Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2012)
r i... P.0. Box 870 7761 - Branch Matthew 1200 SW Park Ave. Portland OR 97205 Coy oie News, esi. 1976 Mgy 30, 2012 Vol. 37, No. 11 May - Xawit’an - Spring - Wawaxam July date for school referendum B y D ave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo Tribal Council has set July 10 as the date for a second tribal referen dum o n th e W arm S prings k-8 school proposal. T he Council wants a consensus from the membership, either for or against the $20-million proposal. T he recent school referendum, w ith about 21 percent voter turn out, did n o t provide enough o f a response for a vahd election. T h e referen d u m in July will be in a d ifferen t co n te x t fro m th e first on e: D u rin g th e M ay 14 tribal referendum , the fate o f the school d istrict b o n d pro p o sal was still unknow n. T hen on May 15 the school dis trict voters passed the $26.7 million measure, including $10 million for the W arm Springs school. T he school district now has au thority to release about $16.7 mil lion in bonds, which will fund a per form ing arts center in Madras, and improvements to schools and school facilities in the district. Passage o f the W arm Springs referendum w ould provide thé dis trict with authority for another $10 million in bonds. Long term solution B efore the school district b o n d w as p u t to a v o te, each o f th e schools in the district except for W arm Springs E lem entary School w as ask ed to s u b m it a lis t o f needed im provem ents to existing facilities. W arm Springs E lem entary did n o t subm it a needs list, as the idea is to build the new school, said school district superinten dent Rick Molitor. I t w ould riot be sensible to make significant im provem ents at the existing elementary school if a new one is to be built in the near future, he said. T hat re mains the long-term plan to ad d ress education needs o f the W arm Springs comm unity, he said. A nd the tribal leaders also remain com m itted to this goal. See SCHOOL on page 8 The Jefferson County Middle School band performed during an assembly last week at the Warm Springs Elementary School. Habitat restoration planned on Mill Creek B y D ave M cM echan Spilyay Tymoo A . stretch o f Mill Creek will see m ajor im provem ent for fish habi tat through a plan being developed by the N atural Resources Branch. T he scale o f the project is similar to that o f the Shitike. Greek project o f 2009. Fish H abitat Program Manager Scott Turo is presenting inform a tion on the Mill Creek project to tribal m em bers, as the branch de velops a final plan. Mill Creek is a tributary o f the W arm Springs River. T he area tar- geted for habitat restoration is at Potters Pond, which was breached by flooding in the 1980s. T he area also burned last year in the fires on the reservation. Restoration w ork w ould include planting up to 20,000 native plants o f different varieties, said; Turo. While similar in size to the ’09 S hitike C reek p ro je c t, th e M ill Creek w ork w ould be different in some aspects, he said. For instance, as it ran through W arm Springs, Shitike Creek was fairly straight, and n o t in its original chanriel. The habitat w ork on Shitike involved major realignment o f the creek, creating a m ore winding or sinuous river, which is b etter for fish. The Mill Creek w ork will involve m uch less realignment o f the creek channel; and will instead involve veg etation restoration, and w ork along the banks to reconnect the flood- plain, said Turo. A m a jo r c o m p o n e n t o f th e project will be to restore im portant h ab itat fo r juvenile salm on and steelhead in the form o f side and o ff channel habitats. These habi- tats will have slow w ater velocities with lots o f instream hiding cover. Spawning gravels will be screened from som e o f the berm s that created the ponds and placed in the creek for use by adult salmon and steelhead. The ultimate goal is to increase fish production in the system Estim ated cost o f the project is o v e r $ 5 0 0 ,0 0 0. 'F u n d in g comes through restoration grants, Turo said. A t a recent scoping hearing on the Mill Creek project, Turo also reviewed some other resto ration projects th at are in the planning stages at N atural Re sources. See FISHERIES on page 2 Graduation on June 9 Graduation Day at Madras High School Is on Saturday, June 9. Ceremonies begin at 3 p.m. at the White Buffalo stadium. Last week, some of the grads from Warm Springs (at right) gathered for the class of 2012 pictures. itron U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Credit Enterprise offers check cashing T he Tribal Credit Enterprise is now providing check cashing ser vices. C re d it w ill n o w cash W arm Springs tribal per capita, payroll, se n io r p en sio n , trib al C red it loan checks, U.S. Treasury checks, and State o f O regon checks. T he maxi m um am ount for check cashing is $3,000. Some fees may apply: T he fees are $2 for checks up to $200.99; $3 for checks from $201 to $500.99; and $5 for checks from $5,01 to $3,000. You will need a valid picture ID. Credit will not cash personal checks, two party checks, money orders, in surance drafts, or checks that have been altered. Tribal Credit reserves the right to refuse any check. T here is a $25 returned check fee, and Tribal Credit will use any m ethod available to the enterprise to collect returned check fees. To cash a check you will need to come into the building at the teller window in the banking area. O ur drive through window is also open for dropping o ff loan pay ments. I f you áre making a pay m ent with one o f the check types we accept for cashing, no fees ap ply. Elders arid handicapped individu als can use the drive through win dow for payments, check cashing and dropping o ff applications. Credit has also installed handi capped accessible front doors. You can reach the enterprise at 541-553- 3201. UAV process continuing The tribes continue to pursue an economic developm ent project in volving unm anned aerial vehicles, aircraft that are controlled by remote control. The Federal Aviation Administra tion is currently in the process o f identifying up to six test-sites in the U.S. for unm anned aerial vehicles (UAV), said Jeff A nspach, chief ex ecutive officer o f W arm Springs Ventures. T h e tribes have co m p leted a small project assessm ent for the UAS project, “and we’re still trying to figure o ut exactly how to capital ize o n this,” said Anspach. “A nd w e’re still m oving forward.” A n initial question is to deter mine w hat the FAA means by “site.” For instance, the term could m ean a region o f the state, such as the central area o f the state. O r, it could a smaller area, such as the reserva- tiori. Growth industry In all, about 32 students from Warm Springs will be graduating this year. (See pages 6 and 7 for more.) Dave McMechan/Spilyay A c c o rd in g to re c e n t figures, as m any as 50 c o m p an ies, u n i v ersities an d g o v e rn m e n t o rg a nizations are developing and p ro d u cin g som e 155 u n m a n n e d air c ra ft designs. Estimates on the increase in glo bal spending for UAS technology by the year 2017 are anywhere from $5 to $7 billion.
