The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advises recreational boaters and commercial mariners that recent high water levels may be concealing some pile dikes on the Columbia River.  Pile dikes are frequently just below the surface during high water events and can cause serious damage to vessels attempting to transit over them.  Pile dikes, also called wing dams, are wooden structures that extend from the shore into the river.  The structures have a variety of uses ranging from protecting the shore to managing the flow of the navigation channel.  Commercial and recreational mariners should review the Corps’ channel conditions maps regularly for the locations of pile dikes and other obstacles.  The maps are located at the Corps’ website.

The City of Bingen is planning to hold an open house in April on the progress toward a Highway 14 overpass at Bingen Point.  Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes says the work toward making the overpass a reality involves a lot of moving parts.  The Washington Legislature appropriated funding for the project in the transportation package approved in 2015.  Barnes says at this point the hope is to begin construction in 2020, with completion a year later.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reopened the navigation lock at The Dalles Dam o river traffic Monday afternoon.  The Corps of Engineers is nearing the scheduled end of an extended navigation lock maintenance outage, which began in December.  The coordinated 14-week-long closure has affected all eight Corps navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers, during which time repairs and maintenance is being completed.  Bonneville Lock and Dam reopened in February as scheduled, McNary reopened Friday and John Day reopened Saturday.  Lower Monumental and Lower Granite locks and dams returned to service late Monday night.  Little Goose and Ice Harbor dam’s navigation locks, on Washington’s Snake River, cannot be returned to service yet because of on-site work complications.  Ice Harbor is tentatively scheduled to return their lock to service on Thursday.  Little Goose is currently estimated to reopen their lock on April 2.

The Port of Hood River’s request for funding to help with planning for replacement of the Hood River Interstate Bridge will be the subject of a hearing in the Oregon Legislature this week.  Port Executive Director Michael McElwee says they are hoping to be included in a transportation package in this legislative session, adding they are cautiously optimistic about receiving their five million dollar request.  Planning work would take two to two-and-a-half years, but would also leave them in concept within 18 months of construction of a new bridge.  In turn that would put the Port in a better position to receive a significant commitment of federal dollars.

The Northwest Cherry Festival is just about a month away.  The event in The Dalles will be April 21st through the 23rd throughout the community, centered in the downtown area.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says they are taking entries for various parts of the Festival, including vendors, adding they are mixing in more artisan booths.  Entries for the April 22 parade and the Cherry Idol singing contest are also being taken.  For application forms go to thedalleschamber.com.

The navigation lock at John Day Dam near Rufus reopened to river traffic over the weekend, and The Dalles Dam lock should return to service late Monday night.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is nearing the scheduled end of an extended navigation lock maintenance outage, which began December 12.  The 14-week-long closure has affected all eight Corps navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers.  Bonneville Lock and Dam reopened in February, and McNary reopened Friday.  The Dalles, Lower Monumental, and Lower Granite locks and dams remain scheduled to return to service at 11:59 p.m. Monday.  On the Snake River, the Ice Harbor Dam navigation lock is tentatively scheduled to return to service Thursday night, and the lock at Little Goose Dam is currently estimated to reopen on April 2.

Baseball Wilsonville 9, Hood River Valley 1 The Dalles splits with Bend, losing game one 19-6 and winning game two 9-8 Stevenson at Hudson’s Bay, doubleheader rescheduled to Monday at 3:30 p.m. Sherman 13, St. Paul 9 Dufur sweeps St. Paul 11-1 and 18-7 Columbia 7, Kennedy 4   Softball Bend sweeps The Dalles 5-3 and 13-10 Barlow 11, Hood River Valley 1   Track and Field Brandon Montoya of Lyle-Wishram won three events and Lincoln Krog of Stevenson won two in the boys’ portion of the Mullen-Leavitt Invitational in The Dalles.  In the girls’ half of the meet, Hood River Valley’s Katie Kennedy won three events.   South Wasco’s girls won the Condon-Wheeler Preview meet.  Ana Popchock won three events to lead the Redsides.  South Wasco’s boys grabbed a fourth place finish, with Michael Cuevas winning the javelin.   Girls Lacrosse Westview 17, Hood River Valley 8        

The deadline to file for the May 16 special districts election in Oregon has passed…and a crowded Port of Hood River Commission field for three seats being vacated by incumbents highlights the ballot.  Incumbents Fred Duckwall, Jon Davies, and Rich McBride did not file for re-election.  The candidates for position one held by Duckwall will be Anna Williams, Benjamin Sheppard, and Brian Carlstrom, while Svea Truax, John Everitt, and Jeffery Helfrich run for position two that has been filled by Davies, and former Hood River County Administrator David Meriwether is joined by Laurie Balmuth, Robert Bart, and Kristi Chapman seeking the position three seat being vacated by McBride, who was elected to the County Commission last year.  There are also contested races for three Hood River County School District board seats, along with the positions on the County transportation and library district boards and the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District board.

Contested races for seats on the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District and Port of The Dalles boards highlight the May 16 special districts election ballot in Wasco County.  The deadline to file for the ballot was Thursday.  Daniel Polehn and Annette Byers are the candidates for position five on the parks and rec district panel.  Robert Wallace and Dawn Rasmussen are both seeking position one of the Port board.  There is plenty of interest to represent Wasco County on the Columbia Gorge Community College board, with contested races for all four available seats.  In contrast, there are no contested seats for the North Wasco County School District 21 board.

  Baseball Sandy 4, The Dalles 3 Gresham 12, Hood River Valley 4:  The Gophers broke a tie with four runs in the sixth inning and four more in the seventh.   Softball Hood River Valley 10, Wilsonville 0:  The Eagles scored six runs in the fourth inning on the way to their first win of the year. Liberty 6,  The Dalles 4:  Liberty took advantage of three unearned runs to grab the win in the Riverhawks season opener.   Track and Field Hermiston defeated Hood River Valley in a Columbia River Conference dual meet to open the season.  The Bulldogs won the boys’ portion of the meet 85-50, and the girls’ half 81-47.   Jonah Tactay (tock-tie) and Abby Kinoshita won two events apiece for the Eagles. Lincoln Krog of Stevenson won two events in a season opening meet in Washougal that also involved Columbia.  In the girls’ portion of the meet, Stevenson grabbed three first place finishes and Columbia two.   Boys Tennis Hood River Valley 4, St. Helens 4:  HRV won the match on games won 74-61.   Girls Lacrosse Jesuit 15, Hood River Valley 12