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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2009)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the editor: 1 want to take a moment to show my gratitude to CTSI Tribal Council and administra tion for providing the Tillicum Fitness Center. What an outstanding facility. Thank you also for allowing wellness time in support of employees. What a nice convenience to have a wonderful gym right here and be able to use it during our work day! Thank you to Cyndi, Connie, Darcy, Sophie, Danelle and other fitness center staff for assisting people in their quest toward a healthier life. Special appreciation goes to Cyndi Urbach for composing the article that appeared in the March 2009 Siletz News. My husband 1 have changed our lives for the better through nutrition and exercise alone. You can too! Sincerely, Christie Frederic www.PowerLosers.com To the editor: SVFOL Extends Thanks to Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund On behalf ol the Siletz Valley Friends of the Library, the friends want to extend a huge thank you to the Siletz Tribe and its members for your generous donation of $750. These monies you have awarded us will be used to pay for one year of liability insurance, which covers all volunteers during fund-raising activities. Without the support of the Siletz Tribe, our library would not be the success it is today. Since the new building has been in place, the number of patrons of the library has increased greatly. The total circulation for fiscal year 2007/2008 was 14,950; the number of visitors was 14,245. At any time of the day while visiting our library, people can be found using all nine computers, six table- tops and three laptops, and perusing the many book sections for in teresting books to read. We have people in the magazine corner relax ing, reading any number of magazines, the bi weekly county paper, the Tribal paper and the Siletz newspaper. Audrey Casper from SVFOL Many people also bring in their own laptops and use our wireless Internet access to do research while in the library. We also have a children's reading comer on Fridays that is very successful. The number of children taking part in this program is growing rapidly. This is another wonderful attribute the library provides for our community. So many thanks again to the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund for your ongoing support. Thank you. Siletz Valley Friends of the Library Dear Tribal members: I am sad to say that there has been a lot of negativity going around amongst our ranks and some people are literally afraid to share their opinions on anything going on within the Tribe for fear of being ridiculed and bullied by other Tribal mem bers. You have the right to your opinion, but you do not have the right to force it upon others or to make them feel badly because they do not agree with you. Because of my feelings, I have started an online community forum for everyone within the Tribe and community of Siletz to take part in. Our main focus is discus sion without the fear of being bullied. On this forum we discuss politics, Tribal members' accomplishments, upcoming events, news outside of the Siletz area and even some random fun stuff. All viewpoints are welcome, so long as they abide by the forum’s rules. I’m inviting all of you to be a part of this forum and share your thoughts. I'm also hoping that this forum will encourage people who would not usually voice their opinions to be able to do so, whether it be anonymously or not. People of all ages are welcome to post on the board, 1 just ask that you be over the age of 13 and get your parent’s permission. It’s my hope that these young people will read information from several sources and come to their own conclusions about what they feel is right for the Siletz people when they are the ones in leadership positions. The address is http://siletz.proboards, com and I hope to see you all there. However, our server is a little slow at the moment because it’s a free service. Sometime in the future I will move it to a more reliable, paid server. Thank you all, Teala Rilatos To the editor: In Memory of Enselsun When we've developed our own in ner purity, compassion and love, we can then see the reflection of this purity and loving kindness in others. Whatever we see every day in outer reality is actually nothing more than a projection of our own inner reality. The existence of this deep, essentially pure nature of mind isn't a matter of belief or blind acceptance. It’s a matter of expe rience. As my dad shared with people of many walks and faiths, countless people throughout history have discovered this great treasure of peace, love and wisdom within themselves. Beautiful teachers as Enselsun have skillfully shown others how they too can discover their own deepest nature and ex perience the unsurpassed happiness this dis covery automatically brings, basic purity. As my father’s oldest child, I feel the responsibility of thanking all the family and friends of Enselsun and send prayers to your spiritual journeys. Also to those who traveled from near and far for bringing your living light; to 22 • Siletz News • those who could not be present, be assured that your beautiful thoughts and prayers are received. To the veterans for your dedicated services as my dad was a Ma rine warrior, to the cooks for the fabulous foods, the preps, servers and countless volunteers during the meals. To the Siletz Tribe for the convenienc es of the building. To the special people of Southern Oregon coastal Tribes, countless young and elder who embraced my dad and invited him to numerous functions. And to the beautiful people of the seven drums circle for this awesome cer emony. 1 hope 1 haven't left out anyone who was part of my dad’s services. This sending off of my dad’s spirit was very touching and true. Enselsun’s basic purity journey is alive. Basic Purity Peace for societies strangling controls of self-reliance and realizations, bringing devoted energies of love and compassion toward a universal union, to manifest upon positive thoughts and prayers of kindness and equanimity, to stimulate lost minds April 2009 and souls which then will generate the true nature of one’s independence within and to share their auras of real face with no masks of lies, to realize that we are one with no color, no ignorance or hate ... this true value is no mistake. There’s a beautiful spiritual shift now taking place, listen and with a loving vision this event will enhance your sight of strength that we all possess. The peace in mind is a piece of time, which is only a moment of now, to cherish and thank the spirit within for bringing this stream of water flowing outward ... to all. NOCH-NOS-SIA This beautiful man and 1 were very close, he was a true brother, grandfather, father, husband, uncle, teacher and friend. Until we meet again ... KLOS-NAN-ITCH, THLOOKE-HI- MUTS-NE-ITS-SLA Love you dad, NOCH-NOS-SIA Willie Towner To the editor: We are writing to express our outrage at Tribal Council’s recent actions toward council member Lisa Brown. Those of us who voted for Ms. Brown were hoping for a new era of openness and fairness. What were we thinking! Any council member who votes to expel Lisa Brown will never again have our vote. If the current council believes the members of General Council won’t see this as anything but a fear-based reaction to a perceived threat, they are wrong. Please stop the petty jealousy and hate based conduct that the members of Gen eral Council are so tired of! Ken “Butch” Blacketer Delores Riding In Dear Tribal members: 1 am writing to you all about the up coming vote of whether we should have alcohol on the gaming floor or not. 1 am for that decision. I moved to Oklahoma over two years ago and in those two years I worked in a casino that sold alcohol on the floor. We had no extra trouble with having alcohol on the floor. It did not cause any extra in payroll or we did not require any more staff or security because alcohol was be ing served on the gaming floor. The cocktail waitresses made sure that if a person was getting to the point of being too drunk, they cut them off and started serving them coffee. We did not have any major problems or fights because of alcohol being on the gaming floor. All of the casinos I have visited out here in Oklahoma sell alcohol on the gaming floor and have no extra problems. It brings the customers in and keeps them playing. Most people drink sensibly anyway because it is too expensive these days to get DUIs anymore. Besides, the customers are already drinking at our casino and we have had no major problems with the customers drink ing in our bar, so what is the difference if they are drinking on the gaming floor or at our bar. The point is, the customers are still drinking. I have had firsthand experience with working at a casino that has alcohol on the gaming floor and have seen where it benefits the casino because they stay longer and spend more money, whether it is on alcohol or gam ing. They would just be doing both, spending money on alcohol and on gaming. I hope that all of you who are on the fence on this matter really read this and change your mind to vote yes. The custom ers are still drinking, they are just being iso lated to the bar area. But after they drink, they are still coming on the gaming floor, so why do we not try to accommodate our customers and allow them to gamble and be able to have a drink on the floor. I really hope that you will change your mind and vote yes not only to boost up revenue for our casino, but also to try to accommodate our customers as much as possible, especially in this economic depression we are in. The customers could always go to another casino that does serve alcohol on the gaming floor. Thank you for your time. Denise Jordan
