University of Oregon Library
Received on: 01-20-04
Spilyay tyioo.
OR. COLL.
E
75
.S68
v. 29
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
U.S. Postage
Bulk Rate Permit No. 2
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Coyote News, est. 1976
January 8, 2004 Vol. 29, No. 1
50 cents
ymot
Snowstorm blankets the reservation
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tjmoo
The snowstorms that hit the region
this past week have been a source of
considerable disruption in many ways.
Road conditions have been treacher
ous. Schools were closed down, Work
days for tribal employees were can
celled, delayed and cut short.
Most tragically for families, there
have been three deaths on the reser
vation since the storm began (see story
at right).
Resort notes
changes in
employment
The Kah-Nee-Ta board of directors
is trying to increase tribal member
employment at the popular resort and
casino. A number of steps have been
taken to achieve their goal, including a
year-end incentive based on the length
of time an employee has been with the
enterprise.
Statistics show that since 2001, when
the first incentive was paid, the num
ber of tribal members employed at the
resort has increased by 14 pc rcent. The
number of employees listed as mar
ried into the tribe has increased by 2.4
percent, while "other Indians" has de
creased by 14 percent. The number of
all other employees has dropped by four
percent.
These percentages indicate a shift
in employment to tribal members. The
Kah-Nee-Ta board is hoping tribal
members continue taking advantage of
resort job opportunities and consider a
career in the hospitality business.
The board has created the Kah-Nee-Ta
Tribal Member Development pro
gram, which recently hired a tribal
member survey team. The team is cur
rently conducting a survey regarding
employment in the hospitality and ca
sino fields. When the survey has been
completed and analyzed, Kah-Nee-Ta
will initiate a new program for the hir
ing and retention of tribal members.
Some areas of concern for the de
velopment program include the need
for employees to have reliable trans
portation, deal with work schedules that
often include weekends and holidays,
locate childcare, and deal with poten
tial conflicts between work and tradi
tional family time. Tribal members wish
ing to obtain a job through Kah-Nee-Ta
will have to face these and other
issues related to the hospitality business,
but the survey team will be working to
help alleviate potential problems.
By Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
The year 2003 ended and the new
year began under a thick layer of snow
the most snow the region has seen in
several decades. The weather provided
a dramatic end to reservation news of
2003.
But there were many other news
worthy events that happened locally
over the past 12 months. For instance,
Warm Springs Elementary School Prin
cipal Dawn Smith was recognized na
tionally as a Distinguished Principal.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
announced plans for a $10.5 million
redevelopment of Celilo Village. And
the BIA appointed Paul Young to the
position of superintendent of its Warm
Springs Agency.
On a hunt in the fall of 2003, tribal
member Joel Santos killed a bighorn
Also, two men working in the woods
clearing roads - Leland Thompson Sr.
and Chesley Yahtin Jr. - were stuck in
their rigs for two nights and days.
They went out to the woods on Sat
urday, and were not found until Mon
day. On Monday both men were trans
ported to Mountain View Hospital for
medical treatment.
They were reported to be doing
okay, considering the extremely cold
temperatures they had endured.
it . . I
Triston Boise sleds near the community center.
Top news stories of 2003
sheep. In the summer of 2003 High
way 26 south of Warm Springs received
some much-needed improvements,
through a $532,000 project funded by
the state transportation department.
At the beginning of each new year
the Spilyay Tymoo rates the top news
events of the previous year. The fol
lowing are the top five selections for
2003.
Q Top story
The Confederated Tribes in 2003
made great progress in the areas of ra
dio and telecommunciations.
The tribes received nearly $1 mil
lion in grant funding for improvements
to radio station KWSO, and for devel
opment of a telecommuncations com
munity center plus broadband internet
access on the reservation.
They were expected to go home on
Tuesday.
The first snowstorm hit the region
just after the holidays. There was a
quarter of an inch that fell just before
New Years, but the real snow began i
on Friday, Jan. 2, when seven inches
fell. Then another six inches fell on
Sunday and into Monday.
More snow was falling Tuesday, the
deadline day for this edition of the
newspaper. The weather was expected '.
to warm up on Thursday of this week. ;
- v.. - -
The many inches of
snow that fell on the
reservation during
the holidays were at
times a nightmare
for drivers. But the
winter weather was
also very much
welcome by young
people. All around
Warm Springs you
could see the kids
enjoying the
unusually large
volume of snow that
covered the
reservation. Above,
Malory Smith and
TaSheena George
prepare to build a
snowman.
