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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2001)
3R.C0LL. 73 .s&a v. 26 no. 3 February 22, 2001 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 Spilyay Tymoo SERIALS OUT. KNICirr LIBRARY I2W UNIVERSITY OF OIUXiON l.UCiFNP, OK Y740J (Coyote News) U.S. Postage Bulk Rale Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 News from the Wqrrn Springs Indian Museum mrector resigns The director of The Museum at Warm Springs has resigned. Mary Ellen Conaway and the museum board agreed to the part ing of ways Feb. 8. "Mary Ellen had done some fine things for the museum," said Ken Smith, chairman of the museum board of directors, "but some things weren't gelling on the human side. Doth Mary F.llen and the board ... mutually agreed that she should move on." Ed Manion is acting director un til the board can find a permanent replacement. Although Manion's specific museum expertise is limited, Smith notes that he is "a very excel lent manager of people," something the organization needs very much at the moment. Manion, who is re tired, has worked in tribal organiza tions for many years. Smith estimates that it will take four to six months to find a new di rector. A recruitment firm will be hired and Jan Baker Facilitators of Bend will likely be kept to help the museum through the transition. "Hopefully we can get the right person to make the thing work," Smith said. The Bend firm was brought in to try to help resolve the Conaway situ ation, Smith said. Several meetings between board members and Conaway were held before this month's resignation. The board also met with staff. "It's sort of an awkward situa tion," said Smith. He said the facilitators made sev eral recommendations that will be carried forward to help the museum. Agency District Notice, as described in the Constitu tion and By-Laws Section 1. COMPOSITION -The Tribal Council shall be com posed of members chosen as herein after provided. The Council shall consist of eleven members, to be se lected from the districts as set forth hereafter. Section 2. APPORTIONMENT - Representation -from the Agency District, 3 elected members, one of whom shall represent the Sidwaller Flat area, together with the recog nized chief of the district or his suc cessors shall be selected in accor dance with tribal custom. Section 3. TERM OF OFFICE - Elected for terms of three years except that the chiefs shall serve for life, and their successors shall be se lected in accordance with tribal cus tom. Section 5. RIGHT TO VOTE -All members of the Community of either sex, who are married, or who are over 21 years of age, are entitled to vote in the district in which they reside. Section 6. TIME OF ELEC TION - Elections for membership on the Council shall be set by the Tribal Council at least 30 days in advance of the expiration of the term of office of the members. While there will not be a supper served, there will be a reception at the Agency Long House. The election and reception time and details will be announced in Spilyay Tymoo. Nelson Wallulatum, Chief of the Agency District and of the Wasco Tribe. Air Force drops I C-v rfi Air Force crew from Portland retrieved refueling drogue after it was 1 i - XV I Tectonics plant offers By Nat Shaw A little over nine years ago, the Tribal Council and Structural Tech nology, Inc., entered into an agree ment that provided for the forma tion of a joint venture partnership. This original agreement was entered into by resolution of Tribal Coun cil and signed by Ken Smith, Secretary-Treasurer. That partnership later became known as Tectonics International (TI). The mission of TI is to develop, protect and license earth friendly construction materials; thus provid ing profit to the partnership as well as directly contributing to long term Tribal business development and employment. The first mission of the partner ship was construction of what was then called the DE Project, located in the old plywood plant at WSFPI. It was during this phase that vari ous technologies and products were proven, and markets were identified. On May 17, 1994, voters approved a referendum renaming the DE Project and authorizing the estab lishment of Warm Springs Compos ite Pmducts (WSCP). WSCP was the first licensee of Tectonics Interna tional, and is 100 triballv owned. Reservation i i i M) t In 2000, the company generated sales of around $3.5 million with a net profit margin of 20 percent. The National Center for Ameri can Indian Enterprise Development honored WSCP in September of 1995 by naming them National Tribal Enterprise of the year. The next month, the late Tony Stacona was named General Manager of WSCP. It was at this time that Terry Turner and Phil Rodda moved from WSCP to Tectonics International in order to devote full time to research and development activities. The services provided by TI are not a part of the Tribal budget pro cess. TI was initially financed through contributed Tribal capital. This capital is being repaid to the Tribes through royalties paid by lic ensees. Tectonics International and Warm Springs Composite Products have both done well over the years. TI has developed a number of inno vative products that hold promise, and currently has two licensees be sides WSCP.' piece of gear on -house Photos by Martha Lawrence found in a roof on Elk Loop. r ... -J ,1 o i . i potential for economic One of the most promising prod ucts is "Tectonite" Rapid Strength Polymeric Cement, licensed and manufactured by CFB Inc, of Warm Springs. Another licensee of TI is Sci-Tech Building Systems of Cortland, 111. Sci-Tech is using an other proprietary fast-setting cement developed by TI. According to some industry ex perts, this new building system could revolutionize the building in dustry. The system will be formally unveiled at the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas next week. Another potential major revenue source centers on neutralization