July 5, 2 0 0 7
Spilyay Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Page 5
Bill to halt Metolius resorts fails
Children and adults had
the opportunity to learn
about making moccasins
recently through an
annual class with Culture
and Heritage. Mary Ann
Meanus (at left in photo
at right) taught the class
in the lobby of the
Museum at Warm
Springs.
About a dozen people
attended throughout the
three day class.
Among the students
Nicole (left, in picture
below) and Haley
Wahnetah made
moccasins during the
class.
' (A)?) - A bill that would
have halted development of
two destination resorts near
the Metolius River in Central
Oregon has died in commit
tee, lawmakers said.
Gov. Ted K u lo n g o sk i
sealed the fate o f the bill in a
letter condemning the pro
posal, saying it would be im
p ro p e r fo r lawmakers to
trrimp a Jefferson County
zoning decision and an ap
peal.
~"Xounty commjSg|oners^
citing a desire to collect ad
ditional property ;tax revenue,
mapped the two forestland
parcels for resorts in Decem
ber.
The county decision has
been appealed to the state
Land Use Board o f Appeals,
which is' the proper forum
for a zoning challenge, the gov
ernor wrote to state Rep. Diane
Rosenbaum, D -Portland, the
chairwoman o f the House El&>?
lions, Ethics and Rules Commit
tee^. • •
The bill had languished in her
committee since it cleared the
Senate a month ago.
“I support following the es
tablished processes for resolv-.
ing those challenges as they re
late to land use decisions,”
Kulongoski wrote. “For this rea
son, I do not support Senate Bill
30.”
T h e le tte r am ounts to a
promise o f a veto, and support
ers o f the legislation said Friday
there was no reason to pursue
the proposed measure any f a
ther.
. Still, the debate over the fu
ture of the river and the poten
tial impact o f the two resorts
is far from oVer.
“I am disappointed but
not dissuaded,” said state
Sen. B en W estlund, D -
Tumalo, who sponsored the
bill and saw it grow intp
statewide issue.
“This closes one chapter
in a book that I think will
have a better ending for one
o f O reg o n ’s special and
unique places,” W estlund
said.
He has supported resorts
in the past, but Said such de-
velopments don’t belong in
or near the Metolius River
Basin.
T h e river form s the
so u th e rn b o rd e r o f the
Warm Springs Reservation
before it ends at Lake Billy
Chinook.
— Introducing —
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S4I-4TS-6900
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5 4 I - 4 I O O - O 4 B # S 1 7 5 4 4 T
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96 B
Leslie Mitts/Spilyay
New director at Voc Rehab
B y L eslie M itts
m m Tymoo
A new director took control
o f the Vocational Rehab pro
g ram . last m o n th —r-David
C onroyi began- the positio n
along with“ his* 11 -year-old ser- jf
■vice dog, Zeust $
Conroy’s story is a compli-
¡cated one. He was born in Af
rica to Australian parents, and
[by the time he turned 16 years
old Conroy had traveled around
the world with his family three
;and a half times.
“My dad moved from coun-
itry to country like people move
across town,” Conroy explained.
Conroy originally came to
¿Oregon when his father, a min
ting engineer, took a job in Port
land.
A fter a position in Illinois
;and one in Indiana, Conroy said,
¡he wanted to return to Oregon,
j According to Conroy, “I ’d
ibeen trying to get back to Or
egon ever since I left it.” - .
! “I really call home two places:
¡Australia and Oregon,” Cotifoy
¡explained.
! C onroy m o st recen tly
(worked in a position as a voca-
¡tional rehab counselor for the
¡state o f Oregon. That job led
¡him to work extensively w ith
¡those p n the Umatilla Indian
'Reservation-—where Zeus was
David Conroy
known as an honored elder, he
said.
In fact, Zeus can be quite the
flirt when he’s not working, ac
cording to Conroy.
Zeus helps Conroy by per
forming a variety o f tasks: open
ing doors, answering phones,
helping him walk and balance
and can even take off socks and
pick a dime up off the floor.
“H e’s a very talented fellow,”
Conroy said. “He even helps my
wife with thè laundry.”
Conroy has held a variety o f
other positions ranging from
working with the hearing im
paired to working as director fqr
an independent living facility. In
general, he said, “I have, really,
a passion for helping people
make their lives better.”
“Working with people with
disabilities is not only a vocation
for me, it’s something that L re
ally love to do,” Conroy added.
His cross-cultural upbringing
also helps him in that line o f
work, Conroy said:
“I reahylove being in an en-r
. virpnment with different nation-
alities, different! languages and
different people and really build
ing bridges,” Conroy explained.
Conroy is married but does
not have any children-—only two
dogs and “a very pushy c a t”
As for his future in this area,
Conroy said, ‘W e really feel at
home here. As far as I know,
we’re here to stay.”
H e’s also excited about his
work at Vocational Rehab. “I
believe that not only I, but we
as an agency, are here to listen,
to learn and , to serve the
people,” Conroy said.
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