E Coosh EEWA: The way it is Page 4 Spilyay Tymoo April 8, 2020 Letters to the editor Reservation areas closed during shutdown Births Caynan Queahpama Mehlber g Justin Queahpama- Mehlberg and Penny Danzuka of Madras are pleased to announce the birth of their son Caynan Queahpama Mehlberg, born on March 19, 2020. Caynan joins brothers Colden, 5, and Callan, 4. Grandparents on the father’s side are Jim Mehberg of Madras, and Shauna Queahpama of Warm Springs. Grandparents on the mother’s side are Loretta Danzuka of Shiprock of New Mexico, and Gerald Danzuka of Warm Springs. Janniyah Mari Sol Hernandez-Schneider Jeremiah Schneider and Aureanna Hernandez of Redmond are pleased to an- nounce the birth of their daughter Janniyah Mari Sol Hernandez-Schneider, born on March 24, 2020. Grandparents on the father’s side are Monica and Jason Schneider of Redmond. Grandparents on the mother’s side are Julie Poor Bear of Bend and Jair Hernandez of Redmond; great grandparents are Ear- nest and Maria Dobkins of Metolius. Janice Marie Ike Douglas Gilbert and Britteny Ike of War m Springs are pleased to an- nounce the birth of their daughter Janice Marie Ike, born on March 14, 2020. Janice joins brothers Merlin and Easton. Grandparents on the mother’s side are Britton Metrokin and Sarah Ike. From W.S. Housing During the tribal organi- zation shutdown, the Warm Springs Housing Authority is taking precautions due to Covid-19. Through the shutdown the Housing Authority staff will not be entering any homes to do routine main- tenance or inspections. Emergency workorders for electrical and water issues will be addressed on a case by case basis. All other re- pairs will be on hold until the pandemic warnings have passed. Please call in your workorders, they will be logged and completed in the order they are received. The Housing Authority office will be on reduced hours with the office open to the public on Monday and Friday only. No one at housing is sick right now but we want to en- sure safety for our staff and the community. The Housing Authority is responding with an abun- dance of caution for every- one in our community. Any questions or concerns please give Wa r m Springs Housing Au- thority a call at 541-553- 3250. Casino, Plateau As the health and safety of its team members, com- munity and our neighbors is the top priority, Indian Head Casino remains closed at least through April 13. The Plateau Travel Plaza in Madras remains open, ex- cept for its game room. Food service is to go, as at other restaurants. Warm Springs Casino Enterprises is committed to doing everything possible to help slow the spread of COVID-19; and therefore defers to the guidelines set in place by health experts and policy makers. The closure is in keeping with the Tribal Council and Management, state and fed- eral stay-at-home directives. As April 13 appoaches, the casino and management and board will reassess the projected re-opening date, as new information and guid- ance are available. Visit: indianheadcasino.com for reopening updates, as well as preliminary answers to ques- tions about Free Play, expir- ing points, and more. At the Plateau Travel Plaza, while the game room is closed the Three Teepees Café continues serving to go orders only: You can order by calling 541-777-2826; and your order will be ready for pick-up. The Plateau fuel service and propane retail operations are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Plateau team is fol- lowing the increased cleanli- ness protocols throughout the property, including the deployment of additional hand sanitizers. Indian Head Casino En- terprises is committed to supporting all of our em- ployees at Indian Head Ca- sino and Plateau Travel Plaza during this difficult time. The casino and travel plaza team Spilyay Tymoo (Coyote News, Est. 1976) Publisher Emeritus in Memorium: Sid Miller Editor: Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our of- fices are located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm Springs. Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo should be addressed to: Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 489, Warm Springs, OR 97761. Phone: 541-553-2210 or 541-771-7521 E-Mail: david.mcmechan@wstribes.org. Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $20.00 are truly grateful for you, our guests, and our valued team members. Please take care of yourselves, each other and your families. Scam calls Several residents of the region have reported getting phone calls from a scammer claiming to be with the sheriff ’s office, and demand- ing payment for supposed fines, the agency said in a scam alert to the public. The caller claims to be an officer of the sheriff ’s de- partment “warrant division.” The agency has no such per- son or division. The caller apparently has some personal information about the person he’s calling, and is calling to collect pay- ment on fictional fines. If you call the number back, it reaches a recording that attempts to sound legiti- mate, but again, it’s all a scam. Deputies will never at- tempt to seek payment over the phone for anything, ever. COCC nursing The Oregon State Board of Nursing has approved a program expansion request from