Wasco County voters show a close split in the presidential election. Just 364 votes separated the vote between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in unofficial election results. Check out how Wasco County voters compared to other state trends.

The South Wasco County School District‘s $4-milliion school bond had 55.3 percent approval in unofficial returns released tonight, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. The bond had gained 707 votes in favor while 571 voted against it.

Rich Mays was leading the pack in the race for The Dalles Mayor. Mays had tallied 4,051 votes in the unofficial results released at 8 p.m. tonight, Nov. 3. Solea Kabakov was in a distant second for mayor with 1,706 votes and Jason Garrett Gibson had pulled in 641 votes.

The Dalles Main Street is having a Shop Local Holiday Campaign for the months of November and December! Once a week starting next Tuesday, November 10th, we will hold weekly drawings for gift bags. We hope to have two to three winners a week! Gift bags will include prizes like gift cards, merchandise, discounts to local businesses, and special deals!!

It’s that time of year again when the quilters of the Columbia River Gorge and from around the Northwest get to share their craftsmanship by participating in the Columbia River Gorge Quilters Guild Annual Quilt Show. This year's 1st Place Winner of the first-ever Virtual Columbia River Gorge Quilters Guild Quilt Show has an important message to share with all women voters, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+: VOTE girl, you earned it.

The Columbia Gorge Small Business Development Center has launched a new Disaster Recovery Guide for businesses impacted by the recent recession. This guide helps business owners understand and assess their situation so they can make the best decisions in the recovery process.

Rowena Baptist members gathered at the Post Office in The Dalles tonight at 5: p.m. in a push for their candidate the night before the general election. Supporters in trucks and cars with American Flags also ran the gut on Second and Third Streets honking horns starting around 6 p.m. 11,297 ballots have already been returned in Wasco County as of this morning, Monday, Nov. 2. That’s 62 percent.

Have you gotten your flu shot yet? If not, now is the time! We are getting into cold and flu season and it’s so important for you and your loved ones to cut back on viruses you’re exposed to this winter.

A COVID-19 outbreak has been identified at the Oregon Veterans’ Home in The Dalles.
Nine cases are identified currently, and include staff, residents, and household contacts of staff.
The initial case was confirmed on Sunday, Oct. 25 and the latest was confirmed today, Friday, Oct. 30.

A former marine and a holder of three black belts is putting a family spin on the former Pastime Saloon & Restaurant in Dufur. “This will be a family place,” said new owner Russell Niemeyer. “No hanky-panky going on. And it’s my job to see that it stays that way.”

Dry Canyon Electric’s Chuck Rystedt watched as his son, Zack dug into a 24-foot pole with his spikes on Thursday morning on Highway 197 near 5-Mile Road. Meanwhile, Zach Reid used a “lasher” to entwine two cables as they were finishing a fiber optic line that runs 15 miles from Dufur School to the Columbia Gorge ESD at the Columbia Gorge Community College Campus in The Dalles.

The Dalles City Council is pushing ahead on creating a temporary shelter for the local houseless population. The village of six units is to be located at the end of Terminal Way in a gravel lot between Northwest Natural and Oregon Cherry Growers.

Dawn LeMieux is the program coordinator with The Next Door, through the organization she supports the native families and individuals within our community. Since the pandemic hit, community members in the Celilo Village have faced loss and hardships. With the help of LeMieux The Next Door has supplied an abundance of hope and support for the Celilo Village community in the midst of the pandemic.

Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD) will be hosting the 2020 Columbia Gorge Economic Symposium virtually on Friday, November 6. Considering recent impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on our regional economy and community, this year’s event will focus on economic and employment trends, as well as the road ahead for recovery and resilience.

Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) and the Klickitat County Senior Services are assisting seniors to apply for two programs, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Klickitat PUD Senior Discount. Application processes will primarily be handled over the phone this year, rather than in person.

Virginia McKay, a 25- plus year veteran with Windy River Gleaners was at it again this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 28. Food boxes were prepared for some 950 people in East The Dalles. Cars were lined up past the overpass on Old Highway 30.

The ability to monitor and house people with mental imbalances has been “ripped out of the communities at a local level by the state and never been restored.” As a result, people are breaking down on city streets. They’re breaking laws, impacting the economy, and have local leaders flummoxed as the State of Oregon has failed to fund their treatment.

Taxpayers within the Northern Wasco County School District 21 may have seen a decline in their property tax bills this year. Wasco County Tax Assessor Jill Amery points this out in the following document detailing the tax roll, and the retirement of the Middle-School bond.

The Next Door is holding its annual Stories of Hope event to raise money and spread awareness to support over two dozen programs aimed at supporting and empowering people with health promotion services, family services, youth services, economic development services, and treatment services in Wasco, Hood River, Skamania, Klickitat, Sherman, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties.