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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2017)
S moke S ignals MAY 15, 2017 11 ANNOUNCEMENT Photo by Michelle Alaimo Tina Leno’s creation, a hamburger topped with mushrooms, onion rings, Swiss cheese and an egg, was one of three winning burgers from Long Bell Diner’s Build a Burger Contest. Bun time! Burger contest proves popular at Grand Ronde Station By Brent Merrill Smoke Signals staff writer The responses to Grand Ronde Station General Manager Lisa Nel- son’s recent Build a Burger Contest were far more numerous than she ever anticipated when she thought of the idea. “Oh my God! It was fabulous,” Nelson said. “I probably had 75 or more responses. It was huge. Within 10 minutes of having sent out that e-mail they (suggestions) started rolling in and they just kept rolling in for days. It was cool.” Tina Leno’s suggestion of a mush- room burger with onion rings, Swiss cheese and an egg was chosen from among the entries as were two suggestions by Tiffany Mercier, who suggested a mac and cheese burger and a pulled pork cheese- burger with crispy onions. “I’m pretty excited,” said Leno, who works as a medical receptionist in the Tribe’s Health & Wellness Center. “I watch the Food Channel all the time. There was a lot of peo- ple on the Food Network that liked that one.” Nelson said she received input from her staff on the final decision of which burger ideas would be added to the menu. She said the range of ideas went from a bacon cheeseburger with an egg on top to some really hot, spicy suggestions. In the end, the winners were some classic options inspired by ev- eryone’s mutual interest in popular cooking shows on television. “I talked to some of the crew and then I had to take into account what I can get as far as my delivery peo- ple,” Nelson said. “We talked about it and then narrowed it down, and then I talked to my vendors to see what I could get.” Nelson said she watches shows on the Food Network like “Chopped” and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and she had previously seen some of the burgers selected on those shows. Nelson said the main reason for choosing the winning selections was because they seemed like they would taste good. “They just sounded amazing,” Nelson said. Nelson said the new burgers have already started selling and that the new menus reflecting the additional burger options will be arriving soon. Nelson said that based on the great response she received, she is planning on seeking burger sugges- tions again in the future. “I was excited about all the re- sponses I got,” Nelson said. “We got way more than we thought we would. What’s better than having people who already eat here helping out with some of the menu items?” The winners received gift certifi- cates for free hamburgers at Grand Ronde Station. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde recently implemented a process that will allow all Tribal members who reside in the state of Oregon the option of requesting Oregon income tax withholdings from their per capita and Elders benefit payments. Information regarding this option was mailed to all Oregon resident Tribal members the week of March 6. While recognizing we have Tribal members who currently reside throughout the 50 states, we will not be offering the state income tax withholding option to Tribal members who reside outside of Oregon at this time. The administrative time, costs and reporting requirements to implement the option in all states would be very expensive. This is the main contributing factor in our decision not to offer the option outside of Oregon. There are a couple of options for Tribal members who wish to set aside money to cover any potential year-end state tax liability: Tribal members aged 18 and older can defer a portion of their per capita payments to their adult savings plan. That money would be available to withdraw from your savings plan as needed. Please note – this option is not available for Elders payments. Money cannot be deferred to the adult savings plan from Elders payments. Open a regular savings account at a bank or credit union and set aside money throughout the year for your use as needed. Check with your state’s taxing authority to determine if you are able to pay “estimated” taxes throughout the year, which could reduce the amount you are required to pay at year-end. We encourage you to seek advice from your tax accountant or CPA should you have any questions about your specific state tax liability. AMERICAN INDIAN TEACHER PROGRAM Ad created by George Valdez