6 JANUARY 1, 2009
Smoke Signals
Smoke Signals 7
JANUARY 1, 2009
rife
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SNOW continued
from front page
residents reported measuring snow
depths of almost 3 feet in their
yards.
"It was bad," said Tribal Council
Vice Chairman and longtime Grand
Ronde resident Reyn Leno. "You
couldn't pull in on the main road
off the highway. ... It was the most
snow I've seen since I was a kid."
"I'm pretty tall and the snow came
up above my knees," said Tribal
Council member Valorie Sheker,
who lives in Tribal Housing.
"It was the worst snow event I've
experienced," said Tribal member
and Director of Operations John
Mercier. "Back in 1968 or '69, we
had one when I was a kid. The
power outage was the worst issue
we had to deal with."
Leno said he became really con
cerned after about 6 inches of snow
fell and it continued snowing with
the addition of freezing rain.
He said he started receiving
phone calls from Tribal Elders, who
were concerned about running out
of their medications and not being
able to refill them.
Leno said he called Tribal Gen
eral Manager Chris Leno about
clearing the roads to allow access by
an ambulance in case of a medical
emergency.
Tribal member and Public Works
Manager Lewis Younger said Fa
cilities Maintenance Supervisor
Doug Colton and maintenance
technicians Tim Murphy and Jeff
Larsen were instrumental in pro
viding immediate services for the
benefit of the Tribe.
"(Colton's) presence and direc
tion were instrumental in provid
ing passable roadways for Grand
Meadows and the main campus,"
Younger said.
Round Valley equipment helped
clear the roads and bladed snow
off the Tribal campus parking lots,
said Round Valley foreman Tom
Brown.
"It was about 20 inches," Brown
said. "It was pretty deep."
Sheker said she and her fianc6,
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People walk down South Street in Grand Ronde on Tuesday, Dec. 23. The
snow-covered street is lined with broken tree branches.
Dave Tovey, used a four-wheel-drive
Jeep equipped with chains to
check on Elders in Tribal Housing
during the snowstorm. They helped
transport several Elders to Spirit
Mountain Casino, where 30 rooms
were set aside for emergency use.
"It was just the nastiest thing I've
seen out here," Sheker said. "All
in all, we got to as many Elders as
we could."
Tribal Council member Wink
Soderberg, who lives in Grand
Meadows, said he was down to one
day's worth of insulin before Tribal
Pharmacy staff reached the Health
& Wellness Clinic and dispensed
needed medications.
Tribal Health Executive Director
Mark Johnston said Pharmacist
Chuck Sheffield, Pharmacy Di
rector Julie Davis and Pharmacy
Technician Faith Goodman worked
four hours on Friday, Dec. 19, to
fill urgent prescription requests for
Tribal member patients.
Patient Account Representative
Tauni McCammon and Medical
Secretary Michelle Sweeney came
in each day to call patients to let
them know that the clinic was
closed, he said.
Leno, Sheker and Soderberg said
the experience will prompt them
to work with other Tribal Council
members in creating an emergency
plan that might include using
the new Elders' Activity Center
or Tribal gymnasium as possible
emergency shelters for Elders. Both
sites have backup generators.
"If we're going to put together a
community, we need to be responsi
ble to take care of that community,"
Vice Chairman Reyn Leno said.
"It will have to be a combination
of Housing, Governance and the
casino."
Sheker said any emergency plan
needs to address basic needs, such
as food, heat and medication for
Elders.
"All Elders need to be protected,"
Soderberg said.
Mercier said the Tribe has adopt
ed the Federal Emergency Manage
ment Agency's National Incident
Management System and might
want to discuss how to implement
its emergency response standards
within the community.
Younger said the storm created
some "real challenges." He identi
fied snow removal, a call-out phone
tree and establishing priorities
as issues that will need to be ad
dressed to improve service to Tribal
Housing residents during emer
gency situations.
