Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
November 26, 2014
Energy assistance for low-income households
by Cheryl Tom, director,
W.S. Social Services
Warm Springs Social Ser-
vices has received the Low
Income Home Energy Assis-
tance (LIHEAP) for the
2014-15 season.
We will be processing ap-
plications for winter energy
assistance, as applications are
received.
However, we will be pri-
oritizing by senior citizens and
disabled persons first.
Through this Wednesday,
Nov. 26, we will only process
applications for senior citizens
and disabled persons.
Starting on December 1,
we will start processing all
other applications as well.
Applications must be com-
plete before being processed.
You will need date-of-birth
and Social Security numbers
of all persons residing in your
household.
The amount of assistance
you will receive will be deter-
mined by a matrix used, based
on income and the number
of people residing in your
Please do not wait
until the power com-
pany is at your house
to shut off your
power before you call
the program.
home.
Please do not wait until the
power company is at your
house to shut off your power
before you call the program.
If you know you cannot
pay your bill we will work with
you and the power company
to try and set up an arrange-
ment.
However, be aware that if
you default on your arrange-
ment, you will then have to
contend with the entire bill,
which sometimes is up to
$1,000 plus dollars.
Feel free to call Ramona
Lopez, the Social Services
secretary/LIHEAP coordina-
tor.
She is the primary person
assisting you with your appli-
cation. You can reach her at
541-553-3415.
Performing arts center update at school board
by Will Robbins/KWSO
for Spilyay Tymoo
The grand opening of the
Madras High School Per-
forming Arts Center is
scheduled for January.
School district superinten-
dent Rick Molitor gave an
update on this project at the
509-J board meeting last
week.
The 34,000-square-foot
performing arts center is lo-
cated near the sports facili-
ties, and will have seating for
600.
The $11.3 million center
was a major component of
the 2013 school district bond
levy.
The bond levy also funded
half of the Eagle Academy
in Warm Springs, with the
tribes sharing that cost. Some
other business from the board
meeting last Tuesday:
The two Madras High stu-
dent liaisons gave their re-
ports, followed by a report on
the Oregon School Board As-
sociation conference.
Superintendent Molitor
noted the OSBA conference
featured the debut of The
Promise of Oregon public
awareness campaign.
On hand for the Sixty-
Eighth annual convention,
held in Portland, were hun-
dreds of board members and
school administrators.
The 509-J board also
heard a report on a pipe in
the performing arts center
that burst in a locker room,
causing damage to the ceiling
and cabinetry.
During the citizen’s delega-
tion portion of the meeting,
board members heard from
a parent who said her son,
and other special needs stu-
dents, are struggling to keep
up with the proficiency grad-
ing system.
School board members
reassured her that they believe
in the new grading system,
and that ultimately students
will benefit.
Another citizen shared
that the pep band and cheer
team were not given a chance
to shine at football games,
due to music playing on pub-
lic address system during time
outs.
Superintendent Rick
Molitor then provided and
overview of the updated Stra-
tegic Plan for the district.
MHS Athletic Director
Evan Brown presented revi-
sions to the school’s athletic
policy. Some of the changes
include adjustments to the
grading and eligibility require-
ments, and stricter disciplin-
ary policies for behavioral
violations.
The next school board
meeting will be at the Eagle
Academy on December 8,
and will include the impact aid
hearing..
The Community Center
fall hours are Mondays
and Wednesdays 8
a.m.–8 p.m., Tuesdays
and Thursdays 8 a.m.–9
p.m. On Fridays and No
School Days, the center
is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Page 5
Indian Head Casino
Employee of the Month
Willene Yellowhair
Congratulations
to Indian Head
Casino Employee of
the Month, Willene
Yellowhair.
Willene has been
with the casino since
March of 2011.
She is a revenue
auditor.
Willene is a very
dependable, dedi-
cated employee; as
well as a great team
player.
Congratulations,
W illene!
School District 509-J
Notice of Impact Aid hearing
for fiscal year 2016
A public meeting of
the school board for
Jefferson County School
District 509-J, to discuss
the Impact Aid applica-
tion for fiscal year 2016,
and other matters relat-
ing to Impact Aid, will be
held at 7 p.m. on Mon-
day, Dec. 8, 2014 at the
Warm Springs K-8 Acad-
emy.
The District annually
affords its patrons, spe-
cifically Native American
parents and guardians,
the opportunity to offer
comments and make rec-
ommendations relative to
the application for and the
use of Impact Aid funds.
