Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
March 25, 2020 - Vol. 45, No. 7
March – Wiyalppt – Spring - Wawaxam
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
‘All in this together...’
The Warm Springs Academy
and the other schools are closed
at least through April, maybe
longer.
The Community
Wellness Center is closed to the
public. Children are home with
parents and guardians. The ca-
sino is closed. Many restau-
rants and other businesses are
closed. The tribal organization
is implementing a shut-down.
Clearly, we are having to do
without some things for a while.
Some of the things we are fa-
miliar with are on hold for a
time. As we work through this
we will be better on the other
side. Some elders in their wis-
dom would say, ‘What does not
kill us makes us strong.’ So we
follow their advice, and the ad-
vice of the health professionals:
Wash your hands constantly.
Sanitize everything. Keep a dis-
tance from people. Stay home.
Last week Tribal Council
voted to close the tribal organi-
zation, with the exception of
essential service providers. Most
employees are encouraged to
work from home.
The Tribal Council action
happened following recommenda-
tions from Dan Martinez, di-
rector of tribal Emer gency
Management; Hyllis Dauph-
inais, director of the Indian
Health Service Warm Springs
clinic; Caroline Cruz, general
manager of tribal Health and
Human Ser vices; and Louie
Pitt, director of Governmental
Affairs.
As we work through this, Tribal
Council and Management provide
this memorandum:
To all tribal employees,
Our top priority is everyone’s
health and safety so please take the
necessary precautions to look af-
ter yourselves and your loved ones.
These measures are for your pro-
tection and are meant for you to
limit your exposure to others.
Please stay home during the clo-
sure.
In response to the COVID-19
pandemic the following are im-
posed:
Tribal government offices will
be closed effective March 30,
2020 through April 10, 2020. This
does not apply to essential services
typically defined as Police, Fire and
Safety, Emergency Medical Tech-
nicians, Public Utilities, etc. Ad-
ministration leave will be allowed
for tribal government employees
(all employee classifications apply)
during this shut down.
If you typically don’t work an
80 hour pay period, your pay will
be determined based on recent
work hour history. More infor-
mation will be provided by Fi-
nance.
During this week tribal govern-
ment is preparing for the shut
down. Please plan accordingly re-
garding the following: Purchase
orders, payroll, invoices, etc. Pay-
roll must be submitted by 5 p.m.
on March 27.
Telework will be allowed for
employees beginning March 23,
if their job description can sup-
port working remotely. Employ-
ees with underlying conditions (see
note below), and over 60 years of
age are encouraged to take this
option.
Telework will be allowed for
three weeks and then will be re-
evaluated.
Telework must be approved by
your general manager or director.
Daily logs/reports will be required
to be turned into your immediate
supervisor. Telework will continue
during the closure.
An employee may elect to be
furloughed per PER-704. Fur-
loughed employees must have ap-
proval from the general manager
or director. Unemployment ben-
efits require a one-week waiting
period. Furloughed employees will
not be eligible for administration
leave.
Flexible work schedules are en-
couraged. These include stag-
gered schedules or shifts, work-
ing weekends, working nights, etc.
Please work with your supervisor
for balancing workloads and
scheduling.
PER-702 6. Return to work:
A doctor’s note for three or more
days absence from work, due to
sickness, will not be required dur-
ing this pandemic.
Administration leave of two
weeks will be granted for an em-
ployee who either:
See GUIDELINES on 3
Council Declaration
of Emergency
To the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs tribal member-
ship,
The Warm Springs Tribal
Council per motion declares a
State of Emergency: “Warm
Springs Tribal Council is re-
sponsible for the Health and
Welfare of our people and pro-
motes our general welfare. The
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs in partnership with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and
Indian Health Service declares
a State of Emergency as a pro-
active measure to ensure access
to resources in addressing
COVID-19 coronavirus.”
With the concerns of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) in-
creasing in our community, as
well as across the nation, the
tribal government is working
closely with the Warm Springs
Health and Wellness Center to
evaluate and ensure the health
and safety of our community.
(As of this printing): There
are NO confirmed or presump-
tive cases of the COVID-19 on
the reservation, as of today.
The Warm Springs Health and
Wellness Center has activated
their Incident Command Cen-
ter.
This is to help the commu-
nity receive the best quality of
care, and be able to service the
community in an effective and
efficient manner. They are
having all patients come
through the main entrance for
triage screening.
