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.