Spring is here and the gorge is hopping with opportunities to experience live music, art, opera, dance, and more!

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.

Authorities have identified a suspect in the double homicide case near Goldendale, Washington. John Scott Raczykowski, a 31-year-old resident of Rufus, Oregon, is wanted on two counts of murder in the first degree in the deaths of Elisha Ann King, 34, and Jeremy Allen Wyatt, 35. 

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.

Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office has hired former gubernatorial and congressional candidate Loren Culp has been hired as the new jail administrator for Klickitat County in Washington. Culp, a prominent Republican, will oversee the county’s 49-bed jail and 14 corrections deputies, as well as transport detainees to and from the courthouse and other jurisdictions.

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.

“One of the most exciting bands to come out of Ireland,” The Jeremiahs will be at UCC Church in The Dalles on Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. 

Discussion Continues: Teachers, staff and union representatives asked for help from school board members in dealing with students with behavioral issues at The Dalles public schools. Educators have seen an uptick in behavioral problems that started at the beginning of the school year and have continued into March with little change, according to school staff at the meeting. 

People are like bees - as soon as the sun comes out they really start BUZZING. And they’re just as busy. We stumbled onto a hardware parking lot in TD to ask people “What’s your project?” And we got some answers. No lack of workers in this community. Check out what these knuckledusters had to say.

White Salmon will soon have to say goodbye to Chesser Roe, home to some of the most truly remarkable teas and boba milk tea in the Columbia River Gorge. The locally owned handcrafted-tea shop will close its doors on Saturday March 18th at 5 p.m. 

As one long-term community supporter noted, “I went to summer art camp at The Center and have many fond memories. I keep thinking that if 2% of the population in The Dalles committed $10 a month - we can keep this place alive for our kids and grandchildren.”

The Dalles is a town of about 16,000. It's impossible for me to know even 10% of the people living around me. How can I create a personal tribe within a population too big for my mind to track? 

A free, 2-day walk-in vaccine clinic is scheduled this Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18, from 11 a.m. to 6  p.m. each day, at 523 E. 3rd St., The Dalles. 

The first annual Kilt Crawl in downtown TD on St. Paddy’s Day be callin’ out like a wee lamb chased by a fox. You got to save it, laddies. Don’t be afraid. Chase after it ‘til the wind leaves your chest heaving like a donkey on a hillside.

Fort Dalles Museum’s seasonal opening is coming with some interesting new details as the local archive of all things The Dalles has several new exhibits including a curation of an opium pipe, needle and spoon found in a tunnel entrance south of The Dalles Mercantile.

The Martins took a bold dive in the fall of 2020 and purchased the landmark restaurant from Mark Linebarger in the midst of the pandemic.  But, alas, their love of the Baldwin Saloon could not save it.