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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2007)
Spilyay Tyro Jews, est. 1976 September 13, 2007 P.O.Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Vol. s2, No. 19 Date for adoption election delayed B y Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo There has been a delay in die tribal adoption election. The election had been scheduled for October 11, but the date will have to be resched uled. The Warm Springs office o f the BIA, which is conducting the elec tion for the tribes, became occupied in recent months with the response to the wildfires that were burning on the reservation. As a result, the voter registration process has been delayed, and the élection will have to be set for a later date/ A specific date was not available as of earlier this week. In die past, the Confederated Tribes have conducted the tribal adoption elec- .tions. There has been difficulty in recent years, however, in reaching sufficient voter turnout for a valid election. The BIA process may help avoid this result, as tribal members will have to register to vote in the upcoming adop tion election. In the tribal election,: a turnout o f half the eligible voters is required for a valid election. In the BIA* process, a turnout o f half of the regis^ tefed voters is required, so the likeli hood o f a valid election is greater. The BÏA, with the assistance of tribal Vital Statistics, is planning to mail out about 4,000 envelopes to tribal mem bers Over the age of 18. The will con tain the voter registration form and a stamped îetum envelope. Tribal members who are interested in voting in the election will have about a month to return the completed regis tration form, said Lori Anderson, BIA administrative officer. In thé upcoming adoption election, all o f the candidates on the ballot will be either voted into the tribe or not voted in. Previous adoption elections hâve’ considered each candidate individu ally Also, the candidates on the up coming-ballot were not required to live on the reservation for the pre vious three years, as has been a quali fication in the previous two adop tion* votes, both of which failed for lack of turnout. The standards to qualify for the ballot are that the person have one- eighth Indian blood, and haveat least ope ancestor who was a member of the Confederated ;Ttibés of Warm Springs., " / The last successful adoption elec tion was conducted in 1996. New school year begins Students have returned to school at Warm Springs Elementary School, the middle school and high school, and to the various boarding and vo cational schools andcollèges. " At the elementary school* there are 430 students, including the kin-" dérgartners. Principal Dawn Smith, said the elementary school teachers aie àpprpàcl^Èma.tii iti a. different way. ccWe weren’t " satis fiefi'wi th oyr math scores,” she said. “So that’s going to bé our focus.” The new school year kicked off with the Back-to-School BBQ. The event provided 500. students with a backpack and school supplies and fed over900 meals. Sponsors in cluded: Community Counseling, Composite Products, Power Enter prises, Ventures, Kah-Nee-Ta High D esert Rèsort and Casino, Brightw ood Corporation, Les Schwab, Mountain View Hospital, Warm Springs Elementary School, Workforce Development Depart ment, Johnson O’Malley Committee,5 Community Health, Chief Opera tions Officer, KWSO, and the Tribal Education Committee. First-graders Amaya Bisland (bottom of slide) and Gracie WhitePlum take a break from class during recess on the first day of school. Building taking shape for Credit Enterprise B y Dave McMechan Spilyay Tymoo The new Credit Enterprise building •is nearing completion. Construction should be done in October, said Lori Fuentes, manager !of the tribal Credit Enterprise. The floor covering, landscaping and parking lot of some of the aspects of the building that still need to be done, ;said Fuentes. The ground-breaking for the project was in February, and construction has proceeded substantially on time, she said Fourteen fixU-time Credit employees will work in the building, which is . 9,200-square-feet in size. There will be a drive-up window that will be leased to a bank, said Fuentes. The window could be shared between ECRWSS Postal Patron Acquisition DepUSerials and there will be a full-time 'ATM machine in the tenfryway 6f the building. Credit will host a grand opening atithe new building, once the enter prise has moved from the Adminis tration building to the new facilities. Credit will be conducting a logo contestv/ith a prize for the winning entry, said Fuentes. The plan is to announce the winner at the grand opening. Look for more details re garding the logo contest in the near future. The idea for the ntew Credit En terprise building first came to the Credit board several years ago.* There is a need, the board agreed, The new Credit Enterprise building is scheduled for completion in October. for more office space for Credit, which became a self-funding enter the bank and Credit, so that customers up for standard banking needs. Part o f the building may also be prise about 10 years ago.; can dirdp off Credit-related paperwork at the window, as well as tise the drive- leased to a bank on a part-time basis, Dave McMechan/Spilyay U S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Members hear update on gaming B y Leslie M itts Spilyay: Tymoo Gaming board members presented a master plan for Kah-Nee-Ta and the future Bridge of the Gods Casino to the public at a general council meeting on Sept,TO. m •Though many community members expressed concern during a question and answer portion of the evening, the board members presented profitable projections for the future. 1 '-According to'Garland Brunoe, gen eral manager of Kah-Nee-Ta, part of the master plan involves necessary up grades to the Kah-Nee-Ta resort. For instance, in the future they hope to add attractions like paved bike trails in addition to various architectural up grades and landscaping changes. That also includes upgrades that are currently taking place. This past year 54 newslot machines were added and have befen doing well, iri addition to a new in-house market ing plan, he said. Vihile they had planned to upgrade the snack bars, Brunoe added, they have not yet been able to due to a lack o f available contractors. However, he said, the plan to add a second pool slide will be completed in mid-October. That should create additional rev enues’^ he said, arid the resort is already over budget this year - by about $700,000. Throughout the summer season this year, Brunoe said, Kah-Nee-Ta em ployed 76 youth workers and two shuttle drivers. Due to th e’success of the shuttle, he added, they are considering expand ing the route to Simnasho. He views the summer youth work program as ideal because it gives stu dents the chance to become interested in the hospitality afield at a young age and progress in a-variety o f positions over the years. . Currently Kah-Nee-Ta employs ap proximately 420 people, Brunoe said, 197 o f which are tribal members.' Staff members are searching for a new Director o f Finance, Brunoe added, and have interviewed several Candidates. “That is a critical position,” Brunoe explained. ;;;;;;Jgbr 2007, the reported projected revenues will total $22 million. With $18 million in projected expenses and loan payments, the annual cash profit is project at about $4 million. Out o f that $4 million, $1.5 bullion will serve as an annual distribution to the tribal government. The test will pay for ongoing major improvements and for items out of the master plan— such as contributions to the Bridge of the Gods project in Cascade Locks. . A,chart displaying projected profits indicated that by 2011, revenues; for Kah-Nee-Ta should total approximately $26 million! At that point there will no longer be loan payments, so projected cash profits will total about $6 million. There are various phases o f im provement included in the master plari, and one aspect involves adding in an emphasis., on cultural immersion and ethno-tourism in order to educate guests more about local culture. Another aspect of the master plan involve? moving the tribes’ casino op erations to the future Bridge o f the Gods casino in Cascade Locks, f For that project, the projected rev enues for the first year total approxi mately $242.1 million. See GENERAL COUNCIL on 7 W University of Oreqon Library! Received on: 09-24-07 I Spilyay tymoo