Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
July 22, 2015
Vol. 40, No. 15
T he first four families of the
He thanked the development
partners, the Warm Springs com-
munity and Tribal Council for the
support over the past year.
Mike McHam from the state
of Oregon said the Greeley
Heights project is the first of its
kind in the state.
The state worked on an
project in Indian Country about
20 years ago, but the Greeley
Heights project is the first such
residential development on a res-
ervation, he said.
The hope is that this can serve
as a model for future projects
needed to relieve the housing
shortage on the reservation.
Fifteen of the Greeley
Heights homes will be three-bed-
room units, 15 are four-bedroom,
and five will be five-bedroom
units.
(See HOUSING on page 3)
Jayson Smith/Spilyay
master of ceremonies. “This is big
for us, providing 35 new homes for
the families,” Councilman Moses
said.
“There were obstacles, but we
were able to adapt and get it done.”
John Ball Jr., Rose Ball (with
baby), Taya Holliday (cutting
ribbon), Darrell Ball and Scott
Moses dedicate one of the
new units.
WSFPI, partners present operation plan
The Warm Springs Forest Prod-
ucts Industries management and
board have come up with a plan that
should keep the mill operating for
at least the next couple of years.
Part of the plan involved a
downsizing. The mill had to cut
about 20 jobs, and now employs 86
people. Seventy-seven percent of
the employees are tribal members
or married in to the tribe.
All of the mill workers have taken
pay cuts. With these and other sav-
ings, the cost of operation has been
reduced by about 18 percent, said
John Katchia Jr., mill manager.
WSFPI management and board
members worked with the tribal
Branch of Natural Resources, the
BIA, and the tribal Finance Depart-
ment in coming up with the plan.
The most important part of the
plan is the re-payment provision
from WSFPI to the tribes.
During hard financial times, the
enterprise had gotten behind on
stumpage and other payments to the
tribes.
The new plan, presented to Tribal
Council this week, includes a repay-
ment schedule that will bring the
back payments up to date in about
three years.
The plan also provides for the
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
50 cents
July – Pat’ak-Pt’akni – Summer - Shatm
Moving day at first new Housing units
new Greeley Heights subdivi-
sion moved in to their homes
last week.
The Warm Springs Housing
Authority hosted a grand open-
ing for the $9.7 million project.
On hand were the families
that have qualified for the
homes, community members,
and many of the funding and
planning parties that have been
part of the unique project.
The Greeley Heights project
involved a number private and
public entities, federal and state:
Present at the opening cer-
emony were representatives
from the state of Oregon, the
HUD Northwest Office of the
Native American Programs, the
Bank of the West, and Prestige
Affordable Housing Partners,
among others.
They arrived for the occa-
sion from their home offices at
San Francisco, New Jersey and
Ohio, for instance.
Warm Springs Housing di-
rector Scott Moses was the
P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
prompt payment of new stumpage
fees that come due.
All of the parties involved—both
on the tribal and BIA side—agreed
the plan looks like a good one. And
a lot of work went in to the pro-
cess, with full cooperation by every-
one involved.
“I think these are the best an-
swers we’ve ever had as to the mill
operation,” said John Halliday, BIA
superintendent for the War m
Springs Agency.
The repayment aspect of the plan
is critical because the BIA could not
approve new timber sales without
an assurance that the tribes would
Lifetime
experience for
Youth Council
be compensated for the timber
harvest.
Fifty year anniversary
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs purchased the
mill for $15 million, following
an August 1966 referendum.
The operation has changed
greatly over the years, as the
lumber market has changed.
A significant reduction in the
allowable cut of reservation tim-
ber is scheduled for 2017. And
this will present a new challenge
for the mill.
it.
As we left Warm Springs,
we had an open mind and open
hearts. We were ready to learn
and become better leaders for
our community.
The day before the White
House Tribal Youth Gathering
we had the opportunity to tour
the U.S. Capitol, as well as meet
with Congressman Greg
Walden and Sen. Merkley of
Oregon.
Both Rep. Walden and Sen.
Merkley were very interested
in our concerns.
by Ashley Meanus
and Keeyana Yellowman
Warm Springs Youth Council
M embers of the Warm Springs
Youth Council were fortunate to
attend the first-ever White
House Tribal Youth Gathering.
The Youth Council Gather-
ing was held in Washington,
D.C., on July 9. We also spent
the following five days partici-
pating in the 2015 National
United National Indian Tribal
Youth Conference.
This trip was a once in a life-
time experience, and the Warm
Springs Youth Council members
who participated were very
blessed to have been apart of
(See YOUTH COUNCIL on 3)
Warm Springs Youth Council
at the Capitol: Keeyana
Yellowman, Mitchell Lira,
Ashley Meanus, Gavin
Begay, Summer Brunoe,
Malia Collins and Feliciana
Conner (from left).
Alyssa Macy/Spilyay
Funding
for UAV
program
The Warm Springs unmanned
aerial vehicle program is on track
to receive significant operational
funding.
The funding comes from the
state of Oregon, through the Or-
egon Innovation Council and SOAR
Oregon.
SOAR is a nonprofit organization
working to strengthen the state’s
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in-
dustry. Total new UAV funding to
SOAR is at $3 million.
The Warm Springs Reservation
is one of three FAA-approved UAV
test sites in the state. The other two
are in Pendleton and Tillamook. The
$3 million will be divided among the
three sites.
The Warm Springs UAV program
is a project of Warm Springs Ven-
tures, the economic development
enterprise of the Confederated
Tribes, as approved by Tribal Coun-
cil.
An aspect of the Warm Springs
UAV program involves utilizing Kah-
Nee-Ta as a meeting and training
center for companies in the UAV
business.
Tribal Councilman Kahseuss
Jackson sees the potential for new
local jobs through the UAV program.
The focus should be on having a
UAV business locate on the reser-
vation, such as at the industrial park,
he said.
Councilman Jackson discussed
this issue in Warm Springs last week
with Oregon Rep. John Huffman
(R-The Dalles).
On hand for the discussion were
Council members Evaline Patt and
Reuben Henry, Chief Joe Moses,
tribal planner Lonny Macy, engineer
Travis Wells, tribal property coordi-
nator Randy Scott, Government Af-
fairs director Louis Pitt, construc-
tion manager Tom Adams and Ven-
tures’ Ben Bisland; plus representa-
tives from ODOT and Business
Oregon.
The industrial park has propery
that could be developed to support
UAV related commercial activities,
including manufacturing, but there
would need to be infrastructure
work, including water and sewer.
How to fund this work is the main
issue. Rep. Huffman said he will
work with the tribes to find a solu-
tion.
Summer concerts
Two concerts are coming up this
weekend at Indian Head Casino.
Banda La Movida performs on
Saturday, July 25 at 6 p.m., and this
is a free event.
Curtis Salgado performs the next
evening, Sunday, July 26, at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $15. Call 541-460-7777
for information, or see page 12 for
details.