KWSO News for Thu., Feb. 10, 2022

In early February, the three districts of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs hosted council nomination meetings for the upcoming Tribal Council elections in April. There were 17nominees for the Agency district, eight for the Simnasho District and six for the Seekseequa District. Background checks are required for all nominees, followed by certification of Tribal Council. With the voting for the 29th Tribal Council slated for April, once counted and confirmed, the new Council would take office in May. The longest serving Council member and current Council chairman Raymond Tsumpti Sr. Received a nomination for the Simnasho District, but declined. The Agency and Simnasho District each have three council representatives and Seekseequa has two, with each representative serving a term of three years. The Vital Statistics department maintains the voter lists for the three districts. If you’d like to change districts, in order for it to be effective, it must be done 60 days prior to any election.

Repairs are ongoing on fiber optic cable along Hollywood Boulevard in Warm Springs. Multiple bundles of fiber optic cable was damaged Saturday morning. Warm Springs Telecom reports they have completed installation of the new 144-fiber cable yesterday and splicing crews will be on-site today. Unless they find more cable damage it is estimated service should be restored either today or tomorrow. In an unrelated matter, Telecom has determined the issues around cent service interruptions in which customers are experiencing frequent drops is attributed to an off reservation competitor’s signal interfering with Warm Springs Telecom customers service. They are in the process of identifying what steps need to be taken to resolve the situation.

As Oregon lawmakers barrel ahead in this year’s short legislative session, state economists presented another sunny revenue forecast Wednesday – which included an unexpected and additional $800 million of tax revenue. The state also carried over $179 million of unspent money from the last budget period to this session. In total, Oregon lawmakers have $979 million more than what was forecasted three months ago, available to spend on an ambitious list of priorities this legislative session. The forecast comes as state lawmakers are a week into the five week legislative session. The new growth in revenue means a larger budget to work with during the short legislative session, but how the money is used remains up for debate. Democrats have outlined an ambitious list of priorities this session including affordable housing, increasing child care options, bolstering the state’s workforce, addressing climate change and setting aside a significant amount of ones for the next biennium in case state revenues weaken. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans say they want to use the revenue to address crime, emphasizing a spike in violent crime and illegal marijuana grow operations causing major issues in Southern Oregon.

In Local Sports: the Madras High School Buff Boys will be on the road to Estacada tomorrow night to take on the Rangers in League action, tip-off will be at 7pm. The Lady Buffs will host the Lady Rangers of Estacada tomorrow night as they battle to remain undefeated in League action. In a late move, due to their last regular season match being canceled, it has been announced that during halftime of tomorrow night’s Varsity game in the Buffalo Dome, they will be honoring the Senior Buff Wrestlers. They Lady Buffs tip-off is set for 7pm and you can catch that action LIVE here on KWSO.