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
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Siletz News
□ July 2003
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