Smoke signals., May 15, 2009, Page 7, Image 7

Smoke Signals 7
MAY 15, 2009
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Photos by Michelle Alalmo
Tribal Council member Chris Mercier films some elk meatloaf as ha
makes a video at the Native Foods Celebration at the Tribal Community
Center on Saturday, May 9. Salmon, lamprey, sea rose, mussels and
deer stew were among the food served besides the meatloaf. Below,
Grand Ronde Princesses Kallie Provost, left, and Goldie Bly fill cups with
blackberries and strawberries as they help prepare food for the Native
Foods Celebration at the Tribal Community Center.
I
Menu's Group sttairttiinicij
The Behavioral Health Department is starting a Men's Group, which will
be open to members of all Tribes. Topics that will be covered include healthy
relationships, communication skills, anger management, spirituality, emotional
intelligence and how to live one's life from a place integrity and authenticity.
The Men's Group will meet every Thursday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the
Behavioral Health Department at Health & Wellness. A certificate of comple
tion will be awarded to men who have completed the training. Transportation
may be available for those in need.
Contact Tom Bender with any questions at 503-879-2067.
Skookum Health Plan benefit
update effective July 1, 2009
There will be an emergency room benefit change to the Skookum Health
Plan occurring on July 1, 2009. Currently, the health plan covers a non-emergency
visit to the emergency room with a 60 percent co-insurance; after July
1, 2009, non-urgentnon-emergent use of the emergency room will no longer
be a covered benefit. Tribal members who go to an emergency room to receive
non-urgentnon-emergent services will be responsible for the entire charge.
The reason for this change is over utilization of the emergency room. Many
of the claims received from emergency room visits are for services that should
be received through a physician's office or an urgent care setting. For non
emergency service, the average cost of an emergency room visit is close to
$500, while the same service in a provider's office or urgent care setting is
only around $100. Use of the emergency room for non-urgentnon-emergent
services results in higher costs to the Tribe.
If you or someone you know is in need of medical attention and you do not
know if you should go to the emergency room or not, take the time to contact
the 24-hour Nurse Line at 800-970-7138 or your personal physician.
If you are instructed to seek services at the emergency room by the Nurse Line
or by your physician's office, it will be covered by the Skookum Health Plan.
If you have questions about this important benefit change, contact Barbara
Steere at 503-879-2 187 or Jim Holmes at 603-879-2221.
FdlaflStiuG)D'u- Ifi)Stiita
Effective June 1, 2009, burial benefits for nonTribal members will decrease.
Currently, the benefit available to all enrolled Tribal members and their im
mediate family members is $5,500 to be paid directly to a funeral establish
ment of choice. There is also a $300 reception benefit which is paid directly
to a family member.
Regretfully, due to budgetary reasons, and with the best interest of the Tribe
in mind, Tribal Council made a difficult decision to reduce the burial benefit
for nonTribal members. This benefit will continue as is for Tribal members,
but will decrease to $2,500 for nonTribal members not including the $300
reception benefit.
Grand Ronde Tribal Cemetery plots are still available at no cost to Tribal
members, their spouses and children.
Mutt Movement operates
through contributions
DOGS continued
from front page
rescue efforts.
"My main love is saving ani
mals. It is my passion," Modrell
says. "Last summer, my co-worker,
Deborah Lee, and I started this or
ganization. We began pulling dogs
out of our local animal shelters and
adopting them out in our area."
The Mutt Movement is an all-volunteer,
non-profit dog rescue orga
nization. It is committed to finding
permanent and happy homes for
unwanted and homeless pets in the
Los Angeles area.
The Mutt Movement operates
through contributions, as well as
volunteers who provide temporary
foster homes for the animals while
they await a permanent placement.
To date, says Modrell, "I believe we
have successfully placed 70 of our
furry little friends."
"We didn't start this with the in
tention of it becoming an organiza
tion," Lee says. "Actually, we had just
found a stray that needed a home
and it all snowballed from there.
"Once we began rescuing dogs
from shelters, we realized the cru
elty behind the system of the shel
ters in the Los Angeles area."
During the summer of 2008
while visiting her niece in Eugene,
Modrell, 39, also visited the Green
hill Humane Society so she could
look into its programs. While she
was there, she noticed a shortage
of small dogs.
Returning to California, she con
tacted an acquaintance, Robin Har
mon, who runs a program called
Pup My Ride. Harmon transports
small dogs from Los Angeles to Salt
Lake City, Utah, where there is a
waiting list for small dogs.
"These dogs would have surely
been put to sleep had they re
mained in the Los Angeles area,"
Modrell says.
Modrell made it her goal to ensure
that the Eugene area also was blessed
with small dogs as well. On April 11,
the Eugene version of Pup My Ride
arrived with 30 small dogs ready for
adoption. This was the beginning of
Modrell's dream of creating a pro
gram for transporting small dogs to
humane societies all over Oregon.
"I believe," says Modrell, "that
it is our mission to plead for their
lives, campaign for their safety and
uphold their right to a good and
loving life. We shall seek out the
injured, maimed and unloved, as
well as the abandoned, and tend
to them.
"One should not forget their place
in the hierarchy of life, nor forget
that we walk in each other's paths.
It is our job to renew their spirits
when they are waning, bind their
wounds when they bleed, cradle
them when they whimper and com
fort them when they mourn.
"From these creatures of the
earth, one may learn the fruits of
compassion as well as that of undy
ing love."
For more information, contact The
Mutt Movement, 147 N. Larchmont
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90004; call
323-993-6139 or visit www.mutt
movement.com on the Internet. D
503-879-5211
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