KWSO News Roundup: Warm Springs Health Initiatives, Regional Safety Programs, and Tribal Lamprey Restoration

The Warm Springs Community Health Program recently hosted a free educational session on dementia and physical therapy to support local caregivers. Shawnetta Yahtin, a medical social worker with the program, explained that the event aimed to address memory challenges and reduce community stigma. “It is important to get your brain health checked, and it is okay to ask questions,” Yahtin said, noting that she can help connect residents with cognitive assessments and resource guides at 541-553-2352, extension 6288.

The Jefferson County Little League Senior Softball team is heading to the regional tournament in Missoula, Montana, as the newly crowned Oregon State Champions. To support their travel expenses, the community is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, July 18th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the NAPA Auto Parts in Madras, featuring a car wash, barbecue, and raffle.

The High Desert Museum in Bend has announced that Joy Harjo, the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate and member of the Muscogee Nation, will keynote the 12th annual Waterston Desert Writing Prize on September 17^th. According to the press release, Harjo will also be participating in an event with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs but no details were given.

A new evaluation report from Deschutes County and the Central Oregon Suicide Prevention Alliance reveals that their S.A.F.E. firearm safety initiative successfully distributed over 1,700 lockboxes across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties over a two-year period to help reduce regional firearm-related suicides.

A major report from the Urban Indian Health Institute warns that federal funding cuts enacted since early 2025 are quietly undermining safety in Native communities. The survey of over 200 tribal organizations found that nearly two-thirds have been forced to scale back vital services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).

According to a report by KLCC’s Brian Bull, ongoing tribal translocation efforts are working to restore ancient Pacific lamprey populations to Oregon’s waterways, including Coyote Creek and the Long Tom River. Lamprey biologists Aldwin Keo and Courtney Golts, working with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), are leading these reintroductions to bypass impassable dams. “The lamprey has been around 450 million years,” emphasized CRITFC’s Jeremy Five Crows. “The thought that we could drive something extinct that’s been on Earth for that long is terrible.”

In Umatilla County, the Oregon State Fire Marshal invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to combat the fast-moving Lower Dry Creek Fire, which has burned over 5,000 acres near Milton-Freewater and Weston. According to local officials and the Watch Duty app, dry conditions and thunderstorm winds prompted immediate Level 2 and 3 evacuations, marking the third time the act has been activated in 2026.

The U.S. Forest Service is recommending N-95 respirators for federal wildland firefighters to reduce smoke-exposure risks linked to lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. Heather Heward, a fire ecology instructor at the University of Idaho, called the decision a step in the right direction but urged agencies to also minimize unnecessary smoke exposure during mop-up duties. “There are absolutely instances where a fire was not mopped up thoroughly… and other times where the specifications are really just to keep people busy,” Heward stated.

Expect sunny skies with temperatures climbing into the low-to-mid 90s today and tomorrow, accompanied by breezy northwest gusts. Clear, cool nights will transition into a warm, bright start to the weekend.