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.