8 APRIL 1, 2005
Smoke Signals
Preschool Kids Rxid Number One Dads
Education Division's John Gregg is building a Father-Child program that will be chalking up results for a generation.
By Ron Karten
It all seemed like too much for the
preschoolers to take in.
Outside the Rose Garden during the
hour before the tip ofTfor a recent Port
land Trail Blazers and Minnesota
Timberwolves game, guys were out
there hawking tickets on every corner.
"Who needs tickets?"
"Who needs tickets?"
At the same time, Trail Blazer An
nouncer Jay Allen was on the loud
speakers talking about "Smash mouth
basketball," and how the Blazers were
"five-and-a-half games behind L.A."
Inside, the first encounter was with
the outside ring where vendors hawk
everything from dawgs to shirts to
shaved ice. Circling that ring for a
distance about equal to a trip around
the pow-wow grounds, the group found
entrance A23 that led to the inner
circle where finally, the group saw the
basketball court. Darkness was
pierced by spotlights that roved and
circled and dive-bombed the audience
like starlings at a cat. The music
swelled. The voice of Jay Allen was
still smooth and upbeat. Fans wield
ing inflated plastic clappers started
making a racket.
The usher looked at the tickets and
pointed upward toward where the
stars should be. It was clear that af
ter the long ride from Grand Ronde
and a health stop at Abbey's Pizza in
Newberg, this trip was less about go
ing to the Rose Garden and more about
going to the top of the world.
For a preschool kid with his dad or
granddad or uncle at his side, there is
nothing much out there that is closer
to heaven than the number 8 seat in
the letter K row in the 226th section of
the Rose Garden.
"Just the atmosphere was something
for him," said Tribal member and Cul
tural Resources Language Specialist
Bobby Mercier about his son, Tribal
member Nokoa, who was at
the Rose Garden arena for
the first time. "He couldn't
believe all the people and ev
erything." All the little faces seemed
pre-occupied even when the
Blazer establ
shamelessly paraded
'Blaze Claw.' As did
Nokoa Mercier.
Ezra Lorenzo
Pacheco, there with his
granddad, Max Chavez,
and Tribal kid, Keeton
Walker, there with his
uncle, Tribal member
Daniel Freeman, ap
plauded when the
crowd did, whether it
was because the Blaz
ers scored or because
the BlazerDancers had
a head-rocking number
going.
For some reason,
little kids all applaud
with their fingers
splayed while adults,
knowing better, keep
their fingers together
when they clap.
"Every time the
people were doing
something down
there," said Bobby
Mercier, "(Nokoa) was
hollering at me, 'Look
dad, look."'
All this was just the
most recent event in
an ongoing Tribal pre
school program to
keep fathers in the
lives of their young children, or to bring
them back in.
Regarding a previous trip to Salem
for a pizza stop and the movies, Tribal
member John Gregg Jr., a Preschool
Bus Driver and Aide who started the
father-child program, reported that a
little girl who hadn't seen her dad in
over a month was in for a treat.
"He was there waiting for her across
the parking lot," said Gregg. "She was
ecstatic to see him. I had to hold her
back from running across the park-
1 a
!
Fast Eddie Tribal member Joey Larsen and his
son, Tribal member Eddie, 3, discuss the Blazer strat
egy during the home team's recent loss to the Minne
sota Timberwolves. Portland now hovers above cellar
dwelling Utah in the NBA's Northwest Division.
of a Head Start conference entitled,
'First Annual Father Factor' that
Gregg attended last year. "That
sparked the interest in fathers."
Grand Ronde's preschool program
formed a Father Involvement Respon
sibility and Support Team (FKST) and
its first mission was a Halloween party
at the gym. Later, when the group
enjoyed that movie and pizza in Sa
lem, each student took home a copy of
the Christmas story, Polar Express.
In January, the group went to see the
ishment V t(Jiy
ided pets LL (fi ' W ,
for adoption across the iS'wJ'O
3
o
V f.
J
O
court, but when the cotton
candy guy came around
with the blue stuff piled as
high as a mountain, all
those wide eyes got the mes
sage and some of them
landed a big one.
