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Tribe honors 116
graduates during
ceremony — pg. 7
JULY 1, 2017
Seven vying for
Tribal Council
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
or the first time in 21 years,
Tribal voters will not be able
to check off Reynold L. Leno’s
name when they vote for Tribal
Council.
The current Tribal Council chair-
man announced on May 31 that
he would not seek an eighth con-
secutive three-year term, ending
a record 21 years of service come
September.
Incumbents Chris Mercier and
Tonya Gleason-Shepek, however,
are seeking re-election.
Mercier, who was nominated by
Tribal Council member Brenda
Tuomi, will be seeking his fifth
term on Tribal Council while Glea-
son-Shepek, who was nominated by
Laura Gleason, will be seeking her
second consecutive term on Tribal
Council.
Tribal Council nominations oc-
curred on Sunday, June 25, in the
Tribal Community Center.
Challengers will include Tribal
Youth Prevention Supervisor Lisa
Leno, who received 554 votes in
2016 (three short of being elect-
ed), and Spirit Mountain Casino
Internal Auditor Michael Langley,
who ran for Tribal Council for the
first time in 2016 and received 434
votes.
Langley was nominated by Trib-
al Council Vice Chair Cheryle A.
Kennedy and Leno was nominated
by former Tribal Council member
Ed Larsen.
Other challengers include long-
time Tribal Council Chairman
Mark Mercier, who was nominated
by Travis Stewart; former Tribal
F
See TRIBAL COUNCIL
continued on page 6
Smoke Signals file photo
Tribal Royalty participates in grand entry during the Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow at Uyxat
Powwow Grounds last July. This year’s Veterans Powwow runs from Friday, July 7, through Sunday, July 9.
Veterans’ weekend arrives
Summit, powwow continue week of patriotic events
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
wo days after the most
patriotic holiday of the
year – the Fourth of July/
Independence Day – a weekend
of activities in Grand Ronde will
seek to help and honor those
who displayed their patriotism
by serving in the U.S. military.
The fifth annual Veterans
Summit will occupy Uyxat Pow-
wow Grounds off Hebo Road be-
ginning at 1 p.m. Thursday and
T
resume at 9 a.m. Friday, July 6-7,
and segue into the Marcellus Nor-
west Memorial Veterans Powwow
at 7 p.m. Friday with the first of
four grand entries.
The Veterans Powwow contin-
ues throughout the weekend with
grand entries at 1 and 7 p.m. Sat-
urday, July 8, and 1 p.m. Sunday,
July 9.
The Veterans Summit will be-
gin under the powwow grounds
arbor with welcoming remarks
from Tribal Council Chairman
and Marine Corps veteran Reyn
Leno, Oregon Department of
Veterans’ Affairs Director Cam-
eron Smith, Portland Veterans
Affairs Health Care System
Director Michael Fisher and
Terry Bentley (Karuk), Western
Region Tribal Government Re-
lations specialist with the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Thursday afternoon sessions
See VETERANS
continued on page 11
Community Fund surpasses $74 million mark in giving
McMinnville School District
teacher David Larson talks about
the district’s Robotics League
during Spirit Mountain Community
Fund’s spring check presentation
held in the Governance Center
Atrium on Wednesday, June 14. In
the background are Community
Fund Board of Trustees Chairman
Sho Dozono, left, and Community
Fund Director Mychal Cherry. The
league received a $25,000 grant
during the event.
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
ith 33 grants totaling $671,500 distributed on
Wednesday, June 14, Spirit Mountain Com-
munity Fund surpassed the $74 million mark
in charitable giving since it was formed 20 years ago.
In those two decades, the Tribe’s philanthropic arm
has distributed 2,474 grants funded by 6 percent of
proceeds from Spirit Mountain Casino.
Community Fund Director Mychal Cherry oversaw
her second quarterly check distribution in the Gover-
W
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
See COMMUNITY FUND
continued on page 9