Recreational sturgeon seasons in the Bonneville and The Dalles pools will close effective Saturday, March 25, under rules announced by fishery managers from Oregon and Washington.  The states decided to close these two sturgeon sport fisheries based on recently improving catch rates.  Catch projections indicate the recreational sturgeon quota in The Dalles Pool will be met as of Friday March 24.  For the Bonneville Pool, fishery managers wanted to leave enough sturgeon in the balance to support a one- or two-day summer sturgeon fishery.  Sturgeon fishing remains open in John Day Pool, where 62 sturgeon remain from the 105-fish harvest guideline.  Retention sturgeon fishing is closed below Bonneville dam and below Willamette Falls under permanent sport fishing regulations.  Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing remains open in all of these waters.

Baseball Hood River Valley 8, Barlow 1:  Caden Leiblien drove in three runs while Connor Coerper and Isaiah Enriquez drove in two apiece to lead HRV to a season opening win.  Enriquez, Trevor Lariza, and Trenton Hough combined to strike out 11 Bruin batters. Goldendale 5, River View 3:  Alex Mains went two for four with two runs scored to lead the Timberwolves.   Boys Tennis Madras 6, The Dalles 2:  Pedro Lopez won in singles for the Riverhawks, while Alex Lopez and Omar Rodriguez were victorious in doubles. Granger 5, Goldendale 0   Girls Tennis Madras at The Dalles, rained out Granger 3, Goldendale 2:  Talia Johnson and Isabelle Nadier won in singles for Goldendale.

Hood River City Councilors and Planning Commissioners got an update from consultants on work on the Westside Area Concept Plan during a joint meeting on Monday evening.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says while there are still a number of questions to work through, two items in particular stand out.  One is the location of a north/south connector road, and the other is the appropriate level of density for the area.  The Planning Commission will start holding meetings on the plan in April, and Wheeler says the goal is to wrap up work by the end of June.

The Dalles City Council authorized entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation to repave East Second Street from the overpass through the roundabout.  ODOT will do the work when it repaves East 2nd from the Boat Basin to Highway 197 in April under a larger state contract.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says it will cost the City about the same amount as it would if it did it in-house while paying for materials only.  Cost to the City will be $55,325 that will come from Surface Transportation Program funds.

The White Salmon City Council will consider a resolution at its meeting Wednesday night that is a declaration of diversity and inclusiveness.  Mayor David Poucher says a group of citizens asked the Council to consider such a declaration, which municipal staff revised in advance of a public hearing Wednesday.  Poucher says regardless of whether the Council approves the resolution or not, he feels the City has a long track record of treating all people fairly. Wednesday’s White Salmon City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the White Salmon Fire Hall.

The Hood River County Elections’ Office says they still have some positions on the May special districts election ballot without candidates.  Among those without filings are two positions on the Hood River County Transportation District board, one Parkdale Rural Fire District board seat, and two spots on the Parkdale Sanitation District board.  The deadline to file for the special district positions on the May 16 ballot is this Thursday at 5 p.m.  For information on how to file, call the Hood River County elections’ office at 541-386-1442.

Baseball The Dalles 13, Reynolds 9 Dufur 10, Riverside 0   Softball Gresham 6, Hood River Valley 2  

Washington 14th District State Representative Gina McCabe says she’s optimistic that legislative negotiators will come out with a good package to pay for basic education and meet the requirements of the Washington Supreme Court’s McCleary decision.  The Goldendale Republican says legislative caucuses are being updated on the negotiations twice a week, and she says one element that is helping the talks is the realization that the numbers in the legislature mean everyone knows there has to be compromise.  McCabe says once they have the new revenue forecast due out on Thursday, legislators will have a better handle of exactly how much money they have to work for the education funding package.

The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office scaled back the search on Mt. Hood for a missing skier and is now considering it a recovery mission.  Sheriff’s Sergeant Pete Hughes says the decision was made after searchers on Saturday once again could find no sign of Steve Leavitt, and after consulting with search teams and an expert physician concluded Leavitt could not have survived in the weather conditions with the gear he had.  The 57-year-old man from The Dalles was reported missing on Tuesday evening by his family.  Leavitt was last seen earlier that day when his ski pass was scanned at Mt. Hood Meadows’ Heather Chair Lift.  Meadows had received five-and-a-half feet of powder snow in the five prior days, which can create hazardous conditions such as tree wells and hidden creek holes.  Hughes added the area in which Leavitt went missing is double black diamond and recommended for expert skiers only.  Leavitt was very familiar with that area and was an avid skier.  The search to find Leavitt will continue in limited capacity and as danger levels allow.

As it prepares for its 2017-18 budget process, Hood River County finds itself dealing with an unexpected deficit in the general fund.  First year County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says they are dealing with a one-point-six to one-point-seven million dollar shortfall in the general fund as they prepare for the next fiscal year.  Hecksel says the reasons for the shortfall are varied, noting while property taxes provide a slight increase in revenue, they are being hurt in other areas, and expenses continue to increase.  Hecksel notes they also have capital maintenance needs the County will need to address.  He says department heads are working on proposals, and the County budget committee will begin its process in April.