2 iliil .1
June 17, 1996
SMOKE SIGNALS
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
I am thinking seriously about retiring in
a year or two. I am now covered by a Kai
ser health plan. I believe for a monthly pay
ment I can keep Kaiser. Would it be pos
sible for the Health Plan that the Tribe is
proposing to include us and keep our Kai
ser coverage?
Nothing has really been mentioned on just
how, who, or what the Tribe has in mind.
I am sure I am not the only one who would
like to know and also if our spouses would
be included in this plan. Are we voting on
our options, or will the Council do this?
Johanne Dancing Cloud McCorry
Dear Editor:
I would like to bring attention to an inci
dent that occurred recently at the tribal
offices involving my tribal member
daughter.
As my daughter and a friend sat outside
of the tribal offices in Grand Ronde, they
were cursed at by a tribal member woman
who called them white kids and to get off
tribal property, basically that they did not
belong there.
It is such a shame after all our people have
been through in recent years that we still
have to suffer such prejudice from our own
tribal members.
Personally, if certain people choose to
have this much hatred in their hearts, that is
their business, but when that hatred is in
flicted upon my children, it becomes my
business.
Regardless of the color of my children's
skin, I am proud to say that they are and
always will be part of this tribe and of fu
ture generations to come.
Thank you,
Dcbby Childcrs
ELECTION DATE: September 7,
1996 at the Tribal Community
Center. Absentee Ballots will be
mailed out July 1st. If you have
recently moved please make sure
the Enrollment Office has your
current address. You may also
register to vote through the Tribal
Enrollment Office.
Is your mailing
address correct?
It is very important to us that your mail
ing address is correct, even if you are re
ceiving your Smoke Signals. It has been
brought to our attention that there are many
addresses that are incorrect with the postal
service, so please verify yours. You may
call Kim Mueller at 879-2264 or 1-800-422-0232
at the Smoke Signals office.
To the Editor:
I am a senior member of the Confeder
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde. My maiden
name was Norma Lafferty. I was born and
raised and went to school in Grand Ronde.
I am now 70 years old, definitely a tribal
Elder, my husband is 76 but not a Native
American. I have only asked for help one
time and that was to get moved up here so
I could get medical help. This was accom
plished through the help of a very fine
gentleman by the name of Lonnie Leno.
Now I need help once again and this time
I have been turned down flat. My husband
has just returned home from the V.A. hos
pital where he had his second full knee re
placement and is housebound. I am dia
betic and have had major surgery for can
cer. There are certain things I need. Some
are very personal, and I have to pay for them
out of my own pocket. I guess the excuse
is lack of funds. One man I was referred to
told me to get a job, then said I should go to
McMinnville to the Salvation Army and beg
for help.
This is an attempt to rob me of my dig
nity and pride. In the face of all this, you
can imagine my surprise to read in the Sa
lem newspaper about how the Tribe is go
ing to fund a Salem charity in the sum of
almost $200,000. I say charity belongs at
home.
Norma L. Lee
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Tribe has been talking with the Boys
and Girls Club of Salem about setting up a
facility for tribal youth in Grand Ronde.
This would not be funding a Salem charity,
but working together to provide a service
to tribal members.
You're Invited!
All tribal members are invited to join
in the grand opening celebration for Leg
ends Steakhouse and Lounge, which will
be held on Saturday, June 29. The ribbon-cutting
will be held at 10 a.m., and
the dining room will be open from 1 1 a.m.
to 3 p.m., where tribal members will be
able to enjoy some of the good food the
restaurant will offer, before it opens to the
general public.
Rodeo planned
We wish to announce that plans are un
derway for a rodeo at Grand Ronde. The
site will be the Grand Ronde Pow-wow
grounds the 4th weekend in August (the
weekend after our big Pow-wow).
