6 MAY 15,2013
Smoke Signals
Education offers ChinukWawa classes ;
The Tribe's Cultural Education Department offers adult Chinuk
Wawa language classes from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday
in Room 207 in the Tribal Adult Education Building.
Language classes can be taken for college credit or fun. .
For more information, call 503-879-2249 or 503-437-4599.
Volleyball nights held on Wednesdays
The Tribe's Recreation Program holds open volleyball from 5 to 7
p.m. Wednesday in the Tribal gym.
Volleyball is open to anyone who wishes to participate.
For more information, contact Recreation Coordinator Matthew
Mosley at 503-879-1369 or matthew.mosleygrandronde.org.
Tw Bffikairs sw odd mi CMlsiy 1
POLICE continued
from front page
With the two new officers, the
Tribal police department now cov
ers the community for 16 hours a
day. When Lane comes on, coverage
will increase to 20 hours a day.
Tribal agreements with Polk and
Yamhill counties and Oregon State
Police mean that the Grand Ronde
community has 247 coverage, said
La Chance.
In November, the Tribe selected
LaChance, a Tribal Elder, to estab
lish the chief s office and set the tone
for the new department. LaChance
had already retired once, more than
a year earlier from the Redmond
Police Department, when the op
portunity came up. He had ended
his career in Redmond as lieutenant
in charge of investigations.
He has said that he brings two
goals to the job: to build a "progres
sive" department, one that will
make the community proud, and
one that walks a gentle line when
possible, but a tough one when
necessary; and secondly, to find the
right successor when he leaves.
"We're all about education first,"
LaChance said. "We're not here
just to arrest people. We're here to
enhance their lives and make (their
lives) better. This is community po
licing. We love people to call us and
contact us. That means we're serv
ing the community. The community
needs to know that the Tribal police
are available to them 24 hours a
day, seven days a week."
The non-emergency line is 503-879-2123;
emergencies are always
911.
Speeding through Elder housing
and along Salmon River Highway
are among top issues for the de
partment. Minor personal crimes,
such as thefts, also are a part in
the department's agenda.
"It's very dynamic," LaChance
said. The issues are different in the
casino and the government campus,
in Elder housing and Grand Mead
ows and the Tribe's timber lands.
"You would think that weekends
would be the high crime time, but
it's not necessarily so here. It's al
ways different. It's all about people
and their needs," he said.
LaChance, McKnight and Lane
are Tribal members.
The two officers sworn in on May
1 were Ron Wellborn, 52, of McMin
nville, and Patrick McConnell, 37,
of Dallas.
Wellborn retired from the Yam
hill County Sheriffs Department
at the end April, officially the day
before he was sworn in in Grand
Ronde. He retired after 29 years
with Yamhill County.
"It's a great opportunity," Well
born said following the swearing in
ceremony in Tribal Council cham-
1 LSI '" r?S hi -
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Photo courtesy of Ken Trevino
Mindy Lane wipes away tears after sha was gifted a Pendleton blanket by
Tribal Council member Jon A. George, left, Tribal Council Vice Chair Jack
Giffen Jr., second from left, Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno, second from
right, and Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr., right, during her farewell
party in the Governance Center break room on Friday, May 1 0. Lane resigned
her position as Tribal Council administrative assistant and has started
training to be a Grand Ronde Police Department officer.
bers, "to be part of the starting of
a new department. When I heard
that LaChance was here, I knew I
wanted to be here."
The two have known each other
for years. Both have taught at the
state police academy.
For 10 years, Wellborn served
with the Yamhill County Sheriffs
Forest Patrol, an important com
ponent of the Grand Ronde force's
responsibility.
Wellborn also helped start Project
Lifesaver seven years ago at the
Yamhill County Sheriffs Depart
ment. The project gives watch-sized
radio transmitters to residents with
autism or Alzheimer's and related
diseases in case they get lost.
"I'm looking at getting this pro
gram started here as well," he
said.
