Spilyay Tyrooo, Wrm Springs, Oregon 5eptefphG:20,2001
Brunoe named to watershed board
First Warm Springs
tribal member
to hold the position ,
By Dill Maudes
Spilyay Staff
Gov. John Kitzhaber has ap
pointed Robert Brunoe to serve a
four-year term on the Oregon Wa
tershed Enhancement Board
(OWEB). The Oregon Senate con
firmed Brunoe's appointment on
Sept. 9.
Brunoe, who works in the
Natural Resources Branch, will be
one of 1 1 voting members on the
board, which meets quarterly at
selected locations arpund the state.
I Ie is the first Warm Springs tribal
member to hold a position on
OWEB.
"I'm looking forward to work
ing with the board," said Brunoe.
"I think it will be beneficial to have
someone from Warm Springs in
that position."
Brunoe's appointment comes as
no surprise to those familiar with
natural resource issues around the
state. He is a member of Ground
water Steering Committee, a board
member for the Oregon Water
Trust, and an advisor and former
board member for the Deschutes
Basin Land Trust. He has also
served, on the Central Oregon Re-
V
-- -I? ' - ' -
Robert Brunoe is joining the watershed enhancement board.
gional Strategics Board, Deschutes
County Watershed Council,
Crook County Watershed Coun
cil, Ecosystem Diagnostic Treat
ment Technical Team, and acted as
an advisor for the Salmon Corps
board of directors.
"I've worked with OWEB direc
tor Geoff Huntington in the past
and I know how the process works,
so I'm anticipating a productive
term in office," said Brunoe. "I've
also helped to develop some local
projects that were funded by the
watershed board and I know how
important this effort is to the
people of Oregon."
Brunoe has worked in a num
ber of capacities for the Confeder-
Rcsource Managers Interdiscipli
nary Team chairman. I Ie has also
been involved with natural re
sources issues as a logger and live
stock operator.
OWEB is a state agency led by
a policy oversight board. Together,
they promote and fund voluntary
actions that strive to enhance wa
tersheds. The board encourages
collaboration of citizens, agencies
and local interests.
Projects funded by OWEB help
to restore salmon runs, improve
water quality, and strengthen eco
systems that are critical to healthy
watersheds.
OWEB administers a grant pro
gram that awards more than $20
million annually to support volun
teer efforts to create and maintain
healthy watersheds.
OWEB also provides technical
skills, directs a small grant program
to support landowner projects that
improve watershed health, sup
ports educational programs, coor
dinates the collection of natural
resources data, and monitors
projects funded through the grant
programs.
The board will meet this week
to review grant applications for
The Language Pages for this edition of
the Spilyay were not available due a
technical difficulty.
The language section will resume in
the next edition of the Spilyay. We
apologize for the inconvenience.
sited Trilii-s. I lt has hM the nnsi
f v , , r, V '.watershed enhancement projects,
uons of Natural Resources general ...,. ... . v ' .
manager, Range and Agriculture
m'in'itTPf T n t nnro t nil Rpcnnrre
f . Ashland
Management Plan team leader, and'. v S an
Brunoe said he plans to attend the
two-day session scheduled to take
Economic development...
Continued from Page 1
The purpose of this independence is to
separate business investment and manage
ment functions from governmental pressures
that can result in viable business opportuni
ties being overlooked or missed altogether.
The relative independence of the new
by tribes of the Northwest region, said
Victor T. Wei, who has served as advisor to
the corporate board.
In choosing this approach, Wei said, the
Tribal Council wants the Warm Springs
Economic Development Corporation to be
relatively free from political and non
business related pressures in pursuing its
ultimate goals. As stated in the corporate
charter, some of the goals include:
Developing a sense of entrepreneurship in
the Confederated Tribes and members, while
earning a reasonable profit;
identifying and carefully evaluating sound
and profitable tribal economic development
opportunities;
Competently representing, advising and
assisting the Confederated Tribes in negotiat
ing, (Structuring, closing and otherwise
implementing sound and profitable tribal
economic development initiatives, projects
and investments.
Funded at $2 million ,
The idea for the economic development
corporation has been discussed among tribal
officials for a number of years, said Charles
Jackson, secretary-treasurer of the Confeder
ated Tribes.
