CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
ever form it takes, will be more under
standing of the tribe's views and needs.
Will the mayor and the City Coun
cil treat the tribe with the same hon
esty and respect with which we have
treated the city? We shall see.
The Election and the
Mayor’s Race
The primaries are over. Of great
importance to the Siletz Tribe was the
race for the Lincoln City mayor's seat.
Although she was expected to win,
Mayor Lori Hollingsworth failed to get
sufficient votes to be re-elected and
therefore faces a run-off election this
November.
As tribal chairman, I have been
greatly disturbed about the biased and
distorted information the mayor and the
city manager had been spreading about
the tribe’s fee-to-trust and economic
development efforts and the false in
formation about Chinook Winds' eco
nomic impact on the local community.
Shortly before the primary election,
General Manager Jim Kikumoto of
Chinook Winds reminded all of his
employees about the importance of the
local election. His memo was an effort
to offset the distorted information be
ing disseminated by the mayor about
the tribe and Chinook Winds.
Jim also reminded employees
specifically how significant Chinook
The State Legislative
System
Delores Pigsley
Winds’ impact has been on the local
community.
The fact that the mayoral race will
be held in November gives the tribe
time to consider what we must do to
ensure that the new City Council, what-
CTSI Jobs
CTSI Employment Job Line
541-444-8296 or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1296
Visit our Web site at www.ctsi.nsn.us
Job Opening
CTSI is constantly looking for
temporary employees to cover va
cancy. vacations, maternity leave,
and extend sick leave. If you are re
tired, a homemaker, or a student and
are looking for temporary work that
can last from two weeks to 12 weeks,
please submit a temporary applica
tion for the temp pool.
Note: “Open Until Filled” vacan
cies may close at any time. The tribe’s
Indian Preference policy will apply.
Tribal government will not discrimi
I now would like to briefly report
on the Public Commission on the Or
egon Legislature, a state body to which
I was appointed as a member.
Peter Courtney, president of the
Senate, had commented that. “The leg
islative branch was designed to be the
most accessible and responsive branch
of government but it has been damaged
over the years.”
And Jim Scherzinger, a former leg
islative revenue officer, made this criti
cal observation that could, 1 believe,
be applied to governments at all lev
els: “The Legislative Assembly is the
most important decision-making body
in the state and it needs to have a ratio
nal decision-making process. To get
elected, come to Salem and make hun
dreds of decisions, then go away and
study the issue is backwards.”
The intent of this new commission
as defined in the bill that created it is
“to strengthen the legislative branch so
it can more effectively meet the needs
of the people.”
The 30-member commission was
established in July 2005 "to review the
Legislature's operations and make rec
ommendations for improvements to
the 74,h Legislative Assembly when it
convenes in 2007.”
Specifically, the commission's re
sponsibility is “to review all aspects of
Oregon's legislative branch of govern
ment including the timing, frequency.
and length of sessions, legislative pro
cedures, and the adequacy of legisla
tive facilities and staffing.”
An example of these actions is the
Process Committee, which reported "the
status quo was not acceptable."
Acting on recommendations from
Dave Frohnmayer. president of the
University of Oregon, the committee
believed there were “compelling rea
sons” why. how. and when the legisla
ture should meet that should be recon
sidered. The following reasons should
give anyone a clue as to how complex
the committee's task was:
“The reduction of legislative inde
pendence and authority due to the in
crease and influence and impact of
state agencies, the lobby, the conse
quences of ballot measures and a vari
ety of federal issues; increasing com
plexity of the legislature's fiscal and
policy tasks; decline of the citizen
legislature; and need to adapt to the
requirements of the 21s1 century."
On April 5. the Process Committee
presented its report, which included
numerous specific recommendations.
For example, regarding the fre
quency, length, and timing of legisla
tive sessions, the committee spent time
discussing with legislators and staff to
better understand the state budget pro
cess. In the committee's view. “State
budgeting should continue on a bien
nial basis, and the Ways and Means
Committee should be a joint commit
tee that works together as a joint com
mittee throughout the session."
I serve on the Human Resource
Committee. All the committees meet
jointly periodically and will make the
recommended changes by the end of
this year.
nate in selection because of race, creed,
age, sex, color, national origin,
physical handicap, marital status,
politics, membership or non-mem
bership in an employee organization.
Most Often Requested Numbers
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
1-800-922-1399
Salem Area Office
503-390-9494
Salem Finance Office
1-888-870-9051
Portland Area Office
503-238-1512
Eugene Area Office
541 -484-4234
Springfield Siletz Tribal Head Start
541-747-0161
Contract Health Services (CHS)
1-800-628-5720
Siletz Community Health Clinic
1-800-648-0449
Siletz Alcohol and Drug
1-800-600-5599
Chinook Winds Casino Resort
1-888-244-6665
Chemawa Health Clinic
1-8OO-452-7823
Bureau of Indian Affairs
I-8OO-323-8517
Web Site
www.ctsi.nsn.us
Open Your Home - and Your Heart -
to a Child in Need*
Every child deserves to grow up
in a safe, nurturing environment.
A number of foster care programs
and organizations nationwide are
dedicated to ensuring that foster chil
dren get the care and support they
need. These organizations can't do
it alone - they need the assistance of
people like you.
The need for foster parents cur
rently ranks among the most pressing
problems in the child welfare system.
Nearly every community in the nation
has a shortage of foster families. This
is true for the Confederated Tribes of
Siletz Indians, both locally and through
out the 11-county service area.
Many people believe that only
married couples can become foster
parents. In fact, foster parents can be
single, married, or divorced. They
can be homeowners or live in an
apartment. They can be as young as
21 - or they can be retired.
Families who care for foster chil
dren receive payments that are in
tended to cover ordinary living ex
penses for the child, including food,
shelter, and daily supervision.
Each state has its own rules and
procedures for becoming a foster
parent. For information on fostering
a Siletz Tribal child, please contact
the tribe's Indian Child Welfare de
partment at:
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
Attn: Heather Hunt
Indian Child Welfare
P.O. Box 549
Siletz, OR 97380-0549
1-800-922-1399, ext. 1275
541-444-8275
*Used with permission of the
National Foster Parent Association,
1-800-557-5238, www.nfpainc.org.
July 2006
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Siletz News
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