August 2013 - Page 25 of 30

Lawmakers fund full-day kindergarten for every district in state

By Jerry Cornfield, The Herald

OLYMPIA — Nearly 18,000 more kindergartners will be attending school all day this fall on the state’s dime but none of them will be enrolled in Mukilteo School District.

Lawmakers’ decision to put $90 million more in the state budget for all-day kindergarten will benefit students at 269 elementary schools in Washington including several in Snohomish County.

Funds will be available for students at four campuses each in Everett and Marysville school districts, according to a list released Monday by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Also on the list are three schools in the Edmonds district and one campus apiece in the Sultan, Monroe, Darrington, Skykomish, and Oak Harbor districts.

Monday’s announcement by the state is good news for districts like Everett and Edmonds, which had been beefing up their preschool programs.

“The full-day kindergarten funding is another critical part of our efforts to get kids off to a good, solid start,” said Mary Waggoner, director of communications for Everett schools.

The Mukilteo School District stood alone Monday by not accepting $1.6 million to serve a projected 653 incoming kindergarten students, because it doesn’t have classroom space on the five elementary campuses where they would enroll.

While 33 other districts did turn down state money, none came close to rejecting the sum of money or affecting the number of students as Mukilteo.

“It is frustrating. It is not as if we don’t want the money,” district spokesman Andy Muntz said. “The problem is you need more classrooms and we simply don’t have them.”

Washington lawmakers set out in 2006 to fund all-day kindergarten in every public school district by the fall of 2017.

Lacking money to do it in one full swing, they started by aiding schools with the highest percentage of students living in poverty based on the number enrolled in the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program.

Last year, Washington had 80,258 kindergartners in its public schools. Of those, the state paid for a full day of instruction for 17,603 students and a half-day for 42,367.

Another 20,288 students attended all-day kindergarten in which half came from the state and the rest from a district or private tuition.

This year, lawmakers included the $90 million for expanding all-day kindergarten programs in the additional $1 billion they steered into basic education.

As a result, the number of students eligible for state-funded all-day instruction will grow by 17,817 to 35,420.

But none of those will be in the Mukilteo School District where 1,138 kindergartners attended last year, Muntz said. The vast majority was in half-day programs and the rest in the combination of state and non-state funded instruction.

The district’s problem is simple math.

Today, two half-day kindergarten classes can share one classroom. If both became full-day, another classroom would be needed. The district doesn’t have any and now relies on portables to handle overcrowded campuses.

Mukilteo school leaders anticipated a day like this might come. For seven years they’ve wrestled with the vexing challenges of increasing enrollment and an electorate unwilling to approve financing to build facilities including a new elementary school.

The school board put bond measures on the ballot once in 2006 and twice in 2008, all without success. Each measure had support of a majority of voters but none received the 60 percent required for passage. In the past five years, enrollment has risen by roughly 550 students.

“Our elementary schools are already overcrowded and one of the unfortunate consequences of overcrowding is that we simply don’t have the additional classrooms available to make full-day kindergarten happen,” Mukilteo School District Superintendent Marci Larsen said in a statement. “Our school board is currently considering options that could result in a bond proposal that would fund the construction of more elementary space.”

Muntz said voters could see the proposal next February.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Newly funded schools include:
Darrington Elementary (Darrington School District); College Place, Chase Lake, Spruce (Edmonds School District); Madison, Emerson, Lowell, Jackson (Everett School District); Liberty, Quil Ceda, Shoultes, Marshall (Marysville School District); Frank Wagner (Monroe School Disctrict); Olympic View (Oak Harbor School District); Gold Bar (Sultan School District)

Exotic fish caught in lake near Marysville

Photo courtesy John DentonJohn Denton caught what he believes to be a pacu, a relative of the piranha, in Lake Ki over the weekend. The fish is being held at Cabela's. — Photo courtesy John Denton
John Denton caught what he believes to be a pacu, a relative of the piranha, in Lake Ki over the weekend. The fish is being held at Cabela’s.

