The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-02-25

              House bill would give tenants greater rights
and make landlords more accountable
By Delvin Cree
The Minnesota House of
Representatives' Housing Committee
held a public hearing at the Phillips
Community Center in Minneapolis on
Wednesday, February 16, 1994. The
purpose of the hearing was to hear
public testimony from both landlords
and tenants about housing issues.
Other agencies that provide advocate
services for renters and residents also
had an opportunity to voice their
concerns.
Approximately 100 people showed
up to witness and take part in the
discussion that lasted an hour and a
half. The issues addressed at the
meeting ranged from security in
buildings, to unlawful evictions and
poor housing conditions.
One elderly resident testified that
she was very concerned about the drug
deals and loitering that goes on in her
building. She stressed how she and her
neighbors must continually deal with
these problems even though there is a
landlord security group that monitors
their building and others.
Doc Davis, Housing Coordinator for
the People of Phillips neighborhood
organization, expressed his
disappointment with the C.A.R.E.
committee, a group of individuals
made up residents, police, housing
inspectors, landlords, and undercover
drug-bust teams that work together to
clean up the neighborhoods from crime
and slum landlords.
Davis testified that since the program
started there has been a large number
of evictions that shouldn't have taken
place. Hesaidthat a number of residents
have come to him for help because
they were evicted simply because they
lived next to an apartment that was
raided.
The State Representatives also had a
chance to respond and ask questions
of the people giving testimony. In
addition, they discussed thebillthat will
be going to the state legislature this
session which will enforce the law
and make landlords more accountable
for their actions and responsibilities.
The proposed bill will include the
following: making it atenant's right to
organize without allowing the landlord
to retaliate; making it law that the
landlord give a twenty-four hour
notice of entry unless it is a
reasonable emergency situation, and
penalties for not providing a lease to
the tenant.
Other discussion concerning the
bill included accelerated evictions and
shortening the redemption period for
abandoned residential properties. Andy
Dawkins a State Representative in the
St. Paul area and also a recent Mayoral
candidate for the City of St. Paul, told
the PRESS in a short interview after the
Tenants/ see page 3
New Visions hit with court injunction/ front page
Auditor questions $233,118 in costs at Red Lake RHA
AIM Indictment and Statement of Charges/ page 4
Red Lake tribal group seeks resolution/ page 4
Walk For Justice: Free Peltier 1994/ page 6
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
i
New Visions hit with court injunction
Fifty Cents
By Gary Blair
Battle lines have now been drawn
and targets for lawsuits have been
identified involving the disagreements
over funds and management of the
proposed New Vision's Native American Detoxification Center. The
question now will be, who wins and
who loses? One thing for sure, the
Indian community has already lost
and may lose even more.
The PRESS has learned that the
chemical dependency treatment program is going to get hit with a court
injunction this week that's intended to
stop all financial transactions of the
corporation. The court order being
brought will try and force New Visions to use the county granted funds
to develop the new Indian detox center, whichaccordingto Gerry Stafford,
New Visions chairperson for the board
of directors, has not happened as the
county contract calls for.
Additionally, Hennepin County has
now given the organization until
March 2nd to get things straightened
out or they're going to cancel their
contract with them for the new Indian
detox center and open the process
back up to the public.
Attorney Amy Johnson told the
PRESS on Wednesday that she will
file, on behalf of Stafford and the New
Visions board of directors, several
lawsuits. The first will be aimed at
Robert Olander, Hennepin County's
division head for chemical health.
Other suits will be filed against Joseph
Estrada, also a New Vision's board
member, and the Riverside State Bank
of Minneapolis.
The suit against Olander will allege
that he over stepped his authority and
involved himself in internal matters
of New Vision's board of directors
that directly affected both the development and financial management of
the corporation. Estrada is being sued
for similar involvement.
Stafford says, "Estrada formed a
second board of directors for New
Visions and took illegal control of the
corporation's funds and decision making. The Riverside State Bank will be
suedfor their role in allowing Estrada's
group to draw checks against the New
Vision's detox account without proper authority. "Within the last week
the bank allowed those remaining
funds to be moved to another bank
without proper permission," Stafford
said..
" I wish this could have been handled
in a different way," Johnson stated.
Visions/ see page 3
OJibwe
News
We Support: Equal Opportunity For All
Founded in 1988
Volume 5   Issue 35 February E5, 1994
i
skly publication.
Copyright, The Djplme News, 1994
Audit questions $233,118 in costs at Red Lake
Reservation Housing Authority
By Bill Lawrence
According to information obtained
from a source who prefers to remain
anonymous, the NEWS has learned
that a recent audit of the Red Lake
Reservation Housing Authority has
questioned $233,117.78, in costs
during fiscal year 1993. The audit
was performed by the C.P. A. firm of
Robert J. Tauriainen. of Livonia,
Michigan, and appears to be pursuant
to requirements of the U.S. Dept. of
Housing and Urban Development,
which is the major funding source of
the Red Lake Reservation Housing
Authority.
