News from In<fen Country
Pgge 9
Spiiyay Tynroo
December 3, 2 0 0 9
Film honors famous civil rights attorney Kunstler
N E W Y O RK — They grew story through the eyes o f young
up in a hom e Eke no other — girls w ho sometimes could not
where buUets arrived in the mail understand his representation
and where their father w ent to o f society’s m ost despised.
O n the playground, the girls
the basem ent to open packages
he feared could contain explo weren’t always sure how to an
swer the taunts o f schoolmates
sives.
T h at was Efe for the daugh w ho w anted to know why their
ters o f the late civil rights law father was representing villains
yer WilEam Kunstler, whose cE- accused o f shooting at poEce
ents ranged from the Rev. Mar officers o r raping a Central Park
tin L u th e r K ing Jr. to Sheik jogger o r comm itting terrorism.
“W e w e re o b s e s s e d . We
O m ar A bdel-Rahm an to Jo h n
G otti. N ow his daughters are wanted them to be innocent. We
telling their stories — and bring didn’t know how to fight those
ing him back to Efe on film for playground battles for him ,”
Emily, 31, said during a recent
a new generation.
T he documentary, “WilEam interview.
Sarah, 33, agreed, citing the
Kunsder: D isturbing T he Uni
v e rse,” by E m ily and Sarah weeks w hen protesters gathered
Kunstler, has been released at outside their hom e, once even
theaters in N ew York and Los breaking their hom e’s front win
dow. “You w onder why is this
Angeles.
T h e sisters m ade the 85- so im portant that it’s w orth d o
minute film to teU their father’s ing this to our family,” she said.
A re p ro d u c tio n o f th e p o s te r
p ro m o tin g th e film “W illia m
K u n tz le r: D is tu rb in g th e
U n iv e rs e ”
By his death in Septem ber
1995, K unstler’s boom ing bari
tone voice and unm anaged hair
w ere expected in N ew Y ork
courthouses whenever the m ost
Some Ute members seek to halt hatchery
FO R T D U C H E SN E , Utah
(AP) — Some m em bers o f the
U te Indian Tribe o f the Uintah
and Ouray Reservation in Utah
are seeking to halt construction
o f a $6 milEon fish hatchery at
Big Springs Creek.
O pponents have expressed
concern over the project's effect
on w hat they consider sacred
springs, and have caEed for m e
diation with the tribe's Business
Com mittee over its fate.
D u r in g a r e c e n t g e n e ra l
m em bership meeting, 99 o f the
tribe's 3,157 enroEed m em bers
voted to stop the project. Three
people voted to continue con
struction.
A m ong other concerns, op
ponents contend spiritual lead
ers were not contacted to review
the environm ental assessment,
and that the project interferes
with reEgious beEefs and cus
toms.
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T h e y claim c o n s tr u c tio n
crew s have already rem oved
pathways, trees and reEgious rel
ics, including “ b undles” th at
contain personal items o f tribal
members.
“We reaUy don't w ant to Eti-
gate this,” attorney Duane Moss,
w ho represents opponents, told
the D eseret News.
Business Com m ittee Chair
m an Curtis Cesspooch said he's
m ore than willing to m eet with
the project's opponents.
“T he vote at the m eeting has
not been forgotten,” he said by
e-maE.
Cesspooch said tribal m em
bers have had ample opportu
nity to provide input since the
project was first proposed.
H e also said he did n o t see
reEgious objects or “bundles”
near the area that could have
been disturbed.
C esspooch also dism issed
o p p o n e n ts' fears th a t use o f
water from Big Springs would
elim inate w a ter flow du rin g
drought periods.
“T he water wiE be returned
back to the stream once it goes
through the fish hatchery,” he
said.
A n en v iro n m en tal assess
ment, completed in 2007, found
that the project would have “no
significant impact.”
State and federal agencies
have worked for m ore than 12
years w ith the Business C om
mittee to move the project for
ward.
Construction began in June,
b u t w ork on an intake pipeEne
to divert water from the creek
to the hatchery has been p u t on
hold by a tribal court judge.
