FEBRUARY 15, 1999
3
President proposes $100 million salmon plan
By John Hughes
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) President
Clinton recently proposed spending
$100 million next year for new
state-driven efforts to replenish
shrinking salmon populations in the
Pacific Northwest.
The money would be matched by
state and local dollars and aimed at
efforts in California, Oregon, Wash
ington and Alaska to protect land
near streams, reduce stream sedi
ment, improve water quality and
take other steps to protect the fish.
Clinton and Vice President Al Gore
made the announcement in a con
ference call with the governors of
Alaska, Washington and Oregon,
the California resources secretary
and a representative from Indian
tribes.
"We want to help you bring the
salmon back," Clinton said from the
Oval Office. "If we work together,
I'm sure that we can succeed in re
storing this symbol of your region's
heritage."
The governors of the four states
requested $200 million a year for six
years in a letter to Gore last year.
State officials say the dollars are
needed because salmon problems in
the region are becoming urgent.
The National Marine Fisheries
Service, the federal agency charged
with maintaining the health of
salmon populations, will decide in
March whether to list 13 additional
Northwest salmon populations as
threatened or endangered.
The agency has already listed 15
salmon populations since 1991, but
most of the listings affected less
populated areas in the Columbia
River Basin. Some of the new list
ings would hit densely populous ar
eas such as Oregon's Willamette Val
ley, where three-fourths of the state's
population lives, and Washington's
Puget Sound region, which includes
Seattle.
Some Republicans in Congress,
however, could be skeptical of ap
proving any new salmon spending.
Some House appropriators sharply
cut the authorization for some
salmon projects last year, complain
ing that past spending seemed to
have no effect on fish populations.
Northwest lawmakers later man
aged to restore most of the cut.
But Gore said he was optimistic
about the new proposal.
Recent Council actions
By Tracy Dugan
JANUARY 13, 1999
The meeting was called to order by
Kathryn Harrison. A full Council
was present.
Health Committee: Ed Pearsall
moved, Bob Haller seconded a mo
tion to reappoint Merle Leno and
Patti Tom-Martin to the Health and
Human Services Committee and to
approve the request for out-of-state
travel for Diane Lane and Berna
dine Shriver to attend a conference
called "Traditional Approaches to
Diabetes Prevention" in Laughlin,
.Nevada February 3-5.
Northwest Portland Area In
dian Health Board (NPAIHB):
Bob Mercier moved, Ed Larsen sec
onded a motion to adopt Resolution
001-99 appointing Mark Mercier
as NPAIHB delegate and Bob Haller
as the alternate. Motion carried by
a vote of 8-0-0.
Compensation Study: Mark
Mercier moved, Ed Larsen seconded
a motion to adopt Resolution 002
99 approving the Compensation
Study as presented. The motion car
ried by a vote of 8-0-0.
JANUARY 27, 1999
The meeting was called to order by
Reyn Leno. Kathryn Harrison was
on travel status.
Ed Pearsall moved, Mark Mer
cier seconded a motion to authorize
a change in the order of the agenda
to hear the request brought forth by
the Yamhill County Board of Com
missioners. Commissioner Tom E. Bunn made
the request. Mark Mercier moved,
Val Grout seconded a motion 'to
adopt Resolution 003-99 support
ing the Yamhill County Board of
Commissioners request to the State
of Oregon. The request asks the
State to take action to improve trans
portation safety on Highway 18
from McMinnville west to the end of
the Safety Corridor. The motion car
ried by a vote of 7-0-0.
At a future time, a second Resolu
tion will be considered by Council
which will outline the Tribe's pro
posed directional strategies to the
state legislators and transportation
agency.
Membership fee schedules:
Ed Pearsall moved, Bob Mercier sec
onded a motion to approve payment
of the 1999-2000 membership fees
for the Mid-Willamette Valley Coun
cil of Governments (COG $1,411)
and Economic Development District
(EDD $173). The motion carried.
