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Wednesday,June30,2021
Columbia Gorge News
Major Division Hood River Valley Little League Champions Duckwall Fruit Team. Pictured are, left to
right, top row, Coach Erich Harjo, Coach Chad Wimmers and Coach Eddy Patricelli. Middle row, Owen
Waits, Charlie Haynie, Dylan Claussen, Tyson Harjo, Tyven Wimmers and Miles Chavez. Front row, Elin
Marquez, Wyatt Bahn, Jake Patricelli, Liam Schofield and Drew Lucas.
Contributed photos
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Minor Division HRVLL Champions Hood River Police Department Team. Pictured are, left to right, top
row, Coach Charlie Burwell and Coach Donny Cheli. Middle row, Noah Cheli, Ezra Lebreton-Smith,
Odas Rutkowski, Tucker Hough, Wyatt Scott and Charlie Robidoux. Bottom row, Flurry Stone, Jasper
Grzybowski, Sebastien Burwell, James Stone and Conner Eaton.
Hood River’s 12U all-star team third in district; 10U fourth
Hood River Little League’s
12U all-star team placed third
at last week’s District 5 tour-
nament in Redmond at the
Umatilla Sports Complex.
Crook County defeated
Hood River 6-3 in Thursday’s
play-in game to the cham-
pionship, ending the local
team’s tournament play.
Bend North won the cham-
pionship the next day over
Crook County.
The three teams were in
similar spots two years ago
in 10U play. Hood River
Manager Erich Harjo noted
marked improvement by his
players, many who played
in both tournaments — with
the 2020 COVID-interrupted
season in between.
Hood River won its first
two games at district: 6-1
over South Central in the first
round June 19; and 9-4 over
Crook County on June 21. In
the opener, Tysen Baker and
Trenton Boydston handled
the pitching duties and Davin
Snyder led the way at the
plate. Snyder had a three-
RBI day, including a two-run
homer.
“Pitching and defense were
very good for the majority
of the time,” Harjo said. “It
kept us in games. We only
issued eight or nine walks in
four games, which is good at
this level. The teams that we
played, for the most part, we
made them earn their runs.”
The 9-4 win against Crook
County was aided by Miles
Chavez’s fourth-inning triple,
which broke open what had
otherwise been a close game
up to that point. There were
plenty of other offensive
highlights for Hood River:
Tyson Harjo had two hits, in-
cluding a double; Aksel Betz
had two hits and reached
base three times; Boydston
had a two-run homer; Baker
and Jake Patricelli had two
hits apiece; and Snyder had a
double.
Baker threw four and a
third innings for the pitching
win, while Betz finished the
game on the mound.
That earned Hood River
a spot in June 23 final — of
the winner’s bracket — of the
double-elimination tourney,
where it faced Bend North.
Starting pitcher Boydston
kept Bend scoreless through
four innings, but Hood River
couldn’t muster any offense
of its own. The difference was
a couple of untimely Hood
River errors and a dropped
third strike in the otherwise
evenly played game.
The loss dropped Hood
River into last Thursday’s
consolation championship
with the winner advancing to
play Bend for the title. Hood
River led 3-0 early, as starter
Betz was solid on the mound.
Crook County was able to
steadily pull away in the later
innings of the 6-3 win.
Betz had two RBI and
Tyson Harjo knocked in the
other Hood River run with a
single.
“Our team improved quite
a bit if you look at where they
are now to where we were
two years ago,” Coach Harjo
said of he and Coach Geoff
Speidel’s 12U team, which
also included Owen Waits,
Jackson Speidel, Landen
Pratt and Tyven Wimmers.
“They’ve developed as play-
ers … they’ve improved their
baseball IQ. We’ve got the
makings to be a pretty decent
team in the coming years.”
Hood River’s 10U team
finished fourth in the district
tournament, splitting four
games. Hood River won its
opener on June 19, 26-4,
over South Central before
losing to eventual champion
Crook County June 21. Hood
River eliminated Bend South
in consolation play before
losing to The Dalles.
