S moke S ignals
DECEMBER 15, 2014
Tribal police dog Nixwa
earns dual certification
Salmon Celebration
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The Nov. 3 Oregon certification
of Grand Ronde Tribal Police Of-
ficer Patrick McConnell and K-9
Officer Nixwa completed the pair’s
credentials at both the national and
state levels.
Ongoing, McConnell and Nixwa
require 16 hours of continued train-
ing a month. McConnell is Nixwa’s
handler.
The pair received a perfect score
on the performance test held in
Redmond by the Oregon Police
Canine Association. State level
certification meets the requirement
of many law enforcement agencies
that they cannot call out a K-9 for
assistance unless the handler and
dog are OPCA certified.
The state certification requires
success in a parcel search, area
search, room search and vehi-
cle search, said McConnell in an
e-mail. Both trainer and dog must
demonstrate proficiency.
In late April, the pair received
certification from the National
Police Canine Association in Tuc-
son, Ariz. They were certified for
narcotics detection and patrol ap-
prehension.
In the world of K-9 officers, certi-
fication comes not from government
entities, but from private associa-
tions.
“When we returned to Oregon,”
McConnell said, “the decision was
made to use Nixwa as a narcotic
detection K-9 only due to a lack of re-
sources it takes to keep up the patrol
side along with the detection side.”
Maintaining certification for
both narcotics detection and patrol
apprehension would require 32
hours of training a month on top
of McConnell’s regular work hours.
K-9 Officer Nixwa
“Because we are a small depart-
ment,” he said, “we don’t have the
manpower to assist with all those
hours, so we chose one specialty,
and that was detection.”
Nixwa is trained to detect the
odors of methamphetamine, co-
caine, heroin or any derivatives
of those narcotics. He presents a
passive alert, meaning he sits when
he detects one or more of the odors.
Since June, Nixwa has made five
finds resulting in five arrests.
Polk County District Attorney
Aaron Felton supports the Grand
Ronde Police Department and
the K-9 program, McConnell said.
Felton recently sent letters to
sheriffs and police chiefs in Polk
and Yamhill counties to let them
know about the service Nixwa can
provide their agencies. None so
far have taken advantage of the
standing offer.
Nixwa is a 3-year-old, 83-pound
Belgian Malinois. Last January,
McConnell selected him from
among three dogs at Adlerhorst
Kennels International in Riverside,
Calif. At that time, Nixwa’s name
was Travis. Nixwa, a name selected
by the Tribe, is a Chinuk Wawa
word meaning “show me.” n
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Kathy Cole, Tribal Cultural Education and Outreach Program
manager, serves Jacob Holmes a piece of smoked salmon during
the Salmon Celebration held at Youth Education on Friday, Dec. 5.
The annual event recognizes and honors the fish that make the long
journey through the waters to Grand Ronde. Traditionally cooked
and smoked salmon prepared in the fire pit behind Achaf-hammi, the
Tribal plankhouse, was served to attendees.
Drummers and singers perform the “Salmon Song” to begin the annual
Salmon Celebration held at Youth Education on Friday, Dec. 5.
Goodnight Grand Ronde Order Form
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Undergraduate degrees offered: BA/BS in Social Science,
BA/BS in Arts & Letters and BA/BS in Liberal Studies.
For more information about online degree programs,
contact the PSU Salem Center at 503-315-4281 or e-mail
psusalem@pdx.edu. n
Sobriety Event set
for New Year’s Eve
The Tribe’s Youth Prevention and Behavioral Health programs will be
holding the annual New Year’s Eve Sobriety Event at Northern Lights
Theatre, 3893 Commercial St. S.E., in Salem on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
The event is open to Tribal member families, plus one guest per family.
There are 285 seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. RSVP to
Shannon Stanton at 503-879-1489 or e-mail Shannon.stanton@grandronde.
org. RSVP deadline is noon Wednesday, Dec. 24.
There will be three movies to choose from. Buses will load at the Com-
munity Center at 3:15 p.m. and leave on time at 3:30. First movie starts
at 5 p.m.
Dinner will include a salad, two slices of pizza, and bottomless popcorn
and soda. Sundaes will be hand-served to your seats.
This is a smoke-free event. n
Name: ____________________________________
Please mail this form to:
Address:___________________________________
CTGR Education Dept.
City:______________ State: _______ Zip:________
9615 Grand Ronde Rd
Number of books x $7.00/ea. $_________
Grand Ronde, OR 97347
Shipping $1.00/ea $_________
Total
*Checks only
$_________
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