By Jim Davis, The Herald

John Denton hoped to catch a perch or bluegill on Sunday when he cast his line into Lake Ki, northwest of Marysville.

What he caught was something entirely different.

“Bang, there it was,” Denton said. “It’s a pretty big fish, a big ol’ herking fish.”

The fish he pulled out of the water was what looks like a pacu, an omnivorous South American freshwater fish that’s related to the piranha. The pacu is not nearly as ferocious as its cousin — it eats mainly fruit and vegetables and is known as the vegetarian piranha.

Like their cousins, pacu do have big teeth.

Denton’s fish weighs about four to five pounds and it took him about 20 minutes to reel it onto the dock in his back yard. He was using a worm and a hook known as a wedding ring.

By the time he got it into his net, his whole neighborhood came to see what was happening.

“Every neighbor I never met in this cul-de-sac I met yesterday,” Denton said.

One of the neighbors used to work at an aquarium and said he believed the fish was a pacu.

“Obviously it’s outgrown someone’s fish tank and they threw it in,” Denton said. “I don’t know how long it’s been there; it’s a big fish for an aquarium.”

Denton, 40, who’s a commercial painter for Mehrer Drywall, kept the fish alive by keeping it in a cooler of water: “My neighbor’s daughter kept pouring water in there all the time.”

Denton’s wife works at the Tulalip Cabela’s, where they have large fish tanks in the back of the store. Cabela’s agreed to hold on to the fish until the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife could give them direction on what to do.

Katie Sanford, Cabela’s retail marketing manager, said the fish was still doing its fishy things on Monday afternoon. She said they had been doing some research on what it needs and what it eats.

“It looks like a really cute fish until it opens its mouth and you see its teeth,” Sanford said.

People have caught the pacu in lakes around Snohomish County, said Jeff Holmes, of Fish & Wildlife. In 1994, an 18-inch pacu was pulled out of Silver Lake in Everett.

“They’re a warm water fish and the odds of them establishing a population here are very low, if not impossible,” Holmes said.

Holmes said a biologist will confirm whether the fish is a pacu. He noted that pacu have recently been featured on the popular cable show “River Monsters” and that may be shading people’s opinions.

Mike Kirkham, a manager at The Fish Store, a Seattle aquarium and tropical fish business, saw photos of the fish and said he believes it is a pacu.

He’s been at the store for a decade and has heard several stories of people finding pacu in lakes in the Puget Sound area. The warm water fish can’t survive Northwest winters.

“In the fall, they tend to just die and float to the surface,” Kirkham said.

The fish can grow up to three or four feet long. He urged people against dumping unwanted pacu into waters around here. Instead, they should call pet shops or post advertisements to get rid of the unwanted pets. He said his shop doesn’t sale sell pacus, red-tail catfish or oscars because those species grow too large, making them prone to dumping.

For Denton, the fish created a keeper of a story.

“It was a pretty amazing experience,” Denton said. “I’ll never forget it.”

Jim Davis; 425-339-3097; jdavis@heraldnet.com

What are pacu?

Pacu are omnivorous South American freshwater fish that are related to the piranha. They have square, straight teeth that resemble a human’s. They can grow to 3 feet long and 55 pounds in the wild – much larger than a piranha.

Pacu are often sold as “Vegetarian Piranhas” to home aquarium owners. A pacu named Swish lived for two decades in a tank at a restaurant in Seattle’s International District.

Rowers Brave Angry Waves to Honor Warriors in Paddle to Quinault

Richard Walker, Indian Country Today Media Network

Emmett Oliver watched from his daughter’s truck as his 14-year-old grandson Owen arrived Aug. 1 at Point Grenville in the Chinook Nation’s canoe as part of the 2013 Canoe Journey/Paddle to Quinault, Washington.

