REGION
Thursday, August 12, 2021
Umatilla tribes launch new
full-service financial operation
East Oregonian
M I S SION — T h e
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Reservation has
opened a full-service finan-
cial operation.
Nixyaawii Community
Financial Services held a
ribbon cutting ceremony
Tuesday, Aug. 10, and a
public grand opening Aug.
11, complete with hot dogs
and burgers. The entity is a
Native Community Devel-
opment Financial Institu-
tion loan fund that provides
loans, homeownership
assistance, adult finan-
cial education and more to
members of the Umatilla
Confederated Tribes, reser-
vation residents and tribal
employees. CDFI’s are
specialized financial insti-
tutions that serve geograph-
ically defined low-income
communities and/or popu-
lations that lack access to
financing.
Dave Tovey, execu-
tive director of Nixyaawii
Com mu n it y Fi na ncial
Services, said this has been
in the works for several
years.
The t r ibes in 2015
conducted a community
survey and a feasibility
analysis in preparation for
this new financial opera-
tion, and in 2019 the tribes
named Tovey as the execu-
tive director.
Tovey said the financial
organization secured IRS
nonprofit status in early
2020, and soon after the
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees Chair Kat
Brigham, second from left, and Kelly George, with the Nixyaawii Community Financial Ser-
vices Board of Directors, right, cut the ribbon for the new NCFS building Tuesday, Aug.
10, 2021 as Aaron Hines, NCFS board member, left, and Oregon Secretary of State Shemia
Fagan look on. The new NCFS office is at 46440 Kusi Road, No. A-3, across Highway 331 from
the Arrowhead Travel Plaza.
CTUIR Board of Trust-
ees approved its business
plan. Tovey explained that
plan merged three tribal
programs — Business
Development Services,
Housing Depar tment’s
Homeownership Program
and the Tribal Credit
Program — under one roof.
G r a nt s a n d d o n a -
tions exceeding a total of
$367,000 provided start-up
funding until the approval
of the 2021 budget, includ-
ing $175,000 from the
Northwest Area Founda-
tion and $60,000 from the
Oregon Community Foun-
dation.
Nixyaawii Community
Financial Services is oper-
ating in the former loca-
tion of the Dairy Queen
in the Perennial Building
off Highway 331 near the
Arrowhead Truck Plaza.
Renovations in the space
allow for social distanc-
ing, Tovey said, including
a separate waiting area and
separate offices. NCFS also
kept the former restaurant’s
drive-thru to allow custom-
ers to conduct transitions
on the go.
Tovey also said Nixy-
aawii Community Finan-
cial Services is in the
process of becoming a
Native Community Devel-
opment Financial Institu-
tion.
“ Native CDFIs are
engines of opportunity,
offering accessible funding
for resourceful and resil-
ient communities in Indian
County,” according to the
tribes. “They weave part-
ners, funding, and networks
together to create lasting
prosperity and opportuni-
ties shared by all.”
IN BRIEF
Umatilla County has
another COVID-19
death, 121 new cases
PENDLETON — The Oregon
Health Authority on Wednesday, Aug.
11, reported another COVID-19 death
in Umatilla County.
Oregon’s 2,920th COVID-19 death
is a 39-year-old man from Umatilla
County who tested positive July 20 and
died on Aug. 8 at Providence St. Mary
Medical Center, Walla Walla, accord-
ing to the OHA.
This edges the county near the
triple-digit mark for pandemic-related
deaths. The county on Aug. 6 reported
the 95th COVID-19 death.
The county health department
recently reported several COVID-
19 victims who died months ago, all
of whom died in Washington. That’s
because Washington has different
reporting requirements than Oregon,
health officials say, which suggests the
county’s death toll could be higher than
previously disclosed.
OHA reported 121 new cases in
Umatilla County, pushing the coun-
ty’s total number of COVID-19 cases
past 10,200. More than one in eight
people have had COVID-19 in Umatilla
County, the data shows.
The county continues to report some
of the highest case rates in Oregon and
is reporting more daily cases on-av-
erage than at any other point in the
pandemic. The surge, health officials
say, is being driven by the delta variant
spreading rapidly among unvaccinated
people. Last week, the county reported
416 new cases — the second straight
week with more than 400 cases.
