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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2006)
SCA OrColl E 75 .368 _ v. 31 no. 18 August 31, 2006 Spilyay Tymoo Coyote News, est. 1976 Tribes recognized for anti drug effort The Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs were recognized recently as a national “Success Story” in the effort to combat alcohol and other drugs on the reservation. The tribe received the award in Bal timore last weekend at the concluding luncheon of the Seventh Annual lead ership conference o f the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Cen ter. The tribal Housing Authority poli cies against drug and alcohol use and sale were a key part of why the tribes have been recognized for the effort. The award was accepted by Je ff Sanders, Warm Springs Housing Au thority executive director. “We believe that many of our social problems have been centered on alco hol,” Sanders said. “We want to turn this around. We want to stop our teenagers from dying due to the consequences o f alcohol abuse. We want Warm Springs to be seen as a safe and decent place to raise families.” Warm Springs data show that alco hol is by far the most abused substance among the 1,053 people admitted to treatment over a three-year period. The average age of first use by persons in P.0. Box 870 Warm Snrinas. OR 97761 University of Oregon Library Received a n: 03-05-06 Spilyay ty moo August 31, 2006 Voi. 31, No. 18 50 cents Weak lumber market hurting the mill B y Dave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo Warm Springs Forest Products Industries is struggling with one of the weakest lumber markets in re cent years. As a result, the 136 full time regular WSFPI mill workers will see significant cost-saving changes this year and in 2007. Because of the seriousness of the situation, the W SFPI board and management reported this week to Tribal Council regarding the finan cial condition o f the enterprise. W SFPI board chairm an Mike Clements told Council that the mill is not about to close, “but we have some concerns that we want, to share. We have a lumber market now that is very challenging for us,” said Clements. Clements then told Council that Larry Potts, WSFPI general manager, would be resigning at the end of the year. The new general manager will be Mark Jackson, who has several years experience working in the timber and natural resource fields. It has been a goal o f the WSFPI board for the past several years to hire a tribal member as general manager, and with Jackson that goal will be ac complished, said Clements. The plan for an eventual change in management was adopted about two years ago, and Jackson was named to the successor role by the WSFPI board and Tribal Council. Potts said that he and Jackson will be working together for the next few months, preparing for the transition to new management. Potts then explained that the lum ber market has seen large price fluc tuation over the past 10 years. The current market, and the one forecasted for the rest of the year and into 2007 are among the lowest in at least a de cade. To maintain a safe amount of work ing capital, WSFPI needs to implement various cost-saving m easures, said Potts. For instance, the WSFPI incentives program — encouraging worker safety and on-time attendance — could be eliminated, for a savings o f close to $213,000 next year, and $55,500 for the rest of 2006. Through reduction in overtim e, WSFPI could save close to $360,000 next year, and $93,700 for the rest of 2006. A change in health insurance cover age could save $175,000 next year, and $33,670 for the rest o f this year. The change would involve eliminating cov erage of the em ployee’s spouse and dependants. Councilwoman Carol Wewa com mented the change in insurance cover age could be a serious hardship for some employees. Councilman Raymond Tsumpti said the changes have been discussed for a number o f years now, and the WSFPI board and administration have done a good job o f maintaining the benefits for as long as they have. 3-year program focuses on diabetes B y L e slie M itts Spilyay Tymoo American Indians suffer from some of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, and there is no known reason why. Montell Elliott, recruitment coor dinator for the Warm Springs Diabe tes Prevention Program, said “It’s just genetics.” It’s because o f that information that the Diabetes Prevention Program is so important to the Warm Springs com munity. The Diabetes Prevention Program is a three-year effort funded by a grant that the Diabetes Program, Commu nity Health and Community Wellness received. During the three years, participants attend a four-month class and continue to meet with a coach and receive help during the rest o f the time period. “They get care for all three years of the grant,” Elliot said, including foJ- low-up lab work. The Warm Springs program is one o f 36 other sites with the same cur riculum, Elliot said. Currently the pro gram is in the middle of its second class, which has 15 participants. The first class, which began last January, had 14. Elliot is helping to teach classes along with other staff members from the dia betes program. treatment was 14 and 