KWSO News for Mon., Nov. 16, 2020

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Friday a statewide two-week “freeze” that includes limiting restaurants and bars to take-out only and shuttering gyms, indoor and outdoor recreational facilities. The freeze, which will be in effect from Nov. 18 through Dec. 2, aims to limit group activities and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The state is experiencing a spike in daily case counts and reached record daily highs in confirmed cases and positivity rates in November. Brown and the governors of California and Washington issued travel advisories Friday urging residents to avoid non-essential travel out-of-state and asking people to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving from another state or country.  You can see FULL DETAILS here.

Last week – Jefferson County School District 509-J Superintendent Ken Parshall communicated with families about the return to in person school on November 30^th.  He said “The positivity rate for those tested for COVID-19 and the case count for Jefferson County both rose over the past week. The current data still allows us to plan for our students to return to school on Monday, November 30th. However, we will be watching the metrics closely on the next two Mondays when this information will be released.”    HERE is the letter.

The Culver school district decided to not fully reopen their schools on November 30^th because of the rising number of cases in Jefferson County.  In a letter to families last week, Culver Superintendent Stefanie Garber said limited in-person instruction will continue thru December but they will hold off on reopening schools until Jefferson County posts fewer than 30 cases over a two week period.  HERE is the letter.

At the Warm Springs K-8 Academy Kindergarten and 1^st grades are doing limited in Person Learning from 1-3pm starting this week.  This is for Kindergarten and 1^st grades only.  Students each have specific days when they will attend.  If you are a family with a kinder or 1^st grade student and haven’t gotten your schedule yet – you should contact your teacher.

Warm Springs Tribal Employees have until this Friday (11/20/20)to sign up for their 2021 benefits.  Full time Tribal and some Enterprise employees should have gotten an email on November 6^th all about the Open Enrollment Period.  Remember the deadline to sign up is this Friday.  If you have any questions you can contact the Comp and Benefits Department within the Tribe’s Human Resources Office.  Contact Carol Funk at 541-553-3327 OR Janaiya Rowe at 541-553-3391.  Here is a recording of a presentation about the online sign up for benefits:

President Elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris announced their plan for Tribal Nations last Thursday saying they are committed to upholding the U.S.’s trust responsibility to tribal nations.   The Biden-Harris plan will: Strengthen the Nation-to-Nation relationship; Provide reliable, affordable, quality health care and address health disparities; Restore tribal lands, address climate change, and safeguard natural and cultural resources; Ensure Native communities are safer and tackle the crisis of violence against Native women, children, and the elderly; Expand economic opportunity and community development in Native communities; Invest in education and youth engagement; Meet obligations to and commemorate Native veterans ; Ensure Native Americans can exercise their right to vote.  The plan includes the reinstatement of the annual White House Tribal Nations Conference.  See the full plan HERE.