8
S moke S ignals
JANUARY 15, 2017
43 employees honored for 591 years of service
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Forty-three Tribal employees, all
hired in the last quarter of the year,
were recognized for a combined 591
years of service to the Grand Ronde
Tribe during an awards ceremony
held Friday, Jan. 13, in the Tribal
gym.
The event was originally sched-
uled for Thursday, Jan. 12, but
Tribal offices were closed by inclem-
ent weather on Wednesday, Jan.
11, and did not re-open until 10
a.m. Thursday. However, Human
Resources provided Smoke Signals
with an advance list of employees
being honored.
With every day she works, Health
& Wellness Center Business Office
Manager Tresa Mercier sets a lon-
gevity record with the Tribe that
will be difficult to surpass. She
was honored for her 32nd year of
working for the Tribe.
Two more Merciers – Tribal Li-
brarian Marion and Acting Tribal
Employment Rights Office Manag-
er John – were honored for reaching
their 26th year of service to the
Tribe.
Hitting the 21-year mark were
Social Services Department Man-
ager Dana Ainam, Recruitment/
Employee Relations Administrator
Daphney Colton, Asset Inventory
Specialist Jerry George, Employee
Benefits Administrator Tammy
Gould, Member Services Admin-
istrative Assistant Hollie Mercier
and Compensation/HRIS Admin-
istrator Candy Scranton.
Ceded Lands Manager Michael
Karnosh rounded out the employ-
ees reaching or surpassing two
Smoke Signals file photo
Health & Wellness Center Business Office Manager Tresa Mercier reached
her 32nd year of employment with the Grand Ronde Tribe and was honored
for her employment longevity at the quarterly Years of Service Awards held
Friday, Jan. 13, in the Tribal gym.
decades of service by reaching the
20-year mark.
All employees reaching 20 years
or more received a bonus check and
Karnosh received an additional gift
card.
Other employees recognized for
their service of five years or more
during the ceremony included:
19 years: Dental Assistant Do-
nette Spaulding.
18 years: Health Information
Supervisor Lillian Engel.
17 years: Chinuk Language Spe-
cialist Crystal Szcepanski.
16 years: Planning & Grants
Development Manager Kim Rogers,
Health & Wellness Accreditation
Coordinator Jill Hafliger and Lead
Shipping & Receiving Clerk Na-
than Rolston.
15 years: Home Improvement
Coordinator Donald Coon.
14 years: Police Chief Jake McK-
night and Web Designer Willie
Mercier.
13 years: High School Adult
Education Chinuk Wawa Teacher
Kathy Cole and Employee Rela-
tions Specialist Eva Simmons.
12 years: Early Head Start
Home-Based Visitor Shawn Bobb
and Early Childhood Education
Cook Rebecca Goeserich.
11 years: Early Head Start
Teacher Jessica Cruickshank,
Child Abuse Investigator John
Genera, Home Improvement Co-
ordinator Loyal Hamilton and
Gaming Commission Compliance
Manager Rose Smith.
10 years: Technology Techni-
cian Joe Loomis and Purchased/
Referred Care Specialist Tauni
McCammon.
9 years: Senior Staff Attorney
Jennifer Biesack, Cultural Edu-
cation Specialist Brian Krehbiel,
Housing Administrative Program
Manager Joan Dugger and Well-
ness Driver Arnoldo Moralez.
8 years: Billings/Auditing Spe-
cialist Desireee Allen, Cultural
Education Specialist Flicka Lucero,
Pharmacy Clerk Isaiah Sherwood
and Foster Care Coodinator Aman-
da Mercier.
7 years: X-ray Technician Niki
Mosley.
6 years: TERO Secretary Keri
Kimsey and Chinuk Wawa Teacher
Jeff Mercier.
5 years: Security Officer Daniel
Hyatt, Engineering and Public
Works Manager Jesse White and
Pharmacy Technician Stephanie
Wolfe.
Tribal employees were served
breakfast and after the awards
were handed out a raffle was con-
ducted that included door prizes
and awards of additional adminis-
trative time.
All employees recognized received
a bonus check and those reaching
the 10-year mark also received a
Tribal Pendleton blanket. n
Editor’s note: This story was writ-
ten in advance of the event to meet
Smoke Signals printing deadlines.
Tribal Council adopts General Council ordinance
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council adopted a new
General Council ordinance at its
Thursday, Jan. 12, meeting that
will govern how the nine monthly
meetings are held annually.
Tribal Council held a rare Thurs-
day morning meeting after a winter
storm forced closure of the Gover-
nance Center in Grand Ronde on
Wednesday, Jan. 11, and postpone-
ment of the regularly scheduled 4
p.m. meeting.
Staff Attorney Holly Partridge
said at the Tuesday, Jan. 10, Leg-
islative Action Committee meet-
ing that only one Tribal member
submitted a comment about the
proposed ordinance when it was
sent out for a first reading.
The ordinance is designed to set
forth uniform policies and pro-
cedures regarding the powers of
General Council and to facilitate
orderly and productive meetings,
which are usually held the first
Sunday of the month from Septem-
ber through May annually. (The
June General Council meeting,
held the last Sunday of the month,
is reserved for Tribal Council nom-
inations only.)
For example, the ordinance
states that if a quorum of 30 Tribal
members is not present when the
meeting is scheduled to begin, the
Tribal Council chair will announce
a 15-minute grace period to reach
quorum before the meeting is can-
celed.
The ordinance also designates
that every September meeting will
be an update from Spirit Mountain
Casino, every October meeting will
be an overview of Tribal invest-
ments and every November meeting
will review the proposed budget for
the next year. It also requires one
General Council meeting be held
each year in Portland and Eugene.
Regarding advisory votes, the
new ordinance requires community
meetings to seek membership input
concerning possible advisory vote
topics be held in Portland, Eugene
and Grand Ronde. Any approved
advisory votes will “generally be
conducted in conjunction with a
September Tribal Council election.”
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Appointed Andrew Freeman to
the Fish & Wildlife Committee
with a term ending in March
2018;
• Appointed Izaiah Fisher to the
Youth Council with a term ending
in March 2018 or until he gradu-
ates from high school;
• Approved the 2017 annual agree-
ment with the U.S. Department
of the Interior totaling $2.7 mil-
lion in self-governance funding;
• Approved a contract between the
Health & Wellness Center and
OSIS for technical expertise and
service management of a new
electronic health records system.
The $149,121 contract will save
the Tribe about $45,000 annually
by reducing the need for one full-
time employee;
• Re-appointed Tribal Council Vice
Chair Cheryle A. Kennedy as the
Tribe’s representative on the Or-
egon Legislative Commission on
Indian Services with a two-year
term expiring in December 2018;
• And approved the enrollment
of two infants into the Tribe be-
cause they meet the membership
requirements outlined in the
Enrollment Ordinance and Tribal
Constitution.
Also included in the Jan. 12 Trib-
al Council packet were authoriza-
tions to proceed that approved a 1.7
percent cost-of-living increase in
2017 for Tribal governmental em-
ployees, approved a comment letter
for the Columbia River Systems
Operations Environmental Impact
Statement, and approved revised
imagery and retention of the name
“Indians” by the Scappoose School
District.
Tribal Lands Manager Jan Look-
ing Wolf Reibach performed the
cultural drumming and singing to
open the meeting.
The meeting, in its entirety, can
be viewed on the Tribal website,
www.grandronde.org, by clicking
on the News tab and then Video. n