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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2020)
2 APRIL 1, 2020 Smoke Signals Virus response affecting April happenings By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor As the national, state and Tribal response to the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve and remain extremely fluid, Grand Ronde happenings in April are being affected. The scheduled Agency Creek Round Dance, set for Friday and Saturday, April 3-4, in the Tribal gym has been postponed to a later date. The Sunday, April 5, General Council meeting scheduled for the Lane Community College longhouse in Eugene has been canceled. Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier pointed out during the Wednesday, March 18, Trib- al Council meeting that a Gen- eral Council meeting, with its requirement of 30 attendees, would violate the suggested max- imum crowd size of no more than 25 people. In addition, Lane Community College has closed in response to the pandemic and it is unlikely any hotels in the Eugene area would be able to host the meeting anyway, he said. The annual Tribal Housing Easter egg hunt scheduled for Saturday, April 11, also has been canceled. Easter falls on Sunday, April 12, this year. Tribal Council has three meet- ings scheduled in the month on April 1, 15 and 29. Like its March 18 meeting, attendance in person will be discouraged and Tribal members will be asked to watch the meetings via the livestream feed at www.grandronde.org. sNok signflz PUBLICATIONS OFFICE 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 1-800-422-0232, FAX: 503-879-2173 Website: www.smokesignals.org E-mail: news@grandronde.org Editorial.Board@grandronde.org Twitter: CTGRSmokeSignal www.facebook.com/SmokeSignalsCTGR/ www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDXdTzfGjzJ_j3NPpCrtcw DEAN RHODES PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR 503-879-1463 DANIELLE FROST TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ STAFF WRITER 503-879-4663 PHOTOJOURNALIST 503-879-1961 dean.rhodes@grandronde.org danielle.frost@grandronde.org timothy.gonzalez@grandronde.org SAMUEL F. BRIGGS III JUSTIN PHILLIPS KAMIAH KOCH GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST 503-879-1416 PAGE DESIGNER 503-879-2190 SOCIAL MEDIA/ DIGITAL JOURNALIST 503-879-1461 samuel.briggs@grandronde.org justin.phillips@grandronde.org kamiah.koch@grandronde.org DEADLINE DATE ISSUE DATE General Council meeting monday, april 20 ................. may 1, 2020 11 a.m. Sunday, May 3 wednesday, may 20 ............ june 1, 2020 Tribal Community Center monday, april 6 ............... april 15, 2020 tuesday, may 5 ..................... may 15, 2020 Friday, june 5 ..................... june 15, 2020 Editorial Policy NOTICE — Monthly Tribal Council Wednesday Meetings DATE TIME Wednesday, April 1............................................................................10 a.m. Wednesday, April 15..........................................................................10 a.m. Please note that these times and dates are subject to change if needed. Pharmacy opts for mail- order prescription protocol By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center instituted a new prescription pick-up pro- tocol in an effort to protect ev- eryone’s health and safety and ensure the Tribal drug supply during the coronavirus pan- demic. After Health Services Execu- tive Director Kelly Rowe said the Pharmacy would no longer be opening its window for patients, the Pharmacy went to a mostly all mail-order delivery model on Monday, March 23. “We are doing some limited drive-through for people seen in the clinic that day and peo- ple who have already placed orders for the next few days,” Rowe said. “We are also doing some delivery for those who are ill and/or homebound. All new orders are going to mail order. “We do have additional staff members answering phones to assist with this process. Howev- er, we do expect patients may be sent to voicemail. Please leave a message with your name and phone number for staff to call you back.” Rowe said the clinic is waiving mailing fees for medication mail- out to alleviate the burden the process is creating. “As the dynamics around COVID-19 continue to evolve, our response at Health and Wellness must shift to further mitigate exposure and transfer of the virus,” she added. Pharmacy Director Lincoln Wright said curbside pick-up is limited to patients seen in the clinic that day with “acute needs.” “All other patients will need to receive their medica- tions through the mail, with limited delivery in our local area,” he said. “If a patient has an urgent need for a medication, they should be aware that most acute medications can be filled at outside pharmacies without a two-time limit.” Wright said patients can track their prescription orders by vis- iting the Pharmacy website at www.grandronde.org or by using the mobile app available by typ- ing in “Grand Ronde Pharmacy” at your app store. The Health & Wellness Center also is screening people at the front door before they enter for appointments, General Manager David Fullerton said. smok signflz , a publication of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Communi- ty of Oregon, is published twice a month. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without permission. Our editorial policy is intended to encourage input from Tribal members and readers about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be signed by the author, an address must be given and a phone number or e-mail address must be included for verification purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not be published unless requested. Letters must be 400 words or less. smok signflz reserves the right to edit letters and to refuse letters that are determined to contain libelous statements or personal attacks on individuals, staff, Tribal administration or Tribal Council. Not all letters are guaranteed publication upon submission. Letters to the editor are the opinions and views of the writer. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of smok signflz . Members of: Native American Journalists Association Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association 2020 Tribal Council tribalcouncil@grandronde.org Cheryle A. Kennedy Tribal Council Chairwoman — ext. 2352 cheryle.kennedy@grandronde.org Chris Mercier Tribal Council Vice Chair — ext. 1444 chris.mercier@grandronde.org Jon A. George Tribal Council Secretary — ext. 2355 Jack Giffen Jr. — ext. 2300 jack.giffen@grandronde.org Denise Harvey — ext. 2353 denise.harvey@grandronde.org Michael Langley — ext. 1777 michael.langley@grandronde.org Lisa Leno — ext. 1770 jon.george@grandronde.org lisaleno@grandronde.org Kathleen George Steve Bobb Sr. — ext. 2305 — ext. 4555 kathleen.george@grandronde.org steve.bobb@grandronde.org
