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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2015)
2 S MOKE S IGNALS OCTOBER 1, 2015 NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings DATE TIME Wednesday, Oct. 14.............................................................................5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.............................................................................5 p.m. Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed. Letters Dear Cheryle Kennedy: I have to admit I became a little emotional watching your members escort the fi rst Orange Line train over a bridge named by the Grand Ronde. At that moment, the name Tilikum had such a deep meaning. Your speech was simply beautiful. You spoke from your heart and cap- tured the spirit of the day. I could have happily spent the entire day with your members at the camp listening to the stories, sampling the salmon and watching the dancing. That experience was such a gift to the whole community. The people of the Grand Ronde made opening day and the entire light rail line special and different from all the other light rail lines. For that, I, our board and our entire region are grateful to you and your members. Neil McFarlane TriMet general manager Dear Tribal members: This letter is in support of a swimming pool for the Grand Ronde area. My number one reason for wanting a pool is that having a swimming pool in the area would be highly benefi cial to Tribal members with health concerns such as fi bromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, muscular sclerosis, tendonitis, scoliosis, bursitis, arthritis, brain injuries, improved blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes, lower blood pressure, etc. If hydrotherapy was offered, individuals with those and other ailments would benefi t from the utilization of the pool. Instead of referring to other areas which offer hydro/physical therapy, doctors could refer to our facility. For the sake of insurance purposes, one would think it would save the Tribe money. I also believe that a pool would be benefi cial for the following reasons: Socialization of our youth. I cannot say how many times within this past summer I have heard parents, grandparents, neighbors and friends, etc., talk about their kids (or others) sitting in front of the TV or playing videos instead of getting outside and doing something active. Believe it or not, kids like to swim! Points to consider: 1. There are 1,021 Tribal members residing in the Grand Ronde, Willamina and Sheridan area. 2. Open it up to the surrounding community. I’m sure many folks would rather not drive for an hour or so for therapy or leisure. 3. The nearest towns to offer a swimming pool are McMinnville (26 miles) and Dallas (23 miles). For folks who live in the Grand Ronde/Willamina areas, it takes an average of half an hour to drive to these towns and half an hour drive home. Sheridan, not so much as they are closer but that doesn’t mean the drive is any easier for them at certain points of the day. My point is, it takes an hour or so of travel to use the swimming pools in those areas. For argument sake let’s use this scenario: Say a parent works and lives in Grand Ronde and their child takes (or wants to have swimming lessons) or is (or wants to be) on a swim team. This parent gets off work at 5 p.m., goes home, collects child (now it’s close to 5:30) and drives to Dallas/McMinnville (now 6 or so), child attends swim team/lesson, showers off (7:15), parent and child arrive home (7:45 or so). For the child, they have yet to sit down to dinner or get homework completed; for the parent … well you get my point. Location is everything: Many Tribal members live in areas where they have a pool at their disposal should they care to utilize it. If doctors send them for hydro/physical/occupational therapy, it’s a piece of cake for them as they live in areas that have a pool and licensed therapists. Tribal members who live in rural areas are not so fortunate. In our area, if one is an Elder there is a big chance they don’t drive or if they do it’s very little. If a Tribal member does not own reliable transportation or does not own a vehicle, their ability to get to town is considerably diminished. Population: Whether people like it or not, Grand Ronde is growing in population. It’s time to start thinking about the infrastructure (not only businesses, but recreational activities also) and what it has to offer people who want to reside in this town. Youth activities: Regarding activities for youth, we have Tribal pro- grams that offer activities throughout the year, but they’re not every weekend, weekday or even monthly nor are they physical activities. And it’s only certain ages that can attend most of these activities. Let’s face it, Grand Ronde has a lot of kids (not counting community children, we have 187 Tribal member youth who live in Grand Ronde) and we need to realize we have got to start offering them physical activities just like other towns/cities offer. Grand Ronde is the home of our Tribe, so I ask as others have before me, when is our Tribe going to start investing in it by building more businesses and physical recreational activities for the membership? With that being said, why not start with a pool? Respectfully, Tammy C. Garrison Roll #1669 See page 14 for more letters. 10 a.m. executive session - Tribal members only 11 a.m. regular session General Council meeting Sunday, Oct. 4 — Tribal Community Center Smoke Signals PUBLICATIONS OFFICE 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 1-800-422-0232, FAX: 503-879-2173 Website: www.grandronde.org/news E-mail: news@grandronde.org Twitter: CTGRgov Facebook: Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde DEAN RHODES CHELSEA CLARK MICHELLE ALAIMO PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS/ PUBLICATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT PHOTOJOURNALIST 503-879-1463 dean.rhodes@grandronde.org 503-879-1961 michelle.alaimo@grandronde.org 503-879-1418 chelsea.clark@grandronde.org GEORGE VALDEZ JUSTIN PHILLIPS BRENT MERRILL GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST PAGE DESIGNER STAFF WRITER 503-879-2190 503-879-4663 503-879-1416 justin.phillips@grandronde.org brent.merrill@grandronde.org george.valdez@grandronde.org SCARLETT HOLTZ VALERIE COX CENTRAL PHONES CENTRAL PHONES 503-879-1447 503-879-1446 valerie.cox@grandronde.org scarlett.holtz@grandronde.org DEADLINE DATE ISSUE DATE Monday, Oct. 5 ..........................Oct. 15 Tuesday, Oct. 20 ......................... Nov. 1 Thursday, Nov. 5 ....................... Nov. 15 Editorial Policy SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Com- munity of Oregon, is published twice a month. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without permission. Our editorial policy is intended to encourage input from Tribal members and readers about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be signed by the author, an address must be given and a phone number or e-mail address must be included for verifi cation purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not be published unless requested. SMOKE SIGNALS reserves the right to edit letters and to refuse letters that are determined to contain libelous statements or personal attacks on individuals, staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Letters to the editor are the opinions and views of the writer. Published letters do not necessarily refl ect the opinions of SMOKE SIGNALS, Tribal staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council. Members of: Native American Journalists Association Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association 2015-16 Tribal Council 1-800-422-0232 — tribalcouncil@grandronde.org Reyn Leno Tribal Chairman — ext. 2399 Denise Harvey — ext. 2353 reyn.leno@grandronde.org Chris Mercier — ext. 1444 Jack Giffen Jr. Tribal Vice Chair — ext. 2300 jack.giffen@grandronde.org Cheryle A. Kennedy Tribal Secretary — ext. 2352 cheryle.kennedy@grandronde.org denise.harvey@grandronde.org chris.mercier@grandronde.org Brenda Tuomi — ext. 4555 brenda.tuomi@grandronde.org Tonya Gleason-Shepek — ext. 1777 tonya.gleason-shepek@grandronde.org Ed Pearsall — ext. 2305 Jon A. George — ext. 2355 ed.pearsall@grandronde.org jon.george@grandronde.org
