KWSO News for Wed., Mar. 24, 2021

The Warm Springs community COVID-19 Update for Tuesday (3/24/21) reports 0 new cases of COVID-19 from 55 tests conducted on Monday (3/22/21). There are currently 4 active cases of COVID-19 on the reservation with 15 close contacts receiving daily monitoring.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced a 10-Point Economic Recovery Plan that aims to help families and businesses across the state —with a focus on people of color —  impacted financially by the pandemic and 2020 wildfires. In addition, Brown said Tuesday the state is slated to receive $6.4 billion in federal funds from the recently passed COVID-19 stimulus package, which she said should be invested in a way that “maximizes economic recovery efforts for Oregonians this year, while also addressing the existing disparities that were exacerbated by the pandemic.” Since the start of the pandemic, Oregon has paid around $8 billion in jobless benefits. Between March and July 2020 alone, more than 500,000 people filed unemployment claims in the state.

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U.S. Senator Ron Wyden will hold a live on-line virtual town hall on Monday, April 5 at 10:30am, hosted by People’s Town Hall. This town hall meeting is for residents of Jefferson County. People’s Town Hall will be collecting questions in advance of the town hall so if you’d like to submit a question, please do so using this LINK. Senator Wyden has held 970 in-person town halls statewide in fulfillment of his pledge to hold at least one town hall each year in each of Oregon’s 36 counties. He has postponed in-person town halls until there are clear-cut public health guidelines that a large open-to-all public meeting poses no unusual health risk for Oregonians.

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For the first time in a century, visitors to Redwood National Park could soon see a group of endangered California condors in the parks’ ancient redwood forests. That’s because of a partnership to reintroduce an experimental population of condors into Northern California. Jefferson Public Radio’s Erik Neumann has more:

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The Warm Springs Senior Wellness Program Facility will remain closed until further notice due to water damage from vandalism.  The floor needs to be replaced and so Senior Program staff members are focused on removing everything from the building.  All programming including the senior meal program are on hold.  They are looking at cooking meals at the Agency Longhouse to resume the meal program.  That, however, is still in the planning stages.  The senior meals are provided weekly to nearly 600 people in the Warm Springs Community.

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In Oregon you can register to vote online on the Secretary of State’s website – https://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/myvote.aspx?lang=en. You can also update your voter registration and find contact information for your local county elections office. May 18th is a Special District Election. April 27th is the last day to register to vote in the May 18th election.

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Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced Tuesday that the state will update risk levels for counties based on public health guidelines aimed at reducing the transmission of coronavirus. Two counties remain in the ‘extreme risk’ category: Coos and Curry counties. Fourteen counties are considered to be ‘low risk’, including Baker, Jefferson, Lane and Yamhill, which were all downgraded from higher risk categories. Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties remain in the moderate risk category. The updated risk levels go into effect Friday, March 26 and continue until April 8.  Josephine and Klamath counties will enter into a ‘two week caution period’ later this week due to worsening public health conditions there.