JANUARY 1, 2003
Smoke Signals 3
Spirit Mountain Employee Faces Family Medical Emergency
Daughter, Danyel Leach, goes to Doernbecher for brain surgery.
By Ron Karten
On December 17, Danyel Leach,
13, returned to Doernbecher
Children's Hospital in Portland for
brain surgery. This is the hospital's
second effort to remove as much as
possible of a tumor that is entwined
in Danyel's brain.
"It's my baby and I'm scared,"
said her mother, Kathleen Salleng,
a Cook at the Rock Creek Cafe at
Spirit Mountain Casino.
Salleng took unpaid time off un
der the Family Leave Act to be with
Danyel as she went through the
operation and what was expected
to be nearly a two week stay in the
hospital. "I've got a bed in her room
and will stay right with her," said
Salleng.
Danyel spent the nights before
her hospital stay with friends,
"hugging and crying as they deco
rated" the little Christmas tree that
she was to take with her to the hos
pital. "She's a nice young lady with a
lot of close friends at school who are
very worried about her," said
Roxanne Henley, Danyel's Science
teacher at Chapman Grade School
in Sheridan. "I'm frankly amazed
with what she's facing that she can
focus as well as she does. It just
doesn't seem to effect her attitude."
On the day she was to prepare to
go to the hospital for her surgery,
Danyel insisted on going to school.
"This is my last time for school and
I want to go," she told her mother.
"She's a go-getter," said Salleng.
"She has a wonderful attitude.
She's bright, cheerful, spunky, look
ing at it like it's an adventure."
In addition to keeping company
with some very special friends,
Danyel also played volleyball this
year. Although she has some limi
tations as a result of the tumor, she
is able to keep up with school work
with the help of concerned teach
ers like Henley and tutors, and she
stays active in school life.
"She also writes a lot of poems,"
said Salleng, "and loves the mov
ies, and her cat, Tiger. She loves
Tiger."
Financial gifts for the
troubled family can be
made to U.S. Bank in
Sheridan, under Danyel's
name: Danyel Leach. The
account was set up for the
family during the last hos
pital visit, two-and-a-half
years ago. "(The money
is) the last thing on my
mind," said Salleng, "but
I know we need it."
Danyel's condition is a
problem that the family
will always live with. "They
knew that it wouldn't go away,"
said Salleng, "but they didn't ex
pect it to come back this fast."
Danyel, doing surprisingly well
after the operation, came home
from the hospital for Christmas.
She'll go back to the hospital for
checkups, and still needs some
therapy to bring back her speech,
but her mom said, "She's amazing.
A lot of people said a lot of big
prayers for her."
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Employee Christmas Party Serves Up a Sumptuous Feast
Salem Red Lion hosts 132 people, but maybe for the last time.
By Ron Karten
Some 132 party-goers nevertheless
left the Red Lion Hall in Salem less
than packed for this year's holiday fete
that had hoped to draw many more of
about 300 Tribal employees invited.
The Tribe's incredible growth over the
years may well be part of the reason.
"What I think it boils down to," said
Master of Ceremonies Jeff Mercier, "is
that we have so many more employees
and a lot don't know people from other
departments. And now, with all of the
outlying offices, people don't know each
other as well as they used to."
Too few attendees, too few volunteers
(five) and too few contributing to the
office fund (about half) left this year's
event with one-quarter the amount to
buy prizes as last year, according to
Katrina Herber, one of the few volun
teers at the party.
Mercier also expressed thanks to
other volunteers including Amy
Whisler, Kim Mueller and Melanie
Ebensteiner and Jackie Whisler. The
group also puts together the staff pic
nic each summer.
Mercier, who served up the music
at the last four Christmas parties, said
that this was definitely "one of the
tamer years." Mercier has MC'd par
ties and city clubs for years, but he
mixed a wide range of music for this
one because this crowd included "a
pretty wide range of people."
Perhaps the sumptuous meal in
cluding spicy meatball appetizers,
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salmon and roast beef, potatoes, stuff
ing and salads galore put folks in a
sleep mode, but whatever it was, fol
lowing the drawings for gifts a TV,
a home theater, two DVD players and
Safeway gift cards among them the
crowd thinned way down.
Stories emerged days later, how
ever, when the dust had cleared, that
sometime near midnight, the dance
floor finally filled up with a pack of
stomping partiers and the night
turned festive.
"Only the strong survived," said
Charles Haller II. B
Party Time - Tribal employees, like
Melanie Ebensteiner (far left) and Holly
Larsen sharing a laugh, had their annual
Christmas Party in Salem on Friday, December 6 at the Red Lion. Once the prizes were
given, the dancing began. Education Director Marion Mercier is led about the dance
floor by local legend Kevin Mueller.
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