Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
Community
update
As of Tuesday of this week, the
Warm Springs Health and Wellness
Center reported that three people
on the reservation had active Covid-
19, receiving daily monitoring by
Community Health and IHS staff.
An additional 19 were receiving
monitoring for close contact.
On Monday of this week, Warm
Springs IHS conducted 39 covid
tests. This testing found one new
positive, bringing the total active to
three. As of Tuesday, one commu-
nity member of the reservation was
hospitalized with covid.
Overall during the past year, 82
people from the community have
been hospitalized with Covid; and
there have been 22 deaths as a re-
sult of the illness.
By the latest count, as of
earlier this week, the Indian
Health Service at the Warm
Springs Clinic had provided
2,268 primary doses of Covid-
19 vaccination. In addition,
IHS had provided 1,828 sec-
ondary doses.
Some of these vaccines
were administered to qualifying
members living off the reser-
vation. However, most have
gone, and are going to people
of the immediate reservation
community.
With the vaccination num-
bers steadily increasing, there is
cause for optimism. Mean-
while, the obligation to continue
the safety measures—for your-
(See local job listings on page 5.)
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
self, family and community—is
more important than ever, as some
end is finally coming into view.
The number of vaccines admin-
istered so far can be compared to
the overall population of the com-
munity, which would be roughly
4,000 people.
At some unkown point in the
future will be ‘herd immunity.’ A
way to define this is:
‘When most of a population is
immune to an infectious disease,
this provides indirect protection—
or population immunity, also called
herd immunity or herd protection—
to those who are not immune to the
disease.’
So at some point, while the dis-
ease would still exist, Covid-19
would no longer be a deadly pan-
demic: Measles, mumps, polio and
chickenpox are examples of infec-
tious diseases that were once very
common, and are now rare in the
U.S. because vaccines helped to es-
tablish herd immunity.
The covid vaccination progress
is good, yet the work and care will
continue in the coming weeks and
months. The Covid-19 Response
Team update each day ends with a
healthy reminder. This week, for
example, while reporting the vaccine
numbers and testing results, the con-
cluding words are:
‘Even with folks getting vacci-
nated for Covid-19, we all still need
to wear a face mask in public
spaces, maintain six feet of social
distance from others, and avoid
gatherings with anyone who does
not live with you.’
To schedule
The clinic now has vaccines avail-
able for any qualifying person over
the age of 16. To schedule a Covid-
19 vaccination appointment at the
Health and Wellness Center call 541-
553-2131. Eligibility for the vaccine
in Warm Springs is for individuals
and their family members who live
or work on the reservation, or who
are Indian Health Service eligible.
If you would like to be tested
for Covid-19, check in at the front
gate at the Warm Springs Health
and Wellness Center, and they will
direct you as to how to proceed.
Prayer Warrior (above) by Ellen Taylor at the
museum. Sitting Bull II (right); and Marilyn
Goes Native (far right). The show—Sacred
Reflections: The Art of Umatilla Artist Ellen
TaylorSacred Reflections: The Art of Umatilla
Artist Ellen Taylor—will be on display at the
museum into June.
Photos courtesy MAWS
The latest jobs report for the
region shows something of a surge
in employment in March—the
strongest monthly jobs gain since
last summer, according to the Or-
egon Employment Department.
March of this year also marked
one-year since the first pandemic
impact on the economy.
In Central Oregon since last
year, Jefferson County has seen
slower job recovery compared to
other parts of the region. How-
ever, “Despite a slower pace of
recovery, Jefferson County is the
nearest of the Central Oregon
counties to a complete recovery
from the Covid-19 shock,” accord-
ing to the Employment Depart-
ment report.
Unemployment in the county
in March of last year, before the
pandemic effect, was at 4.2 per-
cent.
The rate in March 2021 had
recovered to 6.8 percent
unempoyment, with 40 jobs
added last month, the report says.
