Smoke Signals 3
JUNE 1,2009
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 50 per
cent 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 nonurgentnon-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 503-879-2487 or Jim Holmes at 503-879-2221.
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The Grand Ronde Community Resource Center has a few fundraisers and
other projects planned this year and is seeking donations, etc., for the fol
lowing: Spaghetti Feed and Auction in September: Seeking donated items for
a live and silent auction andor food donations for the meal. The center will
provide documentation of your donation for tax purposes.
Community Cookbook: Looking for your favorite recipe. If you have a
recipe you'd like to share, please e-mail it to grcrchotmail.com or mail to
GRCRC, P.O. Box 55, Grand Ronde, OR 97347. Please include the name of
dish, recipe, your name for publication in the cookbook and a phone number
to contact you if there are any questions. The center will advertise sale of the
Community Cookbook as soon as they become available.
Food Preservation: The center is still seeking food dehydrators for its
food preservation program. If you have one you'd like to donate, please e
mail or call and leave a message at 503-879-5731.
Coupon Program: The center is looking for food and non-food item cou
pons for its coupon program.
Casino hosts second boxing night
Roy Jones Jr. and Square Ring Inc. return to Spirit Mountain Casino
with "Perfect Storm," a seven-fight boxing event featuring Dewey Welliver
(18-18-1, 6 KOs) of Spokane, Wash., taking on Daniel "The Haitian Sensa
tion" Edouard (21-2-2, 12 KOs) of West Palm Beach, Fla., in a 10-round
middleweight battle on Sunday, June 12.
Tickets range from $25 to $100 and are available online at www.startick
etsplus.com or by calling 800-585-3737. Tickets also can be purchased at the
casino's Coyote Club desk and at www.spiritmountain.com.
Doors open at 7 p.m. with the first bout beginning at 8 p.m. in the casino's
Events Center.
'We owe the veterans a debt we never can repay'
MEMORIAL DAY continued
from front page
the Oregon Senate.
1 "It's a great honor to share the1"
podium with those who have been
on this land for thousands of years,"
Schrader said. "The civilian au
thorities have your backs," he told
the veterans in attendance.
"Our soldiers stand as a model
for all of us."
"We owe the veterans a debt we
never can repay," said U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley's field representative
Katie Gautier, and promised for the
senator to "give our veterans our
highest and best treatment."
Dayton High School custodian
Jeff Biglin sang the national an
them at the beginning of the cer
emony and "God Bless the U.S-A."
at the end.
"He sang at our (May 1) Veterans
Appreciation Day at Dayton High
School," Rife said. "After I heard
him sing, 'God Bless the U.S.A. I
was sold." Rife said he invited him to
sing for the Grand Ronde event.
In the Tribal Community Cen
ter, Tribal members Kristy DeLoe,
Tribal Food Service coordinator,
and cook technician Kevin Camp
bell along with cook Mike Burton
whipped up elk stew for 500 to eat
after the Memorial Day program.
The elk came through a recently
approved process overseen by the
Tribal Cultural Hunting Board. It
made 40 pounds of stew meat and
80 pounds of ground elk, Campbell
said. Leftovers will be served at
other cultural events or regular
Elders' meals until it is finished
Taylor served as master of cer
emonies on a bright day, so windy
that the flags had to be taped to the
rails of the West Valley Veterans'
Memorial.
Former Tribal Chairwoman and
Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison
gave the invocation. Chaplain Bud
Abbott recited a poem about the
universal soldier that he has been
telling for 25 years, he said.
"Remember the families who lost
their loved ones," Marce Norwest
said. B
Dayton High School custodian Jaff
Biglin tang tha national antham
at tha start of tha Mamorlal Day
caramony. Bahind him, from laft,
ra Congressman Kurt Schradar,
Tribal Chairwoman Charyla A.
Kannady, San. Jaff Marklay's flald
raprasantatlva, Katia Gautiar,
Tribal Council mambar Val Shakar,
Tribal Council Vka Chair Rayn
La no and Chaplain Bud Abbott
(saluting).
Memorial additions
Names added to the West Valley Veterans' Memorial for the
2009 Grand Ronde Memorial Day observance were:
Army: Larry C. Bittner, William C. Boyce, Leonard D. Collins,
Michelle Dickison Cooper, David L. Foster, Paul O. Franklin,
Glenn Fuller, Jonathan M. Halstead, Olen Hammons, Dan A.
Harris, Gary E. Josephson, James R. LeTourneux, Douglas E.
Littlejohn, Roger Moore, Michael D. Parazoo (Tribal member),
David L. Peery, Sigurd K. Ramberg, Richard R. Ridgeway,
Harold J. Russie and Ronald A. Slane (killed in action).
Navy: Edwin R. Bender II, Neil A. Brouwer, Hugh E.D.
Colson, Robert Hammons, Kelly R. Johnson, Lloyd Lock
wood Jr., Daniel L. Michelson, Curtis W. Russell Jr. (Tribal
member), Lloyd G. Subriar, Patrice S. Qualman and Larry
L. Wattier.
Air Force: Roger C. Epps, Loma Hammons, Matthew J. Le
Tourneux, Theodore E. Mansell Jr. and Jacob J. Vollmann.
Marines: Loran C. Davison Sr. (Tribal member).
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Photo by Ron lUrtefl