It was a perfect storm of irony and symbolism. Twenty-four years ago, Oliver, a noted Quinault educator and retired Coast Guard officer, proposed the Paddle to Seattle as part of Washington state’s centennial celebration. Tall ships, formerly instruments of empires bent on dominating indigenous cultures, were going to be there; Oliver wanted to ensure the state’s First Peoples had a presence, too.

Quinault President Fawn Sharp and Quinault Councilman Rich Underwood welcome canoes at Point Grenville for the 2013 Canoe Journey, Aug. 1. Quinault hosted the 2013 Canoe Journey Aug. 1-6. (Photo courtesy Richard Walker.)

That event gave birth in 1993 to the annual Canoe Journey. This year’s theme was “Honoring Our Warriors,” a tribute to Indian country’s military veterans. And on this day, Oliver – at 99 the Quinault Nation’s oldest living veteran – watched from his home shores as his grandson’s canoe arrived, having been escorted from Neah Bay by the state’s official tall ship.

Oliver’s daughter, Marylin Bard, described the moment as “powerful.” But she said it symbolized much more: The tall ships were invited by Quinault President Fawn Sharp so they could practice protocols of friendship that had been neglected in the past by European sailors – and to convey a message that Native and non-Native peoples can collaborate and work together on common issues.

The moment seemed to set the tone for the 2013 Canoe Journey: Healing, honoring, encouragement and love.

Pullers and skippers in 89 canoes endured rough seas and fog in the month of travel en route to Quinault, but the prayers and medicine were stronger. One canoe tipped between Port Townsend and Jamestown S’Klallam on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and at least six tipped during the landing at Queets. The bow of a Suquamish canoe was broken after it tipped. And yet all pullers arrived safely at Quinault.

“There were some days we shouldn’t have been out there, but we did our best because we really believe in this Journey,” Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman said. “The ocean humbled us, but we made it through. We’re still here.”

In the protocol tent, canoe families shared stories of deliverance and sang songs of blessing, healing and honoring – a recognition that, as Jamestown S’Klallam artist Elaine Grinnell once said, in life and in the canoe “It’s the team that gets you where you need to go.”

“Songs have the power to reach out and heal,” said Antone George, Lummi. “This is what Tribal Journeys is all about.”

The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain escorted canoes down the Pacific Coast of Washington state during the 2013 Canoe Journey/Paddle to Quinault. The escort was provided to commemorate the 225th anniversary of first contact between the new United States of America and the Quinault Nation. Quinault President Fawn Sharp called the tall ships’ involvement an opportunity to help make some amends for some past transgressions” and “convey[s] a message that tribal and nontribal communities choose to look forward to and work together on a collaborative basis toward common objectives.” (Photo courtesy Richard Walker.)

George asked for prayers for those on the “journey to wellness.” He encouraged people to never give up on loved ones working to recover from addiction, “because sometimes the hardest thing [for them] is to give up something like that.”

This six-day celebration of the strength of Northwest indigenous cultures included the honoring of culture bearers – including Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Chief Frank Nelson, who had recently been hospitalized for an illness. The honoring of Nelson was powerful, and included gifting and singing and dancing to songs for which he is known.

There were stories of cultural renewal as well. A Palouse woman told of pulling in the Journey – starting on the Snake River in eastern Washington and continuing on to the Columbia River and the Pacific. It was the first time the Palouse had canoed on the Snake River since her grandfather’s time.

A group of Skokomish people hiked an ancestral trail over the Olympic Mountains to Quinault, the first time in about 100 years that Skokomish people had walked the ancient trade route.

Nooksack canoe pullers navigate a wave as they arrive at the Quinault Nation’s Point Grenville for the 2013 Canoe Journey, Aug. 1. Quinault hosted the 2013 Canoe Journey Aug. 1-6. (Photo courtesy Richard Walker.)

And on Point Grenville, which the Spanish and British visited in the late 1700s and the U.S. used as a Coast Guard station from the 1930s through the 1980s, Quinault installed the first of three story poles by Quinault artist James DeLaCruz Jr. The poles will symbolize Quinault restoration, sovereignty and spirituality. The first pole was dedicated in honor of Oliver.

