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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor:
*
it has been one year
since I, Royce Strong was
fired at STEDCO. I have been
w a itin g
fo r
a
DA
investigation to find out if it
is true that one million
dollars did in fact disappear.
Why was there no police
involvement? Why is this
STEDCO happenings, so hush
hush?
Two people did admit
that they out right lied about
m e.
A
T r ib a l
member/STEDCO employee
did tell the Council at a
General Council meeting that
people down at STEDCO did
lie. False charges were
brought against me and I
want the DA involved.
A
computer and other items
has been stolen, was the
police notified?
I feel that all Tribal
members would w ant to
know the truth about STEDCO
and the money, lying and sex
involved. There are sexual
allegations that has occurred
with a couple of Tribal
Council members.
I feel
e v e ry th in g
s h o u ld
be
brought out in the open.
I talked with former
Council member Bud Lane
about STEDCO, way before I
was fire d , and now I
understand that when he was
running for re-election he
never knew anything about
what happened at STEDCO.
W ell, I know d iffe re n t
because I had talked io him.
Doug Brown did in
fact talk to Andy Viles for
about 2-3 hours and told
him the truth, and Andy did
not print one word. Why?
I was told I would get
a letter to clear up my name
in any wrong doing at
STEDCO, but to-date, I
received nothing.
The "money” that did
get lost should be all Tribal
members' concern.
The
T rib a l C hairm an Should
demand an investigation now,
or is there a reason that is'
stopping her?
We need to know the
"REAL TRUTH!"
\
L
Royce Strong
Tribal Member
To the Editor:
I was .struck by an
ironic juxtaposition of items
in a recent issue o f the
Tribal Newsletter. The front
page
p ic tu r e d
th e
groundbreaking ceremonies
for: the new health clinic.
Turning the paper over, I
was faced with a plea to
collect lids from cans of
chewing tobacco to he used as
adornments on ceremonial
garments. ...
I
am
fr a n k ly
c o n c e rn e d
about
th is
e x h ib it e d
n a iv e te
su rrounding the c ritic a l
health is s u e s .. The - life
e xp e c ta n c y
fo r
N a tive
Americans does not exceed
fifty in most parts of the
country.
All too often
m e m b e rs
of
our
com m unities succumb, in
what should be the prime of
life to diseases wrought by
the poisons o f modern
western culture.
My wife and I -are
raising our children to lead
spiritually, physically and
intellectually. rich lives; and
w ould
like
the
T rib a l
C o m m u n ity
to
be
a
touchstone for reinforcing
these values. I would like to
see your editorial staff take
an
a g g re s s iv e
and
s o p h is tic a te d
p o s itio n
c o n ce rn in g
fu n d a m e n ta l
quality of life issues.
Finally, there is a
sad irony in the fact that we
are eager to adorn ourselves
in the expression of our
Tribal Selves, with the by-
p r o d u c ts
o f ’ th o s e
unwholesome elements that
are unraveling our culture.
Sincerely,
Ciayborne W. Arden
To Council Men and Women:
I am w ritin g this
letter in regards to your job
as a Council.person. We the
people elected you to office to
do the best job you can for
us. But you are not, I urge
you if you haven't got the
back bone or starriina to fight
to make the tribal system
run like a well oiled machine
then I urge you to resign and
let the people elect someone
into your position.
Don't
jusU sit there and draw pay
o r • tra v e l
a ro u n d The
country. Have some1 pride:
and respect for yourself as
representatives t fa r y o u r
people.
But yet you as our
nine chiefs let one man
disrupt and cause chaos
among our working staff and
tribal members. The people
working for the tribe are
scared to speak in their own
defense for fear of being
reprimanded or fired. We
can't have things like this
going on in our tribal
system. It's up to you to step
in, if you don't know who I
am talking about:? It's our
G eneral M anager, P h il.
Rilatos.
I will give you an
example of how he operates.
A job was advertised, he
hired a non-tribal member
saying that no qualified
tribal member applied for
the job, but when one-of our
Council persons checked, the
truth was that a tribal
member applied for the job.
But to our General Manager-
that didn't mean anything?
The trib a l mem ber has
worked at a technical job for.
several years but yet wasn't
qualified for the job. When
confronted with this by one
of his boss's, Phil still held
his ground that th e tribal
merpber wasn’t qualified.
Two
days
la te r,
another job comes up for
hiring, the General Manager
o v e rrid e s
the
h irin g
com m ittee's number one
pick for the job and does the
h irin g
h im s e lf
w ith o u t
i ntervie wi ng anyone.
A
nephew of his that wasn't
recommended got the job.
You Council men and women
are our leaders. You're Phil
Rilatos's boss, he is not your
boss. I believe you Council
people will have to act on
these issues.
I've worked in the
logging industry for 40
years and I've seen a lot of
P h ils,
they
th in k
the
business is going to roll over
and die without them and I
think some of you think the
same way.
I want you
Council people to keep it in
mind then any man or woman
can be replaced.
I have
■
i
I
|
I
j
j-
never saw or heard of a
business shutting, down on
account o f one em ployee;
being terminated.
I urge you as a
concerned tribal member,
don't let the General Manager
run our tribe like . a
dictator. I believe deep down
in my heart the trib a l :
members would like to see a
change in the G eneral ;
Manager position. I think Jt
will save a lot o f trouble for
everyone in the future. The
tribal members, are being
pushed in to a corner where
something will have to give.
Reginald Butler Sr.
Dear Editor:
I'm a U.S. Marine in
S audi. Arabia who is an
enrolled m em ber in the
Siletz Tribe. During the day
we have.a lot of down time
because of the heat. This is
the time we write home or
read books. Unfortunately,
the Marine Corps can't
supply my platoon with
sufficient reading materials.
"Would Jt -be possible-tor. you
to collect up some used books
fo r m yself and .fe llo w
marines to read? If so, it
would be greatly appreciated
by myself and others who
would benefit from this. I'd
also like to give a special
thanks to my family and
frie n d s
fo r
su p p o rtin g
myself and other servicemen
who are here in Saudi
Arabia. s
-T hanks
fo r your-
cooperation.
If you want to write,
pen pals, etc, here's my
address:
CCPL Metcalf; 541828990
Golf217WPNS PCTL.O.D.
FPO San Francisco, CA
9 9 6 0 8 -5 5 1 3
Sincerely,
Nathan Metcalf
SILETZ NEWS DEADLINE
November 15, 1990
mail articles and B/W photos to:
Siletz News, P.O. Box 549,
Siietz, Oregon 97380