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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2001)
Smoke Signals 8 APRIL 15, 2001 Proud Tribal Member Holds his Head High, Finds a Home Once homeless, Larry Risteen is now working and enjoying life again. By Chris Mercier Who would have thunk it? Outside of the sports world, who would have thought one inch could make such a grand difference. For Tribal member Larry Risteen, one inch means everything. "I swear I've gained an inch in height since Spokane," he said. Three years ago Risteen belonged to the not so affluent "Second Av enue Indians," a clique of homeless men whose namesake derived from the alley in which they convened just off of Second Avenue in Spokane, Washington. These days, one can find Larry the Bellman at Spirit Mountain Lodge, a man of impeccable record, a new homeowner, and infinitely more con fident, to which his new height can be attributed. "In Spokane I always looked down," he explained. "Your self-confidence and ego are down so much you don't even want to look people in the eye. "You get taller when your head's up," he added. Risteen's head is certainly held high as he looks to the future with enviable optimism, made even more admirable by his ability to be mindful of the past. His parents are Gloria (Hudson) and Robert Risteen, and he was born in Sa lem 47 years ago, having one brother and three sisters. His great-grandparents were Abe and Maude Hudson. Throughout Larry's life, the Risteen fam ily drifted around and apart, and he spent a sizable portion of his life on the Spokane Reservation or in the vicinity. In recent years, the Second Av enue Indians became his family. Gloria had moved to the Grand Ronde area and his siblings spread out. Contact was sporadic, and Risteen began to slowly succumb to the rigors of destitution. "Drugs and alcohol were winning the battle in my life," he said. "I was pretty well down and out." Risteen recalled how his Second Avenue buddies and he would often daydream of work, and take a break from hustling. Hope was elusive and encountered rarely, and his path to being one of the legions of invisible men on the streets was much clearer. He could pass a mirror and not blink. "I had a loss of identity," he said. "I didn't even know who I was." A well-timed phone call to his It' ....... , j . , f Si .". .Ill' i 1 1 , 1 r ' , ' ! " i ' i 1 ! 1 '.1 'M z Dreams Really dO Come True - Tribal member Larry Risteen proudly displays his new home in Hebo. Risteen migrated to Grand Ronde after spend ing many years on the Spokane Indian Reservation and the streets of the City of Spokane. After landing a job at the Spirit Mountain Lodge, Risteen found a home, reconnected with family members and plans to build a new life. mother served as an earnest re minder. Jobs aplenty in Grand Ronde, just get out of Spokane. "I just loaded up my car and took off," he said. "That was all I had." If there was ever such a thing as a fresh start, this was it. After dump ing drugs and alcohol, Risteen en rolled in classes at Chemeketa Com munity College, to learn the hospi tality trade. But he got a head start on that career, as Spirit Mountain Lodge announced its near comple tion. He applied, was accepted, and on hand opening day. Risteen's employee record as a Bellman at the lodge is impeccable, and his enthusiasm boundless. No time is needed to grasp just how much Larry Risteen loves his job. "My happiness, you know, 90 per cent of it is my job," he claimed. "I'm going to retire here," he said. "I've got a long-term plan here." That plan will include, among other things, re-establishing ties with his family and steadily building a dream house in Hebo. "I felt like a lost step-child at first," he reflected on his arrival in Grand Ronde. "I didn't even know most of my family." Living a mere half-hour away in Hebo, Risteen visits his mother fre quently and habitually meets fam ily he never even knew he had. Yet the crowning achievement of Risteen's young legacy in Grand Ronde has been, undoubtedly, his ascension into the ranks of homeownership. A recently closed deal through Majestic Mortgage has left him the proud proprietor of a lovely, antique cottage overlooking Three Rivers in Hebo. And, by the way, he also owns the lot next door. "I've never really had anything in my life," he said, up until now. His pride is understandable. The two-story house, though old and in need of work (which will be possible thanks to the Tribe's $10,000 Home Improvement Grant he received from Housing), looks and feels cozily like a "settle-down" home. Risteen and his girlfriend Tammy are intent on just that. The two, who share their house with Tammy's son, can find very little to complain about, in ei ther the house or the town. The empty lot next door spurs all manner of brainstorming. He con siders making a sweat lodge, a tee pee, or an A-frame house with a hot tub that can be rented out to fisher man. The property is only two miles down the road from a hatchery and Risteen routinely spots two-foot long steelhead squirming upstream. But while Risteen revels in his newfound life, he still would never fail to acknowledge those who helped him get here. "Camille (Mercier), Mychal (Leno), Sheila (Herber), Margo