66 Lincoln County students enjoy adaptive
swimming lessons funded through STCCF grant
NEWPORT, Ore. – In February, the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund
awarded $3,733.10 in matching funds for our Spring Adaptive Physical Education
Swimming program. Thanks to this generous contribution, our program was able to
provide lessons to 66 students.
This grant allowed the Lincoln County School District Adaptive Physical Educa-
tion Program to provide adapted swim lessons to students with moderate to severe
disabilities in elementary through high school. The Lincoln City Community Center
and Newport Aquatic Center donated their facilities and only charged for lifeguard
and instructor fees.
Connie Craddock, Adaptive PE assistant for the Special Education Department
in the Lincoln County School District, remarked, “I loved seeing the progress of each
student. Some overcoming fears, some exploring what they were capable of in the pool
by attempting new skills and activities and the majority of them improved their comfort
in a pool setting, swimming and water safety skills.”
The students in Lincoln City went to the Lincoln City Community Center; youth
in Newport, Toledo and Waldport went to the Newport Aquatic Center. Crestview
Heights Elementary had six students, Toledo Elementary had three students, Sam
Case Elementary had seven, Newport Middle School had nine, Newport High School
had 12, Oceanlake Elementary had seven, Taft 7-12 had seven and Taft Elementary
had 15 students.
The Lincoln County School District Adaptive Physical Education Program teaches
students with moderate to severe disabilities to develop gross motor skills. This skill
development is accomplished by providing one-to-one instruction, small group instruc-
tion and community outings.
Students learn the gross motor skills necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle and
participate in lifelong recreational physical activities. This includes instruction on how
to access community facilities for lifelong health and leisure.
Continued from previous page
A $7,000 Tribal benefit …
Do you know what it is?
Will your loved one benefit from it?
Obviously, none of us wants to think
about passing away and our funeral. Inevi-
tably, it will happen … to all of us. We
should do our best to make sure we have
arranged what we can. One simple thing
you can do is submit your Designation
of Death Benefit Beneficiary form to the
Enrollment Department.
The Siletz Tribe self-funds (Tribal
funds) a death benefit to all enrolled Tribal
members, including children, for funeral
and burial costs. As of May 5, 2019, there
are 1,470 Tribal members who have no
beneficiary listed for this benefit. Are
you, a family member or your children
one of them?
A mail-out was done in March 2019
to Tribal members with no beneficiary on
file and to those with forms on file that
were last submitted 10 years ago or more
in case information needs to be updated.
Please check with your family members to
see if they have submitted their paperwork
for this important benefit.
If you know you have one on file,
when was the last time the contact infor-
mation for the beneficiary was updated if
the beneficiary is not a Tribal member? Do
you know whom you have listed as your
beneficiary? Does your beneficiary know
you named them?
There is a brochure on the Tribal web-
site that is beneficial for the beneficiary
to have.
Things Tribal members need to know
about death benefits:
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When an unenrolled child 6 months
or younger passes away and is eligible
for enrollment but not yet enrolled at
the time of death, the child will be
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eligible for the death benefit. This
includes miscarriages and stillborn
children when the family chooses to
have a funeral service. The Enrollment
Department will administer the death
benefit to pay for funeral expenses only.
Tribal members need to fill out and
keep a copy of the Designation of
Death Benefit Beneficiary form.
The form can be updated at any time
to name a different beneficiary or
to update the contact information
for your beneficiary. It is extremely
important to update your Death Ben-
efit Beneficiary Designation form
anytime you marry, divorce or if your
designated person passes away.
The designated beneficiary needs
to be age 18 or older as they may be
the one responsible for making your
funeral arrangements.
Are your children over age 18 now?
They need to update their beneficiary.
You can now update your beneficiary
to include them.
The Enrollment Department keeps the
original form on file with the Tribal
member’s Enrollment file. In the event
of your passing, the most recent form
that has been submitted is what will
be used to determine the beneficiary
for this benefit.
