News Stories for Thu., Mar. 22, 2018

The Warm Springs Police Department is reporting an increase in public and private burglaries and is encouraging community members to help in preventing crime.  Folks are reminded to lock doors, windows and gates and to secure the area surrounding your house by trimming bushes and trees and removing debris to eliminate potential hiding places for burglars.  Get together with neighbors and agree to watch out for one another.  Also avoid buying anything from someone who comes to your door – those items are likely stolen.  Discourage crime by not making purchases like that.   They suggest residents and business owners protect property by making an inventory list that includes: make – model – serial number – purchase value and description.  Also – mark items with an identifying number – with permanent marker or by engraving.  You can also make a digital recording of your residence rooms, outbuildings and vehicles which documents what you have and provides a visual record.  For heirloom items and regalia – take multiple photographs and store copies in a safe place.  Securing your home or business can help prevent theft – but making sure you have good records of your property can help in recovering any items that are stolen.

A spending bill slated for a vote in Congress includes a bipartisan plan to create a wildfire disaster fund to help combat increasingly severe wildfires that have devastated the West in recent years. The bill sets aside more than $20 billion over 10 years to allow the Forest Service and other federal agencies end a practice of raiding non-fire-related accounts to pay for wildfire costs, which exceeded $2 billion last year.

Two species of fish listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act are facing a growing challenge in Oregon from hungry sea lions. The federally protected California sea lions are traveling into the Columbia River and its tributaries to snack on fragile fish populations. After a decade killing the hungriest sea lions in one area, wildlife officials now want to expand the program. It marks a new battleground between fish and sea lions in the Pacific Northwest.

Warm Springs Nation Little League is still taking registrations. All players must be registered to try out. You can register at the Recreation Department Office at the Warm Springs Community Center.  Tryouts are next  Wednesday, March 28^th after 5pm for girls, and Thursday, March 29^th after 5 for boys. Players who were on the junior teams last year do not need to try out but all other players do need to participate in Try Outs.