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Local News
Local News
70 Warm Springs College Students at Risk of Losing State Grant Funding — Deadline Is September 30
Seventy Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs college students could lose access to Oregon Tribal Student Grant funding if they do not complete their applications by the September 30 priority deadline. CTWS Higher Education Coordinator Gerald Smith is urging students to log in and finish the process now.
Local News
Seventy Warm Springs College Students Risk Losing State Grant Funding Before September 30 Deadline
About 70 Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs college students could lose Oregon Tribal Student Grant funding if they don't complete their applications by the end of the month. Tribal Higher Education Coordinator Gerald Smith is urging affected students to act immediately at OregonStudentAid.gov.
Local News
Crooked River Ranch Heads Into Fall With Firewise Focus and Board Updates
As summer fire season slowly winds down, the Crooked River Ranch community is shifting attention to fall programming, ongoing fire mitigation work, and a recent Board of Directors work session that addressed neighborhood priorities ahead of the cooler months.
Local News
COCC Madras Welcomes First Full Fall Term in New $22 Million Campus Building
Central Oregon Community College's Madras campus is opening a new chapter this fall — the first complete term inside its expanded 24,000-square-foot facility, which added nursing and medical assistant classrooms earlier this year. Enrollment counselors say local interest in healthcare programs is at an all-time high.
Local News
Fatal Bacteria Detected for First Time in Oregon's Largest Bighorn Sheep Herd; Warm Springs Tribes Join Response
Wildlife managers confirmed Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in the 1,000-animal John Day River bighorn herd — the first known outbreak in Oregon's largest bighorn population — and are working with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to contain the disease.
Local News
Bench Fire Mostly Contained After Burning 67,000 Acres; Oregon Approves $123 Million in Wildfire Relief
The Bench Fire that scorched more than 67,000 acres near Madras and the Warm Springs Reservation is largely contained, but ranchers face a long road to recovery as Oregon lawmakers approve emergency wildfire funding.
Local News
Warm Springs Housing Authority Lands $5 Million Federal Grant to Build Seven New Homes
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will build seven new three-bedroom homes for low-income tribal families after securing a $5 million Indian Housing Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Local News
Warm Springs Housing Authority Receives $5 Million Federal Grant to Build Seven New Homes
U.S. Senators Merkley and Wyden announced nearly $5 million in HUD Indian Housing Block Grant funding for the Warm Springs Housing Authority to construct seven three-bedroom homes for low-income tribal families.
Local News
70 Warm Springs College Students at Risk of Losing State Grant Funding Before Sept. 30 Deadline
Seventy Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs college students could lose Oregon Tribal Student Grant funding if they fail to complete applications — including missing FAFSA or Tribal Verification paperwork — before the September 30 deadline.
Local News
Jefferson County Updating Five-Year Wildfire Protection Plan After Busy 2026 Fire Season
Jefferson County is revising its Community Wildfire Protection Plan, incorporating lessons from a 2026 fire season interim Fire Chief Kasey Skaar called 'kind of historical' due to record lightning-caused fire starts.
Local News
A Hard Harvest: Jefferson County Farmers Close Out a Drought-Shortened Growing Season
With reduced water allocations, a state drought emergency declaration, and 94% of Jefferson County under severe drought, the 2026 growing season has tested area farmers in ways many call among the worst in decades.
Local News
Jefferson County 509J Opens 2026-27 School Year After $2 Million in Budget Adjustments — No Teacher Layoffs
Jefferson County School District 509J started the 2026-27 school year having cut roughly $2 million from its budget — managing the reductions through attrition and contract changes rather than teacher layoffs, as falling enrollment continues to reshape district finances.