Page 8
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 27, 2021
Jefferson County reports slight job growth
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The Central Oregon re-
gion overall posted monthly
job losses in December for
the first time since April
2020, following the initial
wave of Covid-19 cases in
the region. Jefferson was
the one county in the region
that saw a small job gain in
December, the most recent
month for which numbers
are available.
Jefferson County posted
a gain of 20 jobs last
month, bringing its unem-
ployment rate to 7.1 per-
cent—an improvement of
0.3 percent from the previ-
ous month.
Still, in the county the un-
employment rate was 3 per-
cent higher than in Decem-
ber of 2019, when the rate
was 4 percent.
Jefferson County has al-
ready regained nearly 75 per-
cent of jobs lost since the
initial Covid-19 shock of
March 2020, according to
the Oregon Department of
Employment.
The leisure and hospital-
ity sector remains down by
100 jobs from this time last
year; however, the drop of
roughly 16 percent in this
sector isn’t nearly as severe
as in other communities.
Although the county did
not lose jobs in December,
the pace of recovery con-
tinues at a slow rate.
Crook County: Unem-
ployment rose to 7.6 percent
in December, up from 7.4
percent in November.
Deschutes County:
Unemployment increased to
7.6 percent in December, up
significantly from 6.7 per-
cent in November. The rate
in Deschutes was 4.4 per-
cent higher than in Decem-
ber 2020.
Covid outbreak at St. Charles-Redmond facility
St. Charles Health System
this month reported an out-
break of Covid-19 cases at
the St. Charles Redmond hos-
pital campus.
Thirty-one caregivers at
the Redmond facilities tested
positive. The outbreak was
traced to a patient who, dur-
ing care, had twice tested
negative.
“We are taking every pos-
sible measure to stop the
spread of the virus, to pro-
tect our patients and our
caregivers,” said Aaron
Adams, chief executive of-
ficer for the Redmond hos-
pital.
In addition to existing
Covid-19 precautions, the
Redmond hospital has put in
place new safety measures,
including limiting visitation.
OSU Cascades minority business help in C.O.
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To help increase the suc-
cess of minority-owned busi-
nesses in Central Oregon, the
Oregon State University—
Cascades’ Innovation Co-Lab
has partnered with area orga-
nizations to launch a program
for under-served entrepre-
neurs on the Warm Springs
Reservation, the rest of
Jefferson County, and
Deschutes and Crook coun-
ties.
The program will provide
participants with coaching,
business plan development
tools, and access to financial
resources including loans, in-
vestment capital and grants,
as well as ongoing advising.
The Blue Fund program
is made possible thanks to a
$10,000 gift from the
Facebook Prineville Data
Center that was secured by
the OSU Foundation.
“The number of minor-
ity-owned small businesses in
the U.S. grew by 79 percent
between 2007 and 2017, yet
minority entrepreneurs are
three times as likely to be re-
jected for a business loan,”
said Adam Krynicki, execu-
tive director of the Innova-
tion Lab.
“Facebook’s generous gift
will allow the Innovation Co-
Lab to support underserved
entrepreneurs in Central Or-
egon, perhaps saving them
from total loss during the
pandemic and giving all of
them tools to thrive.”
Student interns in the In-
novation Co-Lab will provide
technical assistance and sup-
port for participating entre-
preneurs. The first cohort
of the Blue Fund program
starts this Wednesday, Janu-
ary 27. Interested entrepre-
neurs can apply at:
osucascades.edu/bluefund.
For additional information
contact:
adam.krynicki@osucascades.edu
Tribes welcome cancellation of XL pipeline
Tribal leaders, especially in
South Dakota, are applaud-
ing the federal government’s
move to halt the Keystone
XL Pipeline. Tribal members
from across Indian Country,
including many from Warm
Springs, have voiced opposi-
tion to the pipeline.
President of the Oglala
Lakota Nation, Kevin Killer
said the cancellation of the
pipeline per mit “sends a
strong message to tribal na-
tions, and symbolizes a will-
ingness to build on govern-
ment-to-government relation-
ships established through our
treaties,” referencing his
tribe’s 1851 and 1868 Fort
Laramie treaties of the Great
Sioux Nation.
Chairman of the Chey-
enne River Sioux Tribe
Harold Frazier said the pipe-
line posed a danger to tribal
land and people. “This project
has scarred our territorial and
treaty lands with its presence
and threatened our people like
a dagger to our throats,”
Frazier said.
“We have witnessed the in-
vasion of our land and the
genocide of our families—
this project is an extension of
the racial, environmental and
social injustices we have suf-
fered.”