Pandemic Preparedness building on fast track

MISSION – Walls are expected to go up during the week of Dec. 9 on the 10,560 square foot “Pandemic Preparedness” building under construction in Coyote Business Park South on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Workers are hurrying to get the $2.5-million building up and finished by the end of the year because CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act…

Warming station open with COVID-19 restrictions

By Wil Phinney of the CUJ MISSION – As temperatures dip below 36 degrees, homeless people on the Umatilla Indian Reservation will have a place to go again this winter when the Warming Station opens in November under new management. The Cmuytp’ama Warming Station will soon be open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. for up to seven adults, but…

Peacekeepers on the Road

Yakama-based group delivers food, positive message By Wil Phinney of the CUJ MISSION – Quanah Spencer said he came to the Umatilla Indian Reservation, where he has several relatives, to “take away despair, anxiety, and give back hope” to the Native people struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spencer, the Tribal Relations Director for BNSF Railroad Company, was one of more…

Tribals to debut body cameras in December

MISSION – Tribal police will soon be wearing body cameras to record interactions with the people they contact during their patrols. The Board of Trustees at a work session Oct. 5 passed a motion to purchase body and vehicle cameras at a cost of $54,747 from Axon Enterprises, a company that also provides body cameras for police departments in Pendleton,…

Bentz visits Nixyaawii

MISSION – Former Oregon state senator and congressional candidate Clifford Bentz visited Nixyaawii Governance Center Tuesday, Oct. 6 for an informational tour and greet with tribal officials. Bentz, the Republican candidate, is running against Democrat Alex Spenser in Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District race – a position formerly held by Greg Walden, who retired this year. The visit allowed for a…

Air quality advisory extended through Saturday for Northwest, Central, Eastern and some parts of Southern Oregon

Sept. 18, 2020 The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality extended an air quality advisory through Saturday for Northwest, Central, Eastern and some parts of Southern Oregon due to smoke from fires in Oregon and California. ** Información en español ** Smoke is beginning to clear out of the I-5 corridor. Portland and Salem areas were still at the unhealthy  levels Friday morning,…

Birch Creek Fire Update

Sept. 18, 2020 PENDLETON, Ore. – Firefighters continue to make progress securing containment lines on the Birch Creek Fire yesterday, which is burning on the North Fork John Day Ranger District west of the junctions of Forest Service Road (FSR) 54 with FSR 5412 and FSR 5411, approximately 12 miles northeast of Ukiah, Oregon. The Birch Creek Fire remains approximately…

Air quality update: Advisory lifted for Oregon Coast, smoke to remain elsewhere next couple of days

Date: Sept. 16, 2020 The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Lane Regional Air Protection Agency and the Southwest Washington Clean Air Agency updated an air quality advisory Wednesday for Oregon and Southwest Washington due to smoke from fires in Oregon, Washington and California. ** Información en español ** DEQ has lifted the air quality advisory for the Oregon Coast. The coast should…

Birch Creek Fire Update

Sept. 16, 2020 PENDLETON, Ore. – Improved weather conditions aided firefighters battling the Birch Creek Fire yesterday, which is burning on the North Fork John Day Ranger District west of the junctions of Forest Service Road (FSR) 54 with FSR 5412 and FSR 5411, approximately 12 miles northeast of Ukiah, Oregon.  A local Type 3 Incident Management Team led by…