Crews are monitoring a 25 to 30 acre fire at the end of Doane Road south of The Dalles.  The fire started late Wednesday night, and moved uphill.  Jay Wood of Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue says they have a control line around the fire, but potential windy conditions means it is not contained.  There are no structures threatened by the fire.  Wood noted smoke from the fire will be visible from The Dalles today, but residents should not be concerned.  The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.  Wood emphasizes fire season is not over, and will not end until the region receives significant rainfall over a number of days.

The North Wasco County School District 21 board met with consultants DLR Group to discuss their next steps in facilities planning, and particularly developing a blueprint for the next 50 years.  D-21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says they want to get buy-in from the community on a long-term vision for schools before going out for a bond measure in 2017 or 2018.  She adds their initial community polling indicates citizens want to start with a new high school, but the district does have a concern about how future bond measures would be viewed.  Armstrong says the next step is to hold community listening sessions.  The D21 board will be setting dates and locations for those meetings.

Hops Fest returns to downtown Hood River on Saturday, running from noon to 8 p.m. in the parking lot at Fifth and Columbia.  The event began in 2003, and Hood River County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Glover says in that time it has become the biggest one-day event in the community.  He adds this year they are growing from 40 to 50 breweries at Hops Fest, adding a layout change last year to put the brewers tents along the south side of the parking lot helped create more space.  A full lineup of music is planned, headlined by Seattle funk band Polyrhythmics.  For ticket information go to hoodriver.org.

The Hood River County School District is reporting an early downturn in enrollment from last school year. District Superintendent Dan Goldman says they have small kindergarten and second grade classes.  Goldman notes that’s not good news because the state determines school funding through enrollment, but it’s not a crisis either.  He says the state school funding formula uses the highest of the last two years enrollment numbers, so the Hood River district is still being funded on the 2015-16 numbers, but they will need a bounce back in 2017-18.  Goldman says while there is a sense that Hood River is booming and growing, he believes the cost of that housing is not affordable for many young families, adding it’s a problem for the district when it tries to hire new employees.

The newest segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail will be dedicated and opened on Saturday.  The latest one-point-two miles of trail runs from Lindsay Creek to Starvation Creek six miles west of Hood River.  Kristen Stallman of the Oregon Department of Transportation says this new section of trail is accessible from two locations:  the Starvation Creek trailhead and Viento State Park.  Saturday’s dedication ceremony will take place at Viento State Park at 10 a.m.

A photo shoot involving The Dalles Middle School students and teachers and community members for the I AM campaign.  The I AM campaign asks participants to choose a word they feel best describes themselves, and then they are photographed with that word written on their body.  Debby Jones of YouthThink says the campaign encourages young people to feel stronger and more confident.  The photo shoot will take place at the Riverenza Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the photos will be displayed there from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Keilman Dental Clinic will also be placing photos on its website.

There will be single lane closures on the southbound lane of the Hood River/White Salmon Interstate Bridge between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon on Thursday.  Crews will repair a pothole on the north end bridge deck.  Flaggers will be on the bridge directing traffic.  Bridge users should expect delays.

Boys Soccer Hood River Valley 1, LaSalle 1:  The Eagles ran their unbeaten streak to 42 games.  It is the fourth tie in that stretch, and their first draw this season. Ridgeview 3, The Dalles 1   Girls Soccer LaSalle 2, Hood River Valley 1 Ridgeview 8, The Dalles 2 Evergreen 7, Columbia 0   Volleyball The Dalles def. Pendleton 20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 15-8 Hood River Valley def. Hermiston 25-16, 25-14, 25-9 Dufur def. South Wasco 25-14, 20-25, 25-15, 26-24 Sherman def. Horizon Christian 25-11, 22-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-13 Lyle-Wishram def. Klickitat-Glenwood 25-23, 25-20, 15-25, 25-17 Naches Valley def. Goldendale 25-13, 25-23, 25-14   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 13, Grant 3

Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes is asking for people to respect the recycling location at the City’s public works yard, and cease dumping non-recyclable materials there.  The site is operated by Klickitat County and Republic Services, but is on City property.  Barnes says they have had problems with people abusing the location, from leaving non-recyclable trash to dumping items when the gates to the site are locked.  Barnes pointed out that Republic picks up recyclables from the site twice a day on many weekdays, and on Saturdays as well.  She adds they are working on installing surveillance cameras at the site.

The Hood River County School District has closed on the sale of $57.2 million worth of bonds approved by voters last May for various capital projects, and were able to do so at a premium.  District Superintendent Dan Goldman says the bond coupons on average sold for 14-and-a-half percent more than the asking price, resulting in an additional $8.5 million for the district, which could provide the opportunity for the district to take care of more capital needs.  Goldman said the district would not proceed with projects that were not originally planned until those that were an original part of the bond measure are completed.  In addition, the district has refinanced over eight million dollars of bonds issued in 2008, which should save taxpayers around $694,000 over the remaining life of the bond.