T he Ute Tribal C ourt ruled
that aE form al requirements for
the project had been met.
unsavory o f cEents needed a
lawyer willing to take up a seem
ingly lost cause. A surprising
am ount o f the time, K unsder
ended up winning.
WilEam Moses K unsder was
an ordinary N ew York City law
yer in the 1950s, Eving in the
suburbs w ith a wife and two
daughters.
His Efe turned dramaticaUy
w hen he traveled to the South
in 1960 to join the civil rights
m ovem ent as a lawyer w ith the
American Civil Liberties Union.
T he film portrays a m an whose
childhood hom e had black ser
vants being transform ed into a
leg a l ic o n o f civil rig h ts
struggles.
H e became famous w hen he
represented anti-war protesters
arrested at the D em ocratic N a
tional C onvention in 1968, a
group o f activists w ho became
known as the Chicago 8. Before
the trial was over, Kunstler’s hair
was long and he was sentenced
to m o re th a n 40 m o n th s in
prison for contem pt o f court
for his courtroom behavior.
Kunstler wore his conviction
Eke a badge and traveled the
country m aking speeches, at
tracting scorn from law enforce
m ent agencies.
As the docum entary shows,
Kunstier’s reputation grew with
each legal entanglement, such as
w hen he tried to peacefuEy end
a takeover o f Attica Prison in
1971 by inmates. O r w hen in
1973 he re p re se n te d N ative
Americans at W ounded Knee,
South Dakota, w ho dem anded
that the U.S. governm ent honor
treaties w ith tribes.
By 1976, K unstler had di
vorced and remarried, starting
a second family w ith a feUow
activist lawyer, Margaret Ram er
Kunsder. Emily and Sarah were
b orn soon afterward, two years
apart.
K unstier’s world didn’t make
a lot o f sense to smaU children,
especially his own, n o t w hen he
increasingly was representing
people Eke m obsters, drug deal
ers and killers.
“D ad’s cEents gave us night
mares,” Emily said in the film.
“H e told us that everyone de
serves a lawyer b u t sometimes
we didn’t understand why that
lawyer had to be our father.”
A fter K unstier’s death, his
daughters said they spent almost
a decade w ithout confronting
the loss.
“T he only way we knew how
to deal w ith his absence was to
n o t reaEy talk about him, not
rem ind ourselves o f that gaping
hole in our Eves,” Emily said.
Briefly
wiE continue into the future.
T he m ountain snowpack acts
as a natural reservoir for rivers
that are crucial to salmon, farm
ing and ranching.
and our chEdren.”
Law en fo rc e m e n t officers
from nearby cities and counties
along with the M ontana H igh
way Patrol and F ort Peck tribal
poEce helped serve the arrest
warrants on Monday.
T w en ty -th ree fem ale su s
p e cts w ere b o o k e d in to the
Roosevelt County jaE in W olf
P o in t, w h ile 12 m e n w ere
booked into the trial jaE in P op
lar. A nother suspect was already
in custody.
T he suspects were expected
to be arraigned in tribal court
this week.
Crawford began his investi
gation last April.
H e said the drugs being re
sold included the narcotic pain-
kElers oxycodone, hydrocodone
and morphine.
M any o f the pills were ini-
tiaEy purchased at the two In
dian health service pharmacies
on the reservation and two other
pharm acies in the county, he
said.
Report: Warming
temperatures cut
Oregon snowpack
CORVALLIS (AP) - Sci
entists rep o rt that rising tem
peratures appear to be respon
sible for cutting the snowpack
in O regon’s Cascade Range-in
half over the past 77 years.
T h e re p o rt from O reg o n
S ta te U n iv e r s ity r e le a s e d
Tuesday found that the w arm
ing tren d is seen m ost in the
spring.
Tem peratures are up almost
4 degrees since 1958 in Janu
ary, M arch and April.
MeanwhEe, there has been
no significant trend in precipi
tation.
Geosciences professor JuEa
JoneS says the shrinking snow
pack has been the m ost visible
im pact o f global warming, and
SChOOlS in
fiction!
