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By Chris Mercier
Willard Thompson has given his
rather invaluable two cents to
an issue that has recently become a
hot topic in Grand Ronde. But he
hasn't been the only one who upholds
the value of the new rumble strips.
Just ask Tribal member Nancy
Coleman. ; - ,j : v -
Coleman remembers September 10
of this year like most people remem
ber birthdays, anniversaries or even
Superbowls. It was to be no ordinary
Sunday, not because a new Tribal
Council awaited her in Grand Ronde
that crisp autumn morning and were
it not for something perceived mostly
as an annoyance by many, that day
would have been her last.
Quick, sudden and spanning no
more than a few moments, it's no
wonder she recalls the details rather
sketchily. Nancy and her sister
Theresa left Keizer that day and as
they neared their destination, a
save
Loves
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Photos by Justin Phillips
Sleepy? -The Grand Ronde Tribal Council authorized
the spending of $10,000 earlier this year for the in
stallation of "rumble strips" on Highway 18. The strips
run along the outside of each lane and up the middle
dividing the two lanes. The strips were placed east of
Grand Ronde towards Willamina and Salem.
small brush with fate unfurled. As
they drove near Buell on Highway
18, Nancy looked ahead in horror
while a large car from the other side
of the highway drifted rather, casu
ally into her lane. A head-on colli
sion was imminent. .
"My heart just dropped into my
stomach," she recalled. , r
The driver, groggily slumped for
ward in his seat, had clearly dozed
off. But as his car passed over the
rumble strips, those inverted divots
that divide the lanes, he came tore
alized the situation, and veered back
into his lane.
He looked over somewhat apolo
getically as the two cars passed one
another, shaking his head. Nancy
and he had just endured quite possi
bly the longest moment of their lives.
"I can't remember what kind of car
he drove," she said. "But at that time,
it was BIG." . . ..
Nancy has since then become a
convert to the rumble strip order,
. believing that no matter how much
. they cost, their value is priceless.
"It's so easy to get distracted while
driving," she said. "When you hit
those strips, you know you'd better
do something."
Thomas .Bunn, .Yamhill County
Commissioner, has heard Naricy's
story and that of Willard Thompson,
and is convinced that rumble strips
are a more than worthwhile invest
ment. "How do you put a dollar amount
on a life?" he said.
Tribal Council was the subject of
much scrutiny following its authori
zation to allocate $10,000 to finance
placing the rumble strips on a section
of Highway 18 between Grand Ronde
and Salem. Bunn acknowledged that
the value of rumble strips as a pre
ventative measure for traffic acci
dents was unknown even to him be
fore he had heard some of the stories.
"I applaud (Tribal) Council for de
ciding to go with this project, because
they didn't really know how effective
rumble strips would behe saidv'i vi
The fact that the rumble strips are
already responsible for saving even
a few lives makes them a success,
Bunn said.
"I very , much appreciate what the
Tribe has done for the benefit of our
-mutual constituents," he said. "This
is a good example of intergovern
mental work."
Wetland Restoration near Casino Nearly Complete
By Brent Merrill
A little over 400 feet of wetlands
near the Tribe's Spirit Mountain
Casino has been restored to as close
to its original form as possible. A me
andering channel, complete with
four log sills placed throughout the
channel, has been constructed and
native vegetation will be planted in
the late winter and early spring.
4 " '
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MEANDERING CHANNEL IN THE MAKING -This streambed east of the Tribe's
Spirit Mountain Casino Is being restored as close as possible to its original
state. The Tribe's Natural Resources department and the Public Works pro
gram are doing the work. The drainage will once again empty into the South
Yamhill River.
The channel is located on an old
mill site and empties into the nearby
South Yamhill River. A gravel dis
charge structure has been con
structed at the place where the origi
nal flow meets the river. The dis
charge pit will pool water and trap
some sediment before the water
moves on into the river.
"The purpose of the project was to
restore the hydrological link to the
river and restore habitat primarily for
aquatic and vegetative fife and wet
land habitat," explained the Tribe's
Public Works Director Eric Scott. "It
also provides, because of the plant
ing, some water quality improvements
to the discharge into the Yamhill River
rather than have an open channel
that isn't really vegetated. It pools
the water and it removes some of the
sediments in the water."
The work was done with the coop
eration of two Tribal programs the
Public Works department and the
Natural Resource department. The
two departments worked together to
complete the project and took advan
tage of the new equipment (a new
dump truck and a new larger back
hoe) recently procured by the Natu
ral Resources department.
"We did the work with our Natural
Resources group," said Scott.
According to Scott, the Natural Re
sources crew was headed by Jeff
Kuust. Tribal members Lynn "Bear"
Robertson, Randy Leno, Mike
Karnosh and Mark Mercier did most
of work on the wetlands project.
"They did a very fine job," said
Scott of the work. "It was good expe
rience for the crew. They wanted to
get some of this wetland restoration
work under their belt because it is
something they anticipate doing a lot
of both on the Reservation as well as
on some of the other properties that
the Tribe manages."
Scott said the mass excavation
work was subcontracted out.
All that remains on the project is
planting the wetland vegetation and
Scott said that would be done late this
winter and early spring.
"We have to wait for the willows,"
said Scott. "We are using some of
the native vegetation that is on site.
We have to wait for them to become
dormant."
Scott said the project should end
up costing about $20,000. The wet
land design portion of the project cost
$3,500 and was completed by a firm
in Portland that specializes in this
type of wetlands restoration.