The Tribal Council has
passed a motion to restrict
travel of all tribal employees
to be determined by the gen-
eral managers and directors.
This was done for the safety
of our community. This travel
restriction will be in place un-
til the Tribal Council removes
the restrictions.
We ask that you utilize the
Warm Springs Health and
Wellness Center call number at
541-5532-5512, available
Monday through Friday, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you are ill, or a family
member is ill, please stay home
from work and try not to come
in close contact with others.
Please keep yourselves and
your family safe by continu-
ing to thoroughly wash your
hands and use good hygiene
practice.
Consider keeping your dis-
tance from others at 3 to 6
feet.
See DECLARATION on 3
New chief on board
at police department
From Warm Springs Community
Health on coronavirus COVID-19
Community policing is a
partnership: Law enforcement
is a part of the community.
The officers know the people,
the neighborhoods, the customs.
The officer response to crime,
or potential crime is thereby
informed, much more effective
and long term. The philoso-
phy of community policing is
the priority of Warm Springs
Police Chief William Elliott.
To the department Chief
Elliott brings years of experi-
ence, from the region and
around the world. He was
among the forces in Afghani-
stan, during Operation Endur-
ing Freedom, the War on Ter-
rorism. His work at the Depart-
ment of State took him to the
territory of the West Bank and
Jordan, and Beirut, Lebanon.
And at that point, Mr. Elliott
says, “My wife buried my pass-
port.”
In response to questions from
the members, the Warm Springs
Community Health Services De-
partment offers this information
regarding what to do if someone
thinks they have been in contact
with someone who has
coronavirus disease COVID-19.
As of this printing at least, We
do not have any one who tested
positive for COVID-19 in Warm
Springs.
Scenario:
Someone in your department
tests positive for COVID-19.
People who were within 6 feet
of this person for over an hour
will be asked to stay home and
monitor for symptoms for 14
days.
These people are considered
contacts of the positive person.
People who were not within 6
feet of this person will continue
to work and monitor symptoms
twice a day.
If any symptoms develop, go
home right away and stay there
until three days after symptoms go
away. These people are not con-
Stateside in law enforce-
ment, after military service,
Chief Elliott worked with the
U.S. Border Patrol, Klamath
County, and as Public Safety
Director of the Confederated
Tribes of the Colville Indian
Reservation. In the 1980s he
worked with Warm Springs
Police as a Special Agent of
the BIA. Chief Elliott grew up
in California. He is an enrolled
member of the Kiowa, Native
people of the Great Plains.
Community policing of the
Warm Springs Reservation in-
volves, as the phrase suggests,
law enforcement transparency
and involvement with the
people. Mr. Elliott joined the
Warm Springs Police Depart-
ment in early March.
“Everyone has been very
gracious,” Mr. Elliott says. “I
have had not one bad experi-
ence since I’ve been here.”
sidered contacts of the positive
person.
Monitor yourself:
Everyone should monitor them-
selves for symptoms of COVID-
19:
· Fever above 100.4 F
· With Cough
· Shortness of Breath
If you have any of these symp-
toms please stay home and away
from people for three days after
symptoms go away.
Please call the nursing triage line
at 541-553-5512 to discuss your
symptoms and receive instructions
on what to do. You can also call
the 24-hour nursing hotline at 866-
470-2015.
If you do not use the Warm
Springs clinic, call your medical
provider for instructions.
Social Distancing means:
· Stay at least 6 feet away from
people as much as possible.
· Use alternative greetings to
handshakes.
· Stay away from crowds and
gatherings (10 people is the most
that should be around).
In general, please stay home and
away from others.
Social distancing is supposed to
decrease your exposure to others
since we do not know who may
have the virus but not showing
symptoms.
Please stay away from
crowds and gatherings of
more than 10 people.
Testing:
Testing is being done in the re-
gion. Tests take 2-3 days to pro-
cess.
People who were tested are
asked to self-isolate until the tests
results are received.
If it comes back positive, people
who were contacts will be notified
by community health nurses and
asked to stay home to monitor for
symptoms.
If it comes back negative, the
person does not have coronavirus
and no longer needs to self-isolate
and no contacts will be notified.
Katie Russell, BSN, RN, Warm
Springs Community Health Ser-
vices manager, Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs.