Spilyay tymoo., December 03, 2009, Page 5, Image 5

Spilygy Tyrooo, Wgrro Springs, Oregon
December 3 ,2 0 0 9
Page 5
Mystery novel has local connection
R u sh fo rd said. “H e is m y ex­
p e rt.”
By Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
e rv atio n m any tim es over the
T h e tw o m ain characters o f
the novel take over an F B I in ­
vestigation after the bod y o f a '
se n a to r’s niece is fo u n d ju st o f f
th e reservation. D o e s th e m ur­
d e r have som ething to do w ith
th e state sen ato r’s o p p o sitio n to
th e G o rg e casino?
“W ith this novel, as well as
w ith th e first three in the series,”
R u s h fo rd says, “Ja m e s a n d I
based th e stories o n real cases
he h a d w orked on. Since they are
novels, they are fiction. B u t w e
u se d m u ch o f the sam e CSI de­
tails a n d te c h n iq u e s th a t m y
O S P detective friend has used
o r has know ledge of.”
years, a n d h e r c o -au th o r know s
a n u m b er o f tribal law en fo rce­
m e n t officers. “H e ’s a detective
fo r th e O re g o n State Police,”
R u sh fo rd says th a t she has
m u ch resp ect w h en it com es to
N ative A m erican tradition and
the petroglyph She Who Watches,
T h e f o u r t h n o v e l in th e
p o p u lar M cA llister Files series,
b y P a tr ic ia R u s h f o r d a n d
H arriso n Jam es, is tided She Who
Watches, taking its nam e from the
petroglyph along the C olum bia
River.
R u sh fo rd says she chose She
Who Watches as the tide after she
d id s o m e r e s e a r c h o n th e
petroglyph.
“M y c o -au th o r suggested it,”
R u sh fo rd said, “ and I am fasci­
n a te d w ith p e tr o g ly p h s a n d
o th e r artifacts.”
M uch o f th e novel is set in
P o rtlan d and Vancouver. H o w ­
ever, som e events take place in
W arm Springs.
R u sh fo rd says th a t she and
h e r family have b e e n to the res-
Book cover of She Who
Watches
a n d she looks forw ard to visit­
in g th e G o rg e casino w h e n it
becom es a reality.
R u sh fo rd ’s first boo k , Have
You Hugged Your Teenager Today,
w a s p u b lis h e d in 1983. H e r
novel, Silent Witness, w as n o m i­
n ated fo r an E d g a r A llen Poe
Award.
H e r advice to p e o p le w h o
w ould like to b ecom e a w riter?
“W rite so m e th in g ev ery day,
w h e th er it’s a story o r a p o e m
o r a jo u rn al e n try ... a n d read
v e ra c io u s ly , m a n y d i f f e r e n t
books.”
T h e C h r i s t ia n m y s te r y
M cA llister Files series includes
Secrets, Lies and A libis, Deadfall,
and Terminal 9.
F o r m o re in fo rm atio n o n the
M c A llis te r F ile s , v is it th e
a u th o r’s W eb site: www.patricia
ru sh fo fd .c o m .
Births
LaR ose M arie H optowit
L ance H u n te r Boise and
D a w n Jacquelyn H o p to w it
o f W arm Springs are pleased
to a n n o u n c e th e b ir th o f
their daughter LaR ose M arie
H o p to w it, b o rn o n N o v e m ­
ber-18, 2009.
LaRose joins three sisters,
Danielle, Ikeana and Tam era.
G r a n d p a r e n t o n th e
father’s side is E l i s a b e t h A n n
Yaw o f W arm Springs.
G r a n d p a r e n t s o n th e
m o th e r’s side are T am era Jay
K a lam a o f W arm Springs,
an d D o n d i Jay H o p to w it of
W arm Springs.
Sam uel A le xa n d e r Kauffman
E ric T h o m a s K a u ffm a n
Sr. a n d S n e r r y L y n n
S a u n d e r s o f M a d r a s a re
p le a s e d to a n n o u n c e th e
b ir th o f th e ir so n Sam uel
A lexander K auffm an, b o rn
o n N o v e m b er 17, 2009.
Christmas stocking raffle
P r i z e s in t h e C h r i s t m a s
sto c k in g ra ffle are 3 -b y -3 -fo o t
C h ristm a s sto c k in g s. T ic k e ts
are $1 each o r six fo r $5. N e e d
n o t b e p re s e n t to w in. D ra w ­
in g o n D e c . 2 4 . S e e th e s e
p e o p le to g e t y o u r tickets: R ita
S q u ie m p h e n , Shaw na Ja c k so n ,
I n a S c h u ste r, C R Begay, Val
S q u ie m p h e n .
Probate public administrator explains estate settlement process
By Maria Godines
Public Administrator
T rib a l C ourt P robate
I t is a great h o n o r and a privi­
lege to w o rk f o r o u r p e o p le
w ithin o u r tribe.
I t has been 11 m onths, since
I sta rte d w o rk h e re in T ribal
C o u rt P ro b a te . T h ro u g h this
tim e I have learned pro fessio n ­
ally as well as personally a b o u t
o u r rig h ts , tr ib a l c o d e , o u r
p e o p le a n d th e legalities th a t
consist in a p ro b a te estate.
Currently,-Tribal C o u rt P ro ­
bate sta ff are Stevie H icks, p ro ­
bate assistant, an d myself.
A t this tim e w e w ould like the
c o m m u n ity , to b e a w a re o f
funds th at are held by the state(s)
and the D e p a rtm e n t o f In terio r
t h a t you m a y b e e n title d to .
T h ro u g h th e p ro b a te p r o ­
cess, w e have searched o n the
state sites and obtained funds on
b e h alf o f the decedent’s estate.
F o r O re g o n th ere is D e p a rt­
m e n t State L ands at:
w w w oregonstatelands.us
G o to the site and click o n
“ U n c la im e d P r o p e r ty N a m e
Search” u n d e r A gency Services
and follow their instructions for
a claim. T h is is n o t land, it is
m oney.
I f y o u lived in o th e r states
you m ay go to: ?
ww w .claim yourcash.org
Y ou do n o t have to join o r
have an a cc o u n t to e n te r this
W eb site, ju st click o n “H e ir
F in d e r/A s s e t L o c a to r” at the
left h a n d side. A lso o n this W eb
site are o th e r agencies a p e rso n
m ay check to see if there are u n ­
claim ed funds.
Since, p ro b a te d o es n o t have
jurisdiction over any asset under
the D e p a rtm e n t o f In terio r, we
have n o t subm itted any claims.
B ut as an heir to an estate you
m ay b e interested to see i f your
nam e o r som eone you kn o w is
listed at w w w .doi.gov/o s t/iim /
index.htm l, th e D O I O ffice o f
Special T rustee, to m ake a claim
follow th e ir c o n ta c t in fo rm a ­
tion.
The probate process
M any people have asked why
does it take so lo n g to com plete
the p ro b a te process.
s
Well, th ere are several steps,
and it takes m o n th s to com plete
a p ro b a te d estate.
T h e follow ing are steps th at
are taken. Please keep in m ind
this is just a list o f steps and th at
there is w ork to be done for each
step:
1) E n te r the p e rso n ’s death
i n f o r m a t io n in th e p r o b a te
book.
2) R esearch i f th ere is a will.
3) O b ta in d e a th certificate
a n d family h isto ry ch art from
trib al V ital Statistics o f o th e r
tribal d ep artm ent i f n o t enrolled
hère.
4) E n te r in fo rm a tio n in da­
tabase.
5) O p e n a file, insert tabs, and
secure any docum ents received.
6) Petition to P robate and Pe­
titio n to C hange M ailing A d ­
d re s s to ju d g e ; o b ta in f ro m
judge O rd e r to. P ro b a te, L etter
o f A dm inistration, and O rd e r to
C hange M ailing A ddress; co m ­
plete N o tice to C reditors; and
p o st in Spilyay and in the c o m ­
m unity N o tice t o C reditors and
O rd e r to P robate.
7) F ill o u t C h an g e o f A d ­
d re ss F o r m fro m U .S . P o s t a l
Service a n d give a copy o f the
o rder to change mailing address.
