Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2013)
Spi [yay Tyro May 29/2013 Coyote News, est. 1976 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 SOCÆI7 ’ p ^ ECRWSS ital Patron R ob ^ 6 Voi. 38, Nò May - Xawit’an - Spring - Wawaxam I Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Funding approved for school work Council T he C onfederated Tribes re ceived w ord that the U.S. D epart m ent o f Agriculture has approved a $6.8 million loan guarantee. This allows the tribes to seek construc tio n financingj from one o f the banks that has shown interest in w orking w ith the tribes o n th e .school project. The Warm Springs k-8 school will cost an estimated $20 million. The tribes are contributing $3.4 million from tribal revenue, plus the $6.8 million USDA loan-guarantee fund ing. Jefferson County School District 509-J is contributing $10 million through a bond levy that district v o ters ap p ro v ed last year. T h e school district voters also approved additional funding for a new foot ball stadium, perform ing arts cen ter, and other district-wide improve ments. T ribal m em bers last year ap proved a référendum allowing the tribes to contribute $10 million. T h e re w as a delay o f a few months in receiving final word from the USDA regarding the loan guar antee. This had the potential o f c o m p lic a tin g th e c o n s tru c tio n schedule, but the plan can now go forward as intended, w ith thé con- iR 'O 'W ít’W lA •■•7» ' y New Warm Springs A K-8 School KIRBY S ra ffi WlNAGElHOUT i Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay The building site is at East Tenino and Chukar, at Greeley Heights. struction. start-date on June 24. The initial work will involve lev elling th e ground and other pre construction activity. The new school, on East Tenino and Chukar, is scheduled to open for the fall term 2014. Anyone interested in employ ment opportunities during the con struction phase should calljob Cre ation and D evelopm ent at 541- 553-3324. ‘P ersonalized m astery’ T h e d is tric t b o a rd in M ay agreed to m ove forward w ith a new teaching and learning ap proach called “personalized mas tery.” The approach has proven to be a highly successful in other school districts, said Laurie Danzuka, o f the 509 J school district board. ■Personalized Mastery refers to a s tu d e n t-c e n te re d ed u c a tio n m odel th a t em phasizes in d i vidual, rather than group, learn ing. This allows each student to proceed at his or her own pace, Danzuka said. The district board for thé past several m onths have been study ing the personalized mastery ap proach. They visited schools in districts that have im plemented the system. The board then discussed the subject with parents and staff in a special work session in May, and decided to move forward. P e rs o n a liz e d m a stery in volves dividing major subjects like re a d in g a n d m a th in to smaller units that students have to m aster before moving on to the next level. The idea is that students w ho have trouble will receive m ore one-on-one in struction, while those who excel right away can advance to thé next challenge. “This is a student-centered learning system that is very dif fe re n t fro m o u r tra d itio n a l teacher-driven instruction meth ods,” said dist rict superintendent Rick Molitor. (M o re school news page 8 .) — Dave McMechan Financial matters the focus at Council Tribal Council last week called for a General Council meeting, so the membership can be updated on the tribal enterprises. This came near the start o f a four-Day Council work session last week bn the state o f the tribes. Councilman Carlos Smith made a m otion that the Cascade Locks casino negotiating team give an up date to the community at a General Council m eeting. This m otion was seconded by Councilman Scott Moses. Coun cilm an S m ith said th a t m o s t people in the community are no longer in favor o f spending m ore m oney on Cascade Locks. T h e tribes have spent millions on the proposal and are still spending money each m o n th on Cascade Locks, he said. Others Councilmembers felt the General Council meeting should in clude an update from all o f the tribal enterprises, and not focus just on the Cascade Locks matter. C o u n cil C h a irm a n A u stin G re e n e said th e m e m b ersh ip should hear from each o f the en terprises as to why there has been such a d ro p in revenue. “T h e people rely on the enterprises, and they should know why they are struggling,” he said. Councilmen Smith and Scott said the Cascade Locks topic w ould take up a whole evening o f discussion; so a better idea w ould be to address Cascade Locks by itself, and then meet at another G eneral Council for discussion o f other enterprises. See COUNCIL on .page 12 Social Dance Reunion The N ’Chi Wanapum Canoe Family hosted the Social Dance Reunion last Friday at the Com munity Center Social Hall (photo atright). I D ances w ere th o se fro m tim e im m em o rial co m p le-. m ented by cultural dances o f today. The Canoe Family meanwhile is preparing for the Paddle to Quinault 2013. The family will be on the journey from July 17- August7. This will be the third time the N ’Chi Wanapum Family partici pates in the Native Canoe Jo u r ney. B ib W , ¡¡¡r Q f ?- * V. f weighs election options T h e re fe re n d u m on th e m otorsports idea fell 63 votes short o f a valid election, failing to meet one-third voter participation. O f those w ho did vote, 526 were in fa vor and 468 were against. There were 800 ballots cast lo cally, and 156 from absentee voters. The process that was used in regard to the absentee ballots was a m atter for discussion last week at Tribal Council. The election also may lead to a broader discussion o f Tribal O rdi nance 44, governing elections, and w hether this ordinance may need to be updated. Council Chairman Aus tin G reene said Ordinance 44 dis cussion should be added to the Council June agenda. . W itness requirem ent With the motorsports referendum the tribes for the first time used an outside company to help with the election. The tribes contracted with A utom ated Election Service, based in Albuquerque, to assist with the referendum. A u to m a te d E le c tio n Service printed the referendum ballots by •following O rdinance 44, a copy of which had been provided to them by the tribes. The ordinance says that an ab sentee ballot must include signatures by two witnesses. This provision has n o t been enforced in any election in recent memory. The provision ap parently dates back to w hen very few tribal m em bers lived o ff the reservation. A utom ated Election Service was not aware that the two-witness p ro vision in Ordinance 44 has n ot been a requirement for some time. So the m otorsports absentee ballots w ent out requiring the two witnesses. This was clearly n o t fair to the absentees, as there had been no wit ness requirem ent in any other elec tion, said Councilman Carlos Smith. This may have discouraged some voters from participating in the elec tion, he said. A nd as the referendum fell just 68 votes short, the question is whether there should be a re-vote. C o u n cilm an O rv ie D a n z u k a asked Election C om m ittee Chair w om an Beulah T sum pti how the num ber o f returned absentee bal lots in this election com pared with other elections. There were 156 absentee votes in this election, while other elections m ight see 200 o r above, she said. Tribal Council elections generally see a higher return than other elections, she added. Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay See VOTING on page 12 Win a 2013 Can-Am Spyder® ST-S or $15,000 Cash! Courtesy of Pro Caliber of Bend! See page 12 for détails,,
