S moke S ignals
NOVEMBER 1, 2017
9
Pursuit shuts down
Highway 18 on Saturday
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
Grand Ronde Tribal police were not involved in an officer-involved
shooting that shut down Highway 18 east of Grand Ronde in both
directions for several hours on Saturday morning.
“We had one officer assisting with the traffic situation after the
incident occurred,” Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight said on Mon-
day, Oct. 30.
McKnight declined to elaborate, citing the involvement of the Polk
County District Attorney’s Office.
The 17-year-old suspect from Silverton died at the scene.
According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State
Police and the Polk County major crimes unit are investigating the
shooting, which occurred near milepost 23 near Grand Ronde.
Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office were notified of
an armed carjacking and robbery that occurred about 4 a.m. in the
Safeway parking lot at the corner of Silverton Road and Lancaster
Drive in Salem. The suspect was reported to have a weapon.
Polk County deputies located the vehicle and a pursuit began,
reaching speeds of more than 80 mph. As deputies attempted to ap-
prehend the juvenile, shots were fired. Investigators have recovered
a weapon from the shooting scene.
The names of the involved officers and of the deceased juvenile
are being withheld, according to the Polk County District Attorney's
Office.
Rice named director of
Bureau of Indian Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bryan Rice, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation
of Oklahoma and a veteran federal administrator, was named the new
director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs by U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Ryan Zinke on Monday, Oct. 16.
The bureau is the federal agency that coordinates government-to-gov-
ernment relations with the 567 federally recognized Tribes in the United
States.
“Native Americans face significant regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles to
economic freedom and success,” Rice said. “I am honored to accept this posi-
tion and looking forward to implementing President Trump’s and Secretary
Zinke’s regulatory reform initiative for Indian Country to liberate Native
Americans from the bureaucracy that has held them back economically.”
Rice recently led the Interior Department’s Office of Wildland Fire and
has broad experience leading forestry, wildland fire and Tribal programs
in the departments of the Interior and Agriculture.
He has worked for the federal government for almost 20 years, beginning
in Helena, Mont., as part of an interagency hot shot crew. He served as a
Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and supervised timber operations on the
Yakama Reservation in Washington state as well as in Alaska.
He holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign in forestry and a master’s from the University of
Alaska in business administration. He is a licensed pilot and enjoys time
outside hunting and fishing.
Grants up to $10,000
available to Tribes
Through Oct. 31, Oregon nonprofit organizations and Tribes can
apply for grants up to $10,000 to support public programs that bring
people together to think and talk about challenging issues and ideas.
Oregon Humanities’ Public Program Grants are awarded annually to
nonprofits with a budget less than $1.5 million and Oregon’s federally
recognized Tribes. The grants fund programs that engage community
members as active participants, explore issues or ideas from a variety
of perspectives, help participants make meaning for themselves and
their community, and respond to challenges or opportunities in their
communities.
To apply, organizations or Tribes must complete an online letter
or interest form by Oct. 31 at www.oregonhumanities.org. Once that
deadline passes, Oregon Humanities staff will contact the program
director regarding whether a full proposal will be invited.
Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Program Coordina-
tor Kyle Weismann-Yee at 503-241-0543 or 800-735-0543, ext. 112,
or kyle@oregonhumanities.org to discuss their applications or learn
more about the granting process.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Grand Ronde Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight, left, talks with community
member Don Christensen during Chat With the Chief event held at the Tribal
Police Station on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
First ‘Chat With the Chief’ held
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
It’s not common to see citizens
and police officers breaking garlic
bread together, but that’s exactly
what happened in Grand Ronde
recently.
In an effort to improve communi-
ty policing, Tribal Police Chief Jake
McKnight hosted the first-ever
“Chat With the Chief” event at the
police station on Grand Ronde Road
on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
He said he decided to start the
chats to help encourage positive
interaction between law enforce-
ment and citizens, and to improve
community policing.
“We plan to have these events
every few months,” McKnight said.
“We want to get the community
more involved with the police de-
partment.”
Topics of discussion included
McKnight’s recent 10-week FBI
training in Quantico, Va., the Na-
tional Drug Take-back Day event
held on Saturday, Oct. 28, prescrip-
tion drug abuse and treatment op-
tions, crime trends and community
needs.
McKnight brought out his brick
from the famous “Yellow Brick
Road” run to show attendees who
inquired about his FBI training. It
is from the final test of the fitness
challenge at Quantico.
Participants must complete a 6.1-
mile run through a hilly, wooded
trail built by the Marines. Along the
way, they scale walls, run through
creeks, jump through simulated
windows, rope climb rock faces,
crawl under barbed wire in muddy
water, maneuver across a cargo
net and more. When the course
is completed, students receive a
yellow brick to memorialize their
achievement, which McKnight has
displayed in his office.
In addition to McKnight, other
Tribal Police attendees at the
event were Sgt. Rod McAllister, Lt.
Timothy Hernandez, Officer Tyler
Brown and Evidence Technician
Egypt Leno.
Tribal Planning Department
Manager Rick George, Tribal Elder
Barbara Feehan and Tribal mem-
ber Veronica Gaston also attended.
A meal of lasagna, garlic bread
and salad was served to all who
walked through the doors, including
several volunteers from the Food
Bank located across the parking lot,
who thanked officers for hosting the
event and providing a meal.
“We will continue to host these so
we can keep that open communica-
tion going,” McKnight said.
According to the U.S. Department
of Justice, community policing em-
phasizes proactive problem-solving
rather than responding to crime
only after it occurs, with this phi-
losophy infused into all police oper-
ations and guiding decision-making
efforts.
“Agencies are encouraged to
think innovatively about their re-
sponses and view making arrests as
only one of a wide array of potential
responses,” the website states.
McKnight has said that the
Grand Ronde police force is fortu-
nate to have community support in
its efforts and that he hopes to build
on that foundation.
McKnight, 40, was tapped as
Grand Ronde’s police chief in De-
cember 2015. He succeeded Al La
Chance, who retired in February
2016 and also was the community’s
first police officer after working for
the Natural Resources Department
patrolling Tribal forestlands.
Health & Wellness Center Entrance
Reminder: The drive-through entrance at the Health &
Wellness Center is for loading and unloading only.
The entrance was built with our Elders and those with mobility
issues and their ease of access in mind.
If you are coming to the center to pick up
prescriptions, please park in
one of our regular parking spaces.
Thank you,
Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center Administration