Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
September 9, 2020 - Vol. 45, No. 19
September – Wanaq’i – Fall - Tiyam
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Many decisions on 2020 fall ballot
There are 1,425 registered vot-
ers in the Warm Springs voting
precinct of Jefferson County. For
those 18 and over on Election Day
who are not yet registered, there
is still more than a month to regis-
ter to vote in the November 3
General Election.
The last day to register is Oc-
tober 13. Ballots will then go out
on October 14.
The November 3 election in-
cludes the federal, state and local
candidates, and the statewide and
local ballot measures.
U.S. Senate, Congress
Besides the U.S. Presidential
candidates, the Oregon ballot will
include one Oregon U.S. Senate
seat. The Senate candidates are:
Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrat,
incumbent, first elected in 2008,
re-elected in 2014. Jo Rae Perkins,
Republican. Gary Dye, Libertar-
ian. Ibrahim Taher, Progressive-
Election dates to keep in mind
Tuesday, October 13: Voter registration deadline.
You can register online at sos.oregon.gov.
Or see the site: jeffco.net/cc
And there is a link at kwso.org
October 14: First day ballots are mailed out.
October 28: Last day to mail return ballot.
November 3: Election Day.
Pacific Green.
The five Oregon Congressional
Districts of the U.S. House of
Represenatives are up for election.
The Oregon Second Congres-
sional District represents the res-
ervation. The district also covers
two-thirds of the state, and is the
seventh largest in the nation.
Congressman Greg Walden was
elected Second District Represen-
tative in 1998, and has won re-
election each biennium since. Mr.
Walden, Republican, is not seek-
Community
update
ing re-election. The candidates on
the November 3 ballot for this po-
sition are:
Cliff Bentz, Republican. Alex
Spenser, Democratic. Robert
Werch, Libertarian.
Oregon legislature
In the state legislature, the res-
ervation is part of Oregon Senate
District 30, also covering much of
eastern Oregon.
The candidates on the No-
vember 3 ballot are Carina Miller
of War m Springs, Democrat;
and Lynn Findley, of Vale, Re-
publican.
The reservation is part of Dis-
trict 59 in the Oregon House of
Representatives. The candidates
this year are incumbent Daniel
Bonham, Repbublican; and Arlene
Burns, Democrat.
Statewide measures
Four
statewide
ballot
measures are certified to appear
on the state ballot on November
3. Briefly:
Oregon voters will decide on an
initiative related to drug decrimi-
nalization and treatment; and an
initiative that would establish a
psilocybin mushroom program.
Also:
The state legislature referred to
the ballot a constitutional amend-
ment concerning campaign fi-
nance, and a state statute concern-
ing a tobacco tax.
Local matters
There is one position open on
the Jefferson County Board of
Commissioners. Candidates for
this four-year term are:
Wayne Fording, Republican; and
Kim Schmith, Democrat.
Mr. Fording is the owner of
Madras Paint & Glass, and is a
former county commissioner.
Ms. Schmith is the business
owner and Oregon Medical Board
licensed operator of Madras Acu-
puncture.
There are two county-wide mea-
sures on the ballot. One of mea-
sures would require the County
Commission to meet regarding a
proposal to relocate the Oregon-
Idaho border. Another county mea-
sure is a local option tax for gen-
eral operations. Reservation and
tribal trust land is not taxed by the
county. (For more on the November 3
vote-by-mail election see page 4).
Dave McMechan
the cumulative cases on the res-
ervation since the pandemic
began in March. According to
recent health reports:
The Warm Springs Health
and Wellness Center con-
ducted 2,867 Covid-19 tests.
Of the total, 2,566 came back
negative.
As of earlier this week, 13
tests were pending. Of the
Health and Wellness Center
tests, 268 returned positive.
Among the tribal community,
43 tests from other facilities also
came back positive, for a total
of 311 positives, as of earlier
this week.
Since the pandemic began, 34
members of the Warm Springs
community have been hospital-
ized.
Thirty-three of the patients
have been discharged. There
have been seven deaths in the
community as a result of the
virus.
At right is a data chart of
the latest available Covid-19
numbers—showing positive and
negative testing— for the reser-
vation, as compiled by IHS and
Community Health. See more
information on pages 5 and 7.
The hope is that the Labor
Day weekend will not see the
kind of spikes that happened
after Memorial Day and July
4.
The situation will become
clear in the coming weeks, as
testing continues.
The chart at right, and those
on 5 and 7, show the latest
covid-19 testing data for the res-
ervation.
The numbers detail active
cases as of September 2; and
Please see page 5
2020-21 school year opens
Students and faculty began the
2020-21 school year this week.
Warm Springs K-8 students and
families were invited to meet the
faculty during a drive-by event on
Tuesday at the Academy.
This week is an introductory start
to the new school year, with more
intensive learning beginning next
week. Students should check their
K-8 Academy email for informa-
tion.
The Academy office is not open
to the general public, as directed by
the standards of the Oregon De-
partment of Education.
Student breakfasts and lunches
will be provided in much the same
way as they were during the spring
term, with one additional pick-up
stop for a total of 10. Any com-
munity youth 18 and under can
receive the school breakfast and
lunch. This will begin Monday, Sep-
tember 14.
The Comprehensive Distance
Learning model—using Google
Classroom—will continue for at
least six weeks, as the Covid-19
positivity rate in the district remains
above the statewide health safety
standard.
An online resource for questions
is jcsd.k12.org
Like Jefferson County 509-J,
almost all school districts in the
state are beginning the 2020-21
year with a distance learning pro-
gram. Youth sports across the
state for now are on hold.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Tribal Health and Human Services joined partners for a unique School Resource drive-through fair, held
at the Warm Springs Pi-Ume-Sha grounds (above), and at Simnasho and Seekseequa.