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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2001)
4 OCTOBER 15, 2001 Smoke Signals October General Council Meeting Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc., Education and Cultural programs give presentations to the membership. By Brent Merrill The October General Council meeting was held on Sunday the 7th at the Tribal Community Cen ter in Grand Ronde. Spirit Moun tain Casino President and CEO Michael Moore gave a presentation to the membership about the cur rent status of the Tribe's most suc cessful business. Education Direc tor Marion Mercier and Cultural Resources Director June Olson also gave presentations about their re spective programs. Tribal Elder and council member Val Grout gave the invocation and the minutes for the September meeting were approved. Here are the highlights from the October General Council meeting: D Elder Committee It was explained to the member ship that Tribal Council would ap point the new Tribal Elders' Com mittee at their meeting on Wednes day, October 10. Council appointed Elders Cherie Butler, Clarice Ellison and Ruby Bigoni to the committee for two years each and appointed Arlene Giffen-Beck, Louise Maderios and Donna Casey to the committee for one year each. Nomi nations were made for the Elder's Committee at the September Gen eral Council meeting. D SMGI Tribal member and Chairman of the Spirit Mountain Gaming, Inc. (SMGI) Board of Directors Mike Larsen introduced Moore to the membership and he updated every one about how the events of Sep tember 11 affected the casino. Larsen also introduced Tribal members Monty Parazoo and Ron Lampard as the newest members of the SMGI Board of Directors. Moore said that numbers for the casino were down during the days surrounding the recent tragic events on the east coast, but over all numbers were up from the same time last year. D Education Mercier said her program is ex panding and getting ready to move to their new building when it is completed. Mercier went over the individual educational opportuni ties that are offered to the member ship through her department. Mercier also detailed the program's accomplishments for the year and their goals for the future. Mercier introduced new Adult Education staff member Joanne Carr to the membership. Carr started her new position on Sep tember 17. msm (sssm mmm 9M5 tfciflnW' fl9iEBy GfesBijEr' RESTORATION CELEBRATION Saturday, November 24 Community Center 10am - Sharing of Old Photos 11 am - Opening Noon - Lunch WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS. According to Mercier, the Tribe's Adult Education program had five GED graduates and members earned four Associates degrees and one Bachelor's degree. Mercier said the Tribe's Small Business Department is now part of her Education program. The Small Business Department graduated 25 people from their con tinuing "Starting a Successful Business" classes held in Grand Ronde. The classes also produced 14 completed Tribal member busi ness plans. Mercier then introduced Tribal Education Committee Chair Candy Robertson who explained to the mem bership that she and the other com mittee members appreciated being part of the overall education process. D Grand Marshals Honored Tribal Council honored the Grand Marshals for this year's pow-wow by giving them each blankets. This year's Pow-wow Grand Marshals were Dorothy Greene, Emma Sell, Pearl Lyons and Cookie Jensen. Tribal Elder Ruby Bigoni then gave a special gift to Elder Dorothy Lawe for all her hard work on the Elder's Committee over the years. fl Cultural Resources Next, Olson introduced members of her staff at the Tribe's Cultural Resources department. Olson said that Tribal members Jackie Whisler and Bobby Mercier had accepted positions with the department as Chinuk language teachers. Cultural department staff members Lindy Trolan (Collections), Perri McDaniel (Protection), Connie Schultz (Grand Ronde Cemetery Pro tection) and Josh Levy (Geographi cal Information Systems Mapping) each detailed their individual assign ments for the membership. Olson informed the membership that over 900 culturally significant items have been logged into her department. D Door Prizes The door prizes were won by Brenda Toumi, Jeff Gregg, Lynn Hillman (each won $50) and Betty Reed ($100). Reed donated her winnings toward the planned Veteran's Memorial. 4 few i3W it ..w"''' i-w. ... 4;1 i ,s I I il i f i" '1 1 i . it 1 Tribal Investments: Gregory Lofts Project Continued from front page SMDC was invited to be a minor ity owner in the project 18 months ago by the developer AspenCarroll, Limited Liability Company. And though they share project owner ship with six other investors, the venture has been, thus far, very lucrative. "I'd say this has been extremely profitable for the Tribe." said Blum. His observation is backed up by the simple fact that even though the Gregory Lofts has not yet been finished, 131 of the 133 residential units have already been sold. The building in its entirety com prises 12 stories, with the top eight floors making up the living spaces. The second through fourth floors will be devoted to office space and parking, and the ground level spe cifically designed for retail. The size of the residential units varies considerably, from simple 1 and 2-bedroom spaces on the lower levels to penthouses on the 11th and 12th floors. All units feature hardwood floors, cherry cabinetry, natural gas cooktops, high ceilings and large spacious windows. The space of the residential units will also differ, from 750 to 3,350 square feet, as do the prices. Loft spaces range from $190,000 to $494,000, while penthouses are typically $495,000 to $1,700,000. The ground floor houses 20,000 square feet, and already proposals have been made for restaurants, a pharmacy, a jeweler and a barber shop. The construction of new lofts has become extremely profitable the last few years throughout the United States, though it is not the first time that large spacious stu dios have been en vogue, accord ing to a Metropolitan Home maga zine article from 1999. Cities like San Francisco and Boston experi enced a resurgence of residential loft development following the exo dus of manufacturing companies. Large, unoccupied warehouses and former factories became the abodes of painters and sculptors who needed the space, as well as the ability to exercise creative liberties within their new homes. By the 1990's, developers saw the potential in the market and set about erecting new loft buildings country wide, targeting such artistic commu nities as Portland's Pearl District. The area is actually quite a good example of the loft resurrection. Originally an industrial area, the northwest Portland neighborhood fell into hard times back in the 1980's, Inside View The new Gregory Lofts project in Portland's Pearl District is just one of the Tribe's investments. The Tribe's Spirit Moun tain Development Corporation is a partner with AspenCarroll, L.L.C. in the development. The residential building is just minutes from down town Portland and located near art galleries, coffee houses and bookstores. The units range from 750 to 3,350 square feet of space. ...... , , . . "j r . r"" J :, "J -""""""sj, only to be reinvigorated by the res toration of many warehouses and empty buildings, which in turn nur tured the vibrant artistic community. Presently, the Pearl District houses scores of art galleries and cafes, and is also home to intellectual hangouts like the massive Powell's Books, in addition to small coffee houses. The area is also only a few blocks from downtown Portland. Many of the new lofts and stu dios boast 90 percent occupancy rates. Waiting lists for would-be residents are not unheard of. i f i t
