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Pilot Butte Access Limited for Fireworks Show

The road up Pilot Butte State Park will close to all vehicle traffic starting at 10pm July 1. It will remain closed until the afternoon of July 5. The closure is to allow preparation and cleanup of the July 4 fireworks display. Walkers and bicyclists can access the road and trails through July 3. Pilot Butte will be closed to everyone on July 4 through the afternoon of July 5. The main parking area at the base of Pilot Butte will be open during the fireworks show. Pets are not permitted.

—Nic Moye

Gov. Kotek in Bend to Discuss Proposed Federal Cuts

Gov. Tina Kotek attended a roundtable in Bend at Mosaic Community Health on June 18 to speak with 11 hospital workers, caregivers and people receiving benefits to discuss how proposed federal cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could impact the lives of those needing care in the region and in rural eastern Oregon.

According to Kotek, one in three Oregonians rely on Medicaid and SNAP. The proposed cuts, she said, could halt health insurance coverage for over 200,000 residents.

According to Megan Haase, CEO of Mosaic Community Health, a local health center, more than half of its 34,000 patients rely on Medicaid coverage.

When it comes to SNAP, Kotek said the proposed budget cuts would put more of the administrative and food benefit costs on the state.

“Right now, we’re looking at changes being proposed of adding another $850 million back onto the backs of Oregonians every two years to pay for those SNAP changes,” she told the Source. “We don’t have the money here to do that.”

Other proposed actions include new work requirements and imposing 80-hour per month work requirements on able-bodied Medicaid recipients.

—Julianna LaFollette