KWSO News Oct. 16, 2018

The November 6 General Election is three weeks away. Oregonians have until 11:59pm tonight to register to vote or update their registration to receive a ballot in the mail for the General Election. If you have recently moved or changed your name, you should update your registration. You can do that at oregonvotes.gov. Voter registration cards need to be postmarked or received at the County Clerk’s office by today. Ballots will be delivered to all registered voters in the mail in the next few days.

Congress went on break last week but not before sending another pro-tribal bill to President Donald Trump. S.3021, America’s Water Infrastructure Act, also known as the Water Resources Development Act, cleared its final hurdle on Capitol Hill last week, Indianz.com reports. The 129-page package includes a number of provisions that will help tribes protect one of their most important resources. The Act will help facilitate critical water resources development projects in Indian Country,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said in a press release. “These projects include improving aging irrigation systems, enhancing dam safety and flood protections, and helping ensure access to clean drinking water.” Hoeven added that the “projects fulfill important treaty and trust obligations to tribes.” Some of the provisions in the bill reauthorize the Indian Irrigation Fund and the Indian Dam Safety Fund. It also increases funding levels for the Tribal Partnership Program so that tribes can work more closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on projects in their communities. The bill also authorizes $20 million a year, for the next three years, for a new Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Senator Ron Wyden’s next round of Town Hall meetings will be in Wasco, Gilliam, Umatilla, Union and Baker counties. On Monday, Wyden’s Wasco County town hall will take place at The Dalles High School at 11am. Wyden holds at least one annual town hall in each of the state’s 36 counties. This will be his second visit to these counties this year.

In prep sports yesterday, Boys Soccer beat Gladstone 3-1. Girls soccer lost to Gladstone 0-6.

People worldwide will practice how to Drop, Cover, and Hold On this Thursday at 10:18 a.m. during Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. Everyone can join in by registering at www.shakeout.org.. Participating is a great way for families and communities to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes. It is important that we all get better prepared for major earthquakes, and practice how to protect ourselves when they happen. The purpose of the ShakeOut is to help people and organizations do both.