Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2001)
OR. COIL. I 7 b .S68 N0VHIll)CT O ' P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 in i vim ty of Orciin I il-i nt y Rfcelvf) on: U-tfb H Splly.iy tynioo. Coyote News, est. 1976 Bulk Rate Permit No. 2 Warm Springs, OR 97761 35 cents News from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation Nov. 1,2001 Vol. 26, No. 22 ynoo ECE Center testing finds no hazard By Dare McMechan Spilyay Staff The Early Childhood Education Center was closed as a precaution on Monday of this week. The building was also closed part of the days on Thursday and Friday last week. There was concern about the pos sibility of air contamination after ECE staff members on Thursday, Oct. 25, reported smelling a peculiar odor, and seven staff members re ported feeling sick. The ECE building was closed at about noon on Thursday, and the staff members who were not feeling well were referred to the Warm Springs clinic. Two went to the clinic. Some children at ECE also appeared to have symptoms of illness during this time. On Friday morning staff members again reported smelling the peculiar odor, and the building was closed for the rest of the day. The building remained closed on Monday of this week, pending the return of environmental testing. Following an extensive series of air and soil tests, public safety officials concluded that the ECE building is safe. ECE staff and children in day-care at the facility returned to the build; ing on Tuesday. Immediately following the closure of the building last week, there was speculation in the community that the situation was of dire seriousness, perhaps involving carbon monoxide or some other toxic chemical. These rumors were proven false by the extensive laboratory testing, re ported Dan Martinez, chief of Warm Springs Fire and Safety. According to a summary report by Martinez, what actually happened was as follows: On Thursday, Oct. 25, there was a scheduled maintenance job at ECE to replace a bad fan motor. The blower assembly of the device was removed and the fan was cleaned with a petroleum solvent. Residue from this activity entered the heating system, and was blown through the vents into the pod F area. Teachers and students inhaling va pors from the heating system suffered similar symptoms, including head aches, dizziness, nausea, and watery, itchy eyes, according to Martinez' re port. Most reported that the symptoms lasted only a few hours. During last weekend, teams of per sonnel trained in hazardous materi l als conducted an extensive inspection of the ECE building. I They took air and soil samples, ' which were later analyzed by labora ' tory scientists. ' 1 Personnel on the scene, besides local Fire and Safety, included repre sentatives of the Neilson Research Corp., based in Medford, which of fers analytical consulting. The hazardous material (Hazmat) team for the Central Oregon region also arrived, as did environmental personnel from the Northwest Firefighters Association. On Monday of this week, Chief Martinez, Dr. Thomas Creelman from the Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center, and representatives of Hazmat, the Neilson Research Corp., and Northwest Firefighters, interviewed all staff and maintenance workers of the Early Childhood Edu cation Center. Continued on Page 2 I ?.' Tie ';', , T"N -111 W-.U'-f- ' . v. ; . y . ?iV -v..'v is Adoption election re-set for January Turnout falls short by 230 votes Photo by Davt McMechan Autumn hoe haon irt lull Hicrl'af C OLflY Of CrlCLVLQP arounc' Warm Springs, but recent 'MI'Ii5t gray days are a strong reminder gray days are a strong i that winter is nearly here. Elder veteran honored This is the time of year when people take extra time to honor and show respect for our veterans. One of the eldest of veterans in Warm Springs, Lasco "Bugs" Gilbert is also one of the most highly deco rated. For his service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Gilbert received the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, and Combat Infantry Badge. During the war, he fought in Germany. One of his more interesting stories is about the time he was made a Prisoner of War for a short period of time. It happened one morning as he was waiting in a bunker for break- A ' Lasco 'Bugs' Gilbert prised him and took him prisoner. Some time later, though, a U.S. Army sergeant marksman shot one of the Germans who had taken Lasco prisoner. Lasco escaped, and continued serv ing in the Army un til the end of the war. He was injured in both legs during the fighting. After the war he came back to Warm Springs where he worked at the mill. These days Lasco, 77, spends his time in Warm Springs vis iting the Senior Cen ter for lunch. He walks there from his house, which is about a mile or so away. . , He also takes care of the fire wood at home. Lasco was born in fast. Some German soldiers sur- the Simnasho area in 1924. lij Dare McMechan Spiyay