October 6, 1934-January 20, 2017 Merle Williams Sr. was born on October 6, 1934 in a log cabin in Concrete, Washington and went home to be with the Lord on January 20, 2017. He attended Concrete High School home of the Lions and graduated with the class of 1952. After graduating from high school at the age of 17, he started working at the cement plant in Concrete. He was a commercial fisherman; construction worker; bank teller; worked in Sauk Suiattle; worked in orchards in Eastern Washington; owned and operated his own landscaping business; and he did painting and varnishing. His main occupation was that of a pastor where he traveled the US and Canada, ministering to our Native people and other nationalities. He and Rose started dating in 1957 and were married on May 4, 1957. One month later he was drafted into the Army. He returned home in May of 1959. Merle and Rose have served as pastors since June of 1960. He is survived by his children, Merle (Debbie) Williams Jr., Nadine Williams, Michael (Paulencia) Williams, and Tena Williams; seven grandchildren; nine great grandchildren; his sister, Marilyn Rock; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 1:00 PM at Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home with an Interfaith Service to follow at 6:00 PM at the Tulalip Gym. Funeral services will be held Thursday at 10:00 AM at the Tulalip Gym with burial following at Mission Beach Cemetery.
The (10-2) Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team hosted the (2-8) Orcas Christian Saints at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium on Wednesday, January 18. It would be the first game of a four games in six days stretch for Tulalip.
The Lady Hawks came out firing, behind the hot hands of guards Keryn Parks and Aliya Jones, and outscored the Saints 33-14 at halftime. The hot shooting continued in the 2nd half as the girls seemingly couldn’t miss and built their lead to 55-23 going into the final quarter.
With the 30-point lead, the bench players got plenty of run in the 4th quarter. At games end, Tulalip won in dominant fashion 67-34. Keryn led all scorers with 22 points, Aliya had 19 points, and Georgie Randall added 9 points.
Two days later, the girls hit the road and traveled to Lopez Island to play the (6-2) Lobos. Offense was hard to come by in the early going, with both teams playing top notch defense and contesting every shot. Finally the Lady Hawks broke through and went on a decisive scoring run made possible by good ball movement and not settling for long jumpers. The Tulalip girls went on to win 47-26.
Tulalip Lady Hawks host Darrington Loggers
Playing on the shortest rest possible, the Lady Hawks hosted the Darrington Loggers the very next day. In the 1st quarter, Aliya hit two 3-pointers as part of a strong offensive attack for Tulalip. They led 14-7 going into the 2nd quarter. The defense let up a little and allowed the Loggers to go on a run and get back into the game. At halftime the home team led by only four points, 24-20.
The Lady Hawks aren’t used to being up by so little going into the 2nd half and used that as extra motivation to play lock down defense over the game’s final sixteen minutes. They held the Loggers to only 5-points in the 3rd quarter and then only a measly 3-points in the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, the Lady Hawks were executing their offense led by Keryn down the stretch.
When the final game buzzer sounded, Tulalip had turned their 4-point halftime lead into an 18-point victory, 45-27. Aliya and Keryn each scored 13-points to lead all scorers.
One day’s rest is all the girls got before returning to the court on Monday, January 23 to host the Lopez Lobos. The game also marked Senior Night for Aliya Jones, Myrna Redleaf and Cyena Fryberg.
It was a back and forth game in the 1st quarter with both teams trading baskets. Tulalip held a slim 12-8 lead going into the 2nd quarter before Keryn caught fire from deep and knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers. After hitting a couple jumpers, Aliya added a 3-pointer of her own. Cyena added three the hard way by sinking three free-throws. The Lady Hawks defense was playing at its peak hustling for all loose balls and contesting every shot. As a team they corralled nearly every possible rebound and held the Lobos scoreless in the 2nd quarter. The girls used a 19-0 run to take a 31-8 halftime lead.
The scoring barrage continued into the 3rd quarter with Keryn adding two more 3-pointers and Deachae Jones hitting two 3-points as well. The Lady Hawks won the 3rd quarter 18-7 on their way to another dominant victory, 59-22. Keryn led all scorers with 18 points, Aliya added 12 points and Deachae had 11 points.
The win marked the 10th W in a row for the girls and keeps them unbeaten in league play. Also, the latest W puts them back into 1st place in the Northwest 1B league with a (14-2) record. Another big matchup is upcoming with #2 seed Cedar Park Christian this Friday in Mountlake Terrace.
The (3-9) Tulalip Heritage Hawks basketball team were coming off a stunning loss at the hands of Orcas Christian, a game in which the Hawks led by 14-points with five minutes remaining, when they hosted the (5-4) Lopez Lobos on Friday, January 20. The boys were in a hurry to put that last loss behind them and hopefully get another much needed W.
The game couldn’t have been gone any better for the Tulalip boys. The defense was forcing many turnovers and everybody was crashing the boards. Offensively though, they were playing on a level not before seen this season. Everything was going in. The stellar shooting lasted the entire game. When it was over the Hawks had earned their most lopsided victory of the season, 80-46.
