Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2002)
4 DECEMBER 15, 2002 Smoke Signals Sunday, September 8 11:05 a.m. Meeting was called to order by Cheryle Kennedy, Tribal Council Chairwoman. A quorum was met. Present was Cheryle Kennedy, Reyn Leno, June Sell-Sherer, Val Grout, Bob Haller, Butch LaBonte, Ed Larsen, Ed Pearsall, and Jan D. Reibach. Total present 123. Nancy Coleman, Tribal and Election Board member gave the invocation. Butch LaBonte moved, Ed Pearsall seconded to approve the minutes of May 5, 2002 as presented. Motion carried 8-0-0. ELDER COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS Louise Medeiros, Chair of the Elder Committee, opened the nominations for the three open positions on the committee. The following Tribal Elders were nominated: Ruby Bigoni nominated Louise Medeiros (who accepted) Arlene Beck nominated Janet Phillips (who accepted) Cherie Butler nominated Bernice "Cookie" Jensen (who accepted) Clarice Ellison nominated Arlene Beck (who declined) Louise Medeiros nominated Tom LaChance (who accepted) Janet Phillips nominated Louise Coulson (who accepted) The Chair closed the nominations after hearing no further nominations from the floor. SPIRIT MOUNTAIN GAMING, INC. (SMGI) PRESENTATION Mike Larsen, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Spirit Mountain Gam ing, Inc., welcomed the membership and visitors and introduced the Chief Ex ecutive Officer for Spirit Mountain Casino, Mike Moore. Mike Moore introduced the following officers of the Corporation: Ty Huff (Chief Financial Officer), Camille Mercier (Human Resources Director), Adam Henny (Marketing Director), Shawn McDaniel (Gaming Director-Slots), Randy Dugger (Guest Services Director), Jon George (Off Track BettingKeno Manager), and Brian Werner (Surveillance Director). Mike Moore provided the membership a pamphlet listing the Casino's vision statementguiding valuesmission statementmotto. Mike also advised of the current vs. prior year financial statistics. Per Camille Mercier the Casino has 139 Tribal employees and turnover is down two percent in comparison to 2001 calendar year. Fielded questions from the audience. Mike Larsen introduced the following members of the Spirit Mountain Gam ing, Inc. Board of Directors: Bob Mercier, Ron Lampard, and Barbara Feehan. Not present at the meeting but members of the Board are Monty Parazoo and Bill Pierce. Mike mentioned that six of the seven members of the Board are Tribal members. In addition, four of the seven executive staff are also Tribal members. Recently, the casino completed an audit and are reviewing the infor mation for increasing the efficiency of the operations. DOOR PRIZES $250 (1 AT $100 AND 3 AT $50) Pearl Lyons, Marlena Lancour, Tom Leno each won a $50 door prize. Lisa Adams won the $100 door prize. OTHER BUSINESS A Tribal member stated that the Casino employees have provided good service on each of his visits and thanked the council for their efforts in recovering funds on previous ventures. Tribal member also reminded the council that it needs to put the Tribe first and not themselves. A Tribal member asked that the council instruct the Tribe's Legal Counsel to inform the general membership of suits against the Tribe. Council member Ed Pearsall stated that his attorney has forwarded a tort claim notice to the Tribe. Discussion followed. Chairwoman Kennedy advised that the Council Forum will be the advisory vehicle for the membership of any Tribal action. The council takes under consideration comments received and reports the facts within the Forum issues. ADJOURN 12:05 p.m. Jan D. Reibach moved, Ed Larsen seconded, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Sunday, October 6 11:05 a.m. Meeting was called to order by Cheryle Kennedy, Tribal Council Chairwoman. A quorum was met. Present was Cheryle Kennedy, Reyn Leno, June Sell-Sherer, Val Grout, Ed Pearsall, Jan D. Reibach, and Valorie Sheker-Robertson. Excused was Bob Haller and Ed Larsen. Total present 142. Jan D. Reibach, Tribal Council member gave the invo cation. Reyn Leno moved, June Sell-Sherer seconded to approve the minutes of Sep tember 8, 2002 as presented. Motion carried 6-0-0. NEW BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAM REPORT Marion Mercier, Manager of the Education Program, introduced the Educa tion staff and provided a statistics for CY2002 as follows: Head StartEarly Childhood Development received a perfect score on their federal review. All Tribal members in the Youth Education program graduated or were pro moted to the next grade level. Approximately 120 to 130 applications received towards college training and employment. There were 24 GED graduates through the Tribal Adult Education program. Within Tribal Higher Education program, there werel6 Bachelors, 1 Master and 10 AssociatesCertificates achieved. Over the last 15 years of tracking, Tribal members have earned 75 Bachelors, 10 MasterPhDDoctorate, and 100 AssociatesCertificates. Small Business Development offered three "Starting a Successful Business" classes, and increased the number of computer software classes offered. The program also offered financial literacy classes for Native Americans. Approximately 294 Tribal members were recognized for their academic achieve ments throughout CY2002 at the Honor Recognition Dinner. Partnering with the Tribal program, Policy & Planning, the following grant programs have commenced: (1) Chinook Language Immersion Program offered 5 