The June 23 game against
The Dalles started at 5:30
p.m. and featured a lengthy
lightning delay in the first
inning. The teams resumed
play in the back-and-forth
game, which was tied 9-9
after five innings. The Dalles
scored four runs in the top of
the inning, but the game was
called because of darkness
with one out in the bottom
of the frame. The teams re-
sumed play June 24 at 1 p.m.
Hood River tied the game in
the bottom of the sixth, but
The Dalles took control in the
extra inning to advance to the
consolation final.
Playing on the Hood River
10U team were: Clinton
Smith, Ethan Maddox, Ezra
LeBreton-Smith, Garrett
Wimmers, Maddex Hockett,
Nolan McNamara, Odas
Rutkowski, Ryder Pratt,
Tucker Hough, Turner
Sullivan and Wyatt Johnson.
Managing the team was Matt
Hockett and coach was Ryan
Pratt.
Bridge plan enters fundraising phase
Oberst
■ By For Gail
Columbia Gorge News
progress has been made in
securing funds for engineer-
ing and for creating a Bi-State
Bridge Compact, according
Kicking off the second
to Michael McElwee, port
phase of the Hood River-
executive director. “Mr.
White Salmon bridge
Greenwood has been an
replacement, the Port of
integral part of the Bridge
Hood River’s Board of
Replacement Project’s recent
Commissioners on June 22
successes and forward mo-
approved agreements that
aim at managing and raising mentum. He has proven to
money for the estimated $400 be a highly capable manager,
million project.
excellent facilitator, and
First up: Port commis-
disciplined overseer of the
project,” McElwee reported.
sioners approved a new
Greenwood’s annual salary
three-year contract with
will be $126,763.
Kevin Greenwood, the
Greenwood’s contract
project director, who was
is among several indica-
hired in 2018 to manage the
first environmental impact
tions that work on the new
statement phase of the proj- bridge is picking up steam,
while maintaining the
ect, now nearly complete.
ailing 100-year-old span.
Greenwood’s work expands
The commission approved
under the new contract.
an agreement with HDR
Since 2018, significant
Engineering to oversee a
variety of tasks, including
exploring reinforcements to
the current bridge to restore
it to its previous 40-ton max-
imum weight limit. Earlier
this year, 32-ton weight limits
were imposed on the current
bridge due to structural
deficiencies, impacting local
haulers and shippers who
use the interstate bridge.
HDR Engineering, a Port-
land firm, has been contract-
ed with the port for bridge
work since 2015. The firm will
continue to assess feasible
repairs to the current bridge.
Construction on the
new bridge may not begin
until 2026, according to port
estimates.
The port on June 22 has
also renewed contracts with
three firms who will continue
to lobby for bridge fund-
ing in the state and federal
legislatures. The port spent
$199,000 in the last fiscal year
and plan to spend $211,000
for lobbying efforts in the
2021-22 fiscal year.
Environmental impact
studies began three years
ago with a $5 million Oregon
transportation grant for
planning and environmental
testing, to be completed this
fall. Another $10 million is
coming from the Washington
State Legislature and federal
transportation BUILD funds.
The Port of Hood River has
also committed $1.25 million
to the project.
Planning for future
toll losses
The port owns the current
bridge, but the new bridge
owners will most likely be an
Oregon-Washington entity
including the port. At the
June 22 meeting, commis-
sioners reviewed the port’s
business strategies for the
next five years which sug-
gested, among many others,
plans for replacing bridge toll
revenues that will belong in
the future to the new entity.
In 2021-2022, for example,
the port plans to collect $6.2
million in tolls. Although
$4.6 million is budgeted
to operate the bridge, the
remainder will support other
Port programs, including
debts and financing new
bridge activities. In addition
to the bridge, the port owns
waterfront property and an
airport, among other assets
that generate income.
According to the port’s
Strategic Business Plan: “In
the next few years, the port’s
overarching strategy relating
to funding is to (1) find new
sources of revenue (consider
all types: grants, loans, fees,
and so on), and (2) find effi-
ciencies to reduce the cost of
service delivery.”
Once final publication is
complete, the entire Strategic
Business Plan, including
proposed actions to meet
those and other goals, will be
available at portofhoodriver.
com/about-the-port/mis-
sion-strategic-business-plan.
Visitors to the site will now
be able to read the 2014-2018
plan.
gorge
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