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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2001)
NOVEMBER 15, 2001 Smoke Signals 7 Culverts Replaced on Reservation Roads v ' '.if-: 4 i V4 .1 Photos by Justin Phillips '1 TheTribe'sNatural Resourcesdepartmentisfund ing the replacement of this culvert four miles up Agency Creek. The Kuri Creek culvert will be 63 feet long and nearly 10 feet wide when completed. Timber and Roads Coordinator Jeff Kuust designed the culvert and oversaw the work being done on the replacement project. Tribal member Mark Mer cier is pictured here getting the project underway. -4 This recently completed culvert is eight feet high and 58 feet long. IKS' V" v hi.. i 1" . ':V-;- ..- ; "v; This massive 90-foot culvert is made up of more than 80 pieces of galvanized steel each weighing between 500 and 900 pounds. The culvert is located one mile up Agency and will accommodate a 120,000 pound log truck. 01 01 a Floy's New Toy - Floy Pepper, the mother of the late Jim Pepper, made the trip to Grand Ronde for the tribute concert. Pepper was hon ored with a Tribal logo blanket the evening's vocalist Gordon Lee helps Pepper try on the new blanket. I !.' f V" " "" 13', ; 11 If ff J ; r)v 1 Walk This Way Tribal member and Marine Corp. Veteran Steve Bobb will walk from Table Rock in southern Oregon to Grand Ronde in late February of 2002. Bobb and his wife Connie attended the Hollis Taylor conceit along with other members of the Veteran's Memorial Ad Hoc Committee to help out with the event. Connie will be taking time off from work to provide support for Steve's trip. Anyone interested in making a pledge may contact the Tribe's Public Information office at 503-879-2321. Despite Taylor's virtuoso demonstration, we couldn't forget that yes, this event was one for the Pepper's. And after Floy Pepper delivered a touching eulogy on behalf of her son, the band finished the evening off with rousing renditions of five of Pepper's memorable tunes. Lee stepped in to sing, or chant, if you will, to "Remembrance," one of Pepper's later composi tions, and "Comin' and Goin.'" "Custer Gets It," before which Lee confessed that some of his ancestors were part of the General's unfortunate troupe, featured musical charges and retreats. "Lakota Song," based on a song Lakota women would sing to their war bound men, preceded the finale of "Witchie Tai To," to some Pepper's greatest contribution to jazz. "Of all the musicians I've played with, Jim prob ably had the most original vision of any of them," said Lee, in between songs. "His heritage was truly compelling." Few would disagree after this concert. Yet the evening belonged to philanthropy as well. Besides being a fundraiser for the Grand Ronde Veterans' Memorial, proceeds from Jim Pepper CD sales would go towards the Jim Pep per Scholarship Fund. The night would also serve as springboard for another charitable endeavor. Vietnam Veteran Steve Bobb and Smoke Signals Editor Brent Merrill announced their plans to walk from Table Rock in southern Oregon to Grand Ronde, a span of roughly 265 miles along a similar route that Tribal ancestors marched when forcibly re located by the U.S. Government in the 19th cen tury.. "We want this memorial to be a place of re spect, a place of reverence," Merrill said. "Ca sino dollars aren't paying for this. We are." February 23 looms as their start date, the ex act same day the original walk began. Merrill and Bobb announced they were accepting pledges per mile, all going to the Veterans' Memorial. And maybe the subtlest success of October 26 was luring newcomers to Grand Ronde, many of them from Portland. One couple drove from Dallas, acknowledging that aside from Spirit Mountain Casino, they didn't know much about Grand Ronde. "Wow. This was incredible, we didn't know they had all this out here," a young woman said. "And it's so nice to see a concert not in a smoke filled room." One pair of couples made the two-hour drive from Portland. "I met Jim Pepper many years ago," one lady said. "Somebody told me not to go see him. They said an Indian playing jazz 'that's bad,' which made me want to go more. I saw him at the Pine Street Theater. I'm glad I did." B
