Smoke Signals 3
JANUARY 1, 2004
Annual "Shop With The Sheriff" Event Helps Local Children
Polk County Officers and Grand Ronde Tribal Council members spend time helping children help their families.
By Peta Tinda
About 30 kids from the Grand Ronde area were
treated to a shopping spree at Wal-Mart on the
morning of December 13.
The annual "Shop with the Sheriff" program
was started six years ago and has since become
a tradition for local children and the officers of
the Polk County Sheriffs department. Part of
the idea of the program is to make sure the
children's first encounter with a police officer is
a good one.
The program is a welcome addition to the
children's holidays.
The program is a collaborative effort between
- A v- LA
IT 1
Holidays Are For Giving Leanne Rogers, age
6, shops for toys with Polk County Sheriff's Deputy
Karen Ingram. Most of the children bought presents for
their families at the annual event.
- '. , () ,
the Polk County
Sheriffs Depart
ment, the Polk
County Social
Services Integra
tion, the Confed
erated Tribes of
Grand Ronde,
and county agen
cies, including
correction and re
serve officers.
The kids were
shuttled in from
Grand Ronde in
vans driven by
Tribal volunteers
for the early
morning appointment.
Tribal Council members Reyn Leno, Jack
Giffen, Jr., Ed Larsen and Jan Reibach drove
the vans.
"It's just a really good thing," said Jan
Riebach. "I hope we can continue; it's really good
for our community relationship."
Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe said that he
was amazed at the number of officers who
turned out for the event.
Indeed, there were more officers than kids at
the Wal-Mart that morning.
All of the officers, some of whom had just come
off shift from working the previous night, vol
unteered their time to be at the event.
Each child was given $30 to spend on what
ever they wished.
Most bought presents for their families, like
slippers for mom, tools for dad, or toys for their
brothers and sisters.
If the children went a little over budget, then
Good Deeds Tribal Council members and Polk
County Sheriff's deputies joined together to make sure
that local kids had a happy holiday. From left are: Jeff
Van Lannen, Ed Larsen, Jan Reibach, Tom O'Brien,
Reyn Leno and Jack Giffen, Jr.
the officer's quietly made up the difference out
of their own pockets at the cash register.
Stacie Wheeler, a Service and Integration
Supervisor for Polk County Human Services,
who was there that morning, said that seeing
the kids so happy was its own reward.
"We do this for the kids. It's a lot of work, but
the payoff is tremendous," she said. "It's one of
the things that make this job worthwhile."
Council member Jack Giffen, Jr., who was at
the event for the first time, shared the same sen
timent. "It's for the kids, that's what Christmas is all
about," he said. "It's all for the kids."
Tribal Chairwoman is "Woman of the Year"
Honor by Medicine Winds News surprises Cheryle Kennedy.
By Ron Karten
There was a long
line to speak to Tribal
Council during the
December 7 General
Council meeting, so
nobody seemed to no
tice the group of five
board members from
Celebrating Tradi
tions & Medicine
Winds News. It
made their presenta
tion to Tribal Council
Chairwoman Cheryle
Kennedy all the more
of a surprise.
And not just to the audience. "I had no idea," said
Kennedy, who joined the group at the microphone.
Cheryle Kennedy
The award, Woman of the Year for 2003-2004, sought
"someone that our readers look up to because of their
efforts to further the cultural education of Native
America to non-Natives and Natives alike," Nakima
Kerchee (Lakota Ottawa), Co-President of the Board
of Directors said in an email.
Also making the presentation were Co-President
Ian C. Kerchee (Comanche), Secretary Ellen L.
WhiteHawk (Lakota), VeteranElder Representative
Michael J. WhiteHawk (Ottawa) and Youth Repre
sentative Lesa K. Kerchee (Lakota Cherokee).
"Our Woman Of The Year must also contribute
to the well-being of her people first, but also pro
mote the well-being of the community which she
lives," wrote Kerchee.
Serving 257 nations with Medicine Winds News,
the group also receives information about potential
people-of-the-year all through the year. "We con
tact both Native American and non-Native sources
in order to form an opinion of the nominee," wrote
Kerchee.
Board members were first introduced to Kennedy
last June at the Grand Ronde Veterans' Pow-wow.
The Board subsequently studied Kennedy's efforts
"to assist her people through economic development
with Spirit Mountain and heading up efforts on the
hotelcasino for Portland." They interviewed busi
ness leaders in Oregon "who spoke very highly of
Mrs. Kennedy, even those who stood in opposition of
her proposal expressed their admiration of her."
"Along with the award," wrote Kerchee, "an ar
ticle regarding the presentation will appear in our
January issue, a copy of which will be on display at
the Smithsonian Institute in Suitland, Maryland,
at the Museum of the American Indian," wrote
Kerchee.
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