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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1995)
X g8 J JANELL HALLER V flL : Hello! My name is Janell Haller, I am a candidate for this year's Tribal Council election. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly tell you a little about myself and my family. I am a descendant of the Hudsons (Abe and Maude), who are my great-grandparents, and Dewalt and Arvella Houck who are my grandparents. My parents, Pete and Val Grout, live in Tillamook. 1 have been married seventeen years to a wonderful man who works as a Water Treatment Opera tor for the City of Sheridan. We have two children, Jeremy is a JOYCE BEAN KIRK Another year has passed and progress for the Tribe is moving rap idly. I am running for Tribal Coun cil again this year on the same plat form as I did last year, that of hon esty, integrity, and accountability. Thanks to all of you who supported me last year, and I will continue to hold to my same convictions. My name is Joyce Kirk, daughter of Fremond Bean, granddaughter of Margaret Menard, great-granddaughter of Joseph Sangretta. I grew up in Grand Ronde and Siletz. As a teenager, I spent several years in a Catholic boarding school. I have always felt an inner pride at being Indian. I stand on convic tions that we can regain control of our destiny as a sovereign nation. This is vital to our people because sophomore at Willamina High School, and Valerie, a seventh grader at Willamina Middle School. For the last ten years I have worked in tribal administration. My experience with tribes began in 1 986, where I worked for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in Port An geles, Washington. I will always be thankful for the opportunities and vast experience I gained by working with an administration who recognized and trusted my abilities. Within the four years I worked for Lower Elwha, I learned all aspects of fund accounting and Federal Contracting and Compli ance. I was involved in six success ful audits during my time there. In 1989, my family and I decided it was time to move home. I de cided that with my experience in such a specialized field, I could be useful to my own tribe. I worked in Tribal Accounting for a short time, then 1 moved to the Contracts and Grants Specialist position. Re cently, I was promoted to Budget Compliance Analyst. For the last ten years, I have had the opportunity to work closely with federal government agencies. I have been successful in setting up of the ever-changing policies with the federal government. I attend governmental meetings, and have learned how federal government decisions will be impacting tribes. We need to be very cautious as a tribe, with all the down-sizing and budget cuts happening. Our first priority is the establish ment of a self-sustaining economic base, through the development of diversified business enterprises, ex ploration and expansion of existing enterprises, and maximizing the use of resources. A self-controlled tribal economy is vital in order to ensure the spiri tual, social, and physical needs of tribal members can be met. The es tablishment of Indian owned casi nos is presently providing many In dian tribes with opportunities and dollars needed to provide badly needed services. I have spent much of my career working for the Indian community, seeking opportunities for the bet terment of our people. In 1983 I served on the original Health Board, and was responsible for compiling the first Health Needs Assessment for the Tribe. I com pleted my college education in 1986, and went to work at Chemawa Indian School, working in the Intensive Residential Guid- and maintaining million-dollar federally-funded contracts. I have con tinued to work with the finance de partment in reconciliations for the annual audit. I have watched the growth of the Tribe, and have seen the added re sponsibilities of Tribal Council with the casino and other economic en terprises just around the corner. I feel Tribal Council would benefit from having a member with finan cial experience, and it is for this rea son that I have chosen to run for Tribal Council. I have no campaign promises, I can only look to the future of Grand Ronde and hope to see self-sufficiency in management of our tribal resources. We need to look at the budget cuts at the federal level for Indian tribes. It seems that our piece of the pie gets smaller and smaller each year, resulting in more com petitive bidding for federal dollars to provide needed services. For this reason, we need a carefully thought out, long-term investments that ad dress the service needs of all tribal members. My vision for the future is to see healthy, happy families with successful children to provide for the future of the Grand Ronde Tribe. ance Program for chemical depen dent andor abusive students. In 1988, I was hired by Chiloquin Medical Center