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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
Spilyay Tymoo Coyote News, est. 1976 April 15, 2015 Vol. 40, No. 8 April – Hawit`an – Spring - Wawaxam WSFPI, Council continue work on mill plan The Warm Springs Forest Prod- ucts Industries board and manage- ment met again last week with Tribal Council, proposing a plan to keep the mill operating. The scenario as proposed by WSFPI calls for reducing the workforce at the mill from 104 to 85, plus a 10 percent salary decrease for the remaining employees, among other cost-saving measures. The mill would operate on a split shift, mean- ing that one crew would work all aspects of the milling process. WSFPI and Tribal Council were scheduled to meet on the plan again this Tuesday afternoon (after the print deadline for this publication). Council, the BIA and WSFPI have been working the past several months on a plan to keep the mill in operation. All of the remaining options have a downside. Dave McMechan/Spilyay Log graders at the mill yard earlier in the week. Shutting the mill down would in- crease local unemployment, and leave major outstanding debts to the Credit enterprise and the Business Investment Revolving Fund, among others. But maintaining the current op- eration is no longer possible. The BIA cannot sign-off on new tim- ber sales until a plan is in place that compensates the tribes for the timber. WSFPI in 2014 was behind in its payments to the tribes for the timber. Ensuring that the tribes re- ceive fair market value for the logs is an essential part of any future plan of operation, as en- terprise revenue funds the Senior Pension Fund and per capita, among other aspects of the tribal budget. Council members say the WSFPI payments to the tribes should be at the top of the pri- ority list of payments, rather than at the bottom. The mill down-sizing proposal also includes a proposal to mod- ernize the mill operation. Pageant Time by Alyssa Macy Miss Warm Springs 2015 Suzanne Slockish McConville is a contestant for the Miss Indian World title. The pageant will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 21-25, during the Gather- ing of Nations Powwow. Suzanne is the daughter of Laura Slockish and Alfred McConville Jr. and is finishing up her first year at Eastern Washington University, studying criminal justice. As Miss Warm Springs, she’s attended numerous events in the community including local New Years Eve’s festivities, Lincoln’s Powwow, the Museum at Warm Springs Honor Dinner, and most recently the Celilo Wy-Am Salmon Feast and Powwow. This will be the first national pageant that she has ever competed in. Miss Warm Springs 2015 Suzanne Slockish McConville State pot law raises prosecution issue on reservation Starting on July 1, Oregon law enforcement will not prosecute a person who is over the age of 21 and in possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. This raises a law enforcement issue on the reservation, where the tribal criminal code follows federal law. Marijuana remains a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance under fed- eral law, and under the tribal code. Starting in July, a person could be in legal possession of marijuana in the state, and then be in violation upon traveling onto the reservation, such as on Highway 26. A non-tribal member with less than an ounce of marijuana could be cited for a civil violation on the ECR WSS Postal Patron U.S. Postage PRSRT STD Warm Springs, OR 97761 50 cents Ventures updates Progress with UAV, carbon projects The tribes’ computer support enterprise, the Office of Informa- tion Systems, is taking on the range management function of the Un- manned Aerial Vehicle program. The tribal enterprise Geo Visions is the contracting entity for the UAV program on the reservation. An area in the Seekseequa Dis- trict has been cleared by tribal Land Use and the Branch of Natural Re- sources as a test range site. The site is on the Metolius Bench in the southeast area of the reservation. The UAV range management team will ensure that the tests are conducted in compliance with regu- lation. The contracting entity works with and recruits the UAV compa- nies that are in need of a testing site. The UAV program is a project of Warm Springs Ventures, as ap- proved last year by Tribal Council. Warm Springs is one of three FAA approved UAV test ranges in Oregon. The others are at Pendleton, which just received a $545,000 state investment for UAV infrastructure work; and Tillamook. A website is up and running with information on the three test ranges in Oregon. The site is: Uastestranges.soaroregon.com The site has information on the flying conditions of the three sites, the geography, access, etc. Carbon project Alyssa Macy/Spilyay See PAGEANT on 12 P.O. Box 870 Warm Springs, OR 97761 reservation, and a tribal member could face a criminal charge. The U.S. Attorney would make the decision whether to prosecute the person, said Stan Suenaga, gen- eral manager of Warm Springs Pub- lic Safety. Tribal Council meanwhile has appointed a team to look at the im- plications of the state marijuana le- galization law. Any economic poten- tial of the new state law is a main task of the team. The law enforcement aspect of the new law is a policy decision for the membership and Tribal Coun- cil, said Pi-Ta Pitt, member of the team appointed by Council. The director of the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice last year provided a guideline for federal prosecutors in states that have legalized mari- juana. With these requests in mind, the director of the U.S. Department of Justice provided some guidance to all U.S. Attorneys, their staff and tribal liaisons. “Indian Country in- cludes numerous reservations and tribal lands with diverse sovereign governments, many of which traverse state borders and federal districts,” the memo reads. “Given this, the U.S. Attorneys recognize that effective federal law enforcement in Indian Country, in- cluding marijuana enforcement, re- quires consultation with the tribal partners in the districts, and flex- ibility to confront the particular, yet sometimes divergent, public safety issues that can exist on any single reservation.” The U.S. Attorneys, then, should work with each of the tribes in determining how to pro- ceed with the handling of mari- juana cases. The Department of Justice memo also refers to an earlier document, “the Cole Memoran- dum,” that provides guidance to U.S. Attorneys in handling off- reservation marijuana cases in states where it is legal. See POT LAW on 7 The Branch of Natural Re- sources is working on phase 2 of the carbon sequestration project. This includes completing an inven- tory of the forest resources in- volved, conducting a third-party re- view, and preparing the carbon cred- its for market. The carbon sequestration project could generate significant revenue. The project is under Ventures, car- ried out by the Branch of Natural Resources. Seniors Day turning 25 Warm Springs Honor Seniors Day will celebrate its Twenty-Fifth Anniversary this spring. Honor Seniors Day is set for Friday, May 8, at the Agency Longhouse. The day begins at 10 a.m., and goes till 6 p.m. The agenda is full of fun, laugh- ter, door prizes and entertainment for all Elders. Events are through- out the day, until dinner time. Shuttles will be available to and from the museum and casino. Registration starts at 9 a.m. at the Longhouse. For information call the Warm Springs Senior Wellness Cen- ter at 541-553-3313.