Central Oregon Com- munity College’s nursing pro- gram, enabling the state-ac- credited training to increase its annual cohort size from 48 to 56 students. The change will be implemented with this year’s admissions process, and introduce the larger cohort size beginning in fall term 2020. COCC’s primary clinical teaching partner, St. Charles Health System, took an ac- tive role in the process by permitting an additional clini- cal group—eight students is the standard clinical group size—for the program’s on- site training visits. The col- lege will hire a new part-time instructor to assist with class size expansion. COCC’s nursing program is based at the Bend cam- pus in the Health Careers Center, a state-of-the-art building built in 2012 with a voter-approved bond mea- sure. For more information, contact Jane Morrow, nurs- ing department chair, at 541- 383-7417. Email: jmorrow1@cocc.edu D.McMechan/Spilyay In implementing the health and safety shut- down of the tribal orga- nization, Tribal Council agreed that non-reserva- tion people traveling on the highway should re- main upon the highway corridor. Moreover, camp- grounds, parks and lakes on the reservation are closed to the public dur- Lands closure The U..S Forest Service closed the public lands the agency manages in the Co- lumbia River Gorge Na- tional Scenic Area, Ceded Lands of the Confederated Tribes. The area includes the Sandy River delta in Troutdale, site of the Confluence Bird Blind by Maya Lin. This follows the closure of all Washington State Parks, including Confluence sites at Cape Disappointment and Sacajawea State Park. Stay safe, The Conf luence Project ing this time. Enforcement is con- ducted by the War m Springs Police Depart- ment, and the Branch of Natural Resources. Above, the reservation roads off the highway are closed to visitor traffic; and left, like many tribal buildings, the Community Wellness Center has been closed to the public. Birth Mag gie Louise Matthews John J.D. Mathews and Breann RedFox of Culver are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Maggie Louise Matthews, born on March 26, 2020. Mag gie joins sister Priscilla Jones, age 1 and a half. Grandparent on the father’s side is Tammy Mathews of Culver. Grandparents on the mother’s side are Veronica RedFox of Culver, and Joel Craig of Oregon. Seniors meals The Warm Springs Senior Center is closed, though they are offering senior lunch for pick up or delivery on Mon- days, Wednesdays and Fri- days between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1p.m. On the menu this Friday, April 10 is cedar baked salmon. On the menu on Monday, April 12 are pork chops. And next Wednesday, zucchini lasagna with aspara- gus. The Senior Center phone number is 541-553-3313. From Council Jail visits For health and safety dur- ing the shutdown, contact visits, no-contact visits and groups are cancelled at the Warm Springs Correctional Facility. This is to prevent potential introduction of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19. These are precautionary measure for staff, prisoners and the public; and are ef- fective until further notice. There have been no ex- posures at the facility to date. Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please be safe, Three Warriors 3 Warriors Three Warriors Market is an essential service to our tribal membership. As an essential service, Three Warriors will be open dur- ing the tribal shutdown, scheduled for at least through April 12. We will alter our sched- ule and be open during the following times: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you need to leave your homes or residence for food, medical, and essential job services, we encourage you to maintain a social dis- tance of at least six feet from any person not a mem- ber of your immediate household. Facemasks are also the recommendation. And tribal leadership en- courage you to stay as close to the exterior boundaries of the reserva- tion when shopping for food or medical services. Process for patients at the Warm Springs clinic T he Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center is currently open and asks that if you are sick, then please call into the clinic for screening and appointment setting. The clinic is now of- fering scheduled tele- phone appointments with a medical provider: If you have a medical need or concern but don’t think you need to come into the clinic, call to schedule a telephone visit with a provider. Call the appointment line 541-553-2610, and the scheduling staff will set up a telephone visit time for you with a medical provider. The clinic will be uti- D.McMechan/Spilyay The clinic has set up a pre-screening tent outside the front of the building. lizing parking lot check-in service and curbside pre- scription service. They are also checking everybody’s temperature as they enter the building. The Tribal Council strongly encourages all com- munity members to please stay home and only travel off the reservation to get essential supplies, such as groceries, medications and health needs. The tribal organiza- tion will be closed, as the situation is being evalu- ated by Tribal Council, Management and health and emergency response advisors.