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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
4 S moke S ignals JUNE 1, 2016 Tribal Council awards contract to construct police station By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor 2011 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde agreed to pur- chase the soon-to-be vacated middle school facility on the east side of Grand Ronde Road from the Willamina School District, which was consolidating its student population at the Oaken Hill campus in Willamina. 2006 – The government-to-government process is working, said Grand Ronde Tribal Coun- cil Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy on the 10th anni- versary of American Indian Week being declared in Oregon during Tribal Infor- mation Day held in Salem. 2001 – The Tribal Ro- deo Grounds were under File photo construction. The 140-by- 250-foot competition size grounds will feature two camping areas and bleachers to seat the expected crowds. The site was located on a lood plain, but yards of dirt were built up to make a difference. 1996 – Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed an executive order on State-Tribal government-to-government relations that will hopefully set a national precedent for other states to follow. “Our Tribe takes government-to-government relationships very seriously,” said Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier. “I hope this will be the starting block of an effort between all of us.” 1991 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier and Junior Miss Grand Ronde Tara Leno presented a $1,500 check to Willamina Elementary School Principal Joan Rivenbark to purchase computer equipment for the school. 1986 – Tribal Council Chairman Mark Mercier reported that ne- gotiations with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife were nearly complete. “The agreement will set aside future litigation and claims by the Grand Ronde Tribe for hunting and ishing rights,” he said. “The council sought to leave this issue out of the Reservation Plan until a bill was passed. The council felt that a land resource base was the key. Hunting and ishing was an issue that could have been taken up at a later date.” Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in ive-year in- crements through the pages of Smoke Signals. Tribal Council approved a con- tract with Cearley Construction of Estacada to build a Tribal police station during its Wednesday, May 18, meeting. The 4,400-square-foot police sta- tion will be constructed south of the Food Bank on the west side of Grand Ronde Road. According to the May 18 Tribal Council packet, the Tribal police sta- tion will cost $1.153 million to build and is being funded through two Housing and Urban Development grants totaling $667,000, an expected $237,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant and approximately $260,000 in Tribal funds. The station will include a sally port, holding cell, controlled water closet, audio visual room and stor- age area, as well as ofices for Tribal police staff. Construction should start on June 1 and take about ive months to com- plete, said Tribal Engineering and Public Works Manager Jesse White. Tribal police are currently housed in a cramped modular adjacent to Spirit Mountain Casino. In other action, Tribal Council: • Re-appointed Toby McClary and Steve Bobb Sr. to the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors with terms that will expire in June 2019; • Approved paying a negotiated amount of up to $25,000 in annu- al membership dues to rejoin the National Congress of American Indians; • Approved an application for a $378,148 Tribal Homeland Secu- rity Grant that would, if received, pay for radio equipment, an emergency tent with heating and air conditioning, a trailer and a small drone; • Approved an application for a $62,500 Oregon Emergency Man- agement Performance Grant that would help pay for the Tribe’s Emergency Operations staff members; • Declared June 10 as the next per capita payment date; • And amended bylaws for the new Youth Council that would make membership open to enrolled Grand Ronde Tribal members, di- rect descendants of enrolled Trib- al members or enrolled members of another federally recognized Tribe receiving services from the Grand Ronde Tribe. Also included in the May 18 Tribal Council packet were authorizations to proceed to live audio stream Tribal Council work sessions, appoint Trib- al Council member Brenda Tuomi to the Salem Mayor’s International Council, authorize Nutrition Program Manager Kristy DeLoe to execute all documents for the Tribe’s requested funding from the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Con- servation Service for the Community Garden project, and authorize Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Martin and Tribal Attorney Rob Greene to develop a plan for meetings and negotiations with British Museum staff regarding possible return of the Summers Collection to Grand Ronde. Cultural Outreach Coordinator Bobby Mercier and his family and Public Affairs Administrative As- sistant Chelsea Clark performed the cultural singing to open the meeting. The meeting, in its entirety, can be viewed by visiting the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org, clicking on the News tab and then Video. Casino’s parade loat honors 20th anniversary By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Spirit Mountain Casino’s loat entry in this year’s Grand Flo- ral Parade will cause a sense of déjà vu for those with a good memory. Casino Sponsorship Adminis- trator Jocelyn Huffman said the loat is a recreation of the casino’s irst loat ever – a mother coyote playing with her two babies. “We’re calling it ‘Have Some Real Fun,’ ” Huffman said. In addition to commemorating the casino’s 20th anniversary of being involved in the Grand Floral Parade, the loat honors the retirement of Peg Roseboro, who designed the irst loat. The Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade will wind its way through the streets of Portland beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 11. The parade’s path begins at Memorial Coliseum and travels down Martin Luther King Jr. Bou- levard, across the Burnside Bridge and into downtown Portland, end- ing at Lincoln High School. Paid ad Spirit Mountain Casino has been the main sponsor of the parade for six years, signing its second three-year contract in 2014. Tribal Elders and Tribal em- ployees will be traveling to a Gresham warehouse on Wednes- day and Thursday, June 8 and 9, to put the inishing touches on the casino’s loat. Float judging day is Friday, June 10. People interesting in helping to decorate should contact Huff- man at 503-879-3054 by Monday, June 6. Because Spirit Mountain Ca- sino is title sponsor, the Tribe’s loat will be the irst to emerge from the back door of the Port- land Coliseum at the start of the parade for the four-mile parade route. Tickets for indoor seating are $30 reserved and $15 super-sav- er while outdoor seating is $30 for reserved chairs and $25 for reserved bleachers. For more information, go to www.rosefestival.org on the In- ternet.
