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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2009)
Smoke Signals 7 OCTOBER 1, 2009 HALO program covers the bases in Grand Ronde Summer program stimulates Polk County youth, economy By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer The $787 billion federal stimu lus package, signed by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, brought $720,000 for jobs for Polk County youth this summer. Eighteen of 96 Polk County youth, 17 to 24 years old, came through Tribal programs, and from June 30 through the end of September, they worked on Tribal projects all over Grand Ronde. The program had many goals: providing disadvantaged youth with jobs and job skills, as well as promoting recycling. The dugouts at the new baseball diamond on the Tribal campus are a perfect example. They fulfilled a number of those goals. They gave the youth experience in building and work readiness skills. They enabled them to meet the recycling goal of the stimulus money because they recycled wood from the old Elders' seating at the powwow grounds into new dugouts. And beyond that, said Curtis Rentsch, Tribal Environmental Services supervisor, the project enabled the Tribe to finish the baseball field without more funds from Tribal Council. "Not only was the lumber free," Rentsch said, "80 to 90 percent of the materials were recycled lumber. My hat's off to (Tribal member) Duke Kimsey, who was foreman, because he did a'Teally good job of working with that crew." Thi9 kind of enterprise and learn ing also took place at the Elders' Activity Center where the Grand Ronde group built raised planting beds for the Elders. The group helped with comple tion of the plankhouse and built a footbridge up off Coast Creek. Two HALO employees worked in the Tribal GIS office. As September drew to a close, they cleaned the ii i. rr- .n.... r ix ; ' " ' ' , r.-. ..... -..,.., -,. ..:!, ,.., ... tr.ji, .-j, ..... t,. ...... . .a. ,, ,, .. . ,., :,. . ...,. .. . . .1 . ,:. u, . .. . ..... Photo by Michelle Alalmo Members of the HALO (Help Achieve Lifelong Objectives) crew recently completed two dugouts that they built for the new baseball field on the Tribal campus. The crew was supervised by Jimmy Brandon, front row left, Tribal member and a maintenance technician for the Tribe. The HALO team included, front row from second from left, Rebecca Leader, Tribal member Duke Kimsey and Jeremy Galloway, and second row from left, Justin Rawlins, Kevin Hills, Erik Stroeder, Eric Guardiola, Tribal descendant Kristy Mikkelsen, Matthew Sawyer, Tyler Biggar and Kenny Seagrove. alder chips out of the play area at the Tribal Head Start program. It was then to be filled with shredded rubber, a. safer, cleaner and more pleasant material to play on. Tribal member R.J. Nelson worked that job. "I learned about teamwork and focusing on priorities on a number of projects in the Grand Ronde area as well as using various tools and equipment properly," Nelson said. "I also received my Career Readi ness and OSHA 10 certificates." Tribal member Jack Ham, for merly an intern at Smoke Signals, was hired as journalist for the projects. His byline appears in ev ery issue of The Future at Work" publication for the "Polk Summer Work Program Stimulus Dollars at Work." Through Ham's work, we have j? Attention Parents aprinunyautfclteig of Grand Ronde ? j cUUrmtrithclMijCitk J V C we are creating a sjapport group tor parents ana caregivers h of Grand lUde ehfldieu with special fSMdi.Vrewa fast 2 begin an e-mail and telephone contact fist and later we wQ "S J t- Ifyourdifld,prannVWM,foetcrcM lenges (medic airy, emotjonany, or derelopmcntalrjr) andyoa ? would like to collaborate and share resource with other parents, please tend your contact iixfbrmatkn in an e-mail to: lewis .dmecomcarLnet or call us at 503-566-3093. Thank von, David (2741) and Dorma Lewis parents to Saghaley (5132) and Imtye (5323) lte';v1,te;p,t f,f:H.lt;!ff.ff Ad ctvaled by Oeorqv Valdcf insights into the thinking of crew leader Rachel Walsh, for example, who gave her workers "a sense of direction" by setting goals for them and checking on how well they were meeting their goals. Crew members Eric Gome and Richard Brown, working with the National Guard, "learned about the operation of heavy construction equipment, such as A15s and roll ers," Ham wrote. "'We're getting to learn a whole variety of different vehicles,' said Gome." i Here in Grand Ronde, "Partici pants Cassi Crawford, Shekinah Yubeta and Sasha Oman worked at the Elder Care Center. While there, the three assisted in making beds, making meals, and interacting with Tribal Elders." It was not all work all summer, however, said Tribal member and Mentorship and Workforce Develop ment Coordinator Denise Harvey, whose membership on the county Workforce Investment Board with Katherine Bartlett, executive direc tor of the Polk HALO (Help Achiev ing Lifelong Objectives) program, opened the door for Grand Ronde's community and Tribal members. "Every Friday, they coordinated a field trip," said Harvey. Sometimes, it was job-related. One week, they went to OMSI. Another, just for fun, they went to Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle's Restaurant in Wilsonville. On Aug. 10, Jack Ham and Shny lyn Connelly reported that "past members of the Civilian Conser vation Corps attended their 12th annual summer picnic" where members of the nation's current jobs program heard stories about an even bigger one held during the 1930s. The federal dollars came through the state and then through the Enterprise for Employment and Education agency that funds the Workforce Investment Act for Re gion 3 (Polk, Marion and Yamhill counties). The stimulus dollars, said Bartlett, were extra dollars in a pipeline already receiving fed eral dollars to help disadvantaged youth. But this experience was some thing special, Bartlett said. "It was one of the most beneficial things we've ever done for youth," she said. "We kept 95 kids em ployed for 12 weeks. Nobody was bailing out at all. One moved. The results have been fantastic. The youth have all gained relevant work readiness skills. "These youth now have skills and experience to move on to another job, and we were also able to buy the materials needed from local Polk County businesses. At least 70 percent of the funds was put back into Polk County between youth wages and using local vendors." Harvey stretched the dollars by using Oregon Department of Trans portation funds to buy tools for the sidewalk repair crew and OSHA 10 safety training, so more money could go into staffing. The initial grant was set for six weeks, but with the extra dollars, employment stretched on for 12 and more youth than expected were hired. "We got to make our folks crew leaders," said Harvey, naming Jer emy Galligher, husband of Tribal member Lacey Leno, and com munity member Rebecca Leader. "And when Tribal member Andrew Freeman got a job, I IALO was able to provide htm with the supplies he needed for his new job. "Rebecca never worked construc tion before, but she just shines now." The key, Harvey said, is "making them feel secure enough" to succeed at work that really comes nnturally to them, and allow them to learn enough and have confidence to "go places with the job." B
