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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2025)
Page 2 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs Election: Coming up on March 26 (from page 1) For the Agency District, with three seats on Council in addition to the Wasco Chief, there are 988 off-reservation voters, and 1,237 on-reservation voters. For the Simnasho District, with three Council seats and the Warm Springs Chief, there are 544 off- reservation voters and 655 on-res- ervation voters. For the Seekseequa District, with two elected representatives in ad- dition to the Paiute Chief, there are 98 off-reservation voters and 176 on-reservation voters. Election, Counting boards Tribal Council is now advertis- ing for three positions and one al- ternate on the Election Board; and four positions and one alternate on the Counting Board. Tribal members interested in serving on one of these boards, please submit letters of interest and resumes to the tribes’ Secretary- Treasurer/CEO, PO Box 455, War m Springs, OR 97761. A criminal background check is also required (see details at right). Election Day and before The Tribal Council Election Day is March 26. The voting place is the Warm Springs Community Center. Some other dates to keep in mind: Friday, January 24 is the dead- line for any new voters to register, or existing voters to change voting districts. The process for preparing absen- tee ballots will begin on Monday, January 27, with absentee ballots mailed out on Wednesday, Febru- ary 12. Tribal members who request absentee ballots, who have had a change of address, should complete a change of address form. Forms for voting district change and address change should be re- turned to the Vital Statistic office at the tribal administration building; or if you live away from Warm Springs, then you can email your form to: olivia.wallulatum@wstribes.org lucille.suppach@wstribes.org Controversial biofuel plant at Columbia River has DEQ approval A controversial plant near Clatskanie along the Columbia River took another step toward con- struction when the Oregon Depart- ment of Environmental Quality approved the facility’s plans to pro- tect water quality in the Columbia and adjacent wetlands. The plant would produce die- sel fuel from used cooking oil, wood waste and other organic byproducts. The controversial plant is being developed by Houston-based NXTClean Fuels. A reminder to Tribal Council candidates KWSO is planning to produce Tribal Council candidate program segments to run on the air leading up to the election day, Wednesday, March 26. The tribes’ election team is plan- ning to mail out the absentee bal- lots in mid February, and KWSO would be great to have as many in- terviews as possible by then, in or- der to offer them online to tribal members who live away from the reservation. The radio interviews should only take about ten to 15 minutes. Can- didates are invited to stop by the Media Center and KWSO, and dis- cuss three interview topics. The top- ics are: Talk about yourself, your fam- ily and your background. What knowledge, education, in- sights, and lived experience do you have that will be useful in serving on Tribal Council. Describe your priorities for the Confederated Tribes and member- ship including any issues that need to be addressed. KWSO is suggesting two minute answers to each of these topics. You can schedule a 15 minute interview with KWSO by emailing: kwsonews@wstribes.org Or call 541-553-1968. Spilyay Tymoo Meanwhile, the Spilyay Tymoo is requesting a written statement, with a limit of approximatley 250 words, and a photo. The available submis- sions will be published in a candi- dates’ edition as the election ap- proaches. Email to: david.mcmechan@wstribes.org Like the KWSO candidates’ inter views, the Spilyay candi- dates pages will also be shared online. KWSO and the Spilyay in- vite you to participate in these op- portunities, giving tribal members a chance to know who you are, and encouraging participation in the election of the Thirtieth Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Company leaders say the plant will produce an environmentally friendly fuel that will cut carbon emissions by replacing dirtier fossil fuels in trucks and airplanes. The volume of production—750 million gallons a day—would make the plant the largest producer of re- newable diesel in the U.S. Opponents say the plant will cre- ate risks for spills of feedstocks like corn oil and grease as they are brought by rail across silty river bot- tom land that is vulnerable to shak- ing during an earthquake. The plant would also consume fossil fuels to produce its renew- able diesel, critics say. Some also say the plant would destroy rich farmland along the Columbia. NXTClean says the plant will create 3,500 jobs during construc- tion and 240 permanent ones. Columbia Riverkeeper indicated an appeal can be expected. The NXTClean plant still needs a federal water permit to be granted through a process overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. January 22, 2025 Positions open on the Election, Counting boards The Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs would like to advertise the following: Election Board: Three va- cancies, and one alternate. Counting Board: Four va- cancies, and one alternate. Letters of interest and re- sumes of applicants interested in ser ving on one of the boards, submit to the follow- ing address by no later than February 10, 2025: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, attn: Secretary- Treasurer/ CEO, PO Box 455, Warm Springs, OR 97761. A criminal background check is to be completed and returned to Secretary- Treasurer’s office. Forms are available at tribal Management, or may be mailed or emailed directly to you. Return signed forms back to the Manage- ment office. Information will be submitted confidentially to the S-T/CEO. Ordinance no. 44 states re- garding the Election boards: For each election, the Tribal Council shall appoint an Elec- tion board for each polling place, the Election Board to be composed of the following officials: Three members of the Election Board. One alter- nate member of the Election board… The Tribal Council will ap- point one of the three mem- bers as the as the Chairman of the Election Board, and in the event that any of the three members of the Election Board shall be unable to serve or shall resign, then the alter- nate shall replace any such member. Counting Board: For each election, the Tribal Council shall appoint a Counting Board for the purpose of counting the results of the elections. The Counting Board shall consist of four persons, and the Tribal Council will appoint one of the four members as Chairman. All members of the Elec- tion and Counting boards shall be members of the Confeder- ated Tribes of Warm Springs; and shall not be appointed to such positions in an election where they or a member of their immediate family are a candidate for election, or where they may personally have an in- terest in the election different from the interests of the mem- bership at large. It shall be the duty of the Election Board to supervise the election at the voting place where they are designated to serve. The Vital Stats Department Supervisor shall furnish to the Election Board an up to date voter list showing the district in which each of the voters is entitled to vote; and insofar as the Election Board is con- cerned such voter list shall be final. It shall be the duty of the Election Board to supervise the election at the voting place where they are designated to serve. The Vital Stats Depart- ment Supervisor shall furnish to the Election Board an up to date voter list showing the dis- trict in which each of the vot- ers is entitled to vote; and in- sofar as the Election Board is concerned such voter list shall be final. The Election Board shall insure that all persons whose names are shown on the voter list shall have an opportunity to vote in the district where they are registered and that no persons whose names are not on the voting list for that dis- trict shall vote. Invalids and persons hospitalized or incar- cerated and unable to travel to the voting place shall have their ballots collected by a two per- son team composed of a mem- ber of the Election Board and a member of the Counting Board. Comments on Columbia fish, wildlife The public has 90 days to send in recommendations for changes to the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, a 40-year effort to protect and mitigate for the impacts of the hydropower system on salmon and other fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin. The Northwest Power and Con- servation Council recently released the request for public input. To learn more and submit a recom- mendation, go to: nwcouncil.org/amend The deadline for submissions is April 17. The Power and Conser- vation Council plans to adopt the updates in spring of 2026. The Council updates the Fish and Wildlife Program every five years based on recommendations from regional tribes, state and federal agencies, local governments, nonprofits, energy customers, and other interested parites.
