Page 6 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon MHS White Buffalos sports update December 23, 2015 Youth tourney this weekend The Fourth Annual Warm Springs Cougars Youth Co- Ed Basketball Tournament is coming up on Saturday and Sunday, December 26-27. It is a 10-years and under, and 12-years and under All The Madras High School girls basketball team won two of three games at the Sea- side Holiday Tournament. The team was 4-1 as of earlier this week. (The girls played Henly at home on Tuesday of this week, after deadline for this publica- tion). Next up is the Sisters Tour nament, Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 28-30. Early in 2016 they play two away games, at Ridgeview and Mountain View, before hosting Bend on Jan. 12. The boys varsity team got off to a rough start, going 1-5 overall. They’ll be at the Sisters Tourney, Dec. 28-30, then at home against Moun- tain view on Jan. 6. Indian Co-Ed Basketball tour- ney, to be held in the Warm Springs Community Center Gym. It is open to the first six teams in both categories who submit entry fees. North End Express tourney in Jan. Jayson Smith/Spilyay The North End Express All Indian 6-foot and Under Men’s Basketball Tourna- ment, and the All Indian Women’s Basketball Tourna- ment are coming up next month. The tourneys are set for Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 21-24 at the War m Springs Community Center. Men’s awards include eight championship embroi- dered jackets; eight runner- up hooded sweatshirts; eight third-place crewneck sweatshirts; eight fourth- place t-shirts; and Most Valu- able Player, and All Tourney awards. The women’s awards are the same as for the men’s (based on six women’s teams/subject to change). For more infor mation contact Austin Greene at 541-553-1953; or 541-553- 3243(w); or email: austin.greene@wstribes.org Entry fee is $250 for men (eight-man roster) and $250 for women (eight-woman roster). Payable by certified cashiers check or money or- der by January 8. The Warm Springs Hous- ing Authority hosted a grand opening for the $9.7 million project. On hand were the families that have qualified for the homes, community mem- bers, and many of the fund- ing 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 Pro- grams, the Bank of the West, and Prestige Affordable Housing Partners, among oth- ers. They arrived for the oc- casion from their home of- fices at San Francisco, New Jersey and Ohio. 2015 Year in Review (Here is a look back at some of the memorable news events of the later half of the year on the reservation.) May Toward the end of May, tribal leaders toured W i l l a m e t t e Fa l l s with Gov. Kate Brown. The site tour was organized by the Willamette Falls Legacy Project. Legacy Project organizers are planning the development of a public riverwalk along the edge of the Willamette, providing public access to the views of the falls. The falls are a usual and accustomed fishing place of the Confed- erated Tribes of War m Springs. Willamette Falls is the sec- ond most powerful waterfall in North America. For more than a century now the pub- lic has not had a viewing area of the falls. The Legacy Project is working to change that. June Tribal Council this month approved a plan by the Ca- sino and Resort board to de- velop a truck stop at the tribes’ Madras property. The truck stop will create between 40 and 60 new jobs, and will generate significant new revenue for the tribes. At a conservative esti- mate, the truck stop will gen- erate an average of more than $2 million a year. The new jobs will have tribal mem- ber preference. The tribes own 10 acres of trust land at the Madras Industrial Park. The property has not been used in recent years. The Gaming proposal calls for development of a truck stop with gas pumps, a res- taurant, convenience store, some Class 2 gaming, among other amenities. In other news: Eel fishing season opened for tribal members at Willamette Falls. Tribal Coun- cil by resolution opened the season through July 31. Else- where: Tribal Council in June made a declaration of drought on the reservation, the first such declaration in the history of the tribes. A declaration of drought gives the tribes access to fed- eral assistance in managing the water shortage. Jefferson, Wasco, Deschutes and Crook coun- ties have all made drought declarations for 2015. At Pi-Ume-Sha weekend, the Confederated Tribes this month commemorated the One-Hundred-and-Sixtieth Cash & Release Always Looking to Buy Year Anniversay of the sign- ing of the Treaty of 1855. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs now have a Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance, or TERO, office. Mary Sando-Emhoolah is the Warm Springs TERO di- rector. She and husband Michael own and operate the construction trucking com- pany Emhoolah Trucking Co. The benefits of the TERO program will be many for Warm Springs. The office will facilitate the hiring of tribal members and other Native American residents for Or- egon Department of Trans- portation and other construc- tion projects in the region. July Oregon tribal leaders met at Kah-Nee-Ta for discussion of the impact on Indian Country of Oregon Mea- sure 91, legalizing recre- ational marijuana in the state. On hand were the Assis- tant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, and a special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Adminis- tration. Major crimes on the reservation, such as drug crimes, are prosecuted feder- ally. Stan Speaks, BIA regional director, and Dean Seyler, Portland Area IHS director, Voted the #1 Pawn Shop in Jefferson County For your convenience we are now open Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. PB - 0339 915 SW Highway 97 - Across the Madras Truck Stop ph. 541- 475-3157 All your items are bonded and insured while in our care. were among the speakers at the conference. Discussion focused on law enforcement questions raised by Measure 91, as well as health and welfare, and youth issues. Tribal Utilities is urging residents to conser ve as much water as possible for the near future. The problem is a pump that is down at the water treatment plant, leaving just one pump in operation. The first four families of the new Greeley Heights subdivision moved in to their homes last week. The Warm Springs un- manned aerial vehicle program is on track to receive significant operational fund- ing. The funding comes from the state of Oregon, through the Oregon Innovation Coun- cil and SOAR Oregon. Total new UAV funding to SOAR is at $3 million. Part of this program involves de- velopment of a UAV train- ing center at Kah-Nee-Ta Resort. (Continues on page 7)