KWSO News for Fri., Jan. 7, 2022

Warm Springs Telecom wants their Sidwalter, Schoolie Flats and Simnasho customers to know that they are having power issues at the Sidwalter tower that provides service to those areas.   There is the possibility of a service outage.  They are working on both short term and long term solutions to conducting repairs and ultimately securing more reliable power to the Sidwalter Butte site.

Governors across the U.S. took sweeping action during earlier surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, but are taking a much different approach during the record-setting caseloads caused by the omicron variant. Previously, many of them closed schools or ordered businesses shut down. They issued mask mandates, vaccine requirements and, in some places, quarantines for those who had traveled to hot spots out of state. While governors are now sending help to hospitals, they are displaying little appetite for widespread public orders or shutdowns even as the omicron surge shatters COVID-19 case records. Even Democratic governors who passed strict mandates early on are relying more on persuasion than dictates. In Warm Springs, in the first week of January, we have already surpassed December, November and October’s positive test results with 125 and 11 presumptive positive. There are currently 139 people with active COVID-19 receiving daily monitoring and 56 close contacts being monitored by IHS staff. Vaccinations are the primary way to bring the COVID-19 Pandemic under control.  You can call the Warm Springs Health & Wellness Center during business hours to schedule an appointment for your initial dose, your booster, or to arrange a vaccination for your child.  The number to call is 541-553-2131.

Tim Novotny [nuh-VOT-nee] is a spokesman with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. He says it was great to have this commercial crabbing season start on schedule for the first time since 2014, but the numbers as of Tuesday (Jan. 4) are also wonderful. “We finished our first month of the season so far with 12.8 million lbs. landed, so that surpassed last year. And our ex-vessel value has come in at $63.3 million. So that surpassed all of last year. So just an outstanding start to the year and we just hope we can keep that momentum through August 14th which is when the season ends.” Novotny says challenges still exist with the worker shortage among processors up and down the Pacific Coast. But it’s hoped that the pandemic will lessen, and seafood restaurants and other clients will open up again, making this year more profitable than the previous two.

Oregon election officials say former New York Times columnist Nick Kristof does not meet the residency requirement to run for governor. Kristof grew up in Yamhill. He left his job at the Times last year to enter the Democratic primary. His lawyers have argued that he has always considered Oregon home, spilt time between New York and Oregon and been a full-time resident long enough to make the ballot. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan countered with a list of evidence she says proves Kristof has not lived in Oregon long enough to qualify.  “To find that Mr. Kristof meets the three-year Constitutional residency requirement for Oregon Governor…while for twenty years living, working, raising his kids, holding a driver’s license, filing taxes, and voting as a New York resident until a year ago, just doesn’t pass the smell test.” Kristof’s campaign is expected to challenge the ruling in court. He blistered Fagan’s ruling Thursday Afternoon, calling it an effort by Oregon’s political establishment to silence his critique of the condition in which Oregon finds itself.

In Sports: the Madras High School Buffs basketball will be in action tonight hosting Baker. The boys will start things off at 5:30pm, followed by the Lady Buffs at 7pm. The Lady Buffs will then turn around and host La Grande tomorrow morning at 11am, while the Boys will host La Grande at 12:30pm. All of this basketball action can be heard here on KWSO, over the air or in the App. In the NFL, Week 18 is the final regular season game for many NFL teams. On Saturday, Kansas City will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys are on the road to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. Big matchups to keep an eye on are the Indianapolis Colts on the road to Jacksonville, taking on the Jaguars where they haven’t won at since 2014. The Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders game was flexed to Sunday Night in a scenario where the  winner of the game gets a playoff spot. If the Colts lose to the Jaguars, the Raiders would be in the Playoffs.

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