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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2002)
8 JUNE 1, 2002 Smoke Signals Elders Say "Thank You Very Mulch" Volunteers spend a Saturday helping the Elders spruce up their yards with new dirt. By Kimberly Campbell The morning haze lifted and it was a clear, sunny spring day filled with laughter, smiles and hands clenched around coffee mugs. In Hip Tilixam - the Elders' Housing devel opment in Grand Ronde volun teers and residents gathered to as sist the Elders with the spreading Let's Get Together - Travis Kellogg (L) and Steven Akers worked with Tribal Elder Bill Kellogg to get his and many others homes looking good. of mulch on Saturday, May 18. Residents requested that the hous ing authority help them get some good af fordable dirt to place around their personal areas for planting. The mulch was donated to the Elders by the Housing Authority. Captains were chosen for each of the cul-de-sacs. The captain for Beaver Court was Harvey Grout and the captain for Eagle Loop was Leon "Chips" Tom. Coyote Court was captained by Bill Kellogg and the captain for Blue Jay Court was Ruth Rickard. The volunteers spread mulch, raked and hauled wheelbarrels full of dirt and drank coffee. Larry Leith the Tribe's new Rental Housing Coordinator worked with the Housing Authority's Landscape Committee to make this event pos sible. Members of the Landscape Committee are residence and vol unteers Harvey Grout, Donna Casey, Leon "Chips" Tom and Ruth Rickard, members from the housing authority are Larry Leith, Dwayne Hussey and Lonnie Leno. Cal Kearns owner of C & D Lanscaping is on the committee as well. Tribal member Michael Reibach stopped shoveling long enough to show off several of the native plants that were cho sen and planted around the com plex. He enthusiastically began eating several of the varieties. "If you ever get stranded in the woods Service With A Smile - Jan Michael Reibach watches his uncle Michael Standing Elk Reibach spread new dirt in the yard of Lana Takhar at the Elders' Housing devel opment in Grand Ronde on Saturday, May 18 these will do ya," said Reibach. When the work was done and the shovels put down, Tribal member Debby Larsen was pleased. "It went well," she said brushing her hands together. New Rental Housing Coordinator Was Born In Willamina Larry Leith likes to listen to Jimmy Buffet music and saves the weekends for his Harley. By Peta Tinda Larry Leith, the new rental hous ing coordinator for the Tribe, has been in rental properties for ten years, likes to ride his Harley Davidson on weekends and oh yeah, he's a Parrot Head. A Jimmy Buffet fan, that is. "Anyone who knows Jimmy Buf fet will know what I'm talking about," he said. Leith, who was born in Willamina and went to Oregon State Univer sity in Corvallis, has an 11 year old son, Jacob and his wife Mary has worked in the Tribe's Human Resources' department for just over a year now. Mary, who is a Grand Ronde Tribal member, is the daughter of Ralph and Etta Hansen (Porter) and the grand daughter of Cecil Porter. When he's not riding his hog or jamming out to Buffet, Leith can usually be found in the Tribal Housing Authority building, re viewing tenant applications, mak ing calls and looking after the 38 units in the Tribal Elders' housing development. "I really like my new job," said Leith who started working for the Tribe in April of 2001. "What strikes me is the amount of services avail able to Tribal members, particu larly the Elders. "I also handle any complaints that come through," said Leith. "And after the new Tribal housing is built, I'll handle the waiting list for that." Leith said his favorite part of the new job is his coworkers. "I really like the people here. We've got great people in this de partment. I also like this job be cause it's providing a service and I really enjoy seeing people get into their new places." I; ' - ; t 3 ) f f - New Registered Triage Nurse Now On Duty At The Health and Wellness Center Gayle Stamnes moved to Oregon in 1999 and said she "loves" it here. By Peta Tinda The word Triage derives from the French word "trier" which means to sort or to choose. Triage is the process by which patients are sorted according to the type and urgency of their conditions or symptoms. And that's ex actly what Gayle Stamnes, Regis tered Triage Nurse at the Grand Ronde Tribe's Health and Wellness Center, does. "People call in who need help, we talk to them and see what kind of help they need," said Stamnes. The Triage system classifies prob lems or symptoms into three groups: Emergent problems, which are life or limb threatening, such " I a 1 k turn, 1 s J"- ;py 4 j... i .' - i , i 1. . sT r .J 1 ( 'I ' 1 as chest pain, severe burns or lacerations, or fractures where the bone has broken through the skin. Ur gent problems, which are those which require prompt care, but is not life threatening -like abdominal pain, fractures, or fever less than 103. Thirdly, non urgent problems that require evaluation and treatment, but time is not a critical factor, such as rashes, sprains, upset stomach. From her office at the Wellness Center, Stamnes handles calls from people seeking to see doctors, make appointments, or just want ing some advice. "That's what I like to do, is to talk to people, let them know that it's all right. I like to see people get healthy," said Stamnes. "And like any nurse, I love to educate people to better care for themselves." Originally from the small town of Rancho Palos Verdes in California, Stamnes moved to Oregon in 1999 to help with the care of her elderly parents. "I just love it here. I even like the rain. I like having seasons. They say in California you have four seasons: earthquake, flood, fire and I forget the other one but it's equally bad," said Stamnes. "So I love it here. The people especially have been really nice and helpful. And I have great patients, so that helps." Often, Stamnes has the some what sticky job of deciding who gets to be seen by the doctors. This de pends entirely on the urgency of their condition. "The toughest part of this job is telling people that they don't need to be seen," said Stamnes. "Most people think 'I'm sick, I need to be seen' and that's only natural. But if it's really serious, we'll get them in to be seen. The problems is, a lot of times the providers are booked solid, so it's not fair to the provider, because they will have less time with someone who has made an appointment. That's the hardest part of my job," said Stamnes. Ideally, Stamnes would like ev erybody to be seen on the same day they call in, but given the size of the Wellness Center and the amount of doctors on call, that isn't always possible. "The other important part, the ones we get concerned with, are the (Tribal) Elders. They don't do a lot of calling, so we know that when one does call in, they're sick," said Stamnes. The Triage station makes every effort to get people seen as soon as possible, Stamness says. "Nobody is ever turned down."
