Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation that would designate the veterans community-based outpatient clinic in The Dalles the Loren R. Kaufman Memorial Veterans’ Clinic.  The Oregon senators said their bill introduced this week would provide long-overdue recognition to a local Army soldier who served bravely in both World War II and the Korean War.  Born and raised in The Dalles, Kaufman enlisted in the U.S. Army the week after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  He would serve in World War II and later in the Korean War, where he was killed in action in 1951.  Sergeant First Class Kaufman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in September 1950.

Northwest Cherry Festival Weekend has arrived.  The open air market and carnival open at 2 p.m. Friday, with activity on the entertainment stage beginning at 3 p.m., and the Family Pit Party starting at 6:30 p.m.  Saturday the Tonkin Subaru Cherry Festival Parade goes through downtown beginning at 10 a.m., with this year’s grand marshal is new City Manager Julie Krueger.  Cherry Festival guides are available online at Gorgeradio.com.  The Bicoastal Media Guild Mortgage Home and Lifestyle Show will be in The Dalles Civic Auditorium throughout Cherry Festival weekend, open Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 11 to 3 p.m.

The tenth annual Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour will take place this weekend throughout the region.  44 artists from Cascade Locks to The Dalles will take part this year, which Leah Hedberg says is their largest number ever.  The tour is self-guided, with the studios open from Friday through Sunday.  Tour guides are available on-line at gorgeartists.org, and at a number of locations throughout the Gorge.

The Oregon Trail Rally will be in the area over the weekend, with over 50 teams competing on roads in Klickitat and Wasco counties.  On Saturday the cars will be at Riverfront Park in The Dalles at 9 a.m. before heading to the Goldendale area for stage racing most of the day.  Sunday begins with the cars on Main Street in Dufur at 9 a.m. followed by racing in that are until about 2:30 p.m.  Spectator guides are available at oregontrailrally.com.  

The 21st Annual Bingen and White Salmon Community Pride Cleanup will take place this weekend.  The event is put on by the White Salmon-Bingen Rotary Club.  Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes says it’s an important part in making the community attractive, adding young people will be helping in the effort on Saturday by cleaning up around the town.  The disposal site next to the Bingen Water Treatment Plant will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.  For information call 509-493-2961 or 541-490-0161.

Boys Tennis Hood River Valley 6, Pendleton 2 Hermiston 6, The Dalles 2   Girls Tennis Hood River Valley 7, Pendleton 1 The Dalles 4, Hermiston 4 (Riverhawks win on games 93-92)   Track and Field Columbia defeated LaCenter 95-39 in a Trico League boys’ track and field dual in White Salmon.  Riley Haner and Alex Medina won two events apiece for Columbia.  LaCenter topped the Bruins 74-48 in a girls’ dual meet.  Stacia Bell and Lauren Thiesies each won two events for CHS.   The Stevenson boys were third and the girls fourth in a four-school Trico League track and field meet in Stevenson.  The Bulldogs won four boys events and two girls events.  Kalama won both the boys and girls team competitions.   Boys Golf Zillah nipped Goldendale by two shots in a five-school SCAC tournament at Suntides Golf Course.  Bryce Wilkins and Andrew Gerchak each shot a 79 to lead the Timberwolves.  Zillah’s Caleb Belton was the medalist with a 69.

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center has named Robbie Smith as its new Director of Education.  He succeeds Steve Thompson, who retired after 12 years in the position.  Smith’s background is in Fine Arts, Outdoor Education, and most recently, bridging Natural History with the Visual Arts.  He has been teaching and interpreting cross-curricular content in the outdoors for over five years.  He has worked in the public school systems of Arizona and Oregon, with additional experience teaching and managing adult learners in the outdoors.

The Senate Wednesday passed a bill addressing the Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur land exchange as part of a series of amendments added to a broad energy bill.  Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced the Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act in September to help resolve a decades-long dispute over proposed land development on the northeast side of Mt. Hood.  The bill would allow development of 107 acres of the mountain while protecting 770 acres – a land exchange that has been delayed for almost six years.  Wyden believes the Senate vote will set in motion completion of the exchange.  In 2009 Congress passed a broad public lands bill that included the Mt. Hood land exchange as part of the Mt. Hood Wilderness designation, directing the U.S. Forest Service to complete it within 16 months.  Multiple delays over the past several years have led to uncertainty, frustration, and a lawsuit against the Forest Service.  The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on a similar version of the bill at the end of February.

The Oregon State Police is seeking the public’s assistance in the investigation of the poaching of a bighorn sheep ten days ago in Gilliam County.  The OSP received several reports on the evening of April 10 from passing motorists about a bighorn sheep in an unusual position near milepost 118 on Interstate 84 east of Rufus.  OSP Fish and Wildlife troopers found the deceased ram in a rock slide near the freeway, and found the ram had been shot with a firearm and left to waste.  There is no indication this incident has any connection to the killing of two rams the week before just east of this location.  Anyone who may have information regarding this incident is asked to call the OSP Senior Trooper Mark Jubitz at 541-705-5330, or the Turn In Poachers phone line at 800-452-7888.  A Turn In Poachers program reward of up to 500 dollars is available for information that leads to an arrest.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has temporarily limited access to the west portion of Avery Park near Wishram to day use and walk-in only.  Vehicle access is restricted due to damage from a wildfire that burned shoreline vegetation, resulting in erosion and the potential for unsafe driving conditions.  The east portion of the park remains open for camping and vehicle access.   The Corps does not yet know when the western section of the park will reopen.  Those with questions can call The Dalles Lock and Dam park ranger office at 541-506-7857.