We have special volunteers but we need
more. If you know of someone who is avail
able and willing to serve on a committee,
please call Susan Winters at 879-3704 or
Ed Larsen at 879-5360 or 879-2301. We
need people for ticket sales, advertising,
parking, clean-up, stock pens, and some
strong arms and backs to set up bleachers.
This will be an 8-event rodeo including:
bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronco
riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, women
barrel riding, team roping, and wild horse
riding. We will keep you updated through
Smoke Signals.
Cemetery notice
Please pickup any artificial flowers or
belongings that you would like to keep. It
would be greatly appreciated to pickup
these items by July 1.
Craft class notice
Class will be held on Tuesday, June 18.
No class on June 25 and July 2. They will
resume on schedule Tuesday, July 9.
The Band-Aid Brief: Bee Stings
By Dr. Glenn Gcrritz
Bee stings cause more deaths in our
country than snake bites.
Bee stings in most people cause a
little local pain and swelling. An ice
pack and over-the-counter anti
histimine is all that is needed. Some
people have large local reactions that
are not life-threatening, but may re
quire a visit to the clinic for a few days
of cortisone treatment.
A life-threatening reaction to stings
usually occur within seconds to min
utes of the sting.
People having life-threatening
allergic reactions to bee venoms will
usually experience hives, afflicted
breathing, wheezing, a drop in blood
pressure, and even coma. These people
who are allergic, need to carry adrena
line or epinephrine to inject themselves
with before heading to the clinic or
nearest emergency room.
The bee family includes honey bees,
yellow jackets, wasps, and hornets. The
honey bee is the only bee that leaves
its stinger in the skin. The above bee
venoms can be used for allergy skin
testing, and then some of these high
risk people can receive a monthly al
lergy shot of venom to desensitize
themselves to life-threatening reac
tions. Allergy shots allow the body to
build up blocking antibodies which will
then reduce their severe reaction to the
bee venom.
There is a type of killer bee coming
our way from Brazil which are not more
venomous, but they sting unprovoked.
Casino still hiring...
Ap- Although the Casino has been
fSft open and operating since Oc
jtj!SJl tober, the hiring process is not
complete. We continue to recruit and hire
large numbers of qualified individuals to fill
open positions at the Casino.
Positions are open as a result of our con
tinued growth. In May, over 125 positions
were created and filled to staff Legends, the
new steakhouse and lounge. We also have
about 20 new positions in various depart
ments, including Video Lottery Terminals
and Food & Beverage, that were created to
maintain the excellent customer service we
provide to every guest at Spirit Mountain
Casino. Growth within the Casino has cre
ated more new positions that internal can
didates are filling. As internal candidates
fill new positions, existing positions are
being vacated, leaving more open positions
to be filled. Finally, growth has resulted in
higher turnover. Voluntary and involun
tary terminations are resulting in more open
positions. Today, we have approximately
25 new and pre-existing positions open.
Although we continually have positions
open, we have seen our flow of applicants
slow down. We would like to encourage
individuals, tribal and non-tribal, who are
interested in working at the Casino to stop
by the Human Resources Department,
28840 SW Salmon River Hwy, Grand
Ronde, to begin the application process.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS
ACTUALLY QUITE SIMPLE:
Stop by Human Resources
and review the Current Job
Openings list and job descriptions
to determine which position to
apply for. Or call our job infor
mation hotline at (800) 760-7977,
ext. 3744.
Complete Spirit Mountain
Casino Application for Employment.
Meet with Human Re
sources Department Team
Member to discuss available po
sitions and individual qualifica
tions. Qualified individuals meet
with department representa
tives to discuss whether a match
exists between what the specific
department needs and what the in
dividual needs.
. If a match exists, the appli
cant is hired. If a match does
not exist, Human Resources Team
Members continue to try to match
the individual with an open posi
tion. If you have questions or concerns about
this process, or any of the open positions,
please do not hesitate to contact Diana Ash
at ext. 3836, or Mary Brooks at ext. 3818,
the Staffing Specialists at Human Re
sources, (503) 879-3730 or (800) 760-7977.