OR. COLL.
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: April 4, A f
I jw Spilyay Tyimoc
P.O. Box 870
WarniSprinos no-
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
35 cents
April 4, 2002 Vol. 27, No. 7
Coyote News, est. 1976
IHS planning $1,5 million
The Indian Health Service
in Warm Springs is planning to
expand the Health and
Wellness Clinic.
, Expansion of the existing
building would add 12 new
examination rooms, and pro
vide more space for health and
wellness departments that are
overcrowded.
The reason for the expan
New
Lynn Fluhr
is chief of
rural Sherman
County district
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo staff
She is only 23 years old,
but tribal member Lynn
Fluhr has already achieved
some unique goals in the
field of fire-fighting and
emergency response.
Recently, Fluhr became
the first woman to serve as
fire chief of the South
Sherman County Rural Fire
Protection District.
She is also the first tribal
member to serve in the job,
and most likely also the
youngest person ever to hold
this position.
The South Sherman
County fire district is about
400 square miles in size, lo
cated just to the northeast of
the Warm Springs Reserva
tion. South Sherman County is
a rural area, with the largest
town being Grass Valley,
population 400.
The main station of the
fire district is located in
Tribal tapestries
brighten museum
f , . II ... . . Hi.-- - .
- " '-.;.,-,. ;- '.
The Tribal Tapestry exhibit at The Museum at Warm Springs
will be on display through April 28. This exhibit features some
of the beautiful beaded bags from the museum's private
collection. The bag pictured above was acquired by the
museum from Ada Sooksoit.
sion plan is simple, said Russ
Alger, clinic director.
"When we opened in 1993,
we had 29,000 outpatient vis
its per year," he said. "Now we
have over 50,000 outpatient
visits per year."
A clinic should have two
examination rooms for each
doctor and nurse practitioner,
said Alger. Five doctors and
fire chief oe the scene
t f ft
Mail w9mJ
J ... T i
Tribal member Lynn Fluhr is new
Grass Valley, which is also
where Lynn and her husband
Glenn live with their son
three nurse practitioners work
at the clinic. This means that
the clinic should have 16 exam
rooms, but currendy only has
ten.
The planned expansion
project will add 12 new exam
rooms, providing space to ac
commodate growth from some
time into the future, said Alger.
The clinic expansion has an
1M 3T5
I I km-
fire chief of the South Sherman County Rural Fire Protection
Zachary, age 3. The very small
town of Kent has a station that
also is part of the South
Council
By Dave McMechan
Spijay Tymoo staff
The lower Deschutes River,
from Warm Springs down
stream to the Columbia, sees a
large volume of recreational
rafting during the late spring,
summer and early fall months.
During the course of the
warmer months of the year,
tens of thousands of rafters will
float down the river.
The large volume of rafting
traffic on the river has led river
management agencies in recent
years to consider the possibil
ity of adopting a rafting per
mit system for the Deschutes.
The Tribal Council met last
week to discuss this issue with
Brian Cunninghamc, who rep
resents the tribes on river is
sues, and Jim Notcboom,
tribal attorney.
Tribal Council is scheduled
to meet again on the subject
next week with representatives
of the federal and state agencies
involved in management of the
lower Deschutes.
A key point under consid
eration is whether a rafting
permit system should be
adopted for the Deschutes in
the year 200.3. No permit sys
clinic expansion
estimated cost of $1.5 million.
The hope is that construc
tion will happen this year, he
said.
IHS is now in the final stage
of choosing an architectural
firm for the project, said Alger.
Comments from tribal
members regarding the project
are welcome, he said.
The expansion will add
Sherman County fire district,
The district has about 10 vol-
unteer fire fighters. Fluhr said
x,
:0X--M
; ?.' it It 1
weighs river permit plai
tem is being suggested for the
current year.
River guides and represen
tatives of the towns of Maupin
and Madras have voiced oppo
sition to a permit system for
the Deschutes.
Tribal officials, and officials
of federal and state managing
agencies, have said that a per
mit system may be necessary
to maintain the good qualities
of the river.
The high volume of rafters
can damage fish habitat along
the banks of the river, said
Chief Delvis Heath. Water
quality is also effected.
Tribal Council Chairman
Olncy Part Jr. said, "From the
tribal perspective, this is a qual
ity of life issue." It is no one's
best interest, said Patt, to have
an endless scries of rafters float
ing down the river.
The idea for a permit sys
tem for the Deschutes goes
back several years. The back
ground is as follows:
In 1988, the federal govern
ment mandated that the lower
100 miles of the Deschutes
River be managed as wild and
scenic.
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs, the state of
5,260 square feet to the clinic.
This will involve the con
struction of a new building on
the empty ground located be
hind the existing reception
area.
The new building would be
connected to the rest of the
clinic through one or more
corridors.
See CLINIC on page 2
Oavt McMechanSpllyay
District.
she hopes to recruit more
volunteers soon.
See FLUHR on page 3
"From the tribal
perspective, this is a
quality of life issue. "
Olney Patt Jr.
Oregon, and the US. Depart
ment of Interior were named
the primary managing agen
cies. Then over the next few
years, 1 1 federal, tribal, state
and local government entities
worked on the Lower
Deschutes River Management
Plan. A 9-mcmbcr advisory
group appointed by the gover
nor also participated in devel
opment of the plan, adopted in
1993.
The 1993 management plan
indicates the volume of rafting
that would warrant the imple
mentation of a permit system.
The permit system is to be
implemented if voluntary re
Remember to change your clocks
Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday morn
ing, April 7, at 12 a.m. Don't forget to set youx clocks
- ... L...
Survey
supports
Gorge
casino
About 270 tribal members
responded to a survey regard
ing gaming expansion.
Of those who responded,
approximately 90 percent are
in favor of development of a
Gorge casino, said Rudy
Clements, tribal gaming
spokesman.
In recent weeks, during a
dozen or so family home-base
meetings on gaming, the re
sponse has also been in favor
of the Gorge, said Clements.
Many people who earlier
were opposed to the Gorge
idea are now supporters of the
plan, he said.
People are eager to have the
gaming expansion question
put to a vote of the tribal mem
bership. "The feeling is, Let's
move forward with the refer
endum," said Clements.
Tribal members could see
the referendum on gaming in
early June, he said.
Sometime in the spring, the
tribes are planning a ceremony
at the Columbia Gorge to com
memorate the tribes'" return to
the traditional homeland, said
Clements.
This event, he said, will be
coordinated among Tribal
Council, Culture and Heri
tage, elders and other interested
tribal members.
The ceremony will include
the dedication of the tribes'
property at the Gorge, said
Clements.
The tribes own land near
Hood River, and also own
Government Rock near Cas
cade Locks.
ductions in use of the river
prove unsuccessful in meeting
target levels.
River guides and local gov
ernment officials have said vol
untary measures have been suc
cessful in reducing traffic on
the river. Guides and local gov
ernment officials arc also sug
gesting changing the target
numbers of the 1993 plan, an
idea that tribal officials are
against.
Recently, the local govern
ments have requested represen
tation on the board overseeing
implementation of the 1993
plan. The current representa
tives of this board arc the Con
federated Tribes, the state of
Oregon, the BLM and the BIA,
the entities that signed the
management agreement.
Cunninghamc md
Notcboom suggested that the
local governments should not
be included on the oversight
board.
Set RIVER on 10
J Spilyay tyioo.