Letters to the Editor 3/18/21 | Letters to the Editor | Bend | The Resource Weekly




Editor’s note:
It is a coincidence but not fully surprising to me that on the 7 days we are rolling out a element tale on a new work to keep track of and seek justice for the many Indigenous gentlemen and women who are missing or murdered in this state, we are also looking at the affirmation of the first Indigenous woman to the president’s cabinet. The coalescence of these two threads looks absolutely fitting, and a turning towards therapeutic. That, coupled with Central Oregon counties’ reduced COVID chance concentrations, presents me some hope about where we are headed.
This week we’re also rolling out nevertheless an additional version of Central Oregon Pets—a exciting venture that our workforce enjoys both writing and reading through. Though several of our “pandemic pets” are in for a rude awakening as a lot of of us trade kitchen tables and makeshift dwelling desks for our office spaces the moment yet again, we hope some of our “C.O. Pets” coverage presents you anything to smile about.










Lies, Lies, Lies
Deschutes County’s COVID-19 vaccination system seems to be damaged. On their website and when calling their hotline (that is a recording) the statement is that precedence is given to older adults who are placed in a queue by age. You are told not to contact them, but they will get hold of you.
I am 73 a long time of age and have filled out their on the internet software type at the very least a dozen times considering the fact that I have been qualified to receive the vaccine. Since then, I have waited at residence religiously for a phone that has yet to come.
I would be happy to volunteer to help make a call to those patiently ready in line. The least that could be accomplished is to notify these like me that their application has been been given, consequently verbally verifying that it has been placed in a queue. Instead, Deschutes County’s COVID internet site says the county does not need any a lot more volunteers and really don’t hassle making use of.
In the meantime I heard from my sister who life in Portland that a good friend of hers who is 65 and couldn’t plan an appointment in the Portland spot easily drove around and received a Covid vaccination in Deschutes County. Apparently, this was thanks to her owning a second residence in Sisters. Such tales tied in with a absence of reaction from our county’s vaccine hotline (that is seems colder and a lot more inhospitable than the freezers that they preserve the vaccine in) is pretty discouraging.
—Jonathan Stewart




Civic Clarity
In the disorienting smoke and haze
from the ongoing barrage
of society war speaking factors,
and the flagrant use of untruth
to serve the cause,
nonetheless opaque,
and/or
opportunistic-
-coherence is a razors edge
that entails continuous resistance
to delirium.
Amidst the spread of delusion,
It has gets to be a civic duty
to remain serene,
lucid/
lucent. And
preserve a business grip on
the full use of one’s brain and
manage in excess of one’s actions.
Insanity. n. psychological illness of these a serious nature that a particular person are unable to distinguish fantasy from fact,
(…the result when weapons of deception hit their mark)
—Donnie D. Bockle




RE: Seniors on the Pandemic, Race Relations and Extra
I will have to incorporate that our culture is quite remiss when it will come to our elders. A huge bulk of our elder inhabitants are total of wisdom, volumes of practical experience and have much more expertise than can ever be found in any e book. They are vivid, energetic and love daily life, their families & friends. They have so a lot to present our culture for the reason that of these things. But we have been programmed as a culture to diminish them and look at them fewer than. And that my close friends is a colossal slip-up on our part. There is gold in them there elders, and the decline is yours.
—Sonja Werke, through bendsource.com




Warm Springs is experiencing overlapping crises: donate your stimulus check
New stimulus checks mark yet another necessary option to identify the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on communities of colour and to act appropriately. If you, like me, did not get rid of work this 12 months, we have the opportunity to redistribute cash to prioritize fairness. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have been just one of the toughest strike communities in Central Oregon. In July 2020, the infection price in Warm Springs reached 16 periods the condition normal for white Oregonians. The pandemic has also highlighted and exacerbated current academic disparities. As an educator working a college or university-readiness application for Indigenous American substantial college learners by COCC, I have witnessed these impacts initial-hand. Heat Springs pupils facial area dwelling in distant options where hotspots will not operate, isolation, psychological wellbeing troubles, and grief from the reduction of elders and group leaders. These results stem from generations of oppressive federal polices and serious underfunding.
Probably there is no clearer instance of underfunding than the ongoing drinking water crisis on the Heat Springs Reservation. About the summer months, a person water line split still left 60% of the reservation without safe drinking water (numerous without having functioning h2o) for above a month, appropriate when COVID-19 circumstances have been spiking. Yet another new difficulty has all over again led several Simnasho inhabitants to rely on bottled water. The entire process demands to be rebuilt. As fellow Central Oregonians, we can step up by donating to the Chúush Fund, proven by the MRG Basis. No a person ought to have to go without h2o, especially through a world-wide pandemic. Donate at https://mrgfoundation.org/the-chuush-fund-h2o-for-heat-springs/
—Kelsey Freeman




Letter of the 7 days:
Many thanks for that valuable suggestion, Kelsey. You increase some quite good details. Arrive on by for your reward card to Palate!
—Nicole Vulcan