KWSO News for Wed., Jul. 28, 2021

Tribal Council has appointed Glendon N. Smith as the Secretary- Treasurer of the Confederated Tribes. Councilman Smith takes over the S-T duties from Michele Stacona. Some of his priorities coming up as Secretary-Treasurer include unfinished business regarding the tribes’ use of the Cares Act funding and the American Rescue Plan. Some important infrastructure projects on the reservation will benefit from this funding, such as improvement of the heating, ventilation and cooling systems of some tribal buildings. An example is the Courthouse, where HVAC issues during the current heat wave have forced shortened work days, as the temperature reaches more than 90 degrees. The Community Center is another example. Some housing projects and the water infrastructure can also benefit from use of the Cares funding.  Councilman Smith said, “People need housing, and water.”

Warm Springs K-8 Academy Assistant Principal Lonnie Henderson is stepping up to the principal role after Bambi Van Dyke resigned as principal in June. “We had multiple candidates as finalists who would be successful principals at the K-8 in Warm Springs,” said 509-J Superintendent Jay Mathisen. He believes Mr. Henderson will bring exceptional instructional leadership knowledge, strong connections with the community, and a high level of trust with the current staff at the school. Henderson will be the fifth principal at Warm Springs K-8 Academy since the school open in 2013.

The Warm Springs community COVID-19 Update today reported 2 new cases of COVID-19 from 31 tests conducted Monday, July 26, 2021 at the Health & Wellness Center.  There are currently 8 people with active COVID-19 and 3 close contacts receiving daily monitoring. There is an upswing in COVID-19 cases mostly for unvaccinated individuals.  The main thing you can do to protect from getting COVID-19 is to be vaccinated.  You can also continue to take other precautions:  Wear a Face Mask in public spaces, Maintain distance from unvaccinated people, & Wash your hands frequently.

Oregon’s clean energy bill, which is one of the most ambitious timelines for eliminating carbon dioxide emissions in the country, was signed by Gov. Kate Brown. House Bill 2021, the legislation signed Tuesday lays out a timetable for the state’s two major power companies — Portland General Electric and Pacific Power — to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity sold to Oregon consumers. According to the governor’s office they are focusing on moving to 100% clean electricity sources by 2040.

Oregon drivers have one more month to buy the state’s salmon license plate before it’s replaced by something more lifelike. The plate, first issued in 1998, depicts a lightly tinted fish on a white background. The surcharge raises money for salmon habitat restoration. To date over $8 million of salmon plate funding has been invested in Oregon. The old fish will be available through Aug. 31. After that, you can buy the more vibrantly colored plate depicting two fish in a stream.

The Warm Springs Tribal Council was in session last week July 19^th discussing up-coming construction projects in the community, S-T appointment, Federal & State legislative updates, and July enrollments. The tribal council approved the following construction projects in Warm Springs: West hills Drive resurfacing, Kalama Lane Subdivision, Quail Trail pedestrian pathway that will run from Tenino to bear drive, Park place court (Kuckup subdivision). For full tribal council summaries read them in this week’s spilyay Tymoo.