News Stories May 14, 2018

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) — Some marijuana growers in Oregon are starting to grow another type of cannabis to make ends meet. A glut of legal marijuana has driven Oregon pot prices to rock-bottom levels, so some growers are applying for state licenses to grow hemp – marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin. From hemp comes an oil that costs thousands of dollars per kilogram, and it delivers health benefits without the high.

The Museum at Warm Springs was a recipient the latest round of the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distribution. It makes awards quarterly to nonprofit groups. The Museum was awarded under the Cultural Activities category – receiving $5000 to support its Memory of the Land: Treaty of the Mid-Columbia River Tribes exhibition coming up in June.

A lawsuit regarding The Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project has been working its way through the legal system for nearly two years, and it could come to a head later this year, the Bend Bulletin reported. Following a 2016 lawsuit alleging that the current management of the three-dam complex violates aspects of the federal Clean Water Act, the parties went into mediation. But after mediation failed to yield a result, oral arguments were scheduled for July, and a trial is tentatively scheduled for December. The plaintiff, the Portland-based conservation organization Deschutes River Alliance, notes that a facility designed to restore fish passage to parts of the Lower Deschutes is violating the terms of the facility’s license that pertains to water temperature and quality, as well as other aspects. PGE has argued that the lawsuit has applied the wrong standards when looking at the health of the river, and misrepresented the impact a facility designed to restore fish passage has had on the river. PGE has co-managed the facility with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs since the project was relicensed in 2005.

Here is a look at some things coming up this week folk might be interested in: There is a 509-J School Board Meeting this evening at the Support Services Building in Madras at 7:00. OSU Extension & Nutrition Education are putting on a free Gardening 101 class at the Education Building in Warm Springs tomorrow at noon. The Warm Springs K8 Academy’s Spring Music Concert for grades K thru 4 is on Wednesday evening. The Timber Committee is hosting a bough cutters meeting to cover rules and regulations for permits and fees this Thursday from 6-8pm at the Greeley Heights Community Building. And, on Saturday is the Relay for Life – Jefferson County’s 4-person Golf Scramble Tournament at the Kahneeta Resort & Spa Golf Course.