Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2017)
4 S moke S ignals AUGUST 15, 2017 Election Office open through Aug. 31 2012 – The Grand Ronde Tribe was in the process of having two electric car charging stations installed at the Tribal convenience store on state Highway 18, making the Tribe among the first locations in the United States to take such a stand for greener highways. 2007 – Tribal Council Chairman Chris Mercier and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a proclamation in the Governance Center Atrium that will lead to greater sovereignty for the Tribe by allowing for the creation of more access to game for ceremonial 2007 File photo purposes and increased Tribal man- agement of its own lands. 2002 – An open house was held for the Tribe’s new Education Cam- pus. Education Director Marion Mercier thanked Tribal leadership past and present and staff for helping to make the dream of a new gymnasium complete. The gym included a full-scale basketball court, workout room, locker rooms and performance stage. 1997 – The Tribe’s Natural Resources Department moved out of modular offices and into a new facility located on Hebo Road. 1992 – Tracy Olson, the new newsletter director for the Tribe, intro- duced herself to Smoke Signals readers. She was a recent graduate of the University of Oregon. “I primarily want to create a paper which offers entertaining and informative articles for all Tribal members,” she wrote. 1987 – Cindy Martin was selected as Miss Grand Ronde and Marlo George as Junior Miss Grand Ronde during a Royalty Pageant held in conjunction with the Tribe’s third annual Contest Powwow. Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year incre- ments through the pages of Smoke Signals. 'The impacts are good' CASINO EFFECT continued from front page However, after three full months of competition, Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno, who also sits on the Spirit Mountain Gaming. Inc. Board of Directors, reported at the Tuesday, Aug. 1, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the casino’s revenues are remaining competitive with those of 2016 – a record revenue year. Tribal representatives have al- ways been unsure what effect the Cowlitz casino would have on Spirit Mountain, which had been the closest casino to the Portland metropolitan area for two decades. Predictions were as dire as the Grand Ronde Tribe losing as much as $100 million annually. In preparation, Tribal depart- ments that use casino revenue to fund their programs were asked to pare 5 percent out of their 2017 budgets and Spirit Mountain’s pro- jected revenue to the Tribe for the year was predicted to be almost 40 percent less than in 2016. Leno said that current revenues are down 17 percent when com- pared to 2016, but if you compare current revenues to the casino’s five-year average, revenues are only down about 8 percent. “The impacts are good,” Leno said while acknowledging the work of Spirit Mountain Casino General Manager Stan Dillon and his staff. “I know people said we didn’t have a plan out there, we weren’t doing our job. I believe our plan was a good plan. We’re showing that now. Ob- viously, we have a long ways to go.” Leno said that if casino revenues transferred to the Tribe remain as strong throughout the rest of 2017 that an estimated large use of Trib- al reserves to backfill the budget will be unnecessary. “If the numbers stay good, we will actually make that back,” Leno said. “We won’t have to take that out of our other funds.” Dillon traditionally updates the membership on the casino’s status during the September General Council meeting, which will be held 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10. WALK-IN DENTAL APPOI NTMENTS FOR KIDS <6 NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY FOR DENTAL CHECK-UPS FOR KIDS 5 AND UNDER WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO BE SEEN AT THE TRIBAL CLINIC. JUST COME ON IN! We will check your child’s teeth during any of our clinic hours without an ap- pointment. Dental check-ups are recommended beginning with the first tooth! Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Dental Clinic Phone 503-879-2020 Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri 8:00—5:00; Thur 9:30-5:30 Through Thursday, Aug. 31, the Election Office in the Community Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a half-hour lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The office can be reached at 503-879-2271. For eligible voters’ convenience, blank signature verification forms will be placed in a basket outside the Elections Office door. Completed forms with a notarized or eligible copy of ID (driver’s license, member ID card, passport, etc.) attached need to be mailed to the Election Board office for processing. The form will not be processed unless it has been notarized or includes an eligible copy of ID attached. Ballots were mailed to voters with verified signatures on Wednes- day, July 26. Tribal members may create a verified signature card at any time up to and including Election Day on Saturday, Sept. 9. Post office closure affects Tribal ballots The Grand Ronde Post Office is not open on Saturdays to receive and process walk-in mail or mail in the blue collection box outside. The Post Office does process mail it receives overnight early Saturday morning, but the office is not open to the public. However, the Tribal Election Board has made arrangements with the local postmaster to pick up absentee ballots received, processed and placed in the Election post office box by noon on Election Day, Saturday, Sept. 9, to comply with the Election Ordinance. To be safe, eligible voters should be sure that their absentee ballot is received by the Post Office no later than Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, to ensure their vote is processed. Voters should not expect to hand deliver their absentee ballots to the Post Office or the blue box outside the Post Office on Election Day and have their vote processed. Eligible voters concerned that their absentee ballots may not have been received by Election Day may come to the polling place and confirm if their absentee ballot was received. If an absentee ballot was not received, then they may vote in person. The polling place is located in the Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. Food Bank provides boxes, seeks help The Grand Ronde Food Bank – iskam mfkhmfk haws – is oper- ated by Marion-Polk Food Share, which has been leading the fight to end hunger since 1987 because no one should be hungry. Recipients of SNAP, TANF, SSI or LIHEAP assistance automat- ically qualify for assistance at the Grand Ronde Food Bank, 9675 Grand Ronde Road. No one will be turned away in need of a food box. “We believe that everyone deserves to have enough to eat,” Food Bank Coordinator Francene Ambrose says. “You are welcome to get a food box at each of our regular weekly distributions. No one will be turned away in need of a food box.” Upcoming food box distribution dates will be: • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18; • 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23. The Food Bank will be closed the week of Aug. 28 through Sept. 1, as well as on Monday, Sept. 4, which is Labor Day. The next distribution will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. Those who are unable to pick up a food box can fill out an autho- rized representative form and that person can pick up a food box on your behalf. The authorization is good for one year. The Food Bank continues to seek volunteers to help with repack- ing food, putting food on the shelves, handing out food boxes and end-of-month inventory. In addition, volunteers are being sought for the Fresh Alliance program and Salem Harvest. Call to ensure someone is available to assist. People also can sign up for a monthly e-mail for the Food Bank calendar and events, as well as follow the Food Bank on Facebook. The Food Bank is an equal opportunity provider. Call Ambrose at 503-879-3663 or contact her at fambrose@mari- onpolkfoodshare.org for more information or to volunteer.
