i ; f I
. i i j
SPECIAL SECTION - JULY 1, 2000
3
n c
1
M
5) W L
!
Bob Mercier
My name is Bob
Merrier I am cur
rently finishing a
three-year term on
Tribal Council. Gayle,
my wife, and I still re
side in the Willamina
area and continue to
operate our log truck
ing business.
As many of you
know, I have helped
with the purchase of a
local trucking com
pany by the Tribe. This business is coming into
shape by prbviding jobs and services for the people
of the community. This business provides mechani
cal work for trucks in the area, has given the Tribe
the opportunity to service Tribal and casino vehicles
and it is my hope that it will provide assistance in
training members interested in learning a mechani
cal or truck driving trade.
There are still many opportunities for the Tribe
to become involved with that can aid the Tribe and
community in providing jobs, training and economic
development. I hope I will be able to assist the Tribe
to develop these opportunities by continuing to serve
on the Tribal Council and share the valuable knowl
edge I have gained over the last three years.
I do not want to attempt to make statements or
promises that I alone may not be able to keep. I
will assure you that I will make every effort to make
well informed decisions with the best interest of the
membership, present and future, that I am able to
make.
I also want to thank those that voted for and sup
ported me during this term. I hope for your contin
ued support this election. Once again, thank you
very much. B
Cheryle Kennedy
Dear Tribal members,
I truly appreciate
our Tribe and I'm
thankful for all our ac
complishments. Many members at
tended the May Gen
eral Council meeting
when nominations for
three Tribal Council
seats occurred. Our
Tribal elections will be
held this September
and I'm running for a
i
Tribal Council seat.
I urge all members to cast your vote during our
elections because many issues lie before us. All of
our futures are at stake and your input is impor
tant to assure that the collective views are repre
sented in the decisions.
Priorities that remain to be addressed are; reviv
ing of our culture and traditions, preservation of
our environment, full health care services, hous
ing, individual member development and mainte
nance and expansion of our economic base. These
are goals that I have great interest in and if elected
I will focus attention on seeking ways to bring these
matters to the forefront.
You who know me know that I listen and I am a
doer. I will continue the practice of being there and
listening to the views that are presented. I respect
fully ask for your vote at our election.
Respectfully,
Cheryle A. Kennedy B
M
'A "'.Jin V'-. v.
Tom Leno
Hello. My name is
Tom Leno and I'm
running for Tribal
Council. I was born in
Tillamook on March
25, 1949 and live in
Willamina, Oregon.
I would like to rep
resent you and other
Tribal members as
your Council member.
I would be only one
vote on the Council,
but my vote would be
to benefit all our members from the youngest to the
oldest member.
If you go to the general meetings, you would prob
ably see me bringing up some important issues to
the Council to benefit our people. I've asked about
bringing the profits from our investments into our
per capita payments along with increasing our
current 25. Maybe not all at once, but make it an
option for the future of all of us. I believe that this
would help us all to live a better life and a happier
life.
For all of the members there are a lot of issues
that need work such as enrollment, housing and
bringing our Elder's monies up to where they are
not stressing about their bills every month. We
have disabled that need help. There are issues at
the casino such as hiring and firing, leaves of ab
sence for emergencies or any good reason such as
pregnancy, deaths in families, health problems in
close family members.
There's a lot of work ahead for our Tribe. I think
that I can help with some of the things ahead of us.
Some of my background: I chaired the Fish and
Wildlife Committee and with the help of my com
mittee the fish and wildlife program started. The
committee and I started from scratch. We worked
hard together for about six years. I had a great
bunch of people on the committee and I think the
wildlife program is doing well. I went to the Tim
ber Committee often being on fish and wildlife. I
believe I've been on the Timber Committee four or
five years now.
There's a lot of different issues that come up on
the Timber Committee. We deal with the Fish and
Wildlife Committee and the program. We don't al
ways agree on things, but we work things out to
benefit us all.
I could go on and on, but the bottom line is I would
like to represent you on Tribal Council. The only
promise I can make you is that I would really look
at things before I would place my vote. I would ask
you if you do not go to general meetings, to ask
people who do. Maybe they could tell you if what I
say is true. There are many people from different
families that have told me they are happy that I'm
running for Tribal Council. I would like to thank
those people for their words of support. My girls
and I thank you very much for the words and confi
dence in me to represent you. I look forward to
your support in helping me to help you, by repre
senting you on Tribal Council. I believe it would be
an honor to represent you on Council.
My thanks,
Tom Leno B
'
V J
f: V ' ' '
Margaret Provost
Dear Tribal members,
It is a pleasure and
honor to address you,
my fellow Tribal
members. My name
is Margaret Provost
and I was nominated
by Cherie Butler for
Tribal Council. I am
writing you to let you
know where I stand on
issues which are fac
ing our Tribe and re
spectfully ask for you
support.
My background with the Tribe began as the first
Chairman when I began to lead our Tribe to Resto
ration. I also served on the Tribal Council from
1991 to 1998. While serving as a Tribal Council
member, I made the motion to begin our gaming
venture because I could see that we needed revenue
to provide for our needs. We cannot stand still while
many of our people are "falling through the cracks."
Progress has been made in helping our Elders and
children, however, I believe that there is still much
left to be done.
We are strong people who survived a great hard
ship and we need to stand together. We need to
remain strong, as our ancestors did, if we want to
continue to succeed. Just because the profits from
gaming are doing well, does not fully make us self
sufficient. That is why I fought for Restoration
to protect our rights as Indian people. With the
help of our own Tribe, we can assist one another to
succeed, as we are all family. The blood that runs
through our veins is what separates us from other
governments.
Now is not the time to compromise our Tribal
identity, but rather, to rely on our spirituality, cul
ture, and traditions taking steps forward for gen
erations to come. I realize we need to stay competi
tive in the business world, but let's not forget who
we are. You all have my word that I will use the
same determination I used when fighting for Tribal
Restoration to help move the Tribe in a better direc
tion for all Tribal members, regardless of where they
live. Per capita, medical and dental coverage,
Elder's pension, education with programs like
these I feel together we can make a difference.
I would like to encourage you to contact me with
your thoughts and concerns.
Margaret Provost
(503)879-5571
P.O. Box 343
Grand Ronde, OR 97347 B