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Rising animosity between two Douglas County commissioners and the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians has taken a new turn. The tribe has asked for copies of thousands of pages of documents detailing the activities of Commissioners Dan Van Slyke and Marilyn Kittelman.
At the same time, the tribe has accused Kittelman of making disparaging remarks about the tribe while dining with her husband over the summer at a Rice Hill restaurant. Kittelman has denied saying anything negative about the tribe.
Last month, Steven K. Blackhurst, an attorney with Ater Wynne, a Portland firm representing the tribe, asked the county to supply him with copies of e-mail messages from the two commissioners, along with appointment books, calendars, telephone logs and cellular phone records.
The request was filed under the Oregon Public Records Law, which holds that most documents produced in the course of business by a government agency are subject to public review. Blackhurst also asked for agendas of meetings of the Board of Commissioners and the Douglas County Planning Commission since April 1, 2004, along with copies of county policies and employee handbooks.
A separate request to County Clerk Barbara Nielsen asked for election contribution and expenditure reports for the separate 2004 races involving Kittelman and Commissioner Doug Robertson, along with the 2002 race won by Van Slyke.
Blackhurst asked for the same records for the 2004 clerk’s race won by Nielsen. She defeated David Jaques, who served as Van Slyke’s campaign manager and also assisted Kittelman in her campaign.
Jaques, the chairman of the Douglas County Planning Commission, served with Kittelman on the commission until she became commissioner in January.
Tribal officials have accused Van Slyke and Kittelman of making racist remarks against them. Rancor between the two commissioners and the tribe grew over the commissioners’ opposition to the tribe’s request to have land in downtown Roseburg planned to house a convention center placed in tribal trust.
The two commissioners believe the loss of property taxes on the land outweigh the benefits of a convention center, even though both said they support the convention center project.
Over the past couple of months, the commissioners and tribal officials have criticized each other during the public comment period of the commissioners’ weekly meeting. At one meeting, Wayne Shammel, the tribe’s attorney, threatened to sue the county over actions by the commissioners.
That’s what fueled the records request, Shammel said.
“Why wouldn’t we protect ourselves?” he asked.
Shammel said the tribe is collecting information that could be used in a lawsuit, although he stopped short of saying a court action would be filed.
The allegations made against Kittelman stemmed from an alleged incident at the Homestead Restaurant in Rice Hill on Aug. 27.
A witness reported seeing Kittelman enter the restaurant,and, in response to a question from a customer leaving the restaurant, raise her arms and simulate pumping a shotgun and firing it. After firing the nonexistent gun, Kittelman allegedly uttered “I’m fighting Indians. Anyone want to join me?”
The allegation was contained in a sworn affidavit signed Tuesday by the witness, whose identity The News-Review agreed not to reveal.
The affidavit provided by the tribe was prepared by the Ater Wynne law firm, the same one that submitted the public records request.
The affidavit claimed someone else asked Kittelman whether her actions might offend Native Americans. The witness said Kittelman replied by saying she had “nothing against Indians but they are stealing our land.”
Later, Kittelman spoke to someone on her cell phone and allegedly told the caller she would not allow the tribe to take over Roseburg, and that the county stood to lose millions of dollars if the Cow Creeks were allowed to continue to take land off the property tax rolls and put it into tribal trust, the witness said.
The witness said Kittelman also said “It’s time to stop Indian growth. I’m the cowgirl to do it.”
Kittelman on Wednesday denied making any of the remarks attributed to her.
“This is nothing but character assassination against me,” she said.
Kittelman said she had never harbored such thoughts nor ever said anything like that. She also said she has never referred to herself as a “cowgirl.” She denied calling tribal members a derogatory term, an allegation contained in the six-page affidavit.
Kittelman said she may utter a swear word once in a while but that as a Christian she tries not to do that often and tries to refrain from doing so in public. She said she never called tribal members names nor used the word alleged in the affidavit.
As for the alleged gun incident, Kittelman said she has never fired a shotgun and wouldn’t know where to put her hands to simulate firing such a weapon.
“I don’t know who made those allegations, but those things didn’t happen,” Kittelman said.
In his Sept. 9 request to the county for public records, Blackhurst did not reveal his client. The tribe only admitted it was behind the request Tuesday after The News-Review sent them a copy of an e-mail from Blackhurst to Paul Meyer, the county attorney. The e-mail included an attachment that in the title of the document mentioned the tribe.
Meyer last month sent Blackhurst a letter asking if there were specific items he was looking for, so that the request could be narrowed. At the time, Meyer quoted an estimated cost of $850,000 for staff time and the photocopying costs to search for the records, compile them and make copies.