In audit finding No. 1 — Payroll
Deficiencies, auditors found that' 'the
IRS has assessed theIHA$219,040.21
for unpaid FICA taxes for the years
1989 to 1991. Included in this amount
is $50,547.75 in penalties, which is
an unallowable cost and will have to
be paid out of nonproject funds."
"The IHA only has a $156,880.76,
Operating Reserve and this
assessment will have an adverse affect
on its financial condition."
Auditor Tauriainen recommended
that thelHAattempttohavethe penalties
reversed, since the MA is of the belief
that their actions were based on a
good faith response to IRS decisions.
In audit finding No. 2 - The Red
Lake Housing Authority Is Not
Following Its Procurement Policy.
' 'The IHA is not following its adopted
procurement policy in as much as
necessary documentation was not on
file to evidence whether solicitations
were made, quotations received, or
whether formal bidding had been
entered into for large purchases
entered into during the audit period.
The purchases in question are as
follows:
Mandall Armour
$24,026.20
Mega Auto
27,500.00
Higgins
23,980.00
Torborgs Do It Center
39,490.10
Duracraft Ind
10,971.40
Red Lake Post Second
17,290.00
Spaulding Motor Sales
7,662.33
Diamond Water
16,625.00
Bob Lowth Ford
15.025.00
Totals
$182,570.03
The PHA's "Statement of
Procurement Policy" states: "Small
purchases of $25,000.00 or less ...The
RLRHA shall obtain written quotations
.. .each quotation shall be recorded and
maintained as a public record.''
Because bids or proposals were not
documented or available, the IHA has
not assurance that the most advantageous
price was paid.
In addition, sources told the NEWS
that Torborgs Do It Center which is
located in Shawano, Wisconsin, is
owned and operated by abrother-in-law
of Red Lake Reservation Housing
Authority executive director Michael
Bowman. This relationship presents an
apparent conflict of interest which
should either prohibit any type of
business relationship or require
competitive bidding for all business
transactions.
The NEWS attempted to contact
Red Lake Tribal Chairman Gerald
Brun and housing authority executive
director Michael Bowman to try and
find out if the tribal council or housing
authority had responded to the audit
deficiencies, but nether returned the
phone calls by press time. The NEWS
also tried to contact housing authority
auditor Mr. Robert Tauriainen in
Livonia, Michigan, but was told that
he was out of town on business.
Dale Childs, former tribal chairman of Prairie Island Dakota community, addresses rally at the State Capitol.
Protest against nuclear storage held at State Capitol
By Gary Blair
The State Capitol was the scene of
more protests over NSP's plans to
store nuclear waste next to the Prairie
Island Indian Reservation. On
Wednesday of this week more than
300 people gathered inside the building where lawmakers will decide if
the storage will be allowed.
Using protest songs and speeches,
celebrities such as Bonnie Raitt and
John Truedell drove their message
down the many hallways of the structure. With signs and banners hanging
from the upper level of the rotunda,
young and old stood for over an hour
and listened as the different groups
announced their opposition to the dry
cask storage of nuclear waste 6 miles
north of Red Wing Minnesota, along
the Mississippi River.
Dale Childs, former tribal chairman of the small band of Dakota
Indians who already have a NSP
nuclear generatingplant in their backyard from which the waste storage
will come, was one of the rally speakers. Child's message was clear, he
told the listeners about an old saying on his reservation that tells of
a day when the truth will be told.
He was referring to the mistreatment his people have had to endure
over the years.
The many organizations represented
had tables setup with literature about
nuclear storage and their plans for additional protests and events to build
support against the proposed storage.
A bus tour to Prairie Island has been
planned for March 19th. For more information youcancall 827-5364. There
will be an additional meeting held the
next day, March 20th, at the Prairie
Island Community Center, at 12 noon.
On March23rd at 12:30 pmthere will
be a prayer vigil for justice at the same
location. Anyone interested in receiving more information can also
call 627-4035.
Lowell Bellanger announces candidacy for
Secretary-Treasurer of the White Earth RTC
Cash-strapped Ontario gambles on casino
Government hopes operation in Windsor will lure U.S. dollars to help pay debts
Windsor, Ontario (AP) This lunch-
bucket city on the Canada-US. border
dreams of becoming Las Vegas on the
lakes.
Ablue-collar community of 200,000
known only for its automobile factories and strip joints, Windsor counts
on doing a little social climbing in
April.That's when the first Ontario
government-owned casino opens on
the banks of the Detroit River and
begins beckoning to American gamblers, only a toss of the dice away.
Ontario is Canada's most populous
province. It also is the most indebted,
at $75 billion, and owns the biggest
budget deficit, $10 billion. Having
squeezed all the taxes it dares out of
Ontarians, the province is looking for
U.S. cash to pay some of the bills. (A
Canadian dollar is worth 75 U.S.
cents.)
