KWSO News for Wed., Aug. 10, 2022

In Warm Springs, a plaque was unveiled last week in honor of Jim Manion, who transitioned earlier this year from the GM of the Warm Springs Water & Power Enterprises to retiring to being voted into the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council. The plaque was a collaboration from the Warm Springs Tribes and Portland General Electric and is located at a viewpoint overlooking the Reregulating Reservoir honoring Jim Manion’s service to the river, fish and wildlife and power generation in the region. The unveiling took place last week, with leaders from both PGE and the Tribes in attendance. Visitors can stop by to see the plaque at a pullout on Pelton Dam Road.

From Warm Springs, Jucoby Frank (owner) of Horse Eaneaus and Chezeray Frank (Jockey) will be competing in the 88^th Annual Omak Stampede in the World Famous Suicide Race. The Dreamland Carnival Company/North Star Amusement opens today at 5pm and Encampment also opens today. Tomorrow the festivities start with a Ride in at 8am. The Omak Stampede PRCA Rodeo & World-Famous Suicide Race begins tomorrow at 7pm. Jaycelene Brisbois family will be doing food sales this week to help with travel and supplies, donations are greatly appreciated. Sharmiah Brisbois will be selling raffle tickets and buttons as she is vying for the JR Miss Omak Stampede Indian Encampment title.

A Central Oregon Fire update from Tuesday August 9^th announced that the Tri-County area (Crook, Deschutes & Jefferson Counties) of Central Oregon received over 1,000 lightning strikes in the past 48 hours and with that over 100 fires were reported to the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center. Most of the fires are staffed with firefighters and fires are reported at less than a quarter acre in size. The Doghouse Gulch Fire located near the South Fork of the John Day River drainage was the largest of the fires reported at around 16 acres with single engine air tankers and helicopters being used to slow the fire, allowing ground resources to engage directly. They will continue to build fire lines and mop-up these incidents until the work is completed.

Salmon recovery was the topic as tribal leaders from around the Pacific Northwest gathered at fishhook park on Tuesday August 9^th. Leaders from the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation celebrated the role of salmon in Northwest Native cultures and recommended taking immediate action to ensure endangered salmon do not go extinct. The tribes also advocated for a comprehensive fish restoration strategy, which included considering breaching the four lower Snake River dams. They noted that tribes regularly work with non-Native communities to find collaborative solutions to challenges in the region- and they can do so again to keep these vital fish from disappearing forever. During the event, Yakama Nation elder Carrie Schuster Nightwalker spoke of the history of fishhook Park as a place for tribes to come together. Tribal Leaders emphasized the vital connection between salmon and Pacific Northwest Tribes.

The parents of a 9-year-old child who died skiing at Mt. Bachelor ski area in Oregon last year have filed a $49 million wrongful death lawsuit against the resort and its parent company, Powdr Corp. The Bulletin reports Angela and Brian Boice of Tacoma, Washington, filed the lawsuit this month over the death of Brecken, who slid down one of the ski area’s slopes and crashed into rocks. The suit alleges on the day of Brecken’s death that conditions were extremely icy and the chairlift and ski runs near the summit should not have been open. A resort spokesman didn’t return calls from the newspaper seeking comment.

KWSO Weather for Central Oregon:

• Sunny today with a high near 97 degrees
• Tonight, Mostly Clear with a low around 56
• Sunny tomorrow with a high near 95 degrees

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