The company was incorporated in Febru
ary of this year, following a cooperative effort
among Tribal Council members, the Eco
nomic Development Branch and Executive
Management, Jackson said.
The Tribal Council provided an initial $2
million in funding for the company. Jackson
is recommending that tribes contribute up to
$2.5 million per year to the company over a
lG-year period.
This will provide the corporation with a
sufficient amount of financial capital to
leverage for investment in economic develop
ment projects, as they are determined by the
corporation officials, Jackson said.
Tribal Council Vice Chairman Garland
Brunoe served with Jackson on the commit
tee that selected the corporate board of
directors. 'The first thing we've wanted in
this corporation," Brunoe said, "is to begin
developing new sources of tribal revenue,
other than timber and the dams."
Another goal, he said, is to bring employ
ment with reasonable wages for local people.
The board of directors of the company
includes three tribal members, and three non
tribal members. The tribal members are
Pinky Beymer, Dennis Leonard and Gerald
Smith. ..-. . . .
Beymer is co-owner of the Chilkat
Enterprises, a successful construction,
excavating and heavy equipment company.
Leonard is involved in financning business
enterprises for various tribes. Smith is
business manager of the Chemawa Indian
School in Salem.
Board members were chosen following ,
interviews with a committee that included
Jackson, former chief operations officers
Jody Calica and current COO Willy Fuentes,
Tribal Council Chairman Olney Patt Jr., and
Economic Development General Manager
Mike Clements.
Serving with the three tribal board
members are three non-tribal members who
have expertise in the areas of private industry,
finance, banking or other fields that will
benefit the corporation.
Diversity of expertise
The non-tribal board members are James
Fitzhenry, David F'lanningam and James
Perris.
Fitzhenry is senior vice-president for
corporate operations and general counsel for
FLIR Systems, a publicly-traded company
that produces and sells infrared cameras,
thermal imaging software and temperature
measurement systems.
Flanningam is an entrepreneur, with an
expertise in start-up businesses and interna
tional marketing.
Perris is chief financial officer of Yoshida
Group, a conglomerate of 17 diverse compa
nies. Flanningam is treasurer of the Warm
Springs Economic Development Corpora
tion. Perris is secretary, and Fitzhenry is
chairman.
The mission of
the company,
Fitzhenry said, "is
to identify and
cultivate busi
nesses to become
involved in and
locate on the
reservation."
Other goals, he
said, include
maximizing
additional revenue
to the tribes, and
creating jobs for
tribal members.
"With a
declining revenue
from timber and
other natural
resources, this is an effort by the Tribal
Council to transition the economy into other
areas," said Fitzhenry.
The board of directors of the corporation
began meeting earlier this summer. Last week
.4hey toured the reservation, visiting the
The mission of the company,
Fitzhenry said, "is to identify
and cultivate businesses to
become involved in and locate
on the reservation."
variouSrtribal'enterprises and Talking' with",:
directors and managers.
f' 1
jr . - -
Tom Henderson
Stewerdess recounts
morning of terrorist attacks
In Warm Springs
friends waited anxiously
By David McMcchan
Spilyay Staff
Tribal member Dawn
Osmond was working as a
stewardess last week on a
seemingly routine flight out of
Newark, New Jersey.
Osmond was still fairly new
at her job, having completed
the stewardess training pro
grams earlier in the summer.
Last Tuesday, Sept. 11, she
reported for duty early at the
Newark airport.
Her flight took off at 6:15 in
the morning. Less than three
hours later, at cruising altitude
heading west, the crew received
word of the terrorist attacks in
New York City and at the
Pentagon.
In the emergency, flight
controllers initially indicated
that Osmond's plane would be
re-routed into Canada. A short
time later the crew was directed
to land the plane at a nearby
airport in Missouri.
At that point, all aircraft
were grounded for the rest of
the day. When she learned the
full details of what had hap
pened, Osmond like everyone
else was shocked, and for a
time was unable to believe the
news. , i-i'
In Warm Springs, Shirley
Smith was feeling worried
throughout the morning.
Smith and Osmond arc good
friends.
Since moving to Newark,
Osmond had been calling
Smith once every week.
Smith, who works at the Hi
Iokie I-odge, was up at her
usual 5 a.m. last Tuesday.