Winter Music Concerts
Dec. 16 Madras High School Gym
7:00 p.m.
New Program to Build Character at
Buff Elementary
(Cook’s Helper), Sally Thompson (Assistant Cook), and
Marista Salgado (Secretary)
From Principal Josh Adams
What an honor it is to be part of the Buff
Elementary School team. While this is my eighth
year with the district, it's my first at Buff and I want
to express how much I've enjoyed getting to know
everyone. One of the first things I noticed here was
the dedication and commitment of the teachers
and staff. I'm particularly amazed at the "behind-
the-scenes" work that goes on everyday to create
a great learning environment for our students. Our
custodians work tirelessly to keep our building
clean and safe. Our cheerful food services workers
make students feel welcome and cared for. Our
educational assistants have helped us through
some major changes including a new principal,
new programs and new curriculum. It’s been
remarkable to watch these caring individuals and
their genuine interest in our students. On behalf of
myself and the teachers, I'd like to say a special
thanks to these "unsung heroes" who serve as the
glue that holds our school together. I look forward
to a great year of academic achievement and
growth. My door is open to families and community
members who want to stop by or call
(541 -475-2457). I look forward to talking with you.
PO PLA R, Mont. (AP) - A
sting targeting suspected p re
scription drug, dealers netted
about three dozen suspects on
the Fort Peck Indian Reserva
tion.
Authorities said m ore arrests
were expected as part o f “O p
eratio n N ew B eginning” b e
cause there are hundreds o f pre
scription piE dealers in the re
gion.
“I guarantee you there wiE be
m ore arrests made,” Roosevelt
C o u n ty S h e r if f F re e d o m
Crawford said. “O ur goal is to
get people o ff drugs, to get
people to quit drug trafficking
and to protect our comm unity
Dec. 10 Metolius Elementary Gym
7:00 p.m.
Leadership Corner
Support Staff Cecilio Galan (Head Custodian, Beverly Gallimore
36 arrested in
Montana drug bust
The Buff Elementary School team is working to
motivate students to be the best citizens they can be, in
and outside of the classroom. The approach is to model
and teach consistent expectations throughout the school
and to reward good behavior with tickets to earn small
prizes and celebrations.
“Buff Tickets motivate kids to do better things, and the
celebrations they earn will hopefully make them want to
do better things in the future without getting anything," said Daren Shaw, 5th grader.
The goal is for each and every student to know and understand the three school
expectations: be safe, be respectful and be responsible.
"We are working hard to build a successful, genuine program that promotes good character
and positive behavior that every student and staff member understands ancf utilizes,” said
Dec. 17 J. C. Middle School Gym
6:30 p.m. 6th Grade
7:30 p.m. 7th & 8th Grades
Family Craft Night
Dec. 17 Warm Springs Elementary Gym
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Principal Josh Adams.
The school has a character committee that meets regularly to analyze data and determine
what areas and routines of the school need improvement in order to make things run more
smoothly.
Winter Break No School
December 21 through January 1
Student Spotlight
Transferring to Buff Elementary was scary for 10-year-old Pedro Macias. He didn't know
anyone, he missed his family and he couldn't understand English. .
“I saw in his face that he was scared. He didn't have anyone to play with,” said Leo Zamora,
10, who noticed Pedro sitting alone during morning recess.
Leo, along with classmate Lupe Ramirez, decided to help.
“I remember what that was like, being scared and embarrassed,” said Lupe, 10, who didn't
speak English when he transferred to Buff last year. “I wanted to help.”
The boys translated for Pedro, played cards during recess, and drew funny pictures to make
him smile. As they explained playground rules and classroom lessons, the three became
good friends.
One month later, Pedro is much happier. His English is improving daily and he is at the top
of his class in math. The boys remain good friends, playing handball and hanging out at
lunch. “We have fun together,” Pedro said. “I feel a lot better.”
Jefferson County School District
445 SE Buff Street, (ladras, OR 97741
(541) 475-6192
www.jcsd.k12. or. us