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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
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