in Klamath Falls. In 1991, 1 obtained a position with the Indian Health Service. In January 1992, the Klamath Tribe took over IHS under a 638 contract. I have been Executive Secretary for Kla math Tribal Health since 1991. Previously, I was employed by Weyerhauser Timber Company for seven years. I was the committee chairperson for International Wood workers of America, and spokesper son for the Union's grievance com mittee. I believe that my diverse background will be an asset to tribal members, as my knowledge and skills enable me to adapt to many different situations. I have the concerns of all our people in my heart. I am not run ning for Council to promote myself. I believe in being objective, and dealing with issues for the entire membership rather than personali ties. I would incorporate my skills and work ethic with traditional tribal values to effectively serve our people. I would sincerely appreci ate your support in the upcoming election. I can be contacted at 25325 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde. Please don't hesitate to write if you have questions. RANDALL BUTLER 11 Sssss. g ' 'K fir Hello tribal members. My name is Randall Butler and I am running for a position on Tribal Council. My grandparents were Gus and Mildred Leno. My parents are Lois Butler, a Grand Ronde tribal mem ber, and Alton Butler, a Siletz tribal ED LARSEN Tribal members: my name is Ed Larsen, and I would like to talk to you about our tribal election. Be fore you vote, you should get know your candidates. Find out how they stand on the issues. It is important to know where we stand on such critical issues as health, per capita, retirement plan, education, housing, etc. The Tribal Council has about twenty such issues on the table that need to be addressed in the next few months. They are all important. Make sure that we, the candidates, are committed to these tasks that lay ahead. They will take a lot of time and involvement. I will tell you now that I am ready for the chal lenge and commitment. Here are some of the projects I have already worked on: 1 . I helped expand the services for Grand Ronde water. 2. I worked on committee to pick the Gaming Commission members, and Director. 3. I was the point man for several land parcels purchased by the Tribe, including the Forestry site. 4. 1 lobbied for Senate Bill 61, the Bill that protects our burial sites. It passed. mmt" is , r - r I 1 Questions about the upcoming election? Call the Election Board! They receive phone calls every Tuesday and Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. at 879-5600. V (Please call 879-2381 on August 22 and 24.) y member. I am an ex-marine and a Vietnam veteran. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology from Western Or egon State College. The reason I am running for this position is I want to serve Grand Ronde tribal members by offering my experience and education. The question I ask of myself is: What is the most important compo nent to our Tribe? I feel the answer, which comes from my experience, is that we are all an important part of that component. I have often felt like I was on the outside looking in, unable to help or do anything for our Tribe. If elected to serve on the Council, I feel that I could serve my Tribe by listening to the people, and being their voice. 5. I continue to monitor those burial sites. 6. I was on the team that picked the consultants for the gaming venture (SMDC). Here are the groups and projects I am working on now: Laws and Ordinances, Land Ac quisition, Public Works Planning, Housing Advisory Board, Travel Plan for FAST, Advisory Board for Youth Center, Spirit Mountain De velopment Corporation Board, Grand Ronde Water Association Board, Yamhill County Action Plan Team, delegate for ATNI, alternate for NCAI, obtaining 30-acre huck leberry patch for Tribe. I participated in all the Critic Is sue Community Forums. The meet ings were set up by the Executive Officer and his staff in order to get input from tribal members who live a distance from Grand Ronde. They were held in Portland, Salem, Eu gene, and Grand Ronde in the eve nings. Although this made for a thirteen or fourteen hour day, I at tended all this year as well as last year. It is important for me to talk to people and I take the time to do so. I believe in doing what it takes to help my tribe. I recently received a letter from Yamhill County Commissioner Tom Bunn thanking the Tribal Council for their hospitality when he visited here. Part of the letter reads, "I really appreciate the hos pitality shown by Ed Larsen.. .Ed took approximately three hours of his time after hours to show us around and introduce us to various tribal officials. His actions spoke well of himself and Tribal Council." With this in mind, please believe me when I say I am committed to serving you. I thank you for your time, and I ask for your vote.
