S moke S ignals
FEBRUARY 15, 2015
7
Volunteers keep up with community needs
CLOTHES CLOSET continued
from front page
Soderberg. “People are so thankful
to go there and find what they need.
I don’t know what the community
would do without it.”
“We’re glad to be here and help out
the community,” says Lori Walk-
er-Hernandez, who has pitched
in as a volunteer for eight years.
“Community is what it is about:
everybody helping everybody.”
Currently, the Clothes Closet is
open two days a week – Monday
and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Walker-Hernandez has Fridays
and Daniele Powley, a volunteer
since last September, has Mondays.
For a long time, the Clothes Closet
was open only one day a week.
“It’s a nice place to work,” says
Walker-Hernandez. “It is not like
you’re stressed. If you’re sick, you
trade days.”
Volunteers keep up with what
the community needs, and not just
in clothes.
Powley was “kind of shy,” she
says, the first time she needed
clothes for her family. She did not
know how the closet worked or
what to expect, and if people would
be looking at her.
Now, she says, “It’s fulfilling to
meet people, do something for the
community, and make people feel
welcome. It’s nice to meet people
and socialize.”
The Clothes Closet building is
all cedar and the wood was cut by
hand. So said the builder last sum-
mer to Walker-Hernandez when he
came back to see if the old place was
still standing.
He had a saw mill a little north
on the property and built the house
to live closer to work.
After he lived there, others have
called the building home. In the
early 1990s, the Tribal Head Start
program used the building. For a
time, rooms were rented out.
“A lot of people come down and
say, ‘I used to go to school here,’ or
‘I used to live here,’ ” says Walk-
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
The Clothes Closet is located on the Tribal campus near the rodeo grounds.
er-Hernandez.
Powley’s first experience came
last year, before she started vol-
unteering with the Clothes Closet.
Her son, Benjamin, now 9, did not
have shoes for school. “His school
shoes wore out,” she says. The
family was going to get him shoes
with her husband’s latest paycheck.
They were living paycheck to pay-
check in those days.
Then, his paycheck was stolen,
Powley says. “Things happen.”
She visited the Clothes Closet
and found a pair. “I couldn’t believe
that there was a pair that was per-
fect. People seem to find what they
need there.”
For many years, Matt Bucknell,
Elementary Lead for the Tribe’s
Education Department, has spear-
headed Socktoberfest, a program
soliciting socks for the Clothes
Closet. The community contributes
hundreds of pairs every year.
This year, the Social Services
Department collected jackets and
coats for the Clothes Closet. They
donated 160 this year.
“We’re like family,” says Walk-
er-Hernandez. “The community
really helps with donations. If a
family is in need, the word goes
out pretty quickly. People will call
Ad created by George Valdez
and give blankets. If we don’t see
somebody for a while, we’ll ask
about them.”
The Clothes Closet has a bulletin
board where community members
can advertise to get rid of or find
this or that. “It’s not just for Tribal
members,” says Powley. “It’s for the
whole community.”
The Clothes Closet serves about
25 to 30 people each Monday and
Friday. The number has been
growing every year, even if just by
a couple of people in need.
Donations are currently down a
little, but the clothes on hand and
the need for clothes also vary from
week to week.
Men’s clothes are usually pretty
scarce. “We’re always in need of
men’s clothes,” says Walker-Her-
nandez.
When it comes to recycling, the
Clothes Closet does its share.
“We’re always recycling,” says
Powley. Her daughter, Reanna, 6,
will say, “Mommy, this doesn’t fit,
let’s give it to some other girl.”
“We go through our stuff, our
old coats, and bring them back,”
Powley says.
Volunteers see it all – again and
again. “We’ll say, ‘Hey, I’ve seen
that outfit three or four times.’ ”
The Clothes Closet works with
about five other similar agencies
in the area. “One will call and
say, ‘We have an overabundance
of blankets. Do you need them?’
And we’ll do the same,” says Walk-
er-Hernandez.
“I love doing it,” Walker-Hernan-
dez adds. “If I got paid, I wouldn’t
like it as well as I do. It’s not about
the money. At some time, we’ve all
needed help. What better way to
give back than to help somebody
else if you can?”
For questions, to donate or ask
about clothes for the family, contact
Walker-Hernandez at 559-847-
7565 or Powley at 971-241-6170. n
Five-year public safety
levy will go to voters
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The Polk County Board of Com-
missioners voted on Jan. 28 to place
a five-year, 45 cents per $1,000 of
assessed value property tax levy on
the May 19 ballot to raise funds to
pay for public safety.
The proposal is supported by
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde.
The commissioners voted on
the levy after holding nine public
hearings throughout the county,
including one in Grand Ronde.
If approved, the levy would re-
store 22 employees to the Polk
County Sheriff’s and District At-
torney’s offices, and provide more
resources to the Juvenile and Com-
munity Corrections departments.
Tribal Council Secretary Toby
McClary attended two of the public
hearings and read a statement from
the Tribe.
“The Tribal government provides
our own Grand Ronde Tribal Po-
lice Department and we are proud
of our officers, our chief and our
department. As such, we know
firsthand the costs of operating this
important public safety function
and we are sensitive to the difficul-
ties Polk County has in providing
stable revenues for its law enforce-
ment operations,” McClary said.
“Tribal Council supports the
concept of Polk County providing
new revenue for a rebuild of your
law enforcement capacity. Your
proposal to offer to voters a new
operating levy of an additional 45
cents per $1,000 of assessed prop-
erty value for five years would pro-
vide a critically important boost to
the Sheriff’s Office and county law
enforcement. Our Tribe, the com-
munity of Grand Ronde and Polk
County as a whole would benefit
from the increased law enforcement
and jail coverage that would result
from this substantial new revenue.
“New tax levies are difficult. We
encourage you to take the time to
work with your constituents and
not hurry to a new ballot. Educa-
tion is a critical component to any
new ballot measure. On behalf of
the Tribal Council, we offer our
assistance if we can be of help.”
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno read a similar statement at
the Jan. 8 public hearing held in
Grand Ronde.
For a $200,000 home, the levy
would cost a homeowner an addi-
tional $90 a year in taxes. If the levy
is approved, it would raise an addi-
tional $2.25 million annually to fund
public safety positions in the county.
Commissioner Jennifer Wheeler
said that testimony during the
hearings from people who called
911 and were told no deputies
were available – because of budget
cuts and reduced patrol hours –
prompted her to place the levy on
the May ballot instead of waiting
until November. n
Includes information from the
Polk County Itemizer-Observer.