KWSO News for Tue., Jul. 21, 2020

Monday afternoon’s COVID-19 UPDATE from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs reported 13 more cases of Covid-19, since last Friday (7/17/20).  There have been 133 positive test results on the Warm Springs Reservation since testing began.  88 people have recovered. 1613 tests have been done at the Warm Springs Health & Wellness Center with 44 tests still pending.

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Council decided take action to help flatten the curve by pausing the reopening of business at Tribal offices for a 2 week period beginning today through August 3^rd.   Since July 1st, there have been 55 new cases and 5 new hospitalizations.  Tribal Members and Tribal Employees are being asked to stay at home to slow the spread of Covid-19. Any travel at this time is recommended to be limited to essential needs.

The Oregon Health Authority reported Monday that COVID-19 has claimed two more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 262.  They reported 277 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 14,847.

The Native American Journalists Association has selected Lori Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock), editor of the Sho-Ban News, as the 2020 NAJA-Medill Milestone Achievement Award recipient. The award honors an individual who has made a lasting impact on media to the benefit of Indigenous communities and is given jointly by the Native American Journalists Association and the Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University to celebrate responsible storytelling and journalism in Indian Country.  Edmo has worked as the Sho-Ban News editor for more than 25 years and is a graduate of the University of Montana where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism.  She is a former NAJA president and served 10 years on the board of directors.

Over the next few weeks, more than 1 million Oregonians who used a debit card to buy gas at Oregon ARCO and am/pm gas stations between January 1, 2011, and August 30, 2013, will receive a check in the mail for $94.42. The nonprofit organization Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ), in partnership with Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum of the Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ), wants the public to know that the checks are not a scam; they are a settlement from a class action lawsuit against BP. According to OCJ, 27% of the checks from the first round of settlement checks distributed last year were not cashed before their expiration and the organization wants to ensure that doesn’t occur this time around. To assure recipients that the settlement checks are valid, they have launched a public awareness campaign and website: www.ThisCheckIsReal.org.