OR. COLL.
E
7Q M liWll..ULHIIII Ull .1 I .llI.IMJIIBJll.lll..llll.lllllllll)lll.UIIIIIl.llll..li Illl. U. II II I. 1.1. .11 I .11. II llll .1, . .1 ,111 ...I ll I. till ... IUI. Illlll I.I I. I l.mi.LU I I I I I I II. I II .1 IIIIII.MUI IIII.H
b66 - - -- .i.iii mum ..: -- - - -
July 1996 -r-w
f 11 Ml III 111
ITU h
l V
Candidates discuss issues at
Forum despite meager turnout
rv
By Tracy Dugan
The Tribal Council
Candidate's Forum
was held on June
15 at the Grand Ronde
Grade School. The candi
dates who participated
were Mark Mercier, June
Sherer, Bob Leno, Joyce
DeHart Leon "Chip" Tom,
Val Grout, Andy Jenness,
Earl Floyd "Butch" La
Bonte, Dee Edwards,
Albert Jeffers, Reyn Leno,
Donna Casey, Patsy Pullin,
and Pam Warren.
Although only a few tribal members attended the forum,
the question and answer session lasted the full three hours.
The forum began with each candidate answering the ques
tion: Why do you feel you are qualified to serve on Tribal
Council? Each candidate gave a statement. Pam Warren
said that because she was serving on the Cultural Heritage
Board as chairperson,, and was planning to go to school
full-time in the fall, she respectfully withdrew her candi
dacy. (See article on page 3.) A question and answer ses
sion from the audience followed. Some of the topics in
cluded: Would you support putting a "Confederated Tribes of .
Grand Ronde" logo and sign in Spirit Mountain Casino to
promote pride of ownership among tribal members and to
let all visitors know that Spirit Mountain Casino is owned
by the Grand Ronde Tribe?
What would you do to ensure that any tribal member
wishing to work at the Casino was given that opportunity?
Do you support training lesser-qualified tribal members?
How would you improve communication to the gen
eral membership? How high of a priority do you place on
communication?
If you live far away or have a full-time job, how would
you adjust your time and commitments to put in the hours
1 ?5M:1
SfL J
tr
81 " - asm hi nil
Candidates Mark Mercier and Bob Leno expressed
their personal interests for the Tribe's future.
you need to serve on Tribal Council and fully understand
all of the issues?
Would you support printing Council members' voting
records in the Smoke Signals? Would you support putting
Tribal Council meeting minutes in the Smoke Signals?
Here are some highlights of the candidate's statements
about why they feel they are qualified:
DONNA CASEY: She has a strong desire to serve our
people. In addition to her interests in improving programs
for the Elders and youth, Donna said she "would like to see
the Tribe have its own longhouse in the community."
REYN LENO: Reyn was recently hired by the Tribe.
He knows what's happening in Tribal Council and with all
the committees because he attends every Council meeting,
and serves as a member of the Timber Committee. "I have
no more children at home and live close by. It would be
very easy for me to devote my time to Council."
VAL GROUT: Val said she has served on the Elder's
Committee and has been in charge of many local events,
like cooking breakfast and dinner at the Grand Ronde Pow
wow every year. She said that she understands the frustra
tions people outside of the area have." I want to help those
people living outside of the Six Counties to receive ben
efits they deserve."
LEON "CHIP" TOM: "I was elected three years ago,
and would like to continue to serve," he said. Chip said
Council hears a lot about the Six County Service Area.
People don't realize that was not something Tribal Council
set up. The Federal government set it up. "I want to help
expand our programs for these people, and finish some of
our projects."
BOB LENO: Bob said that he was part of the group of
tribal members that worked towards restoration, and he re
members the struggles involved in that process. "Through
Smoke Signals and surveys, we need to improve the flow
of communication to the members," he said.
ANDY JENNESS: Andy said that his blend of educa
tion, experience, and personality would be a useful, combi
nation for Tribal Council. He served on Council for three
continued on page 3
University oi Oregon Library
Received uii: 07 03-
3 Smoke signals
Head Start to relocate
By Dean Azule
The Education Division has received voiced
concerns and inquiries from families asking if
Head Start services are being discontinued.
This is not the case. The Tribal Education
Division is expanding Pre-School and Before
& After Child Care Services for the commu
nity and have opted to not renew the Facilities
Use Agreement which allowed the Yamhill
Community Action Program (YCAP), former
Head Start grantee, use of tribal property to pro
vide Head Start services over the last three years.
Because of these changes, Head Start services
will continue to be offered but relocated to
Willamina. Services will still continue to be
provided for Grand Ronde community children.
Services may take form of a "home-based" pro
gram or "center-based," for the 1996-1997
school year.
This is not a case of limiting services for chil
dren, but an effort of collaboration between the
Tribe and the Head Start Program of Yamhill
County. The Head Start Program of Yamhill
County is applying for it's own grantee status
and has agreed to work with the Tribe.
din
Both the Tribe and Head Start will col
laborate on the following:
Head Start and the Tribal Pre-School will
jointly identify, recruit, refer and place eligible
children in our respective programs;
Both programs will collaborate in providing
in services for program staff and parent train
ing as necessary;
As funds become available, both programs
agree to jointly pursue "collaboration grants"
at the State or Federal levels to further estab
lish a partnership between the Tribe and Yam
hill County Head Start;
Should funding become available through the
American Indian Programs Bureau for Head
Start, Yamhill County has agreed to work with
the Tribe in pursuit of additional resources.
Special efforts are being taken to expand Pre
School services to prepare pre-school aged chil
dren for kindergarten readiness and the program
will work closely with Willamina School Dis
trict and the Grand Ronde Elementary School
to enhance children's learning experiences.
For more information regarding the Tribal
Pre-School Program contact Lisa Leno at 879
2278, or Wendi Spencer at 879-2280, regard
ing program services. Also, Head Start Pro
gram and service information can be obtained
by contacting Mr. Michael Eichman at (503)
742-2000.