The 2nd street food cart pod at 801 E 2nd St in downtown The Dalles. is looking a little busier these days, and for good reason: Jenny Marie’s Italian Ice and Custard has opened for business! “I wanted to create a place where people could spend time together and create memories,” said Jenny Loughmiller, food truck owner and flavor maker.

The college awarded 195 certificates and degrees this year. Approximately 70 graduates participated in the ceremony, held in the outdoor amphitheatre on The Dalles Campus.

Goldendale Observatory State Park and the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce hosted a summer solstice celebration from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday June 21st, 2022. Park attendees were invited to celebrate the longest day and shortest night of the year by enjoying a hike around the park, entering a raffle for a chance to win prizes, enjoying some art, food, and drink, looking through three solar telescopes offering different views of the sun, and enjoying interpretive talks from Washington State Park officials.

Ryan LaDouceur, who was raised in The Dalles, is returning to The Dalles to take on the Principal position at The Dalles Middle School. He has more than 16 years of educational experience in schools spanning the globe with stints as an administrator in Japan, China, Germany, and South Korea. He was also a 4A champ while Wrestling with TDHS in 1999 and brings years of coaching experience in the sport.

Over the last decade, there has been one man at the heart of the TDHS alumni Association. In fact, for many, his name has quite literally been synonymous with the association itself. That man is Mike Elston. A 1965 graduate of The Dalles High School, Elston was instrumental in the creation, oversight and continued sustainability of the TDHS alumni group.

Emily Peterson now stands at mile 788 on the Pacific Crest Trail and has run a gauntlet of sickness and exhaustion during the past 13 days. And equally so, the TDHS grad has gone from moments of wanting to throw in the towel to sublime peace while gazing at deep blue mountain lakes and the Sierra Mountains in California. Sometimes, you have to sit down and accept your existence.

The Dalles Art Center will offer four Summer Art Camps from July 19th through August 12th with a new theme each week. Each camp will serve campers from 2nd through 5th grade.

You can run or walk one a 1 mile, 3k, or 5k along the Riverfront Trail, starting at Lewis & Clark Park on Monday, July 4th. All races start at 7 a.m. to beat the heat; you can register the day of at 6:30, or register in advance online. Click here to get the link.

Columbia Gorge Community College held an outdoor graduation ceremony in their amphitheater at 3 p.m. on Friday June 17th, 2022. CCCNews would like to extend our congratulations to the graduates on their hard work and perseverance!

Comunidades will host a community event to commemorate Juneteenth on Sunday, June 19th at the Riverside Community Church, 317 State St Hood River, OR 97031. The event will start at 3 p.m. and will end at 6 p.m.

Harley Newland and his wife, Julie, give column writer Sarah Cook a tour of their local landmark of a yard.

Wheat harvests in Oregon and Washington are forecasted to surpass 2021 yields by as much as 41 to 85 percent due to heavy rainfall and cooler spring and summer temperatures.

Updated June 15th, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. to include comments from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Communication between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local agencies appear to be lacking, resulting in unanticipated damages to public property.

The concern is that changes, such as rising air and water temperatures, are impacting weather patterns, affecting habitats for plants and animals, and increasing wildfire risk. “This Action Plan is the first of its kind for the National Scenic Area” stated Jessica Olson, Senior Natural Resources Planner who co-authored the plan. “With your help, we will add new information and ideas to improve the plan over time. Please share your comments and creative ideas with us. Where possible, specific suggestions and references to sections of the Management Plan are especially helpful.”

The main event is a 6-hour kiteboarding endurance race, designed to embody the battle that someone facing cancer endures every day. This year, the competition has expanded to include windsurfers, and wingfoilers.

On June 14th, around 9 a.m. there was a two car head-on motor vehicle accident on highway 14 just west of the Lyle tunnels that resulted in one fatality.

Early summer rains and cool temperatures in the pacific northwest region have set cherry growers in Oregon and Washington back a few weeks. But nevertheless, the Northwest cherry season has arrived.

On Monday June 13th, Mayor Rich Mays and The Dalles City Council honored six of the Riverhawk Track squad, in recognition of their high achievement at the State meet and their season- or two- of hard work.

On Saturday, June 11th gun safety supporters gathered for a “Rally For Our Lives” in Hood River, in concert with the March For Our Lives in Washington, DC and marches and rallies across the country. Two participants also collected signatures for the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, a gun safety initiative that needs 140,000 signatures to be placed on the statewide November ballot.

In celebration of Nature Photography Day on June 15, Friends of the Columbia Gorge has announced Jesenia Robles of Hood River, Oregon, as the grand prize winner of Our Gorge Connections, Friends’ seventh annual photo contest.