Mercier and everyone at Social Services," he said. "They all helped me." "But I'd especially like to thank Liz Hamilton at Majestic Mortgage," he said, and waved his arms around the living room. "She made all this pos sible." Liz Hamilton, he said, advised him on how to go about buying the house. "If you want to get a house like me," he said. "Go see her, because she'll set you up." Risteen wants to make his story known, because somewhere, some body will be at what he calls "the jumping off point." "They'll see, if this can happen for me," he claimed. "Then it can hap pen for anybody." Mortgage and Small Business Loans Made Easy Majestic Mortgage, a Portland area firm specializing in creative lending, has positioned itself as a resource for Indian Housing Authorities. Liz Hamilton (ChoctawCherokee) works with first time homebuyers, plus debt con solidation and refinance clients, utilizing the first time homebuyer assistance program offered to Tribal members under HUD's Indian Housing Block Grant program. While many lenders struggle with how to structure the NAHASDA grant money towards down payments, Majestic Mortgage has adopted program guidelines to fund quickly and efficiently. Despite credit challenges such as bankruptcy, Majestic can refinance the existing loan and pull cash out for a number of uses, such as debt consolidation, home improvements, vacation or working capital for a business. Invest ment properties can either be owner or non-owner occupied. For self-employed, Majestic has non-income verifying home loans and Small Business Administration financing available. Most pre-qualifications are done in 24 hours and there is no charge for the initial call. Majestic Mortgage is an equal opportunity lender, and can originate home loans in any state where licensing laws allow. Contact Liz at 1-800-579-8222, ext. 552 or page her at 503-955-0772. Grand Ronde Recyclers, please remember our Recycling Depot cannot accept anv household hazardous waste. This includes car batteries and motor oil. Bring household hazardous waste to the Yamhill County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day... McMINNVILLE SATURDAY, APRIL 21 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Yamhill Valley Material Recovery Facility 2200 NE Orchard Ave. NEWBERG SUNDAY, APRIL 22 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Newberg Transfer Station 2904 S. Wynooski Rd. Questions: Yamhill County Solid Waste www.ycsw.org or 503-434-7445 D Are there household hazardous wastes in my home? Anything labeled as toxic, flammable, corrosive, reactive, infectious, or radioactive can threaten personal health and safety and is therefore considered hazardous household waste. Examples: clean ers, gasoline, motor oil, paint, solvents, swimming pool chemicals and pesticides. These products contain Ingredients that may cause illness or injury to those who come in contact by breathing the fumes or from ingesting the product. Injury can show up immediately (acid burns); may be delayed (headache from a cleaner used an hour earlier); or may be chronic illnesses that develop over a period of years of exposure to a hazardous chemical or material (asbestos). Hazardous products placed in the trash may end up leaching from landfills and polluting ground and surface waters. Burying hazardous products leads to contamination of soils and surface waters. Burning chemicals may produce toxic fumes and can cause explosions. Pets and wildlife are exposed to chemicals in ditches. Water and soils are polluted by chemicals leaching into the ground and waterways. D What can I do to minimize the problem of household hazardous waste? Begin by choosing the least toxic product available. Use products in well-ventilated areas and keep containers tightly closed to prevent evaporation. Avoid using aerosol spray products, the small size of aerosol particles makes it easy for them to be inhaled deeply into the lungs and quickly absorbed into the blood stream. Aerosol cans are also highly explosive when exposed to heat or pressure. Dont assume that all products without warning labels are nontoxic, and dont assume that product labeled "nontoxic" are completely safe. ALTERNATIVES AEROSOL SPRAYS:. Choose manual-pump products, liquid or paste cleaners, stick or roll-on deodorants. AIR FRESHENERS: Open the windows; use natural potpourri, dried flowers or herbs. BRASS POLISH: Use Worcestershire sauce. CARPET DEODORIZER: Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch over carpet. Vacuum after 30 min utes. DRAIN CLEANER: Use a plunger followed by 12 cup baking soda and 12 cup vinegar. Wait 15 minutes, then pour in 2 quarts of boiling water. Use a plumber's snake for bad clogs. MOSQUITO REPELLENT: Burn citronella candles; plant sweet basil around patio and house. MOTHBALLS: Place cedar chips or lavender, rosemary, mint sachets among clothes. Store clothes clean and in airtight containers. Moth eggs can be killed by running the item through the dryer. PAINT BRUSH SOFTENER: Soak in hot vin egar. SILVER POLISH: Soak 10 to 15 minutes in 1 quart warm water, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt and a small piece of aluminum foil. Wipe with soft cloth. WINDOW CLEANER: Mix 2 tablespoons white vinegar to 1 quart water.