"That's as true as true can be," said
Mayor Mike Hurst. "There's no magic to understanding why Windsor was
given the opportunity to have this."
Detroit, a five-minute drive by tunnel
or bridge from downtown Windsor,
has a metropolitan area of 4 million
people. About 25 million live within a
two-hour drive in the Great Lakes
region. Hurst and others hope many of
those folks will be eager to gamble in
Canada.
"We anticipate 80 percent of our
clients will come from the United
States," said Domenic Alfieri, head
of the province's Ontario Casino
project. Ontario wants to get back
some of the half-billion Canadian
dollars flowing south to Atlantic City
and Las Vegas every year.
The provincial government not only
is looking for American gamblers, it
wants Americans to run the place.
Windsor Casino Ltd., a joint venture
of Caesar's World, Hilton Hotels and
Circus Circus, has been selected to
operate the first of what eventually
may be half a dozen casinos across
Ontario.
How the revenue will be shared is
being negotiated, but Alfiefi says the
province will get the lion's share.
According to the plan, the operator
will invest $375 million in a 75,000-
square-foot palace with 125 gambling
tables, 2,400 slot machines and a 300-
room hotel for an as yet unspecified
cut of the profits. The Provincial gov
ernment gets a cut of the profits and a
20 percent tax on gross revenues, about
$200 million.
Windsor gets none of the revenue,
but will reap the benefits, of 12,000
direct and indirect jobs, increased tourism, parking fees and taxes. The city
is scrambling to find ways to keep
some of those gamblers longer to spend
more outside the casino, perhaps a
combined outing that includes the
Windsor Racetrack.
For the first three years, while the
complex is being constructed, the casino will operate in the riveffront
building of the Art Gallery of Windsor.
There has been little opposition to the
casino. Early protests from church
organizations are muted now.
Alan Phipps, a professor of geography and head of the social science
research department at the University
of Windsor, said the moral argument
was lost long ago when the city chose
to allow widespread striptease and
nude dancing. The unclad women and
the lower drinking age in Ontario—19
compared with 21 in Michigan ~ already is a draw for Detroit's youth.
I, Lowell Bellanger, an enrolled
member of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe, White Earth Reservation, am
announcingmycandidacyfor Secretary-
Treasurer of the White Earth
Reservation Tribal Council in the June
1994 General Election.
I have lived and worked in White
Earth all my life, except for three
years during the Korean War where I
served in the Army Infantry, spending 13 months in combat on the front
line. During the Korean War, I was
awarded the Combat Infantry badge,
Korean conflict, Good Conduct Med
al, and was also nominated for the
Silver Star.
I am asking all White Earth enrollees for your support in this election if
you are for accountability and change
on your reservation.
As we all know, the incumbent
Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Rawley has
used and abused the Office of Secretary-Treasurer by abuse of the tribal
constitution which calls for a quarterly financial reports to all tribal
members. This has never been done
and notices of tribal meetings have
never been posted, and all reservation
and TEC meetings are held in secret
so far from the home town of all
reservation members. They have been
held in Michigan and Grand Portage,
where tribal members cannot afford
to attend.
On the White Earth Reservation,
contracts with the BIA, under PL 99-
638 for programs and funds that are
given to the reservations for tribal
members, do not benefit our people
who are eligible for these programs.
No tribal members know what is avail-
Candidacy/ page 3
$247 million slashed from IHS budget
By Bunty Anquoe
Reprinted W/ permission from
Indian Country Today
Washington - Despite improved
health care at the top of President
Clinton's legislative priority list, the
administration's 1995 budget request
for the Indian Health Service has
been slashed by $247 million.
According to the department of the
Health and Human Services budget
tables, the Ihs will absorb an $88
million reduction in funding to hospitals and health clinics, as well as an
$85 million cut in sanitation facilities
and more than $80 million in reduced
funding for construction facilities.
"It's the toughest budget spending
cuts that Congress has yet seen,"
President Clinton said of his $1.5
trillion hold-the-line budget in a
speech in Houston last week.
The budget proposal stays within
the tight limits on "discretionary"
spending set by Congress last year in
the president's five year, $500 billion
deficit reduction package.
The projected $176 billion deficit
projected in the 1995 budget would be
the lowest since 1985 and the lowest
percentage of the national economy
since 1979.
The proposal also provides more
than $8 billionfor "investment" pro
grams financed by the elimination of
115 federal programs, including three
BIA economic development programs, and reducing more than 200
other programs government-wide.
The budget plan for the fiscal year
1995, which begins Oct. 1, calls for
$673 billion for the Department
ofHealth and Human Services - an
increase of 7 percent, or $23 billion,
over the 1994 total.
The total budget request for the
IHS, which is the source of primary
health care for the nation's 2 million
Indians, is $1.8 billion.
Budget/ see page 3
i