By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Through the story of the fox and the wood tick, children of the Arapaho tribe learn how to be clever.
“I can beat you!” said Merle Haas, a Northern Arapaho from the Wind River Reservation. Her exclamation imitated a voice characteristic of a tiny insect, the wood tick, which challenged the fox to a race. Haas’ laugh then mimicked the fox, which claimed the wood tick would have no chance.
Cleverly giving the vain, furry beast a head start, the wood tick jumped onto the fox’s tail just as he took off. At the end of the race, the bewildered fox found that the wood tick crawled from tail to nose, hopping off as they arrived at the finish line. “I beat you!” Haas chirped in the wood tick’s taunting voice.
Haas wears many hats, the most prominent of which is that of a storyteller. She is also a co-founder of the Wind River Tribal College and an educator. Her brother-in-law, Alonso Moss, is also a Northern Arapaho and native of the Wind River Indian Reservation. His mission is to keep the language of his people alive. The two spoke as part of the “Power of Place: Legacies of Carbon County” lecture series earlier this week.
“Stories are considered sacred because they contain the old way of life, passed from generation to generation,” Haas said.
There are parable-like stories that have a moral lesson as well as what Haas called “how it came to be” stories that illustrate such questions as “why does the raccoon have black eyes?” The Arapahos also have ceremonial stories, often based around religion. “We also have trickster stories,” Haas said.
Haas plans to lead an effort to create a map of Wyoming which lists the Arapaho names for places.
Haas told her stories in English, but Moss insisted that the stories are only pure if told in Arapaho.
Moss is notorious on the reservation for speaking only his native language when only about 8 percent of the tribal members speak the native tongue. His Arapaho name is “Ridge Walker.” “They told me I’m going to walk right along the ridge. No one is going to pull me this way or that. I’m going to be myself, they said. It’s true. I’m doing what I want.” By speaking the native tongue to everyone he encounters, he hopes to educate them through immersion and set the example for parents and grandparents to do the same.
Moss delivered a crash course in the Arapaho language at the lecture, teaching the audience how to pronounce the letters and how to translate a few words. Often, non-natives who visit the reservation can speak the language better than the natives. “If they can learn it, then why not the Arapahos?” Moss asked.
“People today like to blame the missionaries or the teachers,” he said. “But that didn’t stop the old people like me. I got beat up, but I kept talking, because I was crazy. I told people not to excuse themselves. Right now, the opportunity is there to learn it. We’re through with excuses.”
Friday, March 21, 2008
County may benefit from bill
• Physician recruiting bill could help local hospital, doctors’ offices.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
With $400,000 set aside for the next two years, Wyoming health care officials are better equipped to attempt to reel in much-needed physicians.
Legislation passed earlier this year by the Wyoming Legislature, and signed by the governor, distributes money to high-need hospitals and physician practices around Wyoming. The bill allows for a hefty incentive package to attract new physicians to the state.
Dan Perdue of the American Hospital Association predicted Carbon County would be in a good position to secure some of the state funds. Perdue said Wyoming Department of Health officials are expected to establish the process for distributing the funds.
“We’ll have to wait until the rules and regulations get issued before we’ll know if it affects us,” said Patsy Carter, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s chief executive officer.
Originally introduced with an allowance of $800,000 per year, the bill was passed by the House of Representatives but killed in the Senate. As a compromise, it was revised with half as much funding.
“It doesn’t go a long way, but if we can show that there’s a demonstrated need for this type of legislation, we may be able to go back into the next session and ask for more money,” Perdue said. “The legislature is under the gun to make sure they’re funding all the programs that are worthwhile. We’ll have to see what our track record is.”
The bill incorporates the two elements of recruiting physicians — initial effort and incentives. Up to 10 percent of the funds are allotted for grant advertisement. Hospitals or doctor’s offices can be reimbursed up to $10,000 for successful recruitment efforts.
Another $90,000 from the state’s general fund has been allocated to pay for a grant administrator for the program.
Physicians recruited under the bill must agree to work in the respective community for at least two years, or repay the state and pay interest. The incentive package offers up to $20,000 for relocation, up to $10,000 a year in malpractice insurance and a maximum signing bonus of $30,000. Additionally, recruited physicians can be fully reimbursed for outstanding educational loans up to $30,000 per year.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
With $400,000 set aside for the next two years, Wyoming health care officials are better equipped to attempt to reel in much-needed physicians.
Legislation passed earlier this year by the Wyoming Legislature, and signed by the governor, distributes money to high-need hospitals and physician practices around Wyoming. The bill allows for a hefty incentive package to attract new physicians to the state.
Dan Perdue of the American Hospital Association predicted Carbon County would be in a good position to secure some of the state funds. Perdue said Wyoming Department of Health officials are expected to establish the process for distributing the funds.
“We’ll have to wait until the rules and regulations get issued before we’ll know if it affects us,” said Patsy Carter, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s chief executive officer.
Originally introduced with an allowance of $800,000 per year, the bill was passed by the House of Representatives but killed in the Senate. As a compromise, it was revised with half as much funding.
“It doesn’t go a long way, but if we can show that there’s a demonstrated need for this type of legislation, we may be able to go back into the next session and ask for more money,” Perdue said. “The legislature is under the gun to make sure they’re funding all the programs that are worthwhile. We’ll have to see what our track record is.”
The bill incorporates the two elements of recruiting physicians — initial effort and incentives. Up to 10 percent of the funds are allotted for grant advertisement. Hospitals or doctor’s offices can be reimbursed up to $10,000 for successful recruitment efforts.
