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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2000)
'OR.COLL. k : 78 .OS ; S&6 April 15, 0021 a : . Ifl I"" mm ! I 1 . - t. s. 1 """"" , ' CHASTA UMPQUA MOLALLA KALAPUYA ROGUE RIVER A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe April 15, 2000 Tribal Coy ncil, staff reach out to membership in cominrDDJiiniDtv meetiinigs Education, Health and Elder's benefits are top concern for most members. By Brent Merrill A series of community meetings was held in March in an effort to put Tribal Council and tribal staff more in touch with the needs of tribal members throughout the state. The meetings began in Tualatin on Monday, March 20. Other meet ings were held in Eugene on Thurs day, March 23, Grand Ronde on Monday March 27 and Bend on Thursday, March 30. Tribal Council started each meet ing with introductions and greetings, then staff members presented an overview of the Tribe's main projects. Capital Projects Manager John Mercier presented each of the Tribe's capital projects over the last ten years. Mercier detailed the Tribe's move to modular offices in late 1990 and the construction of the Tribe's community center as well as the establishment of the Tribe's pow wow grounds. He explained how the availability of water has affected the growth of the Tribe and each of its local en deavors. Mercier also talked about the development of the Tribe's Spirit Mountain Casino and how the local water supply figured into the casino plans. All three phases of the casino's construction and expansion were detailed by Mercier in his pre sentations. The Tribe's Grand Meadows hous ing project was presented by Mer cier and he explained the need for housing in Grand Ronde. He also gave information to the membership about the Tribe's Health and Wellness Center. "It is a 30,000 square-foot facility that consolidated all the Tribe's health services into one nice, big place," said Mercier. The Tribe's new showcase Gover nance Center was next on the list and Mercier explained how the 40,000-plus square-foot building now houses many of the Tribe's va riety of program services as well as the Tribal Council meeting chambers and offices. Mercier talked about the Tribe's five-story Spirit Mountain Lodge lo cated at the Spirit Mountain Casino. "The construction period for the Lodge was from October of 1997 through December of 1998," said Mercier. "It has 100 rooms and has provided overnight lodging that has been quite successful since its opening." The Tribe's Natural Resource build ing and the new Elder housing project were also discussed. Mercier explained that the Elder housing con sists of 38 units approximately 900 to 1,200 square-feet in size. "The project got underway last year in June and should be com pleted by August of this year," ex plained Mercier. "We are growing so fast. As you can see, we have ac complished quite a bit of develop ment in the community of Grand Ronde. This is a pretty intense sce nario of the development we have accomplished. I'm quite proud of all these projects and the progress we have made in the last decade." Future development projects were also listed by Mercier and he ex plained those projects would be pri oritized by Tribal Council based on information received at the commu nity meetings. continued on page 4 1 w ?3 wl I WW Tribal Council member Bob Haller (center) talks with tribal members at the Grand Ronde community meeting on Monday, March 27. Deputy Director of Operations Chris Leno (standing left) helped gather information from the membership that will be used to determine future program services. Photos by Brent Merrill : i . jLJ O These projects are the desire of our membership and of our Council your requests do not fall on deaf ears, but they do have to be worked into a plan that is realistic. John Mercier Capital Projects Manager John Mercier (top left) facilitates a small group discussion in Tualatin. Left: Only one tribal member and her husband showed up for the community meeting in Bend. Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon 9615 Grand Ronde Road Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 Address Service Requested PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID SALEM, OR PERMIT NO. 178 Serials Dept. - Knight Library Smoie signals UTt UrUVtKiJIY Ur UKtUUN EUGENE OR 97403-1205 Un i ver s i t y of Oregon Li brary Received on: Z4-19-8B Our tribal veterans have began an effort of establishing a Veterans' Memorial to honor all veterans of the Grand Ronde, Willamina and Sheridan communities. The Memorial will be built on tribal property just south of the governance building. The Veterans' Committee would like to invite all interested veterans to come to the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tribal Community Center. Committee officers will be elected and an update on the project will be discussed. This is a very big project and we need all the help we can get to complete it. Help us make this very worthwhile project happen.