hours a day, 5 days a week with three instructors on staff with 10 Tribal youth participating, (2) Summer Intern hired with grant funding to create a draft recreational plan for the community, (3) Juvenile Justice grant funding re ceived assisting the Youth Education program in educational prevention efforts, and (4) Library grant funding has expanded the services offered at the new Education Library, i.e. reference material, audio tapes. Gymnasium Use Agreement is in the developmental stage and needs finalized before the facility is available to the general membership for usage. B Long range goals of the Education programs: (1) increase staff coverage for tutorial assistance; (2) create a child's reading program with the assistance of volunteers; (3) establish an Elder's bookmobile service; (4) continue to work with other Tribal programs i.e. Social Services Employment Services, Culture Resources Protection, etc. to increase the services to our Tribal members; and (5) partner with Oregon Indian Education staff to establish a virtual college courses in Grand Ronde. EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT Candy Robertson, Chair of the Education Committee, introduced the mem bers: Patsy Pullin, Joann Mercier, Ed Pearsall (Council Liaison), and Valorie Robertson (member of the Council's Education Committee). Marie Schmidt and David DeHart are also members of the committee, but were unable to attend. Tribal Council member June Sell-Sherer was acknowledged for her previous assistance to the committee. The committee acts in an advisory role to Council. There are currently two open positions and advertisement is being extended to allow more notice to prospective applicants. Check the Tribal newspaper for information. Meetings are open to the public and are held on the first Monday of each month. DOOR PRIZES $250 (1 AT $100.00 AND 3 AT $50.00) Louise Coulson, Connie Holmes, Duane Coulson each won a $50 door prize. Linda Layden won the $100 door prize and donated the funds to the Elder Committee. ANNOUNCEMENTS Jeanne Larsen advised that brochures were available to the membership regarding the Health and Wellness Center at the sign-in table. OTHER BUSINESS A Tribal member asked whether the Elder's distribution amounts could be changed to reflect more dollars for the older Elders than the younger Elders. Chair Kennedy stated the council will take his request under advisement. In addition, the Tribal member raised concerns on the reporting of tips earned by employees of Spirit Mountain Casino. Ty Huff, Chief Financial Officer, re sponded. A Tribal member expressed his thanks for what the Tribe has achieved for its members. In addition, the Tribal member raised concerns about: (a) refi nancing options for home owners at Grand Meadows; (b) shortening the amount of days between nomination and the election of Tribal Council; (c) whether the council would consider tying per capita distribution checks to whether the indi vidual voted; and (d) articles presented in the Council Forum, which is pro vided to the general membership. Chair Kennedy thanked the member and that the concerns would be taken under advisement. A Tribal member raised concerns over the Casino's policy on absences. Camille Mercier, Director of Human Resources for the Casino, responded by which methods are available to the employee when a grievance occurs and briefly summarized the attendance policy. A Tribal member raised concerns about the Candidate Forum. Charlene Hoover, Election Board member, responded. A Tribal member raised concerns regarding Indian Child Welfare proceed ings involving his children. Chair Kennedy referred the Tribal member to Cliff Adams, General Manager, to address the concerns. A Tribal member addressed concerns with services received from the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center. Chair Kennedy referred the Tribal member to Tom Austin, Executive Director of Health & Wellness Center, to address the concerns. A Tribal member sought information on the Kalispel settlement. Due to the Settlement Agreement only Tribal members are to know of the provisions, there fore, information could not be provided in an open forum such as the General Council meeting. A Tribal member can contact the Council andor the Legal Department for the information. The Tribal member asked whether any busi ness ventures are being pursued by the Tribe with Tribal members as potential employees. Chair Kennedy responded the council is looking at all options. In addition, the Tribal member advised council of the lengthy waiting list to enter into the Tribal HeadStart program. Chair Kennedy responded that council will look into the matter. B A Tribal member asked why some Elders are required to pay rent to live in the Tribe's Elder Housing complex. Linda Layden, Housing Director, responded. B A Tribal member and Health Authority Board member, advised the general membership that there exists in the clinic suggestion boxes monitored by coun cil and the board. In addition, the Tribal member asked for clarification on the closure of Spirit Mountain Development Corporation. Chair Kennedy responded. B Marce Norwest, a Tribal member and President of the Northwest Veterans' Association, advised that the organization has discretionary funds to assist Veterans at large. Contact Mr. Norwest for further information. ADJOURN 12:40 p.m. Jan D. Reibach moved, Val Grout seconded, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.
