Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
April 26, 2017
Page 3
Graduation marks unique accomplishment
Hatfield Fellowship
K rysten Heath-Saldaña has
Robert Ahern will
travel to Ottawa, Canada
as part of his tenure with
the 2016-27 Hatfield Fel-
lowship. This will be a
chance to learn how the
Canadian legal and politi-
cal system differs from
those of the U.S.
Through the Fellow-
ship, sponsored by the
Spirit Mountain Commu-
nity Fund, Robert is
working in the Washing-
ton, D.C., office of Rep.
Earl Blumenauer. The
focus is on Native Ameri-
can issues pending in Con-
gress.
an inspiring story, one of
working through challenges
and accomplishing her goals.
“As one of my goals,”
Krysten was saying the other
day, “I would love to be a role
model for the students at the
Warm Springs Academy—to
show them that a person from
here can accomplish this.”
Krysten is the first tribal
member to complete the
George Fox University teach-
ing program called ‘Grow
Your Own.’ The program
encourages local people to
become the teachers in their
own community.
Krysten now has her
Bachelor’s degree in Elemen-
tary Education, and will soon
get her Oregon teaching li-
cense.
The George Fox Univer-
sity ‘Grow Your Own’ pro-
gram is in partnership with
the Jefferson County School
District. The students work
part-time at the school while
also taking classes.
For the course work the
instructor comes to Madras
twice a week, and some work
is done online. The two-year
program is rare in that the
students are paid while work-
ing through the requirements.
Krysten completed the
program this month with
Highest Honors, maintaining
Courtesy
Keira and Krysten at the George Fox graduation,
ceremony held this month in Redmond.
straight A’s throughout the
course.
Through dedication she
was able to work at the school,
keep her grades at the high-
est level, all while raising her
5-year-old daughter Keira, a
kindergartner at the Academy.
Krysten also has her own
home in Warm Springs, a car
and all the usual bills and ob-
ligations. “It’s been a lot of
work, but it’s been worth it,”
Krysten says.
There are many people to
thank for their support dur-
ing these past two years, she
says. These include her fam-
ily, especially mom Heather
Alford and dad Edward
Heath; Principal Parshall and
the assistant principals, teach-
ers and other staff at the
Academy.
“Especially the students,”
Krysten says. “They have
been very supportive. They
are amazing kids, very smart.
They’ve been my best teach-
ers.”
The Confederated Tribes,
and Carol Dick at Higher
Education were a great help
with the financial part of her
education.
Growing up, Krysten went
to elementary school in Warm
Springs, then to the Jefferson
County Middle School, and
graduated from Madras High
School in 2010.
She started at Central Or-
egon Community College
with the idea of becoming a
nurse. She then moved away
for a while, came back to
Warm Springs and applied
for the George Fox program.
“I was thinking, ‘If I get
accepted, then this is what
I’m meant to do,’” Krysten
says.
Now with her Teaching de-
gree she hopes to become a
full-time teacher.
“I want a job where I can
impact the future,” she says.
“I want my students to love
school, to have the lives that
make them happy, to accom-
plish their goals.”
Robert Ahern
As he was intown, Rob-
ert gave an update on the
program last week at
Tribal Council. Robert is
a graduate of Madras
High and Pacific Univer-
sity. His parents are Fran
and Judge Dan Ahern.
Eclipse: moves west to east
(Continued from page 1)
The August 21 eclipse
will begin in the morning
in the Pacific Ocean. At
this initial point in the
ocean, viewers (such as
those on a ship) would ac-
tually see the sun rise
while totally eclipsed.
After this, the eclipse
shadow will move from
northwest to southeast,
reaching the Oregon
Coast just near Newport.
The path then contin-
ues across the country,
northwest to southeast,
passing over South Caro-
lina and then into the At-
lantic Ocean.
As the shadow passes
over the Warm Springs
Reservation, the eclipse
totality will last a little over
two minutes.
The shadow moves
fast, at about 400 miles per
second, crossing the U.S.
in about an hour and a
half. For a summary of
some of the local events
August 19-21, visit the In-
dian Head Casino website:
indianheadgaming.com
Tower: allows for mixing of cooler and warmer water
(Continued from page 1)
The design wasn’t suc-
cessful, and fish passage
was blocked above the
dams. FERC re-licensing
in the late 1990s was the
opportunity to try and
address fisheries above
the dams.
A major problem was
that fish migrating down-
stream from above the
dams could not find the
actual downstream cur-
rent through Lake Billy
Chinook.
The selective water
withdrawal tower helps
create a surface current
in the lake; so the
downstream migrating
fish can find the fish fa-
cility, where they are
marked and then
trucked downstream
past the dams.
The facility operators
have also implemented a
change in the operation
at the Round Butte pow-
erhouse: they are releas-
ing water through the tur-
bines at night, when mi-
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Touring the fish tower were PGE biologist Rich Madden, Secretary-Treasurer Michele Stacona, Natural Resources general manager Bobby
Brunoe, Umatilla Fish and Wildlife Committee member and CRITFC commissioner Bud Herrera, Warm Springs Fish and Wildlife Committee
member and CRITFC commissioner Emerson Squiemphen, Councilman Raymond Tsumpti, Power and Water general manager Jim Manion,
Sara Thompson of CRITFC, PGE water manager Megan Hill, and Council Chairman Austin Greene Jr. (from left)
grating smolts like to move,
instead of during the day-
time.
Another aspect of the se-
lective water withdrawal
tower has to do with down-
stream water temperatures.
Water temperature
The cooler water in the
lake is at the bottom, and the
warmer at the top. The tower
allows the project managers
to mix the water as it’s re-
leased through dam. The in-
tent is to match what would
be the natural temperature
downstream during various
times of year.
There is opposition to
this aspect of the project,
while PGE and the tribes,
along with resource agen-
cies responsible for the eco-
system above and below
the dams, are working to
address any potential
challenges, Jim Manion
said.