KWSO News 7/26/19

In Congress yesterday Juul Labs appeared in a hearing for the first time amidst growing scrutiny from parents, politicians and public health advocates. Federal law bans the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18.  Juul Co-founder James Monsees testified that Juul developed its blockbuster vaping device and flavor pods for adult smokers who want to stop. He acknowledged statistics showing “a significant number of underage Americans are using e-cigarettes, including Juul products.” Emily Wegener works at the Jefferson County Public Health Department.  She was involved in a local effort to identify marketing techniques for alcohol & tobacco products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gained authority to regulate e-cigarettes in 2016, but the agency has repeatedly postponed a deadline for vaping companies to submit their products for health and safety review. Earlier this month, a federal judge sided with public health groups who sued the FDA and ruled that vaping companies must submit their products for review by next May.

Here’s the latest from the Fishing & Hunting Hotline – Zone 6 Scaffold and Hook & Line Fishing remains open until further notice.  Commercial sales are allowed for salmon, steelhead, shad, yellow perch, bass, walleye, catfish and carp.  Sturgeon may not be sold but sturgeon between 38 and 54 inches fork length in the Bonneville Pool and between 43 and 54 inches fork length in The Dalles Pool may be kept for subsistence use. And, a sturgeon setline fishery has opened in the John Day Pool.  It closes at 6 pm Saturday August 17th. Sturgeon caught with platform and hook & line gear can be sold if caught during the open period within the John Day Pool.

Construction begins next week in an effort to repair and stabilize the Warm Springs Agency Water Distribution System.  The focus is on 5 pressure control stations.  Warm Springs Chief Operations Officer Alyssa Macy describes the plan:

Water distribution will continue at the old elementary school for those under the boil water order and everyone is reminded to conserve water.

Warm Springs Telecom says there will be a maintenance window beginning around 9:00 this morning until 1pm.  During this time, they will begin testing the powering equipment, batteries and generator at the Sidwalter tower.  Telecom General Manager Tim York says there is an intermittent powering issue that they cannot identify, which is affecting the radio on Sidwalter that broadcasts to Scoolie tower and this is affecting everyone on the north end.  He adds that they will not be able to replace equipment or batteries at this time, the maintenance window is strictly for testing.

This evening kicks off the 1st annual Pacific Coast Indigenous Youth Basketball Tournament at the Warm Springs Community Center. Tourney Director Austin Greene says the idea for the tournament cam about this past spring when he was contacted by Ricardo Macias from Temecula, CA. Ricardo usually take his teams to the southwest and even Hawaii, but wanted to come to Oregon. He flew his teams – three of them – into Portland on Tuesday this week and they have been sightseeing and enjoying the area. The teams are coming to Warm Springs today for the youth tourney. The first game is at 6 this evening. It is a 10 and under coed, 13 and under boys and 15 and under boys tourney.

The Department of Human Services this week posted openings for more than 300 jobs related to helping children and families in Oregon. The hiring initiative was driven by Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order 19-03, which aims at improving safety and building capacity in Oregon’s child welfare system. Some of the jobs available include: Hotline Screener, Child Protective Services, Certifier, and Permanency Worker.  The Oregon Legislature approved funding for these new positions during the 2019 legislative session. For more information on available jobs and to apply, visit https://www.oregon.gov/DHS/CHILDREN/Pages/Careers.aspx.