Spilygy Tyrnoo, Wgrm Springs, Oregon
Pgge 7
December 26, 2012
Changing management at W.S. Telecom
A fte r many years o f provid
ing leadership in the planning,
funding, climbing all the regu
latory hurdles and finally con
structing and installing the
equipment at Warm Springs
Telecom, Adam Haas is step
ping down from his role as
interim general manager.
Operations manager Jose
Matanane has been prom oted
to W arm S prings, T elecom
G eneral Manger beginning
in January.
W ith nearly 400 custom
ers, and m ost o f the technol
ogy hurdles o f the new com
pany resolved, this transition
will enable Haas to return to
his role as independent tele
com m unications consultant
to the tribes, with Matanane
moving into a position he held
previously for 14 years at Ft.
M ojave T elecom , an o th e r
tribally owned telecom com
pany, located in the South
west.
For m ore than 11 years,
H aas has w orked w ith the
tribes to update and improve
telecommunications services
on the R eservation. Tribal
leadership realized the grow
ing disparity between the tele
communications available on
the reservation compared to
services in other parts o f the
country.
Telecommunications ca-
pability was becoming criti
cal for personal, economic,
educational and other areas
o f life im p o rta n t to th e
people o f the Confederated
Tribes o f Warm Springs.
After an initial Needs A s
sessment and a follow up stra
tegic plan, Adam and his busi-
n ess
p a rtn e r,
M arsha
Spellman, have continued to
w ork with the tribes to up
grade basic telephone, broad-'
b and In te rn e t and public
safety radio.
Warm Springs Telecom is
now a fully functioning tele
com m unications operation
and the ninth tribally owned
te lep h o n e and b ro a d b an d
I n te r n e t c o m p an y in th e
United States.
This past O ctober, WST
received the Oregon Connec
tions Award for Excellence in
Telecom m unications, from
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Adam Haas congratulates Jose Matanane, who is taking
over the Telecom general manager.
the State o f Oregon. It has
also been honored by the fed
eral R ural U tility S ervice
(RUS). with a story-and pic
tu re o f th e trib e s o n its
w ebsite and posters in the
halls o f the federal building
in Washington, DC.
“With tribal leadership pro
vided by L onny Macy, Sal
Sahme, D an Martinez, D on
C ourtney, Aurolyn. Stwyer
and others, we have created
th e n in th trib ally o w n ed
telecom in the country,” Haas
said. “W arm Springs tribal
m em bers should feel proud
o f this accomplishment.”
Planned change
N ow that the company is
up and ru n n in g , an d w ith
m ost o f the technology kinks
resolved, A dam is handing
the reins o f leadership to Jose
M atanane, w ho-.m oved to
Warm “Springs in April 2011,
to be the operations manager
o f this new company.
A d am ex p lain ed th a t,
“This .may seem like a sur
prise to some, but this transi
tio n p lan has b een in the
Works for quite some time.”
Jose was responsible for
overseeing and managing the
creation o f the WSTC net
work, with the difficulties that
come with building a brand
new company, as well as the
very difficult geography and
large service area.
“Jose, who began his ca
reer in telecom m unications
working in the outside plant
side o f the business, has done
an am azing job overseeing
the build out o f this very so
phisticated netw ork,” Hass
c o n tin u e d . “Jo s e o fte n
worked day and night to re
solve problem s and ensure
that the network that the new
company installed is sound
and able to provide top-notch
service.”
Jose spent 14 years as the
g e n e ra l m an ag e r o f F t.
M ojave T elecom , a n o th e r
tribally owned telecom com
pany. W ith his background,
Jose agreed to move to O r
egon with his wife and two
young children, and leave his
position as general manager
at. Ft. Mojave to become the
'operations manager at Warm
Springs Telecom.
Adam and Warm Springs
Ventures chief executive of
ficer Je ff Anspach had ap
proached Jose with the idea
th at after the netw ork was
developed, Jose w ould then
move up to the position as
General Manager.
A ccording to Haas, “We
built an amazingly sophisti
c a te d n e tw o rk in W arm
Springs, one that faced many
.
technology challenges in or
der to bring phone and broad
band to the reservation. Jose
did a heroic job overseeing
the installation and construc
tion o f the network. I be
lieve that with all o f our ac
complishments to date, now
is the right time for m e to
step down as interim general
m anager and to hand over
the reins to Jose Matanane.
I c a n ’t th in k o f a m o re
qualified individual than Jose
to lead the company into its
next phase o f success: N o t
only does he have all the ex
perience we hoped to find in
a person to run this company,
he’s one heck o f a nice guy.”
