Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2009)
Spilygy T ym o o , \t\l2vm Springs, O regon Jgnusry 29, 2009 Page 5 Texting can be a type of stalking B y M a r k M a tth e w s V ic tim s o f C rim e Services Your teenager just g ot an other threatening text, the fifth threatening text message that has been received in the past day. ■ W hat are you going to do? T eens, th e ir p aren ts, an d other victims o f repeatedly ha rassing, annoying or threatening text messages often feel scared, or at least repeatedly annoyed. However, the cell phone own ers may n o t understand th at threatening and annoying re peated unwanted text messaging is criminal. January is National Stalking Awareness M onth, and victim advocates at the Tribal Victims o f Crime Services, plus victim advocates across the country, are using the m onth o f January as an opportunity to educate the public about stalking— the per vasive crime that affects nearly 1.4 million Americans a year. Type of stalking Repeated, unwanted text mes saging are a type o f stalking. Stalking and harassment are crimes on the W arm Springs Indian Reservation. All 50 states have passed laws that make it illegal to engage in stalking— usually defined as a course o f conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The Warm Springs tribal code fo r the crim e o f S talking is WSTC 305.180, which states: “Stalking: Any Indian who shall knowingly alarm or coerce another person or a member o f that person’s immediate family or household by engaging in re peated, unwanted contact with the other person where the re peated and unw anted contact causes the victim reasonable ap prehension regarding the per sonal safety o f the victim or a mem ber o f the victim’s imme diate family or household, shall be deemed guilty o f stalking.” Jail and fine The maximum fine for a con viction o f the tribal crime o f stalking is either a $5,000 fine, one year in jail, or both. The tribal court has the pow er to exclude non-members if a per son is convicted o f stalking or any other tribal crime. A c c o rd in g to V ictim s o f Crime Services, som e o f the stalking cases on the reservation have in v o lv ed m u ltip le u n wanted text messages and tele phone calls to the stalking vic tims. O ther stalking cases on the reservation include repeated, unwanted contact by a form er intimate partner. W arm Springs Police Sgt. Paul Jim estimates that he has responded to about 12 to 18 of fensive text messaging cases in 2008. T his does h o t include those offensive text messaging stalking cases reviewed by ser geants Mobley and White. Victims should report the of fending text message stalking to tribal police and carefully docu m ent evidence by writing down the times, dates, and places they are stalked. They should keep e-mails, phone messages, letters, notes, and anything sent by the stalker. Victims should also alert friends, family m em bers, room m ates, and co-workers about the stalk ing and enlist their support and help. Sammy Bruised H ead, the Victims o f Crime Services su pervisor advocate, reminds cell phone owners to “save all your threatening text messages be cause they are evidence. Victims can either forward the offend ing text message to the tribal police as an email, or take the cell phone to the police so they can take a photograph or copy o f the text message.” V ictim cell p h o n e ow ners may not understand that stalk ing is criminal. A nd what they don’t know about stalking may jeopardize their lives. Stalking behavior can range from annoying and intrusive to terrifying and dangerous. Stalk ing can escalate to violence and-—in the w orst-case situa tions— murder. To d efeat tex t-m assag in g stalkers, both victims, police, and communities must take stalking seriously. V ictim s o f an n o y in g o r threatening text messages should call 911 and have the W arm Springs Police D epartm ent take a report and do a follow-up in vestigation. They can also receive support from V ictim s o f C rim e Ser vices, the tribal victim ’s assis tance departm ent. VOCS can help victims devise a safety plan, learn about the tribal laws, ac cess other services, and take ad ditional steps, such as seeking a tribal restraining order. Family members, friends and the tribal community can sup port stalking victims by listen ing, showing support, and never b lam in g th e v ic tim fo r th e crime. They can also discourage text message stalking and other stalking-type o f behavior. Victims need to know that help is available. They can call VOCS at 553-2293 during of fice hours, or at 553-1171 on weeknights and weekends. And o f course, they can call tribal police dispatch at “911” at any time. Victims can also call 1- 800-FYI-CALL, the N ational C enter for V ictim s o f Crime Helpline, or visit www.ncvc.org for help w ith stalking o r any other crime. I f you are being stalked or if you know o f a stalking vic tim, call the Warm Springs Po lice Dispatch on the 911 emer gency télephone for immediate resp o n se and assistance. Re member, you are n ot alone, the W arm Springs Police D ep art m ent and Victims o f Crime Ser vices D epartm ent are here to help. T he preceding inform ation on stalking is presented by the Warm Springs Victims o f Crime Services D epartm ent with fac tual information provided by the Stalking Resource Center, N a tional C enter for V ictim s o f Crime, www.ncvc.org/src. (V O C S is partially funded byfhe O V C ’s T V A grant no. 2 0 0 6 - V R - G X -0 0 1 7 (U SD O J) and the Family Violence Prevention Services A c t grant, A d m n . For Children & Fami lies (U S H & S S ). Points o f view pre sented here are those o f V O C S and not the U S Dept. o f Justice or U S D epti Health & H um an Services.) University schedules distance learning orienation in W.S. Eveyone is invited to an E astern O regon University o rie n ta tio n session fro m 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5 upstairs in the Educa tion building. An advisor from the uni versity will be on hand to dis cuss the university and its distance education programs. Many students in the re gion are already working to wards degrees with majors in anthropology/sociology, busi- ness administration or eco nomics, English, fire services administration, physical activ ity and health, philosophy, politics, psychology and lib eral studies. C om e to th e u p sta irs training room in the Educa tion building to learn more. For further inform ation, call the Eastern Oregon Uni versity regional cen te r in Bend, 385-1137. Meetings set on IRMP Integrated R esource Management Plan meet ings are being scheduled to review comprehensive developm ent plans fo r the Warm Springs and Simnasho community ar eas. Plans are also being developed for other res ervation areas, and meet ing participants are in vited to learn how they can help shape future devel opment in their communi ties. The meetings will start at 6 p.m. and will be held at Simnasho on Tuesday, F eb rua ry 10; and in W arm S prings on W ednesday, F e b ru a ry 11. For more information please contact the Plan ning Department at 553- 3270. FENDERS by ENDRES Panel discusses victim impacts of DUII B y M a rk M a tth e w s V ic tim s o f C rim e Services The Driving U nder the In fluence Victims Im pact Panel m e t in M adras e a rlier th is month. During the meeting, the au dience listened to seven speak- e rs^ -E liz a Jim , G ene Smith, Demus Martinez, Fawn Begay, K ate R orher, F oster K alam a and myself—describe how driv ing under the influence traffic crashes, involving fam ily or friends, have affected their lives. Kate Rorher noted that this was the fiftieth time that she has talked to a group about how the D U II death o f a close friend affected her. T h e re w ere a to ta l o f 21 m an d a to ry a tten d ees at th e meeting, including five juveniles. They attended this D U II Vic tim Im pact Panel in accordance to their treatm ent program, ju venile caseworker, or sentenc ing judge. O ne o f the attendees was discovered to have alcohol on his breath. This individual is on probation, and was taken to the J efferson County Jail by the pro bation officers, where he blew a .05 blood alcohol content on the intoxilyzer. H e was detained at the jail on a probation viola tion arrest. He did not get credit for attending this D U II Victims Im pact Panel. T he fo rfeited fee was d o nated to the Jefferson County EMS (ambulance service) vol unteer training. A slide show, called Trauma N urses Talk Tough, was p re sented at the end o f the meet ing. This visual im pact program shows slides o f wrecked D U II cars and the victims, living and deceased, with a short narrative emphasizing the importance o f n o t driving after consuming al cohol and using seatbelts and child safety seats when driving. Jefferso n C ounty Juvenile Officer Liz Littledeer attended the session, as an invited guest and observer. There were three designated d rivers/parents o f juveniles in attendance, w ho were n o t charged any fees to attend. D is tric t a tto rn e y S teve LeRiche, and the newest deputy district attorney will be the in vited guests for the next D U II Victims Im pact Panel. I would like to thank Rich ard Vigil and Brad M ondoy o f the Jefferson County Probation D epartm ent/A dult Community Corrections for their assistance with set-up, registration, and se curity. Thank you to Will Bean for the use o f the Trauma Nurses T alk T o u g h slide p ro g ram . Thank you Frank O -H eam for interpreting English to Spanish. The next V IP in Madras is set for 7 p.m ., Tuesday, April 14 in Madras. Please contact me at 325-1517. O r sen d an em ail to: m arkm adras@ hotm ail.com . I f you have any suggestions or comments about improving the VIP, or if you know o f anyone w ho m ight be a speaker at a future VIP, please contat me. (Note: V ictim s o f Crime Services is exploring the idea o f establishing a D U II victims impact panel in Warm Springs. The hope is to have the panel in place by the middle to end o f this year. A nyone interested should call V O C S a t 553-2293.) Fast, Courteous 24-Hour Service. Accident Recovery. Insurance Roll Back, for damage-free Towing approved. Statewide coverage 475-6491 office, or 480-9685 IjlosJfiiBBsiirflBiiKiisr A il Products Prepared Fresh Daily Entrees Roasted Daily Featuring Hand Cut USDA Choice Steaks BREAKFAST - LUNCH - DINNER f e d i t o A r id t o d C rtofe 2132 Wtom Springs Æ f e » Springs, OR 97761 ¡541)5531597 4// Major Credit Cards Served D ay A ll Senior Menu • Children's Menu • Daily Specials f f l $. W. 4th Street, Madras • 475-6632 Best Food In Town. OPCH 6 a m -to pm DAILY No Kidding!
