Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
August 20, 2014
Page 5
New housing project starts at Greeley Heights
Work has started on a new
subdivision in the Greeley
Heights neighborhood. The
project involves construc-
tion of 35 new homes, new
street, driveways and side-
walks.
The initial work is on the
infrastructure aspect of the
development. The subdivi-
sion is called Greeley
Heights Subdivision Phase
VI, located near Bear Drive
and Mt. Jefferson Street.
Total acreage is about 35
acres. Total cost is close to
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Preliminary work includes new roadways.
$868,000. Funding comes
from the Oregon Housing
and Community Ser vices
Low Income Housing Tax
Credit Program.
The program began in
1986, and encourages the
construction and rehabilita-
tion of housing for lower in-
come households. This is the
first time the Confederated
Tribes have been awarded
funds from the tax credit pro-
gram.
The construction will be
done in phases of six units.
Diversity Coalition promotes cultural understanding
by Marina Rogers
Let’s Talk Diversity Coalition
T o promote cross cultural
understanding, the regional
health equity coalition Let’s
Talk Diversity is asking
community members from
different cultures to share
their stories about living in
Jefferson County, including
Warm Springs.
This column features
Ron Mulkey of Metolius,
and Jolene Estimo-Pitt, of
War m Springs, both of
whom are co-chairs of the
Let’s Talk Diversity Coali-
tion.
Ron was raised in
Silverton, which he de-
scribes as a small, predomi-
nantly Euro-American
farming town at the time.
While Ron comes from an
accepting, welcoming fam-
ily, he acknowledges there
was a tension and defined
difference at school between
children from families in
town and those from fami-
lies who were migrant work-
ers.
Discrimination happened
at school. Ron explains,
“You fell into it because no
one raised the question of,
Why do we say these unkind
things about others?”
It was not until leaving
his community that Ron
credits getting to know
people from backgrounds
and cultures different than
himself.
Courtesy photo.
Coalition co-chairs Ron Mulkey and Jolene Estimo-Pitt.
Coming from an agrarian
background, Ron recognizes
that his family’s culture of
working and eating together
kept him healthy physically.
He also comes from a
Christian background, and as
a Quaker, Ron’s faith includes
the belief that you can see a
bit of God in each person.
Ron expresses the signifi-
cance of this as having “less
fear, less stress, more peace,
and more possibility of build-
ing friendships.” Ron also
speaks about his family’s and
community’s multigenera-
tional interconnectedness as
a source of health.
Jolene grew up in Califor-
nia, Oregon and Washington,
on- and off-reservation.
Jolene reflects, “I think
that as a young person, I was
a bit confused about who I
was or what I was, and it took
my moving back to Warm
Springs for a while to kind of
get grounded and figure out
who I was.”
Similar to Ron, Jolene’s
culture is also vital to her
health. “My culture defines
me,” she says.
Later in life, Jolene started
going into the longhouse and
learning songs and traditional
foods. She speaks of these
practices and her connection
to the land as defining her
way of life.
“My culture is important
to me because it tells me
where I come from, which is
the Columbia and Snake
River areas,” she said.
“That grounds me in a re-
ally profound way, knowing
that my ancestors are literally
making up the dirt, the ground
for all those years.”
Because of this connec-
tion, Jolene says, “For me a
really important healing thing
is going back there each year
and reestablishing the bond.
We do our traditional services
there with traditional songs
and traditional foods.”
Ron believes the diversity
of cultures is a strength of
Jefferson County. However,
his first impression upon
moving to Jefferson County
was very different.
“Coming in I heard stories
of the tension that some
people viewed between the
different cultures here. I
wouldn’t say there’s fear, but
there’s apprehension.
“The glorious thing for
me,” he says, “has been to be
able to be part of our Coali-
tion. I’m meeting people that
I might live here for years
and never meet and discov-
ering in some way my own
narrow-mindedness.”
Ron acknowledges the
beauty of embracing diver-
sity and getting to know
people different from your-
self.
“It’s affirming the things
that in my spirit I hold as a
high value, and that is that we
are to love everyone. The cul-
tural competency training re-
ally talks about that.
“How can you love if you
don’t step outside of your
own shoes, take off your own
glasses and be willing to put
on someone else’s glasses to
look at things a little bit dif-
ferently?”
Jolene agrees. “We need to
grow as a community. We
need to evolve.”
See DIVERSITY on 6
Tribal Council Summaries
August 6, 2014
1. Members Present:
Chief Joseph Moses,
Evaline Patt, Or vie
Danzuka, Kahseuss Jack-
son, and Carlos Smith,
Emily Yazzie Recorder
2. Tribal Attorney Up-
date by Howie Arnett.
a.) Proposed trust land
b.) Informational Per-
Capita issue
c.) The Payer of medi-
cal bill issues
d.) Gaming matters,
OSP draft audit report
3. State Issue - Chair-
man Eugene Greene ap-
pointed to work with the
attorney’s on this matter.
