Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2001)
OR. COLL. E 75 .S68 v. 6 no. 21 October P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 SI-KIAI.S )i:i'T. KNIGN'N.IHRARY 1 299 UNIVERSITY OF OKIXiON LUCiiCNi:, OR 97-103 Cbyofe News, esf. 1976 U.S. Postago Bulk Rate Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 News from th arm Springs Mian Reservation October 18, 2001 Vol. 26, No. 21 35 cents eW An unofficial estimate on Wednesday of this week indicated that the adoption election turnout did not reach 50 percent. If this estimate is certified as conclusive by the Tribal Council, then the Oct. 16 election was not valid. The unofficial estimate was provided by reliable sources. However, no official statement regarding the vote will be available until Tribal Council meets and certifies the results provided by the Election Board. There is a very outside chance that the election did meet the 50 percent requirement. Nevertheless, at about 8 p.m. on election day, the unofficial tally indicated that the turnout was 100 or more ballots short. In the photograph, tribal members fill out ballots. Photo by Dav McMechan i i I 5 .. v j . Ballots in mail for school Students support money for schools levy By Dave McMechan Spilyay Staff - Tribal voters within the week will receive ballots for the upcom ing Schobl District 509-J school improvement bond levy. The levy would provide the dis , trict with $15.8 million, mainly for improvement and expansion of Madras High School. "I'm encouraging all voters to support the bond levy for the ben efit of the children," said tribal member Jim Manion, who serves on the 509-J district board. In requesting approval of the bond levy, funded through prop erty tax within the district, 509-9 is facing two hurdles. The district must win a major ity of votes in favor, and also must see a turnout of 50 percent of reg istered voters at the polls. This second requirement may prove to be the hardest part of gain ing approval of the bond, said Manion. For this reason, he said, people should make the extra effort to vote by the deadline, Nov. 6. Julie Quaid, director of Warm . Springs Early Childhood Center, " said, "We should all vote, and vote yes. In Warm Springs, there is no reason to vote no." For most people in the district, passage of the bond would result in an increase in property tax. No such financial impact would hap pen to Warm Springs residents, removing the only reason for a person to oppose the bond pro posal, Quaid said. For Warm Springs, this is a win win proposal, Quaid said. "Voting yes is a way to show support for improved facilities for our students who attend school in Madras." In the 509-J district, there are a total of 5,600 voters. Of those, 700 live on the reser vation. The voters on the reservation are of great importance for advo cates of the 509-J levy. Continued en Page 8 t "t M 4" v-':,i 'y'" - 1 v. v i t f i i -0f V-:!; F 0 V.-; f Madras High School class officers Cyrille Mitchell, Prenincia VanPelt, Laritta Greene and Scott Kalama (from left) encourage parents to support the upcoming bond proposal. Many parents in School District 509-J are encouraging voters to support the Nov. 6 bond levy request. v Jtudents at Madras High School alo think the $15.8 million bond proposal Is a good idea. , "It's for a good cause, a bet ter future for your kids," said Prenincia VanPelt, sophomore class president at Madras High School. "Do the right thing and vote yes," added Cyrille Mitchell, sophomore class vice president. , Scott Kalama, president of the junior class, said that prob lems facing the high school include crowded classrooms and a crowded cafeteria. : The cafeteria problem be came acute beginning at the start of the 2000 school year, when MHS adopted a closed campus policy. : Rather than leave for lunch, students now must stay and eat on campus, which has led to long lines and crowded tables at the cafeteria. Continued on Page 8 THbes eye gas generator As a possible means of generat ing revenue, the tribes are in the early phase of considering the po tential development of a gas-powered electrical generating plant on the reservation. The preliminary site under con sideration is the Metolius Bench area above Round Butte dam. The company that has indicated an in terest in developing a gas-powered plant is Mid Atlantic Energy, based out of the East Coast. The Tribal Council requested Warm Springs Power Enterprises to develop a report on the poten tial of constructing a combined cycle combustion turbine plant on the reservation. The plant could generate as much as 400 megawatts of power. The facility would cost in the range of $400 million. Mid Atlantic would make money by selling electricity. The tribes could profit by leasing wa ter rights to the company, and by leasing land. The developer would also be required to compensate the tribes for environmental impacts from "the" plant; said Jim Manion, of Warm Springs Power Enterprises. " An agreement between the Confederated Tribes and Mid At lantic could also include an option for the tribes to eventually acquire an ownership interest in the plant, Manion said. The report by Warm Springs Power Enterprise to the Tribal Council indicates that a gas-powered plant on the reservation could provide the tribes with annual net revenue of between $2.5 million 'and $4 million per year. The discussion between tribal and Mid Atlantic officials regard ing the proposal began during the early part of this year. Tribal Council reviewed the preliminary information during the summer, and then directed Power Enterprises to develop a re port detailing the various aspects of the project. Manion estimated that in about six months he may have the nec essary material for Tribal Council. Continued on Page 8 Volunteers the driving force behind reading program By Selena Boise Spilyay Staff , ' ' Once a volunteer reader for Metolius school, Sandy Griggs became SMART Coordinator for Warm Springs Elementary School last winter. Warm Springs Elementary School had been without a SMART coordinator since Wanda Bushlach left in the spring of 1999. Griggs became involved with the SMART Program by a suggestion from the wife of her husband s coworkers. She heard that there was no coordinator at the Warm Springs Elemen tary and decided that she could do it She is working to increase the volunteers for SMART in the Warm Springs Elementary. Last winter the program was reading to kin dergarten classes once a week because of the lack of volunteer readers. This year's goal is to have one volunteer to each reader. There are 40 children that need to be read to this year, and the volunteer list is at about half. All volunteers will read one hour (or more) a week for one SMART school year, October through May. SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) is an early literacy book and reading program for children in kindergarten through third grades. The mission is to enhance the reading skills, attitudes and life prospects of children who need assistance, and to enable adult volunteers and communities to experience rewards of enrich ing young lives. If you can read, you already have what it takes to be a SMART volunteer. V V L V JU. I MN: lUniversity of V""LibrarV bnn-ived on: 10-25-81 Spilyay tyioo. - - - IT1irT.,-,. SMART coordinator Sandy Griggs shares a story with Warm Springs Elementary School student Jamie Halliday.