S moke S ignals
february 15, 2014
pReVeNTION CORNeR
Hello Community!
When we talk about prevention, Risk and
Protective Factors are a guiding theory.
Risk Factors are “shown to increase the
likelihood of adolescent substance abuse,
teenage pregnancy, school drop-out, youth
violence and delinquency.”
Protective Factors counter Risk Factors and
the more Protective Factors that are present, the less the risk.
Risk and Protective Factors fall into four areas: Community, Fam-
ily, School and Individual/Peer.
These are some examples:
Risk Factors
Protective Factor
Early Aggressive Behavior
Self-Control (Coping skills)
Lack of Parental Supervision
Parental Involvement
Substance Abuse
School Success
Drug Availability
Anti-Drug Use Policies
Poverty
Strong Community
Attachment
As a prevention program, we aim at increasing the Protective
Factors to decrease the Risk Factors through culture, community/
employee trainings, education, community events and promotion of
mental health.
For more information or to get your youth involved, contact Lisa
Leno at 503-879-1471, Amber Mercier at 503-879-2162, Shannon
Stanton at 503-879-1489 or Cristina Lara at 503-879-2040.
We also have a Facebook page — Grand Ronde Youth Prevention
— with information and upcoming events. n
11
Giving thanks
Photo by Dean Rhodes
Tribal Council presented former Oregon Department of Fish &
Wildlife Northwest Region Manager Chris Wheaton with a certificate
of appreciation and a sacred paddle used during last year’s Canoe
Journey at the Feb. 2 General Council meeting held in Grand
Ronde. Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno said that Wheaton was
instrumental in helping the Tribe regain some of its sovereignty,
including ceremonial hunting rights and helping with the First Fish
ceremonies held locally and in West Linn on the Willamette River. From
left are Tribal Council members Jon A. George, June Sherer, Secretary
Toby McClary, ed pearsall, Denise Harvey, Cheryle A. Kenney, Leno,
Wheaton, Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr. and Kathleen Tom. “He’s been a
special friend to the Tribe,” Leno said.
Important notice to full-time students
All full-time students must submit verification that they have applied
to a scholarship outside the Tribe before funding will be released for the
term/semester.
Verification can include a scholarship award or denial letter, e-mail
verification that an application was submitted, a copy of the application
or the financial aid award letter that lists an outside scholarship.
Please contact Education at 1-800-422-0232, ext. 2275, if you have any
questions. n
College placement Testing offered
College Placement Testing offered on-site at the Adult Education Build-
ing for Chemeketa Community College, Linn-Benton Community College
and Mount Hood Community College. The Placement Test is one of the
first steps to beginning college classes. Call 503-879-2282 to sign up for
your placement test – allow about one week for scheduling purposes. n
TeRO became effective on Nov. 27
MEETING continued
from front page
the Tribal Community Center.
“We’re making progress on get-
ting the program established and
mainly putting together the pieces
that will be the infrastructure for
TERO to move forward,” Azure said
at the beginning of his presenta-
tion.
The Tribal Employment Rights
Ordinance was enacted by Tribal
Council on Nov. 6 and became effec-
tive Nov. 27. Azure was hired away
from state government to oversee
the ordinance’s implementation in
September.
The Grand Ronde Tribe joined
more than 300 other Native Tribes
and Alaskan Native villages that
have TERO-like ordinances and
became the second Oregon Tribe
after the Umatilla to enact that
type of legislation. Nationally, the
first TERO law was passed in 1977,
he added.
“TERO is to ensure that Indian
people can participate in economic
opportunities on and near the Grand
Ronde Reservation,” he said.
The TERO office was created to
enforce the laws and rules govern-
ing employment and contracting
preference for Native Americans,
Azure said.
TERO’s responsibilities are var-
ied, Azure said, and include ensur-
ing Tribal and Indian preference
regarding employment and con-
tracting in the Tribal government,
at Spirit Mountain Casino and
for all employers who are located
or operating on the Grand Ronde
Reservation.
TERO also affects businesses
that contract or sub-contract to
work on the Reservation and fed-
erally funded road construction
projects that the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation performs
within a 60-mile radius of Grand
Ronde. When the Tribe asserts In-
dian preference, contractors must
hire from the TERO Skills Bank if
manpower is required beyond a core
crew, he said.
Under TERO, Indian-owned
businesses – those that are at
least 51 percent owned by Native
Americans – receive a 5 percent ad-
vantage over a low bid on projects,
Azure said.
In addition, the new TERO office
will be compiling quarterly data re-
ports from employers in hiring Trib-
al members and providing monthly
updates to Tribal Council regard-
ing Tribal employment. It also will
examine career advancement op-
portunities for Tribal member em-
ployees, including training, career
development plans and promotion
opportunities. TERO also will look
into establishing a network of men-
tors for Tribal employees seeking
career growth, he said.
For Tribal members seeking a job,
TERO will assist with pre-employ-
ment support, such as tracking job
applicants, providing information
on job opportunities, assisting
with employment applications and
providing pre-interview help, and
identifying training needs for those
who fail to get hired.
The TERO office already includes
Career Development Program
Manager David DeHart and Work-
force Development Specialist Misty
Carl, who previously worked in the
Tribal Career Development Depart-
ment at Spirit Mountain Casino.
Azure said that the TERO direc-
tor can of his or her own initiative
or based on a complaint of a viola-
tion of the ordinance take steps to
rectify a violation, preferably with
an informal settlement, but also
with a written notice or issuance of
a corrective order if necessary.
“There’s some teeth to the TERO
code,” Azure said.
TERO will be overseen by a soon-
to-be appointed five-member com-
mission with members serving
three-year terms.
The Tribe already has signed
a memorandum of understand-
ing with the state Department of
Transportation that gives the Tribe
the ability to assert Indian prefer-
ence on federally funded highway
projects within a 60-mile radius of
the Reservation.
“TERO is designing the organiza-
tion, building infrastructure and
developing policies,” Azure said.
“We’re building a network. TERO
is here. We’re not just working in
a silo. We’re working across all
Tribal departments and with the
community.”
In response to a question, Azure
agreed that getting Tribal mem-
bers employed is important to the
overall Tribe.
“Jobs mean a lot,” Azure said. “It
does change a community.”
In other action, Social Services
Committee Chair Jenny Sanchez
said her committee will be placing
a customer satisfaction survey to in
an upcoming Smoke Signals. Gas
vouchers will be raffled off to those
who fill out the survey.
Rayauna Meneley won the $100
door prize and Terry Gray, Saman-
tha Dala and Dorothy Leno won
the $50 door prizes. Necklaces and
earrings donated by Tribal Council
member Jon A. George also were
raffled off.
The next General Council meet-
ing will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday,
March 2, in the Tribal Community
Center.
Tribal Council also honored for-
mer Oregon Fish and Wildlife De-
partment Region Manager Chris
Wheaton with a certificate of ap-
preciation and a sacred paddle used
by the Canoe Family during last
year’s Canoe Journey.
Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, Jon A.
George, Jade Unger, Eric Bernando
and Savannah Ingram provided the
drumming and singing during the
cultural presentation to open the
meeting. n