December 26, 2012
Spilyay T ym o o , W arm Springs, O regon
Page 8
2012 Year in Review.
(This is the conclusion o f
the 2 0 1 2 Year in Preview, a
look hack a t some o f the no
table events on the Reservation
over the p a s t year.)
June
<.
.
y
W arm Springs Power
and Water Enterprises in
Ju n e released its 2011
annual report, and the news
was not good. Power and
W ater m an ag em en t and
board members then met
w ith T rib al C ouncil to
review past perform ance,
and to discuss 2013
projections.
T he
enterprise
is
forecasting that the coming
year will be a very
challenging: For 2013, Power
and Water is projecting to
have no dividend to
co n trib u te to the tribal
general fund. This is a major
change from previous years.
For instance, in 2011 and in
2012, the dividend from the
enterprise was $2 million
each year. In 2010 the
dividend was close to $8
million.
By way o f explanation,
Power and Water officials
said that their revenue is
influenced by what happens
in the N o rth w est energy
supply market, which is weak.
Adding to the problem, the
enterprise has large capital
requirements due to resource
restoration projects required
in the federal license.
Meanwhile, the month of
June saw an eventful day for
the future salmon and
steelhead o f the upper
Deschutes River. Six adult
spring chinook salm on
entered the river just above
the P elton-R ound B utte
project in early June, the first
time adult migrating fish have
been above the dams in 45
years.
T he fish had been
collected below the dams, and
then taken by truck to a spot
on Lake Billy Chinook just
above Round Butte. Officials
from the tribes, PG E and
state agencies were on hand
for the event. Over the past
decade, the tribes and PGE
have contributed over $100
million for a fish restoration
p ro ject at P elton-R oun d
Butte. Elsewhere:
Warm Springs Telecom
marked a milestone in June,
signing up its one hundredth
custom er, tribal elder
Perthina White. A team of
Telecom staff surprised the
long-tim e
reservation
resident on June 20, arriving
; at her home to thank her for
her business.
The crew then installed
iP e rth in a ’s b rand new
; telephone service. “This is
i great,” said daughter Ina
¡A nderson, thanking the
Telecom crew for the
service. Ina explained that
her mother had been without
f a landline phone for about
I one year. In other news:
Tribal officials in June
’w ere em phasizing some
¡im p o rtan t facts, as the
i membership gets ready for
! the July k-8 school
: referendum. T he tribal
i Senior Pension Fund and per
| capita will not be affected by
jth e school referendum ,
I officials were emphasizing.
This will be the second
referendum on the Warm
Springs k-8 proposal, as the
referendum earlier in the year
failed for insufficient voter
participation. In other June
2012 news:
Tribal Council approved
two locations on Miller Flat
for a possible travel center
along Highway 26. The travel
center would be a new tribal
enterprise. A number of other
tribes operate profitable
travel centers.
1
July
F
Tribal members in July
passed the Warm Springs k-8
school referendum. The
$20-million school is now set
to 1 open for the fall term in
2014.
The 20-acre construction
site is now sagebrush and
juniper; but in the near future,
“We’ll look on this site and
see a new school for our
young people,” said Laurie
Danzuka, chairwoman of the
School District 509-J board.
“Our kids deserve this,” she
said. “It’s been a long-time
.coming.”
Danzuka spoke during the
ground-breaking ceremony
last week at the new Warm
Springs school site, at East
Tenino and Chukar Road. “I
truly believe this will benefit
our
children,”
said
Councilwoman Lola Sohappy.
“I can see so many
opportunities coming from
this for our children.”
Middle school students will
spend less time on the bus,
she said, giving them more
time to spend at school, at
school sports and with family.
Elementary school students
will have a new school in a
better location, she said.
Lola and husband D on
Sohappy gave the invocation
at the ground breaking.
“I also want to thank the
voters,” said tribal secretary-
treasurer Jody Calica, adding
too that the school has been
a long tim e coming.