"The winter weather that we
experienced in the past two weeks
was unusual," Younger said. "The
cold temperatures and uncom
monly high amounts of show cre
ated some real challenges. This
also gave us opportunity to reflect
on what procedural changes would
be necessary to improve the quality
of service."
The snowy conditions, combined
with periods of freezing rain, also
made the drive into Grand Ronde
treacherous for Tribal employees
and Tribal members living in the
McMinnville, Salem and Lincoln
City areas.
Mercier said he was stuck in his
Willamina Creek home without
power or phone service until Tues
day, Dec. 23.
Important seasonal Tribal events,
including the Dec. 21 Tribal Coun
cil Christmas Party, were canceled
because the inclement weather
made driving dangerous.
Other canceled events included
the Grand Ronde Tribal Housing
Authority Board of Commissioners
meeting scheduled for Dec. 23.
A combination of cold air, snow
and rain started creating dicey
conditions and prompted closure
of the Tribal campus a week before
on Monday, Dec. 15. Employees
worked partial days on Tuesday
and Wednesday, Dec. 16-17, and
started at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec.
18, before being sent home early
as snowfall intensified in the af
ternoon. The Tribe was not alone. The
Willamina School District, with
its middle school in Grand Ronde,
canceled classes for the entire week
The West Valley Veterans' Memorial
Is seen through tree branch that
broke off tree In front of the
Governance Center.
Photos by Bob McElderry
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The Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center is blanketed with snow.
of Dec. 15-19, giving students a
three-week Christmas break.
Other Tribal activities scheduled
for that week were affected.
Per capita distribution on
Wednesday, Dec. 17, started at 1
p.m. because weather delayed ar
rival of checks from New Mexico.
The distribution ended at 4 p.m.
so Member Services employees
could mail checks that were not
picked up.
Canceled or rescheduled events
that week included the Tribal
Library's "Book Talk" on Thursday,
Dec. 18; the Education Depart
ment's 'Talk 101" event on Dec. 19
and High School Guys' and Girls'
nights slated for Dec. 19-21.
In addition, Tribal Council moved
its Dec. 17 meeting from 4 p.m. to 1
p.m. to allow employees and Tribal
members to get home safely during
daylight hours.
The weather also delayed deliv
ery of the Dec. 15 Smoke Signals in
the Grand Ronde area, preventing
Publications employees from pick
ing up and distributing the newspa
per until Thursday, Dec. 18.
However, some Tribal employees
made it to work every day, such as
the Adult Foster Care staff.
Adult Foster Care Director Shir
ley Walkhoff said in an e-mail
that Jonathan Taylor braved the
weather, driving in from Salem
nightly.
"Thank you to Linda Shelly, who
stayed over and worked extra for
those who couldn't make it in,"
Walkhoff said. "We know when
the going gets tough, the tough get
going.
"A huge thank you to the caregiv
ers who have braved this weather
every day without fail and have
been there for the residents 24-7.
Thank you Anna Huston, Alice
Meyer, Brianna Leno, Brandi Bish
op, Brenna Stone, Carmen Parren,
Dawn LnChance, Diane Walker,
Eleanor Ashman, Flicka LaBonte,
Kristen Micik, Linda Shelly, Leslie
Nelson ... you are truly dedicated
to our program."
Walkhoff also thanked the Hous
ing Maintenance Crew for keep
ing the sidewalks and parking lot
clear.
"Lonnie Leno, Randy Bean, Kevin
Ruggles and Joe Lane have been
doing an awesome job of keeping
the sidewalks and parking lot clear.
They had to clear the sidewalks
several times as the snow kept
falling."
Tribal Payroll Specialist Georgene
Sanders, who lives in Sheridan,
made it to work on Dec. 19, 22
and 24, the last day to hand out
checks to employees without direct
deposit.
Sanders said the conditions were
"pretty treacherous," with the com
bination of snow, ice and rutted
roads.
