News Stories Wed., Nov. 22, 2017

Community Health Education Team staff be set up at various locations next week to conduct survey interviews with Tribal Members over the age of 18 years. The surveys are for the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Project. Each Survey takes from 60 to 70 minutes to complete. Upon completion of a survey each individual is eligible to receive a $30.00 gift card. The locations are: Seekseequa Fire Hall on Tuesday, November 28th 9:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Simnasho Longhouse on Wednesday, November 29th from 9:30 to 4:00 P.M. And, at the Sid Walter Fire Hall on Thursday, November 30th from 9:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

A November 27 deadline is fast approaching to locate Indian beneficiaries who are entitled to a share of the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement. A majority of beneficiaries have already received their funds. But an estimated 17,000 have not been paid because the Department of the Interior can’t find them.  The Garden City Group, the court-appointed administrator of the settlement, maintains a database of “whereabouts unknown” beneficiaries as well as those whose contact information is not current. Data can be searched by state and then by tribal affiliation. If the missing beneficiaries can’t be located by November 27, their funds will be transferred to the Cobell scholarship fund. Checks that have been mailed but haven’t been cashed by the deadline also will go to the fund. The deadline does not apply to situations where the estates of deceased beneficiaries are still being processed by Interior.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man accused of molesting children on the Warm Springs and Yakama reservations has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. 59-year-old Ernest Colin Selam pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact and aggravated sexual abuse. At the time of his arrest in September 2016, Selam was already a registered sex offender for convictions in the Warm Springs Tribal Court for sexually abusing a 5-year-old and attempted sexual abuse of a 10-year-old in the early 1990s.

Volunteers are organizing now for a Warm Springs Warming Shelter. Last year, the shelter provided meals and a safe, warm site during below freezing weather. They are holding a meeting today from noon to 2:00 at the Family Resource Center. Anyone who may be able to help out is asked to stop by.

Folks traveling this week should be alert to Thanksgiving traffic and even Black Friday shopping jams.  This holiday period is supposed to see one of the highest volumes of traffic in over a decade according to AAA Oregon/Idaho. Plan ahead, expect heavy traffic, expect poor driving conditions and take your time. Know the road conditions before traveling by visiting tripcheck.com.