Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
May 19, 2021
Welcome reopening of Warm Springs DHS
War m Springs once
again has an Oregon De-
partment of Human Ser-
vice office.
This is a welcome return
after more than a year of
people having to travel to
Madras to visit the office.
The new office is next
door to Warm Springs Com-
modities building, on
Holliday Street at the indus-
trial park. The DHS office
is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday.
DHS is in the process of
hiring a supervisor for the
Warm Springs office, plus
one more receptionist, three
family coaches, two on-site
eligibility workers, plus vir-
tual eligibility workers. For
D.McMechan/Spilyay
DHS receptionist Sonia Heath outside the new office.
now, the full-time permanent
employee at the office is re-
ceptionist Sonia Heath.
Helping out until the new
staff is on board are Alba
Santos, manager of the Ma-
dras office, and Devin
Conklin from the Bend of-
fice.
Oregon DHS provides
services including assisting
people with the Supplement
Nutritional Assistance Pro-
gram (SNAP), Temporary
Assistance for Needy Fami-
lies, employment-related day
care, the Oregon Health
Plan, temporary assistance
for domestic violence survi-
vors, initial eligibility for
long-term care, and other
services.
As of earlier this week at
least, you can reach the
Warm Springs DHS office
at 541-553-1626—then
press 1 as soon as it picks
up. The office will have a
new phone line any day, as
the office is still settling in:
The remodeled building is
made possible by the tribes’
Department of Health and
Human Services.
On the Tribal Council agenda for the remainder of May
The following are some of
the items for the remainder of
May on the Tribal Council
agenda (subject to change at
Council discretion):
Thursday, May 20: Leg-
islative Commission on In-
dian Services spring celebra-
tion, virtual, 9 a.m.
Friday, May 21: School
District 509-J memorandum
of understanding with the
tribes. Meeting 10 a.m. to
noon.
Monday
through
Thursday, May 24-27: Af-
filiated Tribes of Northwest
Indians mid-year conven-
tion, virtual.
Monday, May 24
9 a.m.: Education update
with Valerie Switzler.
9:30: Public Utilities up-
date with Chico Holliday.
10: TERO program up-
date with Wendell Jim.
10:30: Gaming Commis-
sion/Surveillance update
with Josephine Johnson.
11:
Covid-19/509-J
school district updates with
the Response Team and
school district superinten-
dent.
11:30: Century Link right-
of-way update with Jim
Manion and tribal attorney.
1:30 p.m.: Landfill update
with Joie Simtustus and Said
Amali.
2:30: Personnel manual
update with Cheryl Tom.
3:30: Enterprise Zone
resolution with Jim Souers
and tribal attorney.
4: Opioid litigation update
with Autumn Monteau.
Wednesday and Thurs-
day, May 26-27: Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Com-
mission meeting.
Monday, May 31: Tribal
organization is closed in ob-
servance of Memorial Day.
Items for further dis-
cussion: December 2020
financials. Januar y 2021
financials. Board appoint-
ments. NCAI 2021 mid year
conference. Native Nation
event in June.
IHS report on covid testing across Indian Country
The Portland Area of the
Indian Health Service in
May continued to see an in-
creased Covid-19 positive
testing trend. The trend be-
gan earlier in the spring, and
continued into this month,
according to the latest IHS
data.
According to the data,
across all of Indian Coun-
try, IHS has administered
2.37 million coronavirus
tests. Of that total, 196,379
tests have returned positive
for Covid-19.
Based on the cumulative
percent positive testing, the
highest rates have been seen
in three areas. Two of them
include the state of Arizona,
indicating a disproportion-
ate:
The Navajo Area, 15.3
percent positive tests.
The Phoenix Area, 13.2
percent positive.
The Oklahoma City Area,
12.2 percent positive.
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 roll-
ing average positivity, three
areas, out of 12 IHS areas,
are seeing higher Covid-19
rates. They are:
Theh Portland Area, 7.5
percent positivity.
The Phoenix Area, 5.3
percent.