15 years. The Housing Authority anti-drug and -alcohol policies were adopted earlier this year. The policies apply to people leasing or buying units from the hous ing authority. If found in violation o f the policies, a person is excluded from leased hous in g au th o rity units for at least 12 months. Also, purchase agreements can be terminated. Caroline Cruz, of the Oregon De partment o f Human Services, provides technical assistance to the tribes in her role as alcohol and drug prevention specialist. “Since A pril o f this year, people abusing alcohol or engaging in illegal drug activity in Warm Springs housing authority units have been sub ject to eviction,” said Cruz. “Tribal officials tell me no one has lost housing so far, but the new policy has led to more people getting into treatment and onto a path to recov ery.” She said, “When you get on a w ait ing list for housing, it can take years because housing is scarce,” Cruz said. “People are going to think twice about their behavior.” Besides the housnig consequences for adults and their families, the aware ness o f the new policy and resulting change in community norms should reduce underage drinking on the res ervation, and adults’ contributions to it. Cruz said that details about the Warm Springs model would be shared with the state’s eight other federally recognized tribes at a September quar terly meeting in Lincoln City. M eanw hile, she said, the D epart m ent o f Human Services O ffice o f M ental H ealth and A ddiction Ser vices has given the nine tribes $4,000 each to conduct surveys to obtain c o m m u n ity p ro file s o f u n d erag e drinking. She said she expects those results also to be presented at the September meeting. “The Warm Springs model is an ex cellent example of how people can take serio u s steps to a lter co m m un ity norms, influence behavior and improve personal and public health and quality o f life,” Cruz said. PRSRTSTD W arm Springs, OR 97761 Robert Charley and his son take a boat ride on Lake Billy Chinook (above), along with senior citizens and families who attended the Seniors Picnic at the Cove on August 24. Young people had the chance to swim (right), and eat along with their families at the Cove. Leslie Mitts photos See DIABETES on 9 Equipment to improve emergency response B y L eslie M itts Spilyay Tymoo Three groups came together to present a solution for the current lack o f emergency response com munication options to tribal admin istrators August 16. The groups— Science Applications International Corporation, Informa tion Processing Systems, and AAR— are working to make the process of communicating more efficient for tribal members. Rick Williams, regional director for Science Application International Corporation, a research and engi neering firm, said the groups came to present their equipment at the request of the tribes. The equipm ent would make it easier for entities (like the police department or Fire and Safety) to communicate. A c co rd in g to F ire C h ie f D an Martinez, that is something that Warm Springs currently lacks. “We just simply don’t have 100 per cent coverage,” he explained. “The objective is to get that coverage.” Now, he added, 45 to 50 percent of the reservation is lacking the necessary communication. IPS, Williams said, has “come up with a piece of equipment that allows different types o f radios to be con nected together.” AAR, he added, builds the equip ment into a structure and integrates the structure onto a truck. “In the past during firefighting sea son, sometime you have to have three or four different radios,” Williams said. The new system would aim to combine things— making the system simpler and more efficient. “We’re here to work with the tribe, listen and learn what the regulations are,” Williams explained. If the council chooses to work with these organizations, William said, they aim to improve emergency and routine communications as well as help with air and water quality monitoring. In addition, the upgrade would im prove em ergency coordination and potentially improve other things like telephone systems and wireless net works. Media sources would also benefit from the u p g rad ed e q u ip m en t, Martinez said—-ideally they would even be able to allow authorized users to view live-stream video from the loca tion o f the camera. While in Warm Springs, Williams said, they met with tribal administra tors, the fire chief, and representatives from the police department and natu ral resources. They also had the opportunity to meet with those in Power Enterprises and Eagle Tech. “We’ve been very impressed with the people we’ve met,” W illiam said. M artinez em phasized the idea o f purchasing this type o f equipment be fore it becomes a necessity. “We don’t want to buy this during a disaster,” he added. The equipment, he said, is “designed to be stationed at ground zero.” Martinez said the equipment would require four days o f training for 42 people, like dispatchers, hired to use the new resource. Currently M artinez said they are looking at grants in order to find the necessary funding. The cost for the upgrade is estimated at $800,000, Martinez said, and they hope to complete the project by the end o f 2008.
