Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1981)
SPILYAY TYMOO September 11,1981 Page 11 Welfare reimbursement New rich looking, informative redwood and lava rock signs have been placed at the three mtuor highways leading on to the reservation and at the Tribal Administration building within the last month. The signs were designed and built by Jupe Shiley o f Shiley Woodcraft o f West Linn, Oregon who had been contracted fo r the jo b by the Tribes. The signs were received last fa ll and were pu t into storage until the weather perm itted crews to pour theconcrete foundations according to contract and construction manager, Les Yaw. Spilyay Tymoo photo by Leno Headstart to begin Sept. 15 at CC The H eadStart part-day program at the Community Center will begin on Tuesday, September 15. The program: runs daily, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Both breakfast and lunch are served to the children. Registration will be on Friday, • September 11 and Monday, September 14 at the Community Center between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. A p h y s ic a l e x a m a n d completion of an immuniza tion record are necessary for your child. Because of this we encourage you to register early. We also require proof of your family's income, which may be either an income tax form, Social Security stub, W-2 form, pay stub, or letter from your employer. Forms for registration and physicals may be obtained at the HeadStart office in the Com m unity Center. Has anyone you know been denied a welfare grant or had it reduced or closed because of money received as the result of a judgement of the Indian Claims Commissin or the court of claims since October 19, 1973? A ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals may make you eligible for back payment of welfare money. T he O reg o n C o u rt of Appeals has recently ruled that the state welfare agency had been mistakenly treating per capita payments derived from a judgement of the Indian Claims Commission or the court of claims as income or resources in determining eligibility or the a m o u n t o f p a y m e n t -to recipients of Aid to Dependent ■Children grants. Per capita distributions from tribal business income are still counted as ordinary income. Those people in Warm Springs who have received money since October 1973 because of j-udgem ents such as the Northern Paiute judgement, the California judgement of the Alaskan judgement and had a welfare grant change or denial because of it have money coming to them. The state has set aside funds to rightfully compensate any Native Americans who were deprived of all or a portion of their ADC entitlement during this period. Eligible persons must apply to the state for their payments. T he r e q u ir e m e n ts f o r eligibility are: All Native Americans who have resided in Oregon any time since October 19, 1973 and who 1) were enrolled members of federally recognized tribes, and 2) have received any per capita tribal payments because of a ju d g e m e n t, a n d 3) have received or could have received ADC payments are eligible to receive compensation from the state fund. A nyone who m ight be eligible should fill out an application form and submit it to Adult and Family Services' Division of Oregon. These forms can be obtained at the Madras office at 925 4th street. Out-of-state persons should write to the office which last handled their case to receive an application. All applications m ust be recieved before December 31, 1981. Applicants will have to prove how much money was received from the judgement. If proof is not presently available the Bureau of Indian Affairs will get it. The person to contact for th a t in fo rm a tio n is Ju n e McKellar, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Portland Area Office, P.O. Box 3785, Portland, Oregon 97208. The phone number to call is (503)231- 6785. Members hear project progress report by Donna Behrend Under hot, sunny skies near the He He Longhouse, over 50 tribal members met Tuesday with Tribal Council to hear a p r o g r e s s r e p o r t on th e hydroelectric project. The general council meeting at HeHe was a first in recent years. Council feels that HeHe is a traditional meeting place for the tribe and that it was time ,to once again use the facility for that purpose. P ro je c t e n g in e e r J e rry Dibble explained the progress of the project since its inception and the approval of the $30 million referendum in 1979. iUp to $10 million tribal funds and up tb $20 million outside loans.) Dibble explained that after the $10 million of tribal funds were spent, a $5 million no- interest loan was acquired through the federal govern ment. Then in June, through the new Oregon Energy Loan Program, the State of Oregon advertised a bond issue that would finance the trib e’s project. Dibble explained that the state initiated the loan program to sell bonds to raise money for loans to companies which are building small-scale p ro je c ts u sin g ren ew ab le resources to create power for Oregonians. “The concrete work is 50% complete now,” said Dibble. “They installed the draft tube liner last week and the rest of the parts will be installed in an orderly sequence soon.” The project will be ready to test June 15, 1982. . A transmission line will be run three miles north to the s u b - s ta tio n n e a r W arm Springs. Dibble explained that the reason the power will be transmitted to the sub-station on the reservation and not to one off the reservation is in case o f s t o r m s ' o r a c c id e n ts . "The reregulating project could then furnishe power to reservation customers without a break in service. Better electrical service year-round can be supplied to the reservation. B e c a u se o f u n s ta b le topography in the area, extra drilling was necessary to assure the hill just west of the dam would not slide. Also, the complex engineering design, which had to be altered, and the hiring -of a new engineering firm delayed the project several months, costing th e . tribes several thousands of dollars due to inflation. “We gained through the delay,” said Tribal Council chairman Delbert Frank, Sr. “We had no market for our power—but with the delay we gained $55 million.” (PP&L) following negotiations with Portland General Electric, Bonneville Power Administra Dibble agreed with Frank’s tion, Pacific Gas and Electric of statement, stating that the California and PP&L. Total financial aspects of the project* revenue of the project is broken are very promising for the tribe. down and a fixed payment will Dibble explained that thenet be paid to the tribe to cover the return to the tribes is 2*4 times 12% interest on the State loan, greater than first estimated in payment of the Federal loan 1979. By the year 2001, the total and operating expenses. This revenue for the trib e J s payment is guaranteed even if estimated to be $142,607,000 no power is generated. The and total annual project costs b a la n c e o f th e p ay m en t are estimated to be $53,143,000 received from PP&L will be for leaving an $89,454,000 net kilowatts generated. return to the tribes. “Project At the end of 20 years, PP&L costs have gone up,” says has first option to renew the Dibble. “They are crowding the contract at the best price and referendum, but the net return the c o n tra c t will be re to the tribes is much greater.” negotiated. Dibble explained Earlier this year, the tribes that this 20-year contract is signed the power sales contract short as far as hydro contracts with Pacific Power and are concerned, with THIS IS THE WAY IT WILL LQQK—Project engineer Jerry D ibble explained to tribal members attending the general council meeting at He H e this week what the new hydro power plant will look like when completed. The $30 million project is nine months from completion. Presently, 98 people are employed at the project working two, 10-hour shifts per day, six days a week, Spilyay Tymoo photo by Behrend running 30 to 40 years. Due to inflation, the tribe is concerned that the $30 million won’t cover all expenses. The Council suggested that a $1 million contingency fund be included in the 1982 budget for unexpected expenses. The $1 million figure seems extrava- “. . .Net return to the tribes will be much greater. . .** attending the meeting that only about one-third of that amount might be necessary, if used at all. But they felt a large amount should be set aside “just in case.” In te re s t w as ex p re sse d concerning employm ent of In d ia n s a t th e p ro je c t. According to a report from A.S.C. (the contractor for the project), 98 people are on the job, 14 of whom are Indian. A total of 31 Indians have worked at the site since construction began in May. “But,” said Dibble, “the project is not a big job-maker. PGE will operate the project— it will operate almost completely automati cally.” He further explained that possibly three or four people would be hired, mainly to conduct tours of the project when it is completed. Engineers plan to remove the tem porary coffer dam in December of this year. But the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to wait until April, saying that increased turbidity would damage the fish runs. However, the tribe w ould have to pay an additional $480,000 to PGE to keep the reregulating pool at its present low level.
