A student debt reform bill proposed by Oregon 26th District State Senator Chuck Thomsen passed unanimously in the Senate Education Committee.  The Millennials Relief Act would amend Oregon’s tax code to make student debt payments completely tax free.  The Hood River Republican says having Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat, as a chief sponsor of the bill is helping move it forward.  It now moves to the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee for further consideration.

The City Councils of Bingen and White Salmon will meet on May 31 to discuss the pros and cons of combining the two cities into one.  The mayors of both cities have been discussing the possibility behind the scenes for a number of months, and talked to Councilors about it this week.  White Salmon Mayor David Poucher points out the two cities already operate a number of essential services together, and this is a good time to discuss the issue.  Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes had similar thoughts, but adds there is a long way to go before any decision is made.  The two Councils will meet on May 31 at 6 p.m. at a location to be finalized.  The public will be welcome to attend, but no comment will be taken.  Both Poucher and Barnes said there would be public hearings at a later date should the two Council agree to move forward, and any combination would be have to be approved by voters of both cities.  The two cities could consolidate into one, or one city could annex the other.

Voters in Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, and Gilliam counties are being asked by Northern Oregon Corrections during the May 16 election to establish a permanent property tax rate of 26 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for operation of the regional jail.  The rate mirrors the construction bond rate to build the facility which came off the tax rolls in September.  NORCOR and        Wasco County County Commission board chair Rod Runyon says the board is looking to stabilize its revenue picture, which currently involves funding from each county along with various contracts with other entities including Immigration and Customs Enforcement that fluctuate over time.  The permanent tax rate would generate about $1,300,000 per year, which would be on top of what the $3,800,000 the four counties currently pay annually to operate the facility.

Northwest Cherry Festival time has arrived in The Dalles.  Activities begin Friday and will continue through Sunday.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson notes the festival layout has changed this year, with the carnival and vendor locations rearranged.  The carnival is lined up against the railroad tracks on First Street, with vendors now in an area protected from train noise.  Friday night include the Family Pit Party at the stage beginning at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday features the Tonkin Subaru Cherry Festival Parade at 10 a.m. and entertainment on stage starting at noon and continuing to the Northwest Cherry Idol finals at 6:30 p.m.  Event guides are available at Gorgeradio.com.  The Bicoastal Media Guild Mortgage Home and Lifestyle Show will be at The Dalles Civic Auditorium during Cherry Festival weekend, open Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The 41st Annual Mid-Columbia Lions Follies will premiere Friday night at the Hood River Middle School Auditorium.  This year’s show is titled “Kid Awesome and the Disco Girls”.  Director Kim Vogel says the show is set in a town called “Supertown,” with a super hero school where the students have to solve a number of problems.  This weekend’s performances are Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., with shows Thursday through Saturday nights next week beginning at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children at the door, with one dollar off for tickets purchased in advance from Lions Club members and various ticket outlets.  Proceeds go to the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation.

A group of Hood River County Commissioners, staff, and a member of the public will meet next week to try to determine a formula to distribute funds generated by a new one percent construction excise tax to assist in development of affordable housing.  Commission Chair Ron Rivers says half of the revenue generated by the tax is mandated to go directly to affordable housing, but the rest is a little more flexible involving the two types of construction the tax applies to, residential and commercial construction.  The group recommendation will go to the County Commission for consideration at the panel’s meeting in May.

This year’s Northwest Cherry Festival has a new logo, and this one is going to stick around for a while.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says they have come up with a different logo every year, but this will develop a permanent brand for the festival.  She notes the logo is patterned along the lines of canning labels from the 1950’s.  The festival theme will change each year, and Farquharson says the festival poster and parade will reflect that.  This year’s festival is Friday through Sunday in The Dalles, and Cherry Festival event guides are available at Gorgeradio.com.

The Eyeopeners Lions Club has installed a hearing loop system inside the Hood River Middle School Auditorium to help those with hearing aids be able to clearly hear speakers and events in the facility.  Lions Club member Leonard Hickman says the system uses a magnetic coil that runs underneath the flooring of the auditorium that is hooked up into the sound system.  The Eyeopeners Club is paying $1,500 for the hearing loop system.  It should be ready for annual Mid-Columbia Lions Follies, which begin this Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Hood River Middle School Auditorium.

The White Salmon Valley School District is working on a five-year equity plan.  District Superintendent Jerry Lewis says the purpose of the plan is to improve on how various services are provided to students, and finding gaps in what they are doing.  Lewis notes district administrators have been diving deeply into data on those issues.  Lewis says they are pairing up with other districts in this effort through the Washington Leadership Academy, a school administrators’ program.

Baseball The Dalles 17, Pendleton 7:  The Riverhawks took control with six runs in the second inning, and Henry Lee’s two-run homer ended the game in the bottom of the sixth inning as The Dalles salvaged one win out of the three-game series. Hermiston 4, Hood River Valley 2:  The Eagles lost for the first time in Columbia River Conference play. Columbia 6, Stevenson 5 Dufur sweeps Weston-McEwen 14-0 and 12-6:  The Rangers ran their winning streak to 13 games. Kittitas sweeps Lyle-Wishram 10-6 and 15-9   Softball Hood River Valley 8, Hermiston 2:  Kaylin Winans homered to give the Eagles the lead in the fifth inning, and HRV went on to score six runs in the final two frames to finish a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs Pendleton 12, The Dalles 0   Track and Field Dufur’s Asa Farrell and Ezekiel Stelzer won two events apiece in a five-school meet at Sid White Field in The Dalles. Lyle-Wishram’s Brandon Montoya and Elijah McCullough each had two first place finishes while the Cougar boys’ four by 400 meter relay team was victorious during a four-school meet in Zillah.   Boys Tennis The Dalles 5, Hood River Valley 3   Girls Lacrosse Hood River Valley 19, Wilson 3:  Abigail Bartles and Kathryn Koenig scored five goals each.