Harney County receives state COVID-19 grant funding

December 16, 2020December 16, 20200

Harney County received COVID-19 grant dollars from the state of Oregon to help local businesses that are struggling from the effects of COVID-19. The dollar amount received was $564,855. The target for these dollars is to prioritize the hospitality industry first, followed by businesses that were impacted by the freeze, and

Harney District Hospital is ready to care for you!

December 9, 2020December 9, 20200

Harney District Hospital (HDH) and HDH Family Care clinic are safe, open, and ready to care for you! Although COVID-19 is relatively new, emergency preparedness is not new to hospitals or clinics. Our staff are continuously trained to treat patients with a variety of infectious diseases. Following guidance from the Centers

OSAA’s new activities plan pushes start date to February, swaps seasons around

December 9, 2020December 9, 20200

The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) Executive Board has revised the Association’s calendar to start activities in February. The OSAA Executive Board was hopeful that the state’s landscape was going to improve when it adopted the current calendar back in August, but that has not proven to be the case,

Gov. Kate Brown announces statewide Two-Week Freeze to stop spread of COVID-19

November 18, 2020November 18, 20200

On Friday, Nov. 13, Gov. Kate Brown announced a statewide Two-Week Freeze, implementing new measures to limit gatherings and stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 across Oregon. The Two-Week Freeze measures will be in effect from Nov. 18 through Dec. 2, statewide. These risk-reduction measures are critical in limiting the

COVID-19 testing event to be held Thursday, Nov. 5

November 4, 2020November 4, 20200

Your local health department would like to inform you of our response to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in our community. As of Nov. 2, we have 38 total coronavirus cases in Harney County, the majority of which occurred in the last month. Several schools in our area — including Slater

Health Department welcomes new director

August 26, 2020August 26, 20200

Photo by RANDY PARKS Nic Calvin is set to take over the reins of the Harney County Health Department. Jolene Cawlfield is retiring from her position as director of the Harney County Health Department on Aug. 31, and Nic Calvin is set to take over the reins. Calvin grew up in Alabama —

Harney County Library reopened June 17

June 24, 2020June 23, 20200

Beginning Wednesday, June 17, Harney County Library reopened with new procedures in place. To minimize infection risk and keep staff from being overwhelmed, the library is reopening in phases. During this first phase, the library will be open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The number of people

Harney County enters Phase 2 of reopening

June 10, 2020June 10, 20200

On June 3, Gov. Kate Brown announced details about Phase 2 of reopening, under her framework for building a safe and strong Oregon. Thirty-one counties were eligible to apply to enter Phase 2 on Friday, June 5. “I want to say thank you to each and every Oregonian who has made

Health department conducts drive-through testing

May 27, 2020May 28, 20200

The Harney County Health Department held its first drive-through COVID-19 testing May 20 at the Harney County Fairgrounds. Eighteen individuals were tested, and the results were expected back early the following week. All who were tested were advised to self-isolate for 14 days. If the tests come back negative, the individuals

Burns council approves resolutions to ease economic hardships

May 20, 2020May 21, 20200

The Burns City Council held a special meeting on May 6 to discuss two resolutions related to economic hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The council first addressed Resolution No.20-682, a resolution authorizing a temporary utility account credit program to support purchases from local businesses. According to the resolution, the program