r
P.0. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECRWSS
Postal Patron
A u g u st 7, 2013
Coyote News, est. 1976
Vol. 38, N o. 14
A u g u st-S h atm -S u m m e r-S h atm
Council votes against Cascade Locks
Tribal Council voted last week to
end the pursuit o f a casino at Cas
cade Locks.
T h e m ajority o f the C ouncil
voted in favor o f a three-part m o
tion. The three parts are as follows:
One, withdraw the tribes’ Cas
cade Locks fee-to-trust application,
subm itted to the D epartm ent o f
Interior.
Two, withdraw the gaming com
pact regarding a Cascade Locks ca
sino, submitted to the state o f O r
egon.
T h ree, dissolvè th e C ascade
Locks negotiating team.
The vote on the m otion was 6-
2-2. ■
In favor were Council members
Reuben Henry, Kahseuss Jackson,
Scott Moses, Evaline Patt, Carlos
Smith, and Wasco Chief JR Smith.
C ouncilm an Sm ith m ade the
motion to discontinue pursuing the
Cascade Locks proposal; seconded
by Chief JR Smith.
Voting against the m otion were
Warm Springs Chief Delvis H eath
and Paiute Chief Joe Moses.
C o u n cil m e m b e rs
O rv ie
D anzuka and Raym ond T sum pi
abstained from the vote.
The Council members voting in
favor o f the m otion voiced concern
about the am ount o f m oney— ap
proximately $29 million— the tribes
have spent on the Cascade Locks
proposal.
On-going monthly expenses have
brought thè matter to the forefront,
as the tribes are facing a serious
financial challenge, including sig
nificant cuts to general fund pro
grams.
The gaming board has also rec
ommended that the tribes stop pur
suing the Cascade Locks project,
said board chairman Jason Smith.
“The board has been dealing with
this for quite awhile,” he said, “and
we’ve come up with that recom
m endation... There is no light at
the end o f the tunnel with Cas
cade Locks.”
Form er gaming board m em ber
and former Congresswoman Eliza
beth Furse spoke to Council about
the Cascade Locks project. “It is
my belief that the Interior D epart
m ent is n o t going to make a fa
v o ra b le d e c isio n o n C ascad e
Locks,” Furse said.
The department, for instance,
is aware o f the lawsuits that would
follow a favorable decision for the
tribes, she said.
Gov. Kitzhaber is also an op
p o n e n t o f th e C ascade L ocks
project. “But the issue isn’t even
with the Governor, but rather with
the Interior D epartm ent,” Furse
said.
The tribes: should stop spend
ing money on Cascade Locks, and
instead focus on the actual assets
o f the tribes, namely Indian Head
Casino and K ah-N ee-Ta R esort
and Spa, Furse said.
Chief Joe Moses said Council
action to stop pursuing a Cascade
Locks development would be con
trary to the referendum passed by
th e m em b ersh ip . T h e C ouncil
should follow the will o f the people,
he said.
Council Chairman Eugene Aus
tin Greene Jr. said he has heard con
cerns from tribal members at re
cent meetings regarding Cascade
Locks. However, he said about 70
to 80 members were in attendance,
while the entire membership is over
5,000.
A t this point Councilman Smith
asked S ecretary -T reasu rer Jake
Suppah to provide Council with the
actual language o f the G orge ca
sino referendum, which the m em
bership passed in May o f 2002.
The referendum question reads as
follows:
“Shall the Tribe be authorized
to finance, construct and operate a
gaming casino on Tribal trust lands
in the Columbia River Gorge, on
such terms as the Tribal Council
shall determine; provided that any
borrowing shall be the obligation
only o f the casino enterprise and
shall n ot risk any other Tribal as
set?”
Councilman Smith said the ref
eren d u m refers specifically to
“trust lands” and the Confederated
Tribes have no trust land at Cas
cade Locks. Continuing to spend
m oney at Cascade Locks is n o t
authorized by the referendum, he
said.
The tribes have trust land east
o f H o o d River, which would
qualify for gaming. T he east
H ood River site was the origi
nal Gorge casinò proposed de
velopm ent site.
Cascade Locks entered the' ?
discussion after H o o d River
residents protested against the
proposal to develop the east
H ood River trust property, while
Cascade Locks residents, and
H ood River County, were recep
tive to development at Cascade
Locks.
O ver the past 11 years, the
tribal funds spent at Cascade
L ocks have com e fro m the
tribal gaming enterprise, as stated
in the referendum. However,
said Councilman Scott Moses,
this has put “other tribal assets”
at risk, as there has been loss .
of revenue to the general fund
and the programs and depart
ments o f the tribes.
