6 OCTOBER 1, 2002
Smoke Signals
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
5:04 p.m. Meeting was called to order by Tribal Council Chairwoman,
Cheryle Kennedy. A quorum was present.
Present was Val Grout, Bob Haller, Cheryle Kennedy, Butch LaBonte,
Ed Larsen, Reyn Leno, Ed Pearsall, June Sell-Sherer. Excused was Jan
D. Reibach.
Reyn Leno moved, Val Grout seconded to approve the August 1, 2002
council meeting minutes as submitted. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
TRIBAL GOVERNMENT,
MANAGEMENT & BUDGET COMMITTEE
B Culture Committee Honorary Membership Appointment.
TABLED. Margaret Provost has accepted her honorary membership with
the Culture Committee. The committee has unanimously voted her in.
We are now requesting the Tribal Council to make the final decision of
Margaret Provost in the Honorary Membership position. This was a posi
tion held by Gene LaBonte. Ed Pearsall moved, June Sell-Sherer sec
onded to table the resolution regarding the appointment to the Culture
Committee. Motion carried 7-0-0.
B Home Repair Grant Program Expansion and Reallocation of
Funds. Reyn Leno moved, Ed Pearsall seconded to adopt Resolution
No. 139-02 establishing a pilot Home Repair Grant Program in 13 Or
egon counties, effective 10-01-02 through 3-31-03; and releasing $60,000
from the Tribal contingency fund for Grand Meadows and reallocate to
the Home Repair Grant budget for Home Repair projects located in the 13
Oregon counties outside the Housing Authority 10 county service area.
Motion carried 7-0-0.
B Grand Meadows Release of Funds and Reallocated to Minor
Medical Adaptation Grant. Val Grout moved, Reyn Leno seconded to
adopt Resolution No. 140-02 authorizing the amount of $30,000 be re
leased from the Tribal contingency fund for Grand Meadows, and reallo
cating the $30,000 to the Minor Medical Adaptation Grant budget. Mo
tion carried 7-0-0.
B Housing Authority Board of Commissioner Appointment. June
Sell-Sherer moved, Reyn Leno seconded to adopt Resolution No. 141
02 appointing Michael Watkins as Commissioner of the Grand Ronde
Tribal Housing Authority to fill the vacant position on the Board of Com
missioners for a term expiring March 20, 2005. Motion carried 7-0-0.
B General Committee Ordinance Amendments. TABLED. That
the Tribal Council adopt a resolution
(1) approving the amendments to the General Committee Ordinance;
(2) rescinding the following ordinances as of the effective date of the
amendments to the General Committee Ordinance: Education Com
mittee Ordinance, Elders' Committee Ordinance, Health & Human
Services Ordinance, Pow-wow Committee Ordinance, Timber Com
mittee Ordinance,
(3) recognizing and establishing the following committees under the
General Committee Ordinance: Culture Committee, Education Com
mittee, Elders' Committee, Enrollment Committee, Fish & Wildlife
Committee, Pow-wow Committee, Royalty Committee, Rodeo Com
mittee, Timber Committee, Veterans' Committee, Veterans' Memo
rial Ad-Hoc Committee and
(4) requiring the above-mentioned committees to be in compliance
with the amended General Committee Ordinance and to submit by
laws to the Tribal Council for approval by November 1, 2002.
June Sell-Sherer moved, Ed Larsen seconded to table the resolution adopt
ing the General Committee Ordinance Amendments. Motion carried 7-0-0.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
B Public Safety Ordinance. Butch LaBonte moved, Bob Haller sec
onded to adopt Resolution No. 142-02 adopting the Public Safety Ordi
nance. Motion carried 7-0-0.
OTHER BUSINESS
B A Tribal member shared concerns regarding the cut back in hours of
services for Tribal children at the kindergarten age. Cliff Adams, Gen
eral Manager, will address this issue.
B Richard Sly, Director of Yamhill County Adult Corrections, located in
McMinnville, Oregon stated his appreciation of being provided a tour of
the Tribal facilities, especially of the opportunity to view the new Tribal
Education complex. He encouraged the council to extend invitations to
students in the community to share in the Tribe's culture and values.
B A Tribal member expressed concerns over services received within the
Indian Child Welfare program. Cliff Adams, General Manager, will ad
dress this issue.
B A daughter of a Tribal member expressed her concerns regarding the
Enrollment process. Discussion followed. Cliff Adams General Manager
will address her concerns.
B A Tribal member expressed her concerns regarding services received
from the Social Services department. Cliff Adams, General Manager, and
Dave Fullerton, Social Services department Manager, will meet with the
member to address her concerns.
B A Tribal member asked for research assistance for his Post Graduate
Studies. Chair Kennedy referred the member to Kim Rogers, Division
Manager of Policy & Planning, for assistance.
5:30 p.m. Ed Pearsall moved, Ed Larsen seconded to adjourn the
meeting. Motion carried. B
Support Staff Extraordinaire Back With the Tribe
Kerrie Bowman's welcoming smile now in dentistry.
v ' V "t
Kerrie Bowman
By Ron Karten
Tribal member Kerrie Bowman
has brought her welcoming
smile to the Pharmacy in the Tribe's
Health & Wellness, and now, after
10 months off, you can find that
smile again at the front desk of the
Dental Clinic. As of July, she is
the new dental secretary.
"I like working with people,"
she said. It is in her view what
she does best. And, she added, "I
think it's most important if you're
a secretary."
"You run into a lot of -1 don't
know how to say it - frustrated
people," she said, "especially over
at the pharmacy," where the
wait was often too long.
Dentistry is a lot busier than
she expected. "Before I came
here, I never thought they were
busy because I never saw any
body out front, but that's because
they take them in the back so
quickly." She is most impressed
with how flexible the staff is. Ap
pointment or no, they make excep
tions for emergencies and when
possible, for walk-ins, too.
Early mornings in particular,
starting at 8 AM, are reserved for
emergencies. "This morning we
had four," she said. "Some days,
we don't have any. No day is re
ally set, where you follow what (the
schedule) really says." But the den
tistry section is booked up a month
in advance, and every day
Bowman's smile greets patient af
ter patient.
Bowman is very impressed, in her
short time in dentistry, at all the
systems set up to benefit Tribal
members. "Linda Mann, hygien-ist-of-the-year
a few years ago,
does a lot of prevention," said Bow
man. She visits HeadStart kids and
puts on plays about hygiene and
brushing techniques. "She makes
it fun for them." She keeps track of
pregnancies so when kids are born,
she is able to make sure they get
started with the dentist as soon as
possible. She uses dental sealant
to prevent cavities later on.
And, said Bowman, "it's cool that
an orthodontist (braces) comes in
once a month." There continues to
be a waiting list to get into, the pro
gram, and patients have to be cav
ity-free for a year before the orth
odontic process begins. "(If they
take care to prevent cavities,)
they'll know that they'll take care
of the braces," Bowman said.
In addition to all the greeting,
scheduling and spur-of-the-moment
responsibilities of the job, Bow
man says that Tribal Elders are of
ten interested in who's who, so she
helps out with name details when
she can.
Which reminds her: it's probably
a good thing to note that her grand
parents are Roscoe and Rosella
Langley.
In her free time, Bowman likes
to shop at the outlet stores, both in
Woodburn and on the coast. While
on the coast, she enjoys taking the
family four-wheelers across the
sand dunes with her husband, Jeff.
Her folks get a big kick out of Spirit
Mountain Casino, and she some
times joins them.
When the work day is done, "you
feel like you've really provided a
service," said Bowman. B
.no i