Less than twenty-four hours later, the Hawks were still basking in that huge W when they hosted the (3-11) Darrington Loggers. The game was as evenly matched as you can get with both teams being able to counter the other basket for basket. Nashone Whitebear carried the offense early on by doing damage from the elbow area and taking advantage of the zone defense. At halftime the Hawks trailed 19-23.
In the 3rd quarter, both teams came out firing. The Hawks got six more points from Nashone, five from Paul Shay, Jr. and six from Rodney Barber. All together the boys put up twenty points in the quarter to tie the game up at 39-39 with eight minutes to go.
Both teams continued to play basket for basket, each team scored nine points in the 4th quarter, and were tied 48-48 at the end of regulation. Meaning overtime was necessary.
In the OT, guard Josh Iukes shined brightest. He broke down the defense off the dribble for two baskets and was clutch from the free-throw line, converting five of six attempts. His nine points in OT was more than enough to seal the deal for the Hawks. They won 57-52. Josh’s 16 points led all scorers, Nashone added 13 points, and Paul had 10 points. The win marked two in a row for the boys, their first win streak of the season.
Hawks vs Lobos
On Monday, January 23, they again played the Lopez Lobos. This time at home. The Tulalip offense came out sluggish, but luckily Samuel Fryberg was able to pick up the slack. He scored all six of the Hawk’s points in the 1st quarter to give his team a 6-4 lead.
The offense snapped out of their early funk and everyone chipped in to outscore the Lobos 45-26 over the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The Hawks led 51-30 going into the final quarter of play. When the game ended, the Hawks had secured their third W in a row 60-39. All Hawk players scored in this one with Nashone leading all scorers with 17 points, Josh Miranda and Samuel Fryberg both scored 11 points, and Josh Iukes added 10 points.
The three game win streak improves the Hawks’ record to 6-9 and breathes new life into their season. There’s now a good chance they can earn a spot in the league playoffs.
On Saturday, January 14, eight representatives of Tulalip’s future leaders were introduced to the Board of Directors. These eight strong-spirited, young men and women were sworn in to be the next cohort to make-up the Tulalip Youth Council.
“Congratulations to the Tulalip Tribes new 2017 Tulalip Youth Council. I’m excited to work with them and look forward to seeing them grow and prosper,” said Board of Director Theresa Sheldon. “Our youth are so important and when they are given a positive opportunity, they always rise to the occasion. I believe in them and am so proud of them. We are so thankful for the amazing staff who continually supports them and provides them with a safe place to be creative and build as a team.”
Being willing to step up and represent your community is a huge undertaking for anyone, especially true for our youth. They have each opted to take this critical step together and aim to be role models in and out of the classroom for their peers. When you see these youth, please congratulate them for committing to a productive year of making positive change for their peers and community, and thank them for taking on this important role of leadership.
The Hunting Meeting is going to be February 8th, 2017 at starting at 5:30pm and will be held at The Tulalip Administration Building in meeting room 162; this will be the first of the year hunting meeting of the year talk about GAME MANAGEMENT UNITS, OPEN AND CLOSED ROADS, UPCOMING HUNTING SEASON, any question that might be brought up at that time. We all hope to see everyone here.
Any questions please call Amanda Shelton at:
Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources and Cultural Resources
The meeting is going to be February 9th, 2017 at 5:30pm and will be held at the Tulalip Marina; this will be an open meeting to talk about Crab & Shrimp along with any other question that might be brought up at that time. We all hope to see everyone here.
Any questions please call Amanda Shelton at:
Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources and Cultural Resources
Native doctors, nurses and dentists are greatly needed throughout Indian Country. The Association of American Medical College released a study showing that since the early 2000’s, the number of Native American students entering the medical field has decreased significantly. Currently, about 150 Native students begin pursuing a healthcare profession annually. Ten short years ago that average was 470. Meanwhile, tribal members nationwide continue to struggle with health issues, namely diabetes and heart disease.
In participation with the University of Washington School of Dentistry, the Tulalip Tribes hosted ‘Empowering the Youth for Health Careers’ Potlatch. The January 14 event provided the youth of the Tulalip community information, hands-on experience and advice for college preparation for those interested in pursuing a career in healthcare.
“We want to ensure that when anybody, youth to elders, walks into a clinic and they are in need of help, we can provide them with an alternative to what comes in a pill bottle,” stated Mohawk tribal member, Dr. Terry Maresca. During a live demonstration, Dr. Maresca used mixed berries, honey and various plants such as sassafras to make a traditional home remedy for the average cold. She spoke of the importance of using traditional teachings in the modern medical industry.
Dr. Jason Deen of the Blackfeet Tribe is a UW alumnus and Pediatric Cardiologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Deen spoke about his personal experience, from college to his current position, in the professional healthcare world. Dr. Deen then advised the youth on the steps needed to take in order to be well-prepared for college.
The event included hands-on learning where participants, using bananas, learned the suturing technique dentists use when their patients need stitches. Representatives from local colleges including Everett Community, Shoreline Community, and Bellingham Technical were in attendance and provided information about the programs their schools offer, respectively.
The UW School of Dentistry hosts a free summer program that provides resources and information for Native American, African American and Latino American students interested in the medical field. For more information on their summer and upcoming programs, visit www.shpep.org