Quinault hosted an estimated 10,000 people, Quinault spokesman Steve Robinson said. Indigenous nations from British Columbia, Washington and Oregon – as well as Maori, Native Hawaiians and the Shinnecock Nation of Long Island – participated and shared their cultures.

Quinault provided oceanfront and forested campsites, firewood, medical and healing tents, laundry and showers, breakfasts and dinners. The menu included elk, crab and salmon.

This is the second time Quinault hosted the Canoe Journey; it last hosted a journey in 2002, when 38 canoes participated. This was the 21st annual Canoe Journey since 1993; there was a four-year gap between the Paddle to Seattle and the first annual Journey in 1993. There were two Journey routes in 2000.

Previous and Future Canoe Journeys
1989: Paddle to Seattle
1993: Paddle to Bella Bella, B.C.
1994: Youth Paddle (Olympia, in connection with the second Cedar Tree Conference)
1995: Full Circle Youth Paddle (in Puget Sound)
1996: Full Circle Youth Paddle (in Puget Sound)
1997: Paddle to La Push
1998: Paddle to Puyallup
1999: Paddle to Ahousaht, B.C.
2000: Paddle to Songhees, B.C. (1)
2000: Paddle to Pendleton, Ore. (2)
2001: Paddle to Squamish, B.C.
2002: Paddle to Quinault
2003: Paddle to Tulalip
2004: Paddle to Chemainus, B.C.
2005: Paddle to Elwha
2006: Paddle to Muckleshoot
2007: Paddle to Lummi
2008: Paddle to Cowichan, B. C.
2009: Paddle to Suquamish
2010: Paddle to Makah
2011: Paddle to Swinomish
2012: Paddle to Squaxin
2013: Paddle to Quinault
2014: Paddle to Bella Bella, B.C.

13th Annual Indian Country Affordable Housing & Economic Development Conference coming soon

Source: TRAVOIS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Aug. 5, 2013) — Representatives from tribal housing authorities and economic development organizations throughout Indian Country will travel to Kansas City at the end of the summer for the 13th Annual Travois Indian Country Affordable Housing & Economic Development Conference. The conference is scheduled for Sept. 16–19 in Travois’ hometown, and will be hosted at the Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza. Attendees can expect to hear the stories of successful developments: new and rehabilitated homes for tribal members and economic development projects that have provided desperately needed jobs and services for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.

Conference attendees will include tribal housing authority staff (executive directors, occupancy and resident services staff), tribal housing board members, tribal chairmen and women, tribal council members, tribal economic development staff, tribal college presidents, administrators and finance staff, along with tax credit support staff. Attendees can expect to get in-depth information and tips on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, the New Markets Tax Credit program, asset management/compliance, green building, architectural design, inspections, environmental services and more.

Tatanka Means will be this year’s keynote speaker. Means is an accomplished actor, comedian, entrepreneur and equality advocate from Chinle, Ariz., who represents the Oglala Lakota, Omaha and Navajo nations. He is the son of Russell Means, the influential member of the American Indian Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and he follows in his father’s footsteps as an advocate for equality and advancement for Native Americans. Means will present during Tuesday’s lunch.

Besides conference sessions and presentations, attendees are invited to a range of optional activities: a Kansas City barbeque showdown at the annual welcome reception, 18 holes of golf, a tour of the American Indian art collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, a night of dueling pianos at the Kansas City Power & Light District, and a trip to Ameristar Casino. To register for the conference, or for more information, visit: www.travois.com.

Wells Fargo is the Presenting Sponsor of the 13th Annual Conference. Over the last ten years, Wells Fargo has invested $36.7 million in 17 American Indian community projects in housing and economic development, and has made 224 community development loans totaling $781 million to Native Alaskan, tribal nations and Native American community organizations.

