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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Tax team program helpful to many
T he Warm Springs Com-
munity Action Team helped
hundreds of local residents
complete their 2013 tax re-
turns.
This volunteer effort
helped the residents collect a
total of hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars in refunds.
The refund total was at
$260,000 at the end of
March. The final refund fig-
ure, and the total number of
returns filed through the
Community Action Team
program, will be available
soon.
Lonny James, team direc-
tor, said the program this year
relied on just one volunteer,
Clint Jacks. Last year there
were four volunteers, so Clint
and Lonny stayed very busy
this tax season.
The American Association
of Retired Persons helped
with expenses, and the Com-
munity Action Team provided
April 16, 2014
Winning Spirits opening
this month at the museum
The Museum at Warm
Springs later this month
will open Winning Spirits:
Native American Youth
and Athletics.
This exhibit will high-
light the challenges and
accomplishments of Na-
tive American athletes.
Some of these include
Jacoby Ellsbury, Shoni and
Jude Schimmel, Billy Mills,
among others.
The Winning Spirits ex-
hibit will also feature items
from community mem-
bers including historic old
tournament pictures, jer-
seys, shoes, balls and simi-
lar sports items.
Honor Seniors Day on May 9
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Leah Villa, who is a student, visited the Community Action Team tax preparation
service last week. This year Clint Jacks and Lonny James were providing their
expertise in helping prepare returns for hundreds of Warm Springs residents.
the space for the service.
The community service
that Lonny James provides
will be greatly missed, as he
is leaving for a job with the
Nez Perce tribe in Idaho. His
The Twenty-Fourth An-
nual Warm Springs Honor
Seniors Day is coming up in
May.
Honor Seniors Day this
year will be on Friday, May 9
at the Agency Longhouse.
For details please contact
the Warm Springs Senior Pro-
gram at 541-553-3313. Do-
nations are needed along with
volunteers.
last day on the job at the
Warm Springs CAT will be
this Friday, April 18.
U of O president talks higher ed with tribes
The president of the Uni-
versity of Oregon visited
Warm Springs last month,
briefing Tribal Council on a
major change happening in
the state university system.
The relationship of the
state to some of the univer-
sities is changing dramatically,
said Michael Gottfredson,
president of the university
since mid 2012.
Last year the Oregon Leg-
islature passed a law provid-
ing the University of Or-
egon, Oregon State Univer-
sity, and Portland State Uni-
versity with authority to es-
tablish their own governing
boards.
In the past these univer-
sities, and the four other
public universities in the
state, have been governed by
the Oregon State Board of
Higher Education. The
single governing board
model had been in existence
since 1929.
Over time, the state has
reduced the amount of
funding it provides to the
universities, Gottfredson
said. Twenty-five years ago,
the state provided 40 percent
of funding for the public
universities. The percentage
now is at around 5 percent.
Even just seven years ago,
he said, the state provided
$30 million more per year
than in the current year.
With the loss of state
funding, the universities rely
more on student fees, and
some federal programs. The
federal support, Gottfredson
said, is now much larger than
that of the state.
This radical shift in fund-
ing warranted a change in the
governing structure, he said.
The solution is a board of
trustees for just the Univer-
sity of Oregon, one for Or-
egon State, and one for Port-
land State.
These governing boards
come in to authority on July
1 of this year. The govern-
ing boards are not state agen-
cies, but instead are indepen-
dent. They will have power
to borrow money through
bonds, and purchase land,
for instance.
The goals of the univer-
sity—the broadest possible
access to the best possible
The next deadline to
submit items for
publication in the
Spilyay Tymoo is Friday,
April 25. Thank you!
quality education— remain
the same, and can be better
met through the new board
system, Gottfredson said.
The loss of state funding
has put more of a burden on
the students. Which raises the
question of just how public
are public universities? he
said.
Tribal Council members
asked about the recruiting
and retention programs for
Native American students at
the university.
This has been a strong
point and a priority at the uni-
versity, Gottfredson said.
Frank Brunoe, Central Or-
egon Community College stu-
dent, said he would like to see
a stronger University of Or-
egon presence in the region.
Councilman Kahseuss Jack-
son said that Oregon State has
a fairly strong presence in
Central Oregon in compari-
son.
Jackson said the tribes and
the University of Oregon
have a long history of work-
ing together, and hopes this
continues as the reservation
economy is in transition. He
mentioned his grandfather
Vernon Jackson was the first
tribal member to graduate
college, and he went to the
University of Oregon.
Wasco Chief JR Smith
congratulated the university
representatives on recent U
of O track and field victo-
ries: In March both the men
and women’s teams were
crowned NCAA indoor
champions, a rare and his-
toric accomplishment.
Open Wednesday thru Saturday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
At Warm Springs St. & Hollywood Blvd.
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