Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
March 25, 2020
Shutdown message from Finance
As stated by the Secre-
tary-Treasurer/Chief Ex-
ecutive Officer, our top pri-
ority is the health and safety
of our employees and com-
munity members. The
Tribal Council took action
last week to close the tribal
organization from March
30 through April 10. The
closure applies to all non-
essential personnel.
During this two-week
closure, Finance will pro-
vide limited services that
are essential to this organi-
zation and community.
Employees will work from
home as much as reason-
ably possible, but we will
maintain a small workforce
in the office during this
period of time. The build-
ing will be closed to the
public, but we will have
staff available via email or
phone, and if necessary, by
appointment.
First off, any Finance
employee with underlying
medical conditions is en-
couraged to work from
home (or stay home) and
not report to the office
during this time period.
Secondly, we will insti-
tute thorough cleaning pro-
cesses to ensure areas are
disinfected multiple times
daily. I will explain what
the plan is for each area in
regards to this two-week
closure:
Payroll
We understand that em-
ployees will need to be paid
during this two-week clo-
sure, so Payroll’s top prior-
ity will be processing the bi-
weekly payroll. Timesheets
are due no later than 5 p.m.
on Friday, March 27, 2020.
During the week March
30-April 3, the Payroll staff
will be checking time sheets
and entering time into pay-
roll. Normal payroll activ-
ity will occur until the bi-
weekly payroll is processed.
We encourage you to
submit payroll electroni-
cally whenever possible. If
you can scan your payroll
and
email
to
payroll@wstribes.org, that
would be the preferred
method. If you are not
able to scan and email, then
you may submit paper cop-
ies at the Payroll office.
Accounts Payable
The tribe still has finan-
cial obligations to employ-
ees deemed essential by the
Secretary-Treasurer/CEO
or your respective general
manager or director. Ac-
counts Payable will main-
tain a skeleton crew during
the closure. Invoices, pay-
ment authorizations and
other A/P documents
should be submitted elec-
tronically. Scan and send
invoices
to
invoices@wstribes.org
Invoices can also be
faxed to 553-3256. Check
runs will continue to run on
Thursdays. All checks will
be mailed out to limit foot
traffic, and because the
building will be closed.
Warehouse
The tribal Warehouse
will provide limited ser-
vices during this time.
Somebody will remain at
the Warehouse to receive
shipments, and will provide
delivery service to the tribal
organization. The Ware-
house will be closed to the
public. They will only pro-
vide service to the tribal
organization. The only ex-
ception will be for funer-
als.
All Warehouse orders
should be sent electroni-
cally. You can send and
email order forms to Clint
Smith:
clint.smith@wstribes.org
Or fax 541-553-3256.
Budgets, Contracts and
Grants
We will have limited ser-
vices provided during this
two-week shutdown. One
staff will work each day to
help ensure paperwork is
routed for processing, es-
pecially for emergency and
essential services to the
tribal government and
tribal membership. The fol-
lowing will be imple-
mented:
Purchase requisitions,
Page 7
Oregon considers unemployment
benefits for parents off work with kids
budget modifications, grant
applications, and other docu-
ments should be sent elec-
tronically. Please scan and
send
to
budgets@wstribes.org
You may fax to 541-553-
3256. If you need to sub-
mit in person please contact
Dennis Johnson at 541-553-
3479.
With students staying
home while school is can-
celed due to coronavirus
concerns, a lot of parents
are forced to stay home
too. And that may keep
some of them from
working.
As of this printing,
parents in Oregon are
not receiving any assis-
tance from their state
governments, the em-
ployment office said it is
working on a plan.
The statewide closure
of schools in Washington
and Oregon started last
week, with the start of
Cash Management
There will be limited
Cash Management services
provided during this two-
week period. We under-
stand there is still a need to
collect payments for various
things (bail/bond, child sup-
port, Three Warriors Mar-
ket, etc.). The following will
be implemented:
Deposits will be accepted
daily from 1:30 to 3 p.m.,
or by appointment. To
schedule an appointment call
541-553-3479 or 553-2595.
When you arrive at the
building, please wait outside
by the north entrance (not
the Council entrance). A
staff member will allow you
in the building to complete
your payment or deposit.
