 p.m., and the lighting of the tree and menorah at the Riverview Bank parking lot on Jewett Boulevard at 5 p.m.

Girls Basketball The Dalles 36, Dallas 20:  Kilee Hoylman scored 16 points as the Riverhawks won their season opener.  The Dalles limited the Dragons to only one field goal in the first half. Silverton 73, Hood River Valley 19:   The Eagles fall to a Silverton squad ranked seventh in the pre-season Class 5A coaches’ poll.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo led a bipartisan call with 23 of their Senate colleagues calling for a one-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program in any year-end funding measures.  The letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer says the program is a critical lifeline for over 775 counties in over 40 states to help fund schools, road maintenance, law enforcement, and search and rescue operations, adding Congress has an obligation to counties with large amounts of tax-exempt forestlands.  The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was first introduced in 2000.  Earlier this month, Crapo and Wyden introduced stand-alone legislation to extend SRS by one year, and they hope Senate leadership will include that measure in its year-end funding proposal.  Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Washington’s Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray also signed the letter.

Wet weather conditions this week are prompting an extension of the work schedule for the semi-annual bridge deck maintenance welding on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge through December 5.  As weather conditions allow, there will be single-lane closures of the bridge from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. weekdays through December 5.  The welding is done to repair cracks in the steel grate of the bridge deck.  The work must occur during dry, bright weather for visibility.  Flaggers will direct traffic on the bridge and motorists are urge to drive slowly for worker safety.  Motorists should plan for significant delays of up to 30  minutes in both directions during the daylight hours weekdays through December 5.

The African Children’s Choir will perform on Friday at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Goldendale.  Since the 1980’s, the choir and its parent organization Music For Life has educated over 52,000 children in Uganda and other African countries, and impacted the lives of others through its relief and development programs.  The Choir has performed before heads of state, most recently the Queen of England, and alongside major performing artists.  The concert features well-loved children’s songs, traditional spirituals, and gospel favorites.  The concert begins Friday at 7 p.m. at Christ The King Lutheran Church in Goldendale.  No tickets are needed, but donations are accepted.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden has been elected to the House Republican Steering Committee as the representative on the panel for western states.  The committee will determine leadership and upcoming policy priorities for Republicans.  Walden says he will advocate for policies that address the challenges faced in the West.  Among those are federal forest policy improvements to reduce the risk of wildfires, bring local input to public land management decisions, and ensuring farming, ranching, and rural communities can thrive.  Walden will represent Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming on the panel.

Boys Basketball Washougal 58, Stevenson 39:  Issac Hoidal scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs in their season opener.   Girls Basketball Hudson’s Bay 60, Stevenson 55:  Cassie MacNab scored 15 for Stevenson, while Katie Rathgeber and Ashley Brennan added 14 apiece.

In a unanimous vote, The Dalles City Council directed its staff to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement with Columbia Gorge Community College and Wasco County to use enterprise zone funds from the Google projects to pay for a revenue bond to provide $3.5 million to help match $7.3 million in state funding to develop the Treaty Oaks Skills Center and provide on-campus housing at CGCC.  The state funds would be used for the center to expand career and technical education offerings at the college, with the school constructing student housing as the match and committing to be responsible for $3.8 million of the bond to make that happen.  Most of the Council discussion did center on whether the City might have to dip into other funds to pay for its part of the revenue bond, but Mayor Steve Lawrence is confident that once the final figures are in for what Google will pay for its latest project for the next 15 years it won’t be an issue, adding he thinks those numbers will be finalized soon.  Wasco County Commissioners will take up the issue at their December 5 meeting, and then the college board will make a final decision.

The Dalles City Council postponed a planned public hearing on amendments to the City’s land use and development ordinance to encourage more options for housing.  Community Development Director Steve Harris pointed out there were two cases before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals on apartment complexes could affect some of the measures that were up for consideration.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says he doesn’t expect LUBA decisions to be made until after the New Year.  Lawrence says the ordinance changes are intended to provide more opportunity for people to build small houses, accessory houses, and build on smaller lots.

The Hood River City Council has approved an ordinance to restrict when fireworks can be sold and used.  Under the ordinance, the sale of consumer fireworks will be allowed only from June 23 to July 7, and discharge of fireworks will be allowed from November 16 to July 14.  Even during the time period fireworks would be allowed, Mayor Paul Blackburn says the ordinance gives the fire chief the discretion to ban their use if fire danger warrants it.  Councilors had planned to pass the ordinance two weeks ago, but asked staff to do some final language revisions before taking action.