KWSO News for Fri., Nov. 19, 2021

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With the Thanksgiving Holiday next week and families deciding on plans for gathering – now is an excellent time to reconsider getting vaccinated if you haven’t already.  If you are vaccinated and 65 and older – please schedule for a Booster Shot.  Children 5-11 years old can also now be vaccinated.  Remember – the COVID-19 vaccination not only protects you but it also protects others like our elders.  Consider how you will spend the holidays with anyone outside your household and make sure you are taking precautions and being vaccinated to avoid a spike in COVID cases like we saw following last year’s Thanksgiving.

Warm Springs on Reservation Bull Elk Hunting Season got underway last Saturday, November 13th and will run through Sunday, November 28, 2021.  This is for bull elk with visible antler, one tag per lead hunter or head of household with a limit of only one bull elk.   Wildlife Biologist Austin Smith Jr. reminds hunters that it’s important to follow the hunting limit to help maintain wildlife populations for future generations.   There is mandatory reporting of all hunter harvest. Failure to report harvest results will result in a loss of hunting privileges for subsequent tags.  Hunting tags can be obtained online or you can contact the Natural Resources Department at 541-553-2001.  For both on and off reservation seasons and hunting guidelines click HERE

Rising floodwaters cut off the Lummi [LUMM-ee] Reservation [near Bellingham] from the outside world on Tuesday. Jones: “It pretty much turned us into an island out here. We have no way out unless we have to drive through the flood.” That’s tribal chair William Jones Junior.  He says the Lummi Nation figured out some ways around its temporary status as an island nation. KUOW’s John Ryan has our story. “To keep the reservation’s grocery store stocked with food, the tribe used a dump truck to shuttle provisions across the flood waters.  Doctors, nurses, and a pharmacist trying to get to their jobs at the reservation’s clinic took a different route.  A pair of Lummi Police boats ferried them across Bellingham Bay, about a 25-minute ride.  Justin Iwasaki is a doctor at the clinic. Iwasaki: “We’re fortunate enough to have access to boats. So we boated in 10 health care staff this morning.” Iwasaki says without the special boat run, Lummi tribal members would have been cut off from health care and crucial medications. The National Weather Service says the flood followed the rainiest two-day period on record in the Bellingham area. Tribal chair Jones says he’s happy his people were so resilient in an emergency. I’m John Ryan, reporting.”

A Native American woman was sentenced in Spokane yesterday to six and a half years in prison for manslaughter. Maddesyn George says she considered Kristopher Graber a friend until he allegedly raped her in 2020. He was white, she’s a member of the Colville [CALL-ville] tribe. And her case has won support from many indigenous groups. George’s Spokane-based attorney, Steve Graham, was hoping for a lighter sentence. “Steve Graham: “Maddesyn and I are both relieved that the judge didn’t go any higher than six and a half years. We think that the judge balanced out her mistakes with the reality of the circumstances in a fair manner. The judge accepted what we all knew, that Maddesyn was sexually assaulted by the man she shot just the day prior and we think that this sentence is a fair one.” George was charged with murder, but took a plea deal reducing the charge to voluntary manslaughter. She’s the mother of a toddler-aged daughter.

A look into sports: the Warm Springs K-8 Eagles Boys Basketball was in action yesterday as they traveled to Obsidian Middle school to take on the Wolf Pack.

7th Grade Boys B Team lost 55-26

7th Grade Boys A Team won 53-24

8^th Grade Boys B Team lost 49-30.

8th Grade Boys A Team lost 53-25.

College Football Saturday has the Oregon Ducks traveling to Utah to take on the Utes in PAC-12 play. Both Oregon and Utah are in line to win their division as the Ducks are #1 in the PAC-12 North and the Utes are #1 in the PAC-12 South. The Ducks are looking to seal the PAC-12 North with a win while the Utes are trying to keep their lead over the Arizona State Sun Devils who are traveling to Oregon State to take on the Beavers.

Thursday Night Primetime NFL action saw the Atlanta Falcons hosting the New England Patriots. It was a lopsided game as the Patriots ran away with the victory 25-0 for their 5^th straight victory.