Spilyay Tyro
Jews, est. 1976
September 13, 2007
P.O.Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Vol. s2, No. 19
Date for adoption election delayed
B y Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
There has been a delay in die
tribal adoption election. The election
had been scheduled for October 11,
but the date will have to be resched
uled.
The Warm Springs office o f the
BIA, which is conducting the elec
tion for the tribes, became occupied
in recent months with the response
to the wildfires that were burning on
the reservation.
As a result, the voter registration
process has been delayed, and the
élection will have to be set for a later
date/ A specific date was not available
as of earlier this week.
In die past, the Confederated Tribes
have conducted the tribal adoption elec-
.tions.
There has been difficulty in recent
years, however, in reaching sufficient
voter turnout for a valid election.
The BIA process may help avoid this
result, as tribal members will have to
register to vote in the upcoming adop
tion election. In the tribal election,: a
turnout o f half the eligible voters is
required for a valid election. In the BIA*
process, a turnout o f half of the regis^
tefed voters is required, so the likeli
hood o f a valid election is greater.
The BÏA, with the assistance of tribal
Vital Statistics, is planning to mail out
about 4,000 envelopes to tribal mem
bers Over the age of 18. The will con
tain the voter registration form and a
stamped îetum envelope.
Tribal members who are interested
in voting in the election will have about
a month to return the completed regis
tration form, said Lori Anderson, BIA
administrative officer.
In thé upcoming adoption election,
all o f the candidates on the ballot will
be either voted into the tribe or not
voted in.
Previous adoption elections hâve’
considered each candidate individu
ally
Also, the candidates on the up
coming-ballot were not required to
live on the reservation for the pre
vious three years, as has been a quali
fication in the previous two adop
tion* votes, both of which failed for
lack of turnout.
The standards to qualify for the
ballot are that the person have one-
eighth Indian blood, and haveat least
ope ancestor who was a member of
the Confederated ;Ttibés of Warm
Springs., "
/ The last successful adoption elec
tion was conducted in 1996.
New school
year begins
Students have returned to school
at Warm Springs Elementary School,
the middle school and high school,
and to the various boarding and vo
cational schools andcollèges. "
At the elementary school* there
are 430 students, including the kin-"
dérgartners. Principal Dawn Smith,
said the elementary school teachers
aie àpprpàcl^Èma.tii iti a. different
way. ccWe weren’t " satis fiefi'wi th oyr
math scores,” she said. “So that’s
going to bé our focus.”
The new school year kicked off
with the Back-to-School BBQ. The
event provided 500. students with a
backpack and school supplies and
fed over900 meals. Sponsors in
cluded: Community Counseling,
Composite Products, Power Enter
prises, Ventures, Kah-Nee-Ta High
D esert Rèsort and Casino,
Brightw ood Corporation, Les
Schwab, Mountain View Hospital,
Warm Springs Elementary School,
Workforce Development Depart
ment, Johnson O’Malley Committee,5
Community Health, Chief Opera
tions Officer, KWSO, and the Tribal
Education Committee.
First-graders Amaya Bisland
(bottom of slide) and Gracie
WhitePlum take a break from
class during recess on the first
day of school.
Building taking shape for Credit Enterprise
B y Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo
The new Credit Enterprise building
•is nearing completion.
Construction should be done in
October, said Lori Fuentes, manager
!of the tribal Credit Enterprise.
The floor covering, landscaping and
parking lot of some of the aspects of
the building that still need to be done,
;said Fuentes.
The ground-breaking for the project
was in February, and construction has
proceeded substantially on time, she
said
Fourteen fixU-time Credit employees
will work in the building, which is .
9,200-square-feet in size.
There will be a drive-up window that
will be leased to a bank, said Fuentes.
The window could be shared between
ECRWSS
Postal Patron
Acquisition DepUSerials
and there will be a full-time 'ATM
machine in the tenfryway 6f the
building.
Credit will host a grand opening
atithe new building, once the enter
prise has moved from the Adminis
tration building to the new facilities.
Credit will be conducting a logo
contestv/ith a prize for the winning
entry, said Fuentes. The plan is to
announce the winner at the grand
opening. Look for more details re
garding the logo contest in the near
future.
The idea for the ntew Credit En
terprise building first came to the
Credit board several years ago.*
There
is a need, the board agreed,
The new Credit Enterprise building is scheduled for completion in October.
for more office space for Credit,
which became a self-funding enter
the bank and Credit, so that customers up for standard banking needs.
Part o f the building may also be prise about 10 years ago.;
can dirdp off Credit-related paperwork
at the window, as well as tise the drive- leased to a bank on a part-time basis,
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
U S. Postage
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Members
hear update
on gaming
B y Leslie M itts
Spilyay: Tymoo
Gaming board members presented
a master plan for Kah-Nee-Ta and the
future Bridge of the Gods Casino to
the public at a general council meeting
on Sept,TO. m
•Though many community members
expressed concern during a question
and answer portion of the evening, the
board members presented profitable
projections for the future.
1 '-According to'Garland Brunoe, gen
eral manager of Kah-Nee-Ta, part of
the master plan involves necessary up
grades to the Kah-Nee-Ta resort.
For instance, in the future they hope
to add attractions like paved bike trails
in addition to various architectural up
grades and landscaping changes.
That also includes upgrades that are
currently taking place.
This past year 54 newslot machines
were added and have befen doing well,
iri addition to a new in-house market
ing plan, he said.
Vihile they had planned to upgrade
the snack bars, Brunoe added, they
have not yet been able to due to a lack
o f available contractors.
However, he said, the plan to add a
second pool slide will be completed in
mid-October.
That should create additional rev
enues’^ he said, arid the resort is already
over budget this year - by about
$700,000.
Throughout the summer season this
year, Brunoe said, Kah-Nee-Ta em
ployed 76 youth workers and two
shuttle drivers.
Due to th e’success of the shuttle,
he added, they are considering expand
ing the route to Simnasho.
He views the summer youth work
program as ideal because it gives stu
dents the chance to become interested
in the hospitality afield at a young age
and progress in a-variety o f positions
over the years.
. Currently Kah-Nee-Ta employs ap
proximately 420 people, Brunoe said,
197 o f which are tribal members.'
Staff members are searching for a
new Director o f Finance, Brunoe
added, and have interviewed several
Candidates.
“That is a critical position,” Brunoe
explained.
;;;;;;Jgbr 2007, the reported projected
revenues will total $22 million. With
$18 million in projected expenses and
loan payments, the annual cash profit
is project at about $4 million.
Out o f that $4 million, $1.5 bullion
will serve as an annual distribution to
the tribal government. The test will
pay for ongoing major improvements
and for items out of the master plan—
such as contributions to the Bridge of
the Gods project in Cascade Locks.
. A,chart displaying projected profits
indicated that by 2011, revenues; for
Kah-Nee-Ta should total approximately
$26 million! At that point there will no
longer be loan payments, so projected
cash profits will total about $6 million.
There are various phases o f im
provement included in the master plari,
and one aspect involves adding in an
emphasis., on cultural immersion and
ethno-tourism in order to educate
guests more about local culture.
Another aspect of the master plan
involve? moving the tribes’ casino op
erations to the future Bridge o f the
Gods casino in Cascade Locks,
f For that project, the projected rev
enues for the first year total approxi
mately $242.1 million.
See GENERAL COUNCIL on 7
W
University of Oreqon Library!
Received on: 09-24-07
I
Spilyay tymoo