KWSO News for 1/29/20

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Initiative meeting for Warm Springs was held last night at the Agency Longhouse.  There were approximately 100 people in attendance to hear and share their stories that have affected their families. There were many state officials in attendance who took notes and asked questions of the victims’ families as the stories were being shared. The local residents, after sharing their stories, had called on officials to give closure and bring justice to crimes committed against the victims. One official shared what she had heard…“Investigations by law enforcement, heard a big piece here. Sometimes their not adequate, sometimes…we’ve failed. We’ve failed to do a good investigation. We’ve failed at the initial onsought of whatever the issue is. If it is where somebody has been ran over, we failed at the initial piece. Did we fail to collect evidence? Did we fail to investigate? Did we fail to take down statements? That’s something that I’m listening to and I’m hearing, so that’s something that we need to take back. We need to do a better job training our cops, all cops in the nation, not just here in Warm Springs, All Cops. We need to know how to respond, how to investigate. We need to work together. We need to understand tribal cultures, Tribal history, Tribal politics. We need to understand confidentiality, when you tell us something….don’t go gossip it down the street. We need to keep our mouth shut. We need to know laws and understand our legal system.”

Bills to allow sports betting at Indian casinos in Washington state, including events like the Super Bowl and the World Series, have been introduced in the Legislature. The bills would allow owners of the 29 Indian casinos in the state to open Las Vegas-style sports books. However, a company that operates 19 private card rooms in Washington is crying foul. Maverick Gaming owner Eric Persson said they should also be allowed to provide sports betting, including electronic betting using cellphones or computers. Sports betting is expanding in the United States following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed for it to be legalized in every state.

Rockslides triggered by unrelenting rain have closed local roads and highways around Oregon, including a highway near Crater Lake National Park that was closed Tuesday after two boulders the size of a small living room crashed down, narrowly missing a passing car. Gary Leaming, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, says the giant boulders fell from a hillside that has endured pounding rain and repeated freezing and thawing of the rock because of harsh winter conditions. Elsewhere, officials in Yamhill County said a driver was rescued from a flooded vehicle Tuesday morning near Amity after the car stalled in about a foot of water.

In Local Sports: The Madras High School Buff Boys basketball hosted Gladstone last night, they fell to the Gladiators 72-41. Leading scorers were Dapri Miller with 14 points and Donnie Bagley with 11. The Lady Buffs traveled to Gladstone last night and trampled the lady gladiators 67-55. The Warm Springs K-8 Girls Basketball teams are in action today on the road to Jefferson County Middle School, games start at 3:45.