Smoke Signals 1 1
OCTOBER 1,2012
Youth Center seeks volunteers
The Tina Miller Community Center Thrift Store, 110 B. St., Willamina,
which helps fund the after-school and weekend youth community center lo
cated in the old high school gym, is seeking volunteers who can help run the
store, in addition to donated items and customers. The store accepts clothes,
books, knickknacks, etc., as donations.
It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Sunday
and Monday. Donations also can be left at the Wildwood Hotel and Restaurant
in Willamina. For more information on volunteering, call 503-876-7897. The
youth center and thrift store that funds it are nonprofit and 100 percent self
sustaining and volunteer-run.
Washington woman hits
$416,262 jackpot at casino
A southwestern Washington woman who was looking to do some
thing "fun" while her husband was at work drove 90 minutes to
Spirit Mountain Casino and hit a $416,262 jackpot on the $1 IGT
Wheel of Fortune slot machine on Friday, Aug. 31.
The woman, who requested her identity and place of residence
remain confidential, won the casino's second jackpot this summer
to be claimed near a national holiday. A Bend man won a $578,175
jackpot on July 3.
The woman arrived at the casino at 6 p.m. and she said she
planned to play for a couple of hours before heading home. About
an hour into her play, she became confused and was about to call
for a slot attendant when the Wheel of Fortune machine suddenly
locked up. The woman playing next to her exclaimed that she had
just won a jackpot.
Stunned and surprised, the woman kept repeating "I can't be
lieve it" and called her husband at work. He arrived at the casino
about 11 p.m.
The woman said she plans on buying a newer car and paying off
some loans with the proceeds.
Online degree programs
Turn your college credits or associate degree into a more powerful
four-year degree from Portland State University.
Undergraduate degrees offered: BABS in Social Science, BABS in
Arts & Letters and BABS in Liberal Studies. For more information
about online degree programs, contact the PSU Salem Center at 503-315-4281
or e-mail psusalempdx.edu. D
Grand Ronde Health and
Wellness Center institutes
Broken Appointment Policy
In an effort to make medical services more efficient, the Grand
, Ronde Health and Wellness Center (H&WC) has approved and
instituted a broken appointment policy for medically-related ap
pointments at the H&WC. To qualify as a broken appointment a
patient must either not show up for their appointment, show up
more than 10 minutes late or give less than 24 hours notice of can
cellation. When any of these events occur, the patient is notified in
writing. After the third broken appointment in a six-month time
frame, the patient will not be allowed to schedule routine appoint
: ments. However, they will be offered a "sit and wait appointment"
the chance to sit and wait for an opening with a provider. This
probationary period will last for six (6) months. The H&WC has a
process for reminding patients of appointments and strives to notify
patients of appointments the day before. .
The broken appointment policy is very important as broken or
missed appointments create unused time in a provider's schedule,
which is inefficient financially and leads to barriers to accessing
care. Ultimately, a broken appointment policy. exists to improve
access to care for all patients and is critical to providing responsive,
cost-effective health services. D V; ,, ' ".. V - Vv
New Oregon tuition waiver
House Bill 3471-Tuition Waiver Bill is a law that gives "tuition waivers"
to current and former foster youth for Oregon community college and public
universities. This program begins with the 2012-13 academic year.
Requirements: All current foster and former foster youth who have spent
at least 365 days in substitute care after age 16, AND either left foster care
(had wardship terminated) or completed high schoolGED within the previous
three years qualify for this program.
Application process: Students must submit their FAFSA (www.fafsa.
gov) as soon as possible! DHS and ICW will send a list of eligible students
to the Oregon Student Access Commission for prioritization of an Oregon
Opportunity Grant.
The school of attendance will be notified of eligible students attending their
institution and notify the student of the tuition waiver amount. There is no
separate application or steps for students to apply other than submitting
their FAFSA.
For more information, contact your ILP worker or the Tribal Scholarship
Office at 1-800-422-0232, ext. 1345. D
AmurnuaO tflyoveirs toiriDug tiogettlheir agencies
GROW SITES
continued from front page
es Manager Michael Wilson recom
mended the Tribe participate and
Wakeland approved it.
