Page 8 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon ‘Large enough to serve you... Small enough to care’ 866-299-0644 December 2, 2020 Social Security notice Letters regarding the Cost of Living Adjust- ments—the COLA— and the new Medicare Part B amounts will be mailed out any day from Social Security. The statements are re- quired when applying for Senior programs as proof of income. Most of us who re- ceive these statements lose them within a couple days or so. To ensure that you always have a copy you can bring the statement by my of- fice at the Resource Cen- ter to be photo copied and stored for future use. Please consider this op- tion. Thank you, Rosemary ‘Mushy’ Alarcon, 541-553-4955. Latest Indian Country covid data from IHS 2019 Buick Envision - 14,798 miles - 2017 Buick LaCrosse - 50,236 miles - $32,995 $23,995 #37596A #79235A 2017 Ford F- 150 - 56,243 miles - 2016 Chevrolet Cruz - 71,766 miles - $33,995 $11,995 #30961A #34309A 2016 Chevrolet Silverado - 53,748 miles - 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe - 85,482 miles - $32,995 $32,995 #17049A #187576A 2015 Hyundai Sonata - 108,373 miles - 2015 Chevrolet Equinox - 133,374 miles - $14,995 $12,995 #70126A #46039A 2015 GMC Acadia - 125,892 miles - 2014 Lincoln MKX - 65,443 miles - $16,995 $20,995 #36757A #17972A 2012 Chevrolet Equinox - 107,000 miles - 2009 Chevrolet HHR - 132,734 miles - $10,995 $7,995 #72150A #93295C Indian Health Services data show 101,717 tests have returned positive for Covid- 19, across all of Indian Coun- try. That represents an increase of almost 1 percent from the 100,765 cases previously re- ported by the IHS. The most recent data was released late last week. Altogether, 1,353,684 coronavirus tests have been administered within the IHS through. Since mid-October, the IHS has been providing ad- ditional information about the spread of the coronavirus within the system. The cumulative percent positive column shows the his- torical Covid-19 infection rate, meaning the number of tests that have returned posi- tive since the onset of the pandemic. Based on the cumulative percent positive, the highest rates have been seen in the Navajo Area (14 percent), the Phoenix Area (12.9 percent), the Oklahoma City Area (10 percent) the Great Plains Area (9.8 percent) and the the Albuquerque Area (9.8 per- cent). The first two regions in- clude the state of Arizona, in- dicating a disproportionate toll of Covid-19 in the state. The 7-day rolling average positivity column offers a more contemporary look at the impact of the coronavirus. The data shows where Covid-19 cases have been increasing recently. Based on the 7-day rolling average positivity, five regions have seen dramatic increases in Covid-19 cases. They are: the Billings Area (20.1 per- cent), the Albuquerque Area (18.2 percent), the Great Plains Area (18 percent), the Oklahoma City Area (17.8 percent) and the Navajo Area (15 percent). Overall, 8.1 percent of IHS tests have been positive since the onset of the pan- demic, the data shows. The 7-day average has grown higher over the last few weeks and now stands at 12.8 percent. The data, however, is in- complete: While 100 percent of facilities run directly by the IHS are reporting data, only 33 percent of tribally managed facilities and 44 percent of urban Indian or- ganizations are doing the same. The service population for IHS across Indian Coun- try is approximately 2,562,290. Based on that figure, 52.8 percent of American Indi- ans and Alaska Natives have been tested for the coronavirus since the IHS began reporting data in March. The IHS user population, on the other hand, is a much smaller number. As of 2019, 1,662,834 American Indians and Alaska Natives have lived within a service deliv- ery area and have received health care at an IHS or tribal facility during the pre- vious three years. Based on the user popu- lation, 81.4 percent of Na- tive Americans have been tested for the coronavirus since the IHS began report- ing data in March. Dam demolition could save salmon from extinction When Karuk tribal mem- ber and cultural biologist Ron Reed was just a toddler in the early 1960s, he liked to crouch on a rounded rock poking out of the rushing water of California’s Kla- math River, watching his family fish for the Chinook salmon that arrived in late spring. The fish crowded so thickly in the water that they looked nearly solid enough to walk across. His family had waited through the long winter for these fish. They would fill sacks full of salmon, enough to feed them several times a day for months. Those days of extreme abundance are decades gone. For the past few years Reed, fishing now with his own chil- dren, has taken only a few spring-run fish from the river. Dams, climate change, and other issues have wreaked havoc on salmon along the U.S. West Coast, and the declines have been particularly acute for the spring-run fish, which mi- grate farther upstream and so are more likely to have been cut off from their habi- tat by the dams. But in November a long- delayed project to remove some of the major dams on the Klamath cleared a major hurdle: The governors of Oregon and California agreed to take control of the dams from PacifiCorp, the utility that operates them. The states and the utility have also agreed on financing for the $450 million plan. Federal regulatory ap- proval is still required, and nothing is certain—but for now the dams are back on track for removal starting in 2023.