Oregon Governor Kate Brown has appointed Dr. Kristen Dillon of Hood River to the Oregon Health Authority’s Health Plan Quality Metrics Committee.  Dillon currently serves as PacificSource Health Plan’s director of the Columbia Gorge Coordinated Care Organization.  The committee was created by the Legislature to align quality measures for multiple types of health plans over which OHA has authority.  The committee will be the single body to align health outcome and quality measures used in Oregon to ensure that the measures and requirements are coordinated, evidence-based, and focused on a long-term statewide vision.  Dillon will serve a minimum one-year appointment beginning in April, with the possibility of reappointment.

Baseball The Dalles 7, North Eugene 4:  The Riverhawks scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull out the win. California (Whittier, CA) 7, Hood River Valley 2:  The Eagles had ten hits but could not take full advantage of opportunities.  Adam Cameron had a three-hit day for the Eagles in their final game in the Coach Bob Invitational in Phoenix.   Softball David Douglas 5, The Dalles 4 Beaverton 15, The Dalles 4:  The Riverhawks lost their first two games at the Glencoe Invitational in Hillsboro.   Boys Soccer Seton Catholic 5, Stevenson 1

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved a bill to force the Forest Service to complete a land exchange on Mt. Hood.  The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act directs the Forest Service to move forward with a land exchange first approved by Congress in 2009.  Oregon Congressman Greg Walden and Earl Blumenauer authored the bill.  The 2009 law authorizes a land exchange to allow development of 120 acres of federal land in Government Camp in exchange for 770 acres of non-federal land at Cooper Spur, but the exchange has yet to be completed.  Walden and Blumenauer’s bill expresses Congress’ intent that the Forest Service move quickly to complete the exchange, addresses disagreements over a conservation easement, and allows for a more transparent appraisal process.  Walden said he hopes the full Senate passes the bill quickly and moves it along to the President for his signature.

Emergency pavement repair work on Washington Highway 14 through Skamania County will begin Friday.  Extreme temperatures, record rainfall, and freeze/thaw cycles left miles of roadway rutted and crumbling.  Beginning Friday contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will begin work to repair sections of the highway damaged by harsh winter weather.  During daylight hours on dry-weather days, single-lane closures will be necessary in either direction on Highway 14.  Drivers can expect delays of up to 20 minutes.  Additional work to repave stretches of Highway 14 in Klickitat County is scheduled to begin in mid-April, with all emergency paving repairs scheduled for completion by late spring.

Two bills sponsored by Washington State 14th District Representative Gina McCabe received approval from the Senate Law and Justice Committee this week.  On is the Travis Alert Act, which would allow people to submit information pertaining to an individual’s disability to the Enhanced 911 program so dispatchers could deliver critical information to first responders during emergencies, and also review existing procedures and ask the Department of Health to create a training program for first responders, providing instruction for how to best respond to emergencies involving persons with special needs.  The other bill would create the crime of voyeurism in the second degree.  McCabe introduced the legislation to combat the practice of “upskirting,” during which someone uses their mobile device to take a photo or record video under individuals’ skirts.  Under current law, a person must prove he or she was engaged in voyeurism for the purpose of arousal or sexual gratification.  The two bills now await Senate floor action prior to the 2017 legislative session adjournment set for April 23.

Baseball Hood River Valley 9, Lake Oswego 3:  The Eagles grabbed control with a five-run second inning to go on to the win at the Coach Bob Invitational in Phoenix.  Caden Leiblien drove in three runs and Adam Cameron two to lead the HRV offense.  The Eagles finish their Arizona trip with a game against California High School of Whittier, California today. Stevenson at LaCenter, doubleheader postponed to today.   Softball Hood River Valley 13, Rancho Alamitos 3:  Zoe Munn hit a grand slam as part of a ten-run first inning in the Eagles’ victory in Southern California.  Kaylin Winans drove in two runs as HRV took advantage of seven Rancho Alamitos errors. Santa Margarita 4, Hood River Valley 1:  Makenzie Chambers drove in the only run for HRV as the Eagles finish their trip to Anaheim with a 2-2 record. Washougal at Columbia, postponed.   Track and Field Columbia won the boys’ half and Trout Lake the girls’ half of a four-school track and field meet at King’s Way Christian.  The CHS boys earned seven first place finishes, while Sidney Baker and Liz Fink won two events apiece for the Trout Lake girls.  

The Dalles Mayor Steve Lawrence is joining with some other mayors in small Oregon cities to question the City of Portland’s program of giving bus tickets to homeless people who say they have places they can go.  Lawrence believes The Dalles has had six people show up through this program, while noting it’s difficult to confirm that because Ticket Home program officials cite privacy concerns.  Lawrence says he and officials in other cities are going to put pressure on Portland through the League of Oregon Cities and plan to attend a Portland City Council meeting to voice their concerns.  Lawrence was part of a KGW Television report on the issue.  In its report, KGW found that out of the 275 tickets given out by Portland and Multnomah County through the Ticket Home program, only 131 were confirmed to remain in stable housing three months later.

Coming out of a set of listening sessions with the public earlier this month, Hood River County School District Superintendent Dan Goldman faces trying to put together a budget for the 2017-18 school year with an uncertain funding level from the state.  School officials have said they need the state’s K-12 funding level to reach eight-point-four billion dollars for the next two years to maintain where they are at, and most budget proposals have been closer to eight billion dollars.  Goldman says while operational changes over the past few years have helped the district be in a position to withstand this biennium, a potentially worse situation two years from now could put them on a funding cliff.  Goldman expects a long legislative session going into the summer, and the district must have its 2017-18 budget ready by the end of June.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs gave bipartisan support to the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act, passing the bill out of committee on a voice vote.  The legislation is sponsored by Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Washington counterparts Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell would enable the Bureau of Indian Affairs to make safety and sanitation improvements at the tribal treaty fishing access sites along the Columbia River.  The Army Corps of Engineers designed the sites to be used primarily for daily, in-season fishing access and temporary camping, but in many cases tribal members now use the areas as longer-term or even permanent residences.  The legislation is supported by the four Columbia River Treaty tribes and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden hopes some kind of answer to ensuring area orchards have a legal workforce can be found in spite of the climate surrounding immigration issues.  Walden says he has had conversations with area orchards about the issue, and has told Trump Administration officials the lack of a legal workforce for the agriculture sector is a real problem.  Walden says there is work being done behind the scenes in the House on legislation to address agricultural workforce concerns, and he’s urging the administration to participate in that.  He does add he believes border security must be addressed as well.