Day Three, Where's the Primary Story Citizen-Times?

Just had to note, three days since Patrick Lambert was the top vote getter in the tribe's primary election, and not a single word reported by the Citizen-Times. I should also note that two years ago when half the Tribal Council was replaced in an election, the paper had no coverage of it either.

More Fluff Conveniently Published Near Election Time

The Citizen-Times published this little gem as the primary elections for principal chief occur this coming Thursday. The article cites a UNC study that states that "Cherokee Casino raises incomes." There's the "duh!" factor. That in and of itself isn't what's so irritating about this article.
I will highlight what is so irritating:
* It's misleading. It makes it appear like Cherokee is somehow bucking economic trends while the rest of the area is struggling. That's not true. The casino itself hasn't exactly been on a hiring frenzy, and the consistent decline in per capita payments since 2007 is a clear indicator that all is not well there. Yes incomes have risen in the past 10 years, but the last four years will tell a different story.
* Michell Hicks, while he doesn't deserve blame for the decline in casino revenue, he certainly doesn't deserve credit for its success. Yet the article quotes him, and only him. There are four other candidates for his position and not a word from any of them is in the article. The result is a happy little puff piece published right at a time when non residents, who tend to be largely uninformed about tribal government, are likely to be in town, coincidentally right before election time.
* The tribe and casino revenue-funded Cherokee Preservation Foundation paid for this study along with Harrah's and AdvantageWest, a regional tourism promoter. That's right, tribal money was used to "study" this assertion that we all already knew to be true. That's like paying for a study to conclude that the sky is blue. It's another waste of tribal money, something for which the Hicks administration has become notorious.
Of course my greatest irritation is the Citizen-Times is capable of much better than this. Among the paper's ethical standards is that they'll be a voice for the voiceless. Right now the people of Cherokee have no voice. While it's understandable that some of them are fine with that, the people of Cherokee deserve better out of the "Voice of the Mountains."

Politics Invade Recognition of Students

Tribal politics in and of itself is bad enough. But it particularly leaves a vomitous taste in my mouth when children are dragged through the sludge that is tribal politics. My niece was ignored for recognition in the Tribal Council awards for students a few years ago while she was a student at Murphy Elementary School. She made straight A's. Of course at the time I assumed it was because she was daughter of a candidate who opposed Angie Kephart.
Now she's a student at Smokey Mountain Elementary School. Last year she won the Principal's Award, but when it came to Council again, no recognition. But Council saw fit to recognize a student in her class who didn't even pass the End of Grade test.
Maleaha Brings Plenty's father isn't an enrolled member, but she is. And she resides in Yellowhill. B. Ensley and David Wolfe, you've got to do better than this. Maleaha deserves better from her representatives.

Asheville Citizen-Times Does Piece on Chief's Election

I've been pretty hard on the Citizen-Times lately. I have friends who write for that publication, and I hope they don't think I'm picking on them, but frankly, that paper has really diminished into what is a spineless publication. Gone are the days of bold reporting of tribal news based on the model of "If your mama tells you she loves you, get a second opinion."
My criticism is based upon a desire that this paper:
1. Get back to reporting on Cherokee and the portion of North Carolina that is west of Waynesville on a regular basis. The paper's motto is "Voice of the Mountains." Be that voice again, particularly since the voice of the people in Cherokee has been silenced.
2. Hold those in power accountable. The Citizen-Times was a really ballsy publication under the direction of Virgil Smith and George Benge, with some credit given to Bob Gabordi as well. When it comes to reporting on the Eastern Band of Cherokee, please remember that. The tribe's "newspaper," and I use that term loosely, is not allowed to be a newspaper. I don't see letters criticizing those in power at all, but I see plenty of fluff designed to make the incumbents appear as though everything is wonderful under their leadership. Some of this fluff has made its way into the Citizen-Times.
That said, the piece written by Jon Ostendorff, who in the past has done some pretty hard hitting stuff, was fairly done, but I'd like to see more in-depth pieces, particularly in regards to how bad the economic situation in Cherokee really is, which Ostendorff did touch on.
I bring up the economy because Michell Hicks would like to pretend everything is just milk and honey there. For verification one only need to read this story, which appeared in the weekly Smoky Mountain News. Hicks' comment was "I’ve helped bring us through the worst economy we’ve ever seen, and the tribe is doing great." We're far from being through the worst economy. Tribal entities have put out press releases claiming that Cherokee is bucking economic trends, despite evidence from countless sources, even other tribal ones that state just the opposite. Tribal PR Coordinator Lynne Harlan wrote in the Citizen-Times, that in Cherokee people don't even realize there is a recession. Add to this the fact that Cherokee's tourist-based economy was in trouble during good economic times.
Someone (other than me) needs to call tribal government on its BS, and the Citizen-Times is just the paper to do it. First of all, they're a privately-owned publication. Second, they're a daily newspaper, and dailies don't exist in western North Carolina west of Asheville.
Come on Citizen-Times. Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee depend upon you.

