Oregon State 52^nd District Representative Mark Johnson formally steps away from the position today.  The Hood River Republican had announced last month he would leave the Legislature to serve as President and CEO of Oregon Business & Industries.  Johnson was a state representative for nearly seven years.  With Johnson’s resignation, Republican precinct committee persons living in House District 52 will vote to nominate three-to-five candidates to fill the vacancy.  County commissioners from Hood River, Clackamas and Multnomah Counties will then vote to select the next state representative for the district.  The vacancy must be filled within 30 days.

It was a good October for the tourism business in Hood River coming out of the Eagle Creek Fire.  Hood River County Chamber of Commerce executive director Michael Glover says as soon as Interstate 84 was reopened in both directions in late September, downtown Hood River was as busy as you would expect at this time of year.  Glover does add the fire still hurt the overall season results, with room hotel occupancy down ten to fifteen percent, and retailers taking a heavier hit.  Glover noted both the Hood River Hops Fest and the Harvest Festival once again drew large crowds in October, with Hops Fest attendance up about a thousand from 2016 and Harvest Fest also experiencing a bump.

Cross Country Oregon Class 5A Championships:  Hood River Valley’s girls were second and the boys sixth, while The Dalles boys came in ninth.  The Eagle girls were led by a trio of sophomores in finishing only behind Summit.  Frances Dickinson was tenth, Josephine Dickinson 11^th, and Lottie Bromham 12^th.  Emma Mullins was 26^th and Hanna Ziegenhagen 27^th for The Dalles.  In the boys race HRV’s Josh Haynes was 23^rd and Sam Alvarez of The Dalles 46^th.   Washington Class 1A Championships:  Goldendale was tenth and Columbia 15^th in the boys’ team standings, while Columbia was 13^th and Goldendale 15^th in the girls.  Dillon Rising of Goldendale finished 11^th in the boys’ run, while Haley Blair of CHS was 24^th in the girls’ race.   Washington Class B Championships:   Trout Lake’s Hannah Funkhouser finished third in the girls’ race, and the Mustangs’ Justin Peck was sixth in the boys’ run.   Boys Soccer Oregon Class 5A Quarterfinal:  Woodburn 1, Hood River Valley 0 (4-3 in penalty kicks):  The defending state champions escaped with the win by making four of six penalty kicks, while HRV came up empty on its final three attempts.  The two teams played even for 100 minutes, with very few quality scoring chances for either squad.  It was the second straight year the Eagles’ season ended in penalty kicks in the quarterfinal.   Washington Class B District Playoff:  St. George’s (Spokane) 3, Trout Lake 2, overtime:  Riley Alloway and Reece Painter each scored for the Mustangs, but Mitchell Ward’s goal in extra time advanced St. George’s to the state quarterfinals.   Volleyball Oregon Class 5A Tournament Quarterfinal:  Summit def. Hood River Valley 17-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-15 Consolation:  Sandy def. Hood River Valley 25-17, 25-20, 25-20   Oregon Class 1A Quarterfinal:  Country Christian def. South Wasco 25-11, 30-32, 25-21, 25-19 Consolation:  South Wasco def. McKenzie 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 4^th Place: North Douglas def. South Wasco 16-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-21:  South Wasco finishes sixth in the tournament.   SCAC Tournament Semi-Final:  Goldendale def. LaSalle 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 27-25 Championship:  Naches Valley def. Goldendale 22-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-14:  Goldendale advances to the Washington Class 1A Tournament and will face Bellevue Christian on Friday at 3:15 in Yakima.   Football Oregon Class 1A First Round:  Dufur 72, Lowell 0:  The Rangers will host Adrian in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 1 p.m Oregon Class 1A First Round:  Adrian 30, Sherman 14 Southwest Washington Class 1A District Playoff:  Montesano 63, Stevenson 12 Washington Class 2B District Playoff:  Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat 32, Oroville 22:  The Cougars will play Liberty in the first round of the state playoffs at a site and time to be announced.

The National Weather Service has installed a new weather station in the Tanner Creek watershed, within the Eagle Creek Fire Burned Area, to help improve forecasting of potential hazards in the event of severe weather.  The automated station was placed in the Tanner Creek drainage to measure rainfall and help predict hazards resulting from the Eagle Creek Fire.  The fire burned through vegetation on slopes in several Gorge watersheds, which further destabilized soil and rocks and made them more susceptible to erosion or sliding during heavy rains, and increased the risk of flash floods, landslides, and debris flows.  Tanner Creek was identified as one of the most badly burned watersheds.

Hood River, Wasco, Skamania, and Klickitat, and Sherman county businesses can now get direct aid from the Federal Small Business Administration disaster loan program to help recover from lost revenue from September’s Eagle Creek Fire.  Loan applications will be accepted now through next summer from business and nonprofit organizations impacted by the fire.  The loans are long term, up to 30 years, with low interest rates.  Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at disasterloan.sba.gov.  Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

By popular demand, the City of Hood River is resuming leaf drop-off at the city’s public works facility.  City residents may bring leaves to Hood River Public Works between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until the first significant snowfall.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says they had received several complaints about the loss of the drop-off service.  Wheeler says they initially thought the city’s new solid waste program, which began May 1 and includes large organic waste bins, combined with yard waste drop-offs at the Hood River Transfer Station for a fee would be a workable solution.  Hood River residents are still encouraged to place leaves in yard debris roll carts for pick up by Hood River Garbage Service on regularly scheduled pick up days.  City officials are trying to keep leaves out of street gutters to prevent storm drain clogging, damage to the storm-water system, or risks of street flooding. The Hood River City Public Works Department is located at 1200 18^th Street.

Oregon Class 5A Water Polo Tournament at Corvallis Boys Quarterfinal Hood River Valley 27, North Eugene 9:  HRV will meet Bend in a semi-final next Friday at 1:20 in Corvallis   Girls Quarterfinal Hood River Valley 15, Cottage Grove 0:  The Eagles take on Ashland in the semis next Friday at 2:30 in Corvallis.

The Hood River County Christmas Project is gearing up for its 95th year of providing food and toy baskets to those in need during the holidays.  The Christmas Project’s Bruce Holmson says sign-ups will begin next week.  Holmson says basket recipients must live in Hood River County, and meet low-income requirements in the state of Oregon.  Last year 480 families in Hood River County received the food and toy boxes.  Sign-ups will be at held at various locations through early December.  For a complete schedule of registration locations and times, and to learn how you can donate or volunteer, go online to hoodrivercountychristmasproject.com.

Oregon 59th District State Representative John Huffman has formally resigned from the Legislature.  The Dalles Republican had indicated earlier he was seeking a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and wouldn’t seek re-election.  Huffman announced his resignation in an October 28 letter to Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson.  Huffman had been in Legislature for 10 years.  Republican precinct committee persons in House District 59 must now nominate three to five candidates to fill the vacancy.  County commissioners from Wasco, Wheeler, Jefferson and Deschutes counties will then vote to appoint one of those nominees to fill the remainder of Huffman’s term, which expires at the end of 2018.   The process must take place within 30 days of the resignation date.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden is applauding passage of the Resilient Federal Forests Act in the House.  The bill would provide federal land management agencies tools to increase the pace, scale and cost efficiency of forest management projects without sacrificing environmental protections.  In a floor speech, Walden said better forest management is needed to reduce the intensity of wildfire, and he believes it will be achieved through this legislation.  The bill now awaits action in the Senate.