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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1997)
2 1 ,: 7 1 January 6, 1997 I HUU(DQ6 I SMOKE SIGNALS To our Editor, The Confederated Tribes of Grand Rondc are supportive of those who need help with food, clothing, shelter. We have a General Assistance program which is dedicated to helping those in need. It does require in take information and determination of need before funds are paid. There is a vocational rehabilitation program to assist tribal mem bers who need help getting a job due to dis abilities. There are job programs and edu cational programs to assist tribal members in obtaining job skills or updating job skills to enable tribal members to become employ able. There is a small business development program to assist tribal members who wish to become business owners. There is an education department to assist tribal mem bers with educational pursuits including obtaining college degrees, diplomas, or cer tificates. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde care for tribal members and their families with health care, dental care, alcohol and drug recovery programs, and child protec tion. We have a tribal court, natural re sources, hunting tags, salmon distribution, and gathering of plant materials. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde extend welcome to elders and their spouses for free meals at the Community Center on Tuesday tnrough Thursday each week. All other people who wish to eat are welcome to come, but it will cost $3 for the meal. On special occasions the Tribe has dinners for the tribal members to come together to en joy the food, visiting, and honoring. The Tribe sponsors pow-wows, which are a wel come part of our community. The Tribe sponsors the Spiritual Encampment annually and meals are served. At no time are these meals considered a hand out. They are given in the spirit of the Tribe and we participate to renew our strength and bonding.The Spirit Mountain Casino employs many tribal members, most of whom are not in "cushy" jobs, but work as anyone employed at the casino works. The meals are part of the employment at the casino and not a hand out. All casino employees get one free meal per shift, not just tribal members working at the casino. Many restaurants give em ployees meals as part of the workday. This is not an unusual employees' job incentive. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Spirit Mountain Casino have given money to many charities as has been noted in issues of Smoke Signals. Not only tribal members benefit from our business, since charities are for people of all walks of life. The Tribal Council holds open weekly meetings and monthly General Council meetings, where all people are invited to speak, listen, participate. We are proud of our ability to help ourselves. We also have programs to assist everyone's identified needs. Sincerely, Claudctte Parazoo Grand Rondc Tillicum 2923 To the Editor: The Smoke Signals publication means a lot to me. That is what I am anxious to see in my mailbox. As I looked through the Smoke Signals of December 2, 1996, 1 was amused to see the picture captioned "Yes, Kids Grow Up." I grabbed the paper and ran to co-workers to share that picture. So, I have enjoyed sharing, and will, with many associates I know such as our Yaqui rela tives, dialysis workers, and others. The progress our Tribe is making on all sides is impressive. That is what I'm proud to talk about wherever I go. Thank you for all your prayers toward the health of David and what I've been through. I still maintain a full life being a first grade teacher, working on student of the month, honor roll, and awards assem blies. Co-workers, community people, and others continue to offer us emotional sup port. Again, I say, thank you. Connie (Mercier) Lopez Roll 532 A big thank you... Our program has had a very productive year and for this reason, the Adult Educa tion Program would like to thank the fol lowing for their advice and support: the Education Committee, the Cultural and Heritage Committee, TFAP, Tribal Voca tional Rehabilitation, JOBS, Wellness, Small Business, and Human Resources. All of these programs have taken positive steps toward the implementation, support and re ferral of clients into our current programs. While I am on the subject, I must also thank the Smoke Signals, Accounting, and the Policy and Planning staff for their support and patience. I am also grateful to work with the Education Department staff as I believe they are committed to developing programs which serve the educational needs of tribal members. I would also like to thank the people that 1 serve in my programs. As a GED instruc tor, I have been privileged to work with some incredible people who continually show me what courage and persistence is. One of the highs of my job is to see people reach their goals. As an Adult Education Coordinator, I enjoy talking with people on the phones and meeting them in person. As our program expands to include more tribal community classes, I look forward to