Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
November 26, 2014
Comp and Benefits Fair Dec. 2-3
The Warm Springs
Compensation and Ben-
efits Fair is coming up on
Tuesday and Wednesday,
Dec. 2-3.
The fair is for all em-
ployees of the Confed-
erated Tribes of The
Warm Springs, including
all enterprises.
The Comp and Ben-
efits Fair will be from
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. both
days, at the Community
Center Social Hall.
There are Comp and
Benefits changes coming
for 2015, so don’t miss
out on the fair, said Eliza-
beth Asashi Sato, direc-
tor Human Resources.
“A representative
from each of our ben-
efit vendors will be at-
tending the meeting, to
give presentations as well
as answer any questions
you may have,” Elizabeth
said.
Each of the vendors
will have a table set up
for one-on-one discus-
sions and handouts.
Snacks and beverages
will be provided.
The Human Resources staff invite employees to the
Comp and Benefits Fair.
The overview
What changes are coming
to the Confederated Tribes’
full-time employee health
beenefits plan?
You will find out at the
fair.
There will be about a
dozen vendors, providing
important information.
What is a 401K? How do
I access my retirement sav-
ings if I have an emergency?
What is a Flexible Spend-
ing Account?
Will I have to turn in
those receipts with the new
vendor?
These questions and
more will be addressed at
the fair.
“The Human Resources
Department is here to help
all employees learn about
your benefits working for
the Confederated Tribes,”
Elizabeth said.
The fair will be a chance
for employees to meet the
Human Resources staff:
Raylene, Kaitlyn, Lois,
Carroll, Melinda, Elizabeth,
Amelia, Greta, Nancy and
Frank.
They will be eagerly
awaiting your participa-
tion in this year’s Comp
and Benefits Fair.
Examples of other
questions that will be an-
swered:
What is the difference
between managed care
and enrolled tribal ben-
efits?
Who can I include
from my family in my
medical and dental ben-
efits? What about retire-
ment or your life insur-
ance?
Human Resources has
requested that managers
give their staff 90 min-
utes sometime during the
two day event, in order
to attend the fair.
There will be employee
passports that vendor will
stamp as employees visit
each of the stations.
Please let Human Re-
sources know immedi-
ately if you need any spe-
cial accommodation. You
can reach them at 541-
553-3328.
Page 7
Pathways Home starting
The Warm Springs Com-
munity Action Team is pre-
senting the 2014 Financial
Education Series starting in
December.
The series is Pathways
Home: A Native Home-own-
ership Course, offered Mon-
day evenings at the tribal
Credit building.
The first session is Dec. 1,
and the final one on Jan. 20.
Class time is from 5:30-7:30
p.m.
Here is the schedule:
Dec. 1: Module no. 1, Ex-
ploring Homeownership.
Module 2, Considering
Mortgage-Based Home-own-
ership.
Dec. 8: Budgeting for
Homeownership and Calcu-
lating Affordability.
Dec. 15: Module no. 4,
Evaluating Credit for
Homeownership.
Jan. 5: Module no. 5, Find-
ing a Home.
Jan. 12: Module 6, Apply-
ing for a Home Loan.
Jan. 20 (Tuesday): Module
7, Meeting Your Financial
Obligations.
Module 8, Protecting Your
Investment.
To sign up for the class,
please call 541-553-3148.
The class is co-hosted by the
Credit enterprise and the
Warm Springs Community
Action Team (WSCAT).
You will learn how to be-
come a successful home-
owner.
Learn everything needed
to find, finance, purchase,
and maintain a home.
Learn the advantages/dis-
advantages of building a
new home or buying an ex-
isting one.
Gain a greater understand-
ing of the mortgage loan pro-
cess.
Learn how to prepare a
family budget, how to im-
prove your credit profile,
how to avoid the pitfalls of
predatory lending, and how to
manage finances after pur-
chase.
Class will be doing hands
on-mock up training with ap-
pliances.
This course is required for
ever yone in WSCAT’s IDA
program for home ownership.
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Department profile
Vital Statistics
The Warm Springs Vital
Statistics Department and
tribal Probate are located to-
gether at the administration
building.
The Vital Stats-Probate
team includes chief statisti-
cian Olivia Wallutum, enroll-
ment officer
Yvonne
PoorBear, fiscal officer
Lucille Suppach-Samson, Pro-
bate administrator Val
Squiemphen, and Probate as-
sistant-Vital Stats reception
Michael Martinez.
Vital Stats and Probate are
part of the Administrative
Services Branch, directed by
Lynn Davis.
Probate used to be located
in the courthouse, but moved
to administration.
Probate and Vital Stats
work together because they
Let’s Talk Diversity invites new partners
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
often deal with the same in-
formation, such as family re-
lations. You can reach the
department at 541-553-
3252.
Michael Martinez,
Yvonne PoorBear,
Olivia Wallulatum and
Val Squiemphen (from
left).
Winter weatherization preparation check list
The following information is
provided by the Warm Springs
Low Income Heating and Elec-
trical Assistance Program:
Winter disaster scenarios
are not something you want
to mess with. You could be
off grid for days on end with
only the food and water
present in your home. You
could be snowed in or your
car blocked by debris. The
point is, even though we are
usually given fair warning of
winter storms, there are un-
predictable circumstances
and you should be prepared
to face them.
