Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
May 11, 2016
Vol. 41, No. 10
May – Xawit’an – Spring - Wawaxam
Fire agencies begin new burn program
Warm Springs Fire Manage-
ment and the BIA this week
began a program to conduct
controlled burns with the use of
a helicopter. The aerial ignition
burns were scheduled to start
this week on the Metolius Bench
area of the reservation, said
Brad Donahue, of Fire Manage-
ment fuels.
The aerial ignition program
includes a class that is conducted
at Fire Management, providing
certification for firefighters in-
terested in taking part in the
aerial ignition program.
Firefighters were on hand
from California, Arizona, Wash-
ington and other areas, plus from
Warm Springs.
Fire Management has not
used aerial ignition of controlled
burns since 1989. Then last year,
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
The program involves helicopter aerial-controlled burn ignition.
national BIA fire officials were in
Warm Springs on other business,
and suggested holding a training here
this year. Fire Management agreed.
The plan is to control burn about
4,000 acres at the Metolius Bench,
which would help reduce the threat
of a major wildfire later in the year,
Donahue said.
Fire Management has had a con-
trolled burn program for several
years, with the ignition done by hand
on the ground.
For a 4,000-acre project, this
can take two to three weeks,
whereas aerial ignition can ac-
complish this in a day or so,
Donahue said.
Fire Management-BIA is
using a helicopter and pilot
from Bend. Crew members
carry out the aerial ignition with
the use of what are nick-named
“ping pong balls.”
These are small plastic
spheres filled with potassium
permanganate. When the heli-
copter is over the area to be
burned, the balls are injected
with ethylene glycol and imme-
diately jettisoned.
VDOS Global, working
with Ventures - Eagle Tech was
possibly going to use a drone
to record the process.
Challenges, opportunities for new Council
The new Tribal Council took of-
fice this month, during a time of
great opportunity, as well as serious
challenges for the Confederated
Tribes.
The tribal budget will be a criti-
cal point of focus, not only looking
to 2017, but for the current year as
well.
On the bright side, the Twenty-
Seventh Tribal Council is taking of-
fice just as the cannabis enterprise
is beginning the greenhouse con-
struction phase. In time, this project
could generate millions in needed
new revenue.
Another positive development:
The tribes and Natural Resources
Branch are developing a new enter-
prise to realize value from the res-
ervation forest products.
There are logs at the mill, and
others in the forest that can be sold
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Council members Lee Tom, Raymond Tsumpti, Carina Miller, Val
Switzler, Ron Suppah, Jody Calica and Austin Greene (from left) take
the oath of office at the start of the Twenty-Seventh Tribal Council.
at market value, bringing in trust
revenue. The forest products situ-
ation, though, has two significant
down sides:
First, about 80 tribal members
lost their jobs this year, when Warm
Springs Forest Products Industries
shut down.
And second: Last year the pre-
vious Tribal Council, finance and
management developed the current
year budget on an assumption that
the mill would be contributing
to the general fund. That is no
longer the case, as WSFPI is in
receivership.
Another challenge became
apparent just recently:
Last fall, War m Springs
Power and Water Enterprises
projected a dividend of $2 mil-
lion for the current year bud-
get.
However, an announcement
this week is that the Power and
Water dividend will be $1 mil-
lion—leaving another $1 million
short for the present year. (An
explanation of this situation is on
page 5.)
Clearly, the new Council is
dealing with serious challenges.
But fortunately there are some
new opportunities on the hori-
zon.
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Honor Seniors
on Friday
The Twenty-Sixth Annual Honor
Seniors Day is this Friday, May 13.
Honor Seniors Day is hosted by
the Warm Springs Senior Program.
The popular event will see hundreds
of guests from around the region
visiting the reservation.
Volunteers of all kinds are
needed. If you would like to help,
contact the Senior Program at 553-
3313.
Graduation
ceremonies
coming up
The Madras High School gradu-
ation will be on Saturday, June 4,
starting at 2 p.m. Graduation is held
at the football stadium.
The eighth-graders in June will
be graduating from the War m
Springs Academy. A date was not
yet available as of earlier this week.
The Early Childhood Education
graduation is set for June 10, start-
ing at 10 a.m. at the community
center.
Some other dates to keep in
mind during this graduation time:
The Warm Springs Graduation
Banquet for the Class of 2016 is
scheduled for the evening of Fri-
day, June 10, at the Agency
Longhouse.
High school grads, for informa-
tion call Carroll at 541-553-3311.
For higher education graduates, con-
tact Becky Picard at the Tribal
Council office.
The Simnasho Grads’ Night Out
Powwow is set for Wednesday, May
25 at the Simnasho Longhouse. Pot-
luck dinner at 6, and the powwow
at 7.
Grow enterprise begins construction phase
Construction is scheduled to
start soon on the grow facility
that will house the tribes’ can-
nabis enterprise.
The construction phase will
take four to five months, with
Ventures estimating a comple-
tion time around October.
Meanwhile, the building
phase is generating new con-
struction jobs, said Don
Sampson, Ventures executive
director.
The ground-breaking cer-
emony for the project proved
to be a popular event. On
hand were many community
members, plus the tribes’ part-
ners in the project, and federal
and state officials.
Stan Speaks, BIA North-
west regional director, men-
tioned how the tribes and Ven-
tures have handled a unique
and potentially complicated
business idea.
Jayson Smith photos.
Drummers take part at the greenhouse ground-breaking.
“They have been very careful
and very cautious,” Mr. Speaks said
of the tribes. “They are certainly
going to be a model.”
An economic study has projected
significant revenue, possibly more
than $20 million a year when in full
operation, from the cannabis enter-
prise. “But this is bigger than dol-
lars and cents,” said Pit-ta Pitt,
project coordinator.
“This is not a quick fix,” he said.
“This is about a group of people
trying to find a way to educate,
clothe and house themselves.”
The greenhouse and the tribes’
retail shops will create about 80 new
jobs, according to the study devel-
oped last year.
For the shops, Ventures has been
looking at sites in Portland, Bend,
Hood River, Eugene, Salem and
Helping with the ground-breaking were Ellen Grover, Chris
Hardiman, Mark McNeely, Don Sampson, Pi-Ta Pitt, Shawn
Phllips, Roy Sampsel and Erin Phillips (from left).
Government Camp.
The greenhouse itself, on Lower
Dry Creek Road, will be 36,000
square feet.
Ventures is planning to host job
fairs in the community in June or
July.
The cannabis project is coming
on-line as the tribes are looking to
new sources of general fund rev-
enue.
Forest products, and power
generation from the hydro-
electric dams once were the
financial basis for the tribes.
These industries, though,
can no longer provide the
same kind of economic
foundation.