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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1997)
OR. COLL. E 78 .06 S66 December 1, 1937 UK. mm 1 17 rp p l7 Member Benefit questions raised at General Council meetings The November General Council meeting featured a gam ing update from Bruce Thomas, as well as an open hearing for members to comment on the 1 998 Proposed Tribal Bud get. There were many questions and comments about tribal member and Elder benefits at that meeting. GAMING UPDATE: Bruce Thomas said that to date, there are 145 tribal member employees at Spirit Mountain Casino, and that they are always taking applications from tribal mem bers. Members interested in working for the Casino should contact Camille Mercier or Sarah Harvey at the Human Re sources department. Construction for the 57,000 square-foot expansion project is in full swing , and Bruce said there will be more machines, and more Casino parking. It is scheduled for completion by the winter of 1 998. Kathy Grey, Marce Norwest, and Camille Mercier all won $50 door prizes. Marion Forster won $ 1 00. MEMBER BENEFIT PROGRAMS: The following infor mation is designed to help explain some of these programs to tribal members, and differentiate between them all. More programs will be described in the next issue of Smoke Sig nals. It is important to remember that the Six-County Ser vice Area exists through a mandatory act of Congress. If you do not live in the Six-County Service Area, and are concerned about what you and your family are eligible to receive, please read the following information carefully. You may be eligible for more than you realize. If fact, almost all tribal services are now being provided to tribal members regardless of residency. It is important that all tribal mem bers learn about these programs so that they make utilize all the benefits they are eligible for. continued on page 2 14 year of Restoration r r- , , . . Lm- it : x ; - , A. . 1 t 1 y if ' r 1 :'H J ,1 The Tribe's Restoration Celebration took place on Saturday, November 22. Pictured with the Sacred Hide are Kayla Leno, Merle Leno, Jon George, and Dorothy Greene. The Sacred Hide will hang in the new Health and Wellness Center. Story and more photos on pages 4 and 5. Sheriff encourages community to take back control Submitted by Tom O'Brien, Grand Ronde Deputy Sheriff How many times have you asked yourself, where is the cop when I need him? Or how about: Oh sure, now he's behind me. Can you relate these same frustrations to your job or to your life? Sure you can. We all wish we had our own cop or our own broker, agent, mechanic, or genie. At some time when we least want or expect it, we have a problem and need assistance. The trouble is, there are just too many of us and not enough resources available to fill our needs when we want those needs taken care of. As a community, not just Grand Ronde, but as a whole, we have learned to increasingly depend on the government with all its agencies, and its frustrating dialing instructions to meet our needs. A sense of community responsibility has been passed on to "others." The results of which can be, and sometimes are very frustrating to deal with or under stand. This frustration has turned many citizens away from sharing in the pride of responsibility and duties of citizen ship. We as a community in Grand Ronde are experiencing rapid growth and a faster pace in lifestyle. Our resources are not keeping pace with the growth and probably won't for the foreseeable future. Even with all this, we have the op portunity to maintain some local control and project influ ence on future decisions affecting Grand Ronde. Little things like the new sports program started this year at the Grand Ronde Elementary School have been received with enthusiasm by both the children and participating adults. This new and exciting program needs volunteers to make it work. Recently at a Tribal Council meeting another new and exciting proposal was introduced, a Juvenile Sanction Court. This court is designed to keep local youthful offenders out of the state criminal system, with emphasis and responsibil ity placed with local community control. This new juvenile court concept is presently working well in the cities of Independence and McMinnville. Each Juve nile Sanction Court is slightly different and tailored to the needs and desires within the two communities. This is one way we as a community can take back some local control of our community. It is an opportunity for us to exercise our responsibilities as parents and as citizens of Grand Ronde. With full support and encouragement of the Circuit Courts and the County Juvenile Departments, these Juvenile Sanc tion Courts are run by local citizens with a panel of judges selected from ordinary citizens within the Community. Cer tain criteria must be met for the court to function. The criteria are in place and punishment guidelines are established. These guidelines are somewhat flexible and can be tailored to fit the individual communities needs. Want to have input within our community? Want to make a differ ence who controls our community? Contact the Tribal Coun cil at 879-230 1 ; the Sheriffs Substation at 879-2420, or the Juvenile Department at 623-2349. Other great ideas are floating about at local meetings. Anyone interested in being a Boy Scout or Girl Scout leader? Are you interested in coaching local youth in sports? If so attend the Council meetings and the Service Integration Team meetings at the Grand Ronde Elementary School. These ideas have been put forth and need support. Your input is truly a phone call away. The Grand Ronde Sheriffs Depart ment also looks forward to hearing from you.
