KWSO News for Fri., June 3, 2022

In Warm Springs, the Indian head Casino is bringing back its car show after having to put it on hold due to the pandemic. The 6^th Annual car show by the Casino will be held on Saturday June 18^th from 10am-3pm. They will have several different categories which include imports, muscle cars, trucks and much more. The event is set for all ages and will have a DJ, a covered food court and much more. The casino is still currently closed on Wednesday’s and Thursday’s but finding ways to get events back in to place after the effects COVID-19 had on businesses and communities. If you’d like to learn more about the car show or get pre-registered, you can call Monte & Karen Strand at 503-789-8973. The link to register for the event is here Car-Show-2022-Flyer and VENDOR APPLICATION for the event.

The Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission has made its 2022 Spring/Summer Season Tribal Fishery announcement. For Zone 6 Platform and Hook and Line fishery, covering all of Zone 6, fish caught after 6am on June 4^th through 11:59PM on July 31^st may be sold as described by the announcement. Fish landed during the open periods are allowed to be sold, except for Sturgeon which can only be kept for subsistence. Zone 6 commercial gillnet fishery will be open several times during the month of June beginning on June 16^th. The complete announcement is in this Link

The Jefferson County School District is offering a free summer acceleration program for students entering Kindergarten from August 1^st – August 19^th 9am-12:30pm at the Warm Springs K-8 Academy. The summer program will enhance your child’s reading, math and language development skills through STEAM. They are also offering an acceleration camp for 1^st-8^th grade students August 1^st-August 19^th from 9am-3pm. Breakfast and lunch will be provided and transportation is provided to and from school for those who live farther than 1 mile from the school. A link for the Kindergarten Program and the 1st through 8th Grade Program are here. For more information you can call the Jefferson County Community Learning Center at 541-475-0388. Students must be registered as a JC School District student to be eligible for summer programming.

The man who was convicted of the attempted murder and assault of two year old Ezra Jerome Thomas was facing a new trial for sex abuse. Josue Mendoza-Melo was facing nine counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of sodomy, which involve two girls between the ages of six and eight at the time of the abuse between 2010 and 2012. As reported by the Madras Pioneer, Mendoza-Melo learned of Judge Wade Whiting’s connection to Ezra’s Law and a mistrial was declared. Mendoza-Melo has entered a plea of not guilty and the trial will be rescheduled for later this year with a different judge. Mendoza-Melo is currently serving 12 year’s in prison for the injuries he caused to Thomas.

Tumalo Farm Owner and member of the Valdez Native Tribe of Alaska, Spring Alaska Schreiner is trying to find innovative ways to continue her business in the face of water shortages. As reported by OPB’s Bradley Parks, Governor Kate Brown has already declared drought emergencies in 16 Oregon counties including Deschutes. Schreiner’s irrigation district stopped delivering water last summer as drought punished Central Oregon. She talks about her farm and the impact of the drought on her farm. “The farm was basically set up to provide opportunities to other tribal members regionally that are intertribal to bring our foods back. Our farm is 100% reliant on water, we’ve had drought issues for a few years, I cried last year when I walked through the dry canal. I was pissed, I was like, there’s nothing we can do, I’m really sad, I don’t know it’s frustrating and I’m not sure how to cope with going in this year knowing that there’s less or no water. When the water starts to get cut off we cut the farm off, by each section we’ll start cutting off areas where there’s food growing, you have to prioritize certain plants. I’ll be picky about that, but that’s just kind of where we’re at.” Water has sustained that vision to this point, but now she knows that water is no longer a guarantee. Schreiner said if the water’s shut off again, she’ll cut off the farm plot-by-plot and seek financial relief for failed crops.