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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2008)
RO. Box 870 'prings, OR 97761 Spi lyay Tym C oyote News, est. 1976 March 13, 2 0 0 8 SO c \^ ECRWSS Postal Patron Voi. 33, No. 6 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Members support casino at hearing B y L eslie M itts “I think wonderful things will happen... and we truly do need it. ” Spilyay Tymoo The proposed Bridge of the Gods Casino drew mostly supportive com ments at the first of five public hear ings last week. Nearly 40 people testified at the hearing in front of a crowd of more than 200 people at Kah-Nee-Ta. T ribal C ouncil C hairm an R on Suppah spoke of support for the ca sino that he has seen coming from vari ous o u tle ts, in clu d in g G o v e rn o r Kulongoski. Suppah also said he be lieves the casino is necessary due to recent economic problems. I “I cannot overstate the significance rif this project to our tribes’ future,” Suppah said. While K ah-Nee-Ta has provided some employment and revenue for the tribes, Suppah added, it is severely lim ited because o f the remote location. In Suppah’s opinion, “Only a Gorge loca tion can meet the need to improve eco nomic self-sufficiency.” ' Gerald Smith, chief operations of ficer for the tribes, spoke of the eco nomic difficulties currently challenging tribal members: with over 28 percent o f tribal members unemployed, and 33 percent o f families living below the poverty level, the need for an increase o f jobs is evident, he said. “T he tribe simply has no other Rosalind Sampson Leslie Mitts/Spilyay Leona Ike addresses the casino DEIS forum at Kah-Nee-Ta. choice,” he explained. Raymond Tsumpti commented on problems like a current housing short age, and spoke o f the tribes’ connec Sm ith wins Golden Gloves Warm Springs boxer Jasper Smith won the Oregon Golden Gloves cham pionship last weekend in Milwaukee. Smith, 18, is a senior at Madras High School, and a member o f the Warm Springs Boxing Club, coached by Austin Smith Sr. and Vernon Smith Sr. Jasper is the first Warm Springs boxer to win the Golden Gloves. “It made me feel proud,” said his grandfather Alvis Smith Sr., “because boxing is in our blood. H e’s following the old ways.” Jasper’s accomplishment is great, Alvis Sr. said, because boxing is the toughest sport. “It’s one on one,” he said. “You go in the ring alone. If you lose, you lose alone, and if you win, you win alone. Spilyay Tymoo Jasper Smith There are very few kids who can do it, because it is a tough sport, but once you win you win forever.” B y L eslie M itts Lynn Fluhr is serving as the new acting fire chief for Warm Springs Fire and Safety, and she’s no stranger to the demands o f the job. In addition to working for two fire departments and running a long-haul trucking company with her husband, Lynn has two sons: Zack, 8, and Aaron, 1. Fluhr, 29, has worked in the fire services industry for over 12 years. > She has served as the fire chief for the South Sherman Fire District for six years, and also works as their budget bfficer and secretary. Her list of credentials and experi ence shows an obvious dedication to the fire services industry: she works as an instructor, 911 Tri-County Commu- hication Executive, serves on the Sherman County Fire Defense Board, and works as a liaison between the Bureau of Land Management. Fluhr also serves as a reserve deputy for the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office. Before beginning to work as the ac tive fire chief, Fluhr also worked for Warm Springs Fire and Safety full-time as a firefighter/EMT. After being born and raised in Warm Springs, Fluhr said, she views it as an honor to be working in her home com munity. For now, it also means traveling to and from Sherman County on the week ends. It’s made possible, she said, because o f excellent staff members-—and a lot o f delegation for her job in Sherman County. As for her children, Fluhr said, they have practically been raised in the fire station. In fact, her son Zack said, “It’s fun. I just,get to hang out with the firefighters.” See FLUHR on 8 connection to the Cascade Locks area. “Cascade Locks is 37 miles from our reservation boundary, b u t Cascade Locks is our sacred, ancient homeland,” See CASINO on 9 Progress on fish passage at dam B y D ave M cM echan Fluhr serving as acting chief of Fire and Safety Spilyay Tymoo tion to the Columbia River. “The opportunity to go back home is now,” Tsumpti said. Leona Ike also spoke o f the tribes’ Ike said. “O ur spirit still resides there and has never left.” Arlita Rhoan spoke o f the contro versy surrounding a potential long com mute for tribal members who would travel to Cascade Locks for work. “Our Indians traveled from many, many years back,” Rhoan said. “Trav