OR. COLL.
E
75
.S68
v. 27
no. 12 f
June 13, -4A (I
P.O. Box 87
Warn Springs, C''
u.3. rosiage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Coyote News, est. 1976
June 13, 2002 Vol. 27, No. 12
35 cents
jf piiyiy i y woe
Annual
Reports
in ibis paper
This week's edition of Spilyay
Tymoo features a special section con
taining the annual reports for 2000
and 2001.
The section includes messages
from the Tribal Council chairman,
secretary-treasurer and chief opera
tions officer, along with an overview
of each tribal department.
In the past, annual reports were
published as separate documents on
high-quality paper with color photo
graphs. Graphic designers and profes
sional print shops were used, in addi
tion to tribal employees, to produce
the reports.
When the rising costs of labor and
printing were weighed against efforts
to reduce tribal spending, it was de
cided to print the most recent annual
reports in Spilyay Tymoo. Producing
annual reports in the newspaper will
save the Confederated Tribes several
thousand dollars while still providing
essential information of interest to
tribal members, '
The Tribal Relations staff hopes
the special section produced in this
week's paper will prove interesting
and easy to read.
Tribal leaders and department,
heads were contacted to obtain the
information used in this report.
Spilyay Tymoo reporters and other
Tribal Relations personnel compiled
4 the information and produced the lay
' outs for the special section.
The 2000-01 annual reports begin
on page 8 and conclude on page 14.
Following key letters from decision-makers
are the branch reports
from Business and Economic Devel
opment, Compensation and Benefits,
Office of Information Systems, Edu
cation, Public Safety, Tribal Court,
Utilities, Human Services, Tribal Re
lations, Natural Resources, Govern
mental Affairs, Finance, Internal
AuditCompliance and Personnel.
A summary of events included in
the annual reports is as follows:
Tribal members showed resound
ing support for a new Warm Springs
elementary school by passing a June
2001 referendum by a 4-1 margin, The
new school, scheduled for completion
in 2003, will lay the cornerstone for
a complex of buildings that may even
tually include a high school.
See SUMMARY on page 12
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Dave McMechanSpilyay
Isaac Mitchell surveys the area where phase 2 ofjhe new highway will be constructed. Mitchell, with crew
members Les Spino and Earl Spino, conducted the survey work this week.
Construction of a new road -one
day likely to be a main route
to Kah-Nee-Ta - is about halfway
complete.
Phase one of the project is done
except for painting the stripes on
the road pavement.
Surveyors this week were pre
paring for phase two.
The new road, called Webster
Flat Road, should be finished late
in the summer or early fall.
The roadway runs from High
way 3 in the Wolf Point area to
ward the Warm Springs River and
the Culpus Bridge.
Warm Springs Construction is
the contractor for this project,
which has an estimated cost of $3.5
million. Length of the road will be
about seven kilometers, or approxi
mately 4,4 miles.
There are construction plans
next year for a new bridge over the
Warm Springs River near Kah-Nee-Ta.
When this is complete, the new
Webster Flat Road could be used
as an alternate traffic route to Kah-Nee-Ta,
especially in the winter
months, when Highway 3 at times
can become somewhat difficult for
drivers.
Vote sets negotiations in motion
it-
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay staff
The recent casino referendum was
an end and a beginning.
The vote answered the question of
where the tribes will expand the gam
ing enterprise.
At the same time the vote is the
beginning of a planning, financing
and building process that will take
years to complete.
Some important questions - for
instance, whether to open a tempo
rary gaming facility at the Gorge
while the permanent one is being
built - are yet to be answered.
An initial step in the process of
developing the new casino is the ne
gotiation of a new gaming agreement
between the Confederated Tribes and
the state of Oregon.
The Tribal Council this week ap
proved a letter to Gov. Kitzhaber, for
mally requesting the start of the com
pact negotiations.