Elsewhere:
The N’Chi Wanapum
Canoe Family this m onth
and into early August is on the
2012 Canoe Journey. The
Journey is to Squaxim Island
on the Olympic Peninsula,
hom e
of
the
tribal
com m unity o f K am ilche.
The Warm Springs canoe and
family left on July 12, and
return in early August. Also
in July:
The phase 2 settlement
money is being put to good
use in two ways: First, the
settlement money is being
used for im portant natural
resources restoration work.
And second, the phase 2
m oney is being used for
significant em ploym ent
among tribal members.
The tribes received the
phase 2 settlement in 2009.
This was compensation from
the federal government for
past mismanagement of tribal
natural resources. About $29
m illion o f the phase 2
settlement was dedicated to
natural resource restoration
work. A nother roughly $5
million was designated for
baseline studies o f natural
resources.
There are now about 100
crew members working on
restoration projects made
possible through this program,
Jayden Builder helps get the vote out during the school
referendum.
administered by the Branch
of Natural Resources.
The tribes and Portland
G eneral Electric continue
negotiations in regard to the
Cascade Crossing Trans
mission Project.
A
potential route o f the line
includes the Warm Springs
Reservation, on an existing
Bonneville Power Administra
tion power fine corridor. A
cost appraisal for use of the
corridor is scheduled for July,
w hen
the
business
negotiations begin, according
to the timeline for the project.
In other July news:
T he
tribal
N atural
Resources Branch is working
on the second phase o f a
three-phase resto ratio n
project on the Middle Fork
of the John Day River. The
area being restored is the
Oxbow Conservation Area,
a 1,022-acre tribally-owned
property near the reservation
boundary.
August
Over 500 fire fighters and
support crew personnel were
deployed in A ugust in
response to the Waterfalls
2 fire. The blaze burned
across more than 6,000 acres
on the reservation. The fire
was located 3.5 miles
northeast of the summit of
Mt. Jefferson, about 22 miles
w est o f W arm Springs.
Windy conditions and rough
terrain made Waterfalls 2 a
problem for responders. In
other news:
The Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs Branch of
Natural Resources released
m ore Rocky Mountain
goats recently at Mt.
Jefferson on the reservation.
The tribes worked on the
release p ro jec t w ith the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife.The tribes and
Fish and Wildlife released 24
of the wild goats in late July.
The 24 new releases joined
the goats and offspring that
w ere released on the
mountain in 2010. Also in
August:
The Warm Springs canoe
team com pleted the 2012
Journey, arriving at Squaxim
Island on the O lym pic
Peninsula, home of the tribal
com m unity o f Kamilche.
This is the third year that the
N ’Chi W anapam Canoe
Family has participated in the
Tribal Journeys canoe
gathering. Meanwhile:
The Confederated Tribes
and Jefferson County School
D istrict 509-J are moving
forw ard now w ith the
financing aspects of the new
Warm Springs school. For
their part, the tribes will be
seeking a loan guarantee
from the U.S. Department of
A griculture; said chief
operations officer Urbana
Ross. The guarantee would
make it easier for the tribes
to secure funding for the $20
million project. And this:
The Museum at Warm
Springs is a busier place these
days. The extra visitors are
due mainly to the nearby
Indian H ead Casino and
C o ttonw ood R estaurant.
Since the casino and
restaurant opened, as many
as 20 more people each day
are visiting the museum.
September
Many gathered in Septem
ber at Tom, Dick and Harry,
known today as Skibowl, to
celebrate the retu rn to
“Wiwnu Wash” or the huck
leberry field. The ceremony
began as riders on horseback
traveled from the Warm
Springs Reservation’s north
ern boundary, camping each
night until they reached Gov
ernment Camp. The riders
emerged from the tree line
followed by walkers in tradi
tional regalia to end the 35
mile journey to the Wiwnu
Wash Cultural Center at Mt.