She was getting ready for
work when she heard the
reports on television of the
terrorist high-jackings and
plane crashes. J ler first
thought was of her friend. "I
was upset and worried," she
said.
Smith went to work. A few
hours passed and still there
was no word from Osmond.
Then at 9:45 a.m., the phone
at the lodge rang, and it was
Osmond, calling to say she
was fine, and that her flight
had been grounded indefi
nitely in Missouri.
Osmond told Smith that
her boyfriend Eddie back in
Newark had traveled over to
New York City, where he
witnessed the scene of devasta
tion. Smith says she is very
proud of her friend Dawn
Osmond, who set a goal for
herself - that of becoming an
airline stewardess - and has
..accomplished that.goal,,-,., .
! "Have her as' -my daughter,
and I'm very proud," Smith
said.
CEO on board
The board has hired Tom Henderson as
the chief executive officer of the Warm
Springs Economic Development Corpora
tion. '
Henderson will be moving to Central
Oregon from Los Angeles, where he has had
a wide range of business experience, includ
ing as chief executive officer of a subsidiary
of the Helen Curtis Company.
He was general manager for Mandalay
Sports & Entertainment, and has done
consulting for several Fortune 500 compa
nies. He was director of The Banana Republic
clothing company, among other jobs.
His business experience is in retail,
wholesale, manufacturing, media and con
sulting. ,
He became interested in working with
Warm Springs Economic Development
Corporation after being contacted by an
acquaintance; from Portland.
"This is a very challenging opportunity,"
Henderson said. "That's the first thing I liked
about it." '
The corporate board members and he
agreed that Henderson had the perfect
background for this new position.
Necessary
limitations
The Warm
Springs Economic
Development
Corporation has
all the powers of
other companies.
The corporation
can enter into
contracts, sell and
buy property, sue
or be sued, invest
money, etc.
The corporation
cannot, however,
bind the Confed
erated Tribes to
any contract or
agreement, or
incur a debt on behalf of the tribes.
The corporation cannot waive the tribes'
sovereign immunity, or operate in a manner
inconsistent with the fiscal or other standards
set by the Tribal Council or the secretary-treasurer.
Terror ...
Continued from Page 1
A lot of travel plans had to be
changed, "But you have to count
your blessings, because it's really
nothing compared to what
they're going through in New
York," said Smith. "You can't
take anything for granted."
After considering what had
happened last week, some tribal
members felt they had to take
action to help.
Shauna Queahpama, who
served in the Army during the
Gulf War, re-enlisted; and Vesta
Johnson, who also served in the
Army, decided to join the
National Guard.
Johnson has military experi
ence as an operating room
assistant, which is a useful skill
in time of war. "I want to help
our country, to help our commu
nity and to help myself,"
Johnson said.
She had been considering
joining the National Guard for
the past six months or so, and
the events last week helped her
make up her mind. "I want to
show my children that some
thing can be done," she said.
When Shauna Queahpama
decided to re-enlist, her mother
Madeline Queahpama-Spino had
very mixed emotions.
"I've been up many nights
thinking about what we went
through during the Gulf War.
Now I feel I'm going to have to
go through all of that again," she
said.
No matter what people were
doing on the morning of the
terrorist attacks, they were
shocked at the news.
"It seemed very quiet in the
building that morning," said
Danica Greene, supervisor of
Mail and Reception in the tribal
administration building.
"People are usually cheerful
when they come in, but that
morning it was different. You
could tell something terrible had
happened."
Reminder to cast vote
for Littleleaf 's Nammy
Tribal members are reminded to
please show your support for
Charles Littleleaf, who has been
nominated for a Native American
Music Award.
Local residents can show their
support for Litdeleaf 's nomination
by voting online. The Native
American Music Awards' official
online voting ballot site is located
at www.nammys.com.
Littleleaf is a nominee in the
Music Award category of Debut
Artist of the Year. The CD for
which he has been nominated is
Ancient Reflections.
The Fourth Annual Native
American Music Awards, or
Nammj s, are scheduled to be held
Oct. 20, at the Sandia Casino
Amphitheater in Albuquerque,
New Mexico.
Littleleaf, a tribal member, was
born, raised and lives on the Warm
Springs Reservation. For more in
formation on his NAMA nomina
tion, contact his wife Vicky
Littleleaf, who is Charles man
ager. Her office number is 553-1662.