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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2017)
10 S moke S ignals AUGUST 1, 2017 'It’s all hands on deck' ECLIPSE continued from front page Only essential Tribal employ- ees will be working on Monday, Fullerton said, and the Health & Wellness Center will not be taking any appointments on that day. One possible wrinkle that could dramatically affect the Grand Ronde area, Fullerton said, is if the Oregon coast is fogged in on eclipse morning, prompting an ex- odus of eclipse aficionados inland on Highway 18. Oregon Department of Trans- portation officials have identified the stretch of Highway 18 between Lincoln City and Grand Ronde as a potential bottleneck during the eclipse. “Potentially everyone from the coast could be moving this direc- tion,” Fullerton said. “There is some concerns with that.” Grand Ronde Tribal Police De- partment Lt. Tim Hernandez said the Tribal police have canceled all vacation for patrol officers and will have at least two officers on duty per shift Friday through Monday. Friday, Aug. 18, also is the first day of another Grand Ronde event that attracts crowds – the annual Contest Powwow. “We will also have a floating shift for a third officer depending on when they are needed,” Hernandez said. “We anticipate our biggest problem to be traffic congestion for this weekend.” Since August is traditionally one of the driest months of the year and because of the crowds and fire danger threat, the Tribal Reserva- tion will be closed beginning 5 p.m. “We are staffing like it’s New Year’s Eve, which is our largest night of the year.” ~ Spirit Mountain Casino Marketing Director Shawna Ridgebear Friday, Aug. 18, through Monday, Aug. 21. Big Buck campground also will be closed to campers starting Friday and re-opening the following Tuesday, fire season allowing. Natural Resources Manager Mi- chael Wilson said extra fire patrols also will be out, monitoring the area to identify any potential fire hazards. Tribal Education Manager Leslie Riggs canceled a trip by Tribal youth to the Warm Springs Reservation to participate in a NASA-sponsored educational event regarding the eclipse based on concerns about traveling during the weekend. Casino plans viewing party Spirit Mountain Casino Market- ing Director Shawna Ridgebear said the casino will open its eclipse viewing area at 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21, in the parking lot in front of PlayWorld. There will be 500 free seats avail- able to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis and 100 invitation-only spots available for VIPs. “We do anticipate that filling up rather quickly,” Ridgebear said about the general public seating. The casino will provide coffee and a food truck for people to purchase refreshments, free eclipse glasses Ad created by George Valdez and casino employees who have undergone “eclipse training” at Ev- ergreen Space Museum in McMin- nville will be available to answer questions about what to expect. Ridgebear said Spirit Mountain Lodge still had a “handful” of rooms available in mid-July for Sunday, Aug. 20, the evening before totality and that the lodge was not gouging people like some hotels and motels have done in the path of totality. Like any event, Ridgebear said crowd estimates are “the great unknown.” The casino may see an extra 100 guests or an extra 1,000, but it is erring on the side of a large turnout considering the timing – it’s a weekend, the Contest Powwow is occurring and Monday is the eclipse. “We are stocking up just like every- body is with their own houses,” Ridge- bear said. “Spirit Mountain is trying to stock up and make sure we have enough bottled water and enough food to take care of everybody.” The casino also is preparing to set up its supply of emergency cots in the Event Center for its employees in case there are traffic congestion problems on Highway 18. “It’s all hands on deck,” she said. “We are staffing like it’s New Year’s Eve, which is our largest night of the year.” Ridgebear added that the casino will suspend its buses to and from Portland for that weekend to help ease traffic, as well as ensure all deliveries are done early. Day helping to build plankhouse RICKREALL – Grand Ronde Tribal Elder Don Day is working with the Polk County Historical Society to build a replica cedar plankhouse at the Polk County Museum in Rickreall. The Polk County Board of Commissioners approved the project in mid-July. “This replica will be an outdoor display on the Polk County Museum grounds,” wrote Ann Gage, the Polk County Historical Society edu- cation coordinator in a letter to the commissioners. “It will be used as an outdoor educational exhibit demonstrating primitive technol- ogies, tools and methods by Don Day during its actual construction.” Gage wrote that after its completion, the plankhouse will be a venue for educational programs about the Kalapuya culture. “Its presence and the recording of the construction process will provide unique, historical documentation for the public,” Gage wrote. From the Polk County Itemizer-Observer Ad created by George Valdez
