Eugene weekly., June 24, 2004, Page 11, Image 11

dollars spent in the casino are one hundred dollars not spent
of reasons. It’s just how it would change the whole commu-
“Most of the five women who first started PACT were
in other businesses,” says Dewberry. In a community where
nity, the flavor. The having a 24-7 bright-lights, honky-tonk
mothers or grandmothers,” Dewberry says. Given three and a
10 percent of families live below the poverty level and where
feel, it’s just not what people want.”
half days to put together a petition that called to stop the tribes
logging — a traditional source of income — now employs
Tribal Administrator Francis Somday has his own opinion
from building the casino, the five women collected 1,300 sig-
few, any adverse impact on local businesses can have people
on this: “Really what they’re after is, they don’t want to see
natures; Dewberry presented the petition to Gov. Kulongoski
running scared.
anything that will increase
with Dylan and her 6-year-old son Andrew in tow.
But Bob Garcia disagrees with what he sees as a pes-
traffic
Today the group is both larger and more diverse. “Many
simistic view of the future. When the casino opens at the end
people on the steering committee are retired, from all sorts of
of this month, it will employ 117 to 130 people. Of these
jobs: from a rocket scientist to a milk truck driver,”
jobs, about 80 will require no prior casino experi-
Dewberry says.
ence. This is no small number in a community
Dewberry herself is most concerned about the
with a 3.3 percent unemployment rate.
social repercussions of the casino. Among the
“There aren’t logging jobs anymore,
potential effects is increased traffic on
When it comes to Oregon tribal casinos, location is everything.
there
aren’t mill jobs,” says Garcia.
Highway 126, the highway that most
The inauguration of the Three Rivers Casino will mean a total of nine
“As the casino goes forward, it will
Siuslaw High School sports teams must
American Indian casinos in the state. Among these, the most profitable are
first provide employment to local
travel to get to league games.
located at strategic points along well-traveled roads and highways.
residents, and second contribute to
Dewberry also worries that mem-
Oregon’s most visited tourist attraction, in fact, is one such casino. Located on state
the economic self-sufficiency of
bers of the community will become
Highway 18, about 60 miles from Portland on the way to the coast, Spirit Mountain Casino is owned
the tribes. Right now, every dime
addicted to gambling, and that this
the
Confederated Tribes has
will affect their children.
by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. It attracts 3.5 million visitors per year.
comes
from the government.”
“As a teacher you see the hard-
The Three Rivers Casino also looks poised to benefit from an ideal location. Situated at the juncture
PACT supporters point to casi-
ships of a kid in a normal life, all the
of two of Oregon’s busiest highways, the casino is just 65 miles from Eugene via Highway 126,
nos located outside of the state as
other addictions out there,” she says.
and is easily accessed from points north and south along Highway 101.
examples of what the future may hold
“It’s like it cannibalizes people, what the
“It’s a great coastal location,” says Bob Garcia, the tribes’ Economic Development Director
for Florence. Some tribally run casi-
gambling addictions do.”
“The city of Florence has a lot of interesting attractions, including the dunes and
nos’ records have been murky, giving few
As to the tribes’ plans to improve educa-
benefits to the communities in which
tion for their children, Dewberry says,
the beach. Our casino will be quite a bit smaller than Spirit Mountain, but
they’re
located and delivering little aid to the
“Education is very valuable, but it goes back to
hopefully we’ll be able to grow in the future.” — Jasmine Pittenger
tribes they’re meant to serve.
whether they’ll really be benefiting the tribe and the
But Garcia points to other tribal casinos within
community. I have a hard time seeing the 6 percent of casi-
Oregon as better examples of what can be expected from the
no profits that the tribes will eventually be giving back to the
Three Rivers Casino, saying, “In Oregon, their records are
community as philanthropy, because of the costs to peoples’
crystal clear.”
lives. I’m sure that there will be some good that comes of it,
and population. They love this town. What they forget is that
but, in my mind, there are problems with money that causes
land was taken from the tribes at gunpoint with a treaty that
harm to other people.”
t Florence Café this morning, the waitress is dis-
was never fulfilled. And that is wrong.”
The issues that concern PACT members, Dewberry stress-
tracted. Big-boned and wholesome as a milkmaid,
Members of PACT are also concerned about the effect on
es, are as diverse as the organization’s members themselves.
she plops plates heaped with home fries onto a table, then
local businesses of competing with a casino. “One hundred
“People who are fighting this are fighting it for a variety
stalks off toward the fogged-up window at the front of the
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JUNE 24, 2004 11