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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2011)
r n Spilygy Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon November 16, 2011 Pdge 7 FCC staff visit KWSO, teleco Grant helps VOCS offer transitional housing assistance KWSO staff with Blackwell (left) and Flannery (fourth from right). S taff from the Federal Communications Commis sion Consumer and Govern mental Affairs Bureau, Of fice o f Native Affairs and Policy, visited Warm Springs last week. FCC sta ff m em bers Geoffrey Blackwell and Irene Flannery were in the region for the National Congress of American Indian conference in Portland. After the conference they made stops at KWSO radio and the new central office for the Warm Springs Telecom munications Company. The FCC Office of Na tive A ffairs and Policy (ONAP) was established just over a year ago. The office was created to promote the deployment and adoption o f communications broadband in Indian Coun services and tech n o lo gy try. The best evidence indi throughout tribal lands and Na cates that the broadband de tive communities. ployment rate on tribal lands They also work to ensure ro is less than 10 percent, and bust governm ent-to-govern- anecdotal evidence suggests ment consultation with feder that actual usage rates may ally-recognized tribal govern be as low as 5 to 8 percent, ments and increased coordina compared to 65 percent na tion with Native Organizations. tionwide. The creation of ONAP was The FCC regulates inter one of the recommendations of state and international com the National Broadband Plan. munications by radio, televi One of the goals in the Na sion, wire, satellite and cable tional Broadband Plan is to in •in all 50 states, the District crease access to broadband in of Columbia and U.S. terri Indian Country. tories. There are 4.1 million Ameri It was established by the can Indians and Alaska Natives C o m m unicatio ns A ct o f in the United States and more 1934 and operates as an in than 565 federally recognized dependent U.S. government tribes with their own unique agency overseen by Congress. political and tribal structures. b y Sue M atters There is minimal access to 3 separate incidents result in guilty pleas Three defendants pleaded guilty last week in federal court to separate felony as saults that occurred on the Warm Springs Reservation. M onty Tewee, 21, o f Warm Springs, pleaded guilty to one count of assault result ing in serious bodily injury. Tewee assaulted his five- week old baby by squeezing the baby, which caused the baby to suffer multiple bro ken ribs, a lacerated liver, and extrem e physical pain, ac cording to the prosecutor. The extent of the baby’s injuries required him to be air lifted from St. Charles Medi cal Center in Bend, and then to Oregon Flealth and Sci ence University in Portland for specialized trauma care. Sentencing in this case is scheduled for January 23. Knifing incident Also this month, Krystal Lee Finnley, 20, o f Warm Springs, pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a dan- gerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. Finnley was at her residence on the reservation when she heard that a certain person was at a nearby residence, accord ing to the prosecutor. Finnley then went to that residence to confront the per son about a past dispute. After a short conversation, Finnley took a knife from her pocket and sliced the throat of the per son she confronted. The person almost died, as the wound from Finnley’s knife came extrem ely close to the victim’s carotid artery. The vic tim survived after receiving 11 staples in his neck to close the wound. Sentencing in this case is scheduled for January 17. Drunk driving wreck Also in November, Doriann L. M iller (also know n as Doriann L. Allen), 23, of Warm Springs pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in se rious bodily injury. Miller was driving her car in Warm Springs when a Warm Springs Police officer saw her commit a traffic viola tion, according to the pros ecutor. The officer activated the overhead lights on his police vehicle to pull over Miller’s car. Instead o f stopping, Miller attempted to elude the police at a high rate of speed. Miller’s passengers asked Miller to stop the car, but she refused. Miller eventually lost control of her vehicle and crashed. As a result of the crash, one of the passengers in Miller’s car was paralyzed and can no longer use her legs. An analysis of a blood draw from Miller after the crash revealed that her blood alcohol content was 0.187, far in excess of the legal limit. Sentencing is scheduled for February 6, 2012. These cases were investigated by the Warm Springs Police Depart ment and the FBI’s Office in Bend. Weaselhead pleads guilty in shooting case Waylon McKie Weaselhead has p lead ed g u ilty to three counts of assault with intent to commit murder. The maximum sentence for these crimes is 20 years in p riso n , a fine o f $250,000, and three years of supervised release. «•The incident in question be gan on May 20, 2010, when Warm Springs police officers received information that Ma dras police officers were in pur suit of a white Ford Explorer. The report was that the people in the vehicle had shot at the officers. Later, Warm Springs police officers observed the sus pect v eh icle drivin g on the Warm Springs Reservation, and two police vehicles gave chase. During the high speed chase, Weaselhead, 23, the front seat p assen g er in the E xplorer, leaned out the window with a rifle and shot at the pursuing officers. A bullet went through the front windshield of one of the p o lice cars. A nother b u llet struck the driver’s side door of officers Gilbert and Elliot’s ve hicle. Waylon Weaselhead was arrested in June 2010. In plead ing guilty, the defendant admit ted that he shot at the officers with the intent to kill them, and that he was doing everything he could to try and escape. Sentencing is scheduled for December 7. cases, saying the lack of author ity has m eant m any serious crimes have gone unprosecuted. Although tribal judges can now impose tougher sentences 6-18 months assistance THAP will provide eligible participants with rental, child care and transportation assis tance on a m onthly basis as needed. Participants maintain their transitional housing for at least 6 months up to 18 months of assistance depending upon the