Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1998)
8 August 13, 1998 Mendoza sets new Springs pediatric by Anthony Brunoe Trips to the dentist have always been difficult, especially for chil dren. To make matters worse for local residents, children have had to be taken out of town to see a pediat ric dentist that is until now. Dr. Frank Mendoza, formerly a pediatric dentist on the Navajo In dian Reservation, has made a move to the local Warm Springs Health and Wellness Clinic. His 16-year career with the Indian Health Ser vice (IHS) has brought him here, to Warm Springs where he joins Dr. Mark Sheper, Dr. Robin Sheper, Dr. Richard Vaughn, Louise Hayre, Juanita Simpson, Sam Heath, Natalia Sam, Kristi Burk, Korina Brunoe, Darlene Nez, G.Micco Wamego, Ava Smith, and Lehua Antone as part of the Warm Springs dental staff. Dr. Mendoza first attended den tal school on the east coast in North Carolina. After school, he went to work for the IHS. He was a general dentist for 10 years before going back to school, this time into pediat ric dental training from 1991 to 1993 at the University of Minnesota. Af ter completing school, Mendoza then worked four years on the Navajo Reservation. "This is my first time out here," says Mendoza. "I've been with IHS, and during the 16 years, I've had chances to go to different areas." Mendoza was offered five other jobs in different locations, each, he was able to visit. "Everything seemed ideal here." Early childhood dental care has been important in many Native Tuition break Continued from page 1 required to document tribal enroll ment. Those procedures are now be ing developed at Eastern Oregon University, Western Oregon Univer sity, Southern Oregon University, Oregon State University, Portland State University, the University of Oregon, and the Oregon Institute of Technology. The federally recognized Oregon tribes under the policy include: Burns Paiute Tribe; Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw; Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; Confeder ated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon; Confederated Tribes of the Umiatilla Indian Reservation; Con federated Tribes of the Warm Springs Police make felony stop on kids with water pistols . - nlus decree weathi bv Bob Medina On August 3, 1998 at about 2:30 p.m. while sitting at my office at Spilyay Tymoo, I heard my son's name (Thomas Medina) mentioned on the police scanner. The reporting officer (Mark Coffee) reported to the dispatcher Mariam Tias that my son was in a maroon vehicle with three other subjects, brandishing a gun. Coffee requested that another officer make the stop on the maroon vehicle because he was unable to respond as he was on another assignment at the time. Hearing my son's name on the police radio, I immediately phoned the police dispatcher, gathered infor mation and responded to the scene at the Forestry complex. By what I observed and by inter viewing the responding police offic ers (Floyd Calica, Bob Sprinegel and James Cole) and the three youth workers (Jonas Miller, Garrette Greene and my son) and their super visor Gorky Mitchell, at the scene, this is the information I gathered. The maroon BIA vehicle was seen by Coffee, crossing the intersection of Highway 26, headed north from the campus area with four individu als. The three summer youth workers and their supervisor were returning to Forestry from their day's work. The windows were rolled down in the rig since the tempterature reached well over 100 degrees that afternoon. The three youths were trying to keep cool by innocently squirting each other with water pistols. At the intersection of Highway 26 and campus, the kids continued squirting each other with water guns. One of the youths noticed a police vehicle approaching from the oppo site direction and recognized the of ficer driving. The youth worker loudly yelled out "Oh Sh , it's Cof fee"'. My son, at the same instant, was holding a water gun in his hand, squirting one of his work partners when Coffee and his cadet met and passed their rig. The officer saw the water gun held by Thomas. The wa ter gun looked like a real hand gun to Coffee and the boys realized that Coffee had a concerned look on his face. As the vehicles passed by each other, the four waved and smiled at Coffee indicating and assuring him that they were just messing around trying to keep cool squirting each other with the water guns. The four continued to their destination, anx ious to put an end to a very hot afternoon. The day was far beyond being over. While parked outside the Forestry building, the boys were waiting for goals for Warm dentistry Dr. Frank Mendoza American communities, and Dr. Mendoza has goals for the health of the children here in Warm Springs. While he is here, Mendoza plans to work with treating tooth decay, but also working with preventive efforts. With the community working hard, he believes this will easily be accom plished. "I think it would be a very good accomplishment for a commu nity to be able to do that, and I think we can do that here, by working to