Reviewing a financial state
m ent about the Cascade Locks
ex p en d itu res,.. C o u n cilm an
Kahseuss Jackson asked about
approximately $108,000 spent in
2012. H e also asked about a re
cent feasibility study costing
oyer $20,000.
T rib a l a tto rn e y D e n n is
K arnopp said a part o f that ex
penditure was for a feasibility
study for a w ater-park at the
Cascade Locks site.
See GAMING on 7
Kah-Nee-Ta coming back after fires
Two fires in July— one inside and
one outside— came at the w orst
possible time o f year for Kah-Nee-
Ta Resort and Spa. The middle o f
summer is the busy time o f year at
the resort, which had to close down
as a result o f fires.
The goal is to fully re open by
'August 24, in time for Labor Day
Weekend, said Kah-Nee-Ta general
manager Carlos Smith.
The lodge is scheduled to re-open
this week, oh Friday, August 9. The
kitchen, though, will likely riot be
ready until the A ugust 24 target
date. The Kah-Nee-Ta G olf Course
is open for business, and will host
the Kah-Nee-Ta Invitational later
this summer.
The restoration work at the lodge
is expected to cost over $1 million,
Smith said. The kitchen fire caused
some damage, while water from the
emergency sprinkler system also
caused significant damage, he said.
The sprinkler system was very
effective, and saved the lodge from
extensive fire damage, Smith said.
The water went through five floors,
from the ro o f down to the base
ment.
The loss o f business due to can
celled reservations is estimated at
another approximately $1 million,
Smith est ¡mated. -
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Clean-up work at the conference room area of the lodge. The companies doing the clean-up and
restoration hired Kah-Nee-Ta employees to assist with the work.
The kitchen fire happened on
Thursday, July 18. T h e kitchen
h o o d , w hich rem oves airborne
grease from the air above the cook
ing area, was the ignition point o f
the fire.
Flames burned into the ro o f
area above the kitchen before the
sprinkler system and Fire and
Safety personnel extinguished the
fire.
The lodge was evacuated after
the kitchen fire. Guests remained
at the Village for a time, until the
Sunnyside T urnoff fire broke out
on Satorday, July 13.
The resort followed its fire re
sponse plan, deciding at that
point that full evacuation o f all
guests was warranted. “That was
a good decision,” Smith said,
“because the roads were closed
a short time later.”
See KNT on 7
U.S. Postage
PRSRTSTD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
5 0 cents
Change
at tribal
court
Tribal Council m et this week to
discuss thé Tribal Court, as a va
cancy on the court will open soon.
C hief Judge Susan A lexander
will be leaving at the end o f thi§,,
month. She has been the chief iudg®
o f the W arm Springs Tribal C ourt
for the past three years.
There are four judges serving ori
th e T rib al C o u rt: C h ie f Ju d g e
A lexander, and Associate Judges
Walter Langnese, Lisa Lomas and
G lendon Smith. Tribal Council on
T uesday re-ap p o in ted A ssociate
Judge Smith to his position.
Tribal Council discussed whether
the court could go from four judges
to three, with one o f the existing’
associate judges becoming the new
chief judge.
A nother option would be to ad
vertise for a new chief judge. A rec
om m endation from A lexander is
that the court include a licensed at
torney.
Councilman Raymond Tsumpti
said the tribal budget process for
2014 could determine the num ber
o f judges on the Tribal Court. “Rev
enue will dictate the decision,” he
said.
Judge Alexander said she may be
able to w ork through the rest o f
this year to help with the transition,
if Council feels it necessary.
Councilman Kahseuss Jackson
said the transition should be made
as cost-efficiently as possible.
Councilman Tsumpti said there
may be form er tribal judges in the
community w ho could serve on an
interim basis during the remainder
o f this year.
O ver the past couple o f years,
. she said, the number o f Tribal Court
case openings and closings has in
creased significantly. In 2012, for
instance, the num ber o f case open
ings increased by 23 percent, and
case closings by 22 percent.
Probate review, and an em pha
sis on legal due process to all par
ties are reasons for the increase in
ease activity, Alexander said. Some
im provem ents in the operation o f
the court could be lost if the num
ber o f judges returns to three, she
said.
O ther agenda items
■ Council has a num ber o f other
im portant issues on the agenda for
August. Some o f the items include:
R eduction in w ork hours and
638 contracting; gaming with the
G am ing C om m ission; and tribal
elections, specifically Ordinance 44.
O ther items:
C om m ittee appointm ents, the
tribal budget to date; Warm Springs
F o rest P ro d u cts In d u stries and
C om posite P roducts; C over O r
egon, the Personnel Policy Manual
and management plan.
(For the fu ll Council agenda seepages
2 and 5 o f this publication.)