, . , ,
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