KWSO News for Fri., Oct. 1, 2021

A district attorney says a grand jury has indicted a white man on multiple charges, including murder, in the shooting death of a Black man outside a nightclub in Bend. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said during a news conference Thursday evening that Ian Cranston was indicted on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, assault and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Barry Washington Jr. earlier this month. Cranston has been held in Deschutes County Jail on a no-bail warrant. Hummel says an investigation into whether the shooting was motivated by race remains active. It wasn’t immediately known if Cranston has a lawyer to comment.

A federal judge has stopped a commercial timber harvest in central Oregon near Walton Lake in Ochoco National Forest at the request of an environmental group. The Capital Press reports U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman has granted a preliminary injunction requested by the Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project against logging in the recreational area that was to start in October. Mosman said at the end of oral arguments in Portland Wednesday that the nonprofit group was likely to prevail on the merits of its claim that the project violated the National Environmental Policy Act.

California will rename a popular park in Northern California to include its traditional Yurok name after a request from the state’s largest tribe. Patrick’s Point State Park will now be known as Sue-meg State Park after the unanimous vote Thursday by the California State Parks and Recreation Commission. Yurok spokesman Matt Mais says the name is how the Yurok people have always referred to the location in Humboldt County north of Eureka. Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James told the commission that every year, Yurok families hold brush dances at reconstructed tribal village within the current park boundaries and hundreds attend healing ceremonies.

Most sections of the Santiam State Forest South of Highway 22 will reopen starting today, after being closed for more than a year after the Labor Day Fires.   The Oregon Department of Forestry announced the return of public access to areas of the forest not severely burned by the Beachie Creek Fire, where it burned more than 16,000 acres. That took a toll on popular recreation sites, roads and trails  Spokesman Jason Cox says this is a big first step in recovery but a good deal of work remains to rebuild trails and replant the forest.

He says  a normal year of reforestation on the Santiam State Forest is about 250,000 seedlings and they are estimating it will take about 4 million seedlings to fully replant and restore the Santiam after the Labor Day fires.  On the Warm Springs Reservation they estimate that 12 million seedlings will need to be planted to replace the timber lost to wildfire last year.

KWSO’s Delson Suppah Sr. will be putting in his last day of work today as he moves on to retirement.  Delson was among the first Tribal Member trainees at KWSI & KWSO when the stations first went on the air in 1986.  He lived out of the area for a number of years but returned to KWSO when he moved back to the reservation.  It was when he was working a night shift on KWSI, playing some oldies, when he picked up his nickname Wolfman – complete with a “Delson Howl” inspired by Wolfman Jack.

In today’s announcements at Madras High School – information about FAFSA opening up today for Seniors interested in attending college next fall.  There is also a FAFSA workshop planned by the future Center for October 13^th at 5:30 in the Commons.  There are also some employment opportunities and internships for students in today’s notes that you can find HERE

 The Madras High School football against Molalla was cancelled for tonight but they were able to schedule a new game.  The White Buffalos will play at Ridgeview High School in Redmond at 7pm for your Friday Night Lights!