of hazardous waste. For the past four years, Tectonics International has been working with professionals at the Hanford nuclear reservation, and has received grants from the Department of Energy to pursue neutralization of hazardous waste. Preliminary tests indicate that one particular cement formulation has a dramatic effect on several waste Feb. 22, 2001 Vol. 26, No. 3 I Night refueling hole in roof, raises questions At 9 p.m. Feb. 7, the pilot of a HC-130 tanker aircraft flying out of Portland International Airport was performing a routine refueling ma neuver in concert with two IIH-60G helicopters. As he began to release the 93-foot refueling assembly stored in a pod under the wing, the routine mission turned exceptional. Instead of re maining attached to the plane at one end,' the entire 200 pound assembly was soon hurtling through the night sky, plunging onto the roof of a house at 1567 Elk Ixop and leaving residents questioning why such an operation was being conducted 2,000 feet above a populated area. On Monday, Feb. 13, workers from the Warm Springs Housing Authority arrived at the unoccupied home on Elk Loop and discovered the unidentified object embedded in the roof and the lingering odor of fuel in the air. The assembly included not only the hose, but a funnel-like drogue which opens to 30 inches, provid ing a target at which a helicopter pilot can aim... ... When they learned that the hose had penetrated not only the roof but the kitchen ceiling as well, the men expressed relief that the assembly had landed on a bearing wall, pre cluding more damage to the house. By Tuesday morning, tribal offi cials learned the hose belonged to the 939,h Rescue Wing of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. A crew from the wing's Ground Safety unit arrived at the reservation about 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning and quickly removed the assembly. According to Col. Mark Kyle, the wing's Operations Group Com mander, the Air Force alerted the Warm Springs Police within half an hour of the incident and conducted a limited search that evening. Dark ness postponed the investigation until morning. By nightfall, noth ing had been spotted from the air and no reports of damage had come streams. Warm Springs Composite Prod ucts continues to build on its repu tation as an international leader in the fire door industry. The tribally owned company employs 29 people, with 24 being Tribal members, MITs or other Indian. The company op erates two 10-hour shifts, 4 days a week. In 2000, the company generated sales of around $3.5 million with a net profit margin of 20 percent. Growth has been so rapid that a business-consulting group has been retained to prepare a three to five year business plan for growth. With the potential for unlimited growth. Warm Springs Composite Products could one day be a major factor in the economy of the Confederated Tribes. An Executive Management Com mittee consisting of Raymond Tsumpti, Secretary-Treasurer at the time, Joe Moses, Tribal Council rep resentative, and Terry Turner, STI University of Oregon Library Received ont C3-C5-81 35 cents mishap puts from the ground, and the search was abandoned. Although Kyle did not know the reason for the malfunction, he did say, "I have never seen anything like this happen in my 20 years of Air Force experience." As to the route of the aircraft, Kyle stated, they were "on our established air refueling track in approved air space." While Kyle is probably techni cally correct, Jim Noteboom, attor ney for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Spring, questions whether the Air Force consulted the tribes when establishing these routes and whether such operations are rou tinely conducted over similarly populated areas. Noteboom points out that although 2,000 feet is an appropriate altitude for a refueling mission, it is not an operation you want to see performed above a resi dential area. To help answer these questions, Noteboom has sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the commander of the wing. "I am not going to pre-judge," says Noteboom. "However, this may be an issue of fairness jather than strict legality. Are they flying over'"' Portland Heights as well as an In dian reservation?" Reached by Spifyay shordy before press time, Col. Rusty Moen, Com mander of the 939th Rescue Wing, said the cause of the malfunction has yet to be determined. The Air Force investigated and found no problem with the aircraft, its holding pod or hose wheel assem bly. They thus suspect that the fail ure lies with the hose which is rela tively new and has only been used "a few times." The hose has been sent off for further analysis. Moen stressed that the area where the aircraft were flying is part of a 62-mile refueling track, of which there are seven in the state. The aircraft can fly four miles on either side of the line. Continued on Page 2 growth representative, initially managed Tectonics International. Another Tribal member who has been a strong ally of TI is Robert Macy Sr., a valued advisor since the inception of the partnership. Macy is currently Chairman of the Board for Warm Springs Composite Prod ucts. The current TI Executive Man agement Committee consists of Charles Jackson, Secretary-Treasurer, Raymond Tsumpti, Tribal Council representative and Terry Turner, STI representative. Although the Confederated Tribes face some economic chal lenges in the short term, there are some positive signs on the horizon as well. A gaming casino in the Colum bia River Gorge could alleviate much of the pressure. The pioneering tech nology of the research and develop ment arm of Tectonics Internationa may also provide an avenue of in come through licensees and prod ucts. The strong efforts of TI will always place the Tribes in t positive position in the business world. lldi tor's note: This is the first in series of four articles on the efforts of Tectonics International. Spilyay tyioo.