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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2004)
Smoke Signals 3 NOVEMBER 1, 2004 Plane Crash Claims Three Young Lives CRASH continued from front page I of s? nil &i x m zms&n ,0 .Uo3 v I'Vji. '-Js-r-j , Nn T m am I ill it '! . I 9 l! i! Momentos Of Sorrow In the foggy hills of Lincoln County lies a make-shift memorial for Hofertbredl, Havel andWard. The reason for the crash, investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, is yet to be determined. Type Of Plane - A Piper Cherokee PA 28, (right), similar to the one that the teens crashed in. Havel was fa miliar with and had expe rience flying this type of aircraft. capacity to figure things out was amazing." Havel was a senior and Hofenbredl a junior at Willamina High while Ward, Havel's girl friend, was a junior at McMinnville High School. In McMinnville, Ward went to school with Havel's sister. While tragedies are not common at high schools, the ones that have occurred in recent years have pre pared school administrators for the possibility. "There are plans in place," said Zimbrick. At Willamina High, a so called "Flight Team" was already in existence, and Zimbrick and Willamina Superintendent Gus Forster began preparing the group early on the Friday morning follow ing the crash, when the plane and its occupants were still missing. The closeness of a small commu nity like Willamina makes the job of Flight Team members all the more difficult. "I've known Travis for a long time," said Zimbrick. "Barb (Hofenbredl, Travis's mom) and I have kids two weeks apart. My hus band works for the Hofenbredls and went to school with Larry (Hofenbredl, Travis's dad)." "Barbara and Larry always host a summer picnic..." And Loree Havel, Ross's mom, is now a Science Teacher at the Willamina Middle School. In approaching the students, said Zimbrick, "You steel yourself and let the grief out; a little bit of both. The tears flowed down my face," she said. "I couldn't stop that, but I think the nurturing instinct kicks in, too." Zimbrick taught Travis in pre school. Later, he went to school with her children as did his younger brothers. Then, Zimbrick taught him again in middle school. "Travis came to school because he had to," she said. "I wouldn't say he enjoyed it, at least not the work part, but he was a sweet boy. You had to get on him to get his work done, but the social part he loved. He had lots of friends. He was the kind of kid that had a magnetic personality. There was always a group of kids that liked to be around him. He definitely set the course. He liked trucks and liked to hunt. Had a way about him that he always had a following." It was also said about Travis that he could operate every machine in the family's logging company, and was so good a mechanic that his younger brothers thought he could fix anything. Kristi Lynn Ward was described as outdoorsy, enjoying "fishing, hunting, camping, riding dirt bikes, playing basketball, traveling and riding horses." She also volunteered in the Bear Hugs child care center at McMinnville High School and with the Life Skills program at Duniway Middle School and McMinnville High School. A week later, the pain among friends and in the community had not abated. Jacob Hofenbredl, cousin to Travis, agreed to speak a little about his cousin, Travis, and friend, Ross. "I just remember about Travis," he said, "always having fun with him no matter what we were do ing. Same with Ross." His voice was so sad. "That's all I feel like saying." Annual Tribal Government-To-Government Summit Held At Umatilla MEETING continued from front page past successes and plan for the fu ture together." Grand Ronde Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy spoke to the governor and his offic ers about the need to open up lines of communication between the gov erning bodies and how to have open meetings with dialogue aimed at promoting positive relationships. Tribal Council member Jack Giffen, Jr. listened to the governors speech and said he thought Kulongoski was being sincere, al though he "doesn't know if he has the tools he needs to be able to work with all nine Tribes." Giffen, Jr. said that it was vital for communication lines to open up among all of the different govern mental entities. "We have got to have communi cation to protect both our sover eignty and their sovereignty," he said. Many of the attendees had tough questions for the governor and his staff. Kathleen Gordon, a Cayuse and Umatilla Tribal Elder, asked about the inefficient relationship between the Oregon Department of Trans portation and the Tribal Roads de partment. To date, that relation ship has meant that the road in front of her house does not get paved. "Neither the state or the county takes care of my road," she said. An ODOT official gave Gordon his card and promised to talk with her. Tribal General Manager Cliff Adams, who has attended every summit since they began, said that the summit was "an excellent oppor tunity to show we are willing to work together and to communicate with each other so we can solve problems." Adams also said it was a chance to discuss projects that cross the ju risdictional boundaries of state and Tribal governments. Adams stressed the need for such partnerships "so that we can move forward." The Tribal representatives at tended workshops and break-out sessions on public safety, cultural resources, and Tribal-state partner ships in economic development. They also heard speeches by Or egon Attorney General Hardy Meyers and Legislative Commission on Indian Services Executive Direc tor Karen Quigley. After the summit the Umatilla hosts treated the Tribal officials to dinner, social dances and tradi tional stick games. Speaker James Whitty, of the Oregon Department of Transportation, said that the Highway 18 interchange in Grand Ronde was a good example of the state and Tribe working together to upgrade existing infrastructure. 8 o xz a.
