KWSO News Wed., Jul., 21, 2021

The Warm Springs prevention has been hosting a youth day this week here in Warm Springs. The camp has daily activities for youth to participate in that encompass culture, healthy habits, and having fun. KWSO spoke to Jaycelene  Brisbois, who organized the event. Here is Jaycelene speaking about the youth day camp.

Earlier this month, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWS) and Portland General Electric entered into a new agreement extending their long-standing partnership at the Pelton Round Butte project, a low-impact hydropower facility on the Deschutes River co-owned by the Tribes’ and the utility company. Under this new agreement, PGE will continue to purchase power generated from the Tribes’ share of the project through 2040, and 100% of the emissions-free electricity generated at Pelton Round Butte will continue to come into PGE’s portfolio. In addition to entering into this new power purchase agreement, CTWS also announced their intention to increase their ownership share in Pelton Round Butte from 33% to 49%. The Tribes became co-owners of the Pelton and Round Butte facilities in 2001 through an agreement that provided CTWS with an opportunity to purchase a greater share of the project in 2021

This week, Oregon children will begin receiving the first of three monthly payments of up to $408 per child to help their families afford to feed them. The payments are intended to make-up for the free or reduced cost meals that more 400,000 preschoolers and public school students missed out on during the past year, while their schools and child care centers were closed. Oregonians age 18 and under will get money which can be spent on food and beverages that people can purchase with food stamps. For children enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the extra money will be loaded onto their parents’ Oregon Trail cards between Thursday and July 29, then again in late August and late September.  Children, whose families make too much money to qualify for food stamps, will be mailed special debit cards with the child’s name on them.

Oregon Health Authority reported this morning 595 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 213,339. There are six new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,832, the Oregon Health Authority reported.

The Jefferson County 509-J School Board voted 5-0 to proceed with placing a $24 million bond measure on the November ballot during a special board meeting held Monday night. The bond measure is estimated not to increase the current tax rate if the measure passes. If the measure passes, the district said it also will receive a $4 million grant from the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program to help fund capital bond projects. The district says the proposed bond measure will address critical health, safety and security upgrades in all of the district’s schools. In addition, the bond aims to make energy efficiency updates; upgrade ADA accessibility, and repair and upgrade existing buildings

As infernos continue to rage across Oregon, officials say that the state will need “every firefighter on deck” this wildfire season.” Currently, 5,000 firefighters are battling blazes in the state, including 2,000 working on the Bootleg Fire — the nation’s largest active wildfire that has grown to 607-square-miles. Along with the exceedingly hot and dry conditions, Ruiz-Temple said that this wildfire season is historic in terms of the amount of resources that have been deployed. Fire officials say that while there are still some local crews and National Guard members available to help, teams from Utah and California have also been brought to Oregon.