Another $90,000 from the state’s general fund has been allocated to pay for a grant administrator for the program.
Physicians recruited under the bill must agree to work in the respective community for at least two years, or repay the state and pay interest. The incentive package offers up to $20,000 for relocation, up to $10,000 a year in malpractice insurance and a maximum signing bonus of $30,000. Additionally, recruited physicians can be fully reimbursed for outstanding educational loans up to $30,000 per year.
Hospital budget work continues
Times staff report
Work continues on the proposed budget for Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
Earlier this month, members of the hospital’s finance committee met to coordinate requests from the hospital department managers. The committee plans to present its budget recommendations to the hospital board at its 5:15 p.m. meeting Tuesday, March 25 in the hospital board room.
The meeting is open to the public.
The committee has also prepared a presentation for the Carbon County commissioners, designed to draw attention to its budget needs and request funding from the county.
The budget should be approved by late May.
Also at the meeting, hospital board members are expected to:
• Hear an update from the Carbon County Council of Governments concerning the proposed specific purpose tax.
• Discuss progress on the rural health care improvements pilot project. Last week, officials met with representatives from SafeTech Solutions, a company contracted to evaluate emergency medical services in the county.
• Make a decision on the employee health insurance plan, after considering the possibilities and hospital staff feedback.
• Hear an update on the southeastern Wyoming ambulance service.
• Form a committee to address surgical care in the hospital according to a nine-part evaluation system instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Work continues on the proposed budget for Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
Earlier this month, members of the hospital’s finance committee met to coordinate requests from the hospital department managers. The committee plans to present its budget recommendations to the hospital board at its 5:15 p.m. meeting Tuesday, March 25 in the hospital board room.
The meeting is open to the public.
The committee has also prepared a presentation for the Carbon County commissioners, designed to draw attention to its budget needs and request funding from the county.
The budget should be approved by late May.
Also at the meeting, hospital board members are expected to:
• Hear an update from the Carbon County Council of Governments concerning the proposed specific purpose tax.
• Discuss progress on the rural health care improvements pilot project. Last week, officials met with representatives from SafeTech Solutions, a company contracted to evaluate emergency medical services in the county.
• Make a decision on the employee health insurance plan, after considering the possibilities and hospital staff feedback.
• Hear an update on the southeastern Wyoming ambulance service.
• Form a committee to address surgical care in the hospital according to a nine-part evaluation system instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Schools partner for grant
Front pager...
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
A $215,000 grant is expected to help enhance the math program in schools in Carbon County School District 2.
Prior to applying for the Math and Science Partnership grant, District 2 Superintendent Bob Gates appealed to University of Wyoming’s science and math learning center for help with staff training to improve student math scores. The collaboration resulted in the federal grant and the inclusion of Carbon County School District 1 in the program. The proposed plan is designed to improve long-term student performance in math for students in every grade.
The program targets high-need school districts where at least 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches or where the school didn’t make adequate yearly progress in math in 2007.
At Monday’s District 2 School Board meeting, board members heard from Robert Mayes, director of the UW science and math learning center. He plans to serve as a resource for the secondary education portion of the project, along with colleagues Michelle and Scott Chamberlin and Linda Hutchison.
“We’ve been diagnosing areas in District 2 where students are challenged and we’ve been identifying areas of need from the PAWS data and teacher data,” Mayes said. “Then we’ll develop units to teach in the classroom through collaborative partnership.”
UW’s work with District 1 officials should start this summer, following the same format.
The goal is to get teachers to think about how they teach the areas that are problematic.
In a truly collaborative effort, the two county districts will also partner with Math Recovery, an Australia-based teacher education program, to develop the elementary education staff. Representatives from the Math Recovery council plan to do on-site teacher training.
The program could mean changes to the schools’ curriculums, “depending on what the teachers find,” grant writer Cathy McAtee said. Otherwise, teachers may simply modify their delivery.
“Hopefully, the students will continue to grow in their love of math and begin applying it to real-world situations,” she said.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
A $215,000 grant is expected to help enhance the math program in schools in Carbon County School District 2.
Prior to applying for the Math and Science Partnership grant, District 2 Superintendent Bob Gates appealed to University of Wyoming’s science and math learning center for help with staff training to improve student math scores. The collaboration resulted in the federal grant and the inclusion of Carbon County School District 1 in the program. The proposed plan is designed to improve long-term student performance in math for students in every grade.
The program targets high-need school districts where at least 40 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches or where the school didn’t make adequate yearly progress in math in 2007.
At Monday’s District 2 School Board meeting, board members heard from Robert Mayes, director of the UW science and math learning center. He plans to serve as a resource for the secondary education portion of the project, along with colleagues Michelle and Scott Chamberlin and Linda Hutchison.
“We’ve been diagnosing areas in District 2 where students are challenged and we’ve been identifying areas of need from the PAWS data and teacher data,” Mayes said. “Then we’ll develop units to teach in the classroom through collaborative partnership.”
UW’s work with District 1 officials should start this summer, following the same format.
The goal is to get teachers to think about how they teach the areas that are problematic.
In a truly collaborative effort, the two county districts will also partner with Math Recovery, an Australia-based teacher education program, to develop the elementary education staff. Representatives from the Math Recovery council plan to do on-site teacher training.
The program could mean changes to the schools’ curriculums, “depending on what the teachers find,” grant writer Cathy McAtee said. Otherwise, teachers may simply modify their delivery.
“Hopefully, the students will continue to grow in their love of math and begin applying it to real-world situations,” she said.
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