A survey regarding Im-
pact Aid is posted on the
school district website at
www.jcsd.k12.or.us. Re-
sponse to the survey can
be remitted until Decem-
ber 5, 2014.
If anybody who wishes
to attend the meeting, and
has a disability requiring
assistance, please advise
Cindy Stanfield at 541-
475-6192 about specific
arrangements that may
accommodate your par-
ticipation in this meeting.
On guard against diabetic neuropathies
(The following article is from a
resent presentation by Marilyn J.
Waller-Niewold, Chief of Podia-
try Services and Director of Am-
putation Prevention Program,
War m Springs Health and
Wellness Center.)
Wishing Warm Springs a Happy Thanksgiving, from Travis Bobb.
Central Oregon Auto
& Truck Repair
85 SW Third St.,
Madras OR 97741
541-475-2370
Diabetes is a disease that
occurs when the pancreas
does not produce enough in-
sulin (Type 1) or when the
body cannot effectively use
the insulin being produced,
causing the body to improp-
erly use sugar (Type 2).
Diabetes is the seventh-
leading cause of death in all
Americans.
While 9.3 percent of the
U.S. population has diabetes,
the rates of diagnosed diabe-
tes in American Indians is
15.9 percent.
In Indian Country, Diabe-
tes Mellitus is a leading cause
of death and diminished qual-
ity of life.
Symptoms of Type 2 Dia-
betes Mellitus are different
from symptoms of Type 1
Diabetes and include:
Frequent infections,
blurred vision, cuts and
bruises that are slow to heal,
tingling or numbness in hands
and feet, recurring skin, gum
or bladder infections, and
blisters that become infected
quickly.
Not all of these symptoms
have to occur in one person,
but if you have one of these
problems that seem to occur
frequently, you should be
checked for diabetes.
Diabetes can cause com-
plications in the eyes, the kid-
neys, the gastrointestinal tract,
the hands and feet and just
about any body system
Diabetes complications
cause more than 60 percent
of the non-traumatic lower-
limb amputations in the U.S.
Diabetic neuropathies
cause the majority of foot
complications that can lead to
amputation.
Diabetic neuropathies
Diabetic neuropathies are
a family of nerve disorders.
You might not have any symp-
toms at all and still have dia-
betic neuropathy.
Or you might have vari-
able symptoms such as pain,
tingling, burning sensation or
numbness in your hands or
feet.
Diabetes neuropathy can
occur in every organ systems
including the skin, digestive
tract, heart and sex organs.
Diabetic neuropathies in-
crease with age, length of
time or duration of diabetes
disease and poor blood sugar
control.
Normal blood sugar can
be measured in terms of an
A1c test and is 4-6 percent
for people who do not have
diabetes.
For people with diabetes,
the lower the A1c value, the
better the diabetes control
and the lower your risk of de-
veloping complications such
as eye, heart, kidney and foot
infections. You goal; your of-
fensive guard against compli-
cations; should be to have A1c
values always less than 7 per-
cent.
Think of the nerves like
wires for electricity. The
regular occurrence of in-
creased blood sugar (not just
at meal times but even while
you are sleeping) circulating
around the nerves of your
body all the time is sort of
like short-circuiting the wires.
Your quarterly or twice
yearly A1c test is your feed-
back to help you to
proactively better control
your diabetes and improve
your diabetes care habits.
Unfortunately 60-70 per-
cent of people with diabetes
have some form of neuropa-
thy within 5-10 years of hav-
ing diabetes.
Diabetic neuropathies oc-
cur even sooner for people
whose circulating blood sugar
is not well controlled.
The number one cause of
diabetic neuropathies is pro-
longed exposure to high lev-
els of blood glucose. Other
causes are long duration of
diabetes, abnormal blood fat
levels, auto-immune factors
that cause nerve inflamma-
tion, inherited traits and
drinking alcohol (with diabe-
tes this is a double whammy
for your nerve pathways.)
Some symptoms of diabe-
tes neuropathies are:
Numbness, tingling or
burning pain in the toes, feet,
fingers and hands; wasting of
muscles in the hands or feet
with clawing of the fingers or
toes); chronic indigestion;
chronic diarrhea or constipa-
tion; dizziness or faintness that
occurs because of changes in
blood pressure after chang-
ing positions such as sitting
up or standing; problems with
urination; and erectile dys-
function.
The best way to prevent
diabetic neuropathy or slow
its progression is to keep
blood glucose levels as close
to normal as possible.
See DIABETES on 7