E Coosh EEWA: The w^y it is
Pgge 4
Spilygy Tymoo June 26, 2013
Letters to the editor
Voting is the
chance to
---------------------------------------------
Referendum you need, is to be educated in the U.S.A. I f ybu don’t
make your
I wpuld encourage our and have full knowledge of have a car, or you’re physi
opinion heard membership to get out an our Treaty, our Constitution cally disabled, the city of
By Yvonne Iverson
On Tuesday, July 9, tribal
members will be asked once
again to vote on the
motorsports referendum.
The original vote was 68
voters short
of meeting the
one-third mini
Spilyay.
mum require
Speaks
ment.
A
third-
party voting
service company adminis
tered the May election, and
will do so again on July 9.
Multiple inform ational
m eetings
about
the
m otorsports project were
held in Warm Springs, and
one was scheduled in Portland
to reach the almost 300 tribal
member voters living in the
Metro Area.
I have read the comments
and heard people say that
“not voting is a no vote,” and
if tribal members are not go
ing to the polls that means
they do not support whatever
it is that is up for election, i.e.
new school, adoptions,
motorsports.
If this is true, and you do
the math on the last election
and assume that the 68 people
who did not vote would have
voted no, then the outcome
w ould have been 531 no
votes and 526 votes yes.
This would have put an
end to the discussion and we
could m ove on w ithout
spending any more money on
another referendum.
People are concerned
about how the tribe will come
up w ith money for the
motorsports project, but in
the mean time we are spend
ing thousands of dollars on
another election, not to men
tion the cost of meetings,
m ailouts, sta ff tim e and
travel.
“It is important to vote,
so that our leaders are able
to get a clear answer to the
question,” says Joelden Sur
face. “It costs money we
don’t have when we have to
have another vote.”
A lot of time and money
is being spent trying to get di
rection and input from tribal
members. “(Voting is) One of
the only chances we get to
state our opinion and stance
on our future,” says Jefferson
Greene.
On July 9 you will have the
opportunity to vote on the
m o to rsports referendum .
Leta Smith encourages oth
ers to “Just get out and vote,
tribal people... Make a differ
ence, your vote counts.”
vote in the motorsports ref
erendum. This has become
a hot political issue, and I do
not appreciate the scare tac
tics used to derail a much-,
needed project.
This project will not im
pact any of our traditional
responsibilities. We, as a
people, have to look beyond
negative notions and under
stand our tribe needs rev
enue. We have to look out
for the financial welfare of
future generation.
The concern, the only
concern I got from our el
ders is that they do not want
o u r leaders to abuse this
project, meaning, don’t use
this project as another rea
son to travel or make your
household income more-fa-,
vorable while the poor and
unemployed hurt just to pro
vide a meal for their fami
lies
or ; gas
for
work. Remember leaders,
many working tribal mem
bers are supporting more
then one household.
N ext, is our Cascade
Locks project. Autwi Rudy
Clements recruited me to be
a tribal ambassador to this
project. He told me that he
was recruiting me for my
voice and my honesty and he
knew that I would always in
sure that the tribal member
ship was getting accurate in
form ation. Rudy always
wanted me to remind the
membership that it was the
goal of the Gaming Board
to insure the financial stabil
ity o f our Tribe. This is why
this project was so impor
tant. Rudy was so elated
when this referendum passed
with high voter turnout.
Today, this project is be
ing abused. Being used for
political bantering, or to get
votes, and that really hurts
my heart when people fail to
pass on accurate informa
tion.
M ore
recently,
a
Simnasho District Council
member was sharing with dis
trict members that the Cas
cade Project was costing the
Tribe $20,000 per month to
the tribal attorneys. That is
a false statement. Why dis
honor our Tribe by lying to
our people?
This project has gotten
thro u g h two significant
hurdles. To toss it aside like
.trash is foolishness. Educa
tion is good for our young
people, but utilizing educa
tion as clout to scare our
people is disgraceful. The
m ost im portant education
Spilyay Tymoo
(C o yo te News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus: Sid Miller
Reporter/ Advertising Director: Yvonne Iverson
Editor: Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the Con
federated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our offices are
located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm Springs.
Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 870, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
Phone:541-553-2210
E-Mail: dave.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $15.00
and By-laws, and all the his
torical documents left by our
elders to guide you new lead
ers,
Do not abuse the Tribes’
assets. That was the message
the people were sending out
with this 2013 Tribal Council
elections. We want to know
if all o f you are traveling?
How many have collected that
per diem? Conferences?
W here is the travel
refo rm the people were
promised? The only Council
members that should be trav
eling are our Chair, Vice-
Chair, arid our Chiefs,
Politics has no place in our
Tribe. Period. Politics inter
feres with the wellness of our
leadership and our people
suffer for that. You got an
axe to grind, you have no
place at that Council table.
Your global agenda should be
to look out for all people of
this tribe, not for your own
benefit.
Atawishamash, Leona
A. Ike
From Eugene
Look at all the resources.
I’ve lived in Eugene, O r
egon w ith the traum atic
brain-injury, I’m told I have
for many, many years now.
I’ve learned a lot about our
brains.
The city of Eugene has
many advantages for all folks
Eugene has a LTD bus you
can use and take from places
to places, run around this city.
The LTD bus can also help
and take you grocery shop
ping w hen needed. You
should just have your own
shopping cart.
This Eugene has many re
sources for everyone. I ’m
also a big fan of the Oregon
Ducks now too! Eugene also
has two colleges, the U of O
and Lane Community College.
There is a lot of resources in
Eugene we can all take ad
vantages of.
My uncle Olney Patt Jr.
graduated from the Univer
sity of Oregon many years
ago. Eugene has many re
sources for us all!
Quack, Quack!
Evette Patt, 50 Kourt Dr.,
apt. 3, Eugene OR 97404;
ph. 541-461-3375.
Charlotte for the salmon and
dumplins, Clarence Vernon
Sam, the Salmon, Sisters
Malessa and Harvey, Marina,
Doris, Laritha for the food
and the gifts. I will always re
member that day.
Love all of you,
Harvey Jim
To graduate
I too would like to thank
all of the family that made
our Eleventh Anniversary , a
great one. The traveling of
my In-laws, the gifts, food
and all.
Love you, '
Eliza Brown-Jim
Flandreau South Dakota
2013 - Marella Rose VanPelt.
Congratulations, We’re proud
of you!
A l l our love: Eillie Patt
VanPelt (mother), Harvey &
Eli^a jim (grandparents), Tony
& Gloria & Boys (brother),
Flisyi Madrano & Family,
Teonard D. Bryant (brother),
Tevi & Pearl VanPelt <dF Fam
ily, Marella & Robert Sam &
Family, Chet VanPelt Jr. &
Family, A nthony & Tates
VanPelt & Family, Wolfman
(Vernon) Suppah & Family,
Coby — Sister & Sister &
Honey too.
,
Thanks
Thanking all for the won
derful Birthday and Anniver
sary luncheon on Saturday,
April 27 (birth was April 18).
Thanks to my wife (Eliza)
Our children: Levi and Pearl
for the roots and frybread,
Rella and B obbit for the
place setting, Chet and Becky
for salad and photos, Tiger
and Tates for everything,
Tony and Gloria and Leo and
boys, Wanona, our cooks
Jeanine
and
Tommy,
Marella, Helena Jackson,
Congratulations
Congratulations, Krysten!
We are so proud of you for
earning your Associates of
A rts (Oregon Transfer) Degree
from Central Oregon Commu
nity College. We’ve always
been proud of your accomplish
ments and know we have many
more proud moments to look
forward too!
You did it! Hoveyou!
Mom, Edward, Dylan &
Hayden V Teira too!
Diabetics on Medicare face deadline, need information
By Terry Blankenship
(Note: Terry Blankenship is
vice president of patient care at
Diabetes Care Club, the nation’s
third-largest provider of diabetic
testing supplies and one of only
18 companies authorised to serve
Medicare patients. He invites,
people to email questions to:
tblankenship@ simplex-
healthcare.com.
