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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2014)
P.O. Box 870 orings, OR 97761 5O C \E^ ECRWSS Postal Patron por - vl ^ d . Coyote News, est. 1976 February 5, 2014 Vol. 3^, i\o . 3 January - Wiyak’ik’ila - Winter - Anm Council, enterprises meet early this year Tribal Council spent m ost o f last week meeting with the direc tors and managers o f the tribal enterprises. The general fund budget, with the need for continued cuts this year, is the issue. “We’ve called in the enter prises, because the membership relies on them ,” said Council Chairman Austin G reene Jr. Many tribal members are in hardship because o f the finan cial situation. “It’s difficult to see t what the membership is going through, and we want to get back to where we once were,” Chair man Greene said. Council is asking for monthly updates from the enterprises, which in the past provided m ost o f the general fund revenue. Many o f the en terp rises have fallen on hard times, fa u ltin g in general-fund em ployee layoffs, and furlough days during m ost o f last year. Power and Water W arm Springs Power and Water Enterprises saw a better financial year in 2013 than had earlier been expected, Jim Manion, Power and Water general manager, reported to Council last week. The energy market was up com pared to the previous year, Manion said. This was the result o f an in crease in competing energy prices, and a improving economy, which in creases energy consum ption, he said. T he C onfederated Tribes cur rently own a one-third interest in the Pelton-Round Butte hydroelectric dams. T he tribes and Portland General E lectric becam e p artn ers in the ow nership and o peration o f the dams in 2001, w hen the parties en tered a settlement agreement. T hey jointly h old the Federal E nergy R egulatory License, ap proved in 2005. This is the only such arrangement— involving a tribe and a utility——in the U.S. The tribes also own and operate the re-regu lating dam, downstream from the Pelton-Round Butte facilities. Through the re-license, the tribes and P G E have made sub stantial im provem ents at the dams in order to improve fish passage. O ver $100 million has gone into this effort, including m ost noticeably the fish collec tion tow er behind the Round Butte dam. Through its agreement with P G E , the Confederated Tribes have the option to purchase a larger interest in the hydro dams. The tribes could eventually be com e m ajority ow ners, w ith 50.01 percent, in 2041. See POWER & WATER on 2 New signs for casino New signs at Indian 1 lead— for the casino and the restau rant— w ent up in January. An average o f 6,000 vehicles per day travel on Highway 26. ‘W e w ant to get more o f that traffic to stop by,” said Harold Baugus, casino general manager. Baugus, chief finance officer Sean Sadeghi, and the casino board members m et with Tribal Council last week. Council reap p o in te d P riscilla F ra n k and D eepak Sehgal to th e casino board. Dave McMechan/Spilyay WSFPI mill off to a good start in 2014 T he W arm Springs F o rest Products Industries mill began its 2014 operation, w ith the full crew o f workers, on January 6. This was an earlier start, by sev eral weeks, than in other recent years. W SFPI, N atural Resources and Tribal Council worked out a plan last year providing for an in v en to ry o f w o o d th a t was stored at the mill during the tem porary winter lay-off. The inventory allowed the mill to open early, with positive sales and cash flow results, n o t to m ention the benefit to the mill employees, said Chuck Currier, acting W SFPI general manager, and Composite Products chief fi nance officer. In another positive develop ment: The mill is relying on timber from the reservation, as well logs h arv ested o ff th e reserv atio n , Currier said. The off-reservation logs are o f good quality meeting the high-stan dard criteria o f the Japanese m ar ket, he said. “E xport prices are up, and we should have a solid first half o f the year,” Currier said. T h e mill begins 2014 u n d er tribal management, with VimPort International handling the overseas marketing. VanPort had been man aging in recent years. Tribal Coun The Museum at Warm Springs is hosting the Twenty-First Tribal Youth Art Show, this year called Young at Art. The show runs through March. The youth art show features individual art works, and those created as class room projects. At left is a block art project by a Madras High School class. At right, ceiling tile art by students at the high school. (More on page 2.) 4 I it - c 0 cil had not been happy with the VanPort arrangement, and re-ne g o tia te d its a g re e m e n t w ith VanPort last year. There seems to be m ore o f a team atm osphere at the mill un der the tribal management, Cur rier said.“ There’s a better relation ship between the mill and Natural Resources, for instance,” he said. Currier and Composite P rod ucts chief executive officer Duane D arnell were asked last year to serve as interim m anagem ent at WSFPI. ; Councilman Carlos Smith asked what percentage o f the logging op erations on the reservation are done by tribal operators. Claude Smith, WSFPI timber manager, and Currier estimated that 83 percent o f the logging is done by tribal operations, and 17 percent by non-tribal operators. In o th er W SFPI business, Tribal Council approved Reso lution no. 11,842, providing a Business Investm ent Revolving Fund loan o f $500,000 (see page Composite Products P arn ell and Currier also up dated Council on the status o f Warm Springs Composite Prod ucts. See COMPOSITE on 6 U.S. Postage PRSRTSTD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Powwow at Simasho T he T hirty-S eventh L incoln’s B irthday Powwow is this Friday through Sunday, Feb. 7-9, at the Simnasho Longhouse. Friday at 5:30 sharp is for new and re-joiners; G rand E ntry is at 7:30. The Saturday G rand E ntry is at 1 p.m. There will be a supper break, no evening grand entry. Sunday G rand E ntry is at 1:30 p.m. Specials: O ne man hand drum contest. For inform ation contact Kyle Q uêahpama at 541-553-6908, Women’s All A round, sponsored by the G reene Family. For inform a tion contact Austin G reene at 541 - 553-1953. Men’s Traditional special. C on tact Mary Sando-Em hoolah at 553- 1910 (after 6 p.m.) O utgoing Girls Jingle (11-13) Special. Contact Lisa Lhomas. Pow wow questions: 541-553- 9230 after 6 p.m. Vendors, contact Sandra G reene-S am son at 553- 6619. The PowWow G o ’er Package at K ah-Nee-Ta includes lodging and breakfast for two for just $79 per night. Call 1-800-554-4SUN. Processing facility progress A W arm Springs team m et with potential funding sources last week regarding a traditional foods p ro cessing facility, to be located on the reservation. The facility would provide pro cessing for traditional roots, berries, game and salmon. A feasibility study, funded through a $60,000 grant, summarizes the facility as follows: “The project aims to m eet com munity needs, ensure the continua tion o f traditional food systems, and prom ote healthy local foods on the reservation, while providing a foun dation for job creation and eco nomic growth through the develop m ent o f value-added comm ercial food products.” Several organizations are inter ested in providing funding for this project, said Bruce Jim, o f the Fish and Wildlife Comm ittee. Jim up dated Tribal Council on the project last week, before the funding infor m ation meeting last Wednesday. Some o f the funding groups who are interested in the project are: T he U.S. E conom ic D evelop m ent A ssociation, E coT rust, the Affiliated Tribes o f N orthw est In dians, the Mid Columbia Econom ic D e v e lo p m e n t D is tric t, O n e PacificCoast Bank, the Meyer M e m orial T ru st, B usiness O reg o n , USDA Rural Development, and the First N ations D evelopm ent Insti tute. See PROCESSING FACILITY on I
