MAY 1, 2000
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5:00 p.m. Meeting called to order by Kathryn
Harrison, Tribal Chair. A full Council was present.
Ed Pearsall moved, Earl "Butch" LaBonte sec
onded to approve the previous March 23, 2000
Tribal Council meeting minutes as submitted.
Motion carried.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SUBCOMMITTEE
Pendleton CTGR Tribal Logo Blankets
Replenished. Earl "Butch" LaBonte moved, Val
Grout seconded to approve the purchase of 250
turquoise Pendleton CTGR Tribal Logo Blankets.
This order is to replenish the Tribe and the Casino
with blankets to sell to tribal members, tribal em
ployees, and to the public. Motion carried by
unanimous vote of Council.
TRIBAL GOVERNMENT, MANAGEMENT
& BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE
D Willamina School District Readerboard
Donation. June Sell-Sherer moved, Ed Larsen
seconded to approve a donation of $500 to the Wil
lamina School District 30J Athletic Department to
assist in the purchasing of a new readerboard.
Motion carried by unanimous vote of Council.
D ATNI 2000 DelegateAlternate Appoint
ment and Membership Dues. Earl "Butch"
LaBonte moved, Bob Haller seconded to adopt
Resolution No. 048-00 which appoints Ed Larsen
as Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
Delegate and Ed Pearsall as ATNI Alternate Del
egate, instructing them to become members in good
standing with ATNI in order to fulfill their respon
sibilities as official delegates to ATNI and each will
continue in this capacity for a period of one year
from the date of appointment and to approve the
payment of $2,000 to ATNI for renewal of mem
bership for CY2000. (26 votesmembers 3,001 an
over). Motion carried 6-0-2. Ed Larsen and Ed
Pearsall abstained.
D Amendments to Davidson Property Pur
chase & Sale Agreement. Bob Mercier moved,
Ed Larsen seconded to adopt Resolution No.
049-00 authorizing the Council Chair, with the
assistance of the Tribal Attorney and the Natural
Resources Department, to finalize amendments to
the Purchase and Sale Agreement (1) extending
the closing date until September 15, 2000, and
(2) extending the due diligence period for an ad
ditional 45 days. Motion carried 8-0-0.
D Cultural Site Development. June Sell
Sherer moved, Bob Mercier seconded to adopt
Resolution No. 050-00 approving an additional
expenditure of $2,400 to the Cultural Site Bud
get for safety fencing near Agency Creek. Dis
cussion followed. Motion carried 8-0-0.
LEGISLATE SUBCOMMITTEE
D ODOT Contribution. Earl "Butch" LaBonte
moved, Val Grout seconded to approve a contri
bution of $10,000 to the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) to assist with the instal
lation of "rumble strips" on Hwy. 18. The money
will be pulled from the Tribe's contingency fund.
Motion carried by unanimous vote of Council.
D Termination of Parental Rights Proposed
Policy. Ed Pearsall moved, June Sell-Sherer sec
onded to approve the Termination of Parental
Rights proposed policy 1 and this policy will be
presented to the tribal membership for comments.
Motion carried by unanimous vote by Council.
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Spring is here and tribal members are urged to
take advantage of the good weather to con
tinue the community's long-standing tradition
of caring for family gravesites at the tribal cemetery.
Old flowers and various trinkets left on gravesites
become debris and need to be cleared away from
time to time.
"Traditionally, families would come down here and
take care of their graves and have a family get to
gether. Now, most people just bring flowers and
leave them," said cemetery caretaker and tribal El
der Russ Leno. "This is an important place, we should
take care of it."
Leno said some families still take good care of the
gravesites and take pride in it. He would like to see
a return to the tradition of taking care of the graves.
Tribal members should be thankful for the present
condition of the cemetery. The entrance road used
to be covered with scotchbroom and families followed
trails to get to their gravesites.
Leno said he understands the reasons families place
mementos and he wants the membership to know
that he cares. He said he enjoys talking to the fami
lies when they visit.
"If somebody gives me a name I can pretty much
tell them where to find the gravesite," said Leno.
