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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2008)
4 MAY 1,2008 Smoke Signals CasDffl expaii-sntDin) peons to poalbDk Tribal member event slated for Monday, May 12, with tours, opening of Cedar Plank Buffet By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The southern expansion of Spirit Mountain Casino will open exclu sively to Tribal members on Mon day, May 12, with an open house set from 5 to 7 p.m. Four days later, the expansion's new Events and Entertainment Center will open to the public with perfor mances by comedian Dana Carvey on Friday, May 16, and rock band Blues Traveler on Saturday, May 17. On Monday, May 12, tours will be conducted of the Events and Enter tainment Center for Tribal members and light appetizers will be served. In addition, the traditional Tribal Elders Monday night dinner will be served at the new Cedar Plank Buffet in the southern expansion starting on May 12. The new buf fet also will be open to the general public starting at 4 p.m. May 12. It will feature seven menu stations: in ternational, pizza, carving, seafood, American, Asian and bakery items. The current Coyote Buffet inside Spirit Mountain Casino's main building will close at the end of the day on Sunday, May 11. Therefore, breakfast and lunch buffet will not be available on Monday, May 12. The southern expansion is Spirit Mountain Casino's fourth major expansion since opening in Octo ber 1995. The two story expansion will add 135,396 square feet to the casino, including the 1,800-seat Events and Enter tainment Center, new buffet and conference rooms. The casino's Hu man Resources Department and Gaming Commis sion offices moved into the second floor of the south ern expansion in February. The southern expansion also will increase casi no parking by 700 spaces to 3,600. The new Events and Entertainment Center also will double as the new bingo hall, with afternoon and early evening games Sunday through Wednesday. In February, Interim Spirit Moun tain Casino General Manager Roy Rhode said the southern expansion supports the vision of turning the casino into a "premiere entertain ment destination." f '- : I ; - ?- . mW&J -Li - VrLiT , -gr Photo by Michelle Alalmo Russ Ellis, left, and Keith Lay measure a piece of wood that will be used on the stage of new Events and Entertainment Center that is part of the southern expansion of Spirit Mountain Casino. The two work for S.D. Deacon General Contractor. "The latest expansion project takes us to an ever higher level of guest service with state-of-the-art facilities that create a relaxing and comfort able environment," Rhode said. "As the premiere entertainment and dining destination in the re gion, we will continue to improve and upgrade this property. It's a very exciting time to be part of Spirit Mountain Casino and we wel come everyone to come see our new buffet and conference space." Other concerts scheduled for this summer include country singers Clint Black on July 25 and Wynon na Judd on Aug. 15, and comedian Dennis Miller on Sept. 12-13. B Still time to comment on Cascade Locks proposal By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Although the five public hear ings on the Cascade Locks Resort and Casino Draft Environmental Impact Statement are over, Grand Ronde Tribal members can still submit comments. The Warm Springs Tribe is re questing that the U.S. Department of Interior take 25 acres into trust within the city of Cascade Locks so that the Tribe can build a proposed $389 million, 603,000-square-foot riverfront destination and casino. The Grand Ronde Tribe opposes the request because it abrogates a long standing principle of one casino per Tribe on reservation land in Oregon. The Warm Springs Tribe, with the largest reservation in Oregon, already operates a casino in central Oregon and is seeking to build a new casino off reservation in the Columbia River Gorge. Deadline to comment on the draft environmental impact statement is May 15. Ways to comment include: Submit comments using the project Web site at www. gorge casinoeis.comcocommentform. html. Mail or hand deliver written com ments to Stanley Speaks, North west Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs. 911 N.E. 11th Ave., Portland, OH 97232, or send a fax to 503-231-2275. Mail in response postcards avail able at the front desk in the Gov ernance Center in Grand Ronde and at the Portland and Eugene satellite offices. After May 15, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will review public comments and begin working on the final environmental impact statement, which may be released later this year and have a 30-day comment period. After that, the final statement will be sent to the Assistant Secre tary for Indian Affairs for a record of decision. Tribal members who would like to contact members of the Oregon congressional delegation regarding the Warm Springs Tribe's efforts to build a casino in the Columbia River Gorge can contact them by using the following information: Sen. Ron Wyden 223 Dirkscn Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-221-5211 Fax: 202-228-2717 Web: http:wyden.senate.govcon- tact Portland: 503-326-7525 Salem: 503-589-4555 Sen. Gordon Smith 404 Russell Senate Office Building Washington. D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3753 Fax: 202-228-3997 Web: www.senate.gov-gsmith webform.html. Portland Office: One World Trade Center 121 S.W. Salmon St., Suite 1250 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: 503-326-3386 Fax: 503-326-2900 Eugene Office: Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse 405 E. 8th Ave. Eugene, OR 97401 Phone: 541-465-6750 Fax: 541-465-6808 Rep. David Wu, 1st District 2338 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Fax: 202-225-9497 Phone: 202-225-0855 Web: www.house.govwuemail. shtml Portland office: 620 S.W. Main. Suite 606 Portland, OR 97205 Phone: 503-326-2901 Toll Free: 800-422-4003 Fax: 503-326-5066 Darlene Hooley, 5th District 2130 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-5711 Fax: 202-225-5699 Web: http:hooley.house.gov Salem office: 315 Mission St. S.E. No. 101 Salem, Oregon 97302 Phone: 503-588-9100 Fax: 503-588-5517 West Linn office: 21570 Willamette Drive West Linn, OR 97068 Phone: 503-557-1324 Fax: 503-557-1981 Rep. Earl Bluemenauer, 3rd District 2267 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-4811 Fax: 202-225-8941 Web: http:blumenauer. house. govaboutContact.shtml Portland office: 729 N.E. Oregon St., Suite 115 Portland, OR 97232 Phone: 503-231-2300 Fax: 503-230-5413 Rep. Peter DeFazio, 4th District 2134 Rayburn House Office Building Washington D.C, 20515 Phone: 202-225-6416 Fax: 202-225-0032 Web: www.house.govformdcfazio contact.html Eugene office: 405 E. 8th Ave. No. 2030 Eugene, OR 97401 Phone: 511-465-6732 Coos Bay: 125 Central, Suite 350 Coos Bay, OR 97420 Phone: 541-269-2609 Roseburg: 612 S.E Jackson St., Room 9 Roseburg, OR 97470 Phone: 611-410-3523 Or call toll-free at 1 -800-9 I t- 9603 B
