School ages near toxic plumes as Nevada tribe calls for help

By GABE STERN
Associated Press/Report for America

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The public Owyhee Combined School in the Duck Valley Indian Reservation called on lawmakers Thursday to provide funding for a new school. Originally built in 1953, the current school has aging infrastructure, cracked windows, spotty heating and is in close proximity to hazardous plumes that the health clinic suspects is tied to a string of cancer deaths in the community along the Nevada-Idaho border. Nevada lawmakers are working to provide funding, but there is debate on where that would come from and how long that would last. One option they’re looking at is an emergency funding from the state budget, where leaders hope part of those discussions include more systemic funding for tribal schools in the future.