The Manufactured Controversy Over Patrick Lambert's Salary

Some are making a huge deal over how much Patrick Lambert gets paid as director of the Tribal Gaming Commission. I don't know exactly how much he gets paid, and to me it isn't really an issue, not anymore than what Chief Hicks gets paid (and unlike Chief Hicks, the director of the Tribal Gaming Commission does not set his salary).
This is a whole lot to do about nothing, even manufacturing quotes from Lambert. (It's an old tactic of this administration.) To me it seems like a smoke screen in hopes that people won't focus on real issues, like Chief Hicks' lack of ethics, his irresponsible spending, his hiring of his unqualified friends and family members for positions for which they aren't even remotely qualified, along with his governing style that borders on racketeering.
Whatever Patrick Lambert is being paid, it pales in comparison to what the tribe is going to have to cough up when Chief Hicks is finally sent into retirement (which will hopefully be this year), and Chief Hicks set that up too.

Devastation in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee

The homeland of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, along with its trust lands in Cherokee and Graham counties largely escaped damage brought on by a devastating wave of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes Wednesday. Residents of north Alabama, north Georgia and east Tennessee were not so lucky. The tribe does have members residing in those three states, and it's not much of a stretch to say that they were impacted in some way.
The city of Tuscaloosa, Ala. was hit particularly hard. Having graduated from Auburn, I've always looked at the home of the University of Alabama with a certain animosity. However, that animosity begins and ends with sports. The residents of this town are hurting and need enormous assistance to rebuild.
While there are numerous ways to help, I'd like to point out one group that started close to my childhood home in Opelika, Ala. It's Toomers for Tuscaloosa (named for Toomers Corner in Auburn). While they haven't yet set up an fund for donations, they do have lots of information about places for donations. I strongly recommend you visit. I also challenge our current tribal leaders and candidates who are challenging them to donate to relief efforts. While it could possibly help out a tribal member impacted by these storms, it definitely will help out fellow human beings impacted by an unimaginable tragedy.

The Annual Report - Ignoring the Cesspool Next to the Rose Garden

I got my annual report in the mail, just like the other two adults in my house. My first reaction was how much does it cost to put this crap out? I know the printing industry pretty well. For newsprint, it costs about $1.00 to print a 16 page broadsheet paper. That's newsprint, which is considerably cheaper than the glossy, heavy weight, coated paper used in the spine-bound publication to selectively inform us about what's going on with our tribal government. Add to that the cost of mailing, which given the weight of these reports, added to the fact they were sealed in individual flat envelopes, and I guarantee you that's not cheap, and I somehow doubt that the media rate was used. That was mailed out to probably half of the tribe (the portion that one can assume is of voting age) so that's 7,000 copies printed and mailed.
The other question I have, which was the same question I had with just about every annual report tribal government mailed out, what are they not telling me? It's all just rays of sunshine with these reports, which amount to campaigning for Michell Hicks at the tribe's expense.
Of course there's no mention of how well the tribally built, financed and funded golf course is doing. There's bragging on the improvements to the Dora Reed building, but no mention of the DSS findings that have jeopardized the childcare center's license. There's no mention of Cherokee Bottled Water, which went under, and no mention of the Cherokee One Feather, which is every tribal members' newspaper, which under the direction of what is clearly incompetent leadership, is headed the same direction. And why has it been so long (more than 10 years) since the tribe publicly released the findings of its audits?
Whether the chief wants to acknowledge this or not, we're all stakeholders in this tribe. We deserve to know the truth and the whole truth, and I'd like to remind Michell Hicks, a half truth is the same thing as a half lie. The tribal members deserve better than this.