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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2012)
r 3 Postal Patron Coyote News, est. 1976 February 8, 2012 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 Voi. 37, N ^ 3 February - A ’A ’mi-Ushatch - Winter- Anm @ ¿012 50 cents Tribes celebrate Indian Head opening Dedication day o f the new Indian H ead Casino was a mom entous occa sion, w ith a trem endous public re sponse. The casino was packed during the evening o f the dedication, Satur day, Feb. 4. Parking lots at the casino and m u seum were full, w ith cars eventually diverted to the parking lots at adminis tration, the com m unity cen ter and longhouse, where shuttles were on hand to bring the visitors to the casino. H undreds o f people waited as the dedication ribbon was cut and the doors opened. Then, by 6 p.m. when Indian Head opened to the general public, the casino floor was standing room only. Tribal Council Chairman Buck Smith explained during the dedication cer emony: “The casino is not the centerpiece o f our tribal economic development, but it is a beginning,” Smith said. The new casino has already brought new jobs, and will make other, small businesses possible, he said. Councilman Scott Moses, who has served on the casino project team, com mented on the timeline o f the devel opment. A year ago the project was still just an idea, he said, “but we wanted this to happen at the speed o f busi ness, not the speed o f government.” From the ground-breaking in May A large crowd entered as the doors first opened at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4. 2011, to the opening in early February, construction moved forward quickly, with some o f the finishing touches ap plied just before the opening. A nd by all accounts the unique architecture and interior design o f the 40,000-square- foot building are to be commended. T he m aster o f cerem onies at the dedication was long-time friend o f the tribes, form er Gov. Vic Atiyeh. Tribal Councilman J.P. Patt, also o f the ca sino project team, commended all those who have helped with the project. C ongressm an G reg W alden, and O regon Secretary o f State Kate Brown congratulated the tribes on the new casino; as did form er Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, w ho is now on, staff at P o rtla n d S tate U niversity, and D eepak Sehgal, w ho is chair o f the Warm Springs Casino and Resort E x pansion board. Indian H ead Casino is now open 2 4 -h o u r s , e m p lo y in g a b o u t 280 people. Seventy to 80 people w ork in the C ottonw ood R estaurant, w hich is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on w eek days, and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on w eek ends. T he tribes are hoping the new ca sino will triple or quadruple the rev enue th a t In d ia n H ead g e n erated while located at K ah-N ee-Ta. T he eventual plan is still to build a casino a t the G orge, at which tim e the In dian H ead Casino building could be used for som ething else. Meanwhile, Carlos Smith, general manager o f Kah-Nee-Ta, is weighing different options for use o f the space at the resort that Once housed Indian Head. — Dave McM echan N ew era fo r communications A night with WSPD B y D ave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo B y D uran B o b b Spilyay Tymoo W elcom ing the membership to its dedication and open house, the Warm Springs Telecom made clear its mission on the reservation: State o f the art telecommunications, help ing econom ic developm ent, and im proving education, health care and pubhc safety. Soon, th e W.S. T elecom will make available high-speed Internet and telep h o n e service to tribal households and businesses. The company is expecting to offer Internet service by the end o f this m onth, and telephone ser vice by the end o f March, said Javin Dimmick, customer service repre sentative. Seven people are cur rently using and testing the Telecom internet service. Tribal m embers can stop by the Telecom office and fill out a cus tom er inform ation form , giving their address and phone number, and how the Telecom could serve their household. “Everyone is wel come to come and visit, and view Tribal police are a constant presence on the reservation. Recently, with cer tain changes to state law, Warm Springs Police may even be a presence off-rez. As tribal officers, their oath is to serve and protect. There is a hidden side to WSPD that many may not see. Dispatch Dave McMechan/Spilyay Miss Warm Springs Chloee Suppah cuts the ribbon dedicating the Warm Springs Telecom. the demonstration area,” said Dimmick. T he Telecom grand opening saw a large turnout o f mem bers interested in touring the facility, which includes the rem o d eled offices an d conference, room, and state-of-the-art telecommu nications equipment. Master o f ceremonies for the open ing was Sal Sahme, Telecom board chairman. Tribal Council Chairman Buck Smith and secretary-treasurer Jody Calica gave welcoming com m en ts o n b e h a lf o f th e tribes. Calica com m ented that the Telcofn will be especially helpful to tribal m em b er v eteran s, th ro u g h ad