News Stories Mon., Mar. 19, 2018

Oregon Food Bank, as a result of the ongoing recall of donated chia seeds that began on March 12, has initiated a voluntary recall of over 63,000 pounds of pumpkin seeds and 1200 pounds of nutritional yeast that were received on the same donation. These donated items have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria species. While no illnesses have been reported, they are recalling the products out of an abundance of caution. The items were distributed in Oregon and Clark County, Washington through the Oregon Food Bank Network of regional food banks and participating food pantries. All were distributed between November 1, 2017 and March 16, 2018.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Superstore company Fred Meyer says it will stop selling guns and ammunition. The Portland, Oregon,-based chain in a statement Friday says it made the decision after evaluating customer preferences. The company sells guns in nearly 45 of its more than 132 stores. The company says the firearms category represents about $7 million annually of its revenue and sales have been declining.

It’s been years since salmon have been spotted in the Columbia River above Grand Coulee dam. But that may change this fall according to Desautel, director of the Natural Resources Department for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville. He  spoke to roughly 200 people during a tribal honor ceremony in Nelson, British Columbia last week.  Salmon have not been able to swim in the upper reaches of the Columbia river since the Grand Coulee dam was completed about 80 miles northwest of Spokane in the 1940’s.  The Colville tribes are waiting for one last federal permit. If it comes through, tribal fish managers plan to capture salmon from their hatchery and transfer them by truck around the dam. Then, they’ll release the fish back into the river. They’ll keep track of where the fish go. It’s part of a much longer-term effort to restore the Columbia River salmon population.