R. COLL.
75
.S&8
v. 27
no. 2
October
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ymoc s
SERIALS DEPT.
WIGIITUBRAK,
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iUGENE, OR
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
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October 31, 2002 Vol. 27, No. 22
Coyote News, est. 1976
i
Spiky
Members
discuss
budget
options
Use of rainy day
fund cited as potential
By Spilyay Tymoo staff
Tribal officials discussed the 2003
budget proposal with the member
ship last week.
Members mentioned concerns
on a variety of subjects, from pub
lic safety and youth and elder issues
to budget cuts and possible sources
of additional revenue.
One revenue option that is being
explored is the use of part of the
tribes' "rainy day" fund, established
in 1988 by Tribal Council.
The rainy day fund was set up
with an initial investment of $10
million, and over the years has
grown to about $33 million.
For the past two budget years the
tribes have used the interest gener
ated by the principal, but have not
used the principal money itself.
This may change, as the Tribal
Council determines how best to bal
ance budget expenditures with rev
enue. Another revenue possibility is
the use of excess enterprise reserves
to boost the tribal government bud-
get, said Charles V. Jackson, Secretary-Treasurer
of the Confederated
Tribes.
And a third option, said Jackson,
would be added indirect income
from additional BIA and IHS con
tracting by the tribes.
The decreasing tribal budget, he
said, has been a point of discussion
among the Tribal Council and the
community members for the past
few years in a row.
"If we can't get a big revenue
boost from somewhere else, and if
we want to go slowly in decreasing
government spending, we're going to
have to consider other potential
sources of funds," said Jackson.
In the long-term, he said, a Gorge
casino will provide new revenue, to
replace the loss of timber money
and less-than-expected revenue from
Warm Springs Power Enterprises.
Meanwhile, though, the tribes are
facing another few years of budget
shortfalls. .
At the Agency District meeting
last week, Ken Smith, former secretary-treasurer
of the tribes, advo
cated use of the rainy day fund for
operation of the tribal government.
. "Why not borrow from the rainy
day fund?" said Smith.
The money borrowed from the
fund could be repaid when the new
casino or some other source of rev
enue brings the tribes back to pros
perity, said Smith.
The three district meetings last
week, held Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings, began with a
budget overview by Secretary-Treasurer
Jackson.
He said the economy of the na
tion as a whole - in particular the
Please see BUDGET on page 6
River guide awarded page 2
Problem of meth page 3
Letters page 4
Punkin time page 5
Sports page 6
News briefs page 7
Judge Towet page 8
Languages 10, 11
Pictograph photos page 12
w
Election
New governor would
decide Gorge casino site
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo staff
From the perspective of the Con
federated Tribes the next governor of
the State of Oregon early on will make
a decision of great importance.
One of the two candidates for gov
ernor - either Democrat Ted
Kulongoski or Republican Kevin
Mannix - will determine the location
Methamphetamines bring crime
The link between familial
and social dysfunction and
drug abuse in Warm
Springs is hard to deny. One
man tells of his difficult
childhood in hopes that his
story will deter at least one
person from making the
same mistakes.
By Shannon keaveny
Spilyay Tymoo staff
he first time Floyd Tewee, 35
"II of Warm Springs, shot up meth
J amphetamine he was at a party
with his mom.
She took the needle too. Tewee was
11 years old.
The euphoric "rush" that Tewee felt
would be a quest for the next 24 years.
"It was like a roller coaster ride, you
know, that feeling in your stomach when
you start to go down, the excitement,
well that's how it felt," Tewee remi
nisced from the Warm Springs Jail. "It
Ventures buys tile company interest
Factory could move
to the reservation
Warm Springs Ventures, the tribes'
investment and business corporation,
has announced the purchase of a 51
percent ownership interest in a
Redmond-based tile-making company.
There is the possibility that in time
the company's manufacturing plant
could relocate to the reservation, said
Tom Henderson, chief executive of
ficer of Warm Springs Ventures.
This would provide more tribal
member employment opportunities,
said Henderson.
The tile company is called Kibak
Tile, and was originally formed in Sis
New start for Warm Springs Construction
In the past Warm Springs Construc
tion has not been a profitable entity for
the Confederated Tribes. Through a
change in management, tribal officials
are hoping this situation eventually will
change.
Recently, the tribal economic devel
opment corporation Warm Springs
Ventures assumed management respon
sibility over Construction.
The Warm Springs Ventures Board
of Directors will be the Construction
Board of Directors.
The board will make the policy de
cisions that in time should enable Con
struction to become a profit-making
is key to
of the tribes' new casino.
The tribes currendy are pursuing a
plan to build a casino near the town of
Hood River, though the idea of build
ing within the town of Cascade Locks
is much more popular among people
at the Gorge.
From the tribal perspective, Cascade
Locks is also the preferred casino site,
because Cascade Locks is closer than
Hood River is to Pordand. For this rea
son a casino at Cascade Locks would
generate quite a bit more revenue than
Floyd Tewee, 35, of Warm Springs,
the Warm Springs Jail.
was so intense I couldn't wait for the
next hit."
