Spilyjy Tyrnoo, Wqrrn Springs, Oregon
Pecember 23, 2004
Commodities program helps hundreds of people
By Brian Mortensen
Spilyay Tjmoo
Jon Brown wants to get rid
of the stigma of "low-income"
from anyone who happens to
participate in the Warm Springs
USDA Commodities program.
"We don't want people to feel
that this is a hand-out," said
Brown, supervisor of a pro
gram that helps feed an average
of 200 families on the Warm
Springs Indian Reservation.
The program, which can pro
vide a family of three $1,440
of food a month, is funded by
the U.S. Department of Agricul
ture and offers a wide variety
of canned and packaged foods,
as well as frozen meat and fresh
produce.
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs is one of the 243
Native American tribes the
USDA program assists. The pro
gram offers food products to
tribal members living on or
within a 15-mile radius of the
Warm Springs reservation.
Warm Springs USDA Com
modities has expanded its pro
gram to provide food for fami
lies with at least one enrolled
member of a recognized tribe
in the U.S.
"We serve parts of Jefferson,
parts of Wasco, and all of Crook
Tr I 1 p j
tzzz f; Jt . f
WWS Mr
Brian MorlensenSpilyay
Jon Brown shows some of the items available through the Commodities program.
County," said Brown, program
manager since 1995.
All of the food available for
the nationwide USDA commodi
ties program is donated, and it's
sent to a national warehouse in
Kansas City, Mo., and from
there to regional warehouses.
The western regional warehouse
is located in Albuquerque, N.M.,
and food is then shipped once a
month to storehouses like the
one the Warm Springs program
is housed in, on Holliday Road
at the Industrial Park.
The commodities program
benefits anyone whose monthly
income is less than $910. A fam
ily of three must earn less than
$1,440 to become eligible.
Brown said the eligibility ceiling
for a family the size of the av
erage participating family from
Warm Springs, five, is $1,989
per month.
The program allows each in
dividual or family a set dollar
amount of food per month, in
cluding set amounts of items
from the various food groups,
including produce and meats.
The Warm Springs USDA
Commodity program has only
recently, in the last two years,
added fresh produce, delivered
by Duck Delivery's satellite lo
cation in Bend. The program
offers four different fruits and
four vegetables on a year-'round
basis and can offer others on a
seasonal basis.
"They throw in squash, they
throw in green peppers, corn, as
they're available," he said.
With a freezer on site, the
Commodities program can also
offer frozen meat, including
ground beef, chicken, ham, and,
most recently, buffalo meat.
"The USDA calls it bison,"
Brown said. "And it comes in
two-pound packs, so it's very
convenient to use, to make, to
include in recipes. It's extra-lean,
very healthy."
For the holiday season, the
Commodities program offered
its participants baskets of fruit.
"We try to give our gratitude
by way of this little gift ex
change," Brown said.
Food administered through
the Commodities program is also
labeled differently than it used
to be. What once was packaged
in plain white labels in black
print with the only information
printed on the label being the
actual contents of the package
now bears colorful labels with
brand names and, more impor
tantly, nutrition information.
Last summer, the Commodi
ties department opened a new
driveway, parking lot and en
trance on the north side of its
building, allowing for easier
handicap access, and more con
fidential access for program par
ticipants than the facility's front
door.
Brown has a small staff, in
cluding John Finch, who has
operated the warehouse since
1996; and program assistant
Merrissa James.
Brown says the Commodities
program's participants often
change from one season to the
next, all depending on economic
conditions. "We slow down quite
considerably around Christmas
time," he said, "because of all
the activities going on, winter
break, the tribal bonus, plus
other work incentive payments,
like what Forest Products give
out to its employees." ;
Conversely, the winter is slow
for seasonal employees at Kah-Nee-Ta,
who are mostly busier
in the summer tourism season.
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Police to provide voluntary drug testing
When a parent suspects that
a child may be using illegal drugs,
a complicated and difficult situ
ation can occur.
To help address the problem
the Warm Springs Police Depart
ment is planning a new volun
tary drug-testing program.
The new program should be
available to parents after the
start of the new year, said Jim
Soules, chief of Warm Springs
police. .,
"It's going to be helpful," said
Soules, "because it will allow par
ents to confirm either that a
child is doing good or not doing
good."
The results of the test can
not be used by the police for
criminal prosecution.
Instead, the results are turned
over to the parent, who can then
decide what to do next.
"It can be an early detection,"
said Soules.
The testing is done at the po
lice station free of charge by
trained personnel. The results
are known immediately and then
given to the parent.
A positive drug test result
leads to no legal action but will
tell the parents what they need
to know. Other police depart
ments in the region , including
Redmond, Bend and Prineville
already offer the testing service,
called Parent Aid.
The program started in 1999
as a statewide initiative and is
now offered by 38 Oregon law
enforcement agencies.
Since July, Jefferson County
has offered a $5 voluntary drug
test, launched in part by the
Jefferson County Methamphet
amine Task Force.
Parent Aid was originally
funded by the Oregon State Po
lice, the Oregon Association
Chiefs of Police and the Oregon
State Sheriffs' Association, said
Kevin Campbell, executive di
rector of the police chiefs' as
sociation. "It's a way to give (families)
help, before a drug problem
becomes an entrenched one,"
Campbell said. "Parents want an
option that doesn't involve their
children getting arrested."
Both programs can detect
most major drugs, such as mari
juana, cocaine and methamphet
amine, within minutes through
urinalysis.
A police officer, usually the
school resource officer, is
trained to administer the test
and oversee the program.
While Parent Aid promises
anonymity, Polly Nelson, the
education director for the
American Civil Liberties Union
of Oregon, questioned whether
the test should be administered
by a government agency.
Nelson said she would rather
see it handled by a private party,
such as a physician, to ensure
the information is safeguarded
from legal authorities.
"I realize they think it's a ser
vice and it's commendable, but
there are some possible down
sides," Nelson said.
For instance, she said she
wondered how a parent or child
can be sure the information
doesn't come up in the future.
And even though a youth can
refuse the test, she said it might
be difficult to do so against a
parent and a police officer.
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