By a 5-to-2 vote, the Wasco County Planning Commission approved Union Pacific’s application to add four miles of mainline railroad track on either side of Mosier.  Commissioners spent four hours going over the application and the planning staff’s recommendation to approve it with numerous conditions.  The Commission made a number of changes to those conditions, in particular removing those that would have required Union Pacific to stay within the current volume of train traffic coming through the Gorge.  They also modified requirements for working with tribes on river access points, removing some specifics to allow the railroad and the tribes to work together to develop solutions.  A hearing three weeks ago had brought substantial opposition to the Union Pacific application, and an appeal to the Wasco County Commission is expected.  The organization Friends of the Columbia Gorge has been opposed to the project, citing National Scenic Area ordinance requirements, while Union Pacific has claimed it went through the County planning process voluntarily because state and local permit requirements cannot be applied to any facility that is integrally related to the railroad’s transportation operations.  Planning Commissioner Brad DeHart said at the beginning of the meeting he had never felt more insignificant as a Commissioner, with the legal matters surrounding this issue to be played out on a different stage.

Fire destroyed two cars and a cargo van loaded with furniture in Dallesport on Monday.  According to Dallesport-Murdock Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rhet Howard, the fire started while a jumpstart was attempted on one of the cars, sending a spark into the tall grass the vehicles were parked in at the corner of Dallesport Road and Hill Street.  Howard says the small grass fire was quickly contained.  He said the vehicles were a total loss, but nobody was hurt.  He noted the fire, which occurred around 2 p.m. on Monday, did disrupt Charter cable television service in Dallesport for a time, but it was restored in time for the Presidential debate.

The City of Hood River’s water, sewer, and paving project on 12th Street should be wrapping up this week.  The project at the location near Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital has been on-going for much of the summer, but City Manager Steve Wheeler says it is on target for completion.  State Street will be intermittently closed at 12th from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and the closure could be for up to four hours at a time.  Wheeler says in the winter or spring, the City will replace the tree well beds on Oak Street.  He notes the City has received complaints about some of the tree well beds collapsing, and people tripping over them.

Klickitat County Commissioner David Sauter will host a town hall meeting Wednesday evening on what kind of improvements are needed at the Lyle Sandbar to make its recreational use safer and preserve access.  The location is used heavily by kiteboarders and other recreationalists.  Sauter says the issue is the only access to the sandbar is to cross the railroad tracks, and that concerns both the County and Burlington Northern.  He adds solutions have been found at other recreational hotspots that had similar issues.  Wednesday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Lyle Lions Club.

Football Columbia 44, The Dalles 20 Bend 42, Hood River Valley 12 Stevenson 21, Tenino 13 Dufur 56, Perrydale 14 Sherman 66, South Wasco 0 Zillah 49, Goldendale 0 Kittitas 12, Lyle-Wishram 6   Cross Country The Dalles won both the boys and girls titles at the Bridgette Nelson Invitational at Sorosis Park.  Emma Mullins and Paige McLeod finished one-two to lead the Riverhawk girls, while The Dalles claimed three of the top five finishes in the boys race, with Ezekiel Stelzer leading the way in second.  Hayden Scott of Weston-McEwen won the boys run.   Hood River Valley’s boys finished fifth in Division 1 Varsity at the Nike Portland Invitational at Portland Meadows.  Jesse Wiley paced the Eagles with a third place finish.  The HRV girls were 11^th in their division, as Lottie Bromham finished 12^th.   The Stevenson boys were fourth at the Toutle Lake Invitational…with Julio Ramos-Vasquez earning at 15^th place finish.  Stevenson’s Kimberly Chetstnut was ninth in the girls’ race.   Volleyball Hood River Valley defeated North Salem, Woodburn, and Parkrose at the Parkrose tournament. South Wasco went 3-0 and Sherman 2-1 at the Sherman Tournament Dufur def. Perrydale 19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 15-12 Heppner def. Dufur 25-20, 25-19, 25-23

A 25-acre fire that started late Wednesday night at the end of Doane Road south of The Dalles is completely lined.  Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue Chief Bob Palmer says mop up took place Thursday, and there will be stand-by crews checking the site every couple of hours on Friday.  Palmer says the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.  Palmer emphasizes fire season is not over, and will not end until the region receives significant rainfall over a number of days, and they are not ready to start any kind of open burning season at this point.

One person was injured in a one-vehicle accident on Highway 14 in Bingen early Friday morning.  According to the Washington State Patrol, an 18-year-old man from Dallesport was driving a pickup that due to mechanical issues did not have working headlights.  The WSP says the truck was headed west at Highway 14 milepost 66 when the driver become disoriented by the headlights of an oncoming car and swerved to the right, causing his vehicle to drift on the shoulder where it struck a tree.  The driver was transported to Skyline Hospital in White Salmon for treatment of injuries.

A 91-year-old woman has died from injuries suffered after being hit by a pickup truck on a road south of Hood River on Tuesday afternoon.  The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office says Yoshiko Duffield died at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, where she had been taken by LifeFlight after the accident.  According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to the 4300 block of Barrett Drive west of Markham Road on a report of a vehicle striking a pedestrian.  When emergency personnel arrived they found Duffield in the roadway in front of her residence.  The operator of the pickup was identified as a forty-seven year old Hood River man.  The vehicle was towed from the scene.  The cause and circumstances surrounding the crash are still under investigation.  Hood River County Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted with their on scene investigation by the Oregon State Police.

The re-route of the Eliot Branch crossing on the Timberline Trail is complete and open to the public.  The 1.5 mile re-route is downstream of the original ‘round the mountain’ trail, which washed out in 2006 following a debris flow.  Hikers will now be able to circumnavigate Mt. Hood along the entire 41 mile route.  More than half of the trail is located inside the Mt. Hood Wilderness and is managed to preserve natural processes, provide solitude and primitive recreation, and to retain the primeval character of wild lands.  Wilderness permits are required from May 15 to Oct. 15 and group size is limited to 12.  The re-route is not fully signed yet and the Forest Service will be working with volunteers to do pre-winter maintenance this fall.

Volleyball Hood River Valley def. The Dalles 25-17, 25-10, 25-17 South Wasco def. Mitchell/Spray 25-13, 25-11, 25-21 Dufur def. Arlington 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 Ione def. Horizon Christian 25-17, 25-21, 25-19   Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 2, Central Catholic 0:  HRV runs its unbeaten streak to 43 games (39 wins and four ties). The Dalles 3, St. Helens 1 Horizon Christian 1, Open Door 1   Girls Soccer Barlow 2, Hood River Valley 0 St. Helens 12, The Dalles 1   Boys Water Polo Hood River Valley 12, Gresham 8   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 14, Gresham 3