The renovation project on The Dalles Bridge over the Columbia River is nearing its completion. ODOT has announced that full weekend closures, which extended into the winter months due to falling behind schedule, are expected to end by the end of February 2023, pending any winter weather delays. 

The Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) has acquired the Oregon Motor Motel, located on the edge of downtown The Dalles, Oregon, with the aim of converting it into transitional housing and shelter. The $3.25 million acquisition was made possible through a $4.27 million grant from the Project Turnkey 2.0 program, which MCCAC applied for at the end of the summer of 2022.

This Saturday night, Feb. 11th celebrates the return of Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan to Old St. Peter’s Landmark. Currently, on a west coast US tour, the O’Sullivans bring songs and stories from the west coast of Ireland. 

Pearls abound in this week’s most inclusive listing of music, entertainment, comedy and literature in the Mid-Columbia as more shows have been announced and a bevy of Cupid-inspired activities are on tap.

With several key aspects of the renovation now complete, the vision of a true Community Food Center is finally coming to fruition — offering a significant boost to efforts to end hunger and its root causes throughout Sherman, Wasco and Hood River counties.

Columbia Gorge Community College board members agreed Tuesday, Jan. 31, to engage a professional search firm as the college prepares for the departure of Dr. Marta Yera Cronin, CGCC’s president in June.

We are coming down the home stretch for the Winter Sports season, as we have teams preparing for the postseason as early as this week, while other programs are finishing their final couple of weeks of regular season play with the hopes of qualifying for state competition!

Leads on the possible identification of this individual were received by the Sheriff’s Office in the following days and weeks; numerous reporting parties indicated they believed the remains to be that of David West, Jr., a man who had disappeared from Sherman County trying to cross the John Day River during a large flooding event in 1964.

CyberMind Gaming, a PC gaming and eSports center in The Dalles, which opened it’s doors in March of 2022 will close it’s doors on February 17th, 2023.

When an active shooter incident began in Hood River this past week, Hood River County School District was ready to respond immediately to maintain student safety. While the threat was on Cascade street, one mile from the closest public school, the district immediately placed lower valley schools in “secure status” and notified parents via email and text messages.

Travis Fox of Springfield, Oregon, is just one of the dozens of workers brought into The Dalles to work indirectly or directly on projects related to Google’s new data center. The site at 3500 River Road is being prepped for construction and City Planning says they are expecting a building permit any day now.

The couple had been searching for the right spot for more than two years when the former Pho Saigon restaurant space in The Dalles came up for rent. “We saw this location through social media,” Deepak Bamba said. The restaurant is centrally located in town and has excellent visibility in the business core in the retail level of the Commodore II apartments. The building is inviting with easy pedestrian access. “We very much liked it, right away.”

For two decades, the Celilo Center’s oncology service has been a game changer for locals staring down a fight with cancer. That will end on Feb. 28 as MCMC is stopping oncology treatment due to staffing issues. Locals seeking chemotherapy and immunotherapy will now have to find treatment elsewhere, which will require the sick to travel to Portland, Vancouver, Wash., Yakima, Tri-Cities, or Bend.

The Next Door Inc. is pleased to announce its 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workshops! A selection of popular ‘foundational’ DEI workshops are back, including: Latino Outreach, LGBTQIA2S+ Outreach, and Plain Language.

Gregory “Greg” Payne was awarded a Quilt of Valor by the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of The Quilts of Valor Foundation on January 23rd, 2022 at the Oregon Veterans Home in The Dalles, Oregon. Several OVH staff, officers, and servicemen from the community gathered to witness the presentation. 

Meet some of the members of MCHTTF and learn more about the vital work they perform to ensure the protection of victims, prosecution of offenders, and prevention of all forms of human trafficking through effective coordinated partnerships in the Mid-Columbia.

Mark Connelly, 60, of Portland operates a backhoe while crews break up a cinderblock building, removing metal from the block in The Dalles on Jan. 24. The demolition of the burned-out structure is at 1002, 1004 and 1006, W. 6th Street. It is across the street from Habitat for Humanities ReStore.

FLP’s report documenting its investigation of former TD Police Officer Jeffrey Kienlen includes accounts from and about people harmed by him over the years. Their stories feature descriptions of disproportionate aggression by Kienlen, hostility toward people he engaged with, and a disregard for City of The Dalles Police Department policies, including policies on the use of force, encounters with people in mental health crisis, unholstering firearms, and using Tasers.

Take your pick. From Pink Martini to Nerve Damage. From Lord of the Rings to Saturday Night Fever. Fun facts, bad movie jokes and secret salsa are all part of the gamut this week in the Gorge’s most inclusive listing of entertainment options, including country and western. You can’t go if you don’t know. Check it all out here.

Hydro agreed to plead guilty to negligent endangerment when it melted scrap aluminum coated in a mineral-oil-based mixture that, when combusted, produced hazardous smoke to its employees and the community. It occurred between 2018 and 2019. As part of its plea agreement, Hydro has agreed to pay $550,125 prior to sentencing in April.