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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2012)
Smoke Signals 9 SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor WOOD VILLAGE Opponents of a private casino proposed at the shuttered greyhound park in this East Multnomah County suburb of Portland kicked off their cam paign on Monday, Sept. 11, calling the image portrayed in televisions ads inundating Oregon airwaves "fake." During a news conference held near the proposed casino site in Wood Village, the critics warned that 'The Grange" would be bigger and more damaging to the commu nity than the "entertainment cen ter" described by its developers. 'This would be the largest casino in the western United States," said Cynara Lilly, spokeswoman for It's Still a Bad Idea Committee. Casino supporters have placed two measures on the Nov. 6 ballot 82 and 83 that would amend the Oregon Constitution to allow privately owned casinos and specifi cally OK a private casino in Wood Village. Backers are two wealthy Lake Oswego businessmen and a Cana dian investment firm. In 2010, the same pro-casino coali tion was only able to get one amend ment on the Oregon ballot the one specifically allowing a private casino in Wood Village and Oregon vot ers rejected the idea by a 68 percent to 32 percent margin. Casino opponents said that the current advertising campaign is de ceptive because the main revenue generator would be a casino. "They can say whatever they want to," Lilly said, noting that the ballot language allows up to 3,500 slot machines and 150 table and other games. She said that developers could build a casino and restaurant and not all of the other amenities being promised in TV ads. "It's important that voters clearly see that they're voting on," Lilly said. Teresa Bright, who lives three blocks away from the proposed ca sino site, said, "I think that would wreck my neighborhood." Retired Gresham Police Chief Carla Piluso said already bad traf fic congestion in the area would be worse and that the casino parking lot would become a magnet for crime. "That's a rich environment for car break-ins," she said. Wood Village does not have a po lice force and any calls would have to be answered by the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office and nearby local jurisdictions, which includes Gresham. "The burden on law enforcement is going to be huge," Piluso said. In addition, there is only one exit on Interstate 84 for Wood Vil lage and it is already designated a safety corridor because of frequent accidents with the current level of traffic. Projections say a casino would add an additional 3,000 car trips per day. Lilly said that the anti-casino side will not be able to match the millions of dollars currently being spent on TV advertising and state wide mailers, but added they will plan to run a serious campaign that will get their message out. Oregon Tribes, including the Con federated Tribes of Grand Ronde, are opposed to the private casino initiative because it would canna bilize Oregon Lottery funding and have a detrimental effect on Tribal casino revenues. Tribal casino revenues fund health care, educational scholar ships, Elder pensions and govern mental operations for Oregon's nine federally recognized Tribes. B Includes information from The Oregonian. Rogue Rover was home tto Dmxdliiami foanxrfls ENCAMPMENT continued from front page a cookout with traditional foods and heard great and tragic stories of the Tribe's past. Hosts were Taylor and Emily Grimes, owners of Rogue Jet Boat Adventure Center at the newly named Wapiti (Elk) River Park. They have established a relation ship with the Tribe as they build stories of the past into their boating adventures. "We try to educate people by treating our ancestors as people no different than we are today," said Taylor, a strapping outdoorsman with a heavy hand on the power boat controls. "They were families, and like a lot of snowbirds who come to the area today because of the gentle winters and pristine natural resources, so did the Native peoples." The river park is centered just south of the Rattlesnake Rapids among countless Indian camps, Grimes said. "The Rogue River was home to gobs of Indian bands." On Friday night, encampment participants enjoyed a traditional salmon dinner and craft demon strations by Jordan Mercier and others. Grimes also told stories from the history of the area. In 1821, he said, when French ex- Photo by Michelle Alaimo From left, Makai Simmons, 9, Miguel Adams, 1 1, and David DeMarco, 12, play on plastic chairs in the Rogue River during the Tribal Encampment in Eagle Point on Saturday, Sept. 8. plorers came through the area, they came down the center of the valley where Native bands lived. Among their diaries, one wrote, "They are quite the wild lot," and nicknamed them, "the Rogues." "It was another 20 years before the Rogues encountered Europe ans," Grimes said. The 1849-50 gold rush in south ern Oregon started the settling of the valley by Europeans, and min ers moved north looking to expand the search for gold. Two years of page to see more pnotos problems between Europeans and Natives began in 1851. The Treaty of 1853 was signed above Salmon Rock, downstream from the encampment, and Fort Lane was built in 1854 farther south along the river. When the gold ran out in 1855, Major J.A. Lupton had an idea, Grimes said. "If the settlers could start an Indian War, the govern ment would pay them to fight it. And so, in 1856, three dozen min ers and settlers raided and killed 30 Indian women and children at Little Butte Creek" just south of the encampment. Within the week, the Rogues killed 70 white settlers and the war had begun. On Saturday, during a sunny afternoon, Miguel Adams, 11, David DeMarco, 12, along with Kevin and Robin Simmons' children Kaelynn, 11, Makai, 9, Shasta, 7, Seq'hiya, 6, and even Qwinem, 1 played in the water and on the shore for hours. They sat in chairs in the river; pulled out a rowboat and paddled up and down along the shore; rolled on the grasslands by the river, and, of course, went for rides in the jet boat. "Making memories," said Grimes. Grimes also is working with the Tribe to develop historical signage along the river to plant the history in solid ground, said Tribal Public Affairs Director Siobhan Taylor, who organized the weekend event. "A lot of struggle and family sing ing happened here," said Kevin Simmons. "Blessings on our Tribe," said Elder Bernadine Shriver. -ir u1 ,, , v j - ? ' I look forward to hearing from vou hayu masi , . ; f ( (: i ju K V . Please come ioin us. first class will start on Oct. 3 vs t VAl Come learn the Columbia river art style. Cultural Resources will be having an,, i'- . ' 4 ' " ; ' ' s 1 1 " . t ' ft I (. ' 1 ui if"! ongoing class every Wednesday at the carving shop down by the food bank starting ? ! 1 ' i , ; , , . , ? 1 f -1 , " , , : ! j i . ' : f j& t . - a oi-prs a sir t t , ' . j we will uniy iitve tuuui iur u hiuueiiis. riva&v (.uuiiici utt; ii puj; o-x ; s on Oct. Ad created by George Valdez
