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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1994)
OR. COLL. E 78 .06 S66 October 1994 Read all about the Tribe's Strategic Plan, page 7. Please take time to All out the enclosed survey. Help plan for the Tribe's future! General Council Meeting Sunday, October 9 11:30 a.m. Tribal Community Center Meal Provided The 1995 Grand Ronde proposed budget, page 5. THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE GRAND RONDE COMMUNITY OF OREGON October 1994 Three new TribalCouncil members elected un4.vtjiijj.ty 01 ureqon LiDrai Received on: 10-06-94 Smoke signals h , XT...- , .,, , v -r - 1 ; I iV :JSy r 'r f ' - - Judge Bob Goodwin administers the Tribal Council oath of office to the new members. By Tracy Olson Three new Tribal Council candidates were sworn into office on Friday, September 16. The new members are: Bob Haller, Ed Pearsall, and Eugene LaBonte. Tribal Court Judge Bob Goodwin was present to administer the oath of office. The new members are all first time electees, except for Eugene LaBonte who has served on Council before. They say they will be busy in upcoming weeks learning their duties and familiarizing themselves with current tribal issues. The three would like to thank the tribal members who supported them and their ideas. Said Ed Pearsall, "I'm really interested in education, and hope to serve on that committee." Gene LaBonte has served on the Timber Committee for a long time, and hopes to continue to do so while on Council. "I have a strong interest in natural resources," he said. Bob Haller, the third electee, said, "I know being on Council is a learning process. I am concerned about everyone's needs." They all expressed a desire to work together with the rest of the Council to accomplish tribal goals and prepare for the future. Construction begins on tribal gaming facility By Frank King Major financing has been completed, and the Grand Ronde Tribe's gaming center is in the first stage of construction. "We should see real activity starting in mid-October," Bruce Thomas, director of the Spirit Mountain Development Corporation, said. "Staging and preparation is taking place now." The $21 million facility is scheduled for a grand opening in 1 995 by the end of August John Hancock Insurance Co. has approved an $18.5 million loan for the project. "Ours is the only Indian gaming project that has managed to obtain financing through a major commercial lender," Thomas said. "Other Indian gamingprojects have been financed through gaming companies that manage and operate the centers. We will be operating our own facility. It shows that a major financial lender has great confidence in our Tribes." The loan is secured through future earnings from the gaming center over the next five years. The five-year loan will provide money for all of the construction and operating expenses for the first year. Financing of the $2.5 million balance is being negotiated with other sources. "We are presently producing a job development handbook, and conducting an employment and needs analysis," Thomas said. After the first of the year, hiring of the management staff will begin. "That is so they can help with the hiring and training of essential staff members," Thomas said. Next spring will see middle managers employed, and the rest of the staff recruited in the summer of 1995. Thomas said that final approval on a traffic diversion plan is expected from the Oregon Department of Transportation by the time this edition of Smoke Signals goes to press. Agreements and approvals with all of the neighboring landowners have been negotiated. (Continued on page 2) Soon the Tribe will be running a Class III gaming facility, located on Highway 18.