About Travois

Travois is the leading housing and economic development consulting firm in Indian Country. Since 1995, Travois has brought more than $450 million in private equity capital to Indian Country, which has helped build or rehabilitate more than 4,200 homes through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and has brought nearly $50 million in private equity capital for tribal economic development. The Travois family of companies offers housing and economic development assistance, architectural design and inspection services, environmental assessments, consulting on green energy improvements, asset management services and comprehensive training to the nation’s American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian population with clients in 18 states, from Hawaii to Maine. For more information, please visit www.travois.com.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, and the Internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in more than 35 countries to support the bank’s customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2013 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

Double-Dip Hell: NCAI Demands Illegally Taxed Native Veterans Get Paid

Megan Baker, Indian Country Today Media Network

The National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution recently urging Congress to recompense eligible Native American service members and veterans who were illegally taxed by the state in which their reservation was domiciled during their active service.

According to federal law, service members with active duty status who legally claim to live on federal reservations are not subject to income taxation by the state in which the reservation is domiciled.

This new resolution argues that 26 states have taxed service members for as long as 24 years.

Nine years ago, an attempt was made in Washington D.C. to address this issue.

The American Indian Veterans Pay Restoration Act of 2004, sponsored by New Mexico Representative Tom Udall, sought to provide remittance to certain Indian veterans of amounts withheld from military basic pay for state income tax purposes while those veterans were in active service and were domiciled in Indian Country.

In his introduction speech, Udall decried the illegal taxation of service members that claimed the reservation as their home. The legislation failed due to a lack of support in the House Armed Services Committee.

In December 2009, the state of New Mexico began to refund any state income tax that was withheld from service members legally domiciled on reservation land while serving.

The fund expired on January 1, 2013. Other states have yet to follow suit.

During the 2013 Midyear Session of the NCAI held in Reno, Nevada from June 24 through 27, the General Assembly called upon the federal government to fulfill its obligations to American Indians, citing its moral and legal federal trust responsibility.

This new resolution will be a policy of the NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.

Every Forest Once a Food Forest

By Billy Frank Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

OLYMPIA – Folks up in Seattle are developing a “food forest” on Beacon Hill. Right there, near the heart of the city, a place where anyone can come along and pick fruit, vegetables, herbs, berries and more. The first harvests from the forest are expected this fall.

It’s a great idea. Sharing food and community are two things that I care a lot about. Most of my life has been centered on food and the rights of tribes to be able to harvest their own food.

For us Indian people, all of western Washington was once a food forest.

The trouble is that it’s getting harder and harder for these forests, rivers and beaches to provide us with much food because they’ve been treated so poorly. For us, the U.S. v. Washington ruling that upheld our treaty fishing, hunting and gathering rights came too late.

Since almost the first day that Judge George Boldt’s decision became law, we’ve had to cut back on our fishing because of declining runs. This ongoing decline is being driven by habitat loss and damage, and it isn’t getting better.

Shellfish was always a dependable source of food for Indian people. But pollution from stormwater runoff, failing septic systems and agricultural impacts threaten that vital food source

Wildlife habitat in our forests continues to shrink. More and more animals are being forced into smaller and smaller areas.

We’re losing our mountain huckleberries to busloads of commercial harvesters who come in with rakes and other tools to strip the bushes clean, often causing damage to the plants and reducing future yields.

Salmon, shellfish, wildlife and huckleberries are all important, traditional and treaty-protected foods. Our ancestors knew their importance. That’s why they reserved the right to access and harvest them in treaties with the U.S. government.

Projects like the edible food forest in Seattle are important. I hope they make an effort to include native forest plants that were once up on Beacon Hill before the city came along.

We need to bring our rivers back to life, clean up and protect our beaches, and bring food back to the forests all around us.

Judge blocks planned horse slaughter at 2 plants

Associated Press, source: Washington Times

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal judge on Friday temporarily halted plans by companies in New Mexico and Iowa to start slaughtering horses next week.

U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo issued a restraining order in a lawsuit brought by The Humane Society of the United States and other groups in case that has sparked an emotional national debate about how best to deal with the tens of thousands of unwanted and abandoned horses across the country.

Armijo issued a restraining order and scheduled another hearing for Monday in a lawsuit by The Humane Society of the United States and other groups that are strongly opposed to the idea of resuming horse slaughter for the first time in seven years in the U.S.

The groups contend the Department of Agriculture failed to do the proper environmental studies before issuing permits that allowed companies in Iowa and New Mexico to open horse slaughterhouses. The companies had said they wanted to open as soon as Monday.

The horse meat would be exported for human consumption and for use as zoo and other animal food.

Valley Meat Co. of Roswell, N.M., has been at the fore of the fight, pushing for more than a year for permission to convert its cattle plant into a horse slaughterhouse. Its plans ignited a divisive debate over whether horses are livestock or domestic companions, and how best to deal with all the neglected and often-starving horses.

After more than a year of delays and a lawsuit by Valley Meat, the Department of Agriculture in June gave the company the go-ahead to begin slaughtering horses. USDA officials said they were legally obligated to issue the permits, even though the Obama administration opposes horse slaughter and is seeking to reinstate a congressional ban that was lifted in 2011.

Another permit was approved a few days later for Responsible Transportation in Sigourney, Iowa.

The move has divided horse rescue and animal welfare groups, ranchers, politicians and Indian tribes about what is the most humane way to deal with the country’s horse overpopulation.

Some Native American tribes, including the Navajo and Yakama nations, are among those who are pushing to let the companies open. They say the exploding horse populations on their reservations are trampling and overgrazing rangelands, decimating forage resources for cattle and causing widespread environmental damage. The Navajo Nation, the nation’s largest Indian reservation, estimates there are 75,000 horses on its land, many of which are dehydrated and starving after years of drought.

On the other side, actor Robert Redford, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, current Gov. Susana Martinez and Attorney General Gary King are among those who strongly oppose a return to domestic horse slaughter, citing the animals’ iconic role as companion animals in the West.

“Horse slaughter has no place in our culture,” Redford said in a statement last week in announcing formation of a foundation that has joined the fight. “It is cruel, inhumane, and perpetuates abuse and neglect of these beloved animals. We must oppose it with all of our might.”

Supporters of domestic slaughter point to a June 2011 report from the federal Government Accountability Office that shows cases of horse abuse and abandonment on a steady rise since Congress effectively banned horse slaughter by cutting funding for USDA inspection programs in 2006.

They also cite USDA statistics compiled by the Equine Welfare Alliance that shows the number of U.S. horses sent to other countries for slaughter has nearly tripled since domestic horse slaughter ceased, with many of those being shipped thousands of miles to points south of the border to be slaughtered in unregulated and inhumane facilities.

They said it is better to slaughter the horses in regulated and humane domestic facilities than to let them starve or be shipped to Mexico.

John Kitzhaber set to veto bill allowing Native American mascots in Oregon

Molalla High School is one of the schools that still has a Native American mascot. Under Senate Bill 215, the school would be able to keep the mascot if a local tribe approved it. But Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected to veto the bill. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

Christian Gaston, The Oregonian

Gov. John Kitzhaber intends to issue a rare veto over a culturally sensitive bill passed by his fellow Democrats amid split testimony from Native Americans.

Senate Bill 215 installs a loophole in a ban implemented by Kitzhaber’s Board of Education, which decided last year to eliminate the use of all tribal mascots at high schools, such as the Banks Braves or Molalla Indians. The mascots, the board found, negatively impact Native American students.

Kitzhaber said he was willing to support a bill allowing schools to adopt the names of tribes, similar to college sports rules, but the bill the Legislature delivered offered too broad an exemption, letting schools keep generic names if a local tribe approved.

“We worked hard to let them know our concerns and the governor doesn’t think the bill gets there,” said Kitzhaber spokesman Tim Raphael.

While a trio of Republicans introduced the mascot legislation, the bill attracted many Democratic votes, passing the House and the Senate by broad enough margins to override a veto.

Even so, Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, said he doesn’t think the Legislature would beat back Kitzhaber’s veto. Instead, he’s hoping the governor will reconsider, and is preparing for the next session.

“I’m just hoping at this point, I don’t know what else I can do,” said Kruse, a chief sponsor of the bill. “The reality of a veto override is non-existent, I know that. So we’d just do another bill.”

The renewed debate over Native American mascots in Oregon this year kicked up at the same time as the owners of the Cleveland Indians rebuffed fresh calls to dump the team’s mascot — the grinning, red-faced “Chief Wahoo.”

In 2012, the Oregon Board of Education established a strict statewide ban giving 15 schools until 2017 to change their mascots or lose state funding.

Many of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes didn’t formally weigh into the debate. Those that did were split.

The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians supported the mascot ban. Two tribes, The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde both sought the modified policy encompassed in the legislation: let mascots remain only if a local tribe approved. The Coquille Indian Tribe supported the board’s ban, but changed its position, supporting SB 215 during the Legislative session.

Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, who chairs the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee, said lawmakers relied on input from local tribes. “It’s emotional on both sides for the tribes and the Oregon tribes wanted this bill, so we passed the bill that they said they supported,” Hass said.

Kitzhaber said it went too far. He wanted the bill modeled after National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, which banned the use of Native American mascots during tournaments in 2005.

NCAA rules let Florida State University keep the Seminoles name for its sports teams after reaching an agreement with the Seminole Nation of Florida.

Brenda Frank, who chaired the Oregon Board of Education when it adopted the ban, said any Native American mascot could hurt a Native American child’s self esteem.

“I still go back to how offensive is that? How is that fair to other tribal people who find that offensive?” said Frank, a member of the Klamath Tribe. “I just don’t think that there is anything that can justify racism.”

Frank said the board took into consideration the concerns of school administrators when it passed the ban, including the cost of replacing uniforms and other materials.

“As uniforms cycle down, they would eventually all be replaced and that’s a cost that districts would pay for anyway,” Frank said.

Kruse still worries about the cost of change at Roseburg High School, which he attended. The school long ago modified its logo in deference to the local tribe, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

“In the case of the Roseburg Indians and the Cow Creek Band, everybody’s happy with it,” he told The Oregonian in February.

But it wasn’t that the tribe had asked for the change, and its response illustrates the different ways tribes feel about this issue.

Susan Ferris, a spokeswoman for the Cow Creek Band said students from Roseburg approached the tribe roughly 15 years ago and asked whether the mascot, then a Native American warrior, should be changed. Ferris said tribal leaders told the students to do what they thought was right. The district adopted a new mascot: a feather.

The Cow Creek Band kept out of the mascot debate in Salem this year.

“The Cow Creek stance, historically, seems to be ‘do what you think is right regardless of us.'” Ferris said.

Hot August Car Show supports local food banks Aug. 10

Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

LAKEWOOD — The Faith Lutheran Church of Lakewood started the Hot August Car Show nine years ago to help support two local food banks, and while its numbers of entrants have declined over the years, the event’s organizers still see the spirit of community giving as strong as ever among those who show off their cars and those who come by to check them out.

This year’s Hot August Car Show runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, at 11424 172nd St. NE, one mile west of I-5 Exit 206 and right next to Lakewood High School, and event organizer Jane Hogland hopes to see at least as many cars as last year.

“Last year was probably our smallest turnout,” Hogland said. “We had about 20 cars entered, few enough that we were able to give everyone who entered a ribbon or a trophy. We started quite strong nine years ago, with about 50 or 60, but a number of other car shows have popped up in the area in the meantime. We’ve got a number of people who keep coming back, though.”

Hogland explained that the Hot August Car Show was intended not only to raise awareness of the Faith Lutheran Church of Lakewood, but also to demonstrate its commitment to supporting its surrounding community. Each year’s proceeds are split between the Arlington Community Food Bank and the Stillaguamish Senior Center Food Bank.

“One of our church members was a librarian in Arlington, and she was well aware of the need facing that community,” Hogland said. “With the Stillaguamish Senior Center, those are people who are living on limited incomes, so again, we’re helping those who need it.”

Hogland estimated that the Hot August Car Show has raised a total of approximately $8,000 since its inception, thanks in part to donations of $400 each year from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

“Everything is donated and everyone volunteers their efforts, so there’s no profit anywhere,” Hogland said. “One gentleman who comes back year after year to show off his cars has donated a lot of the money for our prizes and other materials, and a lot of our church members bring baskets that they make for the prizes. Karen Hart makes the most incredible cinnamon rolls for us,” she laughed.

According to Hogland, each year’s entrants are just as committed to continuing the car show as they are to contributing to its charitable causes.

“We’ll open the car show at 9 a.m., but they’ll be there at 7 a.m.,” Hogland said. “One couple has brought two or three different cars over in a trailer from Wenatchee. One of them was a stainless steel Model A, which I’d never seen before. Car shows are just so family friendly, because everyone there has worked really hard on their cars just to get to where they could show them off. I enjoy meeting people in such an easygoing, low-key setting.”

For more information, call Hogland at 425-501-9414 or the Faith Lutheran Church of Lakewood at 360-652-9545, or log onto www.smokeypointlutheranchurch.org.

Taste of Tulalip – The Culinary Festival of the Year

5th Anniversary Highlights Include Extraordinary Epicurean Events, Celebrity Chefs & Sommelier Superstars

Tulalip, Washington – Tulalip Resort Casino is gearing up for a weekend of revelry to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Taste of Tulalip, its coveted award-winning food and wine aficionado event. Scheduled for November 8 and 9, 2013, this year’s line-up of top talent, to be announced within the next month, will include many familiar names as well as some stars on the rise. Past culinary celeb appearances have included ABC TV’s “The Chew” host Carla Hall, Bravo’s Top Chef Master and author Marcus Samuelsson, wine legend Marc Mondavi, “Thirsty Girl” Leslie Sbrocco and others. Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and Sommelier Tommy Thompson are putting together a dazzling roster of food, wine and tradition show-stoppers that have been a year in the planning. Taste 2013 will feature honorary winemaker Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery. Taste of Tulalip tickets have just gone on sale at Ticketmaster, with Friday night Celebration dinner tickets soon to follow.

The two-day gathering, with a focus on food, wine and tradition, begins with a Friday night wine and passed hors d’oeuvres reception, followed by the aptly named Celebration Dinner. The multi-course repast will focus on Native American and traditional recipe inspired dishes, paired with a global offering of rare, top wines. It is priced at $175. Tickets are limited and this event is always a sell-out.

On Saturday “All Access” pass holders ($295) will enjoy early entrance to the unforgettable Grand Taste; a VIP seminar featuring a celebrity cooking demo, table talk and Q & A session on the Viking Kitchen Stage; a private Magnum Party where they’ll be treated to a high level wine and indigenous food pairings; and a special bonus this year – two in-depth Reserve Tasting forums.

The weekend’s highlight is always the Grand Taste, spanning four hours and featuring lavish food stations as well as over 100 wines from Washington State, California and Oregon, and craft beer. It is priced at $95 and includes a Rock –n- Roll Cooking Challenge done “Iron Chef” style with celebrity judges looking for the best from both regional and Tulalip chefs, and sommelier teams. Special guest Emilio Lopez of El Salvador (a sixth generation specialty coffee producer), will be appearing at the Dillanos Coffee Roasters espresso bar, where guests will be able to sample a special TOT 5th Anniversary Blend.

All of the weekend’s wine offerings will be available in limited quantities for purchase in the Taste of Tulalip retail wine shop. There will also be book and bottle signings for those looking to personalize their purchases.

For tickets, go to www.tasteoftulalip.com or www.ticketmaster.com