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April 18,2002 Vol.27, No. 8
Coyote News, est. 1976
sees
E
75
.S6B
v. 27
no. B
April 1B
A off CW3
'-v
Schools
facing
cut in
budget
Jim Manion has been on the
School District 509-J board of
directors for seven years.
This year is the first time,
during his tenure, that the
school district is facing a re
duced budget. To a large extent,
how far the reduction will go
is to be determined during the
upcoming May Primary.
In May, voters in the state
will consider controversial Bal
lot Measure 13. This measure
would allow spending money
from the state's Education En
dowment Fund for K-12 fund
ing in 2002-2004.
In past years, earnings gen
erated by the fund, established
in 1995, have provided revenue
to schools. Ballot Measure 13
proposes using $220 million of
the fund's $272 million.
; The Oregon School Board
' Association, the Oregon Edu
cation Association, and Gov.
. Kitzhaber, among others, are
opposed to Measure 13.
"Raiding the trust fund is
" nfl'f'a sound way to balance the
, t budget or set a stable course
' for the future," according to a
statement from the Education
Association.
On the other hand, Measure
13 is seen by many as a means
of addressing immediate school
funding needs.
True, the measure is a tem
porary solution, "but it buys
us time to find a permanent
solution," said Manion.
See SCHOOL on page 7
Gang activity a serious problem
Forum looks at
possible solutions
The speaker said to the
people in the audience, "Raise
your hand if your life has been
directly affected by gang activ
ity." Nearly everyone - from
young people to riders and
other adults - raised their
hands. 'That's good," said the
speaker, Wauneta Ixinc Wolf.
"I'm talking to the right audi
ence -1 don't have to convince
you there is problem in this
community."
IHie Wolf, known to many
young people as "Momma
Wolf," was in Warm Springs
last weekend, discussing prob
lems that youth gangs bring to
the reservation.
These problems include
drug and alcohol addiction,
early teenage pregnancy, juve
nile delinquency, shootings
and other violence, and the
loss of young people's lives.
Police have estimated that
about 100 young people on the
reservation arc part of youth
gangs. Wall Murray, a former
Lo Angeles gang member
who travels and speaks with
Line Wolf, said the gang prob
lem on the reservation is worse
than he expected.
After meeting with a group
Need forjIhpMsing
Tribal members contend with overcrowding, long waiting
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo Staff
New housing is one of
the great needs on the res-
ervation.
-I , ,
A construction crew with Workforce Development, including Ricky Smith (above), is working
on three new homes in the Sunnyside area. New homes are needed to meet demand.
Wauneta Lone Wolf
of youths who arc in trouble
with the law, Murray said that
gang activity on the reserva
tion is as serious and harmful
as in some of the major cities.
Gangs arc leading many
tribal youths into lives of
crime, said Char Herkshan,
counselor at the Warm Springs
Community Counseling Cen
ter. The Counseling Center
with the police department
and Title IX sponsored I .one
Wolf and Murray's recent visit,
which included a two-day gang
prevention forum at the Com
munity Center.
The presence of gangs, said
Herkshan, is one of the most
serious problems faring the
reservation, with children and
youths ending up in prison,
addicted to drugs, or Ining shot
or stabbed or beaten.
To help address these prob
For this reason the subject
of housing can be very contro-
versial.
"Even the word housing is
almost like a dirty word in
Warm Springs," said Chet Van
vH r li
lems, Lone Wolf's motivational
group Dream Weavers, devoted
to workshops on gang preven
tion, was invited to Warm
Springs.
On hand for the two-day
workshop were representatives
of the local schools and law
enforcement. During the first
day of the forum, Lone Wolf
discussed ways that the com
munity can reduce gang activ
ity on the reservation.
Some suggestions include
development of a citizens ad
visory and review committee
on gangs; identify youth lead
ers, and have them mentor the
troubled youths; involve the
whole community in raising
the youths.
Most importandy, the solu
tion to the problem begins in
the individual homes.