8) I f th ere is a will, sen d a
true copy to the heirs w ith a tim e
fram e set to o bject to the will.
I f an o b jec tio n is received
schedule a c o u rt date and send
notification to heirs.
9) P o s t se c o n d N o tic e to
C re d ito rs in Spilyay a n d th e
com m unity. !
10) C om plete Final A cco u n t
(a listing o f assets a n d liabilities
an d d istribution o f assets). Pe­
titio n to th e judge fo r an O rd e r
Setting a T im e fo r O bjections
to the Final A ccount; Mail Fi­
nal A c c o u n t to h eirs, C T W S
Tribal C redit, a n d B IA P robate.
‘ I f a n o b jec tio n is receiv ed
schedule a c o u rt date an d send
notification to heirs.
11) P etitio n to the judge for
an O r d e r A llow ing F inal A c ­
c o u n t a n d D istrib u tio n
12) M ake a copy o f O rd e r A l­
low ing Final A c co u n t and D is­
trib u tio n a n d su b m it it to C ash
M a n a g e m e n t a lo n g w ith pay­
m e n t authorization form s. Cash
M a n a g em en t then* sends i t to
A c c o u n ts P ayable to w rite a
check.
13) Pick up the check(s) from
A cco u n ts Payable; com plete a
re ce ip t fo r claim s a n d no tify
h eirs th a t checks are ready to
pick up and have the receip t fo r
claims signed by heir.
14) H ave p a p e r w o rk d o n e
fo r a q u it claim deed fo r hom es
a n d /o r bill o f sale fo r vehicles.
15) Petition, to th e judge for
a n O rd e r to C lose th e E state.
In ste ad o f o p e n in g estates as
a d eath occurs, w e have b e en
o p e n in g estates quarterly: Ja n u ­
ary, A pril, July, a n d O ctober.
By open in g the p ro b a te es­
tates quarterly it sets a precedent
f o r a p p ro p ria te ly sc h e d u lin g
tim e need ed fo r prep arin g the
estate file and legal docum ents.
B etw een o p e n in g qu arterly
p ro b a te estates w e have b e e n
review ing files in the cabinets
an d entering p e rtin en t in fo rm a ­
tio n in a electronic database in
o rd e r to keep a m o re efficient
filing o f estates, to b e able to
extract in fo rm a tio n for the p r o ­
bate process an d to kn o w how
far p ro b a te is back logged; and
Legal Aid Services of
Oregon provides free
assistance to low-
income Oregonians in
many civil cases. Speak
with an attorney during
drop-in hours 1 to 4
p.m. on the first Monday
w e have been w orking o n the
estates th at have funds w ith cash
m anagem ent, as well as w h en
p eople are com ing forth.
I f you have questions regard­
ing T ribal P ro b a te please c o n ­
tac t m e o r Stevie H icks at 553-
3264, CTW S Tribal P robate, P O
B ox 850, W arm Springs, O R
97761.
I f you have questions a b o u t
tru st funds o r land held by B IA
D e p a r tm e n t o f In te rio r, yo u
m ay c o n ta ct C heri Jo h n s o n at
5 0 3 -7 3 6 -4 7 1 0 , P r o b a te , B IA
N W Regional O ffice, 911 N E
1 1 th A v e n u e , P o r tla n d , O R
97232.
of the month at the
Fam ily
R esources
C enter
in
Warm
Springs. Or call us at
385-6944
Monday
through W ednesday
between 10 a.m. and 2
p.m.
Opal Day Spa Coloring Contest
Opal Day Spa
Gift Certificates available for...
Facials, Hair, Nails, Massage, Steam Bath, and Dry Sauna.
www. opalday spa. com
162 SW 5th St. Madras Or, 97741
475-4677
<_____ ________________ ____ ________ :____________
Hey, kids, want to win a free haircut and facial for your mom for Christmas? Color in
the drawing and bring it to the Spilyay at the media center, or send it to P.O. Box 870,
Warm Springs, OR 97761. The contest is open to kids up to age 12.
)
J