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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2000)
6 Smoke Signals Elder's Housing Dedication ' P I ; Construction Coordinator Duane Hussey (left) was honored for his involve ment in getting the Elder's site ready to go. Hussey "went above and be yond" according to Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority Director Linda Layden (pictured at right with GRTHA board member Tim Holmes). "Hussey made things happen in a positive way and that is the real key to the success of this project. I personally feel that the project we have today is a better project than what was originally designed because of him," said Layden. Continued from front page past, because so many people's hands and footprints are there," said Har rison. "When the first Tribal mem bers got here, they camped in sepa rate villages because they had to. Now we are all together. What a nice day it is." Many people attending the dedi cation ceremony, including a host of local political figures, commented on the feeling of calm and peacefulness at the site. "Every time I go over on that site I have a very peaceful feeling. That was what we intended to do when we designed the project," said Tribal Housing Authority Director Linda Layden. "We wanted to make sure it was a very peaceful setting be cause it was for Elders and we wanted the Elders to be able to feel like where they lived was a very com forting, peaceful, quiet kind of place. It is a very beautiful setting." Layden pointed out that several Housing Authority employees con tributed to the completion of the project and helped ensure the qual ity of every detail. Layden thanked Occupancy Spe cialist Bryan Langley for helping to get people qualified and into the units; Executive Assistant Terri White for creating needed documents and planning the dedication; Admin istrative Assistant Nancy Holmes for assisting applicants; Housing Im provement Specialist Lonnie Leno for work on inspections; and Devel opment and Construction Coordina tor Duane Hussey for stepping in so 7 j V ''X Tribal Elder Ila Dowd gave the invo cation in Chinook. late in the game. According to Layden, Hussey jumped into the project at the start of construction and was responsible for pulling the project together and making everything happen on time. "As you can imagine with a project of this size, we experienced some prob lems," explained Layden. "Duane stepped in at an awkward time and he really stepped up. He worked lots of late nights. He had to solve some problems. His problem resolution was a major contribution. He ran all the weekly construction meetings, made daily inspections, approved materials and workmanship and processed change orders. He went above and beyond. He made things happen in a positive way and that is a real key to the success of this project. I per sonally feel that the project we have today is a better project than what was originally designed because of him." The 38-unit development was funded through three Housing and Urban Development grants and ad ditional funding came from Tribal Council. The units have 900 square feet of living space and consist of duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes. Each unit has two bedrooms, one bathroom, front porch, patio and a carport with storage. All units are wheelchair accessible with no steps and are energy efficient. Kitchens have a gas range, refrigerator, dish washer, washer and dryer, gas forced air heating and air conditioning. Cathedral ceilings add to the feel ing of openness of each unit and all outside landscaping will be main tained for the residents. Langley is still accepting applica tions for occupancy. Tribal Council member Val Grout said she can see the Elders visiting back and forth with each other and not having to go very far. She said the project adds to the overall sense of community and was greatly antici pated by everyone in Grand Ronde. "I am really proud of what we as a Tribe could do for our Elders," said Grout. "It really makes you feel good because it seemed like it was so far away. It wasn't very long ago we broke ground and here we are mov- ing in now." . Culture Site is Ready to Go A new cultural site adjacent to the pow-wow grounds is ready for use and three sweat lodges will be completed soon. Continued from front page sons they felt were important," said Reibach. "We wanted a place where people could gather and use the site for multiple purposes." The site is near Yamhill Creek and has a fire pit for cooking, two covered areas for tables and for drumming, and a cedar roundhouse changing room and three sweat lodges. One sweat lodge will be for men, one for women and another for families. The site will be home to circle talks, naming ceremonies, drumming, lan guage teaching, story telling, field trips and sweats. Tribal Council honored Reibach during the recent Elder's Honor Day celebration, but Reibach said he wasn't alone in making this happen. "I am grateful to be part of this col lective effort to restore some culture for our people," said Reibach. "The Elders are the ones to thank. With out them, this would not be possible. I want to make sure that people un derstand that this was a collective effort. The Elders, Tribal Council and many other people were involved in this. I am proud of our Tribal Council for taking this step." Reibach said he realizes the site may not be for everyone and that other Tribal members have other be liefs. "We wanted to get the process started," said Reibach. "We hope oth ers follow our lead." Reibach thanked Shonn Leno, Cliff Adams, Kathleen Feehan, Kelly Doerkson, Jan Reibach, Sr., Tom Bean, Buddy West, Ron Haller, Claudette Parazoo and Duke Kimsey for their time and hard work on the site. With the completion of the project, the Tribe's maintenance department will care for the site. Facilities Su pervisor Curtis Rentsch and Main tenance Technician Bobby Mercier will be in charge of monitoring and regulating the site. r a i s't rA-' I T-5 Jan Reibach was honored by the Tribal Council for his work on establishing the culture site. Council awarded Reibach a Pendleton blanket at the Elder's Honor Day celebration. 4& 1 i A h J 1 P ' i i finti'liVrS 1 h:i; !','. ! i'V": IK r i , M i r i ' .i !;'..' I i ,.iv , .IT -in i L "1 , i I t I i. I ( I: .1 - TTT, ; .! , iff " - . Ill . Tribal members Jan Reibach, Sr. (left) and Tom Bean worked on getting the cultural site ready for visitors. Photos by Brent Merrill Culture Site Rules i- 2-3-4-5-6-7-8- Culture site must be reserved a week in advance before using. No drugs or alcohol is allowed on Tribal property. No open fires. Fires allowed only in barbeque pit or sweat lodge area. You must have Tribal permission to camp overnight. No firearms allowed. Use of the sweat lodge area is restricted to participants only. Respect the area. Do not leave garbage. Participants shall behave responsibly and be resDectful to other visitors to the culture site and the Tribal Governance Center. 9 - Participants must comply with all Tribal laws and policies. You must have a reservation before using the site. If you wish to use the picnic or gathering area please reserve your time with Melissa at Facilities at 879-2195. If you wish to use the sweat lodge area please reserve your time with Bobby Mercier at Maintenance at 879-2124.
