KWSO News for 12/10/19

Madras High School will have a lock down drill at 1:20 this afternoon.    A critical ingredient in 509J’s safe school recipe is the classroom response to an incident at school.  Weather events, fire, accidents, intruders and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by students, teachers, staff and administration.  If an incident occurs – Instruction will be announced over school PAs at all 509J schools.  Lockout means “get inside and lock outside doors.”  Lockdown means “locks, lights and out of sight.”  If the PA says “evacuate” – they will give specific instructions about where to go.   Shelter means – stay safe – that might mean to stay in place or move to a safer location.  Please talk with your student about emergencies at school to help them be prepared for drills and actual events.

Oregon state officials have only identified about half of the $40 million they’ve committed to the 2021 World Athletics Championships to be held in Eugene. The Register-Guard reports that records show the full state contribution represents about half the nearly $80.9 million budget for the 10-day event. The event is expected to bring more than 50,000 visitors and 2,000 athletes to the area. Construction is underway on the new $195 million Hayward Field that will serve as the event’s centerpiece.

Federal officials will review whether they are doing enough to protect grizzly bears across the contiguous U.S. states after advocates sued the government to try to restore the animals to more areas. A federal judge approved a settlement Monday and said the review must be completed by March 31, 2021. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a lawsuit that officials should consider restoring grizzlies to areas of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Oregon. Grizzly bears are protected as a threatened species in the U.S., except in Alaska. An estimated 1,900 bears live in portions of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington state.

As competing court rulings play out, a group of counties is calling for Oregon’s congressional delegation to swap timber land protected within the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument for other federally managed land. Jefferson Public Radio’s Erik Neumann has more. “The proposal came from the Association of O&C Counties – a group of Oregon counties that encompass more than 2 million acres of federally managed forest land. A federal court recently ruled the Obama administration illegally included O&C lands while expanding the monument. The counties are proposing to leave the monument as it is, but only if 81,000 acres of timber land locked up in the monument is duplicated as O&C land in other parts of the state. Tim Freeman is a Douglas County commissioner and president of the O&C counties’ board. Freeman: (0:13) All’s we want to do is to be made whole. Congress can do that. Congress can put these lands legally into a monument-type designation. And in doing so, they can also do a zero-net loss to the O&C. Opponents at the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council say the proposal is a PR move. They say it relies on an overly narrow interpretation of the law that just focuses on logging, rather than other priorities like protecting watersheds and providing recreational facilities. Another recent federal court ruling supports the current size of the monument. Both cases are currently tied up in legal appeals. I’m Erik Neumann reporting.”

In Local Sports: The Madras Lady Buffs Basketball hosts the Crook County Cowgirls tonight with tip off at 7pm. Meanwhile, the Buff Boys Basketball is on the road to Crook County to take on the Cowboys in non-league action, their tip off is at 7pm.