JANUARY 15, 2007
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A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
www.grandronde.org
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By Siobhan Taylor
A recent article in The Oregonian
Newspaper falsely claimed that fire
safety at Spirit Mountain Casino is
an issue. The article quoted claims
from the West Valley Fire District
Chief Eddings that the lack of a hook
and ladder truck for his department
meant that lives at the casino were
in imminent danger. The claims
couldn't be further from the truth
according to casino management,
the Executive Director of the Gaming
Commission and outside fire safety
experts.
When the issue of fire safety at the
casino was first raised in 2004, by
the local fire chief, the Commission
met with the Oregon State Police,
Department of Justice and both the
State Fire Marshall and the West
Valley Fire Chief. They mutually
agreed that an independent fire risk
analysis would address the concerns
and selected HYT Corporation, an
independent fire engineering firm
skilled in evaluating fire and life
safety systems and compliance with
National standards. HYT's findings
unequivocally state, that the Spirit
Mountain Casino and lodge represent
a model facility in regard to the fea
tures and programs in place for fire
and life safety to protect employees
and patrons from injury or death.
After their report was issued, the lo
cal fire chief began to list complaints
about HYT and their results with
the state. HYT's response to that
said, "It is unfortunate that the West
Valley Dire District appears to have
reviewed the analysis outside of the
context and scope in which it was
developed. It also appears the fire
activated and the building is evacu
ated. Their job would be to perform
mop-up, and that doesn't require a
hook and ladder truck."
Prior to The Oregonian article,
Tribal General Manager Chris Leno
addressed Chief Eddings concerns
in a letter. In the letter Leno reas
sured the chief about the Casino's fire
i n : -
district may be attempting to use the
analysis as a basis for the pursuit of
other goals or agendas."
That outside goal or agenda became
obvious in The Oregonian article.
West Valley wants a hook and ladder
truck. But Lynn Hillman, Executive
Director of the Gaming Commission
for Spirit Mountain Casino, points
out that a hook and ladder truck
would be of no value to the casino fire
effort. "By the time West Valley ar
rives the fire suppression system has
system. "This system is so effective
that if a fire emergency were to occur
the casino and lodge, patrons and
employees would be efficiently evacu
ated and the fire likely suppressed
before the arrival of fire suppression
services."
The Oregonian article and Chief
Eddings complaints have also come
under fire by Tribal Council and
Tribal members. Tribal Chairman
Chris Mercier points out that the
Tribe has chosen to work with the
community in a variety of ways when
it comes to public safety. The Tribe's
Spirit Mountain Community Fund,
which donates 6 of the profits from
the casino to non-profit organizations
in an 11-county area, has given over
$350,000 to West Valley for equip
ment needs. The Tribe also supports
the Polk County Sheriffs Office
through the community fund. The
sheriff sub-station is housed, without
charge, on Tribal land and the fund
supports six full-time deputies. To
date the community fund has given
over $36 million to local non-profits.
"Our Tribe is exemplary when it
comes to government-to-government
relations," said Tribal lobbyist and
Grand Ronde Tribal member Justin
Martin. "We have an award winning
government relations program, we
have agreements with Polk County
Sheriffs office and other governmen
tal agencies. The Tribe works with
ODOT, the DEQ and more."
Hillman agrees and says if there
was an issue about fire safety it
would have been brought up during
compact negotiations and the gover
nor would never have approved the
new gaming compact. "The bottom
line is that fire and life safety at our
casino is NOT an issue. It's just
unfortunate that the local fire chief
is trying to make it one."
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Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
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Grand Ronde Tribal Council
Begins Feasibility Study
By Siobhan Taylor
The Grand Ronde Tribal Council
is continuing its ongoing conversa
tion about ways to improve fire and
emergency response time for Tribal
lands and the surrounding commu
nity. On Thursday, January 4 the
Tribal Council instructed Tribal
Director of Economic Development,
and Tribal member, Pete Wake
land, to draw up the parameters
to an emergency call here. Under
good conditions that drive time is 18
minutes, that's too long when lives
are at stake," said Tribal General
Manager, Chris Leno.
Leno and Spirit Mountain Ca
sino Gaming Commission Director,
Lynn Hillman has been involved in
discussing the issue of fire response
time for well over a year. Hillman's
outreach has included conversations
The study will examine a number of options
including building and staffing a Fire De
partment on Tribal lands and enhancing and
staffing the current West Valley Fire District's
Grand Ronde sub-station.
of a feasibility study. The Tribe is
evaluating and seeking discussions
with West ValleyFire District about
the current situation and ways to
improve it. The study will examine
a number of options including build
ing and staffing a Fire Department
on Tribal lands and enhancing and
staffing the current West Valley
Fire District's Grand Ronde sub
station. "There's been an on-going concern
in Grand Ronde about the length of
time it takes West Valley to respond
with the West Valley Fire District
Chief about the possibility of a full
time substation in Grand Ronde.
Now, that discussion will also look
at the possibility of building a brand
new substation on Tribal lands.
"Right now we're preparing a writ
ten framework for the study," said
Wakeland. He expects the frame
work to be ready and presented to
Tribal Council within the next three
weeks. After that review the council
will determine what avenue they
want to pursue.