Judicial Services Contract:
Bob Mercier moved, Ed Larsen sec
onded a motion to adopt Resolution
004-99, authorizing the Chair to
execute the Judicial Services Con
tract with Judge Katharine English
for a two-year term. The motion car
ried by a vote of, 7-0-0. . v .
Constitutional Amendment:
Ed Pearsall moved, Mark Mercier
seconded a motion to adopt Resolu
tion 005-99 requesting that the
Secretary of the Interior conduct an
election to amend the enrollment re
quirements of the Tribe's constitution
and instruct the tribal attorney to
submit the proposed amendment to
the Secretary of the Interior for such
purpose. A roll call vote was re
quested by Ed Pearsall. All Council
members voted yes.
A current copy of the Tribal Con
stitution along with the proposed
amendments will be published in
Smoke Signals, and a letter will be
mailed to all voting tribal members
regarding this issue.
Val Grout moved, Ed Larsen sec
onded a motion to adopt Resolution
006-99 authorizing the Chair to
execute the Somday Global Agree
ment. The terms of this agreement
are confidential. The motion carried
by a vote of 7-0-0.
Mark Mercier moved, Ed Larsen
seconded a motion to adopt Resolu
tion 007-99 authorizing the sub
mission of an application for funds
from the Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration on
Aging, Title VI, Older Americans
Act, in the amount of $65,000 for the
operation of the Elders' Nutrition
Program. The motion carried by a
vote of 7-0-0.
Ed Pearsall moved, Bob Mercier
seconded a motion to approve the al
location of $40,000 to cover the
clean-up costs for the storage facil
ity land area. The motion carried.
Tribe will form ad hoc committee
One of Tribal Council priorities for 1999 will be to erect a Veteran's
Memorial in recognition and appreciation of those tribal members who
have served in the Armed Forces and fought America's wars.
The first meeting of this committee will be February 21 at 1 p.m. at
the Community Center. Lunch will be served. Any tribal member wishing
to participate in the creation of this memorial should attend.
An ad hoc committee is a temporary committee, and will be dissolved
after the Veteran's Memorial project is complete. Serving on an ad hoc
committee does not affect your membership on other tribal committees
and boards.
This committee will be responsible for fundraisers, deciding what the
memorial will look like, who will create it, and more. The Tribe needs 5
7 people to serve. At the first meeting, members will be selected. Also, if
you are not a tribal member but have family who are members and
have served in the military, you are welcome to attend this meeting. .
General meeting
Continued from front page
pancy. On the weekends, it's 95
100 occupancy."
Camille Mercier, from the Casino's
Human Resources department, said
that 157 tribal members currently
work at the Casino or in the Lodge.
Anyone interested in Dealer's School
or getting pre-employment consul
tation should call the HR office. Also,
students interested in summer em
ployment are encouraged to apply
at the Casino.
Shelley Hanson, who works for
Spirit Mountain Development Cor
poration (SMDC), said that this past
year, the Tribe has acquired some
real estate and is pursuing other eco
nomic opportunities.
"The goal of SMDC is profit. To gen
erate revenue through the Casino
and other endeavors," said Hanson.
'We also want to provide quality em
ployment opportunities and build an
increasing valuable asset base." New
projects include: retail centers in Sa
lem and Redmond, Or.; housing
projects in Portland and Albany; and
the tote washing business with
Hewlett-Packard the Tribe operates
in Tangent, Oregon.
An announcement was made that
tribal Elder Blanche Lillard is now
in a nursing home in Dallas. She
would greatly appreciate visits from
friends.
Arlene Beck, Chair of the Elders'
Committee thanked those who
helped with all the fund-raisers for
Mark Cook, a tribal member who has
been ill. Almost $3,000 has been
raised for the Cook family so far.
Jill Jeffers and Darlene Aaron
spoke about the results of the health
survey and announced that Char
lotte Gray was the drawing winner.
Door Prizes were won by: Monty
Parazoo, $50; Tim Holmes, $50;
Celia Randolph, $50; and Jan Rei
bach, $100. Jan donated half of his
prize to the fund for Mark Cook.