NOVEMBER 1, 2002
Smoke Signals 3
Gospel Mission Benefits From Nanitch Closure, Sale
Tribal Council member Jan Reibach attends the Mission's Annual Harvest Banquet.
By Peta Tinda
The Tribe's Residential Youth Treatment Facility, Nanitch Sahallie, has
changed hands after more than a decade of service to Tribes from all over
the country. It is now owned by the Salem Chapter of the Union Gospel
Mission, who has said they have plans to re-open it as a women's shelter.
When it opened in 1989, Nanitch provided a safe, secure environment
for Tribal youth suffering from chemical dependency or substance abuse
problems. Traditional Native values were stressed as part of the many
treatment programs. It also offered education programs, G.E.D. classes
and programs for high school credit.
Tribal Council member Jan D. Reibach, who was a preacher for ten
years, was an honored guest at this year's Union Gospel Mission Annual
Harvest Banquet in Salem. An estimated 900 people including City of
Keizer Mayor Ms. Lore Christopher attended the event.
During his ministry days, Reibach often volunteered to help out at the
Union Gospel Mission, serving food and helping people.
"It concerns the Tribe that we do good things," said Reibach. "Now they
(UGM) can continue to do good things with that building."
"We care about every homeless child, every abused mother'
Jan D. Reibach, Tribal Council member
As the Tribe participates in the restructuring of its investment portfolio,
the decision was made to sell the Keizer property that was home to Nanitch.
"We made money on the sale. But money isn't everything," said Reibach.
"So I was really torn between helping Tribal youth and helping these
women and their children. But this will show that we care about every
homeless child, every abused mother."
The facility is several times larger than the U.G.M's previous women's
shelter, Simonka House, located in Salem. The house was named after
Salem U.G.M. founder George Simonka.
The former Nanitch building is about 17,700 square feet, three times
the size of the 5,200 square foot Simonka House.
"The facility was used successfully by the Tribe for years," said Tom
Zobel, Executive Director of the Salem area U.G.M. "This will be a great
asset for our urgent and long term need. It fits our needs like glove."
About four years ago the women's shelter began to notice that the num
ber of women and children seeking help had began to increase.
However, the number of beds available had not, so they had to begin
turning women and children away. This would normally only happen
about two or three times a month.
Recently, the number of women and children being turned away has
sharply increased to upwards of 18 or 20 women with children each month.
This was particularly heartbreaking to the Mission, who decided to start
looking for a larger facility to handle the increased demand.
That's when they heard about the Tribe's Nanitch property.
The building was not for sale at the time, but was vacant. The Tribe
,,WeCare"-Tribal Coun
cil member Jan D. Reibach,
who was a Minister for ten
years before becoming a
council member, speaks to
the 900 people who gath
ered at the Union Gospel
Mission's Annual Harvest Ban
quet in Salem on Thursday,
October 17. The Mission's
Executive Director Tom Zobel
joins Reibach at the podium.
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Reibach speaks with representatives of the Union Gospel Mission prior to the
annual dinner.
wanted to make sure that if they sold the facility, that it would be to
another organization dedicated to helping people.
"I must say that every representative of the Tribe we worked with was
so gracious and so helpful," said Zobel. "They have been good stewards of
the place. Now we're going to continue to help people in need."
At the Simonka House, the maximum amount of beds available is 18.
"Which is not nearly enough," said Zobel. At the Nanitch facility, which
will be renamed Simonka Place - there are many more beds available.
"We're going to be able to sleep at least 50, easy, with room to spare,"
said Zobel.
The Mission could increase that number to as many as 70 beds if needed,
but Zobel said he didn't foresee that happening for two or three years.
"Our job is to provide shelter, safety and warmth to those seeking help,"
said Zobel. "Now we the have room to do so. That's truly a blessing." B
Race Season A Success
Tribal member Nathan Rolston finishes 2nd in points.
1
Career Best Finish Nathan Rolston, 22, survived a bumpy racing season filled
By Nathan Rolston
I just completed my 2002 season at the sunset speedway and finished second
in the points for the B-class this year. My second place finished tied my career
best in 2000.
I would like to thank my sponsors because without them my season would
not have been possible. First I would like to thank the staff at Smoke Signals
Willie, Brent and Justin. They were always willing to help with anything we
needed. Thanks guys. Second I would like to thank Tillamook Tire. The guys
down there fixed many bent wheels and flat tires over the season. Also, Radio
Shack of Tillamook helped pay for parts and other little stuff we needed during
the year. I want to thank Strong Metals who gave us some money at the start
of the year to help with registration. Hoyt Farms paid for the gas for the car.
All of these sponsors helped make the year successful.
The season started out rough. My crew chief for 3 years left the team
before the first race. That left me at a loss. Then I met Shawn Parker who had
a little bit of racing experience behind him so he took over the job. The crew
consisted of Shawn and my dad Cliff Rolston with A.J. Dooher, Dan Mello,
Aaron Blanchard and Jim Deswart helping out when we needed it.
So with the crew lined out I was ready to go to the track for the first race. It
was time to get the race on. The first time out we finished fourth in the heat
and ended up in the A main race finishing 15th. With the first race over and the
butterflys now gone, I was pumped up for the rest of the year.
The sheet metal on the car managed to stay straight with all the bumping
and rubbing that went on. That was until the qualifier for the big race of the
year "The Jim's Supermarket 100." The race started out ruff from the begin
ning. In practice the car wouldn't handle right so Shawn and I made some last
minute adjustments before the qualifier.
We needed to get sixth or better in the qualifier to make the field I was
with challenges both on and off the track to finish 2nd in the Class B Sunset Speedway
Racing Season.
starting eighth so the pressure was on. Finally the green flag flew, the car
started to handle great and our adjustments seemed to work. All of the sudden,
a car in front of me spun out. All the cars seemed to just pile up. I had nowhere
to go and hit another car head on. Then I got hit from behind. When the
destruction stopped our car was pretty damaged, but I managed to run the rest
of the race and finish tenth in the qualifier. . So I had to watch the bit race from
the stands this year. But, that's racing.
The rest of season went great. Consistency helped with our second place finish.
Back-to-back top four finishes also helped out. I can say we had a successful year.
Once again, thank you to everyone that helped make the racing season great.