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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2000)
Bassett Hired as New SIHA Director by Tamara Morrow We are very pleased to have Elena L. Bassett as a member of our SIHA staff. She was hired in early March and has been very busy ever since. Bassett’s background is quite impressive. She worked for the Yakima Nation for 15 years. From 1982 to 1991, she was Yakima Nation Housing Program Manager, where she had HIP Program responsibilities and did grant funding for renovation and new home construction for the elderly. Bassett also worked with the Yakama Nation Housing Authority (YNHA) as liaison to obtain trust land for new development. From 1984 to 1994, she coordinated the development of six projects totaling 351 units. From 1995 to 2000, she was the Yakama Nation zoning inspector. Her duties included determining the use of Yakama lands to conform with zoning ordinances and working with economic development, Indian Health Services/environmental engineer, and BlA/tribal realty staff. She developed a Uniform Administrative Code to establish a building inspection department. She inspected the Yakamart convenience store, which was renovated from a bingo hall to a commercial convenience business. She monitored installation of underground fuel storage tanks and prepared a preliminary draft of a Sanitation and Health Code to enforce health standards, solid waste management, and dog control. Bassett served as president of the Yakama Nation Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Her educational background includes attending Heritage College in Toppenish, Wash., and business administration at Yakima Valley Community College. In 1996, she received a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Bassett, 50, is an enrolled Yakama member of Yakama, Nez Perce and Wanapum blood. Her Indian name is Satayuse. Her parents were Rosalie Pinkham Bassett, Yakama/Nez Perce, and Wapt Bassett, Yakama/Wanapum. She had one son, Travis B. Packineau, whom the Creator called away in 1995. Bassett was taught the traditional Washat religion and gathering of the foods by her grandmother, Ida Thompson Pinkham, During the winter months, she follows the Medicine Society prayer services and dancing. She learned how to gather tule reeds and makes mats for traditional feasts, funerals, and social use. Since coming to the Siletz area, Bassett says she has met many wonderful and kind people and the SIHA staff has helped her meet the daily challenges of the Housing Authority. She also says that Mother Nature has provided the Siletz people with beautiful land, trees, and an abundance of rain. She believes that not only the Siletz but also Indians throughout Indian Country deserve adequate housing for themselves and their families. It is with a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation that Bassett accepts the grave responsibility of managing the Siletz Indian Housing Authority for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. She will strive to do her best. Down Payment Program Celebrates First-Year Anniversary by Dave Litchy It seems like yesterday that SIHA funded its first down-payment grant. It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by since tribal member Sam Potter’s grant was funded in March 1999. Since that time, the NAHASDA Down Payment Assistance Program has funded 32 grants for a total of $580,462. We’ve helped first-time homebuyers in five states - Oregon, Washington, Utah, California, and Idaho. Program Highlights This program was created to assist first-time homebuyers with purchasing an existing home or constructing a new one. The program pays up to 20 percent of the purchase price (maximum $20,000), which must be used as a down payment for a home purchase. The tribal member must live in the home for five years; at that point, the grant is forgiven. 6 The applicant’s household income must be under 80 percent of median income as determined by HUD. The limits imposed are adjusted by area. Tribal members living in higher cost of living areas will have a higher limit than those living in rural areas. To find out where your income fits, call the Housing Finance office. The program also requires all applicants to complete a First-Time Homebuyer Education Program before entering into a purchase agreement on a property. The Housing Finance Program office in Salem provides the training on an individual basis. Other training sites are available for those applicants who cannot make it to the Salem office. After completing the training requirement, applicants should contact a lender and get pre-qualified for a first mortgage loan (most first mortgages are 30- year loans). The Housing Finance office works with many lenders. We recommend, however, that applicants apply for pre qualification with lenders who are familiar with state bond programs. In Oregon, for example, first-time homebuyers can obtain an interest rate one percentage point below market rates by qualifying for the Oregon Bond Program. One financial institution that has been very helpful to tribal members and also works well with the Oregon Bond Program is First Security Bank of Salem. It has completed mortgages for tribal members in Salem, Lincoln City, and the surrounding area. Information on whom to contact at First Security follows this article. After tribal members have completed the first three steps (getting their grant application approved, completing the training requirement, and pre-qualifying for the first (See Down Payment on page 7)
