From the KWSO NEWSROOM

Checks for the long-awaited Trust Administration Class payment of the Cobell settlement should began rolling out this week .  the first checks are scheduled to be mailed beginning today ..The payments will total nearly $941.6 million. Each member of the class will receive a base payment of $869.

The 22nd annual Salmon Homecoming Celebration being held September 18 to 20 at Waterfront Park in Seattle, Washington is dedicated to the life and memory of the late Billy Frank Jr.  The longtime, Nisqually, defender of treaty rights and chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. The celebration’s theme is “Man has responsibility, not power,” based on a traditional proverb of the Tuscarora Indian Nation. Billy Frank Jr. passed away on May 5 at the age of 83. He had been an adviser to and supporter of Salmon Homecoming throughout its history. The event celebrates Native American culture and the importance of salmon

Nearly 900,000 Oregonians who have a driver’s license or state identification card but aren’t registered to vote will soon get a postcard reminding them to register. The secretary of state’s office says the postcards will go out today. Officials say they’re required to comply with the requirements of a multi-state consortium that seeks to clean up voter rolls and expand participation. John Lindback, the consortium’s executive director, says the success rate has ranged from 3 to 10 percent in states that have sent postcards.

The Bend equine veterinary clinic says it has diagnosed a case of West Nile virus in a horse from Culver.  So far, there have been two other cases of West Nile Virus found in Oregon horses this year, both in northeast Oregon. Clinic veterinarian Dr. Wendy Krebs said this was apparently the first equine West Nile case in Central Oregon in recent years. The horse from Culver had not traveled anywhere else, she said, and was not vaccinated for the virus. Since 1999, over 25,000 cases of West Nile virus encephalitis have been reported in U.S. horses.  The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes to horses, humans and a number of other mammals. Horses and humans are considered to be dead-end hosts for WNV; the virus is not directly contagious from horse to horse or horse to human.

At the Pendleton round up in steer wrestling: Casey Martin won ; Texas roper Jason Evans won steer roping, in team roping  it was the Stanley Campbell team with the win, Trevor Brazille won all around cowboy; at the Indian relay Scott Abrahamson keeps clean slate with Round-Up title

The Madras White Buffalo football team came out Friday night with lots of energy and a frenzied crowd that packed the new White Buffalo stadium for the inaugural game. Madras used the run and mixed some pass effectively against Sisters who also struggled to gain yards. Madras QB Chad Lindgren was injured in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the game. Miklo Hernandez stepped in and did a great job of filing in the gap.  Madras fought to the finish scoring a TD and coming within two points of a win but the conversion failed and Madras came up short in the 13-12 loss.