Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 27

Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. Sunday, Dec. 26, 1993 STATEREGION 5D Wahpeton school's problems heeded 4-county dump supporters 'confident' from beginning Tribal school investigated in 1929 sentation," the report began. Plan's opponents may still appeal WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) In February 1929, a committee of local business leaders delivered its findings on conditions at the Wahpeton Indian School to North Dakota's congressional delegation.

There had been reports of starving students and widespread disease. "The facts which have been paraded in our public press of late are a complete misrepre- Students had been weighed and their health records examined. All but a few influenza victims were normal. The committee, in fact, complimented the staff for having nursed three-fourths of the children through a severe flu epidemic without serious results. The Wahpeton Indian School was established in 1908 to train youngsters in agriculture.

With this lifted, I plan to call a meeting in January so we can pay bills and advertise for bids." The proposed dump will serve 23 towns in Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Douglas and Gregory counties. Although the state permit has been granted, opponents still can appeal to the courts. The Yankton Sioux Tribe, an environmental group and two people who live near the proposed site were among those who opposed the plans. Former U.S. Sen.

James Abourezk of Rapid City, the lawyer for the tribe, would not say whether an appeal will be filed. He did say the proposed site is ill-designed and is on ancestral lands. The Associated Press LAKE ANDES Plans for a four-county regional dump are back on track, thanks to an endorsement this week by a state board, says Ken Kredit of Platte, chairman of the Southern Missouri Waste Management Association. On Monday, the state Board of Minerals and Environment upheld the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' approval for the permit. The vote was 6-2.

"We were confident from the word Kredit said. "We waited because we did not feel we could take action. By MARILYNN WHEELER Associated Press WAHPETON, N.D. "Why don't they do something about problems at the Wahpeton Indian School?" is a question many people asked this year. Since May, concerns about the safety and well-being of students have focused on the school's superintendent, Robert Hall.

But those problems were reported months before Hall was hired and before the Bureau of Indian Affairs transferred control of institution to an independent tribal school board. "Our frustration was the issue of jurisdiction. Who had the authority to do anything about it?" said Robert Wentz, the former state health officer. He expressed his concerns about the boarding school in a letter to then-Gov. George Sinner last year.

A counselor reported problems to the state Child Protection Team in March 1992, which brought them to the attention of Rep. Byron Dorgan. Dorgan sought intervention by the BIA, noting a report that a student had been gang-raped in a school dormitory. The agency's Office of Indian Education Pro- than we have ever had." The school's enrollment totaled more than 200 this year, representing tribes from several states. The students are in the fourth through eighth grades.

Employees in the administrative office were learning to use new computers last week. Hall said new computers also are in every classroom and dormitory, with a new computer lab in the school library. Police calls involving students from the school are down considerably since the school year began, said Wahpeton Police Chief Delano Lotzer. "We can just see by our monthly reports that things are down." "I would assume a lot of it has been brought about by the attention given to problems out there. Mr.

Hall has implemented different procedures on handling students," Lotzer said. Hall says more attention should be given to improvements. Problems at the Wahpeton Indian School "appear to be directly related to inadequate staffing," Wentz reported to Sinner in March 1992. Sinner's response was that the problems were chronic. grams politely thanked Dorgan for his concern, but said the situation was under control.

Nearly two years later, the same allegations are still pending. Teachers and staff opposed to Hall insist problems have only gotten worse. State and federal officials have launched investigations. Hall maintains the school's longstanding problems are finally being addressed. "If this school had continued the way it was (under the BIA), I would be a champion of closing it," Hall said.

"We haven't fixed them yet," he said of the problems. "And maybe we're not fixing them quick enough for some people. But we're working at it." When Hall took over in September 1992, he said, the school had 60 teachers and other staff members. Since then, staffing has increased dramatically. "We had 152 people this fall," he said.

"We've trimmed back to 140 because enrollment is down, but we've still got more adults per kid fN aTx IUh emanIJelud eLIa ne1 TlM EjT OjWiC I 7m en dHa i 11 i IPS LAN TDD SMflE Er1 I A EOS NOR BOD I pFfcZlTil a "iXrV r't 1 fiqT sTa TTyjJs iIsIpIo to1 Planning director returns after 20-year break HMavr trap ohjHwA A eTdU I I I lYQ lOlWl LlElR 1 a mat "It all goes back to two issues using our own land and using 'It all goes D3CK 10 TWO the skills of our own people," he issues USing Our Own out and bringing busi- land and using the skills ness here is not the answer. The nf OUf OWfl DeODle UlNQ FLA KlYTTM 1 AURA SBC RAN EKJe I Eij A NT RA STORY A DtiR Kf' "1 1 A TOM 'VlAjcO NHS POO law A A ABLhf EBcO NHM A YjCSl i i iTf a i pHfc tMo MOO N0V ERNE WlP TjC HEY 1 il Sfi J0 If RAT EjjO zen1oUe1at1e1nUd1eMo1nUdote un Johnson said He took a job as tribal planning director in 1971. When he left in 1973, the tribe had more than 200 employees and a yearly budget of $7 million. Johnson said some things have not improved since the early '70s. "A lot more was in place in '73 to promote jobs and development.

Either it became less of a priority or those priorities were not followed through on." Gary Johnson skills of our people. planning director Johnson has been credited for arranging a $7 million low-interest lending agreement for tribal members. If it weren't for Sioux man says tribe made many changes The Associated Press AGENCY VILLAGE Gary Johnson, the first planning director for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, left the Lake Traverse Reservation 20 years ago. Now Johnson, 50, has returned as the tribe's planning and economic director, and he says a lot has changed since 1973, including the name. A recent decision to change the name to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation is slated to go before the tribe in a November 1994 election.

