NOTICES
Changes to GED Test Begin
January 2002
Thousands of test-takers are affected by the change and need to
finish testing by Dec. 31, 2001
Changes to the General Education
Development (GED) program have the
Department of Community Colleges
and Workforce Development hurrying
to locate some 10,000 people who
began work toward their certificate.
Finding those individuals who have
started but not yet completed the five
tests is proving to be a difficult task.
More than 9,400 postcards were sent
out as reminders and of those, 2,050
were returned because people have
moved. The office is experiencing a
flood of calls with more than 500 people
calling to find out about testing sites or
to correct information.
“We have some 10,000 people who
have completed one or more of the five
tests and are in jeopardy of losing those
scores if they do not finish before the
end of 2001,” said GED Administrator
Sharlene Walker, “And we don’t want
anyone falling through the cracks.”
Adults in Oregon who are working
toward their GED certificate have until
Dec. 31,2001, to successfully complete
it. In January 2002, the GED Testing
Service in Washington, D.C., will
release new tests to replace the current
edition. Any GED candidate who has
not successfully completed the GED by
then must start again with the 2002
Series GED Tests to qualify for an
Oregon GED certificate. Those who do
not pass all five tests will have to start
over, including paying the testing fee.
Those taking the Spanish-language
version of the test will have until 2003.
Oregon testing sites are asking
people who sign up to test now - with
only six months until the deadline - to
sign a waiver acknowledging that they
understand the time line. Some people
may want to wait for the new test if they
are concerned about passing all five
tests by the Dec. 31 deadline.
Test design specialists recommended
against permitting a combination of old
and new scores because the new GED
tests differ significantly from the current
ones. For example, the new tests will use
real-life “authentic” materials - editorial
cartoons, graphs for economic data, and
business memoranda - to a greater extent.
The new GED tests will continue
to measure the lasting outcomes of a
four-year high school course of study
in writing skills, language arts reading,
social
studies,
science,
and
mathematics. The tests will incorporate
the most up-to-date, widely used
curriculum standards and standardized
assessment practices available.
Graduating high school seniors will
continue to set the benchmark by which
passing scores are set.
Persons who need information
about GED testing or previously earned
test scores in Oregon should call
503-378-8648, ext. 373. Persons
needing information about local testing
sites or preparation classes can call
the Oregon Literacy Hotline at
1 -800-322-8715. For more information
on the GED in Oregon, see
www.literacynet.org/gedframe.html.
We would like to wish Justin Hoover
a happy 15th birthday on July 11. Happy
Birthday, Justin. We love you.
Love, Dad, Daryllynne, and Jordan
I would like to wish my beautiful
daughter, Fawn Metcalf, a very happy
birthday on July 22.1 think of you a lot
and hope that you are doing well. Hope
the grandbabies are in good health. I
know they are happy babies. Hope you
and Mike are doing great. Keep your
spirits up and stay happy as a family.
Thinking of you!
Love, your mother
Happy Birthday to Justin Hoover
on July 11.
From Dennis and Lil’ Ron
Happy Birthday to my big brother,
Justin Hoover, on July 11.
Love, Jordan
Happy Birthday to our uncle, Louis,
on July 7. Hope you have a great one!
Love, Dennis, Lil' Ron, and Jordan
14
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Siletz News
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Happy Birthday to my favorite
brother, Louis Keene, on July 7. Getting
up there, huh!
Love, Daryllynne and Max
July 2001
The Sacred Salmon Ceremony
by Diane Henkels
This weekend (June 9-10), my husband and I attended the Sacred Salmon
Ceremony in Ruch, Ore. I had seen this advertised throughout the Siletz Tribal
administration building. The name “Sacred Salmon Ceremony” concerned me.
Was it just for Indian people; should non-Indian people attend? But I learned
before going and while I was there that anyone can (and does) attend, just as
“everyone eats salmon.”
People gathered at Tanaka Flats, a former Indian village now on Forest Service
land on the Applegate River. The Takelma people called this place home. A few
hundred people gathered, camping or coming just for Saturday. The camp’s activity
felt like life in the old village might have felt: preparations for celebrating and
blessing the salmon, kids running around, people coming and going.
The morning started with a prayer of thanks and a welcome around an eagle
staff. After a hearty breakfast, people attended to jobs, setting up tents, digging
the salmon pit, minding kids, and cooking. Others gathered wood and tended
the fire for the sweat lodge where the divers purified themselves.
Drumming and flute playing helped the day flow into afternoon, sunny and
warm. The salmon, donated by Chinook Winds, was prepared. Drawing from her
knowledge of tradition, Agnes Baker-Pilgrim, a tribal member, wiped the salmon
with certain forest fems. Pieces from the whole salmon cooked over hot coals
glowed in the fire pit. Everyone received a piece of the cooked salmon. We ate and
returned all the bones, which were placed on cedar boughs held up by four divers.
Followed by the other men, the divers walked a blessed trail down the bank
to the river, each keeping a salmon bone under his tongue. Drummers drummed.
Then I heard that the divers dove deep into the cold water and buried the salmon
bones under the rocks, “returning the bones to the river.”
Meanwhile, we women circled around the cooking pit and prayed. I found
tears streaming down my cheeks as I circled and contemplated what was
happening. The dry grass under our feet, crackling fire, and hot sun accentuated
the feeling that taking care of the water and the earth is important to the salmon
and our balance here.
As always at a Siletz salmon feast, we stuffed ourselves on delicious salmon
and other potluck foods we all brought with us. After the meal, the speeches
were few and short. I hadn’t heard Bruce Babbitt’s name once during the day,
until then. Fulfilling his politician’s promise, he attended the ceremony and
during his brief talk, encouraged people to attend local hearings that will help
determine the fate of the nearby national monument. Agnes retold the Native
creation story.
We stayed at the Flats for a late dinner and visiting, then returned to our
campsite under a star-filled sky.
Happy Birthday big sister, Fawn
Metcalf. Haven’t seen you yet, but still
love you!
Love, Jordan
Happy Birthday to my biggest
sister. Fawn Metcalf, on July 22.1 love
you. sister.
Love, Lil' Ron
Happy Birthday to my sister,
Ramona L. You know who you are,
Mona L. I love you. Hope you have a
great day!
Love, your Sis
Happy Birthday to Auntie Mona on
July 30. We love you!
Love, Dennis, Lil’ Ron, and Jordan
We would like to thank our wonderful
little niece, Ticey Casey, for putting all
her time and effort in the grandchildren
collages. They couldn’t have been done
any better! Thank you. Ticey!
Love, all your aunts and uncles
Revival!
Speaker: “Read Leaf’ (Lakota)
July 9-12, 2001, at 6 p.m.
Siletz Tribal Community Center