Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 2004)
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon Snowplow drivers keep the reservation running - , m ready to go in the morning." f , . By D. "Bing" Bingham Spilyay Tymoo Cleaning up heavy snow fall on reservation roads is a lot like fighting a wildfire 12 hours shifts on, 12 hour shifts off until the situation is under con trol. During school days, two shifts start at 4 a.m. to clear the school bus routes and two more start during the regular working hours to clear the rest of the roads. "We're kind of short staffed when you get a really, really big storm like this one has been," says Tom Shuman, BIA roads engineer. Twelve hour shifts are man dated to give snow plow opera tors some time to rest and re cover from the stress and ten sion of their job. It's important to keep the driver's safe and alert when they're moving that kind of heavy equipment around snow covered highways. "Twice we've had to turn down calls at about 10 p.m. be cause the people just aren't rested and aren't capable of operating the equipment safely at the time," Shuman says. Sure it's upsetting to the per- Top news: (Continued from page 1) Most importantly, The Or egonian articles have prompted tribal officials to look cosely at the programs on the reservation that serve the local youth. Early this month, Tribal Council is to hear recommen dations from staff regarding possible changes to the child welfare system of the reserva tion. On a brighter note the tribes did experience some good fianncial news during 2003. Through the Confederated Tribes, Warm Springs Power Enterprises conducted a $50 million bond issuance that will pay for the purchase of the tribes' share of the Pelton hy droelectric project. The bond issuance helps to stabilize Power Enterprises' rev enue to the Confederated Tribes general fund. There were some delays in issuing the bonds, due to the volatile energy market, and other factors beyond the tribes' control. But the transaction happened in the fall. Having a more stable revenue stream from Power En terprises is important because, of the tribal enterprises, Power Enterprises is by far the largest contributor to the tribes' general fund. And the general fund is responsible for the day to day operation of the tribal govern ment. The bond issuance will repay the money the tribes borrowed in early 2001 from Pelton co owner Portland General Electric (PGE). The $50 million in bonds will be repaid over a 30-year term. IRA'S SALES & SERVICE 181 SW MERRITT LANE JUST ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF MILLER FORD DEALERSHIP a0 "Vou Trash-em, We Smash-em" Now buying salvage cars and taking in old junkers. Rates, prices negotiable, hauling available. "1 "T"' I Snowplow clears roadway at highways 26 and 3. son who can't move around that night, but it'd probably be more upsetting if the driver was so tired he made a mistake and hurt himself or someone else. According to Shuman, one of the most wearing parts of driving a plow is the level of concentration that has to be maintained: "It's really tough to government agreements, council changes And the interest rate is excellent. This is the first tribal bond issu ance on the Pelton project. Fourth During 2003, the Confeder ated Tribes finalized wide- and long-ranging agreements with a number of federal and state agencies. The agreements cover the management of land and water resources. Boater permits Probably the most conten tious of these agreements was in regard to the adoption of a permit system for boaters on the Lower Deschutes. In November of last year the tribes reached a tentative agree ment on this issue with the BLM and Oregon State Parks. The agreement calls for implementation of a permit sys tem starting in 2005. The agreement, to be final ized by the U.S. Department of Justice, would limit the number of boaters floating a section of river from Warm Springs to Harpham Flat, beginning July 1 of 2005. The agreement concludes a lawsuit filed by a private citizen, that the tribes had become party to. The suit was filed by Tualatin resident Mark Shuholm, who alleged that state and federal agencies had ignored portions of the Lower Deschutes River Management Plan, mandating a limited-entry permit system when target levels are repeatedly exceeded. The tribes intervened on Shuholm's behalf. When the permit system is implemented, according to the agreement among the tribes and the state and federal agencies, January 8, 'i. be driving a snowplow and have that big cloud of powder snow come up in front of you and then...'Where's the road at and how do you make contact?'...so they're constantly looking for little roadside markers telling them where to keep the plow in the road. In a winter storm it's really, really tough to see where permits would be allocated through a common pool, mean ing the general public and com mercial outfitters and guides would compete for permits on an equal basis. River guides and local governments along the river had expressed their oppo sition to a permit system. Ceded lands During 2003, the Confeder ated Tribes finalized a written management agreement with seven national forests and the BLM. The land these'agencies manage is within the traditional, lands of the tribes. The tribes' traditional, or ceded lands include a large area well beyond the borders of the reservation. By the Treaty of 1855 the tribes gave up some interest in this area, but the treaty also guarantees to tribal members certain rights and in terests on the ceded lands. The ceded lands can be de fined in general terms as north Central Oregon. The tribes have many cultural interests within this area. Interests include wa ter, fish and wildlife, roots, ber ries and other plants, and cul tural sites. The federal government manages part of the ceded lands, through the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The forest service and BLM make decisions that can affect tribal interests in the land. For this reason it is impor tant that the tribes and the fed eral agencies work together to protect these interests. In the past the Confederated Tribes had a written agreement - a memorandum of under standing, or MOU - with the Ochoco National Forest. In 9 6 .0 2004. Dave McUechanSpilyay you're going out there." It's not all short hours and pushing snow around on reser vation roads there's some maintenance involved. "Last night we stayed about an hour late and changed the cutting edges on the snow plows," Shuman says, "so they have nice fresh edges and they're 2003 the tribes concluded an agreement with the national for ests and BLM districts that en compass all the ceded lands. Water rights Early in 2003 tribal officials gathered in a courtroom at the Deschutes County Courthouse, It was a rare if not unique scene: tribal leaders singing traditional songs in the courtroom. , The ceremony concluded a court hearing that marked the conclusion of more than 20 years of government negotia tion. The court proceeding was in regard to the Confederated Tribes' water rights agreement. 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Several people from the Engineering Depart ment have been running fuel back and forth to the plows to keep them on the road as much as possible. The Road Department has three snowplowssanders, two road graders and a backhoe cov ering about two hundred miles of school bus routes. That is At the hearing the judge signed the order making the terms of the agreement binding on all water rights holders in the Deschutes River basin. The Confederated Tribes hold the oldest water right in the Deschutes basin, as provided in the Ireaty ot ibdo. A problem has been establish ing a quantity in regard to the right. The water rights agreement provides the tribes with both in stream and consumptive water rights. The quantity of water is large, reflecting the fact that tribes of the Warm Springs Res ervation are fishing tribes. of - tfAMii Page 5 Several people from the Engineering Department have been running fuel back and forth to the plows to keep them on the road as much as possible. their responsibility. That's all they're equipped for. Driveways are a different matter. They're handled by the Utilities Department under Herb Graybael, 553-3246. "It's terrible because we're watching someone shovel out his driveway and we drive by with a snowplow and drop a load right in the middle of his drive way," Shuman says, "but it's all we have time to do. Then other people come along behind us with other equipment and clean out the driveway." So don't call the Road De partment when you're driveway is full of snow. It wastes everybody's time. Give the Utili ties Department a call and then 'hang on,' they'll be there as soon as they can. The current year is a Tribal Council election year, but 2003 saw some changes in member ship of the council. First, former Tribal Council Chairm Olney Patt Jr. resigned to take the job of executive di rector of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFQ. Garland Brunoe was then appointed Council chair, and Councilman Ron Suppah' became vice chair. " The vacancy on the Council was filled by Earl Squiemphen, who was first runner-up in the previous election. R THE ENTIRE FAMILY... TV fin kxal tund misers ant groups