Spilyay Tymoo
Coyote News, est. 1976
August 14, 2019 - Vol. 43, No. 17
August – Shatm – Summer - Shatm
Health care careers starting On Track
Their college experiences so far
have been very different. Yet
Lynden Harry and Kaliyah
Iverson share this same wsidom:
When an opportunity presents it-
self, you take it.
“In that way you can open many
doors,” Lynden says.
Kaliyah adds: “Even if you
don’t want to go into the medical
field, go and see as much as you
can. That’s been our approach.”
Lynden and Kaliyah this fall are
each starting their second years at
college—Kaliyah at Arizona State
University, Lynden at the College
of the Siskiyous.
And both young women are
pursuing careers in health care—
Lynden in Physical Therapy, and
Kaliyah in Pediatric Oncology.
They both credit the same pro-
gram—starting in high school and
continuing this summer—with
helping them refine their career
choices. The program is OnTrack.
OnTrack, of Oregon Health
Sciences University, is co-spon-
sored by the Northwest Native
American Center of Excellence,
the Jefferson County school dis-
trict, St. Charles Medical Center,
and Indian Health Services.
While at Madras High School,
Lynden and Kaliyah—they were
both outstanding athletes, espe-
cially at basketball—joined
OnTrack. They were referred by
school counselor Butch David.
At first OnTrack was almost
like a school club: There were day
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Kaliyah Iverson and Lynden Harry credit On Track with
helping inspire their careers in health care fields.
field trips to OHSU and the
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital,
for instance; and regular meetings
at school with Katie Lenahan,
OnTrack director.
They met Dr. Dove Spector
and Dr. Erik Brodt, of the North-
west Native American Center of
Excellence, and other profession-
als with the program.
In their senior high school years,
Kaliyah and Lynden were especially
impressed by the OnTrack trips to
OHSU and Doernbecher. At
OHSU they got to know doctors,
nurses and other staff, learned
about different medical specialties,
and visited the learning center.
The Doernbecher visit was
equally enlightening, and moving…
It was all an eye opening experi-
ence. “I had never seen a medical
facility like OHSU,” Lynden says.
“I remember OHSU being so
big, compared to Madras St.
Charles,” Kaliyah says.
And the experience gave them
a better idea of what they wanted
Team Rylan
shows best
of community
to do in life.
In the winter and early spring
of their senior high school years,
with fellow senior Enrique
Ramirez, Lynden and Kaliyah
became the first OnTrack Tribal
Health Scholars.
They spent mornings at the
Warm Springs clinic, learning
more about various health careers,
getting to know the clinic staff.
And for their final weeks as Tribal
Health Scholars, they each chose
a particular area of focus.
Meanwhile, they were apply-
ing for college, and applying and
qualifying for financial assis-
tance. Kaliyah chose Arizona
State, in part because they of-
fered the most assistance;
Lynden chose the College of the
Siskiyous, where she continues
with basketball as point guard for
the Eagles.
The College of the Siskiyous
is in a beatiful locale, at the base
of Mt. Shasta. “It’s a great place
to be,” Lynden says. “The cam-
pus is very diverse.” Enrollment
is about 2,700. There are as-
pects—the diversity of culture,
the rural setting—that can al-
most remind you Warm Springs,
Lynden says.
Arizona State, with more than
70,000 students, is one of the
biggest schools in the U.S.: In
choosing colleges, “My story is
a little different from Lynden’s,”
Kaliyah says.
See ONTRACK on page 8
She will have to go to OHSU
less frequently as time goes by,
as she continues improving.
Successful treatment could
be a three-year process. Mean-
while, Rylan will be going to
school, keeping as much of her
regular routine as possible.
The community has taken
this cause to heart, helping the
family during these past several
months. Rylan’s teammates and
school friends have shown in-
credible support. Sandra
Danzuka, who works with
Leslie at Ventures, started by
organizing a raffle; Tony
Holliday put together the up-
coming fundraiser basketball
tournament, September 7-8,
during leukemia awareness
month.
Tribal Management and
Council approved a rare excep-
tion, allowing employees to
donate their personal time off
to the Davises, so they could
spend time in Portland with
Rylan, during her stay there.
These are just some of the ex-
amples.
“It’s been overwhelming. I’m
speechless and humbled,”
Leslie says. “We really have no
words to say how much we ap-
preciate all of this.”
R ylan Davis is going into
the eighth grade at the Warm
Springs Academy. As friends
and family know, Rylan is a
wonderful athlete and bright
spirit—a true winner when it
comes to game time.
Earlier this year, during
Academy basketball season,
Rylan began feeling pain in
one of her shoulders. Her
parents, Leslie and Jabbar
Davis, took her to the hospi-
tal for an MRI, thinking
maybe Rylan had a rotator
cuff injury.
The MRI showed no in-
jury, and Rylan was referred
to specialists at Oregon
Health Sciences University.
Then her other shoulder
started hurting. Doctors said
it could be leukemia; and
more testing showed this to
be the case.
Rylan went through treat-
ment at OHSU, staying at the
Ronald McDonald House.
Her parents—Leslie works at
Warm Springs Construction
and Jabbar at Fire Manage-
ment—would stay with her.
Rylan responded well to
the treatment, Leslie said.
Rylan Davis plays for
the Warm Springs
Academy Eagles.
Courtesy Team Rylan
PO Box 489
Warm Springs, OR 97761
ECR WSS
Postal Patron
U.S. Postage
PRSRT STD
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Kah-Nee-Ta
discussion
Tribal Council and Management
this week discussed the latest de-
velopments at Kah-Nee-Ta. There
remain investors who are interested
in partnering with the tribes in the
operation of the resort.
Some potential partners have
already toured Kah-Nee-Ta, some
more than once; while others are
planning future visits, said Michele
Stacona, Secretary-Treasurer.
Management shared with Tribal
Council conceptual information
from potential investors. The in-
formation is strictly confidential as
discussions continue.
Council members said they
would be interested in touring the
resort, with the public possibly in-
vited to attend.
Council was also planning to talk
on Monday with board members
of Indian Head Casino about any
potential cooperation between the
casino and Kah-Nee-Ta.
Chief operations officer Alyssa
Macy gave an update on the ham-
lets, some of which are occupied.
There will need to be contamina-
tion clean-up in some units, Ms.
Macy said. All units will be tested,
she said.
In order to bring the hamlets up
to current standards, a significant
investment would be needed, up to
$5 million.
Water
update
Tribal Utilities and Gelco Con-
struction were working on the re-
placement of the pressure
reducuing valves for the Agency
water system.
The old valves were not func-
tioning properly, causing leaks in the
water lines.
The work so far has been a great
imrpovement for the water deliv-
ery system; more work will continue
as parts become available.
Some of the areas where the
valve work happened: the industrial
park, the Catholic Church, West
Hills, and Greeley Heights stations.
This work included the replace-
ment or repair of the pressure re-
ducing valves and other critical com-
ponents. Water is being distributed
through the system with improved
reliability as compared to the pre-
construction condition.
A next step in the process will be
Public Utilities staff conducting
BacT testing, and finalizing steps to
have the boil water notice lifted.
Until that time, the notice re-
mains in effect. Listen to KWSO up
for updates, or check to tribal
websites.
Areas impacted are the entirety
of the Warm Springs Agency area
including Kah-nee-ta, Wolfe Point,
Sunnyside, Upper Dry Creek, Miller
Heights, Campus area, West Hills,
Tenino Valley, Tenino Apartments,
Elliott Heights, Senior Housing,
Trailer Courts, and Greeley Heights.