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Kulongoski literally ignites Seven Feathers Creekside Development Project
by Stacy D. StumboCANYONVILLE -- When Gov. Ted Kulongoski came to Canyonville Monday morning, the results were explosive.
Kulongoski was in southern Douglas County to discuss the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians' efforts to revitalize the region.
Clad in bluejeans and a casual shirt, the governor commemorated the event by detonating an explosive device in the mountains above the Seven Feathers Truck & Travel Center. The 250acre tract will be part of the tribe's $25 million Creekside Development Project, located on the west side of Interstate 5 and across from the Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort.
The development will include a lagoon, two dams, a water treatment facility, a 190space RV park, a 250 room expansion of the Seven Feathers Hotel, an 15 rest stop and other riverfront development.
"The state is very interested in seeing this coming to fruition," Kulongoski said of the project.After taking a driving tour of the excavation site, Kulongoski stood at an elevation of roughly 1,300 feet. He took in a view that included madrone trees and churnedup earth, high above Gazley Road and 15. He waited for a .signal from an engineer five honks from a bullhorn before he set off a charge that took down a portion of hillside that will be used for gravel and road creation as the project continues.
Following a loud pop and a burst of dust, Cow Creek Chairwoman Sue Shaffer made her way back to her vehicle.
She turned back, and said flippantly, "Ted caused it."During the visit, Kulongoski praised the Cow Creeks' relationship with Douglas County and said their efforts should serve as a model for other Oregon tribes.
Cow Creek attorney Wayne Shammel gave the governor an overview of the project from the truck and travel center's secondfloor conference room. Photos of the excavation process were pasted to a wall and a map of the area illustrated the scope of the project, which could include botanical gardens like those at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia.
Engineers, construction employees, representatives from Umpqua Bank, the Oregon Department of Transportation, dam designers, tribal board members and Canyonville Mayor Chuck Spindel were among honored guests during the governor's visit.
Shammel said that at least seven months of the year, Canyonville does not have enough water to support community needs.
The tribe's development will build water storage during the high water months, greatly improving yearround access.
"The tribe is proud to be part of the solution," he said.Along with improved infrastructure for Canyonville, Shammel said the Creekside project will also bring jobs.
"Our goal is to create 500 jobs in five years," he said. In a little more than a decade, the tribe could potentially employ 1,000 more individuals.The tribe currently employs about 1 1,200 people through its casino and resort, truck and travel center, Umpqua Indian Utility Cooperative, Rio Communications, KBar Ranches, Umpqua Indian Foods, Umpqua Indian Development Corp., Canyonville Cubbyholes, Nesika Health and the Cow Creek Health & Wellness Center.
The tribe owns 1,233 acres in Canyonville that are in trust and can't be taxed because they are federally recognized as reservation land.
Shammel said the current development in "Cow Creek country" accounts for only about onethird of its tribal holdings in the region.
Kulongoski, who is on a tour discussing sovereignty issues with the state's nine recognized tribes, said the Cow Creeks are "the personification of what can be accomplished."Sue Shaffer, Cow Creek chairwoman, said her tribe has lived up to its promise to bring "economic development, diversification and jobs" to southern Oregon, an accomplishment that would not have been possible without a good relationship with the state.
Oregon recognizes the sovereign rights of tribes as nations within a nation, and respects them, Kulongoski said. Although the legitimacy of gaming has recently been called into question because of a lawsuit disputing a compact allowing the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Siuslaw and Lower Umpqua Indians to build a casino in Florence, gaming is not the primary focus of the state government's relationship with tribes.
"It's much broader than that," he said.
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