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.