Hood Ski Bowl. Elsewhere:
John Halliday returned
to work in Warm Springs in
September. Some may re
member that he worked here
years ago, at jobs quite dif
ferent from his new one.
Halliday is now the Superin
tendent for the BIA Warm
Springs Agency. His first day
back on the job in Warm
Springs was last Thursday.
A b o u t-30 tribal members
were on hand for a welcom
ing party at the administra
tion building. He then met
with Tribal Council for the
first time. Also in September:
Tribal Council posted the
proposed 2013 tribal bud
get on Sept. 21. The proposal
includes a projected decrease
of nearly $2.29 million from
the 2012 tribal budget. Else
where:
T he W arm Springs
Telecom is nearing the
completion of project involv
ing installation fiber optic
cable. The cable will provide
for much stronger Internet
and voice service, said
Telecom m anager Jose
Matanane. And this:
Road work began at the
Hollywood intersection area.
The project is expected to be
finished in early November.
The Hollywood-Tenino
paving project has a budget
o f close to $600,000, with
funding through tribal shares
o f the BIA infrastructure
budget. Details o f the project
are as follows: The section of
road on East Tenino-Tenino
from Elliot Heights to the ad
ministration building-West
Hills intersection will receive
a 2-inch asphalt overlay. The
2-inch overlay will also be
applied from.Kot-num road
to the Hollywood-Tenino in
tersection. Sidewalks and con
crete curbs will be repaired
or replaced in various sec
tions of the project. In other
news:
Blessed
Kateri
Tekakwitha will be canon
ized by Pope Benedict XVI
in October. Members of the
Blessed Kateri Catholic In
dian M ission o f Warm
Springs in September were
preparing for a pilgrimage to
the Vatican to witness the can
onization. Those making the
pilgrimage are Father Luis
Flores-Alva and tribal mem
bers Marcela Hall, Ursula
Gibson, Colleen Reed, Nancy
Seyler and Leslie Cochran-
Davis.
Blessed Kateri, whose fa
ther was Mohawk and mother
was Algonquin, will be the
first Native American to be
come a saint. She was born
in 1656 and died at the age
of 24 in 1680. The process
of her sainthood began in
1884, followed by her ven
eration in 1943 and two cer
tified miracles in 1943 and
2006,
October
Wasco Chief Alfred
Smith Sr. joined Tribal
Council in October, following
an election by the Wasco
people. Chief Smith took the
o ath o f office during a
ceremony outside Council
cham bers, w ith many
supporters on hand for the
histo ric occasion. C hief
Sm ith is now the fo u rth
Wasco Chief to serve his
people since the formation
o f the m odern tribal
government in 1938.
C hief Sm ith w on the
recent election conducted
among the Wasco people,
although he was n o t a
supporter o f the election
process. The successor to
atwai
C hief
N elson
Wallulatum, who served for
over 50 years, should have
been chosen by tribal
trad itio n , rath er th an by
election, Chief Smith said.
Still, the election process
appeared to be the only way
to bring about a consensus on
the matter.
The Wasco Chieftainship
position on Council had been
vacant for almost two and a
half years, while at least five
other people claimed a right
as successor. In the end Chief
Smith received the most votes
in the election process, and
Tribal Council acknowledged
the result by resolution. In
other October news:
Warm Springs Composite
Products gave a positive
re p o rt to Tribal C ouncil
earlier this week. The year
so far has been good, thanks
in large part to the overseas
m arket th a t C om posite
P ro d u cts has developed.
There have been no layoffs
in
2012
am ong
the
approximately 40 employees
at Composite, said Duane
D arnell, ch ief executive
officer. He rep o rted th at
Composite Products is now
producing its own fire-proof
door cores, along with the
p ro tectiv e
fire -p ro o f
Tectonite. Meanwhile:
Warm Springs hosted a
farm ers m arket in early
October at the campus park.
The market included farm
stand products. Community
members were also selling
arts and crafts. The hope is
for the market to become a
regular feature at the park.
Elsewhere:
(Continued on page 9)
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