There are ways to fortify
your home for winter to help
you have a better chance at
thriving in these circum-
stances.
Winterizing the home
Outdoor Preparations:
Extend the life of your fuel
supply by insulating walls and
attics, caulking and weather-
stripping doors and windows,
and installing storm windows
or covering windows with
plastic.
Outdoor structures, such
as the barn, shed or any other
structure that may provide
shelter for your family, neigh-
bors, livestock or equipment
may also need winterizing.
Clear rain gutters; repair roof
leaks and cut away tree
branches that could fall on a
house or other structure dur-
ing a storm.
Clean and inspect chim-
neys and other heating equip-
ment every year.
Insulate pipes with insula-
tion or newspapers and plas-
tic and allow faucets to drip
a little during cold weather to
avoid freezing. Running wa-
ter, even at a trickle, helps
prevent pipes from freezing.
All fuel-burning equipment
should be vented to the out-
side and kept clear.
Keep fire extinguishers on
hand, and make sure every-
one in your house knows how
to use them. House fires pose
an additional risk, as more
people turn to alternate heat-
ing sources without taking the
necessary safety precautions.
Learn how to shut off wa-
ter valves (in case a pipe
bursts).
Hire a contractor to check
the structural ability of the
roof to sustain unusually
heavy weight from the accu-
mulation of snow – or wa-
ter, if drains on flat roofs do
not work.
Rock salt or more envi-
ronmentally safe products to
melt ice on walkways.
Sand (Kitty Litter works
too) to improve traction.
Snow shovels and other
snow removal equipment.
Sufficient heating fuel. You
may become isolated in your
home and regular fuel sources
may be cut off. Store a good
supply of dry, seasoned wood
for your fireplace or wood-
burning stove.
Minimize travel. If travel
is necessary, keep a disaster
supplies
kit
in
your vehicle and have winter
related items included.
For indoor preparations:
Make a family-based
emergency plan.
Have
a
short
term emergency supply and
ensure that you have an ample
supple water and shelf stable
foods.
Adequate clothing and
blankets to keep you warm
in an off grid environment.
Make a Family Commu-
nications Plan. Your family
may not be together when
disaster strikes, so it is impor-
tant to know how you will
contact one another, how you
will get back together and
what you will do in case of
an emergency.
The Let’s Talk Diver-
sity Coalition includes
more than 20 organiza-
tions.
These include the
Confederated Tribes,
Health and Human Ser-
vices, the county health
program, Best Care, St.
Charles, Deer Ridge Cor-
rectional Institution, the
school district, the city of
Madras, the Latino Com-
munity Association,
among others.
Let’s Talk Diversity
invites all people who are
interested to contact
them, and join the coalition.
You can reach them at 541-
325-5001 ext. 4221.
Let’s Talk Diversity began
in 2008, with the goal of in-
creasing cultural competency
and multi-cultural understand-
ing between the tribes and the
rest of the region.
The coalition conducted a
series of cultural competency
trainings, with more than 600
people attending.
In 2011 the coalition re-
ceived a Regional Health Eq-
uity Coalition grant from the
Oregon Health Authority.
The purpose of this goal was
Memorial Feast,
Round Dance
Health Care
(Continued from page 1)
Now there are other op-
tions, such as Expanded
Medicaid.
And this has resulted
in savings, Marcotte said.
“The tribe is seeing
lower costs compared to
a year ago at this time,”
he said.
Last fall, when the sign-
up campaign first began,
there was some confusion.
This was in part because
Heritage Month
door contest
at IHS
Departments of the
Warm Springs Health
and Wellness Center
decorated their office
doors in November,
honoring Native
American Heritage
Month.
Last week, a group of
judges visited each of
the doors, giving each a
score from one to 10.
The winning door was
the one at the clinic
made by the doctors,
showing a river,
fisherman with nets, and
other detailed items.
Diabetes Prevention was
runner-up.
to address inequities
among cultures in the
region. Inequities might
involve health care,
transportation, recre-
ation, and other areas
of well-being.
The coalition provides
one-day cultural trainings
during the year.
Coalition members
also meet monthly, and
invite all interested per-
sons to attend.
If you are interested
in learning more, go to
the website:
Letstalkdiversity.org
the Cover Oregon website
never worked.
The process has since
become much easier to
maneuver. And the
assistors are available to
help. At the clinic they
are Jacoba Best, Joie
Simtustus-Chavez,
Phyllis Shawaway and
Deb Jackson. At the
Warm Springs Library
the trained assistor is
Craig Graham.
The James Randall
Weaseltail “Beaver” Memo-
rial Round Dance will be at
the White Swan Pavilion on
Friday and Saturday, Nov.
28-29.
The Memorial Feast will
be on Friday, Nov. 28, at 4
p.m. Round Dancing to start
around 7 p.m. nightly. Mid-
night lunch both evenings.
There will be a Memorial
Giveaway on Saturday night.
This Round Dance is hosted
by the Scabbyrobe family.