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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2017)
S moke S ignals MAY 1, 2017 5 Memorial Day event set for Monday, May 29 10 names being added to West Valley Veterans Memorial By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The annual Memorial Day event at the West Valley Veterans Me- morial on the Grand Ronde Tribal campus will be highlighted by Trib- al Council Chairman Reyn Leno, a Vietnam War-era Marine Corps veteran, reading the 10 names be- ing added to the four black granite pillars that represent the major branches of the U.S. armed forces. The event begins at noon with a meal served in the nearby Tribal Community Center. The outdoors ceremony begins at 1 p.m. with Steve Bobb Sr., chair- man of the Tribe’s Veterans Special Event Board and also a Marine Corps veteran from the Vietnam War era, giving the invocation and serving as master of ceremonies. Grand Ronde drummers will play a memorial song, Tribal youth JC Rogers will sing the national anthem as she did in 2016 and Grand Ronde Royalty and Vet- erans Royalty will perform “The Lord’s Prayer.” The Grand Ronde Honor Guard will post the colors and speakers will include Polk County Veterans Service Officer Marie McCandless, Yamhill County Veterans Service Officer Jerry Wilson and Veterans Benefit Specialist Niki Volz. Names being added to the West If you go 15th Memorial Day ceremony When: Noon Monday, May 29 Where: Tribal Community Center & West Valley Veterans Memorial, 9615 Grand Ronde Road More info: 503-876-3118 Valley Veterans Memorial this year are Navy veterans Steven Rife Jr., Russell Talmadge, Dennis Kleff- ner and Ryan Jackman; Air Force veteran Walter Schmale; Army veterans Harold Hobbs, Dennis Ylitalo and Charles Parker; and Marine Corps veterans and Tribal members Toby Gerard Bolden and Dru Stromberg Jr. Stromberg joined the Marine Corps in June 2001 and was sta- tioned in Charleston, S.C., for five years as a corrections officer at the Naval Consolidated Brig. He was honorably discharged in 2016 and walked on on Oct. 2, 2016, leaving behind a wife and two daughters. The addition of 10 names brings the total number of veterans hon- ored on the pillars to 2,335. The ceremony will close with Bud Abbott reciting his traditional poem “Remember Me, America” and Rob- ert Thornburg performing taps on the trumpet. The West Valley Veterans Memo- Smoke Signals file photo The Grand Ronde Honor Guard brings in the flags during the 14th annual Memorial Day ceremony held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial on the Tribal campus last May. rial, which was dedicated in 2003, was designed by Bobb and features a man and a woman dressed in tra- ditional Native clothing standing side by side reaching to the sky. Surrounding them are four black granite pillars, which feature the names of Tribal and community veterans from Grand Ronde, Wil- lamina and Sheridan. Clothes Closet open Monday, Friday The Clothes Closet is open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first and third Fridays of the month and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all other Fridays on the Tribal campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end of Blacktail Drive. The Clothes Closet accepts clothing, small appliances, small pieces of furniture, electronics and household goods that are clean and in good condition. It does not accept books, large TVs or large furniture, but there is a community board where people can post those items. Donations are accepted during regular business hours. For more information or emergency clothes, contact Lori Walker-Hernandez at 559-847-7565. Ad created by George Valdez