Smoke signals., November 15, 2012, Page 6, Image 6

Smoke Signals
NOVEMBER 15, 2012
Tribe purchases Shasta
Administrative Services
Youth Award winner
6
By Dean Rhodes
Siimlp SiHnnlti nlitiir
KKDMONI) - Lamatsin LLC. a
company with the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Konde as the ma
jority partner, purchased Shasta
Administrative Services, a third
party administrator for health
care services, from Jeld-Wen Inc.
on Nov. 1.
Lamatsin is a partnership be
tween the Tribe's Huyhuy (Chinook
for "to do business with or trade
with") LLC and Hawaii-Western
Management Croup Inc. of Ho
nolulu, Hawaii. Huyhuy owns 51
percent of Lamatsin and IIWMG
owns the other 49 percent.
Grand Ronde Tribal Director of
Kconomic Development Titu As
ghar said the acquisition of Shasta
Administrative Services is part of
the Tribe's two-pronged strategy
regarding economic development.
Since Shasta was already pro
cessing health claims for the Tribe's
self-funded health plans, it was a
synergistic purchase, Asghar said.
In addition, it will help the Tribe
diversify its economic interests
beyond gaming (Spirit Mountain
Casino) and timber from its more
than 10,000-acre reservation.
"Synergy and diversity are keys
to the Tribe's economic develop
ment philosophy," Asghar said.
Shasta was formed in Jan. 1,2001,
Titu Asghar
to serve the
needs of Jeld
VVenand other
self -funded
employers in
the Pacific
Northwest.
The Confeder
ated Tribes of
Grand Konde
became a
Shasta client on Jan. 1, 2009.
Asghar said Shasta will market
its services to other Tribes nation
ally and other commercial inter
ests, locally and nationally.
Shasta will remain in Redmond,
where it has built brand equity, he
added.
Asghar said the purchase of Shasta
Administrative Services continues
the Grand Ronde Tribe's commit
ment to Oregon, as well as honoring
the Tribal culture of planning seven
generations into the future to provide
for its Tribal membership.
The minority owner, HWMG, pro
vides third-party services for both
insured and self-funded employer
groups' health plans in Hawaii and
viewed the purchase as an exciting
opportunity to expand the compa
ny's business to the mainland.
Asghar said the current Shasta
management team will remain in
place and that the Tribe will not
actively manage the company.
IDomiaDODDS wanted
The Tribe's Veterans' Special Event Board is looking for quality
items for a Fallen Warriors dinner and silent auction to be held 5
p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Wil
lamina. Donations can be dropped off at the Elders' Activity Center, specified
as a donation for the Veterans' board or Fallen Warriors dinner. D
Photo by Dean Rhodes
Robbie Rife, a 2009 graduate of Willamina High School who has
spent a dozen years involved in Grand Ronde Tribal youth programs,
was one of four Oregon youth who received a Governor's Minority
Youth Award from Oregon first lady Cylvia Hayes during the 2012
Governor's Summit on Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact
in the Juvenile Justice System held Nov. 1 -2 at Spirit Mountain Casino.
The award honors Oregon minority youth and young adults who
make positive choices and become successful in their lives, and who
contribute to the success of others. It is given to youth ages 14 to 25
who have overcome difficult times and hardships, and have shown
consistent progress in dealing with and overcoming adversity. "He's
defied many statistics that have been stacked against him, and he is
a good role model to our youth who are still at Youth Education," said
Tribal Elementary Lead Matt Bucknell. Rife is set to graduate from
Chemeketa Community College this year.
Necklace-making class set
A necklace-making class sponsored by Northwest Indian College will
be held from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, in the Adult Education
Building's GED classroom.
The class is free with all supplies and lunch provided. Tribal member
Julie Logan will teach the class.
The class is limited to the first 12 people to sign up. Federally recognized
Tribal members will receive preference.
To sign up, call 503-879-2282. a
'Tribes wM (DMftOuiiaa Gs props)!?'
ELECTION continued
from front page
However, the It's Still a Bad Idea
Committee, supported by the Con
federated Tribes of Grand Ronde
and other Oregon Tribes, started
running its own TV ads, question
ing whether a private casino in
Wood Village would be a benefit
to the community and whether it
would truly create new funding for
Oregon schools.
The pro-measure effort was fund
ed by Canadian gaming firms
Great Canadian Gaming Corp. of
Vancouver, British Columbia, and
Clairvest of Toronto, as well as
wealthy Lake Oswego businessmen
Bruce Studer and Matt Rossman.
But they found Oregon's politi
cal waters turbulent at best. The
Oregon Citizens' Initiative Review
Commission voted 17-7 against the
two measures and a state economic
analysis by the nonpartisan Legis
lative Revenue Office said that a
private casino would probably cost
state and local governmental enti
ties money and likely shrink the
Oregon economy.
Then, four current and former
Oregon governors John Kit
zhaber, Ted Kulongoski, Barbara
Roberts and Vic Atiyeh - all came
out in opposition to the measures.
Kitzhaber recorded a TV ad for the
It's Still a Bad Idea Committee in
which he expressed his concern
that passage of the measures would
break Oregon's promise to its nine
federally recognized Tribes.
The Grand Ronde Tribe stead
fastly opposed the measures,
fearing drastic decreases to rev
enue at Spirit Mountain Casino
if a private casino was built near
Portland. Those revenues fund
Tribal governmental operations,
such as education programs and
scholarships, health care, hous
ing and Elder pensions for Tribal
members.
With mounting political opposi
tion and failure to move polling
numbers, private casino backers
surprisingly announced on Oct.
16 three weeks before Election
Day that they were ending their
efforts to pass the measures. They
stopped airing the commercials, did
not send out any more mailers and
took down a Facebook page promot
ing "The Grange."
"There are some who believe
that we never needed to spend
money on this because it stood no
chance of passing," Bobb said. "My
feeling is if not for the very hard
work of the team that worked on
this on our behalf, from the polling
to the commercials, and the many
outstanding relationships that
we made with the help of Justin
Martin, and the televised debates
that he handled with clarity and
professionalism, the outcome may
not have been the same.
"Even another publication re
ferred to the amount of influence
the Grand Ronde Tribe carried. All
of this together contributed to the
end result and they deserve all the
credit. My thanks to them."
"I believe it is a reflection of
the hard work that the Confeder
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde and
its members dedicated to this
campaign," McClary said. "To see
our Tribal members stand united
and fight to protect our Elders,
our youth and our future was very
humbling and made me proud to
be a member of this Tribe. I also
believe Justin Martin and Perse
verance Strategies deserve public
acknowledgement for their hard
work."
In addition to the negative state
wide vote on Nov. 6, Wood Village
voters opposed allowing a large
casino in their community by a
53 percent to 47 percent margin
(304-268). Had the two statewide
measures passed, the Wood Village
vote would have been enough to
scuttle the project.
With the avalanche of negative
sentiment against private gaming
in Oregon, the biggest question is,
"Will they be back in 2014?"
"I couldn't speculate as of now if
they will be back or not," Martin
said. "But they should rest assured
that we are planning on their con
tinued efforts to get at the Portland
market when it comes to gaming.
Strategically, Tribes will continue
to prepare for these types of events
whether it occurs or not." B