KWSO News Sep. 25, 2018

The USDA and Nutrition Service announced some slight changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps. The adjustments will be effective on October 1st. Oregon SNAP participants do not need to take any action. The state will automatically recalculate cases and adjust when required. Families may experience the following: no change, a $9 increase or a $4 decrease. Changes are based on a family’s individual case and will be reflected in the October 2018 disbursement. The change will not increase the number of people receiving SNAP, and it does not change program eligibility requirements.

The Harlem Globetrotters will bring their show to Redmond on December 3^rd. Featuring some of the most elite dunkers on the planet, exceptional ball handlers and Guinness World Record holder, the Globetrotters provide family entertainment to people of all ages. Tickets are available at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center offices and online at Harlem globe trotters dot com.

The Oregon State University Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center will welcome the public to its OSU Benny Bash & 4-H Kickoff Party featuring a 5k Color Run on October 6th. The Color Run will start at 9 a.m. followed by the celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Sahalee Park in Madras. The OSU Benny Bash will feature hands-on activities for children of all ages, demonstrations by Master Beekeepers and SNAP-Ed Nutrition experts, petting zoo by 4-H members, face painting, and a free lunch. This event is a celebration of the new 4-H year and the many ways OSU Extension is an active partner in the community. Folks can learn about OSU Extension firsthand, from 4-H to Master Gardener, Plant Pathology to Nutrition Services and more. This event is free and open to the public.

To celebrate Oregon State University’s 150th anniversary, OSU-Cascades is hosting Discovery Day Saturday, Oct. 13 at its Bend campus. The free festival will focus on family-friendly, educational presentations and events. Some of the presentation topics include “Climate Mysteries in Oregon,” wildfire, the ocean and the bond between humans and dogs. Visitors can also cook s’mores with a solar oven, watch demonstration flights of a drone pioneered by OSU-Cascades researchers and see a life-sized, 3-D digital model of the human anatomy. Attendees can also take a tour of the campus’ future expansion area. The newly built Bend Science Station campus will also be open to the public for tours. Food will be provided by the college and local food trucks.

Overruling Trump administration officials, a federal judge in Montana has reinstated legal protections for grizzly bears living in and around Yellowstone National Park and blocked planned hunts in Wyoming and Idaho. The judge ruled U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials were “arbitrary and capricious” in their 2017 decision to remove the bears’ protections under the Endangered Species Act. The ruling represents a major victory for animal-rights groups that argued in a lawsuit that the estimated 700 bears living in the Greater Yellowstone area should be protected from hunting because there are so few of them left alive. Advocates argued the bears are both a key part of the local ecosystem and a major tourist attraction.