Smoke signals., July 01, 2019, Page 5, Image 5

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JULY 1, 2019
Tribal Council approves budget
to purchase Noble Oaks property
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The Grand Ronde Tribe is one
step closer to owning the entire
667.5-acre Noble Oaks Preserve
outside of Willamina after Tribal
Council approved a supplemental
budget for 2019 to purchase an
additional 2.75 acres at the site.
During its May 15 meeting, Trib-
al Council approved a resolution
to accept a donation of most of the
preserve from The Nature Conser-
vancy and assume wildlife manage-
ment at the site.
However, the conservancy’s dona-
tion to the Tribe did not include the
additional acreage that includes a
4,502-square-foot home. The supple-
mental budget change is for $542,400.
Noble Oaks Preserve was home to
endangered animals and operated by
former Portland lawyer Richard No-
ble and his wife, Nancy. The Nature
Conservancy purchased the property
in October 2014 for $1.5 million.
Once the Noble Oaks Reserve
property is acquired, it will join
Chahalpam, Chankawan and Rat-
tlesnake Butte as the Tribe’s land
holdings that are being managed for
wildlife and conservation purposes.
The purchase passed in a 3-2
vote with Tribal Council members
Steve Bobb Sr. and Jack Giffen Jr.
dissenting. Bobb and Giffen later
recanted their “no” votes because
they said they thought they were
voting on the supplemental budget
to purchase Blue Heron Paper Mill.
Tribal Council also had another
“noble” action on its agenda in
naming Cynthia Kaufman-Noble,
a McMinnville Municipal Court
judge, to succeed David Shaw as the
Tribal Court’s chief judge.
Kaufman-Noble was admitted
to the Oregon State Bar in 1992
after earning a law degree from
Willamette University in Salem
the same year. She graduated from
Syracuse University in New York
with a bachelor of fine arts degree
in 1981. She also has a family law
practice in McMinnville.
Kaufman-Noble takes over as
chief judge on July 1 and her term
runs through June 2021. Shaw
served the Tribe as chief judge for
five years, beginning as interim
chief judge in May 2014.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Approved applying for a $50,000
Tribal Heritage Grant from the
National Park Service for the
Grand Ronde Depot, which is the
only local building on the National
Register of Historic Places. The
grant, if received, would be add-
ed to a $75,000 Spirit Mountain
Community Fund grant to repair
the foundation, cedar roof, gutters,
siding and trim, windows and
doors, among other needed repairs;
• Appointed Steve Bobb Jr. to the
Fish & Wildlife Committee with
a term expiring in March 2021;
• Appointed Mike Colton to serve
as an alternate on the Election
Board with a term expiring in
March 2021;
• And appointed Brian Krehbiel to
the Tribal Employment Rights
Commission to serve out the term
of Matt Thomas through March
2020 and Simone Auger to a full
three-term expiring in March 2022.
Also included in the June 26
Tribal Council packet were ap-
proved authorizations to proceed
that authorized purchasing a sign
for the Bob Mercier logging unit to
recognize his commitment to and
service on the Timber Commit-
tee and Tribal Council, OK’d the
Tribe’s participation in the 2019
American Indian and Alaska Na-
tive Head Start Family and Child
Experience Survey and authorized
Economic Development Director
Bruce Thomas and the Lands De-
partment to pursue a solar leasing
opportunity on up to 78 acres of the
Risseeuw property for a minimum
of 25 years. The Risseeuw property
is located northeast of the Grand
Ronde and Hebo roads intersection.
A video of the entire meeting
can be viewed on the Tribal gov-
ernment’s website at www.gran-
dronde.org by clicking on the News
tab and then Video. 
Election Office opens July 22
The Election Board office has a new schedule for 2019. It will be
open every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from July 22
through Aug. 30. Office hours are from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with
lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. The Election Office is located in the
Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, and the phone
number is 503-879-2271.
For convenience, blank signature verification forms will be placed
in a hanging basket outside the Elections office door. Completed
forms — with a notarized signature or legible copy of ID, including
your signature (driver’s license, member ID card, passport, etc.) at-
tached — need to be mailed to the Election Board for processing. The
form will not be processed unless it has been notarized or includes
a legible copy of ID and your signature attached.
Ballots will be mailed to voters with verified signatures on July
24. Tribal members may submit a verified signature card at any
time up to and including Election Day on Saturday, Sept. 7. The
Grand Ronde post office is no longer open to accept your ballots on
Saturday, Sept. 7.
For our members convenience there will be a ballot box in the
Governance Center during the election season and also on Election
Day we will have a box in the Community Center where completed
ballots can be dropped. We will have ballots available, as we have
done in the past, for those members who want to come in and vote
in person.
It is the voters’ responsibility to ensure the ballot is received by
the Election Board on Election Day – be sure to allow adequate time
for the ballot to reach the Election Board by Sept. 7. 
Statue prep
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Billy Bobb of Salem Signs installs the lettering for the Visionaries statue
in front of the Governance Center on Wednesday,
June, 26. The statue of Restoration figures
Margaret Provost, Merle Holmes and Marvin
Kimsey will be installed at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 2.
Rolling the dice
Photo by Jennifer Clark
The Veterans Special Event Board Roll the Dice Car Show was held
at Spirit Mountain Casino on Saturday, June 15. The car show was
organized by Tribal Council member and Marine Corps veteran Steve
Bobb Sr. and drew a crowd of approximately 300 people.
The letters
for the
Visionaries
statue are
installed in
front of the
Governance
Center on
Wednesday
June, 26.
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