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FROM: THE ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH NEWSPAPER

_http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16369911&BRD=1709&PAG=461&dept_id=6
8844&rfi=6_
(http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...id=68844&rfi=6)

State Reservation For Turning Stone Proposed


By DEANNA HORNYAK, Dispatch Staff Writer
03/24/2006



(http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFri...ewsid=16369911)


While Oneida Indian Nation has a 32-acre reservation, it was proposed
Thursday to establish a second reservation called the Oneida Nation Turning Stone
State Indian Reservation.


Assemblyman David Townsend, R-115, who introduced the legislation, said the
bill's focus is to create a new state Indian reservation on the behalf of the
Nation in the Town of Verona and protect the sovereignty of New York State.
"It is crucial for both the Oneida Indian Nation and the state of New York to
quickly resolve the dispute over the Turning Stone gaming operation," he
said in a statement released Thursday.
He said that the state and particularly Central New York "cannot afford to
lose the economic benefits" the Turning Stone Resort and Casino provides. "I am
introducing this piece of legislation so that we can come to a swift
compromise that benefits all parties involved," he said.
Specifically, according to Townsend, the legislation would take the three
parts of the casino - the bingo hall, the casino gaming floor and the casino
convention center - and put them on state reservation land. All other Nation
properties, such as the golf course, convenience stores, etc. would not be
placed on the reservation and be subject to state rules and regulations. "The
land on the reservation would be treated just like the land on their 32 acre
reservation," he said.
Townsend said that placing those three parts of the casino on state
reservation land would allow for the Nation's gaming operation to become legal. In
December 2005, the state's fourth appellate division denied a Nation motion to
appeal a June 2004 decision by acting state Supreme Court Justice James
McCarthy that declared the gaming compact formed between the Nation and the state
in 1993 to be illegal. Consequently, the decision said, Turning Stone is
operating illegally.
Townsend said in order for the Nation to operate a casino on the proposed
Turning Stone Indian Reservation, the Nation would have to sign a compact with
the state. "The issues of taxes, fees, etc. would be negotiated in the
governor's office," he said.
Townsend, who said he has been working on the idea since before the Bureau of
Indian Affair's public hearing held at the VVS high school in January, said
that "this proposal is far more preferable than any plan that would establish
a 'land trust' between the Nation and the state." Under a land trust,
according to Townsend, the state would be able to control the expansion of Turning
Stone's gaming.
"By introducing this legislation, I am offering a proposal that would keep
thousands of jobs right here in Central New York, all while allowing Turning
Stone to grow and create jobs," he said in a statement.
"This is the only and best option to the Nation's land into trust
application," he said.
Spokesmen for the Nation could not be reached for comment.


©The Oneida Daily Dispatch 2006

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