Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2003)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the editor: I would like to thank John Blacketer, Louise Blacketer, and Jeff Schultz for helping me with Dewey Washington and Kate Ludson (our grandma and grandpa) and Ronald Blacketer (their brother and my cousin). It deepened my heart that I had them to help me this year. I could not get it done by myself this year because of my back problems. Thank you, John, for purchasing the flowers and the mulch. Thank you, Louise and Jeff, for pulling all of the weeds and arranging the flowers. Richard Leaton To the editor: We (the tribe) could be making some serious money if we had our service station up and running. What happened? When Dennis Lancaster was here, he had some professionally drawn up sketches and plans hanging in his office of a small RV park and a three-bay service station with a Quik Mart. They were to go in next to the bullpen. The small RV park was to be on the east end of the property. What happened? How does a consultant come in and convince us that we need to get our gasoline elsewhere, and that it’s more feasible for us to take our 30-plus fleet vehicles 15 miles away for regular servicing, repairs, and cleaning? I’ve been here a long time and I don’t ever remember Siletz being without gasoline. What does the consultant have to say now? Since we don’t want to put anything on that property that will make us any money, maybe we should think about putting a functioning tribal police station there and hopefully save some money. How many break-ins and burglaries does the bullpen and Natural Resources storage building need before we do anything? Right now, the rest of the property is a dumping ground for abandoned and unwanted automobiles (junkers). Why is this tolerated? Aren’t there laws being broken here? These concerns need some well-deserved and overdue attention, the sooner the better. To continue to sit idle and put it off until later just isn’t cutting it. You people coming to Siletz need to tank up before you get here. We don’t have any gasoline. Respectfully, Woody Muschamp Please see Missing Moccasins on page 18. To the editor: We (John B., Louise B., Jeff, and Richard L.) would like to thank Billy Eggers from Santa Barbara, Calif. He asked us what we were doing. We told him that we do this each year for Memorial Day to honor our ancestors. He said that the tribes in California do the same thing and that he was on his way to a Sundance in Montana. He then asked about our family history, so we told him what we knew. Then he left. My cousins, Louise and John, asked where Paul Washington was buried, so I took them to where he is. We then went to finish our work and we saw flowers on Dewey Washington’s stone and there was a note under the flowers, so we all read it. Here is what the note said: “I was going to send my wife and 4-year-old girl a card to say what a beautiful place this is. I came up here the other day just out of curiosity and how beautiful I found it! If it weren’t for people like you who fought for our country, I would possibly not be here and I would not be able to show my wife and daughter what God’s country looks like. This will by all means make up for that card that wasn’t sent today (5-25-03). Thank you again, Dewey! Sounds and looks like you have a solid family keeping things as tight as possible.” He wrote a little note to us - “To the family I just talked to. Keep it tight and right. The blood in our veins will eventually get ahead. Our Kids.” I wanted to share this with everyone because I thought that it’s what Memorial Day is all about. I thought that a total stranger not from here was so moved by the way that our cemetery looks and that we honor all of our relatives who have passed on. Richard Leaton Louise Blacketer John Blacketer Jeff Schultz To the editor: I wanted to take a few minutes to publicly thank some people who did a wonderful thing. Recently, my two dogs became tangled with each other in their leashes. It was very bad and I lost one of the dogs. However, thanks to the quick action of the Housing Maintenance staff, the tribal police, and my family and friends, the other one is going to be OK. While it is hard to lose a pet, it is also wonderful that so many people stepped forward to help out. I just wanted to send a big hug and a thank you to George Simon, Kay Spang, Max Hoover, Brandon Hammett, Jack McCord, Stan Werth, Kelley Ellis, Brenda Robertson, Brett Croucher, L.B. Swenson, Margo Hudson, Tina Retasket, and Richard Norton (if I left anyone out, I am sorry). You all went above and beyond the call of duty in trying to help, and that is very special to me. Sincerely, Lisa Norton Send letters to: Siletz News P.O. Box 549 Siletz, OR 97380-0549 541-444-8291 or 1-800-922-1399,ext. 291 Fax:541-444-2307 E-mail: pias@ctsi.nsn.us Deadline for the August issue is July 10. Submission of articles and photos is encouraged. Please read the Passages Policy on page 24 when submitting items for Passages. Member of the Native American Journalists Association 2 □ Siletz News □ July 2003 I | | | Siletz News is free to enrolled Siletz Tribal members. For all others, a $ 12 annual subscription fee applies. Please make checks payable to CTSI and mail to Siletz News. Name: _______________________ । Address: ______________________ Phone:________________________ Change of address: Tribal I members - call the Enrollment I Department at 541-444-8258 or • L-800-922-1399,ext. 258; all others - call the newsletter office.
