KWSO News 8/20/25

Getting ready for school at the WSK8

The Back to School BBQ is next Thursday, August 28th and the first day of school is September 3rd.  Warm Springs K-8 Academy staff stopped by KWSO with some details for families:

Bus schedules will be similar to last year and will adjust slightly as drivers start pick up and drop off of students.

Adoption Election ballots need to be returned by mail to be counted

The August 27th Adoption Election ballots need to be received by mail, in Bend, by August 27th.  There will be no ballot drop box and no in person voting.  All Tribal Member voters should have received a ballot in the mail.  If you did not – you can contact the Vital Statistics Office.

On August 28th the Election and counting boards along with Tribal Vital Stats staff will go to Bend to observe the ballots being counted.  There is no way of knowing how many ballots have been returned ahead of time until the day after the election.

Tribal Members who have not yet sent in their vote by mail adoption ballots should do so in the next couple days to ensure they make it in time to be counted next Wednesday.

For the adoption election vote to be valid – at least 50% of eligible voters must participate.  Recently adoption elections have failed to reach that level of participation.  In the recent Tribal Council Election this year – there was 26% turnout of voters, however there is no specific voter turnout requirement for that election.

New York Times journalist spends a few days in Warm Springs

The recent elimination of federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has public radio and TV stations making plans for the future.  At KWSO we will be working on increasing the amount of revenue we already generate through donations, sustaining memberships, and underwriting, and we have requested additional funding as part of the annual Tribal Budget process.  Small rural and Tribal radio stations are getting some attention nationally as their operations rely more heavily on federal funding than urban stations or statewide networks.  This week – a reporter from the New York Times came to Warm Springs as part of a collaborative article.

Click to listen to comments from New York Times National Correspondent David W. Chen:

New volunteer-led youth sports program in Madras

Jefferson County Roots Sports is taking sign-ups for youth sports. It is a new non-profit offering sports to Pre-K through 6th grade depending on the sport. This fall the will have flag football, soccer and volleyball. They plan to have basketball this winter. Sign-ups will close August 29^th and practices begin September 8^th. Learn more and register online at www.jcroots.org.