Telecommunications
In 2003 the U.S. Department of
Agriculture awarded the tribes a grant
of nearly $700,000. The funding will
enable the tribes to bring broadband
telecommunications access onto the res
ervation via a microwave link at Ma
dras. Once the broadband signal reaches
the reservation it will be distributed via
fiber optic cable to key tribal agencies.
Broadband Internet access will also be
made available to tribal residents and
businesses via a fiber optics cable or
through a fixed, point to multi-point,
wireless system.
A key element of the project is the
creation of a telecommunications com
munity center, housing 24 desktop com
puter stations connected to high speed
Internet.
For this effort in 2003 the Confed
The snow has been of the light and
powdery variety, good to look at, espe
cially when it's falling, and good for chil
dren to play in.
But the snow has been deep, mak
ing driving difficult or impossible in
areas off the main roads.
Reports indicate that the recent
snowstorms have dropped more snow
than any similar event in the region dur
ing the past 30 years.
(See page 5 for information on the
roads.)
a? TBI -
X-
Davo McMechan photos
Icicles several feet in length
formed at the WEDD building.
erated Tribes received top honor, the
Excellence in Telecommunications
Award, presented at the Eighth Annual
Rural Telecommunications Conference
in Bend.
Radio station
During 2003, KWSO 91.9 FM took
a big step forward into the world of
modern technology. The radio station
applied for and was awarded a
$163,000 grant through the U.S. De
partment of Commerce. The Confed
erated Tribes will also contribute
$54,000.
The funding - $217,000 in all - will
improve the sound of the Station on
the Reservation, as KWSO plans to re
place its antiquated analog equipment
with state-of-the-art digital components.
Taken together, this improvement
plus the advancement in telecommu
- k m
Three die
during
the storm
Three local men have died dur
ing the past several days. One of
the men, Gale Lawrence Jr., 41,
was killed in a motor vehicle ac
cident. The father of Mr. Lawrence,
Gale Lawrence Sr., passed away
shortly after learning of his son's
death. Mr. Lawrence Sr. was 62
years old.
On January 3, Sidney Greene,
age 17, was found deceased out
side in a residential area of
Greeley Heights.
Mr. Greene had last been seen
at 1:15 a.m., Jan. 1, leaving a lo
cal residence. The cause of his
death is to be determined by au
topsy. The case is under investigation
by the Warm Springs Police.
The motor vehicle accident
that took the life of Gale
Lawrence Jr. happened early in
the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 30,
at the intersection of Highway 26
near Hollywood Boulevard.
Mr. Lawrence was the single
passenger in his vehicle, traveling
east on the highway toward his
job at the mill.
Slippery and icy road condi
tions are believed to have caused -Mr.
Lawrence to lose control of
his vehicle, which rear-ended an
18-wheel Freighdiner. The driver
and passenger in the Freighdiner
were uninjured.
Mr. Lawrence was transported
by ambulance to Mountain View
Hospital, where he was pro
nounced deceased,
Gale Lawrence Sr, passed away
later on the same day, shortly af
ter learning of the death of his
son. The motor vehicle accident
that took Gale Lawrence Jr. was
one of two fatal wrecks that hap
pened on the highway during the
closing days of 2003.
On Sunday morning, Dec. 28,
two Portland women - a mother
and daughter - were killed in a
wreck on Highway 26.
They were traveling south to
ward Bend when they collided
with a north-bound vehicle. The
women, Victoria Geans-Gail, 51,
and passenger Katharine Jean
Gail, 25, were pronounced dead
at the scene. The driver of the
other vehicle suffered minor in
juries. nication are the top story of the year,
as the longterm benefits to the tribes
will be many.
C Second
Toward the end of 2003 The Or
egonian published a series of page -one
articles that detailed the deaths of chil
dren and teenagers of the reservation.
This news coverage by The Orego
nian was one of, if not the most talked
about events of 2003 on the reserva
tion. Some people felt the articles were
very helpful in that they will focus more
attention on the issue of youth health
and safety on the reservation. Others
felt that some of the articles in the se
ries were insensitive to the families of
young people who have passed awav.
Please see TOP NEWS on page S
4