Hood River County Commissioners have approved a forestland exchange with Farmers Irrigation District.  Under the deal, the County exchanges just over nineteen acres of forestland surrounding Kingsley Reservoir for over 39 acres owned by the irrigation district that will be incorporated into the designated County Forest.  The exchange compensates the County for land, timber and infrastructure which will be flooded and destroyed as a result of Farmers’ reservoir expansion project that is underway.  Commission Chair Ron Rivers says they were able to meet the financial balance required by law for the County to proceed.  In other business the Commission scheduled a hearing for August 6 on whether to put a three percent tax on marijuana sales in the County on the November ballot.  The County has the option to establish the tax, but under state law it must be approved by voters.

An omission on petition sheets has White Salmon, Bingen, and Klickitat County officials taking a new direction to get a Metropolitan Park District to establish and operate a new swimming pool in White Salmon before voters in November.  Mayor David Poucher says they were informed by the County Auditor that petitions signed by over 700 people did not have a required notice about the consequences of knowingly signing the document without being a resident or registered voter.  Poucher says it would be nearly impossible to re-gather those signatures in the three weeks remaining, and he went to the County Commission for another option to get the question to the ballot.  He said Commissioners would put a resolution to put the district on the ballot on an upcoming meeting agenda.  Poucher said the Commission will require the district backers to reach the 725 signatures that would be needed to qualify for the ballot, adding he expects they will reach 1,000.

Paid parking has been in effect on some Port of Hood River owned streets in the Waterfront area, and Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says it is achieving most of the targets set out for it.  McElwee says they are seeing people beginning to understand the system, and the rate of people using it going up.  He adds they are seeing a “vast reduction” in the number of people trying to camp overnight on Port property.  But McElwee says there are adjustments that will need to be made…including signage for different areas of the waterfront, and helping people understand where they can use their waterfront parking pass.

The Dalles Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson is working to find a tourism director to lead the community into its next growth phase in tourism. In past years, Farquharson has served as the tourism director, but funding from the City for the current fiscal year allowed her to seek someone to serve in that role, noting as tourism grows in The Dalles the CEO can’t do both jobs.  Farquharson says they closed applications for the job last week, and will now move on to interviewing finalists for the job.

There will be a full closure of the Hood River/White Salmon Interstate Bridge beginning at 11:00 p.m. on Thursday and continuing through 1:00 a.m. Friday.  Northwest Natural Gas crews will be on the bridge performing inspections of their gas line utility.  This work requires a full height lift of the bridge’s lift span.  Port crews will be on-site to lower the lift span for emergency response vehicle crossings if needed, but all other access will be closed.  Bridge users should seek alternate routes during those hours.

A 25 acre wildfire was discovered late Sunday afternoon on the Clackamas River Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National forest.  The Collawash Fire is burning in grass and brush under a Bonneville Power Administration powerline corridor along Forest Road 63 south of Raab Campground.  A Forest Service spokesperson says multiple engines, water tenders, and hand crews are responding to the incident and making good progress in building a line around the fire. The cause of the wildfire is under investigation.   No closures are currently in place but visitors should use caution driving near the fire area due the presence of firefighters and equipment along roads in the vicinity and the possibility of reduced visibility caused by smoke.

A fire Sunday afternoon on Mott Road in the High Prairie area burned about 86 acres.  Klickitat County Fire District #14 Chief Tim Darland says no structures were lost.  The fire started around 4:30 Sunday afternoon, and was contained by 10:30 p.m.  The Washington Department of Natural Resources had a strike team of five engines along with a tender from High Prairie Fire at the site today to continue to mop up the fire.  Darland indicated the fire was caused by a lawn mower.  Crews from High Prairie, DNR, Lyle, Centerville, Rural 7, Goldendale, The U.S. Forest Service…and Bingen were all involved in the firefighting effort.

Interstate 84 will be closed nights eastbound and westbound at exit 56 west of Hood River the next four nights, but delays may be minimal because the off-ramp leads directly to an on-ramp and a quick return to the highway.  The Oregon Department of Transportation says they closure will be in place Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.  The work is weather-dependent, and unfavorable conditions could change the schedule.  Crews will resurface the bridge over the exit 56 interchange at Viento State Park and repair the bridge deck membrane.

The PacificSource Columbia Gorge Coordinated Care Organization announced that it will receive more than $2.8 million dollars from Quality Pool payments from the Oregon Health Authority for quality performance during 2017.  PacificSource Community Solutions will allocate the money received from OHA back to the care providers for the Columbia Gorge CCO, as well as create funds over which the Columbia Gorge Health Council has decision-making authority.  The pool of funds will be used for initiatives throughout the Columbia Gorge aimed at improving the health of the community.  The Columbia Gorge CCO met performance targets on 15 of 17 quality measures.  Quality measures are used by the OHA to determine how successful CCOs have been at improving care and making quality care accessible.  Performance on clinical measures in the Columbia Gorge CCO was the highest in the state in two areas: follow up care for people who have been hospitalized for mental health conditions and satisfaction with customer service from the health insurer.

A 30-year-old White Salmon motorcyclist was injured in an accident on Saturday on Highway 141 alternate just west of the White Salmon city limits.  According to the Washington State Patrol, Ryan Lawson was southbound on 141 alternate near milepost 6 when a northbound pickup truck driven by a 41-year-old Carson man crossed over the center line.  Lawson made an evasive maneuver and laid the motorcycle down.  The motorcycle eventually came to rest against a tree off the roadway.  The WSP says Lawson was taken to Skyline Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries.