Author: Kim Kalliber

Marysville School District February Levies

Tom Albright, President, Marysville School District Board of Directors

By Tom Albright, President, Marysville School District Board of Directors

On Feb. 13, the Marysville and Tulalip community will have an opportunity to vote on two replacement levies that will maintain support for the educational programs and services students currently receive as well as provide for the improvement and maintenance of the facilities where they learn and grow. The four-year Educational Programs and Operations Levy and the Technology and Capital Projects Levy were approved by voters in 2014 and will expire at the end of 2018. February’s ballot will include a request to renew these levies and ensure local students continue to receive basic educational resources.

The Educational Programs and Operations Levy will provide funding to ensure students have enough classroom teachers and instructional aides to reduce and maintain smaller class sizes. It also provides resources to employ nurses, counselors, librarians and support staff to reinforce the health and safety of students and positive school culture. The Educational Programs and Operations Levy will also provide programs for students with special needs, and will support the arts, music, athletics, and extra-curricular programs across the district. The total request per $1,000 of assessed home value for Marysville residents is $2.97, which is 70 cents less than current levels. However, tribal members residing on reservation land are exempt from levy taxation.

The Technology and Capital Projects Levy will ensure students receive the same level of service in improved learning environments. Access to technology is a basic right in the Marysville School District. Approval of the levy will continue to provide students in grades 6 through 12 with Chromebooks for use inside and outside of the classroom, and all students from kindergarten through grade 5 will continue to have ample access to technology in the classroom. This levy also provides funding to ensure school staff receives training on best practices for incorporating technology into curriculum so all students are getting the most out of 21st Century resources.

Additionally, the levy will continue to provide students, families and the community with 24/7 Wi-Fi access across all buildings, as well as routers, power sources, and wiring to maintain capacity and improve access and speeds.

The Marysville School District also understands the importance of maintaining school buildings and facilities, and will continue to follow through on the Long-Term Master Facilities Plan, which prioritizes the most critical facility retrofits and replacements needed over the next five years. This includes roof and gutter replacements, fire system upgrades, door and hardware replacements, boiler replacements and heating improvements, floor replacements, electrical retrofits such as lighting, outlets, and intercoms, and siding replacements. A complete list of projects across the district can be found on the Long-term Master Facilities Plan at http://bit.ly/MasterFacilitiesPlan.

The four-year renewal Technology and Capital Projects Levy is projected to cost 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value for Marysville residents and will be reduced each year.

In total, the two levies amount to $3.64 per thousand of assessed home values – 42 cents less than current levels. As a reminder, tribal members residing on reservation land are exempt from this taxation.

The Marysville School District Board of Directors is thankful for the support provided by the community over the past four years and looks forward to continuing these efforts on behalf of students and families through a renewal of the Educational Programs and Operations Levy and the Technology and Capital Projects Levy.

Tammy Lynn Dehnhoff (1962 – 2018)

April 23, 1962-Jan. 13, 2018 Tammy Lynn Dehnhoff was born April 23, 1962 to parents, Cecil and Philomena Maahs, and went home to be with the Lord on January 13, 2018, surrounded by her loving family. Tammy met lots of people while working in the Dental field and was appreciated by many for her kind and caring personality. She dedicated many of her years serving the people in her community on the Tulalip Reservation. Tammy enjoyed her time teaching Sunday school, watching Hallmark movies, working in the yard and garden beds. She always looked forward to spending time with her family, making lasting memories. Tammy leaves behind her loving husband, Tim; her sons, Tyson and Connor; daughter, Tayna Greene (Michael); granddaughters, Apple and Fern; sisters, Brenda (Don) and Pam; father-in-law, Charles “Bud” and special family friend, Tiffany West. Tammy will be missed by many, and leaves behind with us her legacy of strength, compassion, forgiveness and uncon-ditional love. Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home with inurnment to follow at Mission Beach Cemetery.

Weekly Wednesday Weaving Workshops at Hibulb

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

The Hibulb Cultural Center and Museum hosts a lineup of classes that teach the Tulalip and Marysville communities about the traditional lifeways of the northwest Indigenous Peoples. Such classes include drum making, carving, beading, traditional flute demonstrations as well as storytelling and poetry nights. A series of classes that regularly attracts newcomers are the Weaving Gathering Workshops where participants learn how to weave an assortment of items including cedar baskets, loom blankets and regalia such as headbands, hats, neckties and purses.

The workshops are taught in an open-forum style class setting that encourages attendees to work on personal projects and visit while mastering the art of weaving. In preparation for the annual Treaty Days Commemoration, a group of dedicated weavers have been working persistently, meeting each week since December, to create headbands to gift to the speakers as well as the floor and table managers during the ceremony.

All ages are welcome to attend the weekly weaving sessions. The museum also invites weavers of any skill levels to participate during the gatherings. Cedar kits are available for purchase to help beginners get started.

“They’ll show anyone interested in learning, especially little kids. They’ll make little roses and small baskets with them,” says Hibulb Cultural Center Education Curator and Tulalip Weaver, Lena Jones. “It’s a place where people have the room and space to create whatever they want.”

The workshops are held every Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Hibulb Cultural Center Classrooms. For additional information please contact the museum at (360) 716-2600.

After suffering first L, Hawks bounce back with three Ws

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Tulalip Heritage boys basketball team opened the season undefeated with a (9-0) record. As they powered through the NW1B league, so did league foe Cedar Park Christian (11-0). This set up a battle of the unbeaten on January 5 at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium.

Cedar Park proved during the game that their bigger, stronger backcourt was able to keep Heritage off the boards and prevent them from attacking the basket. The Hawks had lots of difficulty manufacturing points in the 1st half and trailed 13-34 at halftime. In the 2nd half, the Hawks got back to running and playing their style, but their deficit was too large. Their winning streak was snapped with a 43-60 defeat.

Coming off their first loss of the season, the Hawks responded by putting up a season-high in points when they whooped Shoreline Christian, 87-53. They followed that up with a 70-32 blowout win over Providence Classical Christian.

Next up was rival Lummi Nation, in a home game played on Tuesday, January 16. With the gym packed full of fans for both sides, the environment was prime for a competitive game. Lummi came out with a solid game plan of slowing down the pace of play to throw the Hawks off their game. It worked over the first three quarters. The Hawks are so accustomed to playing up-tempo and using their combination of speed and athleticism to get transition buckets that Lummi’s slow, methodical pace gave them fits.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, the game was tied at 34-34. In the 4th quarter, the Hawks were finally able to bust the game open with their senior players leading the offensive charge. Josh Iukes hit two clutch 3-pointers and Nashone Whitebear scored 8 points in a four-minute frenzy, giving Tulalip the momentum to take home victory. Up by several baskets, Tulalip focused in on Lummi’s key scorer and prevented him from scoring down the stretch.

When the final game buzzer sounded, the Hawks had earned a hard fought 52-40 W. Josh led the Hawks in scoring with 13 points, while Nashone, Jr. Shay, and Rodney Barber each added 10 points.

The Hawks look to keep getting better in their half-court sets, as a looming matchup with Cedar Park on January 26 will surely go a long way to dictating who wins the NW1B crown. Next up for the Hawks is a road game at Lopez before returning home on Tuesday, January 23, for Senior Night versus Grace Academy.

Lady Hawks continue to soar

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The 3-game losing skid to begin the season has been all but forgotten for the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks, who are currently in the midst of an impressive 10-game winning streak. During the streak, the Heritage squad has been employing a lethal two-pronged attack led by senior forward Deandra Grant owning the painted area and senior guard Keryn Parks attacking from the perimeter.

As the season has progressed, so have the shooting touches of guards Georgie Randall and Deachae Jones. With the role players accepting larger roles and knocking down clutch shots when Deandra and Keryn are double-teamed, the Lady Hawks have been dominant.

That dominance was on full display on January 5 when Heritage obliterated Cedar Park Christian, 68-9. The girls followed up with a 57-28 hammering of Shoreline Christian on January 9. Then archrival Lummi Nation came to town on Tuesday, January 16.

Lummi always plays Tulalip tough, and for a Lady Hawks team blowing out opponents left and right, a competitive game was much needed. In the 1st half, Lummi’s outside shooting took advantage of the Heritage zone defense and kept the game close. Leading by only 6 points at halftime, 32-26, the girls now had an opportune time to shift their game into the next gear.

In the 2nd half, Tulalip moved the ball exceptionally well and got lots of open looks from their key players. Deandra and Keryn did their work inside, while Georgie and Deachae knocked down big shots from long-distance. The team defense locked in on the Lummi shooters and did a much better job of contesting their jumpers. Heritage’s engaged play led to a 22-7 run spanning the final two quarters, allowing them to pull away for a 69-49 victory.

Keryn led all scorers with 21 points, Deandra added 20 points, and Georgie chipped in 18 points.

“At halftime, we talked about how Lummi was double teaming me and Keryn whenever we had the ball,” explained Deandra, who finished with a game-high 21 rebounds. “In the 2nd half, once we figured out how to play through those double teams by passing it around the perimeter, they couldn’t stop us. We picked up our pace and got more intense, too, which is how we want to play.”

“It’s always a rivalry with Lummi,” added Keryn. “They have some really good players who make us compete harder, which pushes me to do better. It’s been awesome seeing other girls raise their play, too. Georgie scoring 18 points was clutch for us. She’s a sharp shooter and the more we can get good looks for her, the better.”

The 20-point win over Lummi is just another in a series of blowouts the Lady Hawks have been notching during their 10-game winning streak. They will play one more home game on Tuesday, January 23, versus Grace Academy that will double as Senior Night.

Tulalip prepares for Treaty Days

“We honor the good intentions our ancestors had for us in negotiating and signing the treaty. I encourage young folks to listen to their elders when they talk about the treaty and our sovereignty. Understanding the treaty will help you understand the influence it has in every aspect of our lifeways. It accepts the fact that our people have the right to organize themselves, protect our way of life, and care for our resources. Our tribes have significant control of, and rights to, important natural resources such as fishing. As our language and culture become stronger, we are able to help others understand how to take care of the earth and one another.”
– Lena Jones

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

Numerous northwest native nations including tribal leaders of the Snohomish, Lummi, Swinomish and Suquamish people met with Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens one hundred and sixty-three years ago this January 22. During this gathering, the Coast Salish people would sign the Point Elliott Treaty, which granted the United States Government an enormous area of land for white settlement that now makes up Washington’s King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. The treaty also established the Tulalip, Port Madison, Swinomish and Lummi reservations. In exchange for ceding such a large portion of land, the tribes reserved the right to fish on their usual and accustomed grounds.

Tribal communities would face difficult years after the signing of the treaty, including the boarding school era. Fifty years after the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855, the Tulalip Indian Boarding School opened. Native children were forced to attend these schools to learn to live the new westernized lifestyle. The institutions were established to ‘civilize’ the Indigenous population, but while in the boarding schools the kids were often punished, physically and mentally, for speaking their traditional language and practicing their spiritual and cultural traditions.

During these times the U.S. Government outlawed traditions such as songs, dances and language that the Coast Salish tribes practiced for generations. Longhouses were demolished and modern day houses were erected on the reservations. The people were to learn the ways of agriculture to become farmers.

The people of the land were in the middle of forced assimilation when the last hereditary chief of the Snohomish, William Shelton, stepped in to save his people’s heritage. By convincing the right people, including the Tulalip Superintendent and the Secretary of Interior, to build a longhouse in Tulalip, William created a way for the tribes who signed the Point Elliott Treaty to practice their traditional ways of life once a year. William informed U.S. Government officials that the people would be celebrating the anniversary of the treaty, which they did. However, this short amount of time was often used to teach the younger generations their culture that seemed to be slipping away at an alarming rate. The annual gathering became known as Treaty Days, as the yearly potlatch often extends into the early morning of the following day. Though the horrific boarding school era has since passed and the practice of traditional lifeways are no longer punishable by law, the annual Treaty Days’ commemoration is still celebrated every January at the longhouse overlooking Tulalip Bay.

As the Tulalip community prepares for the 104th Treaty Days Commemoration on Friday January 19, 2018, a handful of Tulalip tribal members took a moment to reflect on the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855 as well as Treaty Days.

“I think it’s a responsibility that keeps passing down from generations of those who actually signed the treaty. And also living on the reservation and protecting those rights that were reserved for us as well as the spiritual and cultural way of life. I think that we have the responsibility to revisit the treaty all the time so we know we are keeping our younger people abreast and informed as much as possible. Because we gave up a lot in the treaty to keep our sovereignty to be able to determine our own future and our own direction in our tribal path.” – Ray Fryberg
“The Point Elliott Treaty is important to me because it has to do with our tribal rights and how we live.” – Image Enick
“Treaty Days is a commemoration of the signing of the 1855 Point Elliott that affected the coastal tribes. At this time, we remember and acknowledge our ancestors that signed the treaty and reflect on the importance of that treaty, who we are as a people and how to continue our way of life.”
– Inez Bill
“The treaty is literally my livelihood. We fight for our rights every day, fighting to keep our treaty rights. I want my kid’s kids to come out here and be able to exercise their treaty rights. Not everyone has to be a fisherman, but it should be there if they want to exercise it.”
– Brian Green
“The treaty is important because it talks about our history and it connects me with my ancestors.”
– Deandra Grant

Early Learning Academy Hosts Executive Function seminar at Parent Café 

Parent Lynzi Raya and son at the BJTELA Parent Café. The two-day workshop taught the importance of executive function skills in early childhood development.

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

Recent studies show that executive function skills begin to develop in children between the ages of birth to five. Although executive function skills aren’t fully developed until the age of twenty-five, the foundation for these skills are strongest when trained at a young age.

You might be wondering, what are executive function skills? By definition they are a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for cognitive control of behavior, selecting and successfully monitoring behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals. In other words, they are skills we use day-to-day to manage our lives and accomplish our goals. Executive function skills include impulse control, working memory, organization, task initiation, metacognition, stress tolerance, time management, planning/prioritization, emotional control, response inhibition and sustained attention.

The Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy hosted a two-day workshop informing parents about executive function skills on January 10 and 11. During the Parent Café, attendees were treated to snacks and beverages while viewing videos showing studies of executive function skills in early childhood as well as a presentation by ECEAP Manager Stephanie Pitman.

“I wanted to give a presentation on executive function skills because so often parents are concerned about their kiddos not knowing the ABC’s, their colors or shapes. But really for true life success, they need to have impulse control, working memory and mental flexibility. That is the basis for all other learning in the future,” says Stephanie.

During the training the parents openly talked with one another about these skills and how they pertained to their children, asking and offering parent-to-parent advice. At the end of the seminar the parents took a quiz in which they learned a little bit about their personal executive function skills strengths and weaknesses and discussed how to improve them.

“This class taught me that it’s the little things that are taught over time. I think it’s important because anything you can do to help better your children is great,” expressed Early Learning Academy Parent, Mary Cameron Perillo.

“It’s more engrained when you can get them [during ages] birth to five,” states Stephanie. “Executive function is what they’re going to have to learn in life. I may not need to know my colors or algebra in my daily life but I am going to have to know how to get along with others. I am going to have to know how to exercise impulse control and how to deal with stress. Adults use this every day, that’s the skills we need for lifelong success.”

For more information, please contact the Betty J. Early Learning Academy at (360) 716-4250.

Q&A with Tulalip Liquor Store Manager, Carrie Ann Fryberg

By Micheal Rios

Carrie Fryberg is Manager for the Tulalip Liquor Store, which is conveniently located off of I-5 exit 199 right next to Marine Drive Chevron and Quil Ceda Creek Casino. We recently asked Carrie about her tenure in the liquor sales industry and her vision going forward.

Q: What are some of the essential things you’d like people to know about you?

A: First off, I am proud to say that I was born and raised here on Tulalip. I’ve lived here my entire life. I’m married to a wonderful husband, William Mclean, Jr., and we’ve shared a life together for 25-years now. Together we have three children, Kesha, Nico, and Martie. I’ve also raised three step-children, Anthony, Lloyd, and Kandace.

Q: What is your favorite cultural activity?

A: Stick Games! My family and I travel all around to the tribes in the Pacific Northwest to play Stick Games. In fact, I’ve ran the annual Stick Games Tournament we have here at the Tulalip Amphitheatre for the last five years.

Q: How did you get into the liquor store business?

A: Well, back in 2002, I was working at the Health Clinic and looking for a career change. Then in October 2002, I accepted a position as Shift Supervisor for the liquor store. That position stuck for 12 years, until I was promoted to Manager in May 2014.

Q: In your 16-years at the Tulalip Liquor Store, what is the biggest change you’ve seen?

A: Adding Chevron to our parking lot is definitely the biggest change. It brought a lot more traffic into our area and helped boost our sales. We took a significant hit in sales when the State approved liquor to be sold in grocery stores, so building the Chevron and sharing a parking lot has helped offset those losses.

Q: Tell us a little about the staff you manage.

A: My team is made up of 17 and a half members. I always add in that half because we have a grounds maintenance worker that half his salary is paid for by the liquor store. My team includes 15 cashiers/shift supervisors and a maintenance lady. Janet Williams and Naomi Moses have worked here with me nearly the entire time I’ve been here. There’s a strong feeling of us as a family because we’ve grown close to one another.

Q: When it comes to moving product, what are the three most commonly sold bottles?

A: R&R Whiskey, Monarch Vodka 80 proof, and Fireball. People love Fireball!

Q: What is your vision for the Tulalip Liquor Store?

A: My vision includes getting a remodel/upgrade to our store, so we can be refreshed and have a new look. This would help attract new customers and help the store fit in better with all the newer businesses in our area, which equals better revenue and possibly new product.

Q: How would you describe your 16-year tenure with the liquor store?

A: Well-spent and adventurous. Adventurous in the sense that when you work right next to the “Q” Casino for so long, we’ve definitely seen some crazy things. I love the people who I work with because everybody works as a team. I’m a lifer, so hopefully, one day, I’ll be retiring from here because there’s no place else I’d rather work.