The terms of the compact will be
worked out by a negotiating team
from the tribes, and a team represent
ing the governor. The tribes are fo
cusing on the Hood River property
as the casino site, said Olney Patt Jr.,
chairman of the Tribal Council.
Along with approving the letter to
the governor, the council this week
also appointed the team that will rep
resent the tribes.
The negotiating team was ap
pointed by position, rather than by
individual. This will provide the team
with continuity into the future, said
Patt.
On the negotiating team are the
chairman of the tribes' gaming board,
and the chair of the gaming commis
sion. Also, the secretary-treasurer, the
chair of the Tribal Council, and the
tribal attorney were appointed to
the team. The council also ap
pointed the chiefs of the three
tribes to the team.
Along with negotiating the
gaming compact, the tribes will
soon be preparing more detailed
engineering studies and design
work for the new casino, said Patt.
"We should have this work done
within the next few months," he
said.
Patt said that one of the lasting
legacies of the May 21 gaming vote
will be the increased participation
of the community in important de
cisions of the Confederated Tribes.
The good turnout at the polls,
and the large majority in favor of
the referendum proposal, were the
result of the open sharing of infor
mation with the individual com
munity members, said Patt.
Elementary Graduates
m
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is , Q j
In the photo above and at right, fourth-graders receive
flowers and their certificates of completion.
Warm Springs Elementary School fourth-graders re
cently took another step on the way toward education
accomplishment.
The elementary school held a farewell assembly June
5, presenting 85 fourth-grade students with certificates
for completing their first five years of school.
School district superintendent Phil Riley began with
words of encouragement to the students, and the tribes'
Chief Operations Officer Willy Fuentes, as keynote
speaker, continued with encouragement and recogni
tion of the students' accomplishments.
Dawn Smith, Warm Springs Elementary School
Principal, introduced students receiving the Presidents
Academic Achievement awards,
There were eighteen students honored for their out
standing gains in school. Immediately following were
22 students honored with the Presidents Academic
Excellence, who continue to do high quality work in
their academic efforts.
Smith presented the graduating class with certificates
of completion, then Mike Craig sang "Friends" to in
still the friendship within the class and to say, "friends
are forever."
A very touching speech by Smith ended the farewell
assembly. "I will never forget you," she said to the students.
Photo by Ssleni BolsaSpllyay
Arson
attempt
extinguished
Warm Springs Fire and Safety re
sponded very quickly to a report of a
fire, and extinguished a blaze that
likely was the result of arson.
The incident happened early Tues
day morning, June 11, at 1631 Foster
Street, a vacant residence in the West
Hills neighborhood.
On that date at 1:52 a.m., an indi
vidual contacted the fire department
and reported seeing flames in the yard
at 1631 Foster. Fire fighters were on
the scene within four minutes time.
Upon arrival, the fire crew found
that the flames were outside the resi
dence, as well as inside.
The quick response time allowed
the crew to extinguish the fire and
save the building, which sustained
about 11,000 in damage.
Thanks goes to the community
member who was quick in reporting
the blaze, said Fire Chief Dan
Martinez. Arson is strongly suspected
in this case, as there were multiple
points of ignition, said Martinez.
The case was still being investi
gated as of earlier this week. Anyone
with information should contact the
police department, 553-3272.
Museum
featuring
Wasco regalia
Wasco items and regalia will be on
display this weekend, June 15 and 16,
at The Museum at Warm Springs.
The following weekend, June 22
23, traditional men's regalia will be
on display in the museum lobby. Both
weekends, Edna "Teeter" Gonzalez
will be on hand for demonstrations.
This will be an excellent opportu
nity to learn about Wasco culture,
said Rosalind Sampson, education
and group tours coordinator at the
museum. The Wasco exhibit and
demonstration will be from 10 a.m.
till 3 p.m. on the above dates.
a
ivrsity or Oror, Ubrar
Received on, 06-2l.02 V
Spilyay tymoo.