elling really isn’t nothing to us.” Lyle Rhoan said the tribes have al ways respected the land and know how to care for it. “We were taught, being Godly people, stewardship over this earth,” Rhoan explained. In addition, Rhoan said, “Econom ics tells me that we need to move- to the river.” “I see big things that could happen for our people down there,” he added. Dylan Miller, 13, spoke o f his hope for the future and his desire to eventu ally be able to attend college and have a career. “The Cascade Locks casino will help me to do that,” he said. By this time next year the fish passage facility at Round B ütte dam is scheduled to begin operat ing, according to the construction schedule for the project. The tribes and PG E are co-own- ers o f the hydro dam, and the fish passage project is part o f the fed eral relicensing agreement among the tribes, PGE, federal and state agen cies and other groups. “This is a significant project for the tribes,” said Jim Manion, man ager o f Warm Springs Power & Wa ter Enterprises, speaking last week at the annual Pelton-Round Butte fisheries workshop. “When it comes to fish migrating the Deschutes, the tribes take a very serious and engaged look at what needs to be done,” said Manion. He said the tribes, P G E and oth ers have been working hard over the past 10 plus years on the fish pas sage project, “And I ’m looking for- ward to seeing this project come to completion, and see a fishery restored over the next year.” Manion and about 100 other inter ested parties met for the fisheries work shop last week at the fairgrounds in Madras. The workshop began with an overview o f the fish passage project, which is large endeavour financially and environmentally. Through the $90-million investment, the tribes and P G E are hoping to re open 226 upstream miles o f river to salmon and Steelhead migration. The upper reaches o f river have been inaccessible to anadromous fish since the 1960s, when the dams were built. The problem has been the lack o f downstream current in Lake Billy Chi nook. Salmon and steelhead trying to migrate downstream have been unable to find their way through the lake be cause o f the weak or sometimes back ward flowing current. To address the problem, the tribes and P G E are constructing a facility called the selective water withdrawal tower, located in the lake just be hind Round Butte dam. The 273-foot tall tower will draw in water from the lake, creating a Current to guide downstream mi grating fish. The fish will be drawn into the facility, where they will be separated according to size. Fish that are ready to migrate dow nriver to the ocean will be trucked from the collection facility past the dam and released into the Deschutes. The tower’s draw o f warmer wa ter o ff the surface o f Lake Billy Chinook will also keep the reservoir cooler in the summer, creating a healthier environment for fish. The original fish collection facil ity at the reregulating dam will be used to collect the returning adult fish. The hope is that the project will bring spring Chinook and sockeye salmon to the Metolius River and steelhead to the Crooked River to Bowman Dam, and the Deschutes River to Big Falls near Redmond. Arcade set to open this month at Plaza The Playstation @ Express Shop is set to be the newest addition to the Warm Springs Plaza. The business will feature a lounge and arcade aimed at local youth, as well as a 24-hour ATM and a DVD rental machine. The grand opening o f the business will be on March 24 at 10 a.m. Quantae Cole is overseeing the busi ness, and said it will be run entirely by the youth. Because o f that they’ll be working with W ED to train involved youth in everything from writing business plans, work skills, dressing for success and business management. “It’s an arcade, yes, it’s a lounge yes, but we’ll be doing more services than just that,” Cole said. One benefit the business will bring to the community is an increase in ac tivity. “It will bring more not only locals here to the area but it will bring tour ists who are coming in,” Cole said. “It will put Warm Springs on a bet ter map, as far as n o t only youth ser vices, b u t side a ttractio n s,” Cole added. T h ough they’re geared tow ards youth, Cole said, all ages are welcome. “The reason we’re opening on the 24th is because that’s spring break,” Cole explained. “We’re excited to have agreed that that will be the opening date. We’re hoping that a big turnout comes.” The Playstation @ Express Shop will be open from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m., and Cole said that gives local youth a safe place to socialize in the evenings. “The kids already come to Eagle Tech for computer usage. They’re there until they close. This will provide them several options,” Cole said. See ARCADE on 9