Deposits not accepted
after 3 p.m. Tribal Court
payments can also be made
online at war msprings-
nsn.gov
There is a $5 processing
fee for paying online. If you
use this option, please be
sure to include your case
number or citation number
in the description.
spring break. The closure
will remain in place until
April.
With kids out of the
classroom, some parents
may have no other choice
but to stay home from
work to care for their chil-
dren.
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown said the state is con-
sidering offering unemploy-
ment insurance or workers’
compensation to parents
caring for children.
“We want to ensure that
Oregon families have the
resources they need to pay
their rent,” Brown said,
“and they can buy basic
essentials: food, medi-
cine and toilet paper.”
Currently, Oregon
doesn’t offer resources
for those parents.
Several schools in
California have also
closed in response to
the coronavirus out-
break. California is of-
fering unemployment
benefits to qualifying
families.
Brown has a task
force working on a plan.
She said the group will
meet Tuesday.
Portland Area IHS positive test
Last week Michael
Toedt, the chief medical
officer for the Indian
Health Service, confirmed
three “presumptive posi-
tive” cases of COVID-19
within IHS.
According to Toedt, the
three cases are in the follow-
ing areas of IHS:
Portland Area. Great
Plains Area (Charles Mix
County/Yankton Sioux
Tribe). Navajo Area.
Very little other informa-
tion was available, as patient
privacy is respected.
“The individuals who
tested positive were referred
to higher levels of care with
our partner institutions,” Mr.
Toedt said.
“All contacts are being
thoroughly investigated as
appropriate testing is being
done.”
Native Helpline continues service
StrongHearts Native
Helpline knows this is a
very difficult time for all
Native people.
We are very concerned
about those most vulner-
able including those who
may be in unhealthy or
abusive relationships;
therefore, we will continue
to operate and offer our
services as long as pos-
sible.
At the StrongHearts
office, we are taking the
directed social distancing
Office of Information
Services
OIS will perform essen-
tial support and address
emergency work orders. All
non-essential work orders
may be delayed. The staff
will work remotely, but can
be on-site if needed.
Alfred Estimo, Direc-
tor of Finance.
protocols very seriously. As
such, callers may experience
longer call wait times. Call-
ers may press one at any time
to be transferred to The Na-
tional Domestic Violence
Hotline, a non-Native
Hotline. The Hotline is also
responding to the directed
protocols so callers may ex-
perience extended call wait
times.
Please note that the
StrongHearts website and
social media sites are not
equipped for support ser-
vices.
We hope that this situ-
ation is temporary. Again,
we will continue to oper-
ate and offer our services
daily from 7 a.m. to 10
p.m. Central Daylight
Time. We apologize for
any disruptions in service
and thank all of our Na-
tive communities for your
patience and understand-
ing.
We are here. We are
ready to listen.
1-844-7NATIVE
Census Kick-off in Warm Springs
Declaration
(Continued from page 3)
Medical professionals will be standing by and avail-
able to talk to your and help determine whether you
should be seen by a doctor at the clinic; or if some-
one needs to potentially come to you.
If you are showing sings of COVID-19, please
express those concerns on the phone to the staff so
we can triage you properly and safely.
We will continue to assess our community and keep
you informed of any changes that are recommended,
and how we will operate as the situation progresses.
Stay safe,
Raymond Tsumpti Sr., Tribal Council Chairman,
March 15, 2020.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Jonie Wallulatum distributes the Census t-shirts at the March kick-off.
Unemployment
(Continued from page 7)
Such people are not usu-
ally eligible for benefits un-
der current law—though
state and federal authorities
are considering changes.
However, the Employ-
ment Department encour-
ages people staying away
from work to avoid exposure
to file a claim anyway.
The department says it will
gather information to see if
any benefits apply.
If I’m getting paid during
the layoff, or using vaca-
tion pay, can I receive ben-
efits?
Generally not.
If
I
contract
the
coronavirus
disease,
COVID-19, on the job, am
I eligible for benefits?
In that case, file a work-
ers’ compensation claim.
If a doctor or government
authorities order me to stay
home, can I collect unem-
ployment benefits.
Yes, usually.
How much do unem-
ployment benefits pay?
The state has an online
calculator for making an es-
timate.
How long do the benefits
last?
Generally speaking, 26
weeks.
I have more questions.
Who do I ask?
Write to the Employment
Department:
OED_COVID19_Info@
oregon.gov