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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2004)
Smoke Signals 3 DECEMBER 15, 2004 Member Services Department Reports At December's General Council Meeting General meetings will go on the road to Eugene and Portland next year. By Ron Karten The December General Council meeting was held on Sunday, Decem ber 5th, at the Tribal Community Cen ter in Grand Ronde. Here are the high lights: Tribal Vice Chair Reyn Leno called the meeting to order. Tribal Council member Wesley West offered the in vocation. The Elders' Committee held nomina tions for three committee openings. Arlene Beck nominated Louise Coulson. Monty Parazoo nominated Betty Bly. Charlotte Gray nominated Dakota Whitecloud. Sharon Hanson nominated Ruth Rickard. Anna Hannon nominated Tom LaChance. And Tom LaChance nomi nated Anna Hannon. All are Tribal Elders. The results will be announced in Janu ary. Tribal Operations Direc tor Chris Leno gave detailed information about Mem bers Services with a nod to the personnel who keep the programs going. The Tribe offers the fol lowing services to mem bers: Medical and dental insur ance Per capita and timber dis tributions Elders pension, SSI (So cial Security Insurance) and SSD (Social Security Dis ability) Non-Elder SSI, SSD Medicare Part B reimbursement Tax preparation assistance Enrollment Burial assistance Of all benefits offered, the Tribe of fers the following services to Elders (age 55) Elder's pensionSSISSD Medical and dental insurance Medicare Part B reimbursement Per capita and timber distributions Non-member spouse health insur ance (age 55) Tax preparation Of all benefits offered, the Tribe of fers the following benefits to members age 18-54: Medical and dental insurance Medicare Part B reimbursement Per capita (age 18) and timber dis tribution (age 21) Enrollment services Tribal SSISSD (if eligible) Of all benefits offered, the Tribe of- Coordinator, 503-879-2253; or Sharon Grout, Enrollment Specialist, 503-879-2116. For Medical and dental insurance, contact Francine Peterson, Member Services Assistant, 503-879-2221. For departmental assistance, con tact Hollie Mercier, Administrative Assistant, 503-879-2490. For tax purposes, said Leno, the per capita should be listed under Indian gaming proceeds, Tribal distribution V v'- b c v i Presentation Tribal Operations Director Chris Leno described services available to mem bers through Tribal programs. Here To Help Steve English, an attorney with Bullivant Houser Bailey, PC, described how the Tribe is continuing to pursue investments lost when Stra tegic Wealth Management was handling Tribal investments. fers the following benefits to members age 0-17: Medical and dental insurance Per capita (under 18) and timber distribution (under 21) deposited into trust accounts Enrollment services Contacts: For per capita and timber distribu tions, contact Liz Leno, Member Ben efits Administrator, 503-879-2082. For Enrollment and burial benefits, contact Margo Mercier, Enrollment or Native American distribution, not employment income. Steve English and Jeff Eden, law yers from Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, a Portland law firm that is reviewing a range of issues for the Tribe, high lighted the Tribe's effort to recover in vestments lost between 1992, when the Tribe hired Strategic Wealth Manage ment (SWM) to handle investments, and 2001 when the agreement with SWM was terminated and legal pro ceedings began. The presentation avoided a number of still-confidential issues and facts, but was designed to let the member ship know that the process to recover all losses continues as the Tribe works to keep such problems from cropping up again. As information becomes available, Smoke Signals or Council News will provide it. Tribal member JeffMercier brought forward a family concern to Tribal Council seeking an explana tion. . Former Tribal Council member and Elder Val Grout thanked the council for this year's benefits, not ing, "Our grandparents fought the hardest for us and never got a thing." She received a standing ovation. Discussion followed about whether General Council meetings were the right place for raising personal issues. Tribal Elder Lottie Child said that nobody thanks graveyard employees at the casino. They're treated dif ferent," she said. The $50 door prizes went to Tribal Elders Tom Bean, Carol Gleason and June Olson. Tribal Elder Gene LaBonte won the $ 100 prize. The Royalty Committee held drawings for winners of its fund raising raffle. Tribal Elder Rebecca Crocker won a Pendleton blanket. Tribal Elders Tom Linton, Marcia Bolton and Norma Lee won fruit baskets. Announcements: The Tribal Council will take its General Council meetings on the road in February (to Portland) and in April (to Eugene). The next General Council Meet ing will be Sunday, January 9, 2004, at 11 a.m. in the Tribal Community Center. Alaskan Wins $1.9 Million At Spirit Mountain Casino By Peta Tinda A lucky visitor to Spirit Moun tain Casino struck it rich, win ning $1,999,467 on the Wheel of Fortune dollar machine. The jackpot is the largest in the history of Spirit Mountain Ca sino and the fourth largest pay out in the state of Oregon. The winner, Lorene Alexan Anelon, resides in Iliamna, Alaska. She stopped in at Spirit Mountain Casino while visiting family. "I've never played Wheel of Fortune but my family loves the game," said Anelon. "I put in $100 and had $66 left when I hit the Wheel of Fortune. And when I knew I hit the $1.9 million I started crying. I just couldn't be lieve it." The Wheel of Fortune game is a wide area progressive, linked nationally with other Native Ameri can casinos. The progressive meter grows for all participating Tribal properties as guests play at each casino. Spirit Mountain Casino is wholly owned and operated by the Con federated Tribes of Grand Ronde and is the key economic resource in the Tribe's on-going effort to gain self-sufficiency for the Tribe and its members. Spirit Mountain Casino has 1,500 slot machines, Keno, three Craps tables, four Roulette tables, 29 Blackjack tables, three Let It Ride Poker tables, three Pai Gow Poker tables, one Big 6 Wheel, an 850-seat Bingo Hall, 16 poker tables and an Off-track Betting area. It has six different dining options and includes the 100-room Spirit Mountain Lodge and 4,800 square feet of meeting and banquet space with full-service catering and other conference services. Each year, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, through its Spirit Mountain Community Fund, gives six percent of the profits of Spirit Mountain Casino to non profit organizations. The Community Fund also con tributes to government running programs in Polk and Yamhill coun ties the two counties most heavily impacted by the casino. In addition, Spirit Mountain Ca sino supports a variety of commu nity organizations and activities through corporate sponsorships and other donations. The casino has sponsored such worthy causes as Salem Art Associates, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry ' '. .. a l i Lorene Alexan Anelon (OMSI), Zoolala and local food banks and charities. Spirit Mountain continues to be Oregon's number one tourist attraction. D