Most of the dads,
granddads and uncles had
seen this before, and took
requests with gentle re
minders about the value of
manners and self-control,
and though the parent side
of these duos and trios might
still spring for a tub of pop-
corn the size of a swimming pool, they
were firm about not going for the clap
pers, not yet, ntyt this trip...
"I had a great time with the kids,"
said Tribal member and Spirit Moun
tain Casino employee Mike Colton, who
came with Tribal member Nicholas,
his son. "It was fun. Far better than
going out with the boys. 'Cause you're
spending the time with your son."
Nicholas may have missed out on a
clapper, but he came home with a foam
Team Spirit On the floor, the Blazers were not so hot, but the real story was up in the stands where
fathers and preschoolers played together with foam claws, buttered popcorn and sweet sodas.
ing lot. She was nothing but smiles.
After that, (the father) went home and
saw his other daughter that he hadn't
seen in over a month.
"That same trip," Gregg continued,
"I had a grandfather in tears thank
ing me because he hardly ever (other
wise) sees his grandson.
"When that happened," he said, "I
knew we had accomplished so much
more than we ever expected."
The idea for the program came out
Portland Winter Hawks, the minor
league hockey team supported by the
Tribe.
"We're going to try to focus on one-on-one
involvement," said Gregg, "but
when we have extra tickets we give
them away."
That wonderful exception policy ben
efited the Sherwoods this trip. Tribal
member Ken brought daughter and
Tribal member Trinity, but older
brother and Tribal member Isaiah also
got to come along this time, said
Gregg.
"I think that the turnout was incred
ible," said Dave Fullerton, the Tribe's
Social Services Manager, who came
with Raven Harmon, his girlfriend's
daughter.
"How many dads, or grandparents,
came out with their children?" he said.
"It's a real incredible thing. My hat's
off to the Head Start preschool pro
gram for putting these types of events
together that get kids and their par
ents out to do something."
Preschool staffers Junelle Fox and
Gregg led a group to the Blazer game
that included Cultural Resources Edu
cation Coordinator Tony Johnson and
his son, Sammy, Bobby Mercier and
Nokoa, Tribal member Brian Krehbiel
and his daughter, Tribal member
Kailiyah, Chris Scholton and his son,
Ethan Howard, Mike Colton and his
son, Nicholas, Tribal member Daniel
Mooney and his son, Joseph Benedict,
Dan Freeman and his nephew, Keeton
Walker, Dmitrio Reyes and his son,
Tribal member Jordan, Ken Sherwood
and both his daughter, Trinity, and her
older brother, Isaiah, Kimball Smith
and his son, Tristan, Fullerton and
Raven Harmon, Tribal member Joe
Larsen and his two sons, Tribal mem
bers Eddie and Raymond, Max Chavez
and his grandson, Ezra, and Tribal
member Peter Grout Jr. and his niece,
Tribal member Sydney Dizick.
For Freeman, whose first time see
ing a professional ball club play came
when the group went to see the Win
ter Hawks in January, the events
have been a watershed experience.
"Seeing our logo on the ice gave me
a feeling of worth," he said.
And it works both ways.
"For days after we have these," said
Gregg, "that's all these kids talk about.
They are so proud that they get to go
out with their dads. It re
ally gives them a sense of
self worth.
"I still have kids telling
me how good the movie
was they got to see."
The lack of a positive
male role model in the life
of a child has been linked
to many behavioral issues.
For the four in ten youth
who currently are growing
up without a father in the
household, there is a dra
matically increased likeli
hood that they will grow up
poor, abusing drugs and al
cohol, or be a high school
dropout. They will have a
suicide rate ten-times
higher than children who
grow up with dads in the
home, according to Patrick
Mitchell, the 'Down to
Earth Dad' who visited the
Tribe in 2003 (See Smoke
Signals , 41503) with this subject in
mind.
Next year, Gregg's own son, Tribal
member John Gregg III, joins the pre
school program, and thanks to his dad,
the experience is likely to be loaded
with valuable extras.
One might hope that the disoriented
Blazers will be back on the trail by
then, but the beautiful thing is, for a
group like this, it doesn't make a bit
of difference. D