News Stories for Thu., Jun. 22, 2017

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs offices will close early on Friday. In commemoration of the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of 1855, employees will be released at 3:00.  Children at the Early Childhood Education Center will need to be picked up no later than 3:30.  All tribal members who want to update information with the Vital Statistics Department, including Tribal ID’s, will be able to do so on Friday from 8am to 2:45. The Piumesha Treaty Days celebration is this weekend.  Tribal Management wants to thank employees and especially those departments that serve the essential services for the need of the community as they will continue to work to maintain the welfare and safety of our community – Tribal Police, Corrections, Children’s Protective Services, Fire & Safety and Public Utilities.

Under a roadkill bill passed overwhelmingly by the Oregon Legislature and signed by the governor, motorists who crash into the animals can now harvest the meat to eat. And it’s not as unusual as people might think. 20 or so other states also allow people to take meat from animals killed by vehicles. Washington state began allowing the salvaging of deer and elk carcasses a year ago. Gov. Kate Brown signed Oregon’s bill last week after the Senate and House passed it without a single “nay” vote.  Oregon’s new law calls for the state Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt rules for the issuance of permits for the purpose of salvaging meat for human consumption from deer or elk that have been accidentally killed in a vehicle collision. The first permits are to be issued no later than Jan. 1, 2019. The antlers must be handed over to the state’s wildlife agency.

Yesterday’s Piumesha Health Fair was well attended and full of great resources and information for people young, old and in between.  There were 45 organizations represented. This year there were 1,081 people who attended.

Oregon will experience quite a show in just two months, when the moon’s shadow cast by a solar eclipse begins its journey across the United States. Oregon Department of Transportation says if the predicted one million visitors in Oregon’s path of totality for the Aug. 21 eclipse don’t properly prepare or aren’t paying attention, it could make for a cosmic traffic jam on the roads below. ODOT is expecting that many Oregon highways will be especially crowded in the days around the eclipse. They ask that, when you’re traveling, you keep your hands on the wheel, your mind on the task, and your eyes on the road—not on the sky. Statistics show that many crashes are the result of distracted driving and traveling too fast for conditions. ODOT says expect traffic changes, while they do not plan to close any state highways, as traffic volumes increase, they may restrict some left turns to and from highways in order to keep traffic moving. You can help keep roads clear. ODOT recommends you take care of errands well before Aug. 21. Carpool! And be prepared with adequate food, water, gas for the car and bathroom breaks in case you’re stuck in traffic.