News Stories for Mon., Oct. 23, 2017

Governor Kate Brown signed the official proclamation stating November is National American Indian Heritage Month in Oregon and encouraged all Oregonians to join in the observance. Native American Awareness Week began in 1976 and recognition was expanded by Congress in 1990, designating the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month.

The David White Memorial Basketball Tournament was held over the weekend in Warm Springs. Yakama won the championship game. Runner Up was NWRH. And, the Hoopaholics took third.

Strong weekend storms brought several inches of rain to the northern Oregon coastline, causing flooding in the town of Tillamook. The town got between three and six inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. The nearby Wilson, Nehalem and Trask rivers flooded. ODOT closed down parts of Highway 101 and the OR-6 highway.  The heavy weekend rain also caused thousands of gallons of sewage to spill into the Willamette River, the City of Portland said. The city’s Department of Environmental Services said an estimated 23,000 gallons of sewage flowed from the overtaxed sewer system. Department spokesperson Diane Dulken said their $1.4 billion “Big Pipe” project drastically cut down on overflows, but it wasn’t designed to stop all of the sewage from going in the river. They expect about four overflows each year.