The beneficiary can be anyone, a
Tribal member or a non-Tribal mem-
ber. They can be a family member or
not. The most common beneficiary is
a parent, spouse, adult child or some-
one trusted who will be in charge of
making your funeral arrangements.
The current death benefit amount is
$6,000 and is for burial and funeral
expenses. Most funeral homes are
willing to work with the Tribe so fami-
lies do not have to pay out-of-pocket
costs up to the benefit amount. Some
Photo by Angela Ramirez
Lincoln City Mayor Dick Anderson, who also sits on the STCCF Board; Reunion
Chairman Traci Dickenson Fischer; and Teresa Simmons, committee member
Siletz School Reunion receives STCCF grant,
sets ‘old school, all class’ event for Sept. 13-14
SILETZ, Ore. – On May 3, the Siletz
School Reunion Committee was awarded a
check for $500 by the Siletz Tribal Chari-
table Contributions Fund.
“These funds will go a long way to
help make this reunion the best ever,”
said Reunion Chairman Traci Dickenson
Fischer, “And we greatly appreciate the
support of the STCCF.”
The “Old School, All Class” reunion
for all alumni of Siletz School who were
students in a class with a graduation date
through 1986 will be held Sept. 13-14.
The event will take place at the pictur-
esque Elks Lodge #1664 Campgrounds,
Tokatee Illahee Park, located at 20590
Highway 229 approximately three miles
north of Siletz.
This reunion is not just for graduates,
but for anyone who attended Siletz School
during that time period.
Classmates and their partners are
invited to attend Friday evening (Sept. 13)
for a social get-together and trivia contest
from 7-11 p.m. On Saturday (Sept. 14)
from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., enjoy visiting
with old friends and classmates, purchase
tickets for the many items that will be
raffled and either bring an entry or vote
for your favorite in the cake and pie bake-
off contest.
The aroma from Bristo’s Place, con-
veniently located on site, will lead you to
a mouthwatering made-to-order delicacy
of your choice at a reasonable price.
Order forms and prices will be avail-
able soon for advance purchase of com-
memorative T-shirts and hats. Donations
of items for raffles would be appreciated.
For more information or to RSVP,
contact Traci Dickenson Fischer by
phone at 541-961-8843 or by e-mail at
tmfischer_07@live.com, or watch for
posts on Facebook at “You Know You Are
From Siletz If.”
Campsites are available but limited,
so please reserve your space at Tokatee
Illahee Park by calling 541-444-2733.
Tribal website: ctsi.nsn.us
Enrollment page found under Government Listings,
then Enrollment
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funeral homes are not, so please be
aware of that.
If funeral expenses are less than $6,000,
then the unused balance of the death
benefit goes directly to the beneficiary.
If funeral expenses are more than
$6,000, the balance of the expenses is
the responsibility of the person mak-
ing the funeral arrangements.
The current amount that goes directly
to the beneficiary that is not part of
the burial expenses is $1,000 and will
be paid directly to the beneficiary.
If no beneficiary is listed, the funeral
and burial expenses are still paid and
the Enrollment Department will work
with the family and the funeral home.
Any unused balance of the death ben-
efit and the $1,000, however, will go
unpaid to anyone.
The Tribe has caskets, standard size
and “2x,” on hand that have a Pendle-
ton blanket liner that can be purchased
with death benefits or directly.
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If you have specific wishes for your
burial, please let your family mem-
bers know. You may also want to
research costs for plots and fees if you
wish to buried someplace other than
at the Siletz cemetery.
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A form to use as a tool in planning
your funeral service if you want to
provide your family with guidance can
be found in the Enrollment section
of the Tribal website on the “Death
Benefits” tab.
If you have questions about death
benefits, Tribal caskets, purchasing Tribal
Pendleton blankets for use as a liner/wrap
in a casket or completing the form, please
contact Angela Ramirez or Marlette
Roebuck-Knight, Enrollment officers, at
800-922-1399, ext. 1258, or 541-444-8258.
June 2019
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Siletz News
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