When the Columbia Gorge Express resumes operations this summer, it will go further east than Multnomah Falls.  The express service from Portland’s Gateway Transit Center provided through the Oregon Department of Transportation will now include stops in Cascade Locks and Hood River.  Hood River County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michael Glover sees this as a long-term project, noting if the service can help attract small business conferences.  Glover says the unknown is how many people will choose to use the Columbia Gorge Express to travel to Hood River.

The Dalles Wastewater Treatment Plant has discharged effluent into the Columbia River that exceeds the plant’s limit for E. Coli due to incomplete disinfection.  The Dalles Public Works Department says sample test results received Saturday confirmed that.  The cause is unknown at this point, and the frequency of sampling is being increased until E. Coli counts are back within permit limits.  Warning signs indicating contaminated water and advising no water contact are being placed at public river access points on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River from The Dalles Riverfront Park to the West Mayer Park boat launch.

A Goldendale man died from injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident Saturday afternoon on Highway 97 about ten miles north of Goldendale.  According to the Washington State Patrol, 60-year-old Mark Hodges died at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.  The accident occurred when the motorcycle Hodges was riding was struck by a car driven by a 23-year-old Richland woman.  The WSP report indicated both were northbound on Highway 97 when the woman was making a left turn onto Lower Road as Hodges attempted to pass the vehicle on the left.  The accident remains under investigation.

Baseball Hood River Valley 1, Hermiston 0:  Grayson Losee fired a two-hitter while striking out 11.  The only run of the game came in the sixth inning, when J.J. Mears tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Issac Beaman. Pendleton 10, The Dalles 0 Columbia 12, Castle Rock 5:  The Bruins finished in a three-way tie for first in the Trico League, and will play at Hoquiam today at 4 p.m. to begin the Southwest Washington Class 1A Tournament. Sherman sweeps Culver 6-0 and 12-5:  The Huskies stay unbeaten in Class 1A District 6 with the win. Heppner sweeps Dufur 11-5 and 15-5.   Softball Hood River Valley 11, Hermiston 1:  Hannah McNerney and Kaylin Winans homered in the first inning as the Eagles clinched second place in the Columbia River Conference. Pendleton 10, The Dalles 0 LaCenter sweeps Stevenson 20-0 and 19-0   Track and Field Trout Lake won both the boys and girls titles at the Greater Columbia Gorge League Championships in Bickleton.  Glenwood’s Kevan Bren won three events on the boys’ side of the meet, while Brooklyn Emerson of Glenwood grabbed three first places on the girls side.   Goldendale boys were third and girls fourth at the High Mountain Classic in Cle Elum.  Dillon Rising won both the boys’ 800 and 1600 meters, and Allison Gilliam swept the girls’ hurdles races.   Lyle-Wishram was the boys’ winner and South Wasco the girls’ victor at the Arlington Invitational.  Brandon Montoya led the Cougar boys with four first place finishes, while Ana Popchock did the same for the South Wasco girls.   Girls Tennis Stevenson 3, Three Rivers Christian 2

Track and Field Columbia’s boys and girls finished second in a five-school meet at Seton Catholic.  Alex Medina and Margo Mayo each won two events for the Bruins. Stevenson’s boys finished first and the girls second in a four-school competition at LaCenter.  The Bulldogs’ Lincoln Krog won three events, while Issac Hoidal was first in two.   Girls Lacrosse Lincoln 8, Hood River Valley 4:   The Cardinals took over first place in the Portland League with the win.  Abigail Bartles scored three goals for Hood River.   Boys Tennis Goldendale 3, Naches Valley 2   Girls Tennis Goldendale 3, Naches Valley 2

The North Wasco County School District 21 budget committee needed only one meeting to send a 2018-19 budget to the D-21 board.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says the only significant change from this year’s budget is the addition of instructional assistants in each elementary school to help with kindergarten and first grade students who need skill building in order to self-regulate.  Armstrong says the instructional assistants will work with counselors in each elementary building, with Mid-Columbia Center for Living helping with training and therapeutic time on the campuses.  But to afford to do that, Armstrong said they will have to leave the district-wide librarian position unfilled this coming school year.  The D-21 board will vote on the budget in mid-June.

Wasco County Commissioners held a hearing on the first two tasks coming out of the periodic comprehensive land use process, passing a first reading of them.  County long-range planner Kelly Howsley Glover says these first two items involved the citizen involvement process and to get people used to a new format for the new comprehensive plan that will come out of Wasco 2040.  She notes the current format had a lengthy series of chapters that discussed the data that supported the goals, policies, and implementation of the plan, and now each chapter will relate to directly to a statewide land use planning goal.  The County Commission is expected to pass the second reading of the first items at their next meeting.  A new set of Wasco 2040 public meetings that will focus on water resources, economic development, minimum parcel size, and agri-tourism will start later this month, with the first one taking place on May 30 at 5:30 p.m. in Dufur City Hall.

The annual Community Cleanup will take place in The Dalles on Saturday.  Once again this year yard debris and large items, like old furniture, can be disposed of at the old Wasco County maintenance yard on West 10th and Walnut on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Cindy Keever of The Dalles Public Works says once again people are asked to come in to the site off of 10th Street and turn right onto Walnut.  Keever says there are five different areas for disposal, so people are asked to separate their loads as much as possible.  There will once again be a Reuse Fair at the Cleanup, where people can leave usable items they don’t want so others can take them.  The information number for the cleanup, which will be active during the hours the site is open, is 541-288-6267.  

Track and Field Hood River Valley’s boys won a dual meet at Oregon City, topping the Pioneers 69-55.  Jonah Tactay won three events and Chad Klaas two for HRV.  Oregon City topped HRV in the girls’ meet 70-63.  Katie Kennedy won a pair of events for the Eagles. The Dalles’ boys won nine events and the girls eight at a three-school meet in St. Helens.  Philip Dunagan, Tressa Wood, and Mercy I’aulualo were double event winners for the Riverhawks.   Boys Tennis Hood River Valley 8, The Dalles 0:  The Eagles finish Columbia River Conference play with a perfect 6-0 record.    

The Next Door has signed the papers to take ownership of the former Mid-Columbia Council of Governments building in The Dalles.  The Next Door Executive Director Janet Hamada says the sale closed on Tuesday.  Hamada says the building is over three times the size of its current facility in The Dalles, and the location on Kelly Avenue is perfect for them.  She notes the building is essentially ready to move into, so they hope to get into the facility by the end of June.