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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2001)
OP. COLL. 7G itiiiii j.j i mi itn rr r rn i u 1 1 1 u jfefejr iv Ja fl U a r V IwTiiirinii in. 11 .nn i im i on iiiiiimiin. iir n-ftir January 15, 2031 JANUARY 15, 2001 CHASTA UMPQUA MOLALLA KALAPUYA ROGUE RIVER MCC MA uVlZTU 503-879-5211 1-800-422-0232 A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe www.grandronde.org Oregon Senators hold Town Hall Meeting in McMinnville By Justin Phillips Oregon Senator's Ron Wyden (Dem.) and Gordon Smith (Rep.) held a bipartisan Town Hall meeting in McMinnville on Monday, January 8 at the Mc Minnville Senior Center. The two Senators have put forth a bipartisan agenda on state issues at the start of every Congress in which they have served together. The McMinnville meeting marked the beginning of their third effort. The Town Hall meeting was all about questions from the community no speeches were given. The majority of the crowd was senior citizens who focused much of their interest and discussion on education, poverty and health care. Another topic of discussion was the state's high gas prices. Fuel costs on the West Coast are among the high- I - -ii rr 7' l 7 i Lli-i v"" V'i ) ' - " ; . j L i l- A " f I 1! 1111111 4 i I ImLkJmmm Senator Gordon Smith (Rep.) Senator Ron Wyden (Dem.) est in the nation, with Oregon mo torists paying about 20 cents more than the national average. "BP Amoco stuck it to people all along Oregon and the West Coast in order to perpetuate their profits," said Wyden. "There is evidence that BP Amoco (thought they) could make up any lost revenue with higher West Coast prices." Wyden said he asked President Bill Clinton to renew a ban on Alaska crude exports that was in effect from the Arab oil embargo of 1973 until late 1995, when Congress lifted it. Wyden also said Oregon needs to be much more aggressive in terms of addressing the issue of hunger in the state. "We are proud of the fact that we are first in the country in protecting things like our beaches. It's kind of a dubious honor to be first in the country in terms of hunger and higher gas prices, so we have got to deal with the hunger issue and a number of programs with low-income people much more aggressively," said Wyden. For most of the meeting, it ap peared Wyden and Smith were on the same page. Smith said Republicans and Demo crats need to work together now more than ever. "It is really catching on," said Smith of bi-partisanship. "People are starting to see how important it is." Native Youth Learn to be Leaders - v" JUi ii Q- By Lisa Leno The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hosted the American IndianAlaska Native Leadership Academy at Spirit Mountain Casino on J anuary 10. Teresa Henry, Willamina High School Native American Club President pro vided the welcome for participants, which included 96 Native youth from the Portland and Salem-Keizer Title DC programs, Chemawa Indian School, Wil lamina Middle School and Willamina High School. ' Presenters included Chance Rush, Brent Florendo and Tony Johnson. Each provided workshops and activities that encouraged our youth to be leaders while supporting positive choices, increased interest in culture and leadership skills. The day was a great success, and shows the dedication of our youth to be strong leaders of our future. Thank you to Ila Dowd for giving the invocation and the Eagle Beak Singers for their songs. Thanks to Spirit Mountain Casino for great service. fifif Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon 9615 Grand Ronde Road Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 Address Service Requested PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID SALEM, OR PERMIT NO. 178 diversity of Orjjo deceived on . ' on Library Smoke signal "ary Casino, Tribal Court make Presentations at January's General Council Meeting By Brent Merrill The first General Council meeting of the year was held on Sunday, January 7 at the Tribal Community Center in Grand Ronde. Personnel from the Tribe's Spirit Mountain Casino, the Tribal Court and the Tribe's Legal Services Pro gram all made presentations at the meeting. Here are the highlights: Michael Moore Casino's new CEO D CASINO PRESENTATION Spirit Mountain Gaming, Inc. Board of Director's Chairman Mike Larsen introduced the casino's new President and CEO Michael Moore to the General Council. Larsen gave a brief history of Moore's past experience in the gaming industry. Moore introduced newly appointed Chief Finan cial Officer Ty Huff to the membership and Huff detailed this year's casino profits and per capita distribution. Huff has been the acting director of the finance program until his recent appointment to the permanent position. Moore introduced newly appointed Marketing Director Denise Ban to the membership. Barr has been the acting marketing director since Chuck Galford left Spirit Mountain last year. Barr explained what the marketing department at the casino does and what events they have planned for the coming year. Barr announced that legendary bluesman B.B. King will perform at Spirit Mountain on Wednesday, March 14. Barr said that former NFL Lineman Ed "Too Tall" Jones will be at the casino on Super Bowl Sunday (January 28) to sign autographs and visit with fans. Jones played a long career for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL before switching to professional boxing. Moore then fielded questions from Tribal members about marketing and how to improve employee turnover at the casino. Larsen then introduced consultant Len Bergstein to the membership. Bergstein sits on both the Spirit Mountain Gaming, Inc. and Spirit Moun tain Development Board of Directors. "There are two areas that are vitally important to the long-term health of the Tribal economy," said Bergstein. "The economic picture and the regula tory picture will be very important to the Tribe in the future." Bergstein said the board of directors tries to track the performance of the casino in relation to the performance of the general economy. "As a board, we will be looking into this relationship," said Bergstein will be looking out for the Tribe's assets." "We D TRIBAL COURT PRESENTATION Tribal Court Administrator Angela Fasana explained to the membership that the Tribe has had a court in place since 1990. Fasana introduced the continued on page 6
