As a part of The Dalles’ annual employee recognition program, Mayor Rich Mays recognized Police Sergeant Christopher Simonds for his customer service and Transportation Division Manager David Mills for being a team player at the regular city council meeting Monday, March 13.

At the regular city council meeting on Monday, March 13, The Dalles Police Chief Tom Worthy presented an overview of the new drone policy for The Dalles Police Department (TDPD). He was accompanied by Officer Kanyon Reams, who Worthy introduced as a subject matter expert in drone operations …

HOOD RIVER — On Tuesday, March 7, the Port of Hood River and the Bi-State Working Group held a joint work session to discuss the results of a Washington State Transportation Commission tolling study and a potential toll increase to build reserve funds for the new bridge.

HOOD RIVER — As Paul Blackburn returns for his fourth term as mayor for the City of Hood River, he is excited to bring back his “Pie with the Mayor” events.

THE DALLES — Election procedures in Wasco County will be faster and ballots handled fewer times with the purchase of new software and a Kodak scanner, approved by the board of commissioners March 1. The equipment will replace a hand-held bar-code scanner currently used to read each returned …

Free tobacco cessation classes — and free nicotine patches, gum or lozenges for those taking the classes — are now offered to the public by North Central Public Health District and the Hood River County Prevention Department (HRCP).

The Annex, a new regional transitional housing facility in The Dalles, draws both praise and criticism

Initial plans for the Cascade Renewable Transmission Project were discussed at the most recent Hood River County Board of Commissioners meeting on Feb. 21. The project was introduced by representatives from PowerBridge, LLC, the acting project developer. Chris Hocker, vice president of plann…

HOOD RIVER — During its Feb. 21 meeting, the Port of Hood River Board of Commissioners approved a resolution restoring the load limits for trucks on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate bridge, following a two-year effort.

HOOD RIVER — On Jan. 31 the Port of Hood River, in collaboration with the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority, launched the new bridge replacement project website. The new online domain, HoodRiverBridge.org, will be the new home for updates, statistics and facts on bridge replacement efforts. HNTB Bridge Replacement Project Director Michael Shannon said the port is working on a smooth transition from moving documents and other public information on the port’s existing website to the new webpage. Project staffers are working to direct online traffic to the new website before they plan to remove existing content on the Port of Hood River’s website in March or April.

The City of The Dalles will take over the shoreside hospitality role for cruise ships docking in the city beginning in March.

Washington energy council (EFSEC) receives industrial solar application proposal for central Klickitat County

THE DALLES — Mid-Columbia Community Action Council announced Feb. 8 that they would be converting Second Street’s Oregon Motor Motel into a 54-room, 100-bed transitional housing shelter called the Annex.

SALEM — Pursuant to Gov. Tina Kotek’s Executive Order 23-4, Rep. Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) has been appointed to the governor’s Housing Production Advisory Council.

There are an estimated 125 miles of publicly dedicated roads — roads allowing public access but not maintained as county roads — in Wasco County and crews will be using 360-degree cameras mounted on a vehicle to inventory every mile to allow for objective evaluations of road condition.

Unofficial election results show Klickitat County voters approved all ballot proposals for all school district replacement and capital levies, enabling Trout Lake, Lyle, and White Salmon Valley school districts to fund operations through 2026.

The Gorge is on the move! Whether headed on a daily commute to and from work, or heading to a favorite spot for weekend recreation, the Gorge sees a lot of traffic each day. Most of that is in the form of cars. Take a step back and you begin to notice that America’s grand obsession with cars…

THE DALLES — After years of planning and months of construction, Columbia Gorge Food Bank has officially moved into its new home, which will soon become a vibrant community food center complete with beautiful, Gorge-inspired murals, and ample space for events.

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council announced Wednesday that it has finalized the purchase of the Oregon Motor Motel, located at 200 W. Second St. in The Dalles, which it will renovate and convert into a 54-room, 100-bed transitional housing shelter.

WHITE SALMON — The City of White Salmon is contemplating moving the community youth center, and is engaging the White Salmon Valley School District in conversation to consider a move to the empty space in the district-owned Parks Building, next to Rheingarten Park.

HOOD RIVER — The City of Hood River is moving forward with renovating the intersection of Second and Oak Street in downtown Hood River. After a recent downtown business meeting, Hood River City Manager Abigail Elder confirmed that city staff are expecting to go out for bid later this month, …

When Arlene Burns became mayor of Mosier in 2014, she never could’ve imagined that in her time as mayor, she would be dealing with the biggest disaster in the town’s history. Not only that, but she would end up in San Francisco, testifying to crowds at the Global Climate Summit.

The North Wasco County District 21 School board received their final audit report for the end of fiscal year 2022 at their Jan. 26 school board meeting. Friend & Reagan PC (now known as RTO & Company) performed the audit, and issued an unmodified opinion regarding the district’s fina…

Air quality data in the Gorge is much more prevalent now, thanks to local grant-driven efforts that were spurred by the dangerous air quality spike during the 2020 Labor Day fires. And that data increase will make it easier to give timely, localized health warnings about dangerous levels of …

OREGON — The third Wednesday of February (Feb. 15) is School Exclusion Day, and the Oregon Immunization Program reminds parents that children may not be able to attend school or child care that day if their records show missing immunizations.

Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) has begun accepting applications for licenses for manufacturers, laboratories, service centers and facilitators.

Oregon’s State Professional Responsibility Board dismissed an ethics complaint into former Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley and his deputy, Leslie Wolf on Jan. 30, following an investigation into the duo’s handling of material related to a former The Dalles Police Officer who was d…

HOOD RIVER — Mt. Adams Institute presents Sense of Place lecture “Living Snow: Mysterious Pink Snow and the Future of Our Alpine Ecosystems” on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Ave.

HOOD RIVER — Hood River County School District’s Board of Directors met Jan. 24 in the Hood River Middle School library. As reported at the Jan. 11 meeting, the district has earned its ninth consecutive unmodified opinion on basic financial statements, said district Chief Financial Officer D…

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) released graduation rates on Jan. 26. For the third consecutive year, the four-year graduation rate of Hood River Valley High School (HRVHS) students was more than 90%. Last spring, 90.6% of HRVHS students graduated on time (297 student graduates tota…

BINGEN — White Salmon Valley Pool officials held a presentation at a January Bingen City Council meeting where they answered key questions about the project, including why it has not yet been built. It all comes down to funding, they said.