The annual flyovers bring to
gether Oregon State Police, sher
iff deputies from Yamhill, Polk,
Lincoln and Tillamook counties,
staff members from the Bureau of
Land Management, the U.S. Forest
Service and the National Guard to
sniff out major marijuana grows in
the region.
Owing to budget cutbacks in re
cent years, says Ogle, coordinator
of the effort this year and for the
last two, "We're only looking for big
grows, from 2,500 to 5,000 plants
or more, sometimes up to 10,000
plants.
"We used to have a helicopter for
each county, but now we're down
to two helicopters for all four coun
ties." The majority of grows that the
operation has uncovered since
the program began more than 20
years ago, Ogle says, have been
enterprises run by Mexican drug
cartels.
"These investigations aim to
catch the big fish," he says, "not just
the guys growing the plants. We
could process the growers, but more .
would be right back tomorrow."
Planning for these annual search
es begins as early as March. The
actual nights take place from July
1 through the end of September, the
growing season for marijuana.
Ogle, who has 22 years in law
enforcement, says the operation's
first concern is for the public. Bow
hunters and hikers may unwit
tingly come into a place where
growers have guns. On the other
hand, when civilians come upon a
grow site, they may report that site
to the police, helping the effort.
To investigate up the line, police
are looking for people who are not
likely in the area, but are never
theless running and funding the
operations. At the same time, they
need to complete the work on a dis
covered site before the marijuana is
harvested to prevent it from reach
ing the street.
Each of the four counties involved
in this region similar operations
take place across the state re
ceive about 10 hours of helicopter
coverage over two days. Each heli
copter is staffed by a pilot and one
or two marijuana spotters.
The spotters work with naked
eyes because using binoculars
causes dizziness. Many veterans,
like Ogle, know where to look. They
have extensive experience with the
area after years of operations.
"We have historic grow locations,"
says Ogle, "and with fewer resourc
es, we focus on these areas."
Just as the police know a lot
about growing operations and
places, growers also know a lot
about police operations.
"It's kind of a cat-and-mouse
game," says Ogle. "We try to adapt
our operations based on what they
know, and they try to adapt their
operations taking into consider
ation what we know."
"The easiest way to find a grow,"
says one of those involved, "is to
look for the green and blue Miracle
Gro fertilizer bags."
The mess left behind at these
growing operations is a signature.
"They do all sorts of environmen
tal damage," Ogle says. "They dam
up the creeks, leave fertilizers and
trash all around." Sometimes, they
dig holes to pile it all in, but they
don't bother covering the trash
sites, leaving animals to scatter
the garbage. They limb and dig up
trees and set the stage for extensive
erosion.
"I've seen the fertilizer and all the
garbage they leave behind," says
McKnight. "That was always a pet
peeve of mine when I was Forest
Patrol officer."
As a result of grow operations,
private forest landowners who have
allowed hunters and hikers to use
their land for recreation in the past
have stopped doing so.
Twenty-some police and adminis
trative personnel who make up the
Coast Region Marijuana Team are
sometimes barely enough to do the
investigation once a grow operation
is spotted, Ogle says.
"You need a lot of resources to
investigate," he says.
Some of the sites are behind steep
and forbidding terrain, so in addi
tion to the risk of violence they face,
police also prepare for less dramatic
risks, such as heat exhaustion.
Opening up Tribal property for
the operation made the work eas
ier. "It's a great area and it really has
helped us out," Ogle says.
Coastal airports have fog issues
and the Tribal land is central to the
counties involved, Ogle says.
As the helicopters settle down
in front of the Natural Resources
building late that morning and the
propellers slow, a National Guard
truck moves in for refueling.
"It's good to see that we're all
working together," Ogle adds.
To provide information about pos
sible marijuana grow sites, contact
the Yamhill County Inter Agency
Narcotics Team at 503-472-6565. B