Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
March 25, 2020
Page 5
Census: 2020 count under way on reservation
(Continued from page 2)
The official start date of the
2020 census is Wednesday, April
1. Warm Springs began early, with
the first submission—the first sub-
mission for the tribes and for the
state of Oregon—happening in
mid March. The tribes, the Cen-
sus Bureau and others marked the
occasion with a gathering at the
Agency Longhouse. George
Aguilar Sr., Korean War veteran
and life-long Warm Springs resi-
dent, was the first person counted
in the Oregon for the census. He
recounted:
The allotment numbers of
1887 marked a first census enu-
meration of the tribes; members
were then counted again in 1930,
with the start of the enrollment
process. Mr. Aguilar just turned
90: Joking he said, “It’s an honor
to be chosen number one, before
I die.”
At the Longhouse kick-off,
Tribal Council Chair man
Raymond Tsumpti addressed the
gathering. “The Census happens
once every 10 years,” Chairman
Tsumpti said. “In the past our res-
ervation has been undercounted.
We don’t want that to be the case
in 2020. I encourage all our tribal
members and Warm Springs resi-
dents to participate in the census,
to help provide a better future for
our community and future gen-
erations.”
The once-a-decade census dic-
tates how much money the fed-
eral government will allocate to
tribal services on the reservation.
Funding can be for housing, trans-
portation and other infrastructure,
health care and other services.
“And it’s not just the money,”
said Caroline Cruz, Health and
Human Services general manager
and War m Springs Complete
Count Committee chair. “It’s the
fact that we’re important enough
that the federal census wants us
to be counted.”
Jeffrey Enos, deputy regional
director for the Census Bureau
Los Angeles region, including the
reservation, then addressed the
gathering:
“For every man, woman or
child missed in the census, thou-
sands of dollars are lost in those
communities every year,” Mr.
Enos said. “So if you multiply that
over 10 years—the time between
each census—that’s tens of thou-
sands of dollars for every person
missed. It’s so important that ev-
ery man, woman and child—ev-
eryone—is counted.”
The census information is sub-
From the Social
Security Administration
The Social Security Adminis-
tration wants you directly from
people how the COVID-19 pan-
demic is affecting its services. The
first thing you should know is that
Social Security continues to pay
benefits.
Be aware that scammers may
try to trick you into thinking the
pandemic is stopping your Social
Security payments, but that is not
true. Please do not be fooled.
To protect yourself and help
stop the spread of this
coronavirus, Social Security can-
not accept visitors in its offices at
this time. There are several other
ways you can get help. Many ser-
vices are available online at
socialsecurity.gov
If you have a critical need that
you cannot address online, help is
available over the phone.
To find out what services So-
cial Security is continuing and
which ones we are suspended, how
to contact the administration, and
important information about
deadlines that are being extended
to ease the burden on you and
medical providers during this pan-
demic,
please
visit
socialsecurity.gov/coronavirus/
KWSO photos/Jayson Smith
Youth mini-powwow at the Census kick-off; and (below) at the Complete Count Committee census
computers, Dan Martinez, Emergency Response manager, completes a census form, with Scott
Kalama, Prevention specialist, and Minnie Yahtin, Tribal Council Recorder, next in line.
Delayed
W.S. Work
Readiness
classes
The Work Readiness
classes and workshops
scheduled for students who
are first-time workers have
been cancelled until further
notice.
The After-School Work
Readiness trainings are on
hold also, until further no-
tice that is safe to gather
together.
An online application
process is being worked on
at this time and the public
will be informed when it
available and where to ac-
cess it once it has been com-
pleted.
Also, look forward to
some online Work Readi-
ness training. Please be pa-
tient as we work through the
COVID-19 pandemic.
WEDD/WIOA Pro-
grams
COCC
business
resources
mitted in strict anonymity. These
are some examples of the ques-
tions of the 2020 census:
How many people were living
or staying in this house, apartment,
or mobile home on April 1, 2020?
Were there any additional
people staying here on April 1,
2020, that you did not include in
question 1?
Is this house, apartment or mo-
bile home owned by you or some-
one in this household with a mort-
gage or a loan? Is it owned free
and clear? Rented? Occupied with-
out payment of rent?
What is person 1’s name? What
is person 1’s sex? Age and date
of birth?
Is person 1 of Hispanic,
Latino or Spanish origin?
What is person 1’s race?
Dave McMechan
As Central Oregon continues to
deal with the arrival of COVID-19
in our community, the impact on
local companies is growing. We
wanted to let you know that Cen-
tral Oregon Community College
business advising is still available
through our Small Business Devel-
opment Center.
Phone or video conference ap-
pointments can be scheduled by
calling 541-383-7290 or emailing
sbdc@cocc.edu.
Our long-time advising staff live
in the area and have experience
with both urban and rural industries.
They have worked through tough
times in the past and coached busi-
nesses in challenging situations.
We hope to continue to support
our fellow business owners during the
current uncertainty as we all move
through uncharted territory together.
Here are some state and federal
links that might be helpful as you
gather information and weigh your
options. Use these search phrases:
Oregon SBDC Network
COVID-19 resource list
America’s SBDC COVID-19
Small Business Resources