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.
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