April – Hawit`an – Spring - Wawaxam
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
Vaccination total climbing steadily higher
Mr. Beavs: the Spiritual
Beaver (right) by Ellen
Taylor, now on display at
the Museum at Warm
Springs. The Mr. Beavs
artwork is part of an Ellen
Taylor exhibition—Dam It!
Beavers and Us—coming
up later this year at the
High Desert Museum. In an
artist’s statement, Ms.
Taylor says, “The beaver is
a builder of mind, body and
soul, and he symbolizes
individuality, creativity,
cooperation, persistence
and harmony. While the
beaver is well-known for
building dams, these
creatures make more of a
difference to their
ecosystem than many
people realize.”
A hope for this exhibit is to
inspire young people to
learn more about the
environment.
Job growth
in the region
April 21, 2021 - Vol. 46, No. 8
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Going well with return to in-person learning
W ith many safety precau-
tions in place, the Jefferson
County School District 509-J
schools early this year began the
second term on-site. This was
an achievement, as less than a
third of the schools in the state
were able to re-open on site.
In the 509-J district, 80 per-
cent of students chose to return
to in-person learning; so the de-
mand was obvious. “We’re
proud of that, and I think it’s
gone well,” said district superin-
tendent Ken Parshall. “Now
we’re focusing on learning, and
following the safety protocols.”
Graduation at Madras High
School will be on Saturday, June
5. Last year the graduation cer-
emony followed the strict Covid-
19 guidelines, with each gradu-
ate showing up in a family ve-
hicle, exiting for a minute or two,
accepting his or her diploma, and
returning the vehicle.
With 2021 graduation a
month and a half out, the high
school is considering how the
event should proceed. “Right
now we’re planning both models,”
Mr. Parshall said. The hope would
be to have the more traditional cer-
emony; though this decision will
follow the state safety guidelines in
place at the time.
In the meantime, all staff in the
district schools who have chosen
to, have received their vaccinations.
The new district superintendent,
Jay Mathisen, coming here from
George Fox University, will start
July 1. “I think he’s very well pre-
pared,” Parshall. “He was a teacher
for a long time, and then a princi-
pal assistant, and human resources
director.” Mr. Mathisin’s most re-
cent position at George Fox Uni-
versity is that of Director of Edu-
cational Leadership.
School distirct board
Jefferson County School District
509-J Board of Directors chair-
woman Laurie Danzuka is running
unopposed for re-election to posi-
tion 1 on the school board. Two
other seats on the shool board will
be determined during the May 18
election, and both are contested,
each with two candidates.
The candidates for position 2 on
the board are Jamie Hurd of Ma-
dras, incumbent; and Lorien
Stacona of Warm Springs. Candi-
dates for position 3 are Jaylyn
Suppah of Warm Springs, and Jacob
Struck of Madras.
Jaylyn Suppah is the commu-
nity planner for the Health and
Human Services Branch and the
Confederated Tribes. She serves on
the tribes’ Education Board; on the
National Indian Education Associa-
tion Board of Directors, and other
education-related boards at the lo-
cal, state and national level.
In her job Jaylyn manages a pro-
gram focusing on school dropout
prevention, high school and career/
college readiness, and trauma-in-
formed, culturally relevant curricu-
lum development.
Equitable representation, more
transparency, better communication
and community involvement allow
for the best school decisions, Ms.
Suppah says. “My experience gives
me the best fit to achieve these
goals,” she says.
The current makeup of the
board does not equitably represent
the makeup of the student body and
families who are served. As a re-
sult, voices of some parts of the
district often go unheard, Jaylyn says.
One of her goals would be to help
address this and other challenges.
Jacob Str uck is a business
owner, and project superintendent
with Skanska USA Building. Shar-
ing his work experience, he started
the construction Career and Tech-
nical Education program at Madras
High School. He then taught the
program for two years. Mr. Struck
has three young children.
“I’m interested in serving on the
board,” Jacob says, “because I grew
up in the school district. I have three
kids in the district. I live in the com-
munity. I love it and want to see it
improve every day. I want to bring
my positive attitude and experience
to the table to help improve our
school district.”
See 509-J Candidates on 2