gether." By the age of ten, 60 percent of children have no tooth or mouth de cay in the U.S. This is a goal Dr. Mendoza hopes for, and will push to reach for the children of Warm Springs. "If we work together, we can accomplish anything we want, and that's what I hope we'll be able to do." Indian Reservation; Coquille Indian Tribe; Cow Creek Band ot umpqua Indians; and Klamath Tribes. First day of school is September 1 Three summer youth workers were rheir supervisor who had cone inside ' ... ... to report in. The youth workers, still hot, continued to play around, squirt ing one another. They noticed that a police vehicle had arrived and had parked behind them. They noticed another police car arrive. The boys did not hide the water guns or at tempt to run because they never imag ined they could be in trouble. The next thing the three boys in the vehicle remember, was seeing officer Floyd Calica with his gun drawn and yelling, "Thomas Medina, you pointed a gun at a police officer. Get out of the f g vehicle with your hands on your head." I arrived at the scene while Calica was placing my son into the patrol vehicle. Even after Calica learned that the weapon was just a w ater pistol, he continued the felony stop in a very nervous and shaky manner. Calica w as not alone; he had backup at the scene. The backup of ficer (Bob Spricngel) held a shotgun at the youths while they knelt down on the hot pavement One-by-one, Calica held his hand gun to the back of each kid's head while trying to hand cuff them. Calica V ' !k . V y - N . Warm Springs, Oregon Earaches in children can be painful, causing .. . i What are the symptoms of ear infections? Most common: ear pain; fever; May be: irritable or listless; have trouble hearing; not feel like eating. If you child is too young to tell you what hurts, he or she may cry and full. The ear pain may appear to be worse when your child lay s his or her head down on the side of the affected ear. If the eardrum bursts, there may be pus or blood coming from the ear. A child with fluid in the ear may not have such obvious symptoms, making it easy to miss. Will earaches hurt my child's hearing? Hearing loss caused by earaches can cause trouble with speech and language development if the hearing loss lasts long enough. What is the treatment for ear aches? If infection is suspected, antibiot ics are prescribed. These medicines kill the bacteria that cause many in fections. It's very important to fol low the directions for taking these medicines, and to finish all of the Headstart program has openings The Warm Springs Headstart pro- ' ask for Versa Smith, Reona Trimble gram currently has slots available for hnth nart-dav and full-dav attendance for 3 and 4 year old children. A 12 month full-day program is now in session and will operate through June 30, 1999. The 10-month full-day pro gram will start September 1, 1998 and will operate through June 4, 1 999. the full-day rooms are open 7:30 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fees for full-day slots are $90 a month. The part-day program will start September 1, 1998 and operate through June 5, 1999. the part-day rooms operate 7:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. No fees are charged for the part-day program. If you have a 3 or 4 year-old child, call us to register at 553-3241 and Dear ParentGuardian: Providing child care and early childhood programs at rates that parents can afford is a growing challenge and requires our taking advantage "6T all available funding resources. One of these resources is the cash reimburse ment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for meals served in the program. This benefits you because it helps us to keep the charge for child care at a lower rate. ,,' So that we can keep our fee schedule low and provide excellent food service for children, we need the information requested on the Income Statement. Please complete, sign and return the Income Statement as soon as possible. This information will be, kept strictly confidential. Your coop eration is appreciated. :-,.A ; ( subjected to a felony stop August 3 a li It 1 1 I . tnen wai Kea oac Kwaras a snun ways, gun still in hand and on the teenag ers' heads. Viewing all of this, I felt this type of police work was very unprofessional. After knowing that the "weapon" was just a toy water gun, Calica should have taken con trol of the situation in a much differ ent manner. But instead, Calica proceeded to continue to endanger the teenagers, other officers, the cadets and the spec tators on what he later called "police procedures." One-by-one, except for the supervisor who was out of the vehicle already, the youths were placed in the back of a patrol unit. Without saying a word, Calica got inside his police vehicle and was getting ready to leave with them. Until detective James Cole arrived at the scene, that is. Right then and there, I learned that Calica had heard the call wrong! He was under the impression that a gun had been pointed at an officer. At that time. Cole corrected Calica and advised him that brandishing a weapon was