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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1999)
JULY 1, 1999 9 ' I y attention and to this day still seek to resolve issues such as: The plight of our homeless men, women and children including some of our treasured Elders. Affordable housing for our Elders and low in come tribal members. Insurance for tribal spouses. Increased education for not only our youth, but all tribal members. Then we can depend more on our own people for self-reliance. Publication of all Tribal Council voting records and increased communication with tribal members out side the Six County Service Area. These questions don't come to me from inside our Six County Service Area alone, but from tribal mem bers like yourself all over the country seeking a com mon ground of communication to address their con cerns about the Tribe and its direction entering into the next century. For those of you who share these same dreams I believe I am your candidate. I am a proud, traditional Grand Ronde tribal member and a Vietnam veteran, having served as vice president of a national multibillion dollar industry for seven years and work ing closely with the last two administrations I feel I am politically well positioned to deal with our federal and state legislators and have worked at our casino since its opening and now hold the position of man ager on duty. ,.i ,. Please do not mistake my message or intent. I am personally very proud of each and every past and present Council member' fof the fine job they have done in the past and would strive myself to uphold this fine tradition if given the opportunity. I am but a singular voice, but a voice of many. My dedication and direction is by your will and your will alone. I am approachable, responsible, and will get the job done. Having said that, in closing I would like to thank you in advance for your supporting my candidacy. I will not be" silenced nor will my deci sions be altered by any singular or collective group determined to promote their position or political agenda in a self serving or destructive nature towards our tribe or its people. Reyn Leno My name is Reynold Leno, current Vice Chairman and candi date for Tribal Coun cil. I am the son of Orville and Ramona Leno. First of all, I would like to thank all of the tribal member ship for giving me the opportunity to serve you on Tribal Coun cil. Also, I would like to thank the Tribal Council for electing me to serve as Vice-Chair. One of the most important things I've realized being on Council is that it takes a majority of your fellow Council members to accomplish the goals of our tribe. By ordinance, the Council adopted what is called Council Sub-Committee structure. The function of these committees are to address and discuss issues, problems, and agreements for the Tribe. I currently serve or participate in all of the six Sub-Committees. While serving on the Education Committee, one of my first issues I addressed was the lack of scholar- P.'. . f - ships. In 1996 we raised the total of scholarships by five. We are working to improve that every year. As Chairman of the Natural Resources Sub-Committee, I have worked on an agreement with the Wil lamette National Forest for the protection of cultural artifacts. We are also working on a stewardship with the Hebo Ranger District and the Bureau of Land Management, which will mean an additional manage ment of 11,000 acres of timber land for the Tribe. On the Economic Development Sub-Committee, I have attended a majority of the Spirit Mountain De velopment board meetings for the last three years. I attend these because I feel that as a Tribal Council Member it is important to be aware of and have a voice in the future developments and revenue of OUR Casino. One of the biggest issues in the Grand Ronde Com munity is water. I am proud to say that I, along with other staff, helped to bridge the gap between the Grand Ronde Water District and the Tribe. Two of our latest accomplishments was the water for our hotel and our Elder Housing, which we broke ground for in June 1999. I am the liaison for our Timber Committee, which I have served on since it originated. We review all timber sales and policies for our Reservation. I was asked to participate with the Fish & Wildlife Com mittee to give them Council input, and to keep my fellow Council informed of their progress. One of my first challenges on Council was being appointed the liaison for the Pow-wow Committee which I have served on for 1997, 1998, and 1999. In my concern for the youth of our tribe, in the summer of 1998, 1 introduced to Council a pilot youth program to employ youth in our tribal programs, which remains active. As a Vietnam veteran, I felt very strongly that we needed a memorial to honor the Veterans who have served our country. With the support of Council I organized the Veterans Memorial Committee. We are doing fundraisers and taking donations, and hope to have it finished by Memorial Day 2000. After a lot of thought and studying budgets, I sup ported the 25 gaming revenue that is scheduled to be dispersed in 1999. I feel this is one of the fairest ways that each and every member, regardless of where you live, receive their share. I keep very active in all aspects of the Tribe. With your vote and support I would like to serve you an other three years. I feel there is a lot I can still contribute to our Tribe. If you have any questions, please call me, at home 503-876-7402 or at work 1-800-422-0232. Mark Mercier Dear fellow tribal members: My name is Mark Mercier and I am seeking your support for the up-coming 1999 Tribal Council elec tion in September. I was originally sworn in to serve on the Coun cil in 1984, when the tribal headquarters were a 24x24 foot building in the Grand Ronde Tribal Cem etery. Now look where the Tribe is. Since 1984, the Tribe ex panded considerably as a result of significant accomplishments. In 1988, the Tribe got 10,000 acres of timber land within the boundaries of its original reservation. This enabled the Tribe to purchase lands where now our new health clinic, new tribal office, casino, and hotel are located. There is also Grand Meadows, and on June 1, work began on the Elders housing. Many, many other accom plishments were also made. No matter how small or large, they all took time to plan and build, none of if it happened overnight. Furthermore, no single Council, staff, or other individual who assisted the Tribe, did all these things. It took teamwork to do all these. If it were attempted any other way, you would see none of the things the Tribe now has. What else can the Tribe do? In my mind, there's no limit. It's my goal to see Council pursue further ventures to diversify the Tribe's economic base. We can't depend on one sole source of income, especially gaming. There's too many external forces in the country which could profoundly impact the gaming industry. Congress for example is now attempting to pass a bill which could tax all economic enterprises tribes now have. Other Congress people are attempt ing to pass a law which could make it very difficult for tribes to put lands in trust. Another pet project of theirs is "means testing" for tribes receiving federal funding. If this becomes law, what it "means" is tribes will have to show what they have earned from gaming to get federal funding for their programs. Another potential factor is overall market saturation of gaming. Other sources of income are vital. Another goal of mine is for the Tribe to increase its Education Endowment Fund. How many of you tribal members have children in elementary or high school? I have two in elementary. When they graduate from high school a college degree will be a must just to have a decent wage job. I'll be unable to provide the necessary funding for them to attend. Of course the federal government has grants and low interest loans to assist students who want to further their educa tion. However, what if this funding becomes un available for whatever the reason? Surely if you watch the news on television, you will note that Congress agrees that Social Security is going broke. Is this the only federal program in jeopardy? Other tribes are providing their own funding to give their young stu dents the opportunity to get a higher education. Why can't we do the same? The number of successes this tribe has are indeed many. When the Tribe regained federal recognition in 1984, it had only the Tribal Cemetery to its name. Back then, the Tribe worked on formulating a plan with a vision. Stability of the Tribal Council is also necessary. No nation, whether it was the U.S., other foreign ones, or tribal, became successful without stability. The Tribe needs a Council that will work as a team. We began with a vision. We began with a plan. We had literally nothing. If we're not careful it's very likely we could end up with what we had in 1984. June Sell-Sherer I am June Sherer. I want to thank Candy Robertson for nominating me for Tribal Council. First, I want to introduce myself, I was born to Joseph Sell and Emma (LaBonte) Sell in 1948. I served in the Women's Army Corp from 1966 to 1969 and was honored as USAREUR WAC of the month in February 1969. My employment his tory includes security chemical and fuel op erations. I returned to school in 1992 and earned an Associate's degree as Administra tive Assistant and Medical Office Assistant. My cur rent position is at Spirit Mountain Casino as a Mar keting Assistant. A few years ago we took a survey to determine what . continued on next page ,v ' . ' ' ' ; V