"A lot of this has to do with
what is happening in the
home," said Don Courtney,
director of Warm Springs Pub
lic Safety. There is no single
cause of the problem, but
lack of being held responsible
is one factor, said Courtney.
A lack of youth activities in
the community is another fac
tor, said Char Herkshan.
The community center and
the Hoys eV Girls Club arc do
ing a good job, she said, but
these kinds of programs need
to lc expanded.
p,.-h, director; of the Tribal
Housing Department.
Many tribal members who-
would like to have their own
homes are forced to live 'with
relatives or friends in already-
'A lot of this has
to do with what is
happening in the
home. "
Don Courtney
Chief of Police
Involving ciders is an
other important part of the
solution, she said. All mem
bers of the community are
invited to the next forum
on gang prevention forum,
to happen within coming
months, said Herkshan.
. k l ' ' - '
V - - ! 4 V" f
' A ((
J V Sjl Spllw ty,,0.
.crowded dwellings.
In some cases, two or more
families are living in the same
house. Some people live in
trailers parked on the property
of a friend or relative.
' In the very worst cases, and
there are several of them, tribal
members live out of doors.
; One tribal member told of
working full-time on the res
ervation while having to live
in a teepee, and later in a tent.
She finally moved into a
small trailer, where she now
lives with two brothers who
cannot find anywhere else to
stay. There are many stories
like this.
The lack of housing on the
reservation is clearly demon
strated by the long waiting lists
for rental units and for homes
that people would like to pur
chase. There are about 140 tribal
member names on the waiting
list for rental units, and over
100 names on the list to pur
chase a home.
People are on these lists for
years before their name finally
comes to the top.
Recently, Morris Holliday,
who works in the Tribal Util
ity Department, received word
that his name was at the top of
the list for an apartment.
Holliday had been waiting a
long time.
I le first put his name on the
list about six years ago. Once
on the list, though, you have
to renew your status every six
months, or your name is re
moved. This happened to
Holliday, setting him back a
year or two.
Rodeo ready to buck
It's back, the Root Feast
Open Jackpot Rodeo.
If you're looking for some
great family entertainment and
barrels of fun, the Warm
Springs Rodeo Arena is the
place to be on Saturday and
Sunday, April 27-28.
The all-new members of the
Warm Springs Rodeo Associa
tion will be hosting this must
see, wild and wooly rodeo.
Some of the exciting events
include:
The bareback and bronc
riding, breakaway and calf rop
ing, steer wrestling and team
roping. And what rodeo would
lists for homes
"People need more
space. Young people
and elders especially
need more privacy. "
Elton Greeley
Housing Authority board
When tribal member
Lynn Fluhr lived in Warm
Springs, she was on the hous
ing waiting list for years.
Then in 1999 she moved to
the town of Grass Valley, and
within two days had located
a home that she is purchas
ing with her husband.
In some instances, tribal
members live in Madras and
commute to work in Warm
Springs, because they cannot
find a place on the reserva
tion. It takes a long time to
move to the top of the list
because the demand for
housing is much greater than
the supply.
"I see a definite need for
more housing," said Elton
Greeley, chairman of the
Warm Springs Housing Au
thority Board of Directors, "
which oversees the Housing
Department.
"We have many people
living in over-crowded
homes," said Greeley.
"People need more space.
Young people and elders es
pecially need more privacy."
All tribal officials - and
probably the entire member
ship - agree that the reserva
tion needs more housing.
See HOUSING on page 10
be complete without extreme
bull riding.
Other added attractions in
clude kids calf riding, junior
barrel racing, the hilarious calf
scramble and the always-entertaining
wild horse race.
Admission is $5 for adults,
$3 for children ages 6-12, se
niors and children under 6 are
free. Rodeo action begins at 1
p.m. each day. So plan to take
your family, and head on over
to the rodeo arena on April 27
and 28 for great family enter
tainment and barrels of fun.
Set RODEO on page 6
Root
Feast
Agency
Longhouse
was the
scene
recently of
the Root
Feast.
At left.
Geraldine
Jim helps
prepare the
salmon.