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Smoke Signals
A gathering of governments in Eugene
Kitzhaber's mandate
aims to help state and
tribes work together
Story and photo by Oscar Johnson
Last month a meeting was held
to build lasting working rela
tions between the state and
tribal governments. Grand Ronde tribal
representatives were among the delega
tions from Oregon's nine federally rec
ognized tribes that met with state offi
cials. The second annual Government-to-Government
meeting was the outcome
of Governor John Kitzhaber's 1996
Executive Order mandating that state
agencies take sure footed steps to work
more closely with their tribal counter
parts to address current and future is
sues of mutual interest.
"We have a shared responsibility to
meet the needs to have healthy fish runs
and clean water. We need to find a
way to keep our children out of the
criminal justice system and give them
the skills they need to succeed,"
Kitzhaber told attendees of the Nov.
17 conference.
Representatives from more than 20
state agencies ranging from the Depart
ments of Forestry and Fish and Wild
life Enforcement to Veterans Affairs
and Youth Authority were on hand to i
meet members from tribal agencies, i
Agency officials also reported on at
tempts to comply with the Executive
Order such as cultural awareness train
ing, appointing contact persons to work
with tribes and regular meetings with
tribal representatives.
In affirming the Grand Ronde Tribe's
goal of "working together with the state
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DISCUSSING COMMON ISSUES
Grand Ronde Chairperson, Kathryn Harrison (second from left, front row) joins representatives from Oregon's feder
ally recognized tribes in meeting with Gov. John Kitzhaber (second from right, back row), U of 0 president, David
Frohnmayer (left of Kitzhaber) and other state officials at last month's intergovernment meeting.
for a better quality of life for all,"
Council Chairperson, Kathryn Harri
son echoed the sentiment of officials
from some of the other tribes on hand
for the event.
Harrison noted that Spirit Mountain
Casino donations to the Oregon Mu
seum of Science and Industry; Nanitch
Sahallie's teen alcohol and drug treat
ment program; and tribal education
grants benefit more than just the Grand
Ronde Tribe.
"We are building our community not
just for the Tribe," said Harrison, "We
are using the money we're making now,
not only to better ourselves, but our com
munity and the state as well."
However, officials, such as Confed
erated Tribes of Umatilla representa
tive, Antone Minthorn, also indicated
that past difficulties and present bureau
cratic setbacks may be the biggest chal
lenge to getting concrete results from
the Executive Order.
"In order not to focus on the nega
tive," Minthorn said in his closing state
ment, "I'm sure state agencies are
aware of what they have accomplished
in implementing this Executive Order."
In anticipation of the rough road
ahead for state and tribal negotiators
during the day's closed session,
Kitzhaber urged participants to help the
procedure "move from a reactive pro
cess to a pro-active process."
In his closing remarks he asked par
ticipants to identify legislative priorities,
commit to meeting regularly and warned
to expect a tighter budget to work with
in the upcoming year. '
SMC employee elected mayor of Sheridan winter driving tips
By Oscar Johnson, Staff Reporter
Fighting crime and developing eco
nomic opportunities are two' of what
Sheridan Mayor-Elect Joe Fabiano
wants to prioritize while in office.
Fabiano, 50, who works at Spirit
Mountain Casino, was just a year into
his term as a Sheridan City Council
member when he won the three-way
race for mayor of Sheridan. He drew
288 votes.
Fabiano, also a volunteer paramedic
for the Sheridan Fire Department, has
been a resident of Sheridan for just two
years.
He said he began his recent career in
local politics because he believes, "a per
son has no right to complain unless
they're part of the process of change."
Running on an aggressive platform
for change that aims to tackle juvenile
crime and kindle economic develop
ment, the former California law en
forcement officer also advocates
strengthening relations between the city
and the Grand Ronde Tribe.
"We've already established a rela
tionship with the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde. We wouldn't be
breaking any new ground there,"
Fabiano said. "But I want us to con
tinue in that direction. I want us to
work more closely with the Tribe."
He said one way to accomplish this
might be periodic joint meetings be
tween Tribal Council, Sheridan City
Council and perhaps even their Wil
lamina counterpart.
It could be a way to "keep the door
open make sure we're on the same
page," he said. "A lot of people that
live in Sheridan work at the Casino.
This could only benefit everybody."
Fabiano also insists that closer rela
tions between tribal and city leaders
should come only with the intent to
address areas of mutual interest and
benefit.
As an example, he said if the Tribe
assisted in equipping the county fire
department it could benefit everyone.
He does not favor the city seeking a
grant from the Tribe at this point.
"I'm a person that's always believed
that a city should take care of itself,"
he said.
Other ways Fabiano hopes to help the
city take care of itself is to attract more
businesses by repairing old buildings
that he said contribute to downtown
Sheridan's "ghost town" look. He also
advocates using resources to construct
more buildings for businesses and not
just homes.
Fabiano also wants a new approach
to curbing juvenile crimes such as van
dalism. "I don't think going around arrest
ing a bunch of people is the answer,"
he said.
Instead he focuses on the lack of ac
tivity for Sheridan youth and thinks that
options such as a joint community cen
ter between Sheridan and Willamina
could help solve the problem.
Cold nights, heavy moisture and low
elevations protected from winds. . . three
elements which can hamper safe driv
ing. Dense fog can be a fact of life
here in the northern Willamette Val
ley. Take a few moments to remem
ber some simple driving tips to save
your life or another:
Headlights are necessary so that you
can see, and so that you may be seen
by other drivers. Dense fog refracts
light, so the only thing accomplished
by driving with your brights on is blind
ing yourself and oncoming drivers in
the process.
Slow down and double your follow
ing distance. Your car travels 88 feet
per second at 55 mph. If there is only
one hundred foot visibility due to fog,
you will not see the car in front of you
until it is too late to brake.
Beware of freezing fog. Ground
fog contains a fine mist of water, and
when it contacts rural roads during
freezing nights, it will become ice.