Leno will also assist families who want to put names
on unmarked gravesites. Trees, plants and bushes
can be planted near gravesites but, consideration of
where those trees can be planted should be discussed
with the cemetery staff prior to placement.
Dear tribal members;
Hello, my name is Kent Clevenger, my roll num
ber is 2689. First of all, I would like to thank the
Tribal Council and everyone who works so hard
to bring these wonderful benefits to our tribal
members. The reason for my letter is to let you
know of a need I would like the Tribal Council to
consider. This is the need to provide (if necessary,
at cost) health insurance for our non-tribal mem
ber spouses.
I am self employed. My wife Lisa works for our
company and also takes care of our 14V6 month
old son. At present, I purchase health insurance
for her through our company, but I must be en
rolled on the insurance in order for Lisa to obtain
coverage. As you may be aware, the cost of health
insurance is rising; therefore I am paying to cover
myself as well as Lisa when I am currently cov
ered under the Tribe's insurance. I ponder how
many other tribal members are in the same situa
tion? I would like to propose to the Tribal Council to
make available health insurance to our non-tribal
member spouses, for a fee. It would definitely save
my family money if we only had to pay premium
for one person instead of two.
I would like to take this time, in advance, to
thank you, the Tribal Council members for your
time and consideration of this request, I know you
are very busy keeping things in order to provide
the best for all of our tribal members. Hopefully,
you will understand my predicament and give this
matter some serious consideration. Thank you for
your time.
Respectfully,
Kent Clevenger, Roll 2689
PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPT.
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
1-800-422-0232 (503) 879-2190
Fax: (503) 879-2173
To the Editor,
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde are
committed to the local community, the greater com
munity, and to the tribal membership. That com
mitment is for education, job opportunities, hous
ing, health and family well being, and the culture
and heritage of our Indian people.
Thank you, Chair Kathryn Harrison, for the
quote from your trip to Eugene wherein a gift of
$100,000 was given from the Spirit Mountain
Community Fund to the Eugene Library Foun
dation. Your quote is, "When you have a pur
pose, anything is possible."
Thank you Christine Mercier, mother of Marine
First Class Keoki Santos. You described your son,
who was in the Osprey military plane crash, "He
was a fine Marine. He was so proud and we were
so proud of him. He had wanted to be a Marine
since he was old enough to walk and talk."
Thank you John Mercier, capital projects man
ager, for your quote at the community meetings.
"Everyday we are constantly challenged by try
ing to find a place to put something or someone.
These projects are the desire of our Council. Your
requests do not fall on deaf ears, but they do have
to be worked into a plan that is realistic."
Thank you Val Grout, Tribal Council member,
for your understanding that the Tribe is a family
organization and the community meetings are a
way to extend the family beyond the center of
tribal authority in Grand Ronde.
Thank you, Smoke Signals staff, for writing
these stories and quotes. It puts a human face
and emotion to our business of everyday existence.
Sincerely,
Claudette Parazoo, Roll 2923
Dear tribal members,
I'm writing to tell people how devastated I was
when I found out the Health and Wellness Au
thority let go of three mental health counselors.
There was no warning to clients and no time for
closure. Many of our tribal members depend on
counselors for a variety of reasons. The support
ive relationship between counselor and clients is
an important and meaningful one. It's horrible
to have this kind of relationship severed without
warning. It's a huge loss for myself and others.
It feels like the decision was made without regard
to the people being served. I hope in the future
the decision makers will consider the effects a de
cision like this will have on so many people, and
will take the time needed for a positive transition,
a chance for some closure on these relationships
and allow clients to feel dignity and respect for
the process. We have a right as a client to be
treated with dignity and respect. I feel that right
has been violated.
Sincerely,
Christine Contreras, Roll 3431
Thank You
We would like to thank all our family and friends
for the surprise 50th birthday party and the sur
prise 25th wedding anniversary party. We were
both deeply touched.
Thank you very much,
Mike and Sue Giffen
JUSTIN PHILLIPS 879-2190
BRENT MERRILL 879-2321
KIM MUELLER . ............879-2264