Jose explained, “W hen I
m o v ed my fam ily h ere to
Oregon more than a year ago,
I knew I was taking a risk.
But I also have seen how a
tribally owned telecommuni
catio n s co m p an y can im
prove the lives o f tribal mem
bers and I believed this was
possible for Warm Springs.
“In little more than a year,
that dream is being realized,”
Jose continued. “I,very much
appreciate the vote o f confi
dence from Je ff Anspach and
the W arm Springs Telecom
B oard o f D irecto rs and I
lo o k fo rw ard to w o rk in g
closely w ith o u r excellent
staff to bring high quality
phone and internet service to
everyone on the reservation.”
Adam and business part
n er M arsha Spellm an, JD ,
owners o f Converge C om
munications, a nationally rec
ognized telecommunications
consulting company, will con
tinue to work closely with J ose
and the WST team.
M arsha will continue to
provide Regulatory oversight
to ensure'compliance as well
as representing the company
at the FCC and Oregon Pub
lic Utility Commission, work
ing on various proceedings
that im pact WST.
Adam will be involved in
future projects for WST, in
cluding the potential for tele
vision on the reservation and
potential economic develop
m ent projects that are natu
ral outgrowths o f the com
pany.
.
Oregon State begins solar power project
(AP) — Oregon State Uni
versity will begin generating
its own solar power in Janu
ary.
T he university, in conjunc
tio n w ith SolarW orld and
SolarCity, is close to complet
ing the installation o f solar
panels at two sites that will
be cap ab le o f p ro d u c in g
860,000 k ilo w a tt-h o u rs a
year.
T hat m uch pow er is the
equivalent o f reducing the
carbon dioxide emissions of
more than 66,000 gallons o f
gasoline.
T he panels are being set
up o n fo u r acres o f O SU
land adjacent to TrystingTree
G o lf Club and east o f the
Benton County Fairgrounds
near Southwest 53rd Street.
SolarWorld supplied more
than 3,000 high-performance
solar panels. SolarCity in
stalled, owns, maintains and
operates the equipment. OSU
w ill b u y th e p o w e r fro m
SolarCity at a rate that is “a
litde bit m ore than half” o f
what the university pays Pa
cific Power, according to uni
versity sustainability coordi
nator Brandon Trelstad.
“Energy efficiency is still
a top priority, but solar power
will play an increasingly key
role in reducing our green
house gas emissions,” Trelstad
said. “There is no way OSU
can invest in renewable en
ergy in fra stru ctu re at this
scale without developing pub
lic-private partnerships.”
The OSU project is one o f
five renewable energy dem
onstration projects coordi
nated by the O regon Univer
sity System. OSU's project,
which is the first one to be
completed, will expand to 10
acres by the fall o f 2013 and
will provide from 3 to 5 per
cent o f OSU’s power needs,
Trelstad said.
The installation is all but
complete, with final work tak
ing place this week. A fter in
spections from Linn County
and B enton County officials
the university will apply for
“final connection” with Pacific
Power.
There is no firm date for
the project to begin produc
ing power, b ut Trelstad said
that early January was likely.
The panels will be capable o f
p ro d u c in g p o w e r a t full
strength on day one. “The
capacity will be ready as soon
as full sun hits the arrays,”
said Trelstad. “B ut we might
have to w ait for a sum m er
day to get the full benefit.”
T relstad, w ho has been
sustainability coordinator at
OSU since 2005, has been
involved with the project for
m ore than four years. M ost
o f that time has been spent
on financial arrangem ents.
C onstruction did n o t begin
until last summer.
Initial plans with a differ
ent solar developer collapsed
amid the economic downturn
o f 2008-09.
“ We needed a more-expe
rienced and bigger partner,”
said Trelstad. “SolarCity had
the experience and size to do
this.”
“SolarCity is proud to play
a part in O regon State’s am
bitious efforts to produce and
co n su m e cleaner energy,”
said Rob Lavigne, SolarCity
regional vice president.
“T h e u n iv ersity is also
showing its students how in
stitutions can rise above the
status quo and take a leader
ship role in addressing the
w orld’s m ost pressing chal
lenges.”
Students stand to benefit
from the prqject as well. The
university has an internship
agreement with SolarCity, and
Trelstad said that students in
energy-related program s at
b oth the Corvallis and Bend
campuses also might get in
volved in the project.
“There are quite a few dif
feren t o p p o rtu n ities,” said
T relstad . “W e’re g o in g to
w ork on this for the fall.”
