Volleyball Oregon Class 5-A Playoffs First Round Hood River Valley def. Ashland 25-22, 25-18, 25-22:  The Eagles had big scoring runs in each set to move themselves into the final eight this coming weekend.  The Eagles had an eight-point run in the first set, a six-point string in the second, and a streak of seven straight in the third.  HRV will meet top-ranked Marist in the quarter-final Friday morning at eight at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.   Oregon Class 1-A Playoffs Second Round Crosshill Christian def. Dufur 25-12, 25-8, 25-19   Cross Country Columbia won the boys’ title and finished second in the girls’ standings at the Southwest Washington Class 1-A District meet.  Will Nuckoles finished third and Dylan Beneventi finished fourth to lead the Bruin boys, while Haley Blair was second and Joules Hope fifth to lead the CHS girls.  Both squads advance to state next week in Pasco.  Two Stevenson runners qualified for state as individuals, with Kimberly Chestnut finishing 15^th in the girls’ race and Julio Ramos-Vazquez in the boys’ run.   Boys Soccer Oregon Class 5-A Play-In:  Wilsonville 4, The Dalles 0. Hood River Valley has earned the number one seed in the state 5-A tournament, and will host Putnam on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Henderson Stadium.   Oregon Class 1-A Special District 6 Third Place Game Horizon Christian 3, Damascus Christian 0   Girls Soccer Oregon Class 5-A Play-In:  Hillsboro 6, The Dalles 0 Hood River Valley will host Hillsboro in a first round state 5-A tournament game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Henderson Stadium.   Football Columbia 41, Stevenson 14:  The win lifts Columbia into a district playoff game this Friday at Montesano Summit 38, Hood River Valley 10 Glencoe 14, The Dalles 12 Dufur 62, Mitchell-Spray 7 Ione 54, South Wasco 0 Sherman 51, Elgin 0 Goldendale 12, Highland 0 Mabton 48, Lyle-Wishram-Klickitat 20

There will be an open house at the Crag Rat Hut in Pine Grove on Sunday to celebrate the mountain rescue group’s 90 years of service.  The Crag Rats are an all-volunteer non-profit group that is involved in rescue operations throughout Hood River County.  The open house will feature memorabilia, search and rescue displays, and opportunities to talk with members of the oldest mountain search and rescue team in the nation.  It will run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, and parking will be available in Pine Grove with shuttles up the hill.

Volleyball Washington 1-B District Playoff:  White Swan def. Lyle-Wishram 16-25, 18-25, 17-25 Columbia def. Stevenson 25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 25-16   Cross Country Goldendale won the boys’ team title at the SCAC District meet in Yakima.  Dillon Rising led the Timberwolves with a second place finish, while Lucas Anderson was seventh.  In the girls’ race Goldendale finished fourth, with Ellie Rising taking seventh place for the top Timberwolf finish.

Mt. Hood Meadows has established a new housing program to reward local homeowners and landlords providing rental spaces to Meadows employees.  “Turns 4 Tenants” aims to help connect Meadows staff members with available rentals in the community by providing the landlord or homeowner a season pass or 10 day tickets, whichever they choose.  Meadows Vice President of Human Resources Matt Troskey says the program is designed to address one of the primary challenges seasonal workers face in their job search, finding a place to live for the five to six month season.  The homeowner or landlord must first apply to the Turns 4 Tenants housing program prior to filling vacancies.  Agreements made with tenants prior to signing up with the program are not eligible.  For more information on the Turns 4 Tenants program email jobs@skihood.com or call 503-337-2222, extension 1394.

The Salvation Army and St. Vincent dePaul are signing up low income families and individuals in The Dalles area who are in need of assistance at Christmas time.  Sign-ups are being taken at the Salvation Army on 623 East 3rd and St. Vincent dePaul at 315 West 3rd.  The sign-ups are being taken through November 4.  A list of required information needed to sign up is available at the Salvation Army office.  For more information call the Salvation Army at 541-296-6417 or St. Vincent DePaul at 541-296-9566.

If you’re planning to go to college soon, now is the time to fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  Sara Viemeister is Director of Financial Aid at Columbia Gorge Community College.  She says the FAFSA forms used to operate on a calendar year schedule, but now applications are taken beginning in October, adding it’s a good idea to get the form done as quickly as possible, as many financial aid programs are first come, first serve.  Viemeister points out the FAFSA is required to apply for most scholarships and grants.  Those who would like help to fill out the form can contact Viemeister at financialaid@cgcc.edu.

Cross Country Hood River Valley won both the boys and girls team titles at the Columbia River Conference cross country championships at HRV, while The Dalles finished second in both and will also be going to state.  In the boys’ race, HRV took four of the top six places, with Jesse Wiley winning the race while Jacob Bromham was second.  The Dalles took three of the top eight spots, led by a third place finish from Ezekiel Stelzer.  In the girls’ run, the Eagles had five of the top ten finishers, paced by a one-two effort from Daisy Dolan and Lottie Bromham.  The Riverhawks had three of the top ten, including Emma Mullins finishing third.  HRV and The Dalles will both go to the Oregon Class 5-A Cross County Championships November 5 at Lane Community College in Eugene.   Volleyball Dufur def. Damascus Christian 25-18, 25-9, 25-5:  The Rangers pulled away for the first round win in the Oregon Class 1-A playoffs.  Dufur will visit Crosshill Christian in round two on Saturday.   Girls Water Polo Hood River Valley 16, Reynolds 5:  Rose Finstad scored five goals as the Eagles clinched the Mt. Hood Conference title.   Boys Water Polo Reynolds 13, Hood River Valley 9

The Wasco County Commission will conduct a hearing next Wednesday (November 2) on three different appeals of the County Planning Commission’s recent decision to approve a proposal from Union Pacific Railroad to expand the existing railroad siding on either side of Mosier for four miles of new second mainline track and realigned existing track.  Three parties have filed appeals of the decision.  One is from Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, another from the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, and a third by the railroad itself over some conditions of approval.  The appeal hearing will take place at 3 p.m. November 2 in the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center.

The Port of Hood River will carry out multiple lifts of the Hood River Interstate Bridge lift span throughout the daylight hours Thursday through Saturday.  Each lift will require closure of both lanes on the bridge up to 30 minutes in duration.  Closures will occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on those three days.  Bridge users are strongly encouraged to plan for up to 40 minute delays or seek alternate routes during those hours.  The lifts are required for the Port’s contract engineers to inspect the bridge’s trunnions and conduct magnetic particle testing of the rack pinion shafts.  The trunnions are critical mechanical systems of the bridge’s lift span, with four located on each of the two bridge towers.  The magnetic particle testing is required to determine their condition and expected longevity of key components.

Oregonians are being asked to approve a ballot measure that would dedicate funding toward restoring that would look to increase the state’s graduation rates by giving all students access to career technical education, college prep classes, and dropout prevention strategies.  Yes on Measure 98 campaign manager Dave Rosenfeld says the measure would provide funding that was cut in the last decade by requiring $800 per student on top of existing education funding to build those programs back up.  The measure has received a host of endorsements from both labor and business groups.