She said about 40 employees
showed up on Dec. 24 to pick up
their checks, and General Manager
Chris Leno drove in from Salem
and took checks back with him for
Tribal employees who live in that
area.
"As bad as it was in Sheridan, it
was just as bad here," Sanders said,
who reported 2 feet of snow at her
Sheridan home.
"I came out in a four-wheel drive
and it was definitely 25 mph the
whole way," she said.
Procurement Supervisor Kevin
Mueller and Chris Leno helped
ensure Tribal employees were paid
on time despite the harsh weather
conditions.
Chris Leno also went door-to-door,
checking on Tribal Elders and
delivering prescriptions, said Social
Services Manager Dave Fullerton.
Mercier, who lives up Willamina
Creek, made it to Grand Ronde
on Tuesday, Dec. 23, picking up a
Tribal Elder's prescription in Wil
lamina along the way.
Central Phones Operator and
Tribal member Carla Roberts
walked over to the Governance
Center from Tribal Housing to
change the Tribal Council Christ
mas Party announcement on the
Reader Board on Dec. 20, helping
to alert Tribal members of the can
cellation. Lt. Juan Sifuentez said Tribal
security personnel helped in Tribal
Housing by shoveling residents out
of their homes and freeing stuck
cars.
Sifuentez, who lives in Salem,
said he and his staff all drive four-wheel-drive
vehicles with chains.
"We pulled together and got
through it," he said.
"It was a team effort," Sheker
said. "People banded together."
Tribal Housing resident and Trib
al member Julie Little took pictures
of the snowfall at Tribal Housing
while Tribal Grants Developer Bob
McElderry also snapped pictures of
the campus buried beneath a layer
of white.
"I have lived in Grand Ronde and
the vicinity many years of my life
and this is the most snow I have
ever seen here," Little said in an
e-mail.
"We had about 2 feet although it
is packed down now due to the ice
from the freezing rain. We have
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Photo by Oorq Vskfef
Although the snow storm caused problems for adults, H created play
opportunities for local youth, such as Kayta Valdet, 4, who sits atop a snow
turtle built In her front yard on Saturday, Dec 20.
about 1.5 feet now. Getting around
in housing is not fun. Highways
18 and 22 are closed from Grand
Ronde to the coast. I am ready for
this to go away."
Other Tribal Housing residents
reported sporadic power outages
and prolonged cable TV and phone
outages during the storm.
Younger said power to Elder
Foster Care and sanitation services
was interrupted.
Tribal employees and Grand
Ronde area residents were not the
only ones affected by the weather.
Spirit Mountain Casino Chief
Executive Officer Rodney Fergu
son told The Oregonian, "The days
before Christmas are usually slow
and the weather just slowed it down
even more so."
Casino shuttle buses from Port
land were suspended because of
the icy roads and Spirit Mountain
Lodge was half-filled with guests
and half-filled with stranded staff
members.
"We were down 72 percent in
headcount last week compared to
the same period in 2007," Fergu
son said. "It was definitely due to
the weather and poor road condi
tions." Emergency phone service also
was out in much of the West Valley
area, including Grand Ronde, and
the state Department of Transpor
tation closed highways 18 and 22
west of Grand Ronde during the
worst parts of the storm.
Tribal facilities, however, weath
ered the storm without too much
damage. Tribal Council Vice Chair
man Reyn Leno reported only
seeing a few damaged gutters on
Tribal buildings.
Several downed tree limbs lit
tered the Tribal campus and hous
ing areas on Monday, Dec. 29,
89 the last remnants of the snow
continued melting.
"(Supervisor) Curtis Rentsch
and his people are reviewing and
cleaning up messes," Younger
said. "Curtis is making the neces
sary contractor contacts to restore
systems to their right conditions.
(Manager) Mike Larsen is in con
stant contact with the Facilities
team to ensure requests are being
met. I commend all for the extra
effort provided."
Soderberg summed up the feeling
throughout the Grand Ronde area
on Monday.
"I'm glad to see it gone," he
said H