Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2004)
, . , , APRIL 1, 2004 Smoke Signals Bowling Fundraiser Lends A Helping Hand BOWLING continued from front page who has bowled once previously in the last 30 years, he said, and never was much of a bowler. "I felt it was an honor to help the people that need help. On top of that, it was nice to get together with all these folks that really care." Three Tribal Council members plus a "ringer" from the Confeder ated Tribes of Grand Ronde Larsen's brother, Tribal member Kenny participated. "Every time I looked over at (the lanes where Tribal members were bowling), there was a big X on the board for a strike," said Yamhill County Commissioner Mary Stern, probably referring to the compo nents of Kenny Larsen's 181 game. "We didn't pay that much atten tion," she added, "because we didn't get many." "It's fun to get together with a group of people that you work with on a government level," said Tribal Council member Valorie Sheker Robertson, who also wasn't brag ging about her scores. "You can have fun and know that the com munity is going to get something out of it." Sheker-Robertson also brought along her sons, Tribal youth Eric and Anthony Sabin along with their friend, Tribal youth Nathan Mueller. Dundee Mayor Roger Worrall, Chairman of the YCAP Board of Directors, wanted it known before reporting his scores that these were the first two games he had bowled in 25 years. "It was awkward at best," he said. "I had to pace it off three or four times to figure out which foot to use first and get to the line without falling down." Yamhill County Commissioner and YCAP board member Mary Stern bowled with Worrall, and they were joined by Stern's 5-year- very, very supportive, not only in the Bowling Blitz but also in grants. It means so much to the people in the county. We appreci ate everything the Tribe has done." Corporate participants also in cluded: First Federal Bank, Oregon Mutual Insurance, Oregon Federal Credit Union and DCI, a Newberg manufacturer of dental equip- , "" """ . .laaff '-rr ' L Bowling For Dollars Tribal Council member Ed Larsen lets one roll for what turned out to be a very successful fund-raiser for YCAP. old daughter, Sydney, who served as a last minute substitute for a YCAP board member unable to at tend. "YCAP supports so many different types of people in need," said Stern. "It's really an important asset in our community and good to see all the people who came out to support it. "The Tribe," she added, "has been ment. Although YCAP has not lost as much funding as some agencies this year, "the need has grown, so there's more people coming to us asking for help and we're not able to help," said Bartlett. The need is up about 25 percent overall, he said. For a program in which YCAP provides rental assistance to fami lies in the amount of $500-$750 month for six months, the agency recently received 95 requests and could fill only 30, said Bartlett. Two or three years ago, the waiting list was six months. Today, it is 18-24 months. Low key events like bowling, held this year at Walnut City Lanes in McMinnville, help YCAP keep fund-raising expenses to a mini mum, said Bartlett. Although it may ultimately cause YCAP to rethink some of the ele ments of this fundraiser, it is worth noting that Worrall saw an advan tage in actually bowling this year. "I got away with spending about half as much money because (bowl ing) took me away from the silent auction!" Still, Worrall went home with "another outdoor lined shirt, of course, some chocolate and tickets to Gallery Players." For the Tribe's Sheker-Robertson, the silent auction played like a slot machine gone wild: "Almost every thing I bid on, I got," she said. "Af ghans, dinners, wine, an antique plane from Texaco." The only thing she missed was the basketball autographed by members of the Blazers. "I gave up on it at $61," she said. For Tribal Council member Ed Larsen, who hadn't bowled in years but who still remembers winning the league with his brother more than twenty years ago, this event might have an effect on his future. Asked if he were now thinking about tak ing up bowling again, he said: "Might." Saving Lives And Protecting Celebrities Is All In A Day 's Work At Spirit Mountain Tribal members and brothers Skip and Robin Norwest are part of the security team at the casino. Story & Photo by Peta Tinda If you happen to go down to Spirit Mountain Ca sino, chances are that you'll come across brothers Robin and Skip Norwest, though you may not be able to tell them apart. The Norwest brothers both work as security guards for the casino, both have dark hair and complexions and both wear identical beige uniforms. "People are constantly getting us con fused," said younger brother Robin. "Even the surveillance cameras can't tell us apart." "But if you really want to tell... I'm the good looking one," joked Skip. The brothers, both Tribal members, are the sons of Tribal Elder Marce Norwest, a well-known local Veteran who headed up the Tribal Color Guard and the Veterans' Pow-wow for many years before retiring recently. Robin has worked as a security guard for four years and Skip started four months ago. Both were employed in the security trade before working at Spirit Mountain. The two brothers work the 3 p.m.to 11 p.m. swing shift, the busiest hours at the casino, but they say they enjoy working with the thousands of people who visit the casino each day. On a typical day, they might escort people or money or bags of poker chips around the casino, or patrol outside in the ubiquitous white SUVs that circle Spirit Mountain. The brothers handle any disturbance calls or medi cal incident that may occur, and have a fully stocked, self-contained medical room for the guests. They are both trained in life-saving techniques, including CPR and the use of electro-shock defibrillators. Though they joke and tease one another, the profes- sionalism, when it's needed, "is there in an instant," said Robin. "We all depend on each other," said Skip. "If you need backup, all you do is blink and you're sur rounded by officers. Our whole team is really excel- Skip and Robin Norwest lent." "We saved a guy's life one time," said Robin. "A guest went down and we had to use the defibrillators on him. The ambulance took him up to Mac, (McMinnville Hospital) and he made a full recovery. He came back and when he saw us, he just gave us hugs and thanked us, saying Svithout you, I wouldn't be here.'" They walk the beat on the main floor, the bingo hall, Legends restaurant and the lodge. Now that the new convenience store and RV Park is in place, they patrol that, too. When patrolling the outside of the casino, they work in pairs, so that both sides of the casino are always under surveillance. During concerts they take care of security to make sure overzealous fans don't mob the artists. "People will try to get a clip of the artist's hair or try to grab things off of them sometimes," said Robin. "Some fans are downright scary." The brothers agree that the most difficult part of the job is handling medical emergencies. "If you don't do the right thing at the right time, the person might pass away," said Robin. In their spare time, the brothers like to go trout fishing together. "Me and him are basically best friends. Even if we weren't brothers, we would still probably hang out," said Skip. As Tribal members they both say that they take great personal pride in the casino. "I'm also very proud of the things the Tribe has been going out and doing," said Robin. One of the best things about the job, said Robin, is the daily contact with Tribal members, Tribal El ders and the relatives that they see at the casino. They both say they plan on working at Spirit Mountain Casino until they retire and both plan on staying with security. "It's a really great place to work. The people are great and we just really like taking care of the guests," said Robin. "Our dad was really proud when I got the job," said Skip. "He said, 'now it's both my boys in there." .CP
