AUGUST 1, 2002
Smoke Signals 3
Council Relations Coordinator Will Help Tribal Members
Sort Through Complex Tribal Government
Charles Haller II responds to the need for follow-through and to calls for openness in government.
By Ron Karten
As Tribal government grows in
complexity, the need for follow-up
and follow-through grows too.
Tribal member and new Tribal
Council Relations Coordinator
Charles Haller II said he is up for
the challenge and ready to respond.
Haller said he wants the commu
nity to know that he can be a valu
able resource for them.
Haller has been Tribal Council
Relations Coordinator since last
November, but after recent commu
nity meetings, he said, "it started
to become obvious that nobody
knew my position existed."
Among Haller's projects is one to
"institutionalize" the still young
Council Forum, initiated in May to
keep members up to date on issues
"pertinent to Tribal members."
In addition, Haller is in contact
with the Tribe's eight advisory com
mittees. By statute, they are re
quired to report on their activities
to the council, but have not yet co
ordinated that communication on a
regular basis. Haller is seeking to
bring that communication up to
date and keep it there.
Another part of his job is to cre
ate a database on the big issues for
the council so that any council mem
ber can keep up with the latest in
formation on each issue.
Whether that communication
will be available in writing or on a
closed computer system is still un
der discussion, Haller said.
Questions coming to the Tribal
Council or individual council mem
bers have not yet amounted to a
flood. At the high point in the
spring, fewer than ten Tribal mem
bers called or wrote in with ques
tions during the week, Haller said.
Still, with Tribal members both lo
cal and far-flung, and with ques
tions of council openness high on
many people's minds, it makes sense
to establish a system for making
Tribal business more orderly and
accessible.
With two Bachelor's degrees from
the University of Oregon - one in
Journalism and one in Interna
tional Studies Haller came well
prepared for this job.
He spent four years in
Copenhagen working for an inter
national development organization
called the World Assembly of Youth,
a non-political, non-religious group
affiliated with the United Nations
on many individual development
projects. He wrote grants, devel
oped conferences, made recommen
dations on funding for projects, and
wrote reports on the outcomes.
He also worked as the John
Tuttle intern at Oregon Public
Broadcasting doing pre-production
and post-production
work, which at one
point was exactly
what he had hoped
to do with his life.
But Rob Proudfoot,
an International
Studies professor at
the University of
Oregon made him
aware of Indian is
sues in a way that
got him thinking
about returning to
Grand Ronde to
serve the Tribe.
"The Tribe made it
possible for me to get
an education," he
said. "I couldn't
have afforded it and
I wanted to pay
back."
Now, he has one of
the most difficult and
thankless jobs a bureaucracy has
to offer making communication
work. So, when questions come in
for the council or specific members,
they get routed to Haller, who takes
a look to see if perhaps one of the
Tribal agencies should take the
first shot at the question, or
1 L K ' P
,. , y - i i
T - . ;
V ,
V; V
Charles Haller II
Tribal Council Relations Coordinator
whether it belongs directly with
the council or a member. Haller is
hoping that Tribal members will
start to recognize him as the place
to start asking questions. He is ac
cessible, and often, he said, he can
answer questions right away. B
You can reach Charles Haller II at 1-800-422-0232 ext. 1309 or 503-879-1309,
or by email at: charles.hallergrandronde.org.
Cause of Davidson's Car Fire Is Determined To Be Accidental
Remembrance service for Lucien and Janesse held at Tribal Governance Center.
By Peta Tinda
The cause of the fire took the lives
of two Grand Ronde Tribal mem
bers and severely burned three oth
ers was determined to have been
an accident, according to Lt. Dale
Rutledge of the Oregon State Po
lice Department.
On June 20, Lauren and Eyvette
Davidson were driving home from
McMinnville with their three chil
dren when their 1997 GMC Sub
urban burst into flames. Lauren
and Eyvette were able to save one
child, Benjamin, age 12, but two
others, Lucien, 11 and Janesse, 10
died in the fire.
The source of the fire was under
investigation for several weeks. A
break in the case came when the
investigators were able to verify
conclusively what was in the cargo
area of the vehicle.
"We found out that they had
about a 16 pound box of pool chlo
rine. The granular stuff that you
get at the hardware store," said
Rutledge.
"Chlorine is an oxidizer if it mixes
with certain chemicals. It causes a
fire that feeds on itself. We also
found out they had a can of engine
degreaser in the back of the vehicle.
Engine degreaser is a petroleum
product. If it is mixed with the chlo
rine it will self-ignite. Then it
burns very violently and rapidly."
Rutledge said that they knew that
the engine degreaser had some
thing to do with the
fire, based on a labo
ratory analysis.
"What we didn't
know was how the
two combined and we
probably will never
know. Most likely the
contents shifted. We
know that whatever
happened was an ac
cident. That helps re
solve the issue, both
for us and the family."
In order to test their
theory, the investiga
tors bought the same
i liipfek, .' if :' 'hi
Remembered Family, friends and community members gathered in Grand Ronde on Satur
day, July 13 to pay tribute to and remember Lucien and Janesse Davidson.
kind of chlorine and degreaser that
was in the vehicle at the time.
"We got identical components and
put them together," said Rutledge.
"First we tried tests with a small
quantity, which immediately burst
into flames all by itself. Then we
saturated the box with the engine
degreaser. It took about five min
utes, but it also burst into flames."
Rutledge said the test matched
exactly with what the witnesses at
the scene described.
"Lots of white smoke, red flames
and a lot of popping noises. Based
on what witnesses saw and heard,
that's how the fire had to have
started."
Rutledge said that the investiga
tors looked at the Suburban to de
termine if it was a mechanical fail
ure, but they soon ruled the vehicle
out as the cause of the fire.
"Fire behaves in very predictable
ways. We knew that the fire engulfed
the vehicle all at once and the only
way to do that is by igniting some kind
of flammable gas," he said.
"Gas needs an ignition source and
there weren't any in the back of the
vehicle. But chlorine doesn't need
and ignition and it's a fast violent
fire, just like the witnesses de
scribed." The tragic accident has affected
the community very deeply. A num
ber of fundraisers to help the fam
ily with medical costs have been
held. You can contribute to the
Loren Davidson Family Fund at
any Bank of America and family
members have reopened the
rinvirlsnn's P.uvptte's Rrnnlrcirlo
Cafe on Highway 18 just west of
Grand Ronde. The restaurant is
now open Wednesday through Sun
day of each week.
The staff at the Legacy Emanuel
Hospital Burn Center in Portland
said that Benjamin is progressing
"quite well" and his condition has
been upgraded to "Fair." A nurse
said Benjamin has had his eyes
open for some time now and his
breathing tube has been removed
and he is eating regular food.
The staff said that Loren is still
in "Serious" condition, but that he
has stabilized since being upgraded
from critical. Eyvette is still listed
as serious, but the staff sounded
optimistic that her condition would
be upgraded soon. D