KWSO News Thu., Aug. 5, 2021

The Portland Mayor’s office has partnered with the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation to showcase the work of 3-4 Native artists. The theme is to tell a story of the Indigenous Peoples in the Portland Metropolitan area, past, present, and future. Selected artwork will be purchased for the City of Portland’s art collection and will be installed in the lobby of the Mayor’s office. The deadline for submissions is coming up soon. Details are available online at https://nativeartsandcultures.submittable.com/submit/ca1fa5f0-bc1e-4365-8486-0d2199443498/portland-or-mayors-office-native-art-project-submission-form

Off-reservation hunting regulations for 2021-2022 seasons have been approved. Hunters can log into the tribal website hunting.warmsprings-nsn.gov , order by email wildlife.tags@ctwsbnr.org or call 541-553-2001. The Branch of Natural Resources encourages hunters to take advantage of off-reservation hunting tags to help improve wildlife populations on the reservation. And, they remind hunters that it is their responsibility to know where they are allowed to hunt, what weapons are allowed to use and what the bag limit is.  Off reservation hunting is designated for OFF RESERVATION public (unclaimed) lands. Illegally harvesting wildlife on the Reservation using off reservation tags or harvesting the wrong sex can have great long-term negative impacts to the Tribes wildlife populations. There is mandatory reporting of all hunter harvest. Failure to report harvest results for off reservation and reservation hunts will result in a loss of hunting privileges for subsequent tags.

Gov. Kate Brown on Wednesday announced a new health and safety rule that requires employees in health care settings to provide proof of vaccination or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. The requirement—which applies broadly to health care workers who have direct or indirect contact with patients or infectious materials—will apply Sept. 30. St. Charles Health System says this gives their hospitals time to prepare for implementation and gives caregivers time to become fully vaccinated if they are not already and choose to do so. Oregon health officials have reported about 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 since July 26, which is nearly double the number of cases recorded the week prior and the highest weekly count since mid-January. In Deschutes County, the previous week case count reported on July 31 was 244—a 79% increase over the week before.  St. Charles President and CEO notes that they believe the abrupt rise in case numbers is due to the delta variant, and says “The most recent and best data available shows patients with the delta variant have 1,000 times more virus particles in their systems than the patients who had the original virus. Put another way: it’s very, very infectious.”

To encourage more students and employees to get their COVID-19 vaccines, Central Oregon Community College (COCC) is offering the chance to win one of over one hundred gift cards, valued at $500, $250 and $100. All COCC employees and Fall 2021 students who are fully vaccinated by September 20 are eligible to win. A COCC student is any individual who is enrolled in one or more Fall term classes at the college—whether they take credit courses towards a degree or certificate, or a non-credit class among the college’s Continuing Education, Adult Basic Skills, English Language Learning or Small Business Development Center offerings. To enter to win, fully vaccinated COCC students and employees must submit their contact information by Friday, September 24 using a form available on the COCC website.

The highly contagious Delta variant is spreading across the country and becoming the dominant COVID-19 virus strain. Vaccinated individuals can protect themselves and others by continuing to wear your mask, washing your hands, social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings. Unvaccinated people should get fully vaccinated and continue masking to help stop the spread of the virus. Vaccines have been shown to prevent severe cases of COVID-19, including the Delta variant. In Warm Springs, you can call to schedule a vaccination anytime at the Warm Springs Health & Wellness Center at 541-553-2131.   Anyone 12 and older who is Indian Health Service Eligible, OR who lives or works in Warm Springs and their family members can be vaccinated.

Rallies are taking place across the Northwest to support salmon, which face dire conditions in the Columbia River Basin. On Saturday, the Rally for the River is calling for action from Congress to save endangered fish species in the region, including removing four lower Snake River dams that impede salmon migration and heat up the river. Brett VandenHeuvel is head of Columbia Riverkeeper, which recently captured video of the sockeye salmon struggling in the warm waters of the Columbia, “the heartbreaking video of the sockeye covered in lesions and fungus should sound an alarm. We need action now from the Northwest delegation.” Water temperatures above 68 degrees can be lethal for salmon, and the Columbia already has been above 70 degrees this year. VandenHeuvel says temperatures that high stress out salmon metabolism and leave them more susceptible to predation and disease. He predicts the situation will only get worse unless leaders act to remove the Snake River dams.  Rallies are planned for Eugene, Portland, Boise, Corvallis, Seattle and Spokane on Saturday.