The City of Hood River is refinancing the debt for the municipal waterline replacement project that will see the bond paid off in a shorter amount of time and save on interest payments.  The original 40-year bond of just over three million dollars through the U.S. Department of Agriculture was taken out in 2011 when the City’s fiscal health and bond ratings were not as good as they are today.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says the refinancing will accelerate the payment schedule down to ten years and double the size of the annual payment, but also save the City over two million dollars in interest.  The bond repayments are funded with water rate revenues.  Wheeler says a good result of this is that Columbia Bank gave the City the lowest quote, so the money will stay in the local area.

There will be two locations in the Mid-Columbia where people can dispose of their unused prescription drugs on National Take Back Day this Saturday.  The Dalles Police Department will oversee a collection site at The Dalles City Hall on 313 Court Street, while the Bingen-White Salmon Police Department will be accepting unused or expired medications at Skyline Hospital’s main entrance at 211 Skyline Drive in White Salmon.  Both locations will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.  The service is free and all medications will be accepted with no questions asked.

The Dalles Public Works is asking motorists not to park over stormwater catch basins over the next few weeks as crews work on cleaning them.  Crews have begun working from the west side of town toward Cherry Heights Road this week and next.   By the week of November 6 crews expect to work from the east side of town toward Cherry Heights Road.  Temporary traffic controls may be put in place during work on any given catch basin.  Work will occur between 7:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.  Motorists are asked to park so that the catch basins are accessible during work hours.  A schedule will be released when crews begin work in the downtown core.

Access to the Hood River Event Site beach will be closed beginning at dawn on Thursday until November 3, as Port of Hood River crews begin rehabilitation of the beach.  Heavy machinery and other hazards will be present all throughout the closure.  Crews will bring in 300 cubic yards of new washed stone material to replenish the beach slope and place boulders along the edge of the grass to help mitigate erosion and improve the slope for recreational access and safety.  The Hood River Waterfront Trail will remain open, but access to the beach itself will be closed.  Kiters and windsurfers are encouraged to access the river via the Spit, or other alternate launch sites.

Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 3, The Dalles 1:  HRV nailed down another Columbia River Conference championship with the win at  Henderson Stadium.   Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 6, The Dalles 0:  Ashley Ponce scored twice as the Eagles finished a perfect league season.  HRV outscored its league opponents 31-0. Stevenson 2, Seton Catholic 1 Highland 4, Goldendale 0   Volleyball Oregon Class 5-A Play-In:  Putnam def. The Dalles 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-22 Sandy def. Hood River Valley 25-23, 13-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-11:  HRV will host Wilsonville for a first round state Class 5A playoff game on Saturday. King’s Way Christian def. Columbia 25-19, 18-25, 25-21, 25-15 Castle Rock def. Stevenson 25-6, 25-9, 25-13

The Oregon Department of Transportation says two lanes of eastbound Interstate 84 will close at 6 a.m. Wednesday in Hood River while crews repair a deteriorating segment of the road surface on the bridge over the Hood River.  The right two lanes will be closed from just west of Exit 63 to Exit 64 and could remain closed until about 1 p.m. Thursday to allow time for the concrete to safely cure.  ODOT says the deficiency in the road surface was discovered in a recent inspection and emergency work is needed to prevent development of a more serious problem.  The eastbound off-ramps at Exit 63 and 64 will be open.  The eastbound on-ramp to Exit 63 will be closed.

The Hood River City Council has directed municipal staff to come back with a resolution establishing the regulations for residential developments in the downtown area require meeting 67 percent of standard parking requirements, and the in-lieu payment would be two-thousand dollars per missing space.  It’s the latest in the discussion surrounding a request from Key Development to reduce the in-lieu fee from just over $20,000 per space to $100 dollars as the developer considers a market rate apartment complex downtown, something Hood River has not seen constructed in at least 25 years.  It took about an hour of discussions to reach a point where a formula could be passed, and Mayor Paul Blackburn noted it was difficult to find a balance between the need for more housing and downtown parking issues.  City Manager Steve Wheeler noted downtown parking will be part of the Council’s goal-setting session in November.  The commercial in-lieu fee stays at over $11,000 per missing space.

The Dalles City Council decided to seek to expand the scope of the municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrade to include a second clarifier.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says with new business coming in putting demands on the plant, the Council decided to authorize going to a bond expert to develop documents to move forward with the expansion.  Lawrence says they have been saving about one-point-four million dollars a year in their reserve capital fund.  The main question is whether the work can be done under the current contract for treatment plant upgrades or if a new contract would be required.  That’s because the City has a determination from the state Bureau of Labor and Industries over prevailing wage standards on the current deal, and that would have to be renewed under a new contract.

A 42-year-old man from Portland died in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 84 in The Dalles on Monday night.  According to the Oregon State Police, David Higgins of Portland was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.  According to a preliminary investigation, the SUV Higgins was driving eastbound on I-84 near milepost 82 at about 11:30 p.m. Monday when it left the roadway to the south, crossed a large grassy rocky median, went up a steep embankment, and hit the concrete overpass wall head-on.  It then rolled several times before coming to rest on its wheels in the grassy median.  The OSP says factors being considered in this crash are speed and a lack of safety restraints.   OSP was assisted at the scene by Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, The Dalles Police, Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

An 18-year-old woman from The Dalles died in a single vehicle accident Sunday morning on westbound Interstate 84 west of Rowena.  According to the Oregon State Police, the vehicle driven by Aileen Pineda-Garcia was traveling west on I-84 near milepost 76 just west of the Rowena exit before 6 a.m. Sunday, and for unknown reasons left the roadway and went into a ditch, and then collided with a tree.  Pineda-Garcia, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Investigators concluded that both speed and weather were likely a contributing factor in the crash  The Oregon State Police was assisted at the scene by Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue and ODOT.