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.
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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
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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.
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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