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.