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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1982)
_______ £ 0 6 7 , OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1230 SU PARK AVE PORTLAND, OR 9 7 2 0 5 HO ‘slnpds nu*M j - on )iou»j a»»a ’ll"« >8«iso¿ 'S'OL VOL. 7 No. 6Va SPRINS AAYE—PRIL 1,1982 Dam cracks up, stress blamed CRACKED UP DAM At about 1:00 p.m. March 3 2 , 1 9 8 2 , th e P e lto n reregulating dam cracked up, spilling waves of water over the project and homes along the river. The hydro electric project was due to go on line in June. Hydro officials had no explanations for the disaster, hut thought that the spring run off may have had something to do with it causing extra stress on the structure. One official was heard saying, “That’s the breaks.” Residents living on the Deschutes River directly below the dam had no warning that the dam had cracked and were forced to put themselves and what few personal belongings they could save in rubber rafts and float to safety downstream. The White Cross later set up rescue headquarters at the Des Chutes Crossing to aid survivors of the flood. No lives were lost. However, all the homes along the river were destroyed. Most lost all their possessions. One family was able to save books, one entitled, “How to Survive Floods.” One survivor was said to have shaken his head and said, “1 never thought I’d see the day when my own house would beat me down the river,” as he saw his house floasting past him while he was in a raft. Officials are still uncertain when work will resume on the hydro project. Employees at the dam have been laid off indefinitely. It is expected, according to one dam official, that residents along the river will he hired instead of the existing crew, to make up for Their great losses. “Hopefully, they will forgive us for this mishap, if we put them to work. We’re going to give them all the breaks we can.” As for the future of the project, officials can only speculate. “We’re trying to come up with alternative uses for the project now. One council member has suggested we open the project as the Northwest’s greatest amuse ment center. The waves of water will make a great water taboggan ride.” Governor resigns after returning state to Indians Former Gov. Victor Atiyeh with Assistant.King Following weeks of budget hassles, Orygun Governor Victor Ah-tee-yah has given the state of Orygun back to the Indians. Said Ah-tee-yah, “I just couldn’t take any more of the budget hassle. I threw up my hands and told the legislature ‘Give it back to the skins!’ I’ve had it up to here!” Following negotiations with Orygun tribes, it was agreed that the tribes should not have to pay for the land. Instead, the now-defunct state will pay the tribes $3.20 per hour to manage the new kingdom. “Minimum wage is all we can afford, now. Maybe at a later date we will be able to afford more.” said Ah- tee-yah. The capital of the kingdom will be in Warm Springs and R udy C lem ents w ill be Assistant King until elections are held next month. King of the kingdom will be Doug “Big Mac” McClelland, His is a life time position and will not be voted upon kingdomites. Before taking over the state, the four tribes in Orygun (Warm Springs, Umatilla, B urns and S iletz) have demanded that the western interior valley be cleaned. “We can’t accept it the way it is. Too much pollution, too many people.” Fifty-percent of the non-indian residents w in, be transferred to surrounding states and to eastern Mongolia. Asked what he is going to do now that he is no longer governor, Ah-tee-yah said he will be moving to Rajneesh- puram to become a disciple of the Baghwan. A contest will be held in the near future to determine the name of the new kingdom. Look in future editions to find out details of contest. Important announcement Every tribal member age 18- an d -o v e r is d irected to assemble in the Community Center social hall next Monday at 2 p.m. sharp. T ribal management has an important announcement to make. x Those who are late or fail to show will be fined or jailed, or both, unless they can produce a note from their doctor—or if they have a valid Oregon Diver’s License.
