KWSO News for 11/20/19

A recent proposal to the Warm Springs Tribal Council caught the Tribal Council Members interest. The Spilyay Tymoo reports the proposal to utilize the Kah-Nee-Ta Village came from Chris James, his associate Eric Fristensky and Dr. Edward McEachern, which entails use of the Village as a hydrotherapy center. The proposal would have heated hydrotherapy pools, plus lodging for the patients and families and related support services, with access to all of the outdoor activities at Kah-Nee-Ta. Mr. James said Good health is the most important thing in people’s lives and always will be. He presented a revenue projection for the proposal through 2022 with the numbers being positive and said operation of the lodge would have to be separate. Tribal Council Chairman Raymond Tsumpti said the hydrotherapy center has potential but we do have to shore this up with the membership.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs point-in-time count is a survey that looks at homelessness in Warm Springs. From the Spilyay Tymoo the recent count helps with allocation of resources based on the results. A person can be considered homeless if the person is living with family or friends(precariously housed), or at a shelter (sheltered), without a place of their own, or literally homeless. The number of those precariously housed in Warm Springs, according to the recent count, is 50 compared to the Jefferson County precariously housed at 21. The total count for Warm Springs was 66. With a steady increase of precariously housed residents the Tribes are looking to a bipartisan bill that would help address homelessness in our communities. H.R.4029, the Tribal Access to Homeless Assistance Act, does something rather simple, making tribes and tribal housing entities eligible for the same types of grants that are already available to other communities. Currently, H.R. 4029, is in its beginning stages and will have to be passed by House, Senate before it goes to The President to become law.

Parents who starved their 5-year-old daughter to death have been sentenced to life in prison. The Bulletin reports 33-year-old Sacora Horn-Garcia and 35-year-old Estevan Garcia were sentenced Monday in Deschutes County Circuit Court in the 2016 death of Maliyha Hope Garcia. The couple was found guilty by a jury of murder by abuse and criminal mistreatment after a weekslong trial. They’ll be eligible for parole in 25 years. Maliyha was adopted by the Garcia shortly after the girl was born and tested positive for methamphetamines. She weighed 24 pounds at the time of her death. Garcia expressed regret but stopped short of admitting intentionally starving his daughter. Horn-Garcia said she’s not a murderer but a person who made a terrible mistake by not taking the child to the hospital. She also blamed the media for making her look bad.

In Local Sports: Warm Springs K-8 Boys basketball hosted Jefferson County Middle School (JCMS) yesterday. The 7^th Grade boys fell 68-37 with high scorers James Napyer at 8 points and Kobe Figueroa with 7 and the 8^th Grade Boys came away with the victory 56-46, Eagle High scorers were Seneca Ball with 28 points and Skytus Smith with 10.