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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2001)
Smoke Signals 5 Smoke Signals Doyble Clock Om Us By Justin Phillips MARCH 1, 2001 It's the year 2001 and we have finally done it. It's about time. Lose the latest edition of Smoke Signals? For everybody with Internet access, you now can read it online. Even before it makes it to the printer. This has been a goal for Smoke Signals for quite sometime now. Thanks to "the help of the Tribe's Office of Information System's (OIS) staff, it is now possible. "It's been two years in the making and we have finally caught up with the technology to do it," said Kim Mueller, Production Coordinator for the Tribe's Public Information Office. "This is just the first phase of what people will see happening to our homepage." Online you'll find the latest editions of feature stories and then some. In the future, you'll also be able to read Smoke Signals all the way back to 1984. With the help of Tribal member Willie Mercier, the office was able to create our new Smoke Signals homepage. Inside our Smoke Signals homepage you will find a photo gallery and an online subscription form. The photo gallery features all Tribal buildings, and will soon feature pow-wow photos, Tribal Council and current events as they happen and eventually an archive of past events. "This gives Tribal members a chance to see what's going on if they can't make it out to Grand Ronde," said Mueller. Future phases hope to include video from General Council meetings, can didate forums, pow-wows and audio access of Smoke Signals. "The possibilities with technology is endless from here on out," said Mer cier. "Look for new changes to the homepage all the time." Join us as we ride the wave of the future. It will be fun. x 9 S i 4 N. : ' """ WILLIE AND THE WEBSITE -Tribal member Willie Mercier, with the help of the staff of the Tribe's Office of Information Systems department, have put Smoke Signals online. Feature articles and a photo gallery are just some of the things being placed on the Tribe's website. New Ambulance is the Latest Addition from $244,500 Grant The Willamina Fire Department launched a new ambulance recently to serve the Grand Ronde area. The new ambulance is part of improve ments made possible by a grant from the Confederated Trjbes of Grand t Ronde through the Spirit Mountain Community Fund. The total amount of the grant is $244,500. The grant will fund addi tional life-pak and suction units, new turnout gear, radios, pagers and breathing apparatus. "This will allow us to more effec tively answer emergency calls in our coverage area," said Fire Chief Ted Lake. "It's a major upgrade to equip ment that was in need of repair or replacement." The new ambulance will help the fire department respond to an increase in medical calls, including Spirit Mountain Casino which draws 3 mil lion visitors a year. Increased tour ism throughout the region, especially . -XstijZT' ; 1 TNT J mmy if i I - man ILJLJL. The new ambulance pictured in front of the new Willamina Fire Hall, located at 825 N.E. Main Street. Photo by Justin Phillips to the Oregon Coast, also has in creased the number of emergency calls the fire department handles. "This ambulance will greatly im prove the ability of the fire depart ment to save lives in the Grand Ronde area," said Ed Pearsall, a member of Tribal Council and the Spirit Moun tain Community Fund Board of Trust ees. "This is an effective way for the Community Fund to give back to the West Valley communities." The Willamina Fire Department is working with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to train 10 of their personnel in fire fighting ba sics. Once training is completed, the new volunteers will be able to leave work and respond to calls from the Grand Ronde station. This will sig nificantly shorten response time. The Spirit Mountain Community Fund has aided the Willamina, Newberg and Sheridan Fire Districts in the past by purchasing "jaws of life" equipment and a Highway 18 Incident Response vehicle. The Com munity Fund also made a $431,319 grant to the Polk County Sheriffs Office for law enforcement coverage of the Grand Ronde area. The Willamina Fire Department pro vides service to 4,000 citizens of Polk and Yamhill counties and about 1,000 to 4,000 visitors to the area per day. The department has 50 volunteers, part-time and full-time personnel. yTGrand Ronde Whale of a Smile Uf Wis Club "7 ,T n; M f U PI 1 v vs- :J 1 A- ....... w ! - Kids Enjoy Molar Roller The 8th Annual Molar Roller Skating Party & Dental Health Fair was held Febru ary 9 at the St. Michael's Church in Grand Ronde. There were over 60 children and about 20 adults at this year's event. Senior dental hygiene students from Oregon Health Sciences University helped staff the variety of educational booths aimed at teaching kids a better way to healthy teeth. A group called "Puppets with a Purpose" performed a puppet show after the skating was done. "A great time was had by all," said Linda Mann, the Tribe's Dental Hygienist. Photos by Justin Phillips IO