— EO Media Group
Weston students attend Envision STEM camps
By JEREMY
BURNHAM
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
WESTON — While
some students see summer
break as a chance to step
away from school and enjoy
time off, a few Weston
Middle School students
decided to spend six days
of their summer learning in
the sciences at an Envision
Explore STEM summer
camp.
Sixth grader Nathan-
iel Cox, sixth grader Bran-
son Rabb and eighth grader
Mason Matye participated
in a Denver, Colorado,
camp, while sixth grader
Alethea Bond participated
in a San Jose, California,
camp.
The Explore STEM camp
is one in Envision’s series
of National Youth Leader-
ship Forum camps. Envi-
sion camps focus on career
exploration and are aimed at
exposing students to poten-
tial career paths.
Admission is competi-
tive, but students can skip
the application process if
they are nominated into
the program, normally by a
teacher.
The four local students
were nominated by Weston
Middle School sixth grade
teacher Amber Doremus,
who was invited to become
an Envision nominator
several years ago.
“For years, I have been
nominating st udents,”
Doremus said. “Even if a
student can’t go, I think it’s
great for them to be nomi-
nated and feel a little more
confident that, ‘Hey, I can
really do these things.’”
Doremus said often the
students she nominates
don’t end up going. So, she
was excited the four went
this time.
Envision/Contributed Photo
Weston Middle School sixth grader Branson Rabb partici-
pates in an Envision summer camp in Denver, Colorado, in
July 2021.
“It’s a wide variety of
things they learn about,”
Doremus said. “It’s great
oppor tunity for them.
Big-time federal outfits are
there.”
Branson Rabb said the
Denver camp was a great
experience. He said he
participated in projects in
robotics, engineering, foren-
sics and medical.
So, what was his favorite?
“Probably robotics and
engineering,” he said. “It
was really fun coding the
robot and actually design-
ing it.”
Branson said the experi-
ence made him excited about
a possible career path.
“It kind of gave me an
idea of what I want to be,”
he said. “I want to do some-
thing with building robots or
designing them.”
Mason Matye also found
the experience worthwhile.
“Engineering is pretty
cool,” he said. “We designed
3D buildings for suitable life
on Mars.”
Mason said it was a fun
way to spend part of his
summer.
“I got to meet new
people,” he said. “If you’re
into learning about this kind
of stuff, then it’s really fun.”
Alethea said she enjoyed
the medical portion. She
already knows she wants to
be a surgeon when she grows
up.
“I was already interested
in (becoming a surgeon)
before the camp, but it made
me want to do it even more,”
she said.
A l e t h e a’s m o t h e r,
Rebecca Bond, said she’s
grateful her daughter was
able to take part in the camp.
“She made some great
friends, had wonderful
leaders and really grew in
her confidence,” Bond said.
“We’re so grateful for Ms.
Doremus having nomi-
nated her and all the Weston
Middle School staff encour-
agement she received. We
would have never known of
this opportunity otherwise.”
She said she hopes other
families can learn about the
camp and send their chil-
dren.
“I have been talking to
other parents locally,” Bond
said. “Here in our part of
Oregon, we really don’t get
to hear about programs like
this. If her teacher had not
said something, we would
not have known. It opened a
world of possibilities to us.”
Doremus said she chose
to nominate the students she
did because she felt they’d be
successful at the camp and
get a lot out of it.
“There’s a lot of factors,”
she said. “Work ethic,
general knowledge in several
areas. It’s not just, ‘Oh, this
student is good at math.’ …
You just kind of get a feel-
ing about who could benefit
from something like this.”
She said she hopes the
four students come back
feeling confident in their
abilities.
Memorial Service for
MARY WALLAN
Saturday, August 14th • 10am
Athena Cemetery
Reception to
follow at
Athena Baptist
Church.
Memorial donations
may be made to the
Mary Wallan nursing
scholarship through
St. Anthony’s Hospital
Foundation
East Oregonian
A3
Mosquitoes near Boardman
found with West Nile virus
East Oregonian
BOARDMAN — The
Nor th Mor row Vector
Control District in a press
release reported it detected
West Nile virus in mosqui-
toes at a testing site in
Morrow County.
