LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the editor:
We want to thank all of you
plain and simple for being there
for us during the loss of our
mother, Norma Kentta.
Your caring, kindness, and
thoughtfulness
generated
wonderful happenings, such as
the speakers, the singers, the
drummer, the delicious generous
amounts of food, and the
memories you shared with us.
Thanks to maintenance and ladies
from the tribal center for their
work in organizing and managing
all that we couldn’t have done
had it not been for you. You did
a beautiful job and it was
greatly appreciated.
Finally, kind hearts are the
garden, kind thoughts are the
roots - kind words are the
blossoms, kind deeds are the
fruits. With heartfelt thanks to all
for your kindness.
Sincerely,
Rose, Arlen, Lydia, and
Theresa
To the editor:
I am running for a position on
the Tribal Council. I was on Tribal
Council from 1990 to 1998 and was
recalled in 1998.
I never wrote, spoke, or
challenged the recall because of
personal issues going on with my
brothers and sister. However, I can
clearly focus on the recall to date.
Other Council members and I were
in the process of reorganizing the
tribal administration. Through the
process of reorganizing, we were
reviewing the accounting department
because of transfers of monies done
without authorization.
We had started reviewing the
TANF manual and had questions
about a $90,000 expenditure that the
manager could not account for.
I attended a Council meeting in
November, after the recall, and the
TANF budget was overspent by
$235,000.
A quorum voted and passed a
resolution to relieve the attorney of
his duties with the tribe.
We were also getting away from
micromanaging Chinook Winds. The
general manager was to keep expenses
down and increase profits that would
come to the tribe.
Delores Pigsley and Bonnie
Petersen strongly supported the recall
as they stated at a General Council
meeting. Delores Pigsley was not
the chairman of the tribe for two
years and after the recall, she was
again elected as the chairman.
The Council after the recall
rehired the same attorney who was
let go.
Individual members of the
Council have been charged with a
Notice of Violation for 1999
regarding comps that were used at
the casino. They have spent
thousands of dollars for meetings
and attorneys to keep themselves
out of trouble. The Council could
have written a well-planned policy
for comps but they chose to spend
a great deal of money. They will
eventually have to write a
well-planned policy and the cost
will be one Council meeting.
The Council let the casino
general manager in 1999 keep
expenses at approximately 96
percent of the revenues, which left
about 4 percent for the membership.
In late 1998 and 1999, tribal
members were fired from jobs and
some have not been given a reason
why they were fired. In 1999, the
Council removed a tribal member
as general manager for the tribal
administration and put one of
Delores Pigsley’s family members
in as the general manager.
The Council recently tried to
change the Constitution without
input from the membership, but a
majority of those who voted, voted
no against all five proposed
amendments.
Do you want more coming
back to you? Do you want to see a
change in Council? Tribal
members, you need to vote for
different leadership. I am asking for
your vote in the coming election.
Lillie Butler
To the editor:
I attended my first CTS1
employee Christmas party/staff
meeting at Chinook Winds on
Dec. 20.1 had a wonderful time. In
speaking with others in attendance,
it sounds like we all did. The
entertainment was fantastic, from
our very own talented staff of
singers and poetry writers to the
outstanding performance of Joe
Stoddard. Hats off to those who
obviously worked very hard to
allow the rest of us to have fun. You
folks did a great job! Once again,
thanks for the great time!
Rebecca Williams
PAO Supervisor
LETTERS, DEADLINES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
Siletz News, a publication
of the Confederated Tribes of
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