Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
December 29, 2021
Water system upgrades slated for tribes
The massive infrastructure bill
signed in late November promises
to bring change to Native Ameri-
can tribes that lack clean water or
indoor plumbing, through the larg-
est single infusion of money into
Indian Country.
The law includes $3.5 billion for
the federal Indian Health Service,
which provides health care to more
than 2 million Native Americans
and Alaska Natives.
The legislation also delivers
money for water projects through
other federal agencies.
Tribal leaders say the funding
is welcome yet won’t make up for
decades of neglect from the U.S.
government.
A list of sanitation deficiencies
includes more than 1,500 tribal
projects, from septic systems to
Spilyay file photo
Inside the Warm Springs water treatment plant, slated for
upgrades and eventual replacement.
pipelines.
A number of these—from the
water treatment plant to the deliv-
ery pipes, and the wastewater sys-
tem as well—are on the Warm
Springs Reservation.
Great option for tribal community pets
Thank you is only a sliver of
our gratitude for the families of
Warm Springs for the trust placed
in Fences For Fido to serve as a
resource for their pets.
Today we celebrate our Warm
Springs Fences For Fido partners,
Street Dog Hero and Humane So-
ciety of Central Oregon for their
free veterinary services at the De-
cember spay-neuter event.
We provided vaccines to nearly
20 Fences For Fido Warm Springs
dogs and cats from the reserva-
tion.
It was such an impactful day
for families and their pets! This
helped make healthier and safer
dogs and cats, while helping to re-
duce the free roaming dog and cat
populations.
All dogs and cats were trans-
ported by volunteers to Bend for
their surgeries and veterinary ex-
ams, then returned home later that
night.
We continue to provide a free
Warm Springs Pet Food Bank ev-
ery second Saturday from 10 a.m.
to noon. Register at:
fencesforfido.org
Gratefully, we have permis-
sion from the Tribal Council to
continue to hold spay and neuter
and vaccine clinics on the reser-
vation. We are continuing to
search for a building for the clin-
ics on the reser vation so stay
tuned for updates!
Kelly Peterson, chair and co-
founder, outreach coordinator,
Fences for Fido.
Fences for Fido reservation dog transport; and the spay-neuter operation.
KWSO now features phone app
The KWSO app is now avail-
able for phone and mobile de-
vices. The app makes it easy for
you to listen to KWSO on your
Plaza space
available
The Plaza at
Warm Springs has
a suite available
on January 1,
2022.
The location is on
Highway 26 next
to Indian Head
Casino.
The suite is
approximately 525
squar feet.
If you’re
interested, please
email your
business plan to:
Sandra.Danzuka@
wstribes.org
Or call 541-553-
3565 if you have
any questions.
phone, and features the daily
community calendar and lo-
cal news plus more connec-
tions to news, events and lan-
guage lessons.
Find links to download
the app to your device at the
top of our website, kwso.org
Page 3
Jobs recovery for region
Unemployment continued
to fall across Central Oregon
in late fall and early winter.
Rates on average were only
1.5 points or less off their his-
toric low levels before the pan-
demic.
The improvement to the un-
employment rate is due to rapid
hiring across the non-farm sec-
tors.
Jefferson County: The sea-
sonally adjusted unemployment
rate fell to 5.6 percent in No-
vember, down from 5.8 per-
cent in October.
The unemployment rate for
the county—including Warm
Springs and most of the reser-
vation—is fast approaching lev-
els of February 2020, when it
was 4.1 percent.
Jefferson County is nearing
an employment recovery from
the pandemic shock with em-
ployment in late November-
early December only down by
0.6 percent, or 40 jobs, from
levels in November 2019.
Job gains in the county over
the past year were concentrated
in local government (plus 120
jobs); manufacturing (plus 60
jobs); and leisure and hospital-
ity (plus 30 jobs).
There were notable job
losses in private education and
health services, shedding 50
jobs from November 2020,
and professional and busi-
nesses services, down 40 jobs
from the same time last year.
Deschutes County: The
seasonally adjusted unem-
ployment rate dropped sig-
nificantly in November to
4.6 from 4.9 in October.
The unemployment rate
remains higher than before
the first impacts from Covid-
19 in February 2020, when it
was at a record low of 3.3
percent; however, levels of
unemployment are well below
the 10-year average of 6.9
percent.
The Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics
estimates
that
Deschutes County posted
very strong hiring in Novem-
ber:
The county added 160 jobs
in November at a time when
a loss of 300 would be more
typical based on normal sea-
sonal patterns.
Employment levels in No-
vember 2021 exceeded No-
vember 2019 levels.
Crook County: The unem-
ployment rate dropped signifi-
cantly to 5.9 percent in No-
vember, down from 6.2 per-
cent in October.