4. Amended the Tribal
Council August 2014
Agenda.
August 14, 2014
1. Roll Call: Chief Jo-
seph Moses, Chief Alfred
Smith Jr., Chairman Eu-
gene Greene Jr., Vice-
Chairwoman Evaline Patt,
Reuben Henry, Kahseuss
Jackson, Orvie Danzuka,
and Carlos Smith.
2. Executive Session:
Contract Support Indian
Health Service.
- Follow up meeting Au-
gust 22, 2014.
3. Chinook Environ-
mental Services Update.
- Future meting to be
scheduled with the Execu-
tive Joint Committee Chair
people.
4. Indian Health Ser-
vice Update.
5. Seventh Generation
Update to be moved to
September with date to be
determined.
6. August 18, 2014, Sep-
tember Tribal Council
agenda and travel delega-
tion.
7. To be scheduled
items: tour the War m
Springs Fish Hatchery,
Redhills, Willamette Valley,
Parkdale Fish Hatchery
and revisit the Tribal Coun-
cil proclamation.
Former MHS coach
sentenced for abuse
Former Madras High
girls’ basketball coach
Michael Osborne was
sentenced last week to six
years in prison.
Osborne pleaded
guilty to six of the 25
sexual abuse charges
brought against him in
Jefferson and Washington
counties.
Osborne,45,
had
pleaded not guilty in De-
cember to 14 counts of
second-degree sex abuse
involving a now-17-year-
old student. He was later
charged in a separate in-
dictment with 11 more
counts in Washington
County.
Osborne agreed to
plead guilty to four of
the Jefferson County
charges, and two counts
in Washington County.
The victim, sur-
rounded by family mem-
bers, sat watching tear-
fully in the courtroom as
Jefferson County Circuit
Judge Annette Hamlin
imposed the sentence.
The time Osborne has
spent in the Jefferson
and Washington county
jails since his arrest last
fall will count toward the
time he will serve.
After three years be-
hind bars, Osborne can
get his sentence reduced
by up to 20 percent for
good behavior.
Next to the Warm
Springs Market
Communications: helps Telecom, KWSO
(Continued from page 1)
This past year, Converge
Communications helped the
Public Safety Branch to
complete a new 2014 Pub-
lic Safety Communications
Plan.
This plan is part of a
larger Telecommunications
Strategic Plan that was ap-
proved by Tribal Council in
early 2014. The funding
received in this latest grant
will be used as identified in
the plans.
The Warm Springs Tele-
communications Company
launched in 2012.
The Telecom, and KWSO
will be able to use the tower
for additional equipment,
and to expand the reach of
the two tribal services.
The Telecom is a tribally-
owned enterprise providing
phone and internet services
throughout the reservation.
The Telecom has been
working closely with the Pub-
lic Safety Branch to share
communications resources
to the benefit of all tribal
members.
Jose Matanane, Telecom
general manager, was pleased
to hear about the funding for
the Mutton Mountains com-
munications tower.
“Yes, we will definitely
want to have our wireless
network on the new tower,”
he said. “During the recent
wildland fires, we provided
phone and Wi-Fi service to
the fire camps through our
wireless network. This new
tower will extend that capa-
bility, as well as help us reach
Veterans: Forming Warriors Society
(Continued from page 1)
The building needs some
improvements, but this
would be complicated as it is
not clear who is the landlord,
the BIA or the tribes, Calica
said.
The veterans would also
consider moving to a new hall,
he said.
One suggestion has been
the cafeteria building that
served the old Warm Springs
Elementary School.
Calica also presented a
proposal for the formation
of the War m Springs
War riors Society, which
Council approved by
resolution. The society has
tribal, non-profit status.
Membership is open to any
tribal member veterans. The
society is a less for mal
organization than the VFW
or American Legion, Calica
said.
The goal is to help veterans
with concerns about benefits,
promote goodwill among
veterans and their families,
participate in local and
national activities, parades,
memorials,
gravestone
settings, presentation of
colors, among other activities.
Membership is free to
veterans. Monthly Warrior
Society meetings are held
every second Wednesday at
6 p.m. at the Veterans Hall.
tribal members who live at
the edges of the reserva-
tion.”
The $1 million communi-
cations grant to the tribes
came from one of seven
grant programs administered
by Homeland Security and
FEMA. A total of $10 mil-
lion was made available to eli-
gible tribal nations to imple-
ment preparedness initiatives.
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