Students from three D21 Elementary Schools took to the kitchen yesterday, March 29th to compete for the coveted title of ‘Top Chef’. The Future Chefs Challenge, organized by Sodexo, the company that D21 contracts with to provide nutrition services has encouraged students to make healthy food choices and spark their interest in the culinary arts for the last decade.

In an incident that took place earlier today, Renalodo Cruz, age 20 was taken into police custody after firing multiple shots into the air in the downtown area of The Dalles, Oregon.

The Encyclopedic Jim Drake has done it, yet, once again with so many options for music, entertainment, learning and growth that we kind of want to start tapping a high hat and kicking that bass drum. Check out all things fun and fantastic in this week’s edition of This Week in Gorge Entertainment.

A fire was reported at the Cherry Blossom apartments in the Dalles Oregon, today March 28th at 5:22 p.m. Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue, The Dallas City Police and Dallesport, Fire District responded to the scene and quickly stemmed the blaze before it could spread to other apartment units. The occupant of the apartment was at home at the time of the blaze and managed to evacuate himself and his dog from the apartment safely.

Join the community in support of survivors of sexual violence and take action during Sexual Assault Awareness Action Month by taking part in a walk, a 30 day instagram challenge, a t-shirt design project, youth meme contest and more.

Detectives from the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office, the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office, and the Major Crimes Team provided an update today in regards to their continued investigation into the homicide of Amanda Harman, age 35 of The Dalles, OR.

“It was so worth it,” said Arianne Walker of fighting off the freezing cold in soaked jeans on Saturday, March 25, while washing dozens of cars in The Dalles. “We ended up raising with what Tara contributed from bagels and donations, we ended up with $3,500.”

Renovations, rehabs, and teen clothing - come along and take a quick tour about TD as work is underway at multiple sites and news of coming stores is as near as the next window.

Kim Hamberg with Gorge-Us-Greens offered tastings of microgreens at the Sunday Market in The Dalles at the 6th Street Station on March 26. These small clippings from cantaloupe, chard, and sunflowers were pretty tasty on a Sunday afternoon.

Westside Metros FC in the Gorge, is organizing a GoFundMe campaign to bring more soccer goal nets to The Dalles area in Oregon. Locally, over 1,000 players share just four soccer goal nets. But with the help of the community Westside Metros hopes to add four more goal nets to keep kids active and engaged in the sport.

The 37-year-old self-taught body man with a seven-year-old had a stroke on March 7 and passed away on Saturday, March 18. No one saw it coming. Now his friends are pulling out their soap buckets and sponges and are asking for donations for TD’s Rojelio’s family in exchange for a clean vehicle. The car wash is on Saturday, March 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 405 W. 2nd, The Dalles.

The community is invited to attend a public gathering at Lewis & Clark Festival Park on Saturday March 26th, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. to grieve, mourn, and honor Amanda Harman, a 35-year-old woman from The Dalles, Oregon, who was tragically murdered near Cherry Heights in The Dalles last week.

Charlotte Edwards, a local woman who is blind, shares how Circles of Care, a program by Age+ which pairs seniors with local volunteers is making a difference in the lives of Seniors in our community.

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) is pleased to announce that it will be breaking ground on its Navigation Center on March 24th, 2023. The formal groundbreaking event will take place at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 24th on the Navigation Center site located at 2505 West 7th Street in The Dalles.

Happy International Forest Day from Columbia Community Connection News! We are proud to announce that we have planted 100 trees in celebration of International Forest Day this March 21st, 2023! The trees have been purchased through a donation to OneTreePlanted.org who will soon plant the trees in a deforested area of Oregon where they will play a crucial role in maintaining the health and well-being of the planet.

If you’ve driven through downtown The Dalles since February 1st, you may have noticed a new business has arrived in the downtown: Columbia Gorge LipoMelt. Columbia Gorge LipoMelt is a facility that is bringing access to cutting-edge weight loss, body contouring, pain relief, wrinkle reduction, and skin treatment services to the gorge.

The Northwest Muralfest’s final mural was installed at 408 w 4th St The Dalles 4th St in The Dalles ,today, March 21st. To celebrate the the completion of the project, The Northwest MuralFest has announced the premiere of the The Dalles MuralFest Walldogs Movie that was made to document the event.

The neighborhood of Cherry Heights, just outside The Dalles, was shaken by the discovery of a suspicious death on March 18, 2023. According to a press release from the Wasco County Sheriff's Office, the investigation into the death is ongoing and further information will be released as appropriate. Amanda Harman has been identified as the victim.

The City of The Dalles Public Works Department has announced that it will begin the first phase of a storm water catch basin project on E. 4th Street and Union Street on March 20, 2023. The project's first construction area will be on E. 4th Street between Union and Court Streets, and the work is expected to be completed on March 22, 2023.