In his role o f telecommu
nications consultant to the
Tribes, he will also focus on
implementing the homeland
security grants that the Tribes
have been awarded, which will
help build more towers and
im prove public safety com
munications in the N orth end
o f the reservation, as well as
Seekseequa.
The W arm Springs Tele
communications Company is
a tribally chartered enterprise
whose mission is to bring ad
vanced broadband services to
the Warm Springs tribes, in
cluding voice, data and video.
What Telecom has
accomplished so far
As Adam Haas steps down
as interim general manager,
and Jose Matanane fills his
shoes, here is a little synopsis
o f w h at has b een accom
plished in the last few years,
as W arm Springs Telecom
has grown from a seed o f an
idea, to a fully functioning
company.
The
W arm
S prings
Telecom is still a new com
pany, and will continue to
grow and expand its footprint
to provide service to every
p a rt o f th e re s e rv a tio n .
H ow ever, it is im pressive
what has been accomplished
to this point.
1. Form ed the company to
include co rp o ratio n status
and by-laws.
2. Received all necessary
regulatory approvals from the
state and federal agencies in
cluding the Eligible Telecom
Carrier (ETC) status enabling
qualified tribal m em bers to
get L ifeline su p p o rt (tele
phone service for $11 month),
and W ST receives O regon
Universal Service Funds.
3. Received initial planning
funding and the Broadband
Stimulus ARRA aw ard for
$5.6 million. ■
4. Hired a great staff with
m o stly trib a l re s e rv a tio n
members.
5. Built out the Customer
Service Center.
6. Integrated the Central
Office into the new building,
w ith so p h istic a te d , h i-tec
equipment.
7. Expanded the fiber op
tic netw ork to sites around
the Reservation.
8. Im proved connectivity
to the outside world.
9. Provided redundancy
by having two providers for
internet access.
10. Have nearly 400 cus
tom er phone lines connected
via our fixed-wireless to the
home network.
11. Have 281 Internet cus
to m e rs c o n n e c te d to o u r
fixed-wireless network, includ
ing K ah N ee Ta resort.
12. H ooked up the VFW
H all w ith b o th ph o n e and
internet service.
13. Have key large custom
ers connected via fiber, in
cluding:
• Indian H ead Casino for
both Internet and Phone Ser
vice
• Warm Springs Ventures
for internet and Phone Ser
vice
• Tribal Administration for
Internet Service
14. OSU E xtension O f
fice /E ducation D epartm ent
for Internet service.
15. Providing phone and
internet services to the Senior
Center and to businesses in
the Plaza including Skyn Style
and Blue Sky Market.
16. We will also be the tele
phone provider for th e new
Community Counseling Cen
ter when it opens next year.
Upcoming
Still to be accomplished:
' ■ Continue to build-out fi
ber network and new towers
throughout the Reservation,
• Provide additional ser
vice to Seekseequa, Simnasho
and Sidwalter; and,
• Increase product offer
ing to customers.
FDA: fast-growing fish
would not harm nature
W A SH IN G T O N (AP) _
Federal health regulators say
a g en etically e n g in e e re d
salmon that grows twice as
fast as norm al is unlikely to
harm the environment, clear
ing the way for the first ap
proval o f a genetically engi
n eered anim al fo r h u m an
consumption.
T he Food and . D rug Ad
m inistration on Friday re
leased its environmental as
se s sm e n t
of
th e
A quaA dvantage salm on, a
faster-growing fish which has
been subject to a contentious,
y e a rs lo n g d e b a te a t th e
agency. The docum ent con
cludes that the fish ' 'will not
have any significant impacts
on the quality o f the human
environm ent o f the United
States." Regulators also said
th at th e fish is unlikely to
harm populations o f natural
salm on, a key concern for
environmental activists.
T he FDA will take com
ments from the public on its
re p o rt for 60 days befo re
making it final.
The FDA said m ore than
two years ago that the fish
appears to be safe to eat, but
the agency had taken no pub
lic action since then. Execu
tives for the company behind
th e fish, M aynard, M ass.-
based A quabounty, specu
lated that the government was
delaying action, on their ap
plication due to push-back
from groups w ho oppose ge
netically modified food ani
mals.
E xperts view the release
o f the environmental report
as the final step before ap
proval.
I f FD A regulators clear
the salmon, as expected, it
would be the first scientifically
altered animal approved for
food anywhere in the world.
Critics call the m odified
salmon a"frankenfish." They
worry that it could cause hu
m an allergies and the even
tual decimation o f the natu
ral salm on population if it
escapes and breeds in the
wild.
A q uaB ounty has m ain
tained that the fish is safe and
that there are several safe
guards against environmental
problems.