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P.0. Box 870
7761
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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.