OR. COLL.
E
75
.S68
v. ?6
no. 17
August sF
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
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Warm Springs, OR 97761
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News from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation August 23, 2001 Vol. 26, No. 17
Spilygy
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Judy Kalama searches for huckleberries
Hundreds of firefighters this week con
tinued the effort to extinguish a series of
wildfires that have been burning for sev
. eral days in the western area of the reser
vation. Favorable weather conditions in recent
days have helped the fire-fighting effort.
Clay Penhollow, information officer at
Fire Management, said that a tentative
containment date for the fires had been
set for Sunday, Aug. 26.
The Olallie Fire Complex began Aug.
12, when a thunderstorm passed over the
region. During the storm, lightning strikes
ignited 17 fires on the reservation and in
the adjacent Mt. Hood National Forest.
As of Wednesday, the fires had burned
across 2,500 acres. The largest fire in the
series has been the OlallieMonan Lake
(Dark Lake) Fire, which consumed 2,000
acres.
The OlallieMonan Lake Fire grew
from five separate lightning strikes that
happened on the reservation south of
Olallie Butte near the Long, Dark and Is
land lakes. One strike hit east of Monan
Lake, west of the reservation boundary.
Following the Aug. 12 storm, seven
Weather helps firefighters
THbal mill undergoes big
By Dave McMechan
Spiyaj Staff
A visitor to the Warm Springs Forest
Products Industries Mill comes away with
the impression that the people who work
there like their jobs.
The work is not easy, and many of the
positions require expert skill and concen
tration, but above the noise of the machin
ery the workers can often be heard joking
and kidding with one another. This makes
the workday pass in a more agreeable way,
said John Katchia, production coordina
tor at the mill.
The WSFPI mill employs 148 people.
The workers include the operators of the
various saws, the lumber graders, mill
wrights, electricians and operators of the
forklifts and other heavy machinery. The
administration part of the mill includes
the purchasing, personnel and support
staff.
Seventy-five percent of the mill work
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Photo by Dav McMechan
during a gathering trip early this week
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Vernon Tias and Jason Schjoll of Warm
smaller fires were also reported on the res-
ervation. Two were located east of Olallie
Butte, two north of Lake Sarah near Rock
Cone, one near Campbell Butte, one
ers are tribal members or married into the
tribes. The mill operates 40 hours a week,
from about 6 in the morning until 2:30 in
the afternoon, Monday through Friday.
The powerhouse at the mill runs 24
hours a day, seven days week. Twelve full
time people are responsible for keeping the
power facility in operation. The power
house is fueled by logging slash and wood
by-products of the mill operation.
Electricity from the powerhouse is sold
Also, the lumber-drying kiln at the mill
is powered by steam from the power plant
The mill produces lumber of the 2-by-4
to 2-by-12 inch dimensions. Other prod
ucts include industrial grade moldings and
shop lumber. The industrial grade prod
uct is sold to another manufacturer that
makes windows and doors.
Until early this year, the mill employed
about 210 people. Then in February, one
of two shifts at the mill was cut.
Con tin He J on Page S
1;
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ecklebeoy memories
Traditional task
of gathering
continues today
By Da, MMtcban .
Spilyay Staff
ruriayWalicndia,lilniiuiyoduTtrib!dcl
ders, first went huckk-bchy picking a good
numlxrofj'carsagci
'Iwasjustachildwtienrnygnuidparents
and mother first took me to pick berries,"
Wahcneka was saying recendy, during a trip to
I liyh Rock, wlicrc in some years die berries are
quite plenrifuL
Walicncka said that years ago pcxple fkii
die reservation would travel by wagon and on
horseback to the berry-picking areas. They
woijUgotDtheXychcsarea,SaduMiunm
Zigzag, places in Washington, among many
other locations.
"People were hard-working back dien,"
Wahcneka said Hie people worked especially
hard in the summer because they had to store
food for winter, Waheneka said.
