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Grand Ronde Deputy promoted
By Deputy Jeff VanLaancn
It is with mixed emotions
that I write this article for
Smoke Signals. On one hand
I am saddened to inform you
that I will soon be leaving the
Grand Ronde district. On the
other hand, I am happy to an
nounce that I have been pro
moted to the rank of Ser
geant. My new position re
quires me to leave the Grand
Ronde patrol district and substation. Soon
I will be working out of the main Polk
County Sheriffs Office, located in Dallas.
I wish to thank the community, the Tribe,
and the many individuals who have made
working in Grand Ronde such a great ex
perience. In the year and a half I have
served Grand Ronde, I have seen growth
and many positive changes in our commu
nity. I am proud to have been part of these
changes and a member of this community.
Although I will have new duties and respon
sibilities that will take up much of my time,
I hope to continue working with the Tribe
and the Grand Ronde community as much
as possible.
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L-ti ;
If you have recently moved or
plan on moving, let us know so
you won't miss a single issue of
your favorite newspaper. Smoke
Signals is available to anyone at
no cost. Just fill out this form
with your name and address, then
mail it back to Smoke Signals,
Attn: Kim Mueller, 9615 Grand
Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR
97347.
E-Mail us via Internet:
tracynewsmacnet.com
kimnewsmacnet.com
OLD ADDRESS:
NEW ADDRESS:
Deputy VanLaanen, center, with Coun
cil members Ed Larsen, (left) and Reyn
Leno at the Lazer Gun Demonstration.
Soon Deputy O'Brien and I will be intro
ducing you to the deputy that will be re
placing me. I am certain you will welcome
him or her as you have welcomed me. I
will make every effort to stay in touch with
all of you. Feel free to contact me at my
new location or call me at (503) 629-925 1.
Thank you again for making me a part of
this community, for all the friendships de
veloped, and for all the experiences we have
shared. I look forward to serving you from
my new role in the future.
Substance Abuse
and Gun Violence
Substance
abuse is closely
linked with gun
violence as it is with
many other social ills. Guns
and violence plague the illicit drug
market; alcohol and drugs are a
common component to suicides, homicides,
and domestic violence.
Many individuals in the fight against sub
stance abuse deal with issues of gun vio
lence prevention and public safety daily.
There is no dispute that gun violence has
become a major public health epidemic in
our country. Here are a few facts:
A gun takes the life of a child approxi
mately every two hours up to fifteen kids
a day.
Gunfire has taken the lives of over
800,000 Americans in the past 25 years.
Almost 40,000 lives were ended by gun vio
lence in 1994 alone.
Between 1975 and 1991, nearly 50,000
children were killed by firearms a total
equivalent to the number of American battle
casualties in the Vietnam War.
There was a 79 increase in the num
ber of 10-17 year olds who used firearms
to commit murder between 1980 and 1990.
One of every 33 U.S. high school stu
dents carried a handgun during one month
in 1991.
Reprinted from Oregon Together magazine
iiinj
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
How can a person attend one General
Council meeting and be able to make
statements against our most precious as
sets, our Elders. Our Elders are the rea
sons why we are where we are today, trib
ally and otherwise. Where would we be
without the hard work the Elders have
volunteered through the years? As I grew
up, I watched them working at our Pow
wow, baking for our fund-raisers, and
teaching our children.
They were here at termination, went
through the tough times. We owe much
to our Elders. They shouldn't be made
to feel ungrateful or a "greedy" few who
were here. Who did their fair share of
hard work toward us being restored? The
active tribal members our Elders. They
did fund-raisers to hire lawyers, fund-raisers
to support office space, telephones,
and travel for our Council members to
represent us in the restoration effort.
Our people are coming home! Every
day the tribal offices get phone calls from
tribal members who want to come home,
who ask about housing and job availabil
ity. Our people are coming from all di
rections, using the tribal programs until
they can get on their feet. I chose to live
away from home for many years and
knew that all we got was Direct Care from
another tribal clinic. Now, my children
and I, and my grandchildren are here at
home. We had to stay with family until
we got on our feet. And it has been worth
it., .to live here and be a part in our tribe's
success, to see our people once again
proud.
When the housing project started, the
meetings many attended, the priority of
the Tribal Council was for our Elders to
apply for housing first and to make it af
fordable. Some of our Elders live on very
little a month. They have earned many
times over the right to a little extra, as
they worked to get us where we are to
day. The Elders have volunteered their
sweat and time to get us recognized as a
tribe again. They deserve to have a little
joy and security in the little bit of time
they have left.
We have been taught from a very early
age to respect our Elders, and I am proud
to say that I do.
Respectfully,
Sharon Hutton
Editor's Note
Last month, Smoke Signals ran a story
about the Sande Schmidt memorial hosted
by the Tribe. In our story, we neglected
to mention Sande's friends from the
Burns Paiute Tribe who were also here to
celebrate Sande's life with friends and
colleagues. We regret this oversight.
To the Editor:
Thank you so much for the great job
you did arranging medical help for our
mother and sister Gloria Engleson
(Hudson). We were amazed at the speed
and efficiency with which all of the de
tails were handled. Everything from
travel arrangements, hotels, doctors trans
ferring medical records, and obtaining
maps and directions in Houston. You will
never know what a relief it was to be able
to turn over these technicalities and know
they were being taken care of so that we
could concentrate on her care and the de
tails involved with an extended absence.
We appreciated all the expressions of
concern for Gloria's well-being. It was
encouraging to know that others were
thinking of us during this time.
Our trip to Houston went just as planned
and the surgery was a success. None of
this would have been possible without the
financial aid that was provided by the
Tribe. We are looking forward to many
more years of health and vitality with
Gloria. Thank you for your part in all this.
We couldn't have done it without your
help and support.
Sincerely,
Kelly Haggerty and family
Rod Risteen and family
Shelly Whitley and family
Missy Ault
Larry Risteen
Grace Brown and family
May Amerson and family
Editorial Policy
LETTERS FROM OUR READERS:
Smoke Signals is a publication of the
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon. We have estab
lished an Editorial Policy to encourage in
put from readers about stories printed in
Smoke Signals, as well as other tribal is
sues. However, all letters must be re
ceived at the newspaper office with
author's signature, address, and phone
number in order to be considered for pub
lication. Letters must be printed or typed, and
cannot exceed 300 words. Smoke Signals
reserves the right to edit any letter for clar
ity and length, and to refuse publication
of any letter or any part of a letter that
may contain libelous statements or per
sonal attacks. Not all letters are guaran
teed publication upon submission. Pub
lished letters do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of Smoke Signals, tribal employ
ees, or Tribal Council.
MAIL LETTERS TO: Smoke Signals,
9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde,
OR 97347. Attn: Tracy Dugan.
SMOKE SIGNALS DEADLINES are
the 5th and 20th of each month.