News Stories Thu., Jan. 4, 2018

Housing Works has announced that the waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 program, will open Monday, January 8th, 2018 at 8:00 am and remain open through January 12th, at 5:00 pm. This program is open to low-income qualified residents of Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook Counties. Applicants must apply online at www.oregonhousingworks.org .  The time you apply during the week does not impact your position on the list.  All applications taken during this time frame will be randomized by a computer and placed on the waiting list to give all applicants an equal chance. “It’s important to note that anyone who is currently on the waiting list needs to reapply to the 2018 list. This is a yearly requirement.”

The Northwest Native American Center of Excellence developed Tribal Health Scholars in partnership with staff at Madras High School, On Track, Indian Health Service and the Warms Springs Health & Wellness Center. Working closely together they hope to generate further interest in health careers for Native youth by providing a firsthand look of what it means to be a health provider. Tribal Health Scholars is a 12 week clinical shadowing experience at the Warm Springs Clinic. Three Junior/Senior students from Madras high School have been selected and will shadow 9 specific health careers. Students will share their experiences with the community at a celebration to be held after the end of the program.

Madras Freshman and JV basketball teams have games at Culver today. Madras boys freshmen play Culver JV at 5:30, Madras Girls JV will play Culver Varsity at 5:30 in the South Gym. And in the 7pm matchups, Madras Boys JV faces Culver Varsity in the South Gym and Girl Freshman paly the Culver JV team.

The Warm Springs Dental program was featured on PBS News Hour yesterday. Specifically, the method of treating tooth decay using silver nitrate was featured. Dr. Frank Mendoza, a pediatric dentist in Warm Springs, said in the interview that use of silver nitrate started at the Warm Springs clinic in 2013 and in 35 years, he has not seen anything that’s worked as well. A growing number of dentists are using silver nitrate and an increasing number of states Medicaid and private health insurances are covering it, according to the story. You can watch at www.pbs.org/newshour.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that had paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, The Associated Press has learned. Sessions will instead let federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana law. People familiar with the plan say an official announcement is expected today. The move by President Donald Trump’s attorney general likely will add to confusion about whether it’s OK to grow, buy or use marijuana in states where pot is legal, since long-standing federal law prohibits it. It comes days after pot shops opened in California, launching what is expected to become the world’s largest market for legal recreational marijuana and as polls show a solid majority of Americans believe the drug should be legal.