Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Page 7
March 23, 2011
D J Medina spinning records for love of the music
B y Duran Bobb
Spilyay Tymoo
I remember back in grade-
sch o o l,” Bob M edina said.
“They started letting me bring
my 45 records to play during
lunch. I played different kinds
of music while the kids were
eating. T hat’s how it all got
started. I liked it.”
Brownsville is a hop, skip and
a jum p from the G u lf o f
Mexico. It’s even closer to the
border of Mexico.
“There was a little radio sta
tion there called K RIO ,”
M edina said. “One summer
they had a volunteer program
geared towards youth who might
want to pursue a career in the
radio business. I was on it! I
enrolled in that program and just
fell in love.”
T hen one day, M ed in a’s
mother said the family would
travel to Oregon to visit his sis
ter, who had just married.
“I bounced back and forth
between Oregon and Texas. I
w ent to grade school in
Terrebonne, went to middle
school in Redmond, went to
school in Culver. I was a field
worker for many years.”
Bob met and married Kim
Medina when the two worked
for Warm Springs Police Depart
ment. “She was the dispatcher,
and T was an officer at the time.
I just couldn’t resist.”
Together, Bob and Kim have
raised their family on the reser
vation.
Over time, Bob found him
self thinking more and more
about radio. “Right around that
time, I started hearing Sue Mat
ters and DJ Duran on KWSI. I
really liked the way they were
doing things. It was new, up
beat. They inspired me, encour
aged me.”
M edina got his first real
break in radio in 1987, with
KWSI.
Today, many recognize him
as the deejay who brought
Latino programming to Central
Oregon.
“I first started hosting the
Latino show out of KRCO back
in 1996. I was fortunate to-have
that for six and a half years.
Today, I host it on KWSO ev
ery Sunday afternoon from 2 to
3 p.m., and we’re going to be
adding some different ideas to
that show. It should be interest
ing.”
Medina became a fam iliar
presence on the reservation
working in various departments.
“I worked for the newspaper
for while, the police force, ECE.
I was a Fire and Safety volun
teer for a number of years. And
I even worked for Victims of
Crime when they first opened.”
B esides his job as a d is
patcher for Fire Management,
today Medina continues spin
ning the beats, hiring out as a
disk jockey for various busi
nesses and events.
“I’ve played for Kah-Nee-Ta
for quite some time now. Other
clients have in clu d ed the
form er Silverado and Meet
Market in Madras. People are
very receptive and open when
they see me, and I’m always glad
to see them right back. I know
what music works with familiar
faces, and that’s how people
click and have a good time.”
DJ Medina has been an en
couragement to youth on the
reservation. His grandsons
“I f there's something
you want, go fo r it.
Especially i f it has to
do with music, don't
hesitate."
have expressed an interest in
becoming deejays, and Bob is
thrilled.
“If there’s som ething you
want, go for it. Especially if it
has to do w ith m usic, don’t
hesitate. I’m even w illing to
help them, because I know that
equipment is expensive. The
door is always open with me,
if they want to learn. Just re
member that the reality with
something that you love to do
always begins with dreaming of
it.”
r
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wsnews.org
V_______________________
Tribal officers
Continued from page 1)
If passed, the legislative
assembly would “provide a
process by which police of
ficers employed by a tribal
government may exercise all
of the powers provided to
state law enforcement offic
ers under the laws o f this
state and may receive the
same authority and protec
tion provided to those offic
ers under the criminal stat
utes of Oregon.”
The bill would be of ben
efit for both tribal and state
authorities by providing law
enforcem ent services and
protection to the many Or
egon Citizens that visit or
travel through tribal lands.
“The Tribes have in place
a process that not only allows
hot pursuit but also the ser
vice o f state w arrants by
Tribal Police Officers for out
side jurisdictions. Jefferson
County, for example, knows that
they can count on us. We can’t
have a tribal member commit a
crime in Jefferson County think
ing that they could come back
to the reservation to be safe.”
Senate bill 412 would allow
Tribal Police Officers to cite thet
non-Indian violators directly into
state court.
In January of 2005, a tribal
officer who was not cross-depu
tized attempted to stop Thomas
Everett Kurtz, a non-Indian, on
the reservation, when his vehicle
crossed the center line into on
coming traffic. Kurtz failed to
stop until he was o ff tribal
lands. The passenger of Kurtz’
vehicle fled on foot, while Kurtz
was detained at gunpoint. Kurtz
was charged w ith the state
crimes of resisting arrest by a
Cable work
police officer and attempting
to elude a police officer.
K urtz asked the state
court in Madras to dismiss the
charges, arguing that tribal of
ficers are not “police officers”
under the definition provided
by Oregon statutes for the re
sisting arrest and attempting
to elude crimes. The court
denied the motion and con
victed.
Kurtz appealed to the Or
egon Court of Appeals, which
overturned his conviction on
the grounds that tribal offic
ers were not included in the
definition of “police officer”
in the Oregon statutes. Sen
ate Bill 412 would legislatively
reverse the Kurtz decision by
adding tribal officers to the
definitions of “police officer”
in the Oregon statutes.
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Check-Free Bill Pay, ATM and
Much More!
Check out the Spilyay
2132 Warm Springs St., Warm Springs - ph. 541-553-1597
Web site:
wsnews.org
Over 500 com panies can be p aid
through our check-free service
in cludin g: P acific Power, D irect TV,
Verison, and Qwest.
• A ll Products Prepared Fresh Daily
• Entrees Roasted Daily
• Featuring Hand Cut USDA Choice Steaks
Fiber optic cable is being installed around Warm
Springs, expanding the tribal network. The new line
will connect buildings from tribal administration and
Eagle Tech, to the industrial park, bringing into the
network the media center, the Natural Resources
building, vehicle pool and other offices.
This will save the tribes money in the long-run, as
Qwest will no longer provide the connection service,
said Todd Stum of Eagle Tech. Cost of the project is
about $75,000. The tribes are paying 40 percent, and
BIA is paying 60 percent.
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