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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2007)
OCTOBER 15, 2007 PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID SALEM, OR PERMIT NO. 178 OR NEUSFAFER FROJ. UO LIBRARY SKTEtl FRE 1299 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON EUGENE OR 97403-1205 ll.ll..,l,llll.....ll....l(..l.lll....l,l.l.l..l.l..,ll( www.grandronde.org UMPQCTA m lfOLAUA KOOtTK RIVER KALAmTA CKASTA A Puh&aaUkoei vt ihm Otmnd Rood TrSb Hmokei jQ ignals CasDimo enpaiiDSDOirD a Due adl off sclhiedlaaOe Good fall weather allows contractors to speed up construction By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor . The southern expansion of Spirit Mountain Casino will be complete in April instead of August, ca sino interim general manager Roy Rhode said Sunday, Oct. 7, during the Tribe's monthly General Coun cil meeting. Although much of Rhode's Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. presentation occurred in executive session because it dealt with casino finances, he said afterwards that good fall weather helped contractors get ahead of schedule on the expansion. Spirit Mountain Casino is under going its fourth major expansion since opening in 1995 and is closer to becoming a destination resort. The two-story expansion will add 135,396 square feet, including an events and center, a new Coy ote Buffet, conference rooms and of fice space for the casino's Human Re- sources Department, which is cur rently housed two miles west of the casino on Highway 18. Rhode said the second floor, which will house offices and surveil lance, will be open in late December and the first floor, which will house the new buffet and events and en- Interim general manager Roy Rhode tertainment center, will be open to the public in April. Rhode said he was looking for ward to having an indoor concert venue so that casino patrons would not have to battle the bees and wind to enjoy live entertainment. "That's not good customer ser vice," he said. One part of the expansion is already complete. The new Playworld events center opened in late August. See CASINO on page 4 A waterfall was built behind the current lodge and in front of the new events center at Spirit Mountain Casino. rrTT I Si ' ; '.'V if Ml t mi 1 Photos by Toby McClary ancestry and qualify for per capita paymen ts or race-based grants,;mdreand;m arefplayingthe.. . DAM Genetic testing has limited uses for Tribes, but experts warn people seeking ancestral links to look before they pay By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer DNA testing's increasing popularity has reduced prices and enticed more people to use the tests in an attempt to prove their Native American heritage, say Tribal enrollment specialists for two Oregon Tribes. Why? It could be the cachet of having Native heritage, but more likely it's the cash. The money in some cases comes from Tribal payouts and generous benefits for Tribal members, especially those who be long to Tribes that own casinos. In other cases, it comes from savings offered to those designated as a mi nority by colleges and universities. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and other Oregon Tribes have seen a rise both in the number of companies offering DNA tests and the number of inquiries about becoming Tribal members based solely on those results. "We get many calls for this," said Grand Ronde Tribal member and Member Services Enrollment coor dinator Margo Mercier. "I tell them Illustration created by George Valdez that a DNA test will not help." "When you become a per capita Tribe," said Siletz En rollment clerk Loraine Butler (Siletz), "that changes a lot of things." Among the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, en rollment regulations require a DNA test for a child when only the father is a Tribal member. The Cow Creeks use DNA testing for children of unmar ried couples. At Warm Springs, testing is only used if there is a See DNA on page 5 Shooting at Tribal Housing believed gang-related By Toby McClary Smoke Signals staff writer A recent shooting has increased concern among Prostar Security personnel and Tribal Housing au thorities about possible gang-related activity in Grand Ronde. About 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, Prostar Security employee Tim Prindle was patrolling Tribal hous ing because of "high activity" dur ing the weekends. As Prindle was walking through Tilixam Circle, he said he saw a white vehicle pull See SHOOTING on page 6 n , 1 - 1M.I. , mil 1 1 Photo by Toby McClary Prostar Security employee Tim Prindle, left, and Polk County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Nathan Goldberg assess the damage caused by two bullets fired into a stop sign in Tribal Housing.