need. Child care and transportation assistance will assist with costs incurred by a participant while establishing an independent life, achieving self-sufficiency, and rebuilding their self-esteem. For child care support, the client will identify a local child care provider who is not a fam ily member, or utilize Warm Springs Early Childhood Edu cation Day Care to provide child care services during periods when they are at work, attend ing educational classes to earn a diploma or degree, or participat ing in other voluntary support services (counseling, therapy sessions, etc.). VOCS will make payments directly to the child care pro vider for an amount not to ex ceed $25 per week per child. Transportation assistance will be for the client to maintain ac cess to job sites, educational fa cilities, job interviews, counsel ing services, grocery shopping, etc. Gas card usage is determined where the employment site or educational facility is located. If the site is located within 30 miles of their residence, they will re ceive up to $50 a month; and if the site is located more than 30 miles from their residence, they will receive up to $100 a month. Eligibility for these services will be based on the same crite ria for determining the transi tional housing assistance and will be based on: 1. The financial need of the victim who if fleeing abuse, and 2. The commitment of the victim to make a significant life change. Process explained The THAP process is as fol lows: 1. Initial intake process with the victim that includes a needs assessment, importance of vic tim client confidentiality, safety planning, signing the release of information. 2. Potential program partici pant will be interviewed by the VOCS advocate supervisor and a THAP advocate to determine their level of commitment to maintaining safety by ending an abusive relationship. Staff members will discuss the requirements of the pro gram, evaluate whether the pro spective participant is eligible for THAP. If approved, the financial needs assessment completed by the applicant will be reviewed and verified by the VOCS Ad vocate Supervisor. TH AP w ill only p rovid e housing assistance to victims and their dependents that are flee ing an abusive relationship and are unable to financially acquire housing on their own. Family size, estimated house hold expenses, special family needs, the client’s own resources, and contributions from family and friends will be evaluated. If the needs assessment indicates that the applicant will be unable to secure housing without assis tance, the advocate supervisor will approve the THAP appli cation. Eligibility for child care as sistance will then be determined. These services will be available for at least 3 months after the client acquires a permanent resi dence. A fter the assessm ents the THAP Advocate will have the participant enter into the THAP agreement. The agreement will provide the participant with information on time lim its for receivin g housing assistance, maintaining personal safety and program expectations. Also included will be identified reporting require m ents that docum ent the participant’s efforts to acquire perm anent housing, maintain employment or pursue educa tion. The agreement will specify resources and support services available from the VOCS pro gram including the explanation o f the m onthly progress re v iew s to be c o n d u c te d by VOCS staff. For further assistance or in formation, contact VOCS Ad vocate S u p erv iso r D orothy K alam a, or one o f the two THAP A dvocates, Charlene Smith and Janell Wallulatum, 541-553-2293, or stop by at VOCS at 1132 Paiute St. (Note: This article is from Warm Springs Victims o f Crime Services.) PIONEER ROCK & M ONUM ENT Specializing in Native American Design 201 Crafton Rd PO Box 348 Goldendale, WA 98620 509-773-4702 LET US SA V E YOU TIME & MONEY Tribal courts lack power over non-Indian abusers (AP) — A high-level Justice Department official pushed last week for tribal courts to have more power in prosecuting non- Indians in dom estic violence The Warm Springs Victims of Crime Services program has received a 3-year transitional housing assistance project grant. The grant provides funding through September of 2013. Federal funding is from the Department of Justice’s Office o f Violence against Women. Under this grant, VOCS staff coordinates three project activi ties: Transitional housing, child care, and transportation assis tance. The services are avail able to eligible program partici pants; or qualified victims of domestic violence, sexual as sault, stalking and dating vio lence. Approved transitional hous ing assistance expenses will be paid by: 1. Issuing vouchers, 2. Working with vendors who will bill the tribal Finance De partment or accept purchase or ders, or 3. Providing direct payment by check from the tribes to the ven dor (such as a ren tin g agency, landlord or child care provider) but not directly to the program participant. Transportation services will either be facilitated through pre paid Shell brand gas cards or transportation provided directly by a VOCS advocate. This allows clients access to em ploym ent, job interview s, education, support services and other necessary activities. The Transitional H ousing Assistance project (THAP) will work with eligible victims to pro vide housing through the use of rentals located on the reserva tion or adjacent communities, p rim arily M ad ras/ Jefferso n County and Deschutes Counties. Victims apply for funds through VOCS. The target population will be victims (tribal and community) o f dom estic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating vio lence, who either reside on the reservation, or are fleeing abu sive relationships or dangerous situations in other jurisdictions and are returning to their homes on the reservation. Warm Springs THAP w ill also take referrals from our col laborators and outside agencies (tribal and non-tribal); and will continue to provide victim ser vices to Native American/Alas kan Natives who are referred from other off-reservation vic tim assistance programs on lo cal, stand national levels. in such cases under a law passed last year, the courts still have no authority to prosecute domes tic violence offenders who are not members of tribes. ') DESIGN & ORDER OVER THE INTERNET www.pioneerrock.com www.betterheadstones.com Find MAP To Our Shop Under 'CONTACTS'