Smoke Signals 5
OCTOBER 1,2009
fV f ; ' "'A' , v"
Haw.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Mark Jeffery, second from right, the new superintendent for the
Willamina School District, listens to Tribal Council member Valorie
Shelter, lower left, during a meet and greet with Tribal Council on
Wednesday, Sept. 16. From left. Tribal Council member Toby McClary,
Tribal Secretary Kathleen Tom and Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy listen. Also attending the meeting, but not pictured, were
Tribal Vice Chair Reyn Leno and Tribal Council members Steve Bobb
Sr., Chris Mercier and Wink Soderberg.
Restoration Committee
seeks volunteers
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will celebrate its 26th Restora
tion Celebration on Sunday, Nov. 22, in the Tribal gymnasium.
Tribal member volunteers are needed to help plan this year's celebration.
Volunteers will work with the Tribe's Public Affairs Department.
To volunteer, contact the Public Affairs Department at 800-422-0232,
ext. 1920, or via e-mail at publicaffairsgrandronde.org.
Deadline to volunteer is Friday, Oct. 9. B
CULTURAL GATHERINGS
OCT. 16-17: GIVING BACK TO THE CIRCLE ANNIVERSARY POWWOW. Arlee Powwow
Grounds, Powwow Road. ARLEE, MT. 406-781-5470 or l-candacehotmail.com.
NOV. 14: 32ND ANNUAL RESTORATION POWWOW AND CELEBRATION. Chinook
Winds Casino, 1777 N.W.44th St. LINCOLN CITY, OR. 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1230.
NOV. 20-22: NATIVE AMERICAN ARTS FESTIVAL. Chinook Winds Casino, 1777 N.W.
44th St. LINCOLN CITY, OR.
If you or anyone you know has information on cultural events happening, Smoke Signals would
be glad to list it in our Cultural Gatherings. Please e-mail newsgrandronde.org or write to
Smoke Signals, 96 15 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347.
CMstiinmsis free
decoEratDirog coimtesft
The Elders' Activity Center is looking for teams to decorate a
Christmas tree.
Voting will be conducted by people who come into the Elders' Ac
tivity Center. Prizes will be $100 for first place, $75 for second place
and $50 for third place.
The trees then will be sold by silent auction.
Decorating will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6.
Call Elder Activity Assistant Daniel Ham at 503-879-2233 to sign
up your team or call Tribal Elder Louise Medeiros at 503-879-4312
for more information. D
Unmarked grave sites
If anyone knows the location of an unmarked grave or knows the name of some
one who was buried at the Grand Ronde Cemetery and their grave has not been
marked, contact Mike Larsen, Facilities Manager, at 503-879-2407.
YoMtilto Csunioe CMfo
Every Wednesday 4- 5 p.m.
Youth Education Building
Contact Lisa Leno at 503-879-1471 or Travis Mer
cier at 503-879-2143 for more information.
'IPeopDe imeedlto Deacon, pDairu aimdl jpiroftecft'
FLU continued
from front page
feet Elders with reduced immune
systems.
Five months later, Tribal and
Spirit Mountain Casino represen
tatives are preparing fpr another
round of H1N1 formerly known
as "swine flu" but are taking a
more proactive and measured ap
proach to a possible pandemic.
During a Sept. 22 meeting in the
Governance Center, Tribal member
and Spirit Mountain Casino Hu
man Resources Director Camille
Mercier ran through a PowerPoint
presentation presented previously
to casino managers.
Mercier said that seasonal flu
shots will be offered at the casino
for employees on Oct. 7 and 22, and
shots specifically for II1N1 will be
scheduled when a vaccine becomes
available nationally in October.
"Unless you already have a com
promised immune system, MINI
is just a very severe flu," Mercier
said. "You get really sick and you're
really contagious."
Mercier segued into the recom
mendations that are circulating
everywhere and will hopefully be
common knowledge soon.
If you're ill, stay home and don't
expose other people, Mercier said.
The H1N1 flu can last anywhere
from three to seven to 10 days.
People should have a two-week
supply of medicine, food and cleaning
supplies in their homes just in case
the pandemic becomes widespread.
To prevent contracting 1 1 1 N 1 , peo
ple should practice good hand-washing
techniques; use antibacterial
gels that have at least 60 percent
alcohol content; cover their coughs
and sneezes; cleanse and disinfect
their work areas often; and be cau
tious when dealing with animals.
"People need to learn, plan and
protect," Mercier said. .
"Education is a key part," Tribal
member and Tribal Executive Of
ficer Chris Leno said.
Leno said that the Tribe is en
couraging employees to check their
paid time-off balances to ensure
they have enough hours banked in
case they contract H1N1 and must
stay home for seven to 10 days.
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy asked if local and state
public health authorities have the
authority to quarantine either
Spirit Mountain Casino or the
Tribal Governance Center if an
MINI outbreak occurred.
Health & Wellness Assistant Ex
ecutive Director Allyson Lecatsas
said that public health officials are
taking a more "hands-off" approach
to HlNl, leaving it to organiza
tions, schools and businesses to
make their own closure decision.
Tribal Public Affairs Director
Siobhan Taylor said that the II 1 N 1
level of infection is not as severe
as the strain that occurred in the
spring, which prompted Lecatsas
to report that the World Health
Organization is no longer separat
ing flu reports between seasonal
and HlNl strains unless a patient
is hospitalized or dies.
"It's not as virulent as thought,"
Lecatsas said.
Tribal member and Tribal Public
Works Department Manager Lewis
Younger said that Tribal cleaning
crews have "geared up," purchasing
extra supplies in case of an out
break on the Tribal campus.
According to Tribal member
Mark LaBonte, swing shift house
keeping supervisor, the Tribe uses
two products Saniguard and Vi
rex TB that are certified by the
Environmental Protection Agency
to kill influenza strains.
LaBonte said the Tribe also has
purchased a floor cleaner that can
kill the flu virus.
"Currently, our preliminary plan
that is effective immediately for
the disinfection of our facilities is
to wipe down all surfaces with our
Virex TB and then follow up by us
ing the Saniguard," LaBonte said.
"I have two staff members sched
uled at the Elders' Activity Center
to wipe down all chairs, tables,
doorknobs, restrooms and surfaces
during the evening to ensure that all
areas of the EAC are disinfected."
Similar cleaning protocols have
been established for the Tribe's
educational facilities, Governance
Building and Health & Wellness
Center, LnBonte said.
"These viruses are called 'envel
oped' in terms of their structure,"
LaBonte said. "Fortunately, they
are the easiest ones to kill with
chemical disinfection."
Lncatsas added thnt the I lealth &
Wellness Center will have different
waiting rooms to segregate those
with flu symptoms in an effort to
stifle its spread.
The center started offering sea
sonal flu shots to clients from 1 to 4
p.m. Thursdays beginning Sept. 21.
HlNl shots will be offered when a
vaccine becomes available nation
ally in October. D