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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2015)
S moke S ignals FEBRUARY 1, 2015 Tribal Council OKs agreements By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council approved two agreements during its Wednes- day, Jan. 28, meeting. The first agreement with the U.S. Department of the Inte- rior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs will allow the Tribe to access its transportation funding from the federal government. The Tribe is scheduled to receive $182,679.73 in fiscal year 2015. The other agreement will allow Grand Ronde Tribal Police Chief Al LaChance, with the approval of the General Manager’s Office, to enter into intergovernmental agreements and memoranda of understanding involving the operation of the Tribal Police Department with local counties and jurisdictions for calendar year 2015. LaChance can enter into agree- ments regarding mutual aid, deadly force plans, radio use, dispatch and communication, jailing, prosecution protocols, and records and evidence retention. In other action, Tribal Council corrected the blood quantum of six Tribal members. Also included in the Jan. 28 Tribal Council packet were au- thorizations to proceed that transferred $1,890 from contin- gency to Emergency Operations to buy Community Emergency Response Team training bags and allocated another $1,800 to purchase food for individuals taking the eight-week CERT trainings being held in Grand Ronde. Tribal Council also directed the Tribal Attorney’s Office to draft amendments to the Chil- dren and Families Ordinance that will, if approved, provide notice to grandparents before hearings in dependency matters. Tribal Council member Jon A. George and Land and Culture employees Travis Mercier, Brian Krehbiel, Jan Looking Wolf Rei- bach and Mike Karnosh opened the meeting with cultural drum- ming and singing. The meeting, in its entirety, can be viewed on the new Tribal website, www.grandronde.org, under the News tab and then click on the Video link. 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 oppor- tunities in the fire service through classroom instruction, 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. Saturdays, 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 Historic Oregon Newspapers adds Tribal papers 7 Grand Ronde water ‘back to normal’ By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor After more than two months of testing and cleaning its water delivery system, the Grand Ronde Community Water Association declared its system back to normal on Friday, Jan. 16. Water Association Manager Karl Ekstrom said that the PVC piping in the distribution system was cre- ating positive coliform samples due to the presence of bio-film, which is any group of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other on a surface, such as the inside of a pipe. “We cleaned our tanks, then added chlorine to the water and flushed the chlorine throughout the system,” Ekstrom said in the notice declaring the water system clean. “After we flushed the chlo- rine out of the system, we took five follow-up samples and they were all good.” In a phone interview, Ekstrom said the 40-year-old water system will continue to see the buildup of bio-film if there is no chlorine in the system. “It has happened two to three times in the last 20 years that I have been here,” Ekstrom said. “I think we will go to every year or every other year dousing the system with chlorine.” In late October, the Water Asso- ciation, which has more than 950 service connections in the area, alerted customers that coliform bacteria had been detected in two of the five water samples taken that month. The drinking water standard is that no more than one sample per month may indicate the presence of coliform bacteria. Coliform bacteria are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially harmful bacteria may be present A notice was sent out to Wa- ter Association customers that characterized the situation as a non-emergency and said that users did not need to boil water. However, it added, “If you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly may be at increased risk.” The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde advised its employ- ees and members not to drink tap water and switch to drinking bot- tled water. It also taped off water fountains in Tribal buildings and made sure that Tribal residents re- ceived a copy of the notice. Bottled water was supplied to those who might be more vulnerable to in- fection, such as the young, elderly and those who were known to have compromised immune systems. Interim General Manager Rick George said the Tribe is working to better prepare in how it responds to and addresses water supply contamination warnings and occa- sional actual emergencies. “Because the water supply is managed and provided by the association – an entity entirely separate from the Tribal govern- ment – our action alternatives are limited,” he said. George thanked Public Works Director John Mercier for working with Water Association staff and Tribal Facilities staff for their quick response in shutting off public drinking fountains. He also praised Tribal staff in Education, Housing and the Health & Wellness Clinic who “took immediate measures to protect Tribal children, the elderly and clinic patients and to provide bottled water to those Elders and families with health vulnerabili- ties.” n The online site Historic Oregon Newspapers has added three Tribal newspapers to its database, including Smoke Signals from 1978 through 2013. The other newspapers added are the Weekly Chemawa American, the student newspaper from Chemawa Indian School, between 1901-10, and The Chemawa American, which was published at the school in 1914-15. To access the newspapers, visit http://oregonews.uoregon.edu. n Save the Date: Grand Ronde F.E.A.S.T. Saturday, Feb. 21 – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Grand Ronde Community Center Let’s talk about food! F.E.A.S.T. is a community organizing event focused on learning about local food efforts and creating opportunities for action. All community members are welcome. A meal will be provided. Please R.S.V.P. to Francene Ambrose at 503-879-3663 or fambrose@marionpolkfoodshare.org All R.S.V.P.s will be entered into a raffle for a new crock pot! Ad created by George Valdez
