6
Smoke Signals
Elder's Housing Dedication
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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.
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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
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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.