News Stories Fri., Apr. 27, 2018

The Warm Springs TERO Office is accepting Skills Surveys for Construction Projects with the Oregon Department of Transportation for Prevailing Wage Jobs.  The Average Starting pay is $40 an hour.  There are multiple positions needed including laborers and flaggers.  You can learn more about Warm Springs TERO by stopping by their office located in the Warm Springs Industrial Park in the Ventures Building.

The U.S. Forest Service has issued 65 trespass citations in restricted areas of the Columbia River Gorge since September.  That’s after the Eagle Creek Fire prompted closures in several areas of the Gorge due to the threat of rock and tree fall.  Trespassers could face criminal charges for entering closed areas of the Gorge.  Recreation sites east of Bridal Veil and west of Starvation Creek State Park in Oregon remain closed. Trespass citations cost $280 dollars.

A fundraiser to help Miss Warm Springs Thyrecia Simtustus with travel costs during her yearlong reign has been set for May 12^th. The coronation and banquet will be held that evening at the Museum at Warm Springs and will include dinner, and live and silent auctions. The cost to attend is twenty dollars per person, ten dollars for senior citizens and for children age 10 and under. You are asked to RSVP by May 1^st by contacting Thyrecia or her mother Joie Simtustus.

The US State Department hosted a public town hall meeting in Spokane (last night/ Wednesday). Officials involved in renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty came to listen to concerns from the public.  Citizens had the opportunity to speak before a six-member panel which will be present for renegotiations with Canada.  Since 1964, the Columbia River Treaty has provided guidance for how to manage shared water resources on the Columbia river. Key provisions expire in 2024. Last winter, the US and Canada agreed to open renegotiations.  Members of the public raised concerns about hydropower, agricultural irrigation, the river ecosystem and tribal consultation. The State Department plans to host quarterly public meetings as treaty negotiations move forward.