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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.
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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.
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about stories printed in the Tribal newspaper. However, all letters received must be
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must be included for verification purposes. Full addresses and phone numbers will not
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Members of:
Native American Journalists Association
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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