6
S moke S ignals
NOVEMBER 15, 2014
NOTICE TO ALL TRIBAL MEMBERS
ON THE SSI/SSD SUPPLEMENTAL
INCOME PROGRAM
Attention Tribal members;
It’s getting to be that time of year again. Time to remember to send
us a copy of your current (2014-15 preferably) benefit statement from
the Social Security Administration so that we can update your file.
If you do not receive your current benefit statement you may order
one by calling the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213
or go online at www.ssa.gov. Your current benefit statement must
reach our office by Jan. 31, 2015, to avoid any future delays in your
benefits. For Elders age 55 and up, if you have been qualified under
the SSA department as SSI (Social Security Supplemental Income)
or SSD (Social Security Disability) Eligible, your pension checks may
qualify as non-taxable. We will need a copy of that document (SSA
award letter) on file in order for this to take effect.
We have updated our SSI/SSD application form and it will be
required that all Tribal members in the SSI/SSD Supplemental
Program have a new updated application form in their file. This ap-
plication form will be mailed to all current members of this program
within the next 30 days. Please complete and return the form at
your earliest convenience. If you are a new member to this program
(within the last 60 days) you have already submitted the updated
application and do not need to complete another, but you will need
to submit your new award letter for the year 2015.
Please mail copies of your benefit statement to:
CTGR Member Services
Attn: Jolanda Catabay
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
You may also e-mail or fax a copy to the following: Fax: 1-800-879-
2480 or e-mail: Jolanda.catabay@grandronde.org.
Note: It is the responsibility of the Tribal member to notify
the Tribe of any changes in your benefits from the Social
Security Administration SSI/SSD program. Failure to notify
the Tribe may result in an obligation to repay ineligible ben-
efits received, interrupt or delay your Tribal Supplemental
Security Income and Disability payments.
Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions or
concerns. My contact numbers are 503-879-2253 or toll-free 1-800
422-0232, ext. 2253.
Respectfully,
Jolanda Catabay
Enrollment Member Services Specialist
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Birthday saluted
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Elder Alton Butler, right, cuts a carrot cake as fellow Elder Steve
Bobb Sr. waits to serve the pieces during a celebration of the U.S.
Marine Corps’ 239th birthday at the Elders Activity Center on Friday,
Nov. 7. Both men served in the Marine Corps.
Board accepting applications
The Tribe’s Cultural Trust Board is beginning its 2014-15 grant-making
round for grants ranging from $250 to a maximum of $1,000 available
for Grand Ronde Tribal members to use for cultural projects or activities
that support the understanding, practice and preservation of traditional
Tribal heritage and culture. The grant-making round opened Friday, Oct.
31, and closes Monday, Dec. 15. Interested Tribal members can pick up
an application at the front desk in the Governance Center or mail the
Cultural Trust Board at Grand Ronde Cultural Trust Board, 9615 Grand
Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347, to have an application mailed to you.
Completed applications must be received by noon Monday, Dec. 15.
The project is supported by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
and funded by Oregon Cultural Trust, which invests in Oregon’s arts,
humanities and heritage. n
Community gatherings to be organized
FOOD BANK continued
from front page
ty wants and needs. This is not a
cookie cutter plan.”
The Tribe wants to know how
the system works, if the operation
needs to be improved and how best
to do that.
To that end, Food Share has turned
to University of Oregon graduate
student Lexi Stickel. Her expertise
is in conflict resolution and nonprofit
management. She has a 12-month
contract, ending in August, to devel-
op a community foods assessment.
Food Share will then follow up.
Stickel will organize community
gatherings to discuss the area’s
challenges and local assets that can
be marshalled. The result of that
work will be a community foods
assessment, which will be a written
document that summarizes the cur-
rent state of the overall emergency
food system locally and identifies
key ideas or projects worth pursuing.
“Lexi’s role is to listen to the
community first, and support and
empower the community to find
solutions that make access to good
food easier for all,” says Dixon-Mc-
Donald. “Actual implementation of
specific ideas will be primarily up
to the community itself.”
Included in the process will be
the sourcing of fresh vegetables,
breads and meats – all the food that
goes into a healthy diet. Among the
questions that need to be answered:
Does the community need a grocery
store that will be a local source of
fresh food? How might the commu-
nity garden contribute? Everything
that goes into getting emergency
food to Tribal and community mem-
bers, and making access easy, are
up for consideration.
A tip of the hat is due to longtime
volunteers and members of the
Grand Ronde Community Resource
Center board. Many have been
serving for years. They are Chair
Ellen Fischer, Vice Chair Claudia
Leno, Secretary Julie Duncan, Lou-
ise Medeiros and Candy Robertson.
Currently, says Duncan, the
facility off Hebo Road serves 600
families and “every month we get
five to 10 new people.”
Food Share has been hiring for
the manager position and is using
Tribal preference as encourage-
ment for applications from people
already in the Grand Ronde Tribal
community.
“It’s not a guarantee,” says Dix-
on-McDonald, “but that is our
preference.”
By the application deadline, up
to 10 people had applied, according
to Connie Holmes, Tribal Human
Resources manager.
In addition to the manager posi-
tion, Food Share is seeking as many
as 20 to 25 volunteers, Dixon-Mc-
Donald says.
The new building, a 3,300-square-
foot food distribution center, is locat-
ed at 9675 Grand Ronde Road, across
the street from the Tribal Housing
Authority building. It contains a
warehouse/distribution area that
includes a walk-in cooler and freezer,
training room/kitchen, waiting and
reception area, and office space.
“It was designed for our current
needs,” says George, “and there is
room for building expansion.”
The project has been funded by a
$500,000 Housing & Urban Devel-
opment Indian Community Devel-
opment block grant as well as an
Indian Housing block grant in the
amount of $204,179 that the Tribal
Housing Authority also paid as the
Tribe’s match obligation. The total
development budget was $704,179.
The final cost came in under budget
at $700,350.87.
Also, the Tribe is seeking U.S.
Department of Agriculture grants
to support commodities needed at
the food bank.
Tribal Council also is seeking a
Chinuk Wawa name for the food
bank.
With a $2.5 million to $3 million
budget, Marion-Polk Food Share
distributes 8 million pounds of
food annually and serves 40,000
individuals a month, says Dix-
on-McDonald.
Salem-based Food Share sup-
ports 102 partner agencies that
distribute food from the nonprof-
it’s warehouse. It also supports a
network of 48 food box sites in two
counties. This is Food Share’s first
foray into managing a food bank.
“It’s a new type of project for us,”
Dixon-McDonald says.
“I’ll miss all the people, the cli-
ents we’ve gotten to know,” says
Duncan. “We can laugh with them
and joke with them. I’ve been doing
it for four years.”
With her spare time now, Duncan
says, “I work for the Elders Com-
mittee, so I’ll have more time to
spend there.”
“It’s time to rebuild,” says George,
“to invite folks to work with the
Tribe and Food Share, and do as
good as they can to provide for
children, families and Elders.” n