Message from Chief, April 09, 2020

April 8, 2020

Dear Ugpi’ganjig community members;

It’s been 4 days since we declared a state of local emergency in Eel River Bar. This past weekend’s post on the 4th provided a little preview of what this week would look like. We didn’t have all the answers right away we just knew we wanted to be proactive rather than reactive. We didn’t have a pandemic plan or an emergency response plan for Eel River Bar that would reflect what we are facing today. We did not have all the details or resources to start our checkpoints, but we knew we wanted to work with our neighbors, not against them, and most importantly, do everything possible NOW.

Because of the profound collaborative efforts of many, we are managing this pandemic and our community isolation. We posted for access monitors late Monday afternoon and started our checkpoints Tuesday morning. We’re taking this day by day and adjusting as needed. I’m really grateful for the men and women who were ready to start working on the road 24/7 with less than half a day’s notice. We will be continuing our hiring process in the next day or two, we thank you for your patience, a normal job posting would normally take between 2 to 4 weeks under normal circumstances, we are working around the clock in order to accomplish a lot in a short period of time.

We know social isolation is not ideal and inconvenient, we must take these measures to protect our community. Being in isolation now for the fourth week has had its effects on many. We’re facing a challenging and unprecedented time. Stress and anxiety is normal and expected, we’re all coping as best as we can. Although things aren’t normal let’s try to be respectful and kind to each other. There’s so many great initiatives going on in community many people are going above and beyond to support one another, I see sharing, food donations, many levels of support, volunteerism, fitness, fresh air, kids at home, lots of green cards, rainbows, and families together. I am proud of you and proud to say I’m from Eel River Bar!

I wish you and your families a happy upcoming Easter weekend.
Let’s stay strong, united, and resilient. Lets stop COVID-19!
With much love,

Chief Sacha