Harper Kane shows off some fancy footwork at a recent Riverside Gymnastics Academy outdoor practice. The statewide freeze on athletic clubs is putting the kibosh on indoor activities. So coach Audrey Hinatsu took it outside. Closures, however, are sacking revenue generators for nonprofit clubs such as Riverside as well as privately run athletic clubs. The Oregon Health and Fitness Alliance is asking Gov. Kate Brown to allow limited reopenings.

Mark and Max share lunch and in downtown The Dalles and talk about what it might take to take our community from surviving to thriving.

A couple of construction projects in The Dalles have crews burning the candle at both ends. J.J. Castro Crew members Jaime Tello and Sergio and George Herrera were piling broken concrete this morning, Wednesday, Dec. 16. The work is being done in front of a new building in The Port of The Dalles near Klindt’s Cove.

The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office is working through a series of reports involving a stolen vehicle from Washington, stolen license plates in Mosier, multiple car prowls in Dufur, and one man fleeing from police in Madras on Saturday afternoon. No one is in jail. But people are missing a lot of their belongings.

City of The Dalles Small Business Relief Grant began accepting applications from eligible small businesses and small non-profits, based in The Dalles, today, Dec. 15. The application period will close at 5 p.m. on December 21, 2020.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee has announced a historic equity policy package of $365 million in equity-related decision packages and budget items which would advance equity, increase accountability for police use of excessive force, and invest in equitable access to online learning for students.

Twelve more shelters will be added to the current village for the houseless at the end of Bargeway Road in The Dalles. Once the units are delivered and erected in weeks to come, the shelter village will have grown from 6 units to 18, with the ability to house, at maximum, 36 houseless people from The Dalles.

Local health officials are not expecting coronavirus vaccines to be available in Wasco County this week, but rather, are likely to come in on a second shipment on Dec. 22.

Local amateur astronomer Jo Cruz makes his debut here at CCCNews with the Geminid Meteor Shower and the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Try and get above the clouds tonight for the best show of the year!

Local businesses hurting from the pandemic can now apply for grants that need to be awarded by the end of the month. MId-Columbia Economic Development District- MCEDD- turned on the online applications this morning.

The City of The Dalles has done it again. City officials are granting $10,000 to Windy River Gleaners so that they can continue to distribute food to local families hard hit by the coronavirus. It is the second such donation in as many weeks.

The Stevenson Warming Shelter is preparing to open soon to provide a safe and warm overnight space for homeless persons during the cold winter season.

Starbucks Officials have yet to release a statement in regards to why the Starbucks in Cascade Square in The Dalles has temporarily closed. Jory Mendes, a Starbucks media relations representative, is looking into the situation and expects to provide comments in the near future.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce and Mid-Columbia Health Foundation is looking for nominations for The Annual Distinguished Citizens Awards. This year, the event will be aired via a recording highlighting all the winners on Thursday, January 21st, 2021.

North Central Public Health has found a significant amount of Wasco County’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases is due to Thanksgiving gatherings. From Dec. 3 through Dec. 8 the county recorded 97 cases.

Our Recent story about the 1947 championship run by The Dalles High school has prompted another, perhaps, fascinating detail. The Dalles produced an NFL guard who has been named in the top 100 to ever play for the Chicago Bears. Our super sleuth Sally Fasulo forwarded this information from Bonnie Osborne and Larry Hatch to CCC News.

Drone footage of Sorosis Park post pine tree removal shows the desolation pine beetles have brought to the park. For information on the pine tree removal and future plans for the park read our article from September or stay tuned for further updates.

Columbia Basin Care has announced the winners of it’s Pet Photo Contest!

CCCNews recently got a hot tip from Lynn Smith Gannon when we went to the old electronic mailbag. She said a friendly guy named “David” was volunteering at Sorosis Park seven days a week. She did not have his last name, but we here at CCCNews had our suspicions.