vanced telemedicine opportunities. See TELECOM on page 7 School board approves measure for May ballot V oters in the Jefferso n C ounty School D istrict 509-J will vote this spring on a proposed $26.6 million bond measure. The school district board o f directors agreed in January to put the bond proposal— which in cludes funding for a new k-8 school on the reservation— on the May bal lo t The bond would fund half the $18- 20 million construction cost o f the school. The Confederated Tribes would fund half, according to the development plan. Tribal Council is working on a referendum regarding the new school proposal that will be presented to the m em bership, said Councilman Ron Suppah. The plan envisions construction o f would be the single biggest item a school at Greeley Heights. The main funded by the measure. building would be 80,000-square-feet, T he current Warm Springs E l about the size o f the middle school. ementary School is old, and is n o t The bond that funded construction in an ideal location for a school. o f the middle school will be paid soon; There has been talk for several years so approval o f the May bond would now o f replacing the elementary result in no tax increase to district prop school. erty owners, as the new bond would A nother benefit o f a local k-8 replace the previous one. This is a rea school would be reduction o f the son why the timing o f the measure this long bus-ride required o f the middle May is opportune, said Rick Molitor, school students from the reserva district superintendent. tion. Registered voters o f the res- The school district bond proposal , ervation will see the school district would fund other improvements, in bond measure in May, as all o f the cluding a 600-seat performing arts cen reservation is within the district: ter in Madras, which would coSt about — Dave McMechan $7.9 million. The Warm Springs school A t the heart o f the police depart m ent is dispatch. Seated amidst and array o f m oni tors and radios, a phone and a mic, dis patch brings a new meaning to the word multi-tasking. O n one screen, one o f the dispatch ers logs each call the police department receives. She also logs every traffic stop, w hat officers are doing, and the out come o f each event. O n another monitor, she keeps track o f each holding cell within the correc tional facility to make sure the inmates are safe. A nother screen allows her to open and lock the doors anywhere within the facility. A nother screen pro vides her w ith inform ation officers on patrol might need to find a certain resi dence. O n another m onitor, the dis patcher keeps track o f fire and medic emergencies. ‘W e also have to watch the window when guests come in,” she said. “Some times we m onitor Jefferson County’s frequency during mutual-aid calls.” Dispatch can be on a 9-1-1 call, com municating with officers, logging infor mation, and dealing with an emergency within corrections at once. “A shift runs ten hours,” she said. ‘W e have four dispatchers. T here’s no breaks, no lunch. This is an im portant duty, to make sure people are safe, so someone has to be here at all times.” The dispatcher says the first time that her job really got to her was w hen she was fresh out o f the academy. “There were shots fired back then. Part o f my job is to make sure all of ficers check in are okay. N o t all o f them responded.” ; She turns to check on the inmates in their cells. ‘W e get a house count every day. I t varies. Right now I have to keep track o f 27 males and 10 fe males.” I t has been a,, slow night so far, she says. O n the busiest nights, she can re ceive as many as fifty 9-1-1 calls. On patrol O ne sergeant explains right away that officers highly value their privacy, understandably. “It’s true,” he said. ‘W h en my guys stop people, they can sometimes get mouthy. I ’ll pop up on the other side and tell them, calm down! We’ll all get out o f here if we can just do a bit o f communication. They’ll apologize to my officers. I’m treated differently than some other tribal officers. I ’ve dealt w ith a lot o f people. They call me by name. I have to know who they are. Sometimes I know them by their nick names only.” The sergeant makes his way through the reservation’s neighborhoods; con stantly aware, making sure back yards are safe as m ost people are asleep. T he streets are calm for the time being. A t the Community Center, the parking lot is packed as a basketball tournam ent is preparing to wind down. The sergeant communicates with offic ers, letting them know that it might be a good idea to do a walk-through at the event. O n one section o f road, the sergeant comes upon a herd o f horses standing just o ff the shoulder. “These things are all over,” he said. “I alm ost drilled one a couple o f times.” A N issan flies past, going in the o p posite direction with one headlight, and the sergeant is right on it. O nce his patrol unit lights are acti vated, the driver comes to a stop. T he windows are tinted and filmed over from the recent harsh weather. A nd yet the sergeant approaches the vehicle with a smile on his face, cautiously. See WSPD on page 7 L _l I 1 jj il &
