KWSO News 1/16/2019

Warm Springs Community Action Team has begun taking appointments for tax preparation. The service will be available February 5th through April 12th on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only. It is a free tax service. The WSCAT has been an AARP Tax Aide site since 2009. To set an appointment call 541-553-3148.

Warm Springs 6th, 7th and 8th graders are being recruited for the Iron Chef Cooking Club that will start at the K-8 Academy next week. Kids will learn cooking and nutrition skills and take part in a cooking challenge. It will be held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from January 22nd thru February 7th from 4-5:30. The regional competition will take place on February 8th.\

Cascades East Transit is holding open house events to collect input on the future of public transportation from the Central Oregon communities it serves, including Warm Springs and Madras. Ashley Hooper works is the Outreach Specialist for CET…

There is an open house tomorrow at the Rodriguez Annex in Madras. The Warm Springs open house will be Wednesday next week at the Community Center. Both of those will be from 4:30 to 6:30. Those are drop in times, so you can stop by anytime between those hours.

As a result of the partial federal government shutdown, the U.S Department of Agriculture has asked states to provide early issuance of February benefits for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. February benefits will go to recipients by January 20th. DHS reminds SNAP participants to carefully budget their food benefits through February because these are their February benefits – they will not receive any further benefits until March.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s two senators are urging the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to update federal regulations to permit interstate commerce of food products containing a key non-psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. The appeal by Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley on Tuesday came three weeks after Congress legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp and hemp derivatives, including cannabidiols, known as CBD.

The Oregon Department of Revenue is encouraging taxpayers to start the new year with a paycheck checkup to ensure they’re withholding enough from their wages this year. Not withholding appropriately in 2019 could lead to an unexpected tax bill in 2020 they say. State and federal tax liabilities are different because tax rates and other items claimed on returns—such as deductions and credits—are different. In past years, these differences were minimal enough that Oregonians were able to use the federal Form W-4 to calculate their Oregon withholding appropriately. However, recent federal tax law changes, including how withholding allowances are calculated, mean that the federal form no longer consistently meets Oregon’s needs. For tax year 2019, Oregon’s new Form OR-W-4 and online withholding calculator allow taxpayers to more accurately determine the appropriate amount to withhold for Oregon. Some groups of taxpayers are more at risk for under-withholding than others, including taxpayers who: Started a new job in 2018, updated their federal Form W-4 in 2018, and those who live in a two-earner household.

Madras High School basketball will start Tri Valley League play today at Corbett High School. JV Boys play at 4:30, varsity girls at 6:00 and varsity boys at 7.