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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2008)
Spi lyay Ty m P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1230 SW PARK AVE. PORTLAND, OR 97205 "PRSRTSTD C oyote News, est. 1976 February 28, 2008 Voi. 33, No. . 5 Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Partial mill closure displaces workers Tribal Council last w eek directed the initiatio n o f steps n ecessary for a con ditio nal closure o f the W arm Springs Forest Products Industries lum ber mill. H ow m any jobs w ill be lost as a re su lt o f the closure w as n o t yet clear as o f earlier this w eek. The mill closure is necessary because o f sagging tim ber and lum ber prices, and b y years o f unprofit able operations, tribal officials said. In the years since 2000, the m ill was able to m ake a p ro fit o nly at the high p oin t o f the lum ber m arket. L o sse s a t the m ill o v er a re c e n t se v en -year p erio d , fro m 2000-2006, totaled $9.8 m illion. W ithout subsidy from the C onfederated Tribes, the mill w ould have been forced to close a long tim e ago, officials said. “T his is n o t a com plete shutdow n” said R o n S u p p ah , c h a irm a n o f the Tribal Council. “We w ill keep a reduced crew to carry out chipping operations that are curren d y profitable along w ith other opportunities that m ay arise un til w e com e up w ith a lon g range plan. T h e Tribe has 400,000 acres o f forest and w e n eed som e tim e to determ ine h o w this valuable resource can be best used for the benefit o f tribal m embers.” “W arm Springs Forest Products has som e o f the m o st dedicated em ploy ees in the saw m illing business,” said M ark Ja c k so n , m ill c h ie f ex e cu tiv e officer. “T he im p act to us, our fam ilies and the co m m un ity w ill b e a h eavy blow. Extrem ely adverse m arket condi tions have m ade it econom ically unfea sible to maintain historic mill operations.” T h e conditions, he said, include a severe dow nturn in the housing m ar kets expected to extend deep into 2009; e le v e n m o n th s o f u n s o ld h o m e s ; m o n th s o f p rim a ry an d se c o n d a ry m anufacturing inventories, prom pting som e p u rch asers to can cel o r d elay orders; a reduced forest h arvest, and steadily declining lo g size that the m ill w as n ot designed to run. T h e current m ill, he said, is aging and has production costs that are m uch h igh er than co m p etin g h igh vo lu m e m ills that m ove logs through at a m uch faster rate. D ue to lo w or non-existent profits in recen t years the m ill has not had funds, needed to m odernize. The Tribal Council directed the tribal organization to develop m easures to m itigate adverse im pacts to m ill em ployees and their fam ilies and set in m otion the tribal appropriations p ro cess to m ake funds available to deal w ith closure im pacts. “We w ill also be providing w orkers w ith appropriate severance packages,” said Charles Calica, Secretary-Treasurer for the Tribe. In accordance w ith a T ribal C ouncil m otion, the Finance D ep artm ent w ill be p o stin g a p ro p o sed supplem ental b ud get o f $2,750,000 to help defray the anticipated costs o f the conditional m i l l closure. T h e p o stin g w ill be goin g up later this w eek or early next w eek, and then m ailed out to each household. T he supplem ental process takes a m ini m u m o f 90 days , and involves askin g fo r c o m m u n ity in p u ts a t m u ltip le longhouse m eetings w h ich are still to be scheduled. Hearings on casino study begin next week B y D ave M cM echan S p ily d y T ym oo A series o f five public hearings on the BIA’s draft environm ental im p act study o f the Confederated Tribes’ gorge casino project begins next w eek. The first hearing w ill be from 6-8:30 p.m. on M onday, M arch 3 in the W asco R oom at K ah-N ee-T a Lodge. L ater in the m o n th , the B IA w ill c S n a u c tm ie e n e S l^ g s a r cllfifereni: lo- cations at th tigo rg e, and one 'In P o rt land. T ribal m em bers are encouraged to attend the K ah-N ee-Ta hearing, and others if they w ish, and to give their com m ents on th e’draft EIS. “It is im portant that tribal m em bers com e forw ard and have their voices heard,” said Ron Suppah, Tribal Coun cil chairm an. A s the draft E IS indicates, he said, the casino project is the b est lon g-term w ay o f addressing the tribes’ econom ic future. A s the draft E IS also indicates, the C ascade L ocks alternative is the best alternative for the environm ent, said Suppah. “T h e revenues and jobs created by the C ascade Locks casino w ill b est ad dress the T rib e’s current dire financial and hum an needs, w hile having the least im p act on the environm ent,” he said. “A fter review ing the draft EIS, it is hard to understand w h y anyone w ould stand in our way. A lthough w e know there are those w ho oppose us, b o l stered b y the positive findings o f the draft E IS w e are pro ceedin g forw ard w ith dignity and confidence that w e w ill Shitike Creek realignment subject of meetings Scoping meetings on the proposed re-alignm ent o f Shitike C reek dow n stream o f the C o m m un ity C en ter B ridge w ill be held next w eek. M e e tin g s are set fo r T u esd ay, M arch 4 at the