S moke S ignals
JANUARY 1, 2018
2013 – An electric car
charging station opened
at Grand Ronde Station.
The Tribe was planning
a grand opening/ribbon
cutting ceremony for late
February or early March.
Oregon, with 1,300 elec-
tric cars, was leading the
nation in its buildout of
the Electric Highway,
File photo
which predicted that by 2013
2020 there would be an
estimated 2 million electric cars that would be able to travel between
Canada and Mexico.
2008 – Tribal member David Harrelson, 22, was headed to Capitol
Hill in Washington, D.C. Although he was unsuccessful in his bid for
the Mark O. Hatfield Fellowship, he networked his way into the office
of Sen. Gordon Smith for a three-month internship. Harrelson said he
wanted to work in Smith’s office because of the senator’s placement
on the Indian Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources committees.
2003 – The journey of Danyel Leach, the 13-year-old daughter of
Spirit Mountain Casino employee Kathleen Salleng, who had a brain
tumor removed, was chronicled. Despite her condition, the teenager
attended school regularly, played volleyball and participated in other
activities with friends.
1998 – More than 200 memory bricks were laid into place at the
new Health & Wellness Center. The bricks were a Health Committee
fundraiser and purchased by people to honor living and dead family
members.
1993 – The Tribe finalized a land purchase with the Zimbricks,
whose property was located near the Tribal forestry offices near
Highway 18. The land had been looked at for several economic pos-
sibilities because of its location along the highway and across from
the South Yamhill River. The Zimbrick family agreed to sell the land
to the Tribe for $420,000. It marked the single largest land purchase
the Tribe had made to expand its land base.
1988 – The Tribe’s oldest living member, Georgia Renfrow, turned
100. She recalled growing up in Grand Ronde, attending school at St.
Michael’s Catholic Church and learning French from Father Adrian
Croquet, the priest who lived in Grand Ronde from 1860-98. According
to daughter Lucille, her mother’s greatest joy was dancing and she
stayed active well into her 90s, giving her grandchildren piggyback
rides.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Need something notarized?
Tribal Court staff is available at no charge for notaries 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. Monday though Friday with the exception of noon to 1 p.m.
Please be sure to bring a photo ID with you. If you have any questions,
contact the court at 503-879-2303. n
Smoke Signals
starts podcast
Smoke Signals has
started a new podcast
on the hosting website
Spreaker.com.
The first episode,
posted on Thursday,
Dec. 28, features Trib-
al Council Vice Chair
Chris Mercier discuss-
ing podcasting and
expansion of Tribal
media outreach efforts
and Editorial Board Chairwoman
Siobhan Taylor talks about the
board and its activities since it
started meeting in June. The pod-
cast can be heard at https://www.
spreaker.com/show/2745752.
“I think that podcasting will
augment and complement the news
coverage offered to the Grand Ronde
Tribal membership by Smoke Sig-
nals,” said Editor Dean Rhodes,
who will host the podcast shows
until a full-time podcast journalist
is hired in 2018.
“I can see us highlighting news
that occurs between our current
publication cycle, which is the first
and 15th of each month, and also
conduct more in-depth interviews
with Tribal employees and Trib-
al members to com-
plement stories that
appear in the Tribal
newspaper.”
Mercier has been a
proponent of expand-
ing Tribal media and
the five-member Edi-
torial Board accepted
the responsibility and
assigned Rhodes to
create at least one pod-
cast show before the end of 2017.
Tribal Lands Department Manag-
er Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, a mul-
tiple Native American Music Awards
recipient, granted Smoke Signals
blanket permission to use his Native
flute-oriented music in the podcast.
The first episode features his song
“Wind-Jammer” off his 2008 release
“The Looking Wolf Project.”
“We will eventually ramp up to
posting a weekly podcast,” Rhodes
said. “As we start, I would suggest
Tribal members keep checking out
the Tribe’s Facebook page or visiting
the Spreaker site for new shows.”
For more information about the
podcast or to suggest show ideas,
contact Rhodes at 503-879-1463
or dean.rhodes@grandronde.org. n
Clothes Closet open Friday mornings
The Clothes Closet is open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first and third
Fridays of the month and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all other Fridays on the Tribal
campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end of Blacktail Drive.
The Clothes Closet accepts clothing, small appliances, small pieces of
furniture, electronics and household goods that are clean and in good
condition. It does not accept books, large TVs or large furniture, but there
is a community board where people can post those items.
Donations are accepted during regular business hours.
For more information or emergency clothes, contact Lori Walker-Her-
nandez at 559-847-7565. n
Food Bank provides
boxes, seeks help
The Grand Ronde Food Bank – iskam mfkhmfk haws – is operated
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, Jan. 5;
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13.
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 repacking
food, putting food on the shelves, handing out food boxes and end-
of-month inventory.
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. n
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