KWSO News for 3/18/20

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Administrative building and Tribal Council chambers were closed yesterday due to discovery of a bed bug infestation in two conference rooms.  Steps are being taken to have pest control treat the facility.  The building will be closed again today

As of the end of yesterday – no one has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Warm Springs.

Actions are being taken to implement social distancing in an effort to protect community members from contracting the virus.

Oregon now has a total of 65 people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The Oregon Health Authority announced 18 new cases of the novel coronavirus yesterday morning.

Governor Kate Brown late yesterday announced an extension of her previously announced school closure to combat the spread of coronavirus, saying now schools will be shuttered until at least April 28.

The Jefferson County 509J school district is working on a a plan to address what the extended break from school means for student learning.

Authorities in Multnomah County said they will be opening hundreds of new shelter beds in public buildings throughout Portland to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the homeless community.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic last Friday March 13^th.   The Jefferson County Commissioners declared a state of emergency last week as well.  Since then – the number of confirmed cases of COBID-19 in the state has continued to rise.  Along with that more local cities and counties are declaring states of emergency. KLCC’s Chris Lehman reports:

“Benton, Lane, Linn and Marion Counties all declared a state of emergency this week, as did the cities of Eugene and Springfield. Generally speaking the declarations allow municipalities to request state and federal aid, and allow changes to certain city or county functions for the duration of the emergency. In Benton County, the Board of Commissioners vote came just hours after the county opened a joint emergency operations center with the city of Corvallis for the very first time. Brian Lee is the emergency operations manager for Benton County.  Brian Lee: “It’s really a monumental day for us, to really get this going. We’ve been training for over a year, talking about it, focusing on it. And now we’re putting it into practice to help the community.” In a nod to social distancing, the meeting of the Benton County Board of Commissioners included just a skeleton staff on site. Two of the three commissioners joined the meeting remotely. I’m Chris Lehman reporting.”

In a non COVID-19 related story –  The Branch of Natural Resources IRMP Community Survey is soliciting input from tribal members and residents of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation to document the community’s priorities, preferences, and concerns regarding the management of the Tribes’ natural resources for the IRMP Revision.  You can do the survey online.  KWSO dot ORG.

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