1973-12-15 Char-Koosta News

              Reservation Highway Is Dangerous
One person has died in an automobile accident during the past 19 and one half months for every six miles of Highway 93 on the Reservation. This is one of the alarming facts to come out of Montana Highway Patrol figures for the north south main reservation road for the period Jan. 1, 1972 to Oct.15 , 1973.
According to the patrol report, there were 336 accidents on the 7 0 mile stretch of Highway 9 3 between Evaro and Elmo during that period. That comes out to nearly five accidents for each mile.
The patrol figures show that 289 persons were injured in these accidents which averages out to roughly four injuries per mile. In addition, the report indicates, 2 2 persons have died in accidents which comes out to one every three miles of the highway or more than one death per month
Per-Capita Payments Mailed Dec. 17
Dixon: Nearly 5 ,7 00 Tribal Members received $240 per capita payments last week, too late for the Tribal Council elections but just in time for Christmas.
The "energy crisis" payments....called for by the Tribal Council in November to offset a threatened energy crunch....were approved by
the Bureau of Indian Affairs after an instant replay by the Council.
Early in November, the Council voted six to one to pay out 90 per cent of the first quarter revenue (for the months of July, August and September) In December, Bureau of Indian Affairs Billings Area Director James Canan overturned
the vote on the grounds that the Council has previously resolved to make but one payment per year, in August, to be based on the receipts of one entire year (from July 1 to June 30 of the previous year). In rejecting the payment, Canan also noted the Council has established a policy to re-(cont. on page 2)
THE BI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE SALISH, PEND'd ORIELLES AND KOOTENAI TRIBES OF THE FLATHEAD RESERVATION
Volume 3 - Number 17    New Moon of the Wandering - January 1,19 74
Record Number of Voters Vote on record-length ballots
isquan
The composition of the Constitutional Committee will be evenly mixed with men and women...the results of the Dec.15 election will seat five of each when the Con-Con begins reviewing the 38 year old tribal constitution this month.
Arlee will be represented by two women. Josephine Morigeau Steele got the most votes with 404 and Virginia Fyant Butler polled 34 5.
St. Ignatius will be represented by Douglas Allard, who received 5 25 votes and Jane Fouty, who gathered 429 votes.
Public Health Sanitarian John "Chris" Lozeau will represent the Ronan District. Lozeau outpolled Joseph Santos Sr. 170 to 152.
In Poison, Rose Cline walked away with a total vote of 2 6 4.
In Pablo, R. Louis Dupuis, who is a veteran of the committee which drafted the presto nt. on page 3)
Four out of five incumbent councilmen running for re-election December 15 were returned for another four year term.
The only upset on the record length ballot, which drew a record number of voters, was in the Ronan District where Joe McDonald out-polled three term councilman Jim Ely, Jr., 254 to 126 votes. All told 89 2 voters...l9 2 more than in 1971.... selected from a ballot of 34 candidates....compared with 31 in 19 71. Voters also selected ten Constitutional Committee delegates on Dec. 15 from a total of 31 hopefuls (see story in next column for results)
In Arlee. three-term council veteran Fred Whitworth was handily returned by out polling his nearest rival 280 to 100. Second was Everett A. Fyant, who was just ahead of Evelyn Grenier'with 98, and Clarice Charlo Sanchez, who
polled 94. Also polling in the 90s was Thomas "Satch" McDonald with 91.
Two candidates who had been disqualified from the Arlee race because of a residency decision collected votes in a write-in effort. Kevin Howlett tallied 19 and Sandra McCrea received one.
In St. Ignatius, two-term councilman and current Tribal Council Chairman Harold Mitchell Jr., was returned with an impressive 30 5 votes. Mitchell was tailed by Clarence Woodcock, who received 210 votes and Margaret Phillips Blixt with 109 votes. The first candidate to file for the St. Ignatius seat, Nadine Felsman Allison, came in fourth in the slate of seven with 96 votes.
In Elmo, two-term incumbent Pat Lefthand gathered a record 435 votes to beat former councilman Charles W. Radel, Jr., who got 286.
(cont. on page 3)
Three tribal members who had filed for candidacy to either the Tribal Council or the Constitutional Committee but were disqualified for residency reasons, say they will try to overturn the December 15 election through the federal courts.
Kathy Ross, Ronan, Kevin Howlett, Arlee, and Barney Clairmont, Poison, told the TribarCouncil during a meeting December 7 that they will appeal an Election Committee decision to exclude candidates who had not actually lived on the reservation to the U.S. Federal District Court in Missoula. All three were disqualified because they were away from the reservation during the past year attending school. The three contend their civil rights were violated because they had maintained residence
(cont. on page 3)