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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2007)
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR To the editor: Thank you, Lisa Brown (letter May 2007). I could not agree more. 1 don't understand why so much is being spent on an outside agency that has a city of its own to protect. This is a big burden on both communities. If Toledo is committed to a situa tion and county is too far away, who is going to respond to Siletz? 1 have not seen any ads in papers or online for either officers or a chief. Why? Is the tribe even trying to establish a police department again or are they just go ing to pay another agency? On the subject of the casino, where did the Marketing Department go? I see they have three events booked on one weekend, and nothing for two or three weeks. Chinook Winds needs to start bud geting better and have functions booked every weekend, and not three on the same weekend and nothing the rest of the month. The only thing I can see is a general manager blind-siding Tribal Council and getting a big bonus each year for doing so. I have said this in the past and will continue to say it until a new general manager is brought in, we need new To the editor: I am hoping more tribal members submit letters and e-mails to our elected officials and tribal paper. In regards to the info received by reading our Siletz paper, 1 have concerns. Our tribal chairman writes a column that is at times biased and would better serve the membership if resources were provided for the public to determine their own opinion. In my research. I utilize info from many publications. One such article is of particular interest because of our Tribal Council's focus on eliminating transparency and omitting access or scrutiny of their actions pertaining to our gaming enterprise. (http://www.nativebiz.com/ community/News,file = article, nid= I 5426.html. Original source: www.signonsandiego.com. Web site of the San Diego Union Tribune, pub lished May 15, 2007): The chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission yesterday warned that the absence of federal standards in Indian casinos could attract crime and cost tribes untold millions of dollars. The future without the internal operating rules, which were invalidated by federal courts, will be a time of some uncertainty and doubt. ” (Chairman Philip Hogen). “Operations without effective internal controls and oversight will, once again, become obvious targets for the unscrupulous, Hogen predicted. “Those tribes ... will lose millions of dollars and often not realize that it has happened until years later. Federal courts invalidated what are known as “minimum internal control standards. management in certain areas and it needs to start from the top. And what happened to a member of the U.S. military who just returned from defending our freedom being es corted out by Security? He called before making the trip down from Washington and was told that there would be $3 blackjack tables. When he arrived the following morn ing, there were only $5 tables. He brought his wife and mother-in- law, and asked if they could make a $3 table. The pit said no. The tables were not busy at all. This gentleman asked several supervisors and managers and explained his story and was eventually escorted out. Is this how we treat the very people who give us the freedom that we have? It’s bad enough that they are being mis led by our president, but to come home and be treated this way. Something is wrong here. Again, thank you Lisa Brown. It's nice to know there are others who see a problem Thank you, George Blacketer To the editor: I am deeply concerned about how difficult it has been for tribal members to get information about the recent problems with the River Reclamation Group. Apparently the RRG was shut down on April 6, 2007. but tribal mem bers were not informed of this until Monte Kentta brought up the matter at the General Council meeting on May 5, 2007. I don't think tribal members should have been kept in the dark for a month before a meeting where they could have gotten a much more com plete accounting. It has been difficult to get an ex planation from the Tribal Council via e-mail. I received some information from council members Robert Kentta and Dee Pigsley, as well as Henry Cagey, which 1 appreciate. I'm also aware of a response from Phil Rilatos. But overall, the information has been hard to extract and some of the reports have been contradictory. There are many other important questions: Why was Ross Bennett fired? Does he remain a business part ner with the tribe? When Lisa Brown informed the Tribal Council at the General Council meeting last November that RRG lacked the necessary permits to oper ate. did the council look into the mat ter? Why were tribal members kept in the dark for a whole month before the General Council meeting? It’s disturbing that the Tribal Council remains silent on these questions. And I'm not the only tribal member having trouble getting information. At siletz.net. other tribal members have been report ing how difficult it is to get straight answers. Tribal members deserve a full ac counting of what went wrong with RRG. Thank you. Lynette Warren The guidelines set standards for the security at casinos, including cash handling, cage and credit operations, internal audits, surveillance and the games from technical requirements to how often decks of cards should be changed. In light of the recent allocation of millions of our Chinook Winds gaming dollars for questionable or failed/ing “economic development" ventures, this concerns me. The fact that the general members are restricted from accessing records of how much the tribal attorney makes (for what?), nor who/what is paid to “consultants” (for what?), nor the invoices for the numerous business ventures (golf course/hotel ) which show no positive cash flow (for years - like 20+?) are of great concern! For this reason, it is my opinion that we should “vote no” on any consti tutional amendments proposed by our Tribal Council. Until they begin to show efforts to be more inclusive of the general members in making decisions, changing laws, etc., no such transparency exists, and I am fearful. In closing, I ask you to contact me with your opinions and ideas for solutions. I can assure you. I will do my best to be your voice, to assist you in having your concerns heard and your needs addressed. Or visit www.siletz.net to ask questions and view a more compre hensive picture of what is being said and done by our elected representatives and tribal enterprises. Yours truly, Lisa Brown, CPS 541 -444-1290. nadosh2@yahoo.com At Station #3: “Let 's Reflect. ” Rachelle Endres (left) and Delina John (second from left) pass out helmet decorations and proper reflectors to SVS students (front to back) Skylar Larsen, Treigh Garcia. Anita Knott. Daniel Regan, and (with bike) Matthew Bliss during the Bicycle Safety Rodeo, a Siletz Youth Prevention Team activity held May 16 in Siletz. Below: Toledo Police Chief Mark Fandrey helps Coral Dawn prepare for a ride between the orange cones. June 2007 • Siletz News • 5