McConnell served 3.5 years as a
patrol deputy with the Polk County
Sheriffs Office before funding
shortfalls terminated his position
this year.
"Thanks to the casino and Tribal
Council members," he said after his
swearing in. "This is a big moment
for me. I'm very proud to be here.
We'll work our hardest to make this
one of the great police departments
in Oregon."
McConnell brings previous mili
tary experience and seven years of
police work, two in the area, to this
job. "Everything we're doing out
here comes from Polk County, so
all I had to do was change uniforms
and change bosses," he said.
He already has a working rela
tionship with security and surveil
lance personnel at Spirit Mountain
Casino.
"One thing I love about here, it
is a very small community. I like
the tightness of the community. We
deal with a lot of things. Most small
agencies don't see 60 percent of
what we see. There's a lot to do here
if you just open your eyes. What
I brought to the table is already
knowing all that. And that's what
the chief was looking for."
Lane earned an associate degree
at Chemeketa Community College
in 2011 and at Western Oregon
University last year. She began
courses in Criminal Justice leading
to a bachelor's degree, expected in
summer 2014.
When she was 17, she helped Or
egon City police capture an escaped
murderer.
She has always been fascinated
by police work.
"Law enforcement is a rewarding
field with the opportunity to serve
the community every day, a job that
affords the chance to contribute to
society and make a positive differ
ence," she said.
"Chief LaChance and Sgt. McK
night have an optimistic outlook
on the department and have set
their goals high. My goal is to jump
right in and offer my skills and
drive to help make the department
a successful, community-oriented
agency."
In February, Jake McKnight,
the Tribe's first police officer, was
promoted to patrol supervisor. He
started as an officer in 2011.
McKnight served as the Tribe's
Forest Patrol officer following the
retirement of former Tribal Elder
Marce Norwest in 2008, but as the
Tribal police force has been estab
lished, the Forest Patrol position
has been phased out and will now
be among the department's duties.
Specifically, Wellborn will be work
ing the forest in consultation with
Natural Resources Department
Manager Michael Wilson.
Tribal Planning & Grants De
velopment Manager Kim Rogers
has written three successful U.S.
Department of Justice grants for
the Tribal police department.
In 2010, a COPS grant for
$171,903 was awarded to the Tribe
for two police vehicles and other
equipment.
In 2011, a COPS grant for
$672,525 was awarded to the Tribe
to hire two police officers and em
ploy them for three years. These
salaries go to Wellborn and Mc
Connell. In 2012, a COPS grant awarded
the Tribe $378,103 for two police ve
hicles and to hire an additional police
officer for three years. This grant cov
ers Lane's employment costs.
A 2013 application has been
submitted for equipment and train
ing. In addition, LaChance said he
already is seeking a permanent
funding source for the new police
officers.
The Tribe pays salaries and ben
efits for LaChance and McKnight.
LaChance also said that until
a new housing development is
completed, the department is fully
staffed.
The Tribal Police Department
was created by a Tribal Council
Resolution on May 5, 2010. It has
been a long and arduous road since
then, including Department of
Justice grants, intergovernmental
agreements with Oregon State Po
lice and neighboring county police
forces, and a state legislative fix
last year, SB 412, that opened the
door to Tribal police forces in the
state by requiring Tribes to meet
the same standards as other state
sanctioned police units, including
training.
Tribal Court Chief Judge Su
zanne Ojibway Townsend adminis
tered the oath of office to Wellborn
and McConnell.
"This is very exciting for the
Tribal community and for Tribal
sovereignty, one of our critical core
components," said Assistant Gen
eral Manager Chris Leno.
"This is a statement for us as a
Tribe," said Tribal Council member
Jon A. George. "For me, I see a dif
ference in our community already
for having a police force. The de
partment is in the great hands of
some caring gentlemen. Children
can look up to police officers now."
"This is a great day," said Tribal
Council member Steve Bobb Sr.
"We've worked on this a long time
and it is huge, huge. I'm just glad
you weren't here when I was a
kid." D