not a crime. Brandish ing a weapon could not be found in the Warm Springs Law and Order ttirini Pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol) can held your child feel better and reduce fever. Don't give your child aspirin. A warm, not hot, heating pad held over the ear can also help relieve pain. If the eardrum has burst, your doctor may prescribe antibiotic drops. What can be done to prevent ear infections from returning? Some children seem to get one ear infection after. If your child has had three car infections in six months or four in one year, your doctor may suggest that your child take a low dose of antibiotics every day, usu ally in the winter, when these infec tions arc most common. Your doctor may want to see your child again when he or she is taking the antibiot ics to make sure another ear infection hasn't developed. It's also a good idea to keep your child away from cigarette smoke. What about fluid that stays in the middle ear? Usually the fluid goes away in two or three months, and hearing nr Nancv Sevier. Complete registra tion packets must be on file before children can start school. This in cludes a physical exam and updated immunization record. Some parents started their child's registration in April or May . If you are one of these parents, call us to complete your child's registration packet and sign up for a parent orientation. Two par ent orientation sessions are sched uled daily at 12 noon and again at 3 p.m., August 17 through 21, at ECE Conference room 2E. Children must live on or near the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and meet income guidelines. Fami lies living in Madras who are em ployed on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation are eligible to apply. at the Warm Springs Forestry Code. The youth workers had to be released. I proceeded to ask the officers and the detective what had occurred be fore the traffic stop. Calica replied by stating that the call he heard was that my son had pointed a gun at an officer. Detective Cole advised Offi cer Calica again, that the call he heard was brandishing a gun. I told Calica, that I, too, had heard the same radio message as the detective had de scribed it. I told Calica that I had gone beyond that and had made con tact with the dispatcher and that she, too, remembered the call as, "Tho mas Medina, in a maroon ranger ve hicle, brandishing a gun." It's sad, but true. Calica misun derstood the call and acted on what he thought he had heard; that a gun had been pointed at an officer. The three boys agreed that it was a stupid idea to have the water guns in their possession. But the boys also feel they did nothing wrong. After seeing the water gun I agree that it looked like a real 44 pistol. The boy's intentions were not to get into trouble with the water guns, but only to try to stay cool in the 1 00- returns In normal. But if the fluid stays for more than a few months, your doctor may want to check your child's hearing. Your doctor may recommend ear tubes (tympanostomy tubes) to drain the fluid if your child's hearing is decreased a lot. Ear tubes may also decrease the number of repeat infections that oc- CUWhat are tympanostomy tubes? These tiny plastic tubes help bal ance the pressure in your child's ears and allow air into the middle ear so that fluid can drain out down the Eustachian tube. They're put into the eardrum dur ing surgery and stay in place for an average of six to nine months. These tubes are usually left in place until they fall out on their own or your doctor decides your child no longer needs them. Sometimes, an other set of tubes may be needed. What causes earaches? Earaches commonly occur when the Eustachian tube becomes blocked. Blockage of the Eustachian tube Income Eligibility Guidelines Household size .....Year ............. Monm ............. One 14.893 Two 20,073 Three 25,253 Four 30,433 Five 35,613 Six 40,793 Seven 45,973 Eieht 51,153 For each additional family member 5,180 per year; 432 per month; 100 per week. Additional requirements Report changes during the year-household size or income. If anyone in the household becomes unemployed, the member of your household enrolled at the center may become eligible for meals during the period of this unemployment if the loss income causes the household s total to be within the eligible standards on the enclosed application. If during the year, there are decreases in your family size or increases in your income which exceed $50 per month or $600 per year, you MUST report those changes to the center so that appropriate adjustments can be made. , If you list a food stamp case number, TANF or FDPIR assistance number, you must advise the center when you longer receive food stamps, TANF or The Child and Adult Care food Program is available to all eligible participants regardless of race, color, sex, age, disability, religion or national origin Any person who believes that he or she has been discriminated against in any USDA related activity should write immediately to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington D.C. 