The Bemidji Area, 5.1 per-
cent
Overall, across Indian
Country, 8.9 percent of IHS
tests have been positive since
the onset of the pandemic,
the data shows. Meanwhile,
the 7-day average has de-
clined significantly after in-
creasing during the holiday
season. It now stands at 2.7
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 agency has told
Indianz.Com.
Man charged with DUII following motor vehicle crash
Three drivers were hos-
pitalized after a motor ve-
hicle crash Sunday night,
May 16, on Highway 26 on
the reservation. One driver
later was cited for driving
under the influence, assault
and other charges.
An unsafe pass attempt
led to the wreck.
OSP troopers and other
first responders were called
to the scene around 9:50
p.m. on Highway 26 near
milepost 97.
A preliminary investiga-
tion found that a 20-year-old
Bend man was heading east
at the wheel of a pickup and
attempted an unsafe pass of
a car driven by a 69-year-old
Bend man. The pickup col-
lided with a car driven by a
22-year-old Sandy man, then
with the other Bend man’s
car.
The man from Sandy was
flown by Life Flight helicop-
ter to St. Charles Bend.
The 20-year-old was taken
to the Bend hospital by am-
bulance and the 69-year-old
Community Notes...
stage.
All are welcome to a free
Heart of Oregon Corps in-
formation session, happening
every Tuesday through July.
This is for young people
ages 16-24. The information
sessions take 30 minutes,
from 4:30 to 5 p.m. on Tues-
days.
Take this quick opportu-
nity to learn more about
Heart of Oregon Corps. Par-
ticipating youth must be eli-
gible to work in the U.S. See
the website:
heartoforegon.org
The Central Oregon Com-
munity College 2021 com-
mencement ceremony will
happen on the Bend campus
as a drive-thru event, begin-
ning at 9 a.m. on Saturday,
June 12.
The event will be open to
graduates of both 2021 and
2020, who will be assigned a
specific time slot depending
on their major. Graduates
will be able to exit their ve-
hicle, in turn, and receive
their degree or certificate on
was taken by ambulance to
St. Charles Madras.
The younger Bend man
was taken into custody after
release from the hospital and
taken to the Jefferson
County Jail, where he was
cited on charges of DUII,
third- and fourth-degree as-
sault, reckless driving and
reckless endangering, the
OSP captain said.
The crash and investiga-
tion closed Highway 26 Sun-
day night.
OSP was assisted by
Warm Springs EMS, Warm
Springs Police and the Or-
egon Department of Trans-
portation.
Page 3
Reservation guidelines
Warm Springs Tribal
Council has so far main-
tained the established
Covid-19 safety guide-
lines for the reserva-
tion. The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control last
week announced new
guidelines for people
who are fully vacci-
nated. The action cre-
ated some confusion
among local govern-
ments and businesses.
The tribes so far are
maintaining the safety
protocols that have
been in place during the
pandemic: Face masks
and distancing are re-
quired in tribal offices
and public places on the
Warm Springs Reserva-
tion.
The Covid-19 Re-
sponse Team will con-
tinue to monitor the data,
and make recommenda-
tions based on the health
and safety of the tribal
membership.
Meanwhile off the
reser vation, the CDC
guidance says that even
people who are fully vac-
cinated should wear
masks when using pub-
lic transportation, in hos-
pitals, health care clinics
and long-term care facili-
ties.
School students and
teachers will still need to
be masked and keep a
safe distance apart.
It’s important to rec-
ognize that there is no
way to know if some-
one without a mask has
been fully vaccinated.
Employment Opportunity
Warm Springs Power and Water Enterprises:
Staff accountant.
This position is responsible for the verification
and input of accounting records and reporting in
accordance to GAAP and other applicable laws gov-
erning specific types of accounts and reporting re-
quirements for a Hydroelectric Project under the
supervision of the Controller. High school diploma
and college level course work in accounting required.
Previous accounting experience preferred.
Compensation based on experience. For a de-
tailed job description contact Power and Water En-
terprises at 541-553-1046. Applications and re-
sumes can be submitted online at:
warmsprings-nsn.gov/ by following the Jobs link.
Application deadline: May 28, 2021.