Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Community
update
This week there were 34 people
on the reservation with active
Covid-19. They are being moni-
tored by tribal health and IHS staff.
Additionally, through contact
tracing, 51 other people are being
monitored for possible exposure.
The Warm Springs Health and
Wellness Center has now conducted
close to 2,600 Covid-19 tests. Of
the total, 2,308 were negative, with
43 pending. Two-hundred fifty-
three tests have returned positive.
Thirty-two people of the reser-
vation have been hospitalized with
Covid-19. And there have been six
fatalities.
Please remember, Tribal law re-
quires individuals to follow the
quarantine and isolation regulations.
August 26, 2020 - Vol. 45, No. 18
August – Shatm – Summer - Shatm
Families next week can pick
up the student Chromebook
computer devices for the start
of the new 509-J school year.
A parent or guardian must be
present to pick up the
Chromebook; the student need
not be present for pick up.
Importantly, you must sign
up for the Chromebook before
arriving to pick it up. You can
find and fill out the form online
at jcsd.k12.or.us
On the website choose the
‘Safely Returning to School’ tab,
and find the ‘Device Request
Form’ tab.
The device pick-up times will
be from 1 to 7 p.m. at the fol-
lowing sites on the following
days:
School supplies fairs
Back to school supplies will be available soon through the Re-
sources and Education program of the Warm Springs Branch of
Health and Human Services.
A Resources Drive-Through Fair will be from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. on Wednesday, September 2 at the Pi-Ume-Sha grounds loop.
On Thursday, September 3 from 5 to p.m. the Resources Drive-
Through will be at the Simnasho Longhouse parking area. Then
on Friday, September 4 the Fair will be at the Seekseequa Fire
Hall parking area, from 5 to 7 p.m.
For more information call Jill Suppah at 541-553-2211; or email:
jillisa.suppah@wstribes.org
Wednesday and Thursday,
September 2 and 3 at the Warm
Springs Academy.
Monday, Tuesday and Fri-
day, August 31, September 1 and
4 at the Madras High School.
Picking up the Chromebook or
Chromebooks—there should be
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
one per student—the parent,
guardian and student can receive
some initial training on how to
log-in and set up for the Com-
prehensive Distance Learning
program.
The district will use Compre-
hensive Distance Learning for at
least the first six weeks of the new
school year, which begins Tuesday,
September 8.
The health metrics in the dis-
trict would allow on-site teaching
and learning only if the Covid-19
positivity test rate is lower than 5
percent. In the district the current
positivity rate is in the mid-teens.
Teachers and staff are return-
ing to work next week, and will en-
gage in intensive training in Com-
prehensive Distance Learning.
Welcome
return to
water
Photographer Edward Heath caught these photos of the P-515 fire.
Please see FIRES on 8
Census response due in September
The tribal community has a little
more than a month to respond to
the 2020 U.S. Census.
So far, since the census began
in March, the tribal community has
responded at a better percentage
rate compared to the 2016 re-
sponse. This year’s response, how-
ever, remains low.
At this point the 2020 response
among the Warm Springs commu-
nity is 39.5 percent. So the Warm
Springs Complete Count Commit-
tee encourages everyone to take the
time to submit the census infor-
mation.
The questionnaire takes about
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
Virtual classroom start to new school year
Working
toward
containment
Fire crews were reporting
good work this week on the
reservation P-515 fire. A brief-
ing on Tuesday from North-
west Incident Management
Team 7 reported 35-percent
containment at 4,462 acres.
Firefighters on the P-515
fire improved the fire line by
extinguishing and removing
burning material along the line,
felling snags, and moving logs
to reduce their potential of
rolling downhill.
Crews continue to secure
and strengthen fire lines on the
north, south and west ends of
the fire. On the east flank,
firefighters secured the last
mile of line overnight by elimi-
nating unburnt fuels between
the fire’s edge and the contain-
ment line through burn opera-
tions. Mop up work will con-
tinue this week on the P-515 fire
with focus on improving the fire
line on the western flank.
Meanwhile, the Lionshead
Fire on the reservation is about
10 percent contained.
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
10 minutes to complete: It’s safe,
secure and confidential. Your in-
formation and privacy are pro-
tected.
You can begin by going to
kwso.org
Or see the website:
my2020census.gov
If you don’t have the ability to
do the census online, you can do
the questionnaire by phone. Call
844-330-2020.
Native community response
Here are the Oregon Native
community response percentages,
in order highest response to lower:
Celilo Indian Village: 65 percent.
Confederated Tribes of Coos,
Lower Umpqua and Suislaw Indi-
ans: 62.5 percent.
Coquille Indian Tribe: 60.4
percent.
Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde: 55.3 percent.
Confederated Tribes of
Umatilla: 54.3 percent.
Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians: 53.2 percent.
Burns Paiute Tribe: 42.9
percent.
Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs: 39.5 percent.
Klamath Tribes: 38.5 per-
cent.
Cow Creek Band of
Umpqua Indians: 33 percent.
Dave McMechan
Since June the Warm Springs
Emergency Management Depart-
ment has distributed close to
400,000 gallons of drinking wa-
ter to residents of the reservation.
Since the start of the Agency
boil water notice—lifted last
week—Emergency Management
was giving away an average of
5,000 gallons a day, with a peak
day registering 6,000 gallons dis-
tributed.
Emergency Management is still
providing drinking water to resi-
dents of the Kah-Nee-Ta hamlets,
and some Dry Creek residents,
where boil-water remains in effect.
The average distribution now
is about 500 gallons a day, said
Dan Martinez, department man-
ager.
The boil water notice took ef-
fect June 25 for a large part of
the reservation. Before that, some
residents at Schoolie Flats were
receiving drinking water because
of water pipe matter.
Travis Wells, Warm Springs
Utilities general manager, an-
nounced last week that the
Agency notice was lifted, after the
the tribes and Environmental Pro-
tection Agency conducted thor-
ough testing.
The boil water notice this sum-
mer was similar to the one last
year in that the problem area was
the large pipe at the Shitike
Creek crossing.
Further repairs are forthcom-
ing following a contribution of $4.2
million from the state’s legislative
Emergency Board, with sponsor-
ship of state lawmakers. The fed-
eral government is also planning
to add to the longer-term solution.
This year the boil water notice
was worse than last year in that
the organization was at a stay-at-
home status due to the
coronavirus: Washing hands—a
basic precaution against
spreadinng and catching the dis-
ease—became a challenge.