KWSO News 01/11/2019

Oregon’s snowpack is below normal again as data show the state reaching historically normal levels less often. The Statesman Journal reports the Natural Resources Conservation Service shows the state’s snow-water equivalent in the mountains is 72 percent of normal, with the number lower in western Oregon. According to the data, the state has reached a normal snowpack level in four of the last 10 years.

Grant County Undersheriff Zach Mobley was awarded the Enforcement Council Commander of the Year award at the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association’s annual awards program in Bend in early December.  His name was submitted in October by Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer in recognition of Mobley’s dedication, professional achievement and accomplishment.  Prior to joining the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Mobley was a reserve deputy in Aurora and served four years as a sergeant for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Madras boys basketball will host Valley Catholic today – game times are 4, 5:30 and 7. KWSO will broadcast the varsity game. The girls face Valley Catholic on the road. Madras wrestlers make a trip to Seaside for a 2-day meet. The MHS swim team is hosting the Madras Invitational starting at 11:30 Saturday at the MAC.

The ongoing partial government shutdown hit a new milestone today by matching the record for the longest government shutdown in US history. Today marks the 21st day of the partial shutdown that started days before Christmas over a standoff between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over funding for the President’s long-promised border wall. That’s the same length of time as the 21-day shutdown that stretched from December 1995 to January 1996 as a result of a clash between President Bill Clinton and the GOP Congress. As of now, there is still no end in sight to the current partial shutdown, putting it on track to break that record by tomorrow. An estimated 800,000 federal workers have been impacted by the shutdown, either by having to work without pay while it lasts or by being furloughed. This weekend is the first time that many of them are receiving paychecks with all zeroes. In Warm Springs – BIA employees are furloughed.  The Indian Health Service is open however staff are working without pay.