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FEBRUARY 1, 2020
Smoke Signals
Food Bank provides
yesteryears
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 automatically
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:
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1;
• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7;
• 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12;
• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21;
• And 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.
People must check in 15 minutes before closing to receive a food box.
If you need immediate assistance, call 211 or visit 211info.org.
Those who are unable to pick up a food box can fill out an authorized
representative form and that designated person can pick up a food box
on your behalf. The authorization is good for one year.
The Food Bank will be closed on Monday, Feb. 17, in observance of
Tribal Chiefs’ Day.
The Food Bank also will be holding a Valentine’s Day bake sale from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10.
In addition, the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center’s Community
Health Team will be setting up the mobile clinic at the pantry on the
first Friday of every month.
The Food Bank continues to seek volunteers to help with repacking
food, putting food on the shelves, handing out food boxes, end-of-month
inventory and picking up food donations at area stores.
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@marion-
polkfoodshare.org for more information or to volunteer. 
Committee & Special Event
Board meeting days and times
Below is the most current information on the meeting days and times
for Tribal Committees and Special Event Boards:
• Ceremonial Hunting Board meets as needed. Chair: Marline Groshong.
• Culture Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the
month at the Grand Ronde Food Bank/iskam mfkhmfk haws, 9675
Grand Ronde Road. Chair: Francene Ambrose.
• Editorial Board meets monthly. Next meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Friday, Feb. 21, in the Employment Services Building conference room.
The public is welcome to attend. Chair: Siobhan Taylor. Contact: Editorial.
Board@grandronde.org.
• Education Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the
month in the Adult Education building. Chair: Tammy Cook.
• Elders Committee meets at 10 a.m. the third Wednesday of the month
in the Elders Activity Center. Chair: Penny DeLoe.
• Enrollment Committee meets quarterly in Room 204 of the Governance
Center. Chair: Debi Anderson.
• Fish & Wildlife Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday
of the month at the Natural Resources building off Hebo Road. Chair:
Bryan Langley.
• Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month
in the Molalla Room of the Health & Wellness Center. Chair: Bernadine
Shriver.
• Housing Grievance Board meets at 3 p.m. the third Thursday of the month
in the Housing Department conference room. Chair: Simone Auger.
• Powwow Special Event Board meets monthly at noon at the Commu-
nity Center. Dates vary. Contact Dana Ainam at 503-879-2037. Chair:
Dana Ainam.
• TERO Commission meets at 10 a.m. the first Monday of the month in
the Employment Services building. Chair: Russell Wilkinson.
• Timber Committee meets at 5 p.m. the second Thursday of the month
at the Natural Resources building off Hebo Road. Interim Chair: Jon R.
George.
• Veterans Special Event Board meets at 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of
the month in the old Elders Craft House. Chair: Rich VanAtta.
To update information on this list, contact Publications Coordinator
Dean Rhodes at 503-879-1463 or dean.rhodes@grandronde.org.
a look
back...
2015 – A fire in Tribal market-rate housing at 9533 Raven Loop
displaced four residents who lived inside the unit, as well as Tribal
Council member Chris Mercier, who lived next door. No one was seri-
ously injured despite the intensity of the fire, which gutted portions of
the interior. The four residents and Mercier were temporarily housed
at Spirit Mountain Casino.
2010 – The Tribe donated
more than $10,000 to nonprof-
it Mercy Corps in the wake of
an earthquake in Haiti. Addi-
tionally, Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino was requesting donations
from guests and employees to
aid earthquake victims. Tribal
Nurse Supervisor Jennifer
Leggett also was deployed
to Haiti in her role as a lieu-
File photo
tenant commander in the U.S. 2010
Public Health Service. She
spent two weeks aboard the Navy hospital ship The Comfort helping
people injured in the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince.
2005 – Tribal Elder Dean Mercier was featured in a Smoke Signals
article that focused on his work as Tribal Council chair during the
time of Restoration and his life in Grand Ronde. “I was born in an
environment where everybody works,” he said. “I did everything. You
had to survive.”
2000 – Entertainer Jay Leno performed back-to-back stand-up com-
edy shows at Spirit Mountain Casino. Leno poked fun at the news,
talked of his airline adventures, relationship with aging parents and
life in Los Angeles. Before the show, some were wondering why an
A-list performer needed to go on the road when he had a long-running
hit TV show that paid well. Leno answered that question by likening it
to working out. “You can’t be a weightlifter and not train,” he said. “The
way you keep sharp is you go out and learn something at each show,
and you get another ad lib that you can turn into a joke or something.”
1995 – Ordering began for slot machines that would be located in
Spirit Mountain Casino, as well as accounting systems and furnish-
ings. “We are also starting a search for a marking director,” said Spirit
Mountain Development Corp. Director Bruce Thomas. “The marketing
manager will be responsible for the marketing program, including work
with advertising and agencies, and then making a budget.” Work also
was slated to begin in the spring on the traffic diversion project on
Highway 18. In late 1994, the Oregon Department of Transportation
issued a permit for the project.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year incre-
ments through the pages of Smoke Signals.