Hermiston 40, Hood River Valley 14 LaGrande 14, The Dalles 6 Columbia 22, Castle Rock 12 Stevenson 27, Seton Catholic 7 Dufur 58, Perrydale 22 Sherman 48, Touchet (WA) 6 Lyle-Wishram 46, Dayton 6 Naches Valley 41, Goldendale 0

The Hood River County School District’s early enrollment figures show a slight dip in enrollment as the 2017-18 school year has begun.  However school officials will be watching those numbers over the next month to see if there is any increase coming off the Eagle Creek Fire situation that may have kept some students away in the opening two weeks of school.  Superintendent Dan Goldman says enrollment has been on a downward trend in the past two school years.  He says the district is anxious to see if the housing starts around the Hood River area are being populated by families.  Goldman says the district may have to move forward with the expectation that enrollment will be flat or continue on a downward trend.

The Oregon Veterans Home is progressing on its first major remodel in its 20-year history.  Veterans Home Program Director Michael Springston says along with updating and modernizing the facility, they are trying to give the Veterans who are there more of a sense of home.  He says they are adding carpets and upgrading resident rooms with a hardwood laminate floor.  Work began on the remodel in June, and Springston says it should be done in late spring or early summer.

Volleyball Hood River Valley def. Hermiston 25-8, 25-5, 25-11 Pendleton def. The Dalles 25-15, 25-19, 25-17 LaCenter def. Columbia 25-18, 25-20, 25-19 King’s Way Christian def. Stevenson 25-5, 25-14, 25-16 Dufur def. Mitchell-Spray 25-14, 25-5, 25-13 South Wasco def. Condon-Wheeler 25-16, 25-11, 25-19 Sherman def. Ione 27-25, 25-17, 25-15   Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 2, Woodburn 0 LaGrande 6, The Dalles 2   Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 1, Woodburn 0 LaGrande 3, The Dalles 0 LaCenter 3, Stevenson 1   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 15, Barlow 8

The City of The Dalles Public Works has scheduled pavement crack sealing on some roadways for Monday through Thursday.  The work will be done on East 1^st between Union Street and Madison Street, and West and East 2^nd between Lincoln Street and Madison Street.  No parking signs will be set out a day or so before work is scheduled.  Any cars parked in the work zone on the day that work is scheduled will be towed.  Rolling road closures will move through the project areas, throughout the week.

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest recently sold and awarded 5.9 million board feet of timber from the Jane Timber Sale in the Lewis River watershed to High Cascade of Carson.  Forest officials say it’s the first of several timber sales to be offered from the Swift Thin project approved in 2016 that is located east and south of Swift Reservoir that will commercial thin trees 45 to 55 years old on about 3,600 acres of forest plantations.  About $525,000 from the timber sale will fund road reconstruction and maintenance on 36 miles of road used to transport timber from the sale area to the mill.  Forest officials say the road improvements provide public benefit for those who access that part of the Gifford Pinchot for hunting, enjoying a weekend drive, hiking, and other forest uses.  Trail networks in the Trapper Creek Wilderness and the Siouxon area will be greatly improved.  Following completion of the timber sale, there may be unused wood made available to the public to remove via firewood permits if the situation allows.

Fire heavily damaged a building on Oak Street in downtown Hood River on Wednesday night.  Hood River Fire Chief Leonard Damian says firefighters were called to the fire at the building on 6 Oak Street that houses the Kayak Shed at 7:44 p.m. when multiple callers to 9-1-1 reported smoke and flames coming from the roof and the rear of the building.  Crews arrived to find dark smoke coming from the eaves of the building and fire coming from the roof.  Firefighters battled the fire for over 90 minutes before it was declared under control.  The fire was contained within the building, with an adjacent coffee shop and apartment building suffering what Damian termed moderate smoke and water damage.  There were no reported injuries, and all occupants in apartment units got out safely.  Damian says the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.   Crews from Hood River, Westside, Wy’east, Parkdale, Cascade Locks, Klickitat County, and Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue departments were involved in the firefighting effort.  The fire attracted a large number of onlookers who were in the downtown area on a warm early fall evening.

The White Salmon Valley School District has received a one-point-seven million dollar grant to continue its A-List Adventure after-school program for kindergarten through eighth graders for the next five years.  The grant comes from 21st Century Learning Centers, a federally funded program through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  District Superintendent Jerry Lewis says the program has been in place for the past five years, adding it provides a variety of opportunities for students.  The new grant will allow the program to operate five days a week instead of the previous four, adding Fridays throughout the school year.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden says the House Energy and Commerce Committee he chairs will hold a hearing next week on the impact wildfires have on air quality.   The panel’s subcommittee on the Environment will hold the hearing Wednesday.  At a committee meeting earlier this month, the Hood River Republican said there is a need for urgent action to prevent catastrophic wildfires and protect air quality in Oregon.  The Wednesday hearing will be streamed live on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s website at 7 a.m. Pacific time.

Columbia Gorge Community College has changed the name of what was its Renewable Energy Technology program to EM-Tech.  That stands for Electro-Mechanical Technology.  CGCC Director of Career and Technical Education Mary Kramer says the new name reflects the depth of careers available through the program.  The core skill set taught in the program gives students a good foundation in several different areas of technology.  Many engineering fields use more than one of the core skills, making the program align more readily with the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degrees offered at four-year colleges and universities.