MARCH 15, 2002
Smoke Signals 5
Smoke Signals recognizes those in the community whose accomplishments are many.
By Chris Mercier
We've all got our lives to
live, and if given the
chance, no doubt many
of us could put out fairly impres
sive biographies. We at Smoke
Signals want to draw attention
to humble Tribal members and
workers who've gone out and
done a fair share of deeds and
accomplished notable things in
their own right.
Dr. Joseph Stone of Social Ser
vices pointed us to achievements
in the ranks of his own staff.
Congratulations to Karen Scharf
for her recent certification as a
Chemical Dependency Counse
lor Level III CDC III. And ku
dos to Laura Burton for her own
accomplishment: Provisional
Certified Alcohol & Drug Coun
selor II.
"It is the maintenance of this
type of professionalism that has
allowed the A & D (Alcohol &
Drug) program to function at 115
percent of the nationally ac
cepted community standard of
practice for the past several
months," said Stone.
We agree.
Human Resources has reason
to be proud, also. Tribal Mem
ber Connie Holmes earned a Pro
fessional Human Resources cer
tificate through Portland Com
munity College. And Kathryn
Smedema also earned some
merit in the form of the Senior
Professional Human Resources
certification. Connie and
Kathryn, we salute you.
One unfortunate demographic
about Native Americans is the
high incidence of high school
dropouts. For whatever reasons,
many Natives are unable to get
their diplomas. We admire
those people who hunker down
and pursue their GED's, because
really, it would be so easy to not
try at all. The Smoke Signals
says "good job" to Tribal mem
bers Sam Kottke (4629) of
Keizer, and Sonia Whitefeather
(2937) of Vancouver, Washing
ton for successfully getting their
GED's.
Kottke, 25, completed the
GED course at Chemeketa Com
munity College in November.
He also offered an enormous
"Thank You" to the Education
division, Kevin Simmons and
Joanne Carr.
Whitefeather wrote us a
lengthy, inspiring letter detail
ing the numerous obstacles that
have stood in her way. Yet she
persevered and is now planning
to attend Clark Community Col
lege to study Psychology with
hopes of one day being a domes
tic violence and substance abuse
counselor.
Speaking of careers, you have
to be thoroughly impressed by
the accomplishments of Tribal
Member Gary Soderberg of
Poison, Montana. He recently
graduated from the Northwest
Lineman College with a GPA of
4.0. It marks a career switch
from 25 years as a logger. In ad
dition to the 550 hours of train
ing, he had also to take two hours
per day of academic studies,
memorizing stuff like Ohm's
Law, Watt's Law, comprehensive
knowledge of electricity and as
sorted technique for dealing and
establishing power lines.
Soderberg grew up in Lake Os
wego but moved to Alaska back
in 1978 to begin a career logging.
Now 42 years of age and begin
ning a new profession,
Soderberg's story should remind
people "It's never too late."
For those of you in the Tribal
loop, the name Wanda McCoy
probably draws some recogni
tion. A Tribal Elder, Wanda ap
pears periodically at functions,
known for possessing a winning
smile, unbeatable work ethic,
and now Goodwill's Graduate of
the 3rd Quarter, an award not
handed out frequently.
Wanda has been in
volved with Goodwill
Industries for 20 years.
Not too many are sur
prised by Wanda's
achievement. Connie
Hanson, a manager at
Ross Dress for Less in
Salem where Wanda
works setting up linge
rie and in-store dis
plays, claims our fellow
Tribal member is one of
the best workers
around, never failing to show up
on time each and every day with
a refreshingly pleasant attitude.
Wanda also worked nine
years in a nursing home
kitchen, raising eye
brows by failing to ever
break a single dish in
that span, which surely
has to be a record of some
sort.
Wanda lives in Salem,
engaging in restaurant
hopping in her spare
time. When given the
chance she likes to come
out to Grand Ronde to
visit friends and fellow
elders, and on occasion,
hit up Spirit Mountain Casino.
Wanda rarely misses a General
Council meeting on Sundays.
Congratula
tions, Wanda.
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Connie Holmes
Laura Burton