In a Sept. 23 letter to Meyer, Blackhurst said he was mostly interested in e-mails from Kittelman and Van Slyke.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
At the same time, the tribe has accused Kittelman of making disparaging remarks about the tribe while dining with her husband over the summer at a Rice Hill restaurant. Kittelman has denied saying anything negative about the tribe.
Last month, Steven K. Blackhurst, an attorney with Ater Wynne, a Portland firm representing the tribe, asked the county to supply him with copies of e-mail messages from the two commissioners, along with appointment books, calendars, telephone logs and cellular phone records.
The request was filed under the Oregon Public Records Law, which holds that most documents produced in the course of business by a government agency are subject to public review. Blackhurst also asked for agendas of meetings of the Board of Commissioners and the Douglas County Planning Commission since April 1, 2004, along with copies of county policies and employee handbooks.
A separate request to County Clerk Barbara Nielsen asked for election contribution and expenditure reports for the separate 2004 races involving Kittelman and Commissioner Doug Robertson, along with the 2002 race won by Van Slyke.
Blackhurst asked for the same records for the 2004 clerk’s race won by Nielsen. She defeated David Jaques, who served as Van Slyke’s campaign manager and also assisted Kittelman in her campaign.
Jaques, the chairman of the Douglas County Planning Commission, served with Kittelman on the commission until she became commissioner in January.
Tribal officials have accused Van Slyke and Kittelman of making racist remarks against them. Rancor between the two commissioners and the tribe grew over the commissioners’ opposition to the tribe’s request to have land in downtown Roseburg planned to house a convention center placed in tribal trust.
The two commissioners believe the loss of property taxes on the land outweigh the benefits of a convention center, even though both said they support the convention center project.
Over the past couple of months, the commissioners and tribal officials have criticized each other during the public comment period of the commissioners’ weekly meeting. At one meeting, Wayne Shammel, the tribe’s attorney, threatened to sue the county over actions by the commissioners.
That’s what fueled the records request, Shammel said.
“Why wouldn’t we protect ourselves?” he asked.
Shammel said the tribe is collecting information that could be used in a lawsuit, although he stopped short of saying a court action would be filed.
The allegations made against Kittelman stemmed from an alleged incident at the Homestead Restaurant in Rice Hill on Aug. 27.
A witness reported seeing Kittelman enter the restaurant,and, in response to a question from a customer leaving the restaurant, raise her arms and simulate pumping a shotgun and firing it. After firing the nonexistent gun, Kittelman allegedly uttered “I’m fighting Indians. Anyone want to join me?”
The allegation was contained in a sworn affidavit signed Tuesday by the witness, whose identity The News-Review agreed not to reveal.
The affidavit provided by the tribe was prepared by the Ater Wynne law firm, the same one that submitted the public records request.
The affidavit claimed someone else asked Kittelman whether her actions might offend Native Americans. The witness said Kittelman replied by saying she had “nothing against Indians but they are stealing our land.”
Later, Kittelman spoke to someone on her cell phone and allegedly told the caller she would not allow the tribe to take over Roseburg, and that the county stood to lose millions of dollars if the Cow Creeks were allowed to continue to take land off the property tax rolls and put it into tribal trust, the witness said.
The witness said Kittelman also said “It’s time to stop Indian growth. I’m the cowgirl to do it.”
Kittelman on Wednesday denied making any of the remarks attributed to her.
“This is nothing but character assassination against me,” she said.
Kittelman said she had never harbored such thoughts nor ever said anything like that. She also said she has never referred to herself as a “cowgirl.” She denied calling tribal members a derogatory term, an allegation contained in the six-page affidavit.
Kittelman said she may utter a swear word once in a while but that as a Christian she tries not to do that often and tries to refrain from doing so in public. She said she never called tribal members names nor used the word alleged in the affidavit.
As for the alleged gun incident, Kittelman said she has never fired a shotgun and wouldn’t know where to put her hands to simulate firing such a weapon.
“I don’t know who made those allegations, but those things didn’t happen,” Kittelman said.
In his Sept. 9 request to the county for public records, Blackhurst did not reveal his client. The tribe only admitted it was behind the request Tuesday after The News-Review sent them a copy of an e-mail from Blackhurst to Paul Meyer, the county attorney. The e-mail included an attachment that in the title of the document mentioned the tribe.
Meyer last month sent Blackhurst a letter asking if there were specific items he was looking for, so that the request could be narrowed. At the time, Meyer quoted an estimated cost of $850,000 for staff time and the photocopying costs to search for the records, compile them and make copies.
In a Sept. 23 letter to Meyer, Blackhurst said he was mostly interested in e-mails from Kittelman and Van Slyke.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