The mosquitoes are the
first to test positive for the
disease in Morrow County
in 2021.
“North Morrow Vector
Control District was noti-
fied that seven mosquito
pools collected on the night
of Tuesday, Aug. 3, tested
positive for West Nile virus.
The pools were collected
in the east rural Board-
man area,” Greg Barron,
manager of control district,
said in a press release. “The
area was treated with our
truck mounted fogging units
on Aug. 4 and again on the
night of Aug. 9.”
Barron said the vector
control district trapped the
Boardman area again the
night of Aug. 10 and on
Aug. 11 shipped mosqui-
tos for testing at the Oregon
State University Diagnostic
Laboratory.
West Nile virus is spread
to humans through the bite
of an infected mosquito.
Most infected people will
show little or no signs of
disease.
The incubation period
is usually two to 14 days.
Rarely, infected individu-
als may develop neuroin-
vasive disease (infection
of the brain or spinal cord)
that can be severe or may
cause death. This is espe-
cially of concern to people
50 and older, people with
i m mu ne - comprom isi ng
conditions and people with
diabetes or high blood pres-
sure.
About 1 in 5 people who
are infected develop a fever
with other symptoms, such
as headache, body aches,
joint pains, vomiting, diar-
rhea or rash. Most people
with febrile illness due to
West Nile virus recover
completely, but fatigue and
weakness can last for weeks
or months. It is important
that you contact your health
care provider if you experi-
ence any of these symptoms.
While risk of West Nile
disease is low, a handful
of people get it each year
in Oregon. The virus also
affects wildlife and domes-
ticated and farm animals.
Pendleton man faces
assault, robbery charges
By JEREMY BURNHAM
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
WALLA WALLA —
What began as an armed
group planning to take back
a vehicle allegedly stolen
from a Pendleton man ended
with three locals injured and
at least one arrest in Walla
Walla.
Cha rles T hompk i n s
Jr., 63, of Pendleton, was
arrested Sunday, Aug. 8,
and is accused of organizing
10 other people on July 5 to
take a vehicle he claims was
stolen from him, Walla Walla
County Superior Court
documents show.
Thompkins is charged
with first-degree robbery,
three counts of first-de-
gree assault, first degree
burglary, criminal mischief
and harassment.
Three people at the Walla
Walla house where the vehi-
cle was were injured in a
confrontation that involved
several firearms, police said.
According to the arrest
report, Thompkins told the
group, including three of
his sons, to go with him to
a house in Walla Walla and
try to take a white Chevrolet
Tahoe. Thompkins “directed
the rest of the group to beat
up the people who had the
Tahoe,” the report stated.
The arrest report said the
group “armed themselves
with multiple firearms” and
drove to a house in Walla
Walla in three cars.
While Thompkins claims
to own the Tahoe, the arrest
report stated he has not
provided any evidence of
ownership.
Security footage at the
residence shows nine people
got out of vehicles while two
stayed in a vehicle, the report
said. Two men carried what
appeared to be “long guns,”
while two others, including
Thompkins, had handguns,
the report states.
When the three men
inside the home heard the
Tahoe start, one went outside
to investigate. He said he
heard guns “clacking” and
someone telling him not to
move or they would shoot.
The report said the man
then retreated inside, after
which he heard a gunshot.
When the Pendleton group
gave the three men two
minutes to come out, one of
the Walla Walla men called
911.
The police report stated
the Pendleton group entered
the building and a fight
ensued. When Walla Walla
County Sheriff’s Office depu-
ties arrived, they detained the
Pendleton residents.
The three alleged victims
opted to take their own vehi-
cles to Providence St. Mary
Medical Center. According
to the report, one left before
being treated.
The second victim was
treated for a fractured jaw
and nasal bone, a laceration
of his lip and other cuts and
bruising on his face.
The third victim was
flown to Kadlec Regional
Medical Center in Rich-
land, Washington, where
he underwent surgery for a
broken eye socket, a frac-
tured finger, a fractured skull
and other injuries.
The 10 other members of
the group who drove from
Pendleton also were named
in the arrest report, but the
Walla Walla County Prose-
cuting Attorney’s Office has
not confirmed what, if any,
charges they face.
Thompkins is in the
Walla Walla County Jail on
$150,000 bond.
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