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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2008)
r Spilyay Tyrr C oyote News, est. 1976 A u g u st 14, 2 0 0 8 P.0. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 OREGON HISTORICAL 1230SW PAR KAVE PORTLAND, OR 97205 V oi. 33, N o . 17 ° 'ETY ECRWSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Gangs an ongoing risk for tribal youth B y D a ve M c M e c h a n Spilyay Tymoo Tribal Council heard a report re cently from the Public Safety Branch regarding gangs that are active on the reservation. Branch officials said the Police D e partment, with cooperation from other departments o f the tribes, has made sigriificant progress over the past year in trying to address the problem. The problem still exists, though, and is a threat to tribal youth. As part of the presentation to Council, Public Safety provided the following statistics to show the importance o f youth gang prevention: Ninety percent of active gang mem bers are arrested by the age of 18. Ninety-five percent of active gang members do not finish high school. Sixty percent of gang members are either incarcerated or dead by the age o f 24. In Warm Springs, 60 percent o f gang members are juveniles, some as young as 12 to 14 years old. Gangs are known to be active in the middle and high schools. There are an estimated 75 individu als who are active in gangs on the res ervation, according to the Public Safety report. “Gangs exist for one reason: to commit crimes,” an officer o f the Po lice Department told Council. Parents should be aware o f warn ing signs that indicate a child may be associating with a gang, the officer said. Some warning signs include: Loss o f interest in school; and a change in the manner o f the child’s speech. The child may begin dressing differently, emphasizing a particular color, usually blue, red or black. Gang members often get tattoos indicating their particular affiliation. Graffiti is an other sign that a gang is active in a par ticular neighborhood. Public Safety officials emphasize that the Police Department by itself cannot address the problem: “We cannot ar rest our way out o f this,” an officer said. Experience shows that a family’s in tervention works better than anything else in keeping a youth out o f a gang. ♦ Parents should be aware that a ma jor recruitment time for gangs are the hours after school and before the par ents get home from work. This fact underscores the importance o f orga nized after-school activities and youth clubs. As part o f the presentation to Coun cil, Police Chief Carman Smith and officers displayed some of the weap ons — knives and brass knuckles, for example — seized from gang mem bers. Following the presentation, Paiute Chief Joe Moses asked whether the tribes might take action to exclude non-tribal member gang members from the reservation. Public Safety Branch director Raymond Tsumpti said that many o f the non-tribal member gang members have been excluded. Councilman Wendell Jim sug gested that the tribes might consider disenrolling members who are de termined to be persistent gang mem bers who are determined to be a threat to tribal youth. Councilman Jim also said the tribes should develop a long-term plan for eradicating gangs from the reservation. Feasts open berry season 2 sentenced for shooting Victor Becerra Jr. and Daniel Arce were sentenced recently to federal prison terms, according to the Warm Springs Police Department. Becerra, 26, was sentenced to 45 months in prison. Arce, 19, was sen tenced to 29 months, according to the police report. The incident involved a shooting in Warm Springs in February o f 2007. The state Department o f Justice said last week that Becerra Jr. and Arce pleaded each guilty to a charge o f as sault resulting in serious bodily injury. Indian Park road closed for improvements The road to Indian Park will be closed beginning September 4 to accommo date improvements at the campground. The project is m andated by the Pelton-Round Butte license granted to the Confederated Tribes and Pordand General Electric by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Improvements at Indian Park will include renovation o f several camp sites, development o f a larger swim beach, a new boat ramp and moorage dock, removal o f unnecessary roads, bank stabilization, placement o f a wa ter tank, and new outhouses. Portions o f the road leading into the park will also be improved. The road will be reopened when the project is completed. Back to School Barbecue Aug. 28 Connie Daniels and Kate Jackson prepare the salmon. Dave McMechan/Spilyay At HeHe during the recent Huckleberry Feast, Rosalind Sampson, Alliayah Moran, Brittany Craig and Felcianna Conner (from left) prepare eels. The annual Back to School Bar becue and school supplies giveaway is scheduled for Thursday, August 28. The barbecue and supplies giveaway will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on the lawn behind the Family Resource Center on the campus. New 509-J superintendent shares views with Council B y L e s lie M itts Spilyay 'Tymoo School District 509-J Superinten dent Rick M olitar m et w ith Tribal Council last week. Molitar joined 509-J as superinten dent in July. Part o f the discussion with Tribal Council involved the current Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) ratings for the school district. Currentiy the majority o f schools in the 509-J district, including Warm Springs Elementary, are listed as not meeting AYP criteria. T h e federal A dequate Yearly Progress ratings m easure w hether schools are attaining standards set by the N o Child Left Behind Act. Performance is determined in the areas o f attendance, math, reading and graduation rates; and schools are scored in nine subgroups. The subgroups in clude ratings for students by race and various other areas. Metolius and Westside Elementary Schools are the only schools in the 509- J school district that met AYP standards. However, these findings are prelimi nary and the school district may file an appeal by Aug. 21. After that, the final AYP report will be issued on Sept. 4. Warm Springs Elementary Because this is the third strike against W arm Springs Elementary, MoEtar said, it could mean changes at the school as part o f a school improve ment plan. However, what those changes could be has not yet been determined. Ac cording to MoEtar, “I don’t know if they are going to be visible, drastic ac tions at the school.” While Warm Springs Elementary previously did not meet AYP standards w hen it came to attendance rates, MoEtar said, this year they fell short o f the mathematics standards. Hope is what we have to have and what we have to make available. 99 Rick Molitar In MoEtar’s opinion, however, it is unfair to compare the schools in the 509-J district to schools that don’t face similar chaUenges. “It didn’t account for 509-J and what we do have available for our students,” MoEtar said o f the AYP report. “And what we provide, I think, is a good edu cation.” He hopes to create a positive part nership with the tribes in order to help solve the problems the school district is facing, MoEtar said. And, he added, hope is key. “Hope is what we have to have and w hat we have to make available,” MoEtar said. . As part o f his new job with the dis trict, MoEtar added, he wants to make a focus on improving instruction and academic achievement his number one goal. District finances When it comes to the district’s fi nancial difficulties, MoEtar said, “I see there is a Eght at the end o f the tun nel.” * Molitar moved to the area from Eastern Washington, where he worked for seven years and had managed a dis trict with financial problems much Eke the 509-J school district. After resolving problems in that dis trict, MoEtar said, he was vacationing in Central Oregon with his wife and two children and became interested in the area. His children will begin attending lo cal schools this fall: MoEtar’s 11-year- old son wiU attend Jefferson County Middle School, while his 10-year-old daughter will go to Buff Elementary School. Part o f the appeal o f moving to Madras was the diversity, MoEtar said. “I want my children to grow up in a diverse culture,” MoEtar explained. MoEtar’s wife is also an educator and wiU be working as a part-time pro fessor for George Fox University. Previously M olitar w orked as a teacher in science and math, and his hobbies include fishing, he said. As for the school district, MoEtar said, he feels the community is ready to work with administration to remedy any problems they might be facing. “ I ’m very excited a b o u t w hat brought me here and aU o f the chal lenges that Ee ahead o f us,” MoEtar said. He also hopes that parents will strive to communicate their concerns to the school district. See SUPERINTENDENT on 7
