A fundraising drive is underway to help Underwood Fruit employees in the wake of Wednesday’s fire at the company’s warehouses in Bingen.  Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes says the City has partnered with Washington Gorge Action Programs on an account to take donations to help the employees with the holidays and winter coming.  Donations can be made at gofundme.com/underwoodfruitfire.  Washington Gorge Action Programs will be administering the fund.

Fire rekindled early this morning at the Underwood Fruit facility on the west end of Bingen, sending flames back into the air.  That did not come as a surprise to fire officials, who had said late Wednesday afternoon that they expected the fire to flare up and burn additional material and release heavy smoke.  The fire is contained to one building but is in the rafters, making it difficult to put out.  The fire was reported at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday.  The company employs about 270 workers at the site.  According to its website, Underwood Fruit and Warehouse packs and ships for 55 area growers.  The company was formed in 1917 by seven local growers.  Eleven Klickitat County fire departments, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe fire train, Hood River Fire Department, Skamania Fire Department, and Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue have been involved in the firefighting effort.

Hood River County is looking at establishing an event permit ordinance.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says they have had two recent situations that have led to looking at the topic.  One involved a bike race organizer that asked for a fee reduction but had not applied for a permit, and when the County said they could consider that after an application was submitted, the promoter didn’t even bother with seeking the permit and held the event, and the County had no recourse because it lacked an ordinance.  A second example was for a run where an application had been provided and a fee reduction was requested, and the Commission decided the structure should be looked at.  Hecksel noted most places that hold events have a permit ordinance in place.  The current fee structure depends on if the event is held on County roads or on County forestlands.

Cross Country Columbia finished second to LaCenter in both the boys and girls races of the Trico League Championships at Vancouver Lake Park. Columbia’s  Jacob Lockman was third and Dylan Beneventi fourth in the boys race, while Haley Blair was third and Joules Hope fifth for the Bruin girls.  Stevenson was fourth in the girls’ run, paced by an eighth place finish from Cassie Macnab, while Stevenson’s boys were sixth, with Abiy LaCombe taking fifth individually.  The Southwest Washington Class A District race is October 28 at Lewis River Golf Course east of Woodland.

Areas of Bingen and White Salmon are experiencing power outages in the wake of a large fire this morning at Underwood Fruit on the west end of Bingen.  The fire is under control, but Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes said the power outages would continue until crews can completely extinguish it.  According to Klickitat County Emergency Management, the fire is isolated to the building it originated in, and no hazardous material was released off of the site.  Barnes indicated the fire started in an older building of the Underwood Fruit facility.  Eleven Klickitat County fire departments, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe fire train, Hood River Fire Department, Skamania Fire Department, and Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue have been involved in the firefighting effort.  The fire was reported at 5:45 a.m., and flames could be seen coming from the scene for about three hours.  There is no word yet on the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage.  Highway 14 is open with traffic controls in place.  Smoke is anticipated from the fire site for the next few hours.

By a narrow 5-4 vote, the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency board approved a restructuring of the installment loan agreement and land sales contract for the Sunshine Mill.  Under the agreement, the outstanding balance of $290,000 for the installment loan and nearly $310,000 for the land sale are combined into a new loan agreement.  Monthly payments of nearly $13,000 will begin in March, with an interest rate of 5.2%.  The deal calls for Sunshine Mill to also pay property taxes owed to Wasco County by mid-March and interest only payments to the URA through February, and then title to the property will be turned over to Sunshine Mill owner Discover Development LLC.  URA board chair Taner Elliott said that is intended to give company owner James Martin a better opportunity to receive a commercial loan that could be used to pay off the debt to Urban Renewal.  Elliott also pointed out that if Discover Development misses a monthly payment, there would 15 days to rectify the situation or the property reverts back to the URA.  John Fredrick, Chuck Raleigh, Kathy Schwartz, and Darcy Long-Curtiss voted against the agreement, with Long-Curtiss saying even though she was part of the negotiating team she felt the deal was too punitive.

The City of Hood River has selected the firm Play by Design to lead the process of re-designing and re-building Children’s Park.  Children’s Park was shut down for a time this year and reopened only in part due to deterioration of the nearly 25-year-old wooden structure.  The Children’s Park steering committee will hold a public meeting on the re-design next Thursday (October 26) at 6 p.m. at the Hood River Fire Hall.  Play by Design will take input from the community, children’s drawings, and in-person meetings with elementary school students to draft a playground design.  An unveiling of that draft is set for November 9 at 7 p.m. at the Hood River Middle School Auditorium.  Funding for the project will come from the City of Hood River, Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District, and community donations.  The Hood River Rotary Foundation is taking donations for project.

Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 1, Hermiston 1:  Saul Chavarria’s goal in the 61^st minute gave the Eagles the draw that keeps them in first place in the Columbia River Conference, two points ahead of Hermiston.  The Eagles can clinch the Columbia River Conference title with a win over The Dalles next Tuesday night. The Dalles 4, Pendleton 1:  Reed Twidwell, Alberto Gallegos, and Jorge Gutierrez scored in the first half to build the lead for the Riverhawks,  and Pedro Lopez added a tally in the second half.  The Dalles clinched a berth in a Class 5-A play-in game with the victory.   Girls Soccer Hood River Valley 1, Hermiston 0:  Ashlee Ponce scored the game’s only goal.  The win gave Hood River Valley its eighth consecutive Columbia River Conference girls soccer championship. The Dalles 2, Pendleton 1:  The Riverhawks qualified for the Class 5-A play-in round with the victory.   Volleyball Hood River Valley def. The Dalles 13-25, 25-12, 23-25, 25-11, 15-11:  The Eagles nailed down the undisputed Columbia River Conference title with the win in the final match of the season.  HRV will host a first round Oregon Class 5-A playoff match on October 28.  The Dalles will travel for a play-in match on a date to be announced. LaCenter def. Columbia 25-6, 25-22, 25-20 King’s Way Christian def. Stevenson 25-13, 25-4, 25-15

The Hood River County Commission decided the County is not in a position to take on the role of Area Agency on Aging service provider for the region.  The services for seniors in Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties has been handled by the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments, but MCCOG is giving up all of its service contracts.  Hood River County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says given the County’s own budget pressures, Commissioners just did not feel they were in a position to take AAA on.  MCCOG will provide the AAA services until a new home is determined.  The Oregon Department of Human Services and Aging and People with Disabilities has initiated the public process to find that provider, and will hold public meetings in late October and early November in the five counties to share information on the process and seek public input.

City staff will bring back recommendations to The Dalles City Council on how to structure a tourism advisory committee and marketing priorities.  Councilors held a second work session on tourism and the use of transient room taxes on Monday evening based on public input from a first session one month ago.  All of the Councilors present for the work session supported establishment of a tourism advisory committee.  Most of the Council expressed a preference for more The Dalles-specific marketing rather than the entire Gorge.  The City has a contract with The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce for tourism marketing that runs through 2019.  City Manager Julie Krueger says staff should have recommendations ready for either the Council’s second meeting in November or first meeting in December.