Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 25, 2023
Page 5
Little League: Volunteers make the season Calling for submissions:
Voices of the River articles, art
(from page 1)
There is a great reliance on adult
volunteers in order to make the
Little League season happen, Mr.
Francis said. Each team, for in-
stance, requires three adult volun-
teers: Two coaches and a manager.
For 18 teams, that would be 54
volunteers. More help is still needed
before the February 28 deadline,
Edmund said.
Without enough volunteer
adults, the number of teams would
have to be reduced, disappointing
for the players.
Anyone interested in helping out,
there are various team divisions
that would welcome the participa-
tion. Divisions are from t-ball for
4 and 5 year olds, up to the Senior
divisions, in both baseball and soft-
ball.
The ongoing tradition
As community elders remem-
ber, the tradition of organized
Warm Springs youth baseball—
with official team line-ups, coaches,
score- and win-loss record keep-
ing—goes back decades, at least to
the 1950s. And there are some in-
teresting aspects to the early years:
The role that the Warm Springs
VFW, and BIA Roads played in
starting the very first league. And
the fact that in 1963 the Warm
Springs Minors team—the 11- and
12-year-olds—won the state tour-
nament, held that year in Astoria—
even early on, clearly a tradition to
be taken seriously.
As a note: The coaches of the
Championship 1963 War m
Springs team were Dick Souers
and Ed Spino, both of BIA Roads;
plus a young Frank Smith, age 13
at the time, who was also playing
that year in the Warm Springs Babe
Ruth League.
As Mr. Smith recalls, the first
War m Springs youth baseball
leagues were in the 1950s. Mem-
bers of the Warm Springs Veter-
ans of Foreign Wars organized the
program. There were PeeWee
teams—the 11- and 12-year-olds—
; and four Babe Ruth League teams
for older kids. The adult organiz-
ers and coaches were veterans who
had served during World War II,
Mr. Smith recalls.
Some of these gentlemen were
Alvin Smith, who after military ser-
vice became manager of Warm
Springs BIA Roads; and Milan
Smith Sr., BIA Roads roller opera-
tor. And Elmer ‘Sheriff ’ Quinn
and Cy Katchia, who both were
BIA Roads Surveyors. And Mr. Ed
Spino, heavy equipment operator.
Also in the early years, Russell
Bobb started the youth minors
league.
To give an idea of how things
have changed since the early days:
The ball fields were located where
the Pi-Ume-Sha powwow grounds
are now. The current Community
Center was not there yet. In its
place was the community barn.
There was a creek with a wooden
bridge in the area of the Tenino-
Hollywood Boulevard intersection.
The adult baseball field was on the
land that is now the clinic.
Frank Smith played from a very
young age up to his late teens. He
was a pitcher, like his brother
Claude Jr.
Frank has passed the baseball
tradition on to his son Ty Smith,
who lives in Ohio and earned a
Coach of the Year award for his
work with youth teams in the Co-
lumbus area. Ty’s son David plays
in an adult summer league, and
daughter Tashina plays softball at
the University of Ohio.
Though many things have
changed around the reservation
since the early days of youth base-
ball, some things are the same: The
young players are still having fun
and learning new skills throughout
the season. And another thing:
Frank Smith—sixty years after he
helped coach that state champion-
ship team—is still coaching, assist-
ing this year’s teams and players with
baseball techniques and knowledge.
Dave McMechan
‘Native Sport’ opens at Eastern Oregon
A Native American exhibit—
Native Sport—is now on display at
Eastern Oregon University in
LaGrande. Native Sport focuses
on Native American athletes, high-
lighting regional tribal members.
The exhibit is a collaboration
between Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity and the Josephy Center for
Arts and Culture. The exhibit is on
display at the univeristy Quinn
Coliseum through mid March.
“It has been an honor to work
with the Josephy Center and EOU
Athletics to bring the exhibit to the
EOU Campus and to share Native
Sports with our community,” said
EOS professor Linda Reed-Jerofke.
Native Sport opened this week,
Native Sport features outstanding indigenous athletes.
as welcomed by Eastern Oregon
Native American Studies, EOU
Athletics, the EOU Center for Di-
versity Equity Inclusion and Belong-
ing, and the EOU Anthropology and
Sociology program.
Funding for cost-cutting home energy upgrades
More resources are available
in 2023 to help people cut their
energy use and lower their energy
bills. The federal tax credits are
for upgrades that make homes
more energy efficient and com-
fortable.
The credits are part of the In-
flation Reduction Act, which makes
it easier for people to cut their en-
ergy use.
The new tax credits, together
with cash incentives already of-
fered by Energy Trust of Oregon
for both electric and natural gas
upgrades, mean utility customers
in Oregon can save more on items
and equipment that may lead to a
significant reduction in energy
costs.
In addition to the energy effi-
ciency tax credits, the Inflation Re-
duction Act also updated and ex-
tended tax credits for investments
in renewable energy and battery
storage systems.
As of January 1, federal tax
credits are available for the follow-
ing upgrades, which can also be com-
bined with incentives from Energy
Trust for customers of Portland
General Electric, Pacific Power,
NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas
and Avista. The credits are as fol-
lows:
Home insulation: Up to $1,200;
or up to $1.50 per square foot. Win-
dows: Up to $600; or up to $1.50
per square foot depending on effi-
ciency rating.
Heat pump: Up to $2,000. Cen-
tral air conditioning: Up to $600.
Natural gas furnace: Up to $600.
For more information see the
website:
energytrust.org
Confluence is pleased to an-
nounce the group is accepting sub-
missions for the second volume of
the print journal Voices of the River.
Writing can include fiction, creative
non-fiction, research essays and
poetry. Art pieces also welcome.
Voices of the River is a journal
that explores the history, living cul-
tures, and ecology of the Colum-
bia River system through Indig-
enous voices. Some potential
themes include growth, healing, and
community.
Confluence is also seeking a
cover artist for the second issue
of Voices of the River.
In addition to the cover, the
successful person will design with
embellishments the page separators
that match the vision for the cover,
which can be used for scene
breaks in articles. This is a $3,500
contract.
The cover artist should be In-
digenous and preferably have ties
to the Columbia River region.
Please apply by emailing Lily Hart
with a brief biography, a brief of
one paragraph stating your inter-
est. Feel free to email with any
questions prior to applying.
The deadline is March 15. See
the website: confluenceproject.org
A call to artists for Pathways
The Poeh Cultural Center is
pleased to announce its third an-
nual Pathways Indigenous Arts
Festival. The festival will be held
at Buffalo Thunder Resort and
Casino in August.
Pathways has become a premier
destination for visitors and collec-
tors to discover vibrant and top-
quality Indigenous artwork in di-
verse genres, created by well-re-
spected artists from traditional
Pueblo potters to contemporary
emerging artists.
The Poeh Cultural Center is
committed to showcasing excep-
tional work from across Indian
Country. What makes Pathways
unique is that the festival is the first
satellite art market, during Indian
Market weekend, to be held on
tribal land.
Honoring its commitment to
providing opportunities and ser-
vices to Indigenous artisans, the
Poeh Cultural Center is adding ap-
proximately 100 booths to this
year’s Pathways due to popular de-
mand.
As is a tradition, the first 20 out-
door single booths are free and are
available on a first-come-first-
served basis. Elder and disabled
artists can apply in person at the
Poeh Cultural Center or can call
505-455-5041.
Further details on programming
and music performers will be re-
leased in the coming months. For
more information and to sign up
for the Poeh newsletter, please visit
poehcenter.org/pathways/