From that day on Tewee smoked,
snorted, or shot meth three to four
times a week. He was an addict.
Before that, Tewee became aware
ters in the early 1980s. The company
began with just one employee, founder
and current president Susanne Kibak
Redfield.
Over the years, the company has
continued to evolve, and has developed
several new and unique techniques in
the decorative tile manufacturing sec
tor. Due to continued demand and
growth in the mid 1990's, Kibak Tile
was relocated to its current location in
Redmond.
Today, Kibak Tile maintains such
commercial clients as Disney Design,
and Der Wcinerschnitzel and El Polio
Loco restaurants.
On the residential side, Kibak Tile's
enterprise, said Tom Henderson, chief
executive officer of Warm Springs
Ventures.
Construction employs nearly 40
people. Approximately 90 percent of
the employees are tribal members or
married into the tribes.
Under the new management, Con
struction will for a while operate much
as it has in the past, focusing on con
struction projects on the reservation.
Eventually, though, the enterprise
may look off the reservation for con
struction projects, said 1 Icnderson. This
approach could be the key to turning
Construction into a profitable enter
- r,
future of gaming
one at Hood River.
"The person who takes the place of
Gov. Kitzhaber will be key to our gam
ing future, as far as net profit is con
cerned," said Rudy Clements, gaming
spokesman.
On the other hand, he said, either
the Cascade Locks or Hood River site
would help the tribes' long-term finan
cial situation.
A casino at Hood River, for instance,
would generate an estimated $15 mil
lion net profit per year during the ini
PI?
and addiction to
Shannon KeavenySpllyay
shares his drug-abuse experience from
of his mother's habit by accident.
During a life-changing day at the wa
terfront in Pordand, Tewee caught his
mother with a rubberband around her
arm smacking her veins. He asked her
what she was doing and she said mat-
high quality custom work graces many
of the finest homes in the U.S., includ
ing Donald Trump's Mar al Lago.
Kibak Tile is represented nationally
renowned tile purveyor Ann Sacks, a
Portland-based Kohler Company sub
sidiary, and Daltile Inc., one of the larg
est tile manufacturers in the world.
Henderson earlier this week an
nounced Ventures' 51 -percent acquisi
tion of Kibak. Tribal Council last year
established and funded Warm Springs
Ventures.
Following the acquisition agreement,
Susanne Kibak Redfield will remain as
the company president, and Rebecca
Van Englcn will continue to serve as
the general manager.
prise, he said.
One immediate
change that has hap
pened at Construction
since the change in
management is the pro
motion of Leslie
Cochran-Davis to assis
tant general manager.
Davis has a degree
in Drafting Technol
ogy from Clackamas
Community College.
Leslie Cochran
She has been with Construction since
since 1995, initially starting as a roads
laborer.
tial years.
This is compared to about $3 mil
lion per year at Kah-Nee-Ta High
Desert Resort and Casino.
At the same time, and by way of
further comparison: The $15 million
profit at the Gorge would still be quite
a bit below the approximately $70 mil
lion annual profit of the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde's Spirit Moun
tain Casino.
Please see CASINO on page 7
the reservation
ter-of-factly, if you do it, "watch it."
"It was at that time, I thought,
hmmm, I think I'm going to try that
some day," said Tewee, a typical child
who looked to his parent as a role
model.
When asked if a lot of people take
methamphetamine on the Warm
Springs Reservation, Tewee flipped his
long black hair out of his eyes, raised
his brow, and said emphatically yet sadly,
"Lots."
"Walking up to the West Hills, I get
offers from grade-schoolers who are
selling meth and marijuana," he elabo
rated. "My advice to those kids, and ev
eryone, is if you haven't done it, don't
ever try it. It's a bad habit."
Number one offense
At the Warm Springs Jail there are
47 beds. Tewee will sleep in one of
those beds for at least the next 12 days.
Tewee has been in and out of jail since
adulthood for an assortment of crimes
related to his drug use.
He is a mechanic by profession, and
works for a living. In times of strife he
has also stolen for his drugs. When
asked what he has stolen, Tewee says
quiedy, "Car parts."
See METH on page 5
Powwow
set for Nov. 8-9
The prize money came in almost
at the last minute but as they say,
better late than never. A couple of
weeks ago it looked like the Veter
ans Powwow was not going to hap
pen, the problem being a shortage
of prize money.
Then last week, the Ike family an
nounced that enough money had
come in that the pwwow will hap
pen after all. The Tribal Council con
tributed $5,000 to the powwow, and
the Human Services Department
contributed another $5,000. So the
13th Annual Veterans Day Powwow
is set for Friday and Saturday, Nov.
8-9. See schedule on page 8.
In 1998 she was pro
moted to contract adminis
trator. For the time being, while
Construction is without a
general manager, Davis is
serving in the capacity of
interim manager.
To ease the management
transition, Warm Springs
Ventures has held meetings
with the Construction road
and building crews, admin
- Davis
istrative staff and current manage
ment, and the tribal member sub-contractors.
i Spilyay tyioo.