Spilyay tymoo., January 18, 2007, Page Page 10, Image 10

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(Continued from page 1)
Squiemphen, she said, sacri­
fices a lo t to have tim e to
chauffer the seniors.
As for his family (with four
children and two grandchildren),
Squiem phen said, “T h ey’ve
learned to share me with the rest
of our people.”
According to Squiemphen, “I
do this because 1 love my el­
ders.”
“I enjoy watching them have
a good time,” he added.
Plus, Squiemphen said, driv­
ing the seniors on these trips is
som ething that he knows is
helpful to them in the long run.
“I know it keeps their minds
active,” he said. “That’s good
medicine for them.”
And their minds aren’t the
only things active, Squiemphen
said. “These elders, they sleep
only four hours and they’re
ready to go again,” he said with
a laugh.
The stories are abundant and
punctuated by laughter as the
trio tells countless tales— like
the time when Squiemphen ac­
cidentally brought a pair of his
w ife’s jeans and tried to put
them on, or when they bought
a previous driver a birthday
present.
One year the seniors even
rented a van in order to travel
to a Blazers gam e that took
place on Honor Seniors Day.
“The Honor Seniors Day
took second fiddle for the
Blazer fans,” Squiemphen said
with a chuckle.
On one memorable occa­
sion, Squiemphen said, all of the
audience m em bers received
dolls that resembled player Bill
Walton.
many memorable experiences
Hatchery -
Leslie Mitts/Spilyay
Maxine Switzler, Lawrence “Kunya” Squiemphen and Faye Waheneka (from left).
After the referee made a bad
call, Squiemphen added, “All of
the Bill Walton dolls went fly­
ing onto the court.”
W aheneka said they have
even attracted police attention.
“We got stopped for speed­
ing—a busload of old people,”
she said with a laugh.
At one point, during a cross­
country trip through 10-states,
the bus was high-centered in the
middle of the road.
For that they even garnered
media attention and were fea­
tured on the evening news,
Waheneka jokingly explained,
“We have to be noticed the
minute we pull into town.”
“S o m eth in g alw ays h ap ­
pens,” Squiemphen said cheer­
fully.
During many of their trips,
Switzler said, they do a lot more
than just attend a sporting event.
“My favorite part is going out
to eat because 1 don’t have to
do the dishes w hen I am
through,” Switzler said.
She added, “Some like to go
shopping on our trips and some
go to the movies.”
According to Switzler, “We
go to places that if we depended
on our families to take us, we’d
never be there.”
They always stop at a bead
store, she said, or for other sup­
plies.
On a trip to New Mexico,
Switzler said, they were able to
go into the villages to trade for
silver and turquoise beads—
something villagers are eager to
do.
“We were even going to trade
my brother off one time,” she
said with a laugh.
But for Switzler, she said, “I
especially enjoy going to the
games. I’m a sports fan of all
kinds, I guess.”
“It really makes me feel good
to have the senior department
make it possible for us,” she
added. “The senior program has
really been a blessing.”
The trips often include at­
tending conferences, Waheneka
said, where she finds a variety-
f
January 18, 2 0 0 7
Spilyay Tÿmoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Seniors:
*
of subjects that are of interest
to her— like the decline of na­
tive languages or health issues.
For Squiemphen, what began
as a job ended up becoming
something much more mean­
ingful.
Through his work with the
senior program Squiemphen
was able to reconnect with fam­
ily members and get to know
them on a deeper level.
In his opinion, “It’s some-
thing that I think a lot of our
young people need to experi­
ence.”
The seniors are always sure
to travel with poise as well,
Squiemphen said.
He explained, “We do travel
to represent our tribes.”
“We always travel in dignity,”
Switzler said. “We always feel
like ambassadors for our tribes.”
As for their final thoughts on
the subject, the three said in
unison, “Go Blazers!”
All senior citizens are
e lig ib le to travel with
the S e n io r P ro g ram .
Ju st contact the Senior
Program at 553-3313 or
com e to noon lu n ­
cheons on T uesday or
Thursday to sign up to
go. Seniors can also ar­
range to travel on their
own.
(Continued from page 1)
“The water was just sit­
ting there instead of flow­
ing through and getting
oxygen to the fish, so they
basically suffocated.”
He said a w orker
checked the water tank be­
fore leaving and it looked
good. Because of the in­
stallation, an alarm system
that would have warned of
the problem had been
turned off.
T he h atch ery is co ­
managed by the tribes and
the federal government.
L o cated on the W arm
Springs River, the hatchery
supplies a majority of the
hatchery spring chinook
that swim that section of
the river, said Rod French,
district fish biologist for
the Oregon Fish and Wild­
life Department.
Once salmon leave a
hatchery, the fish head to
the ocean, where they will
typically stay for two years.
Along the way, a num­
ber of factors - such as
ocean conditions, river
conditions and their abil­
ity to get past two dams -
play a significant role in
their survival. A good rate
o f return to the Lower
Deschutes is 1 percent.
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