Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
July 8, 2015
Vol. 40, No. 14
July – Pat’ak-Pt’akni – Summer - Shatm
Tribes urging water conservation
Tribal Utilities is urging residents
to conserve as much water as pos-
sible for the near future.
The problem is a pump that is
down at the water treatment plant,
leaving just one pump in operation.
Utilities is expecting the replace-
ment part for the second pump to
come in this week, said Roy Spino,
tribal water engineer.
Once the new part is in and the
second pump is running, the system
will take a few days to build up the
reservoirs, Spino said.
Meanwhile, residents on the wa-
ter system should stop watering
their lawns.
Drought conditions
Tribal Council this summer de-
clared a drought on the reservation.
This is not directly related to the
drinking water situation. However,
the drought conditions do raise an
increased risk of fires.
In responding to fires, Warm
Springs Fire Management uses avail-
able nearby surface water sources.
The use of fire hydrants, which are
on the tribal water system, is a last
resort.
Warm Springs Fire and Safety
relies more on the fire hydrants,
though recently the department has
been drawing creek water to fill the
tankers. The water trucks fill up at
a site by the ballfields.
Water concerns are not new on
the reservation. Last year the res-
ervoir tanks nearly went dry in
August.
The water system needs im-
provements to stop leakage, and
tribal Planning has been work-
ing on a long-term solution, in-
volving the installation of resi-
dential water meters and a pos-
sible rate system.
The Confederated Tribes in June
celebrated the Forty-Sixth Annual
Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days,
commemorating the 160th
anniversary of the Treaty of 1855.
Jayson Smith photos
TERO focusing on jobs, local economy
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs now have a Tribal
Employment Rights Ordinance, or
TERO, office.
Mary Sando-Emhoolah is the
Warm Springs TERO director. Her
office is at the Ventures-Tribal Con-
struction building at the industrial
park.
Mary and husband Michael own
and operate the construction truck-
ing company Emhoolah Trucking
Co.
They started the business in the
1990s. Over the years they have
worked with the Grand Ronde and
Umatilla TERO offices. “We’ve al-
ways wanted to see a TERO office
in Warm Springs, and now it’s fi-
nally happened,” Mary was saying
this week.
The benefits of the program will
be many for Warm Springs, she
said. The office will facilitate the
hiring of tribal members and other
Native American residents for Or-
egon Department of Transportation
and other construction projects in
the region.
There will be the jobs for local
residents, which will help keep
money circulating on the reserva-
tion, providing more economic op-
portunities, Emhoolah says.
Too often the money flows one-
way off the reservation: “It’s like
someone having a barbecue in your
backyard, and you’re not invited,”
she says.
Among the first tasks for the
TERO office will be negotiating the
boundary area with ODOT.
The TERO office will work
with the regional contractors to
get them certified in the TERO
program.
Another project will be iden-
tifying the local residents with
the qualifications to participate
in the program, such as heavy-
equipment operators.
Training for the local
workforce is another aspect of
the program. Tribal Council
earlier this year approved the
TERO program.
Royal Legacy
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
Tribes, feds
meet on
Measure 91
Oregon tribal leaders met re-
cently at Kah-Nee-Ta for discussion
of the impact on Indian Country
of Oregon Measure 91, legalizing
recreational marijuana in the state.
On hand were the Assistant U.S.
Attorney for the District of Oregon,
and a special agent with the federal
Drug Enforcement Administration.
Major crimes on the reservation,
such as drug crimes, are prosecuted
federally.
Stan Speaks, BIA regional direc-
tor, and Dean Seyler, Portland Area
IHS director, were among the speak-
ers at the conference. Tribal Gov-
ernment Affairs Director Louie Pitt
was the moderator.
Discussion focused on law en-
forcement questions raised by Mea-
sure 91, as well as health and wel-
fare, and youth issues. “Marijuana
is still a controlled substance,” said
Cam Strahm, Drug Enforcement
officer.
It is still illegal under federal and
tribal law, he said, but recent devel-
opments at the state level are taken
into consideration.
The 2013 Cole Memorandum
provides a federal policy as to pros-
ecution priorities in states where
marijuana is legal. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Tim Simmons summa-
rized the main points of the memo-
randum.
The Colo memo lists eight pri-
orities for law enforcement to keep
in mind when determining how to
handle a marijuana case. The pri-
orities include:
Preventing the distribution of
marijuana to minors; preventing rev-
enue from the sale of marijuana
from going to criminal enterprises,
gangs or cartels.
Preventing the diversion of mari-
juana from states where it is legal
to other states; preventing violence
and the use of firearms in the culti-
vation and distribution of marijuana;
among other priorities.
See MARIJUANA on page 7
Fourth saw
small blazes
There were nine small fireworks-
related fires on the reservation on
the Fourth of July.
These were small blazes, averag-
ing about a tenth of an acre in size,
as reported by Fire Management.
This year saw added July 4 pre-
cautions from Fire and Safety, as
the reservation is experiencing a
drought.
Earlier in the week, before the
Fourth, a 40-acre blaze burned in
the Simnasho area.
The cause of this blaze was still
under investigation by Fire Manage-
ment, as of earlier this week.
The Museum at Warm Springs hosted the opening of the new
exhibit Royal Legacy: Miss Warm Springs Past and Present. The
exhibit opening featured a horse parade, and traditional dancers.
Alyssa Macy photos