Com m unity W ellness C enter from noon to 2 p.m .; and on T h u r s d a y , M a rc h 6 a t A g e n c y L onghouse from 6 to 8 p.m. A ll tribal m em bers are invited to atten d an d o ffer their com m ents. Sandw iches and drinks w ill be p ro vided. R epresentatives from the N atu ral R esources Branch w ill provide an overview o f the pro po sed project and an sw er questions from the au dience. T h ey w ill also record tribal m em b er com m ents and use them in de v e lo p in g a p r o je c t a s s e s s m e n t, w hich w ill establish a fram ew ork for im plem entation. T h e p rim a ry o b je c tiv e s o f th is project are to p ro tect the sew age la goons from future flooding and to im p ro ve fish h ab itat in S h itik e C reek. Funds to m ove the creek channel w ill com e from the N atural Resources Con servation Service and from the Pelton R ound B utte Fund. O ver the years, periodic flooding and developm ent in the floodplain h ave re sulted in the straightening o f the stream ch an n el, said h ab itat b io lo gist S co tt Turo. W ith the n ew design , the stre am w ould have m ore m ean der bends and follow a path very sim ilar to w here it w as located in 1938, said Turo. “T hese kinds o f p ro jects in vo lve essen tially reconstructing the stream channel,” he said. W o rk lik e th is h a s b e e n d o n e throughout O regon and the Pacific N orthw est, b ut nothing to this scale has ever been com pleted on the res ervation, said Turo. To com plete the reconstruction, Turo said, N atural R esources w ill be usin g w oo d to build lo g jam s in or d e r to c re a te m e a n d e rs fo r th e stream to follow. In these m eander bends large en gin eered logjam s w ould use energy from the stream to create pools for m igrating adult fish and juvenile fish to grow. Side channels w ill also be created to provide additional habi tat for juvenile fish, esp ecially dur in g high flows. R ig h t n o w th e s tre a m flo w s quickly and is w ide and shallow. T hat do esn ’t allo w for quality fish h abi tat, Turo said. succeed.” T h e draft E IS is an extensive study o f various site alternatives, h o w each alternative m ight ben efit the tribe, and h ow each m ight im p act the environ ment. T he draft E IS shows that the C as cade Locks site is the b est alternative: T h e o th e r a lte rn a tiv e s e ith e r h a v e greater environm ental im pacts, or do not generate revenue sufficient to ad- dt'css the lon g-ferh i econom ic self-suf ficiency" o f the tribes. T he draft E IS can be view ed on the Intern et at w w w .gorgecasin o eis.co m . T ribal m em bers can also subm it their com m ents from that site, or b y m ail to the BIA . C om m ents m u st be received by M ay 15. W ritten com m ents and oral statem ents can also be subm itted at the public hearings. C op ies o f the d raft E IS, an d a c cess to the In te rn et are also a v ailab le at the T rib al P lan n in g D e p artm e n t in the A d m in istra tio n B u ild in g , an d at th e lib ra ry a t th e F a m ily R e so u rc e C en ter. In te rn e t access is also av a il ab le at the E ag le T ech T eep ee D eli at th e P laza. T h is Friday, Feb. 29, the casino am bassadors team w ill host an open house from 9 a.m . till 4 p.m . at the W arm Springs M arket. O n Saturday, M arch 1, the team w ill host another in fo rm a tion m eetin g on the draft E IS at K ah- N ee-Ta. T h is is a ch an ce for p eo p le to ask q u estio n s o f the g o rge casin o team , an d to re c e iv e an y te c h n ic a l su p p o rt th e y m ig h t n eed in p rep arin g th eir statem en ts. See CASINO on 8 Production company plans to film part of movie on the reservation A n in d ep en d en t film co m pan y is plan n in g to shoot p art o f m ovie on the reservation. T h e film com pany has applied for land-use perm issio n from the tribes to sh o o t film on the re se rv a tio n fro m M arch 24-A p ril 4. T h e benefits to tribes o f this project include jobs for local residents as ex tras, or m inor roles in the production, said U rbana Ross, tribal land services adm inistrator. H aving the film crew on the reser vation w ould also generate significant revenue at K ah -N ee-T a R eso rt, she said. T h e film p ro ductio n crew m ay reserve up to 100 room s at the resort durin g their stay on the reservatio n , said Ross. The crew would also increase local sales and service revenues, she said. T he film crew is p lan n in g to shoot p art o f the m ovie at the G reeley hom e- site o ff H igh w ay 3. C h arley C anyon and W ebster Flat are also on the list o f locations. T h e W ebster F lat area w ould b e used d u rin g the first p art o f the filming, in late M arch. The C harley C an yon site w ill be used from A p ril 1-A pril 4, according to the film schedule. T h e m ovie is called T he H eretic, “a film that posits w h at w ou ld h appen if Jesu s w alked am o n g us today,” acco rd in g to the film synopsis. “T h e film tells three different stories o f three m essi anic figures.” T h e m ovie w as w ritten b y A c a d e m y A w a rd w in n e r T im R o b b in s { S h a w sh a n k R e d e m p tio n ) . R obbins is also d irecting the film. T h e reservation in the p ast has been used for m ovies, including T onk a and T h ree W arriors, am ong others.