Staff The Tribal Council has scheduled the next adoption election for Janu ary 2002. The Oct. 16 election fell short of the necessary 50-pcrccnt voter turn out. The same list of candidates will likely appear on the Jan. 14 ballot, said Madeline Qucahpama-Spino, di rector of Vital Statistics. During the Oct. 16 election, 857 tribal members cast their ballots. A total of 1,087 were necessary for the election to have been valid. So the tally fell 230 short of the necessary number. While most eligible voting tribal members did not cast a ballot Oct. 16, the majority of those who did vote were in support of the candidates. All 76 adoption candidates re ceived more yes votes than no. Election cost is about $5,000 The Confederated Tribes have con ducted 13 adoption elections over the past 50 years. The Oct. 16 election was the third to fail for lack of voter participation. The election in August 1975 was invalid for lack of participation, as was the election of May 1986. Follow ing the 1975 invalid election, a valid adoption election occurred in early 1977. Following the May 1986 invalid election, a valid adoption election occurred in November of the same year. Family and other supporters of the candidates on the Oct. 16 ballot are hoping the January 2002 vote will bring enough participation for the vote to be valid. 'The problem is that if 50 percent of the people don't vote, it's not good for the kids, especially the ones who are old enough to understand what is going on," said Lawrence Macy, whose cousinfoster son was on the recent ballot. Young people can receive a bad impression by seeing a majority of tribal voters failing to participate in a regular election process, Macy said. I le said his hope is that the Janu ary vote is valid so that the people on the ballot are not held in limbo. Also, a valid election in January would mean the tribes would not have to spend additional money on another, later vote, Macy said. It costs the tribes approximately $5,000 to conduct an adoption elec tion. Some controversy There are many reasons why people wish to be enrolled in the Confederated Tribes. ' There is the pride a person feels in being a member of the tribes. Continued on Page 3 Rainbow deal eyed Tribal officials are negotiating to ward the purchase of the property that includes the Rainbow Market and adjacent Shell service station, plus land across the street that is along the Deschutes River. The Tribal Council approved an agreement to purchase the Shell sta tion property from Roxanne Mclnturff, who also owns the Rain bow Market and the riverfront prop erty across the street. The agreement regarding the pur chase of the Shell property also in cludes an option to acquire the Rain bow and riverfront properties. Total area of the parcels is eight acres. The appraised value of the Shell station property is $258,000. Ap praised value of the Rainbow Market property is $378,000. And the ap praised value of the acreage along the river - from the bridge to the boat landing - is $24,000. The parties will negotiate based on these figures to ward the final selling price. In deciding to sell the land, Mclnturff, who is a tribal member, offered to sell the property to the Confederated Tribes. The Tribal Council then took up the issue, and by resolution in late October went forward with an inten tion to purchase the parcels. The Tribal Council is pursuing the purchase of the land because owner ship of the parcels would be benefi cial to the Confederated Tribes, said Olney Patt Jr., Council chairman. Continued on Page 3 Young tribal member plays in state Capitol By Orlando Donej ' . Spilyay Staff . -, ;, SALEM - Poised at the upright piano, 13-year-old Jer emy Doney tickles the ivories, entertaining an audience preparing for the 2001 Disability Awards Ceremony. Jer emy was asked to participate by the president of the Commission on Disabilities earlier this year. He provided music in the Rotunda of the State Capitol on Oct. 23. Jeremy played his own compositions entitled "Inter tribal" and "Pancake." Compositions by Yanni, classical music, top-40, and Christmas music were melodies ema nating throughout the Rotunda. The final piece he played was America the Beautiful. Jeremy plays music by ear, as he has been blind since he was a baby. Since he has been playing the piano, he has had about 15 piano lessons, paid for by the Bend Kiwanis. He took these lessons while home on summer vacation. Along with pianos, he likes to play keyboards, for these have the tones of all of the other instruments, and can make other sounds as well. Late night experi ments are done while the family sleeps. During this time, the house is quiet and he can manipulate the keyboard and create his own compositions. Born at only 25 weeks gestation and weighing just 1 pound 5 ounces, he has overcome many obstacles. Continued on Page 9 Photo by Orlando Ooncy Jeremy Doney provided music for awards handed out last week in the capitol Rotunda. 1