Judy Kalama, a couple of generations
younger than Walicncka, remembers that as a
young gid she would pick and can large quanti-
ties of huckleberries. .
She and odxis would camp during late sum-
t
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rein in
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Photo by Dave McMechan
Springs Fire Management discuss blazes.
north of Papoose Lake and northwest of
Lake Hilda, and one northwest of Fort
Butte.
Close to 600 fire-fighting personnel re
7 If?,
iff
changes, expects more
Received
Spilyay
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Warm Springs Forest Product Industries
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I sources, earlier tins week
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mtr in die higlier ekrion areas, wlx;re die xr-
ries grow After dicy were done camping and
picking die berries, diey would spend many
hours dc ling die canning work.
TlieludAbem' feast has happaiedcach year
firm time knmcrrxsiJ near 1 Id le Ikute. In die
past die feast went on for many days. People
camped all around die area where die I le He
Longhouse now stands.
sponded to these fires, and other fires lo
cated on nearby national forest land. The
personnel included inter-agency and
Warm Springs hot shots. Along with those
from the Northwest region, fire crews ar
rived from Arizona, New Mexico, North
Carolina and Oklahoma.
Two Blackhawk helicopters from the
Oregon National Guard were employed
early in battling the Olallie Fire Complex.
Sometime later, a larger twin-rotor heli
copter also arrived on the scene. Other
equipment included 16 engines, three doz
ers and five water tenders.
Total cost of fighting the blazes was es
timated at over $2.4 million, payment of
which comes from a federal fund.
Fire crews worked to protect endan
gered species habitat, commercial timber,
traditional food-gathering areas and
anadramous fish habitats. On the Mt.
Hood National Forest side of the fire, the
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office or
dered an evacuation of all non-fire-fighting
people.
On the reservation side, Trout Lake
Campground was closed. The trails in the
Trout Lake area were also closed.
Olallie blazes
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' I smaJl wooden bmUiiigs
I w-re interspersed
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, i. During the feast,
ii there were dozens of
' J families that carnped at
, I I kJIe. Lous Scott, who
1 works in Cultural Ke-
I was driving with
, 1 Wahcneka through the
1 encamping areas.
Walicncka would point out the sites where
all of die different families used to camp
People don't camp much at I Idle anymore
during die huckleberry feast, because many
)oungpaipk'hmk)st interest, said Waheneka.
IxwisSaitt remembered that, beadier years,
die hillside by I Id le would be covered with
children playing
Continued on Page 5
Museum
board hopes
for interview
Board members of The Museum at
Warm Springs are hoping next month to
begin interviewing candidates for the po
sition of museum director.
The museum has been under interim
directorship since February, when former
director Mary Ellen Conaway resigned.
She was director for 13 months, and quite
in a mutual agreement with the board.
Since that time, Ed Manion has been
serving as interim museum director. Over
the past several weeks a recruiting firm,
Opportunity Resources, Inc., based in
New York, has been contacting potential
candidates to fill the directorship position.
The museum board used the Opportu
nity Resources firm in hiring former di
rector Michael Hammond, who was di
rector from 1991, before the museum
opened, until 1999.
Museum officials are taking the time
necessary to find the right candidate to in
hiring a new director, said Ken Smith, mu
seum board chairman.
"Everyone feels that this is a great mu
seum, and that it will take a special per
son to manage it. We need to search for
the right person with the right back
ground," Smith said.
Under the best circumstances, the mu
seum board could begin interviewing can
didates in September, Smith said. If the
process goes as hoped, then a hiring a de
cision could happen in October, he said.
An ideal candidate, Smith said, would
be a person with a strong education back
ground, museum management experience,
including museum fund raising. "Our
hope is to find someone with that back
ground, and the hope is always that we
will find a Native American with the right
background," he said.
Meanwhile, the museum is operating
smoothly, said Smith. Interim director Ed
Manion "would be the first to say that he
is not a museum director, but he is a good
manager," Smith said.
"He's making sure the museum contin
ues running, and we think he's doing a
great job."