For further information on
Diabetes Care Club, visit
www.diabetescareclub.com. Or call
1-800-376-7521.)
If you have diabetes and
are on Medicare, you have
an im portant decision to
make in just a couple of
weeks.
You have probably heard
that Medicare is changing the
system through which you
get your diabetes testing sup
plies. So unlike now, when
’ you can order supplies from
thousands o f mail order
companies, beginning July 1
you’ll only be able to order
from 18.
There is litde question that
this new system will be bet
ter in the long run: The gov
ernment will save money and
you will see your co-pay and
deductible amounts decrease.
For example, patients test
ing one time a day, before
July 1, have an average co
pay of approximately $14.47
on their testing supplies.
After July 1, for the same
order, the co-pay will de
crease to approxim ately
$4.49. This is a savings to
you of almost 70 percent.
The actual cost may be
even lower, or no ebst at all,
if you have secondary .insur
ance.
Yet despite these signifi
cant benefits, in the short
term this new system is caus
ing confusion for patients
who must change providers, ,
They don’t know where
to begin. And this makes
them
vulnerable . to
scammers who might see an
opportunity to trick patients
into giving personal informa-
tiori.
At Diabetes Care Club,
we have heard these types
o f concerns from people
who call searching for a new
provider. They are rightly
apprehensive about moving
to another company and
d on’t know exactly what
questions to ask.
Patients w onder w hat
matters most when choosing
a provider. And, of course,
the answer to that question
depends on what the patient
values most.
Still, after years in the dia
betes care industry, I believe
there are some key points
th a t patien ts and their
caregivers should consider
before selecting a provider
to trust with their healthcare
needs.
• H ow m uch exp eri
ence does the provider
have?
A provider should have a
proven record of excellence
in distributing diabetes sup
plies and responding to large
numbers o f customers. If
you receive a call or email
from a provider and are un
sure of their legitimacy, it is
im portant to check your
sources before providing
any personal information.
Medicare will not call pa
tients about this change so
if you receive a call claim
ing to be from Medicare, it
is a scam.
• Is the provider big
enough to handle more
custom ers w ithout dis
ruption?
A provider should be
able to explain in detail how
it has prepared to take on
thousands o f new custom
ers beginning on July 1.
• Is d iab etes the
provider’s main focus?
Ideally, a provider should
make diabetes care its top
priority rather than spread
ing its resources over a
range of medical issues.
• W hat ordering op
tions does the provider
offer?
A provider should allow
patients to order testing sup
plies by- phone, email, or
online and offer convenient
hours for customer support.
• Does the provider ac
cept “assignment?”
All mail-order providers
m ust accept assignment,
which means they cannot
charge more than the prices
set by Medicare, But retail
outlets like pharmacies do
not have to accept assign
ment and can charge more.
It is im portant to ask to
make sure you are not pay
ing added costs.
■ W hat products does
the provider stock?
A quality provider should
offer a wide range of prod
ucts so that patients can get
a product that best meets
their needs,
• D oes the p ro vid er
handle all the paperwork?
A quality provider will
handle any paperwork asso
ciated with Medicare, saving
patients time and effort with
these confusing forms.
• Does the provider de
liver on time and for free?
Patients should expect
their provider to cover the
costs of shipping and guar
antee that testing supplies will
arrive on time and in proper
condition.
I also recomrnend that
patients and their caregivers
visit:
NationalDiabetesSupply-
Finder.com
This is a w ebsite th at
helps people find the names
of all 18 providers autho
rized by Medicare and link
to their services. Addition
ally you can contact Medi
care directly.
My hope is that by arm
ing people with a few key
questions and more informa
tion, we can help them make
a seamless and stress free
switch to a provider they
trust.
In that way, they will be
able to rest assured after July
1 that their supplies will be
waiting for them in the mail
box, just as always.