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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2016)
S moke S ignals DECEMBER 15, 2016 11 General Council briefed on ’16 capital improvement projects By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The Grand Ronde Tribe has made more than $3.67 million in improvements to the Tribal cam- pus and Reservation during 2016, said Engineering and Public Works Manager Jesse White during the Sunday, Dec. 4, General Council meeting held in the Tribal Commu- nity Center. The projects ranged from con- struction of a new Tribal police station on Grand Ronde Road to completing road repairs on the Res- ervation to installing bleachers at Uyxat Powwow Grounds off Hebo Road. White’s 17-minute presentation started with an overview of the 4,400-square-foot police station that he said should be complete this month with a grand opening set for early January. The station is replacing a cramped modular adjacent to Spirit Mountain Casino. “This is a much-needed facility for our Tribal police force,” White said. The station costs $1.163 million and was mostly funded through Tribal Engineering and Public Works Manager Jesse White gives an update on the Tribe’s 2016 capital improvement projects during the General Council meeting held in the Tribal Community Center on Sunday, Dec. 4. funds provided by the U.S. De- partment of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Justice. White said a recent expansion of storage for Tribal Archives will expand capacity from 3,000 boxes to 6,000 boxes. The mobile storage unit was donated by SAIF Corp. and cost $86,180 to move and in- Photos by Michelle Alaimo Jeremy Anderson, a carpenter/installer with Salem Wood Products, installs a cabinet in the conference room of the new Tribal police station, which is near completion, on Monday, Dec. 12. stall. However, the unit is valued at more than $300,000. “Last year, Archives was nearing capacity and needed to find a way to expand,” White said. “This was a great savings to the Tribe. This should be plenty sufficient for the next 10 years.” On the Reservation, the Agency Creek and Yoncalla road repairs rehabilitated four miles of road- way at a cost of $2.2 million using Bureau of Indian Affairs’ funds. In addition, 35 culverts were replaced and two fish passage culverts were installed under Agency Creek Road to Agency Creek, providing fish access to the creek. White said several of the culverts were 50 years old and made of corrugated metal that was rusting through. The new culverts are made of plastic. Meanwhile, an expansion of fam- ily housing wastewater treatment plant capacity increased the plant’s ability to handle wastewater from 36,000 gallons per day to 72,000 gallons per day at a cost of $79,856. The expansion was 80 percent fund- ed by a federal grant. And the installation of bleachers at the Powwow Grounds arbor cost $130,000. White said his department also built the Charnel House adja- cent to the Tribal Cemetery and demolished several buildings on conservation properties managed by the Tribe. White said that 24 Tribal Em- ployment Rights Office workers were used on the capital improve- ment projects and 2,534 hours were worked by those employees. He added that future projects in 2017 will include working on a long- range Tribal transportation plan, Early Childhood-Youth Education building expansion and men’s tran- sition house renovation. White fielded three questions from the membership during a question-and-answer session. Elders’ Committee nominations preceded White’s presentation with Julie Duncan, Jenny Vanatta, Mar- cia Stake, Dwayne Wheeler and Dorothy Shortt being nominated for three open positions on the committee. Votes will be accepted during the monthly Elders’ birthday meeting in December and during the Jan. 8 General Council meeting. Bob Duncan, Laura Gleason, Nichole Liebelt, Khani Schultz and Julie Duncan won the $50 door prizes and Alton Butler, Dorothy Leno and Maxine Clements won the $100 door prizes. Two beaded necklaces made by Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George also were raffled off. Veronica Gaston gave the invoca- tion to open the meeting. The next General Council meet- ing will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, in the Tribal Community Center. The meeting, in its entirety, can be viewed on the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org by clicking on the News tab and then Video. Adult Members’ Trust and Minors’ Custodial & Rabbi Trust Funds Investments in the Adult Members’ Trust Fund and the Minors’ Custodial and Rabbi Trust Funds are updated each business day. If you are a trust participant and/or if you are the parent/ guardian of a minor member, you can access and review your balance and your minor child’s balance by visiting ww- w.401Save.com. To log-in, the initial User ID is your (or your child’s) Social Se- curity number, and the initial Password is “00” followed by your (or your child’s) membership number. Once logged in, you can customize your User ID and password for security purposes. If you have any trouble logging in to or using the system, contact the 401Save Call Center at 1-888-700-0808 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Ad created by George Valdez
