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