The tribe now runs its own school system, a community college even gambling casinos. Answer to Sunday, Dec. 26 Cryptoquip: UPSET BY THE BILL, WOULD THE BRIDE'S GLUM PARENTS CALL THE AFFAIR "THE WEDDING Johnson's efforts, the agreement PREMIER CROSSWORD By Jo Paquin Misplaced Movies with an area bank would not have come to pass, tribal leaders said. The agreement makes low-interest loans available to tribal businesses, agencies and individuals on the reservation, which includes parts of seven counties in South Dakota and North Johnson has worked in Detroit, Seattle and other cities as a community development specialist. He said he returned partly because he has an adoptive family on the reservation and because he felt that the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe was ready to move ahead.

"I was interested in getting involved again in Indian affairs," 6 Swiss miss? 40 Nag-ative 7 Hawks' home one? 8 "A Passage to 41 Sitting duck? India" subject 42 Fowl sound 9 Vane dir. 73 Lasagna land 74 Pick a pol 75 Desire deified 77 Hector's home 78 Lotion additive 79 Light material 80 Singer Sumac 86 "The People's Choice" basset 87 Grave 88 "That was a close one!" 89 "Watership Down" home 90 Opposed to 91 Morticia's 55 Golden Rule word 56 Big business expense 57 "Evita" name 58 Like 20 Across 59 Impressed mightily 60 "Johnny B. Goode" singer 61 Alley cat? 62 Steamy sites 65 Burst into flames 66 Pageant figure 67 Playground toy 68 Off-the-wall 69 Breck- enridge" 70 Presences 71 Stick one's neck out 72 Caustic us is given" 77 Lost Cary 89 The man from Gdansk 91 Youth org. 94 Soap ingredient 95 Comic Myron 96 Scads 97 Tiltstrom puppet 99 Storm or Sayers 100 Bud of "Harold and Maude" 101 Decide on, with "for" 104 Lost Don Ameche film? 110 Homer's field 111 Turn of phrase 112 Pound the podium 113 Sty cry 114 Paradoxical philosopher 115 Off the plate 116 Infernal guy 117 Make too much of 44 Tropical spots 45 man 47 "I give up!" 48 Tryon novel, with "The" 49 It's in a jamb 51 Seventh planet 52 Herbert Hoover, for one 53 Head of the House 54 Designer Ellis 58 Peat's place 60 Chardonnay color 61 House of Lords member 62 "The March King" 63 Prudhomme's ACROSS 1 1nvestigative 5 Sticky problem? 10 Fast mover 15 Horner's fruit 19 Ferris-wheel part 20 Bruiser 21 Lose one's tail? 22 Superior 23 Lost Judy Garland film? 27 Wrap up 28 Love Her" 64 tune) 29 Green land 30 A la King? 31 Lady Bird's lass 32 Distort 34 Mil. citation 36 Chariot terminus 37 Make reference (to) 40 A little night music? 41 Apollo's isle 43 Decorative stamp 44 Byzantine art form 45 Stubbs or Strauss 46 Part of QED 50 Lost Eddie 10 Enhance 11 On the ball 12 Banish bacteria 13 Wynn and Sullivan 14 Speed-wagon 15 Wear out the carpet 16 Chateau valley 17 Remove an ascot 18 Lawless Lansky 24 Actress Adams 25 Cold feet 26 Megaloma-niacal captain 31 French opera composer 32 Social climber 33 Anderson of "Nurses" 34 English county 35 Lingerie item 37 No Einstein 38 Arrive at a conclusion? 39 Actress Turner man 92 Stowe sight 93 Crazy as 95 Rapid runner? 96 Saw 96 Not many words 99 Pluck 100 Learn fast? protector 64 Kampala's 101 Columbus' country locale 65 Brandy bottle 102 Shut up 66 English Grant film? 81 Durban dough 82 Fleece 83 Have a propensity 84 Mighty mite 85 It gets squirreled away 87 Thread bearer DOWN 1 June, but not July 2 The yoke's on them 3 "Citizen Kane" prop 4 Even so 5 From there 103 Ankle-biter 105 Compete 106 Author LeShan 107 Place for two peas 108 Mine find 109 Fare for a fry Romantic 67 Talk-show pioneer 68 Refrigerant 69 Tough element 71 Junior's job Murphy film? SMS anv tvles sal Repriced Again Casual Shoes 1 2 15 4 5 6 7 15 9 111 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 33 p4 35 36 37 I38 I39 40 141 42 43 I 44 L.ii m.

ii mmm jg 4 4g 50 51 52 53 54 55 59 160 61 62" 63 64" 65 I jbb 67 68 to 71 1 i 73 76 77 78 79 80 81 62" 83" B86 I' 88 89 90 94 96 1 97 98 k- 99 104 105lT06 107 l08 109 TTo Til 112" H3 TT4 TTS TT5 TT7 Values to $48 Fashion Winter Boots Values to $88 609 12-26 Average time of solution: 58 minutes. CRYPTOQUIP NHLYM OZ ME OWSS, VGNSU MEY OKWUY'L RSND HPKYFML IPSS MEY PTTPWK "MEY VYUUWFR IYKY-DGFY Today's Cryptoquip clue: equals 1993 by King Features Syndicate, Inc. YOU ASKED FOR IT! Our 48-page CRYPTOQUIP BOOK has 200 of the decade's best Cryptoquips. all newly encoded. Send $4.50 (checkm.o.) to CryptoClassics Book 1 PO Box 641 1 Riverton NJ 08077.

Allow 4-6 wks..