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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2000)
7 h :) ' v ... Val Grout Dear Tribal members: I'm writing this let ter to ask you for your continued support in serving you and other Tribal members as a Tribal Council mem ber. I feel my 12 years of experience as a member of the Tribal Council demonstrates my commitment to you and the Tribe. I try to consider how de cisions made by me and the Tribal Council as a whole, affect you and the Tribe both short and long term while keeping in mind what the role of a Tribal Council is, a governing body that establishes poli cies and procedures for the Tribal managers to guide them in their jobs. Tribal Council needs to refrain ' from involving itself in the day to day operations of the Tribal programs. I feel it is important to con sider these factors when making a decision, because I believe you, as well as I, not only want to improve the quality of our lives but the lives of our children, grandchildren and future generations as well. What this also means to me is that Tribal Council act ethically and base their decisions on how issues af fect the Tribe as a whole, not the individual nor family. Individuals seeking a position as I, usually do so because they see areas where improvement is needed and feel like they can help bring about these im provements. . I'm the .same in this respect, areas important to me or where I would like to see im provementcontinued improvement are: Elders is sues such as assisted living, education, health and improving benefits to better serve Tribal families whose income would be considered "middle income." Good suggestions arose from the community meet ings hosted earlier in the year. A few examples include: a financial institution, such as a credit union, that could offer low interest loans for home improvements; making the Housing Down Payment Assistance Grant available to two-income families; an option for adding health insurance coverage for Tribal member spouses under the Tribe's group plan and offer some flexibility to assist Tribal households in paying the premium such as applying their member benefit to pay for their spouse to be cov ered; and designing the infrastructure necessary that will allow the Tribe to diversify its economic base beyond gaming. For those families whose in come is defined as low income, I would like to see the Tribe ask them what they need and what they feel the Tribe could offer to improve the quality of their lives. I know there are times when programs are developed, with the best intentions in mind, but do not meet the needs of whom they are designed for. Who knows best, but the people who are in the position? Of course, all of these issues take time to develop, or other unseen issues come up that take priority, so I could not tell you when all these things can actually happen. There would probably be times when you would not understand why I, or any Tribal Council member, makes the decision that Iwe do. Perhaps it is something very important to you, but please keep in mind, Tribal Council has to look at facts presented and how the issues they are voting on will affect the entire Tribe. I cannot speak for all the Tribal Council, only for myself, and there are times when I feel bad about a how a decision affects a Tribal member who feels betrayed, hurt, angry, unheard, or not valued as a person, but try to keep in mind although many times we would like to, we cannot please everyone. Thank you for considering me when you cast your vote in this year's , Tribal Council election. ; , ' , Sincerely, . vV. 1 . ' , : Val Grout' Incumbent, Tribal Council B " . .; .; ' Tim Holmes 1 - I .cr V t J Hello fellow Tribal members. My name is Tim Holmes; son of Elmer Holmes and Karen Merrill; and grandson of Abe and Mildred Holmes. My wife, Nancy, and I have three children and two grandchil dren. We live in Grand Ronde, where we are buying a home and plan to live here for the rest of our lives. I am committed to the well being of our Tribe, and I believe that our people are this Tribe's most valuable resource. People may wonder how I can review written in formation with my vision loss. Technology has lev eled the playing field for persons with disabilities. I use a voice program on the computer to read infor mation provided on computer disks or CD ROM. I also use an optical character recognition program and scanner which allows me to read printed mate rials on my computer. I also use Braille and Speak programs for note-taking during meetings. This machine will read back to me any information I key into it. Technology has allowed me to serve effectively in many capacities to this point in my life. If given the great honor to be on Tribal Coun cil, I will utilize all I have learned to effectively serve you as well. The following are past and current experiences that have prepared me to serve you on Tribal Coun cil: I currently serve on two governor-appointed state councils. This is my seventh year (two of which I served as chair) on the Oregon State Independent Living Council (SILC). The mission of the SILC is to promote choice, equal access, and full inclusion for persons with disabilities throughout the State of Oregon. I also serve on the State Rehabilitation Council and am the current chair of this group. This council works with the State of Oregon Voca tional Rehabilitation Administration and field man agers to insure the best possible service delivery system for persons with disabilities in Oregon. This group is dedicated to getting people with disabilities employed, and this work requires many partner ships with employers, other agencies and service providers. My local involvement includes serving on the Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority for four years (currently as chair); Tribal Fish and Wildlife Committee; and the Grand Ronde Community Re source CenterFood Bank as board president. The skills I have learned while working with these various groups include listening to people when they offer input, considering all information available to make an informed decision, and if needed, request ing further information. I understand that all deci sions made have consequences, and will step for ward and accept responsibility for any error in judg ment I may make. I have learned to treat people with dignity, and respect. It's easy to listen to people continued who agree with you, but it is equally important to listen to those that disagree. Culture: I feel that it is important to respect whatever path each of us has chosen. I believe that we should be understanding of each other, and not judge each other. We are all trying to get through this world the best way we know how. Let us strive to be supportive of one another. If we could all set aside our differences and find common ground to build upon, there is nothing we couldn't accomplish together. There is great strength in unity. Planning: We all have ideas on what future development, growth, and expansion of services are required to meet the needs of our people. I believe that all of our voices should be heard, and seriously considered. We then need to do short and long-term planning to responsibly address those needs both inside and out of the Six-County Service Area. Through this planning, we need to establish priori ties, set goals, and assign time frames to accom plish these goals. We must look at how we can provide for these needs financially, not just now, but in the future for the generations to come. I believe the use of endowments is a wise way to se cure our Tribal services. Housing: If elected to Tribal Council, I will remain committed to addressing the housing needs of our people. This is an area for which surveys have been done and planning has taken place. We have two programs that serve the membership any where in this country. Much has been accomplished, and much remains to be done. It does take time to meet the many varied needs of all. Infrastructure: I am committed to addressing the basic infrastructure needs of the community of Grand Ronde. I will remain so, whether I am elected or not. All future growth of our Tribe is dependent on attending to this issue. This issue has an im pact on not only Tribal members locally, but where ever they live. Per capita payments are based on the financial success of Spirit Mountain Develop ment. Any expansion to maximize profits that can be realized at Spirit Mountain Casino requires ad dressing this issue. Small business development and further employment opportunities for people wishing to return to our homeland are dependent on resolving this issue. Further housing for those people returning home are affected by this issue. If our stability in this community is not strong, nei ther is our ability to serve our people outside this community. We can only realize true success if we build from a solid base here in Grand Ronde. In verted pyramids will not stand the test of time. My positions have required extensive travel both in state and around the country and I am willing to do this to whatever extent is required of a Councilperson. My wife and family understand that personal sacrifices will need to be made, and sup port my commitment to serve our people. I am ask ing for your support and vote. The most important responsibility we as Tribal members have, are to exercise our rights to choose our Tribal leadership. Please take the time to cast your informed votes. B W3D03JBO (tjiHTtfllltniTtetQiiiniiiiiiltfenftg?
