Crooked River Ranch Community Steps Up, Donating Supplies to Families Hit by Spokane Fires

Oregon high school football is back, and Buff Nation is gearing up for another season under the Friday night lights. The 2026 OSAA season kicks off this week with Week 0 games and jamborees around the state.

One of the most severe droughts in decades is squeezing Jefferson County's agricultural community hard. With weeks still left in the growing season, some area farmers are already out of irrigation water — and state officials have taken the extraordinary step of cutting allotments even to senior water right holders.

The Madras Aquatic Center Recreation District has named four new board members — Melissa Irvine, Ben Hocker, Miriam Fisher, and Paul May — ending a months-long governance crisis that left the district without a quorum and the community pool shuttered for part of the summer.

Jefferson County Fire and EMS crews came to the rescue Friday when two dogs became trapped in a pond and couldn't get out on their own — a feel-good call to wrap up a busy fire season week.

Jefferson County and the Warm Springs Reservation have a full slate of community events this Labor Day weekend, from the Spirit Fest summer potluck at the Warm Springs Campus Pavilion to the Madras Saturday Market at Sahalee Park.