20250. plus degree weather. The boys also understand the stress the officers are going through with all the gun calls and shootings over the last two months. I asked Coffee his side of the story. I asked him if any of the youths inside the maroon vehicle pointed a gun at him or his vehicle? Coffee's reply was, "No! but I felt threat ened." I asked him the same question again to make sure that what I had heard was correct. Coffee's second reply was, "I saw a gun. I heard my name. I felt threatened so I reported to dispatch." The incident was apparently not important enough for the officers to investigate any further or to gather information. No statements were taken from anyone at the scene. After speaking with Coffee, I made contact with Chief Of Police "Stoney" Miller, and advised him of the police radio transmission I heard and what I had observed at the scene. He assured me that he would look into the matter. On the following day, August 4, my son was still too shook up to report to work. He kept wondering why police officers have labeled him a bad kid. "Dad, even though I've " been in minor trouble before with the law, I still respect the law and would never do something as stupid as to point a water gun at them." Thomas took the day off. At about 1 :00 p.m., my son was at home when his supervisor stopped by to let him know that a meeting had been scheduled for that afternoon to discuss the gun incident. Mitchell was under the impression that the meeting was set to fire the boys for what had occurred. As a concerned parent and com munity member and fearing for my son's job, I chose to attend the meet ing to protect my son and the other youth workers and share the infor mation and facts I had gathered. My 'thoughts were correct. After having a gun to their heads on Wednesday, the youth workers were getting ter minated on Thursday. All because of A bit of advice... Parents: Be a part of your children's lives. Know what they're doing. Know who their friends are. Let your kids know you care. Kids: We were lucky this time. Thousands have been fatally shot because a toy gun looked like the real thing. Use care when playing around. hearing loss nrevents fluid from draining c prevents fluid from draining out of the tube. Fluid in the middle ear provides a good place for an infection to start. Infection with blockage increases pressure behind the eardrum, which in turn causes much of the pain. The Eustachian tubes can become blocked because of swelling of the tubes during a cold or other infec tion. Why are earaches so common in children? This may be because their Eusta chian tubes are shorter and smaller as well as angles differently than those of adults. Things that may put children at higher risk or ear infections: Being around people who smoke; Having had ear infections before, particu larly if before the child's first birth day; Having a family history of ear infections; Being bottle-fed instead of breast-fed; Staying in day care; Being premature or having had a low birth weight; being a boy (boys tend to have more middle ear infections than girls). July 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999 1,242 .287 1,673 2,105 2,537 2,968 3.400 3,832 4,263 ,387 ,486 ,586 ,685 ,785 ,885 ,984 the officer's misunderstanding. Public Safety General Manager Anita Jackson, BIA investigator Carmen Smith and Forestry Man ager Bodie Shaw attended the meet ing. They, too, were unaware of the whole story. They were still under the impression that the youths had pointed a gun at an officer. Obvi ously none of the officers had filed a report or made their supervisors aware of the situation. Jackson told the youth workers that police officers do not appreciate guns being pointed at them. After detective Cole and I explained the situation to Jackson, Smith and Shaw, they seemed puzzled. I went on to ask Calica about the discussion I had with Coffee after the incident. Calica and his cadet were present when I asked Coffee if any of the youths had pointed a gun at him or his vehicle. Calica agreed at the meeting that the answers Coffee had given me were the ones I had already repeated dur ing the meeting. I reminded every one present that with the facts I had, the youth workers should not be fired nor should any charges be brought against them. I could file a suit against someone. Smith agreed and no charges will be "brought against the boys. Shaw also agreed that the youth workers would continue to stay employed. As for discipline of the officers, who knows. On that hot August afternoon, the boys learned a valuable lesson about guns and police; a lesson that must be heeded by the community. This was a police officer's horrible error. I feel that some type of discipline should be taken against these officers. They were too quick in judging the youth workers and created a potentially le thal situation. To ensure the safety of our entire community, especially our youth, wouldn't it be beneficial to have prop erly trained and experienced police officers? I can only hope this type of inci dent does not repeat itself-for all our sakes. i f
