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S moke S ignals
september 15, 2014
2009 – Political newcomer Toby
McClary culled the most votes
in the Tribal Council election,
receiving 359 (11.59 percent).
At 31, he became the youngest
Tribal Council member when he
was sworn in, being three years
younger than Chris Mercier.
2004 – Tribal voters elected
three newcomers to Tribal Coun-
File photo
cil with Angie Blackwell, Chris
Mercier and Wesley “Buddy”
West being the top three vote-getters.
1999 – Tribal voters elected Reyn Leno, Earl LaBonte and June
Sell-Sherer to Tribal Council.
1994 – Tribal voters elected Bob Haller, Ed Pearsall and Eugene
LaBonte to Tribal Council. Pearsall and Haller were first-time council
members.
1989 – Smoke Signals and Tribal archives do not have a copy of
the September 1989 edition.
1984 – Summer Youth employees through the Mid-Valley Jobs
Council were thanked for their work in improving the Tribal Cemetery
and Depot grounds. Workers were Debby and Angie Childers, Lydia
Hostler, Doug Colton, Gregg Leno, Chris Current, Marty George, Scott
Denhem, Jimmy and Teddy White, and Kenny Adams.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Free online learning source
The information includes:
Everyday life
Math and money
Computer training
Online classes
Work and career information
Check it out at www.gcflearnfree.org
Tribal Council OKs
purchasing 91 more
acres at Chahalpam
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council approved the pur-
chase and sale agreement for ac-
quisition of the Chahalpam Phase
2 property, which entails 91 more
acres, at its Wednesday, Sept. 3,
meeting.
The Tribe originally acquired
338 acres on the North Santiam
River southeast of Salem in Marion
County and just downstream from
Stayton in 2013.
The original property was val-
ued at more than $3.5 million and
purchased through the Bonneville
Power Administration’s Willamette
Wildlife Mitigation Program, a 15-
year agreement that requires BPA
to provide stable funding for habi-
tat acquisitions in the Willamette
Basin to offset the effects of federal
dams on the Willamette River and
its tributaries.
The additional 91 acres will cost
$935,000 and also will be paid for
through the BPA program.
Chahalpam is within the tradi-
tional homelands of the Santiam
Kalapuya, one of the ancestral
bands that formed the Confeder-
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
“The Tribe has not yet closed on
the property and it is still in due
diligence, but we are working closely
with Legal to get through due dili-
gence and hope to close on the prop-
erty sometime this fall,” said Ceded
Lands Manager Michael Karnosh.
The land will be protected in
perpetuity with a conservation
easement that guarantees that it
will be managed by the Tribe for
fish, wildlife and other conservation
values, with an emphasis on re-
storing the land to a more natural,
indigenous condition.
“Chahalpam” means “place of the
Santiam Kalapuya.”
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Re-appointed Shonn Leno to the
Ceremonial Hunting Board for a
term ending in March 2016;
• Appointed Jonathan R. George to
the Timber Committee for a term
ending in March 2016;
• Appointed William Rogers to the
Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Au-
thority Board for a term ending
in September 2017;
• Approved applying for a $186,000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Tribal Wildlife Grant to perform a
population study on black-tailed
deer on the Reservation in 2015;
• Approved the Natural Resources
Department’s plan to purchase
approximately 19,600 cubic yards
of crushed rock from one or mul-
tiple sources for about $215,600;
• Extended the contract for the
Portland Harbor environmental
services agreement and allowed
applying for a $50,000 grant to
the Environmental Protection
Agency for an environmental
cleanup grant;
• Approved the Tribal Fish and
Wildlife Management Plan and
an Oregon Administrative Rule
that delegates authority over fish
and wildlife resources on Tribal
trust lands from the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife to
the Tribe.
Also included in the Sept. 3 Tribal
Council packet was an authoriza-
tion to proceed that allowed sub-
mission of the annual Community
Services Block Grant application
that would bring approximately
$10,000 to the Tribe and pay to
provide services to clients of the
Social Services Department.
Cultural Protection Program
Manager David Harrelson, Cul-
tural Outreach Specialist Bobby
Mercier, Education Department
Manager Eirik Thorsgard, Tribal
Council member Jon A. George
and Ceded Lands Manager Michael
Karnosh were among those who
provided the cultural drumming
and singing to open the meeting.
The Sept. 3 meeting is available
for viewing at the Tribal website,
www.grandronde.org, under the
Video tab. n
West Valley district
seeking Fire Explorers
The West Valley Fire District, which covers Grand Ronde,
Willamina and Sheridan, is seeking youths for its Fire Explorer
Program.
Young men and women age 14 to 20 will become familiar with
career opportunities in the fire service through classroom instruc-
tion, hands-on training and volunteer work.
The program encourages and promotes accountability, safety,
communication, teamwork, fitness and leadership.
Participants must attend weekly drills from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Sat-
urdays, adhere to dress and conduct codes, perform weekly physical
fitness and training specific to firefighting skills, and demonstrate
a willingness to make improvements and show self-motivation.
For more information, contact Fire Explorer Post 908 adviser
Seth Bellarts at 503-437-2046. n
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