meeting and serving more of our tribal members in a wider variety of ways. I en courage people to contact our program and let us know how we can better serve you. Finally, I would like to express my ap preciation to Tribal Council without which most of these services would not be avail able. It is their vision, support, and faith that has allowed our programs to expand and succeed. Thank You, Gayla Tulcnsru Adult Education Coordinator Dear Friends, What a joy it is to see pictures and read articles about the Merciers, the Lenos and many of the students I had while teaching in Grand Ronde. I am especially happy to read about any of the children or grandchil dren going on to college. That has always been so very important to me. I have so many wonderful memories of "my children" while I was teaching in Grand Ronde. You were all very special to me and I am happy to read articles about any of you. I would like to hear news of any of my group the Hudsons, the Riggs, and many more. Best wishes, your long ago teacher, MissSchaad (now Mrs. L.J. Hightower) Box 95 EatonvilIe,WA 98328 Shop with a Sheriff The children chosen from Grand Ronde Elementary School to participate in the "Shop with a Sheriff' event would like to extend a very special thank you to the fol lowing people and organizations: Dallas Wal-Mart for allowing this spe cial shopping event to take place in their store, and for giving each child a gift . McDonald's in Dallas for breakfast. Grand Ronde Tribe for supplying the transportation. Polk County Sheriffs Office which in cluded volunteers from the State Police, SALT, Sheriffs Posse, and Deputies for Christmas Shopping one-on-one with the selected children. Service Integration Team for coming up with this idea and planning such a success ful event. Also, thank you to all the other volun teers not mentioned that were involved with the shopping, transportation, and wrapping. Thanks to Grand Ronde Elementary On December 1 1, the Tribal Pre-School, "Twah Sunchako," encountered problems with sewage back up. Because of the emer gency, children had to be removed from the premises in a very timely manner. Education staff contacted Ms. Kathy Sumners, Principal at Grand Ronde El ementary School, and our children were able to use a Kindergarten classroom for the remainder of the day. To Ms. Sumners and school staff, our THANKS for all your help! Spirit of Christmas For the past two months I have seen the true meaning of Christmas. Employees of the Human Service Division, Support Ser vices, have been spending lunch hours and after work hours to coordinate the food boxes and the Tree of Giving. They have sold raffle tickets, contacted staff for dona tions of money and gifts as well as collect ing the names of families in need. Many of the Tribal staff are involved as well through their donations of gifts for children. I would like to thank Tracy Biery, Peggy Biery, Keri Jones, Julie Little, Penny DeLoe, Mary Brickell, Vivian DeMary, and Teri Holsclaw for all of their dedication and work in this event. The "Tiny Tot Visit With Santa" and the Tribal Christmas Party were a great success this year. The "Tiny Tot Visit With Santa" is sponsored by the Human Service Divi sion, and the Tribal Christmas Party is spon sored by Tribal Council. There were ap proximately 650 participants at these events, with 175 being children. The "Tiny Tot Visit With Santa" activity held on Friday, December 13 included dis plays by the Tribal Family Action Program, Contract Health Services, Tribal Natural Re sources, Tribal Education Department, Tribal Dental Department, Tribal Housing Department, Wellness and Prevention Pro gram, Medical Clinic with Marcie Garret from Chemawa filling in at the table, Gerry Rainingbird from the Northwest Portland Indian Health Board, Mike Rush and Cin der from the Marion County Fire Depart ment, and special Tribal Elder volunteer Dorothy Lawe. In addition, Saturday's volunteers in cluded Mike Little, Candy Little, Wayne Garrison, Daniel Garrison, Grand Ronde Royalty: Emma Leno, Diana Robertson, Brandi Little, and Nikki Norwest. A special "Thank You" to all of you who make this a wonderful time of the year. Bonnie Tom, Wellness Coordinator EDITOR'S NOTE: In the December 1 6 issue of Smoke Signals we ran a feature story on tribal member CANDY ROBERTSON and her position within the Player Services department of the Casino. In that story we mistakenly referred to her position as Bus Coordinator as a part of the Guest Services de partment. Guest Services and Player Services are two separate de partments within the organizational structure of Spirit Mountain Casino. We regret the error. Editorial Policy: All letters must be received at the newspaper office with author's signature in order to be considered for publication. Smoke Signals reserves the right to edit any letter for clarity and length, and to refuse publication of any letter or any part of a letter that may contain libelous statements or personal attacks. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Smoke Signals, tribal employees, or Tribal Council.
