KWSO News Wed., Nov. 28, 2018

Heart of Oregon YouthBuild is recruiting youth ages 16-24 for its Winter 2019 cohort which will start January 21. The program works primarily with youth who either have dropped out or are on the verge of being dropped from traditional high school. YouthBuild members earn their GED, high school diploma, college credit, and job skills. They work on credit recovery and serving their communities through building affordable housing. Members divide their time between classroom, construction sites, and leadership development. An information session will be held December 11th at Bridges High School in Madras, and you must attend to be considered for the YouthBuild Program. Contact Katie Bauer at 541-526-1380 for more information and to sign up for the session.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An environmental group is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging that fossil fuel consumption has damaged Oregon’s marine waters by causing ocean acidification that’s toxic to shellfish. A lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland by the Center for Biological Diversity alleges that the EPA should be identifying and protecting those marine waters under the Clean Water Act. Oregon’s oyster farms first experienced mass mortalities from ocean acidification in 2005.

Gov. Kate Brown has stated she would like to see a 180-day school year statewide. The Bend Bulletin reports administrators in the region’s six largest school districts agree the longer year would benefit students, but some are worried about what it would cost.  Jefferson County School District superintendent Ken Parshall told the Bulletin that he thinks it would be very positive, recognizing that instruction time is import, although, he says the Governor “would have to allocate more dollars…to get more dates for teachers to work.” The Bulletin notes that Oregon lags behind most states in regards to total days in school, according to some local administrators.

There’s basketball at the Buffalo Dome today. The freshman, JV & Varsity girls will match up with Hidden Valley at 4, 5:30 and 7. KWSO will broadcast the varsity contest. The boys travel to Grants Pass to take on Hidden Valley.

The Warm Springs Cougars All Indian 10 & Under Coed and 12 & Under Coed Basketball Tournament has been set for December 14-16. It is open to the first six teams per division. And, the 55^th Annual Warm Springs All-Indian Men’s Holiday Basketball Tourney will be December 26-29. The entry deadline is December 7. Talk to Tournament Director Austin Greene for more details on either tournament.