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Smoke Signals
U M P Q U A • M O L A L L A • R O G U E R I V E R • K A L A P U YA • C H A S TA
An Independent Publication of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde • Smokesignals.org
Casino extends closure indefinitely
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
S
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
The parking lot at Spirit Mountain Casino remains empty. The casino closed
on Thursday, March 19, and will remain closed until the Grand Ronde Tribal
Council and Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors determine it is
safe to do so during the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
pirit Mountain Casino will
re-open when it is considered
safe to do so, according to
Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia
Hernandez.
After a second meeting between
the Grand Ronde Tribal Council
and Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc.
Board of Directors held Wednesday,
April 1, it has been decided to keep
the casino closed for an undefined
length of time and monitor how the
coronavirus affects Oregon and the
rest of the country.
Tribal Council initially autho-
rized 120 hours – three weeks – of
paid time off for all casino and
government employees. For casino
employees, the Tribe is paying their
standard rate with additional con-
sideration for tips.
On Wednesday, April 1, it was an-
nounced that all Tribal employees
See CASINO
continued on page 7
Tribal Council
creates relief
payment program
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
I
n response to the coronavirus outbreak, Trib-
al Council voted unanimously to establish
a COVID-19 Relief Payment Program for
Tribal members during its Wednesday, April 1,
meeting.
“We have examined membership’s needs
during this unprecedented time and the avail-
ability of Tribal resources and believe it is appro-
priate to establish the COVID-19 Relief Payment
Program to assist with offsetting the impacts to
members from the pandemic including assis-
tance with rent, mortgage, basic living expenses
and medication,” said Tribal Council Vice Chair
Chris Mercier while reading from a prepared
statement. “The purpose of the program is to
establish a general welfare payment to provide
Tribal members with necessary relief from the
devastating impact of the novel coronavirus.”
Mercier said the initial source of funding will
be from available Tribal monies and not from
gaming dividends or gaming dollars.
The details of how Tribal members can make a
request for a relief payment through the program
have not yet been established and Tribal mem-
bers should not call until those details have been
worked out and announced, said Tribal Council
Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez.
“Tribal Council must act to protect the social
and economic well-being of Tribal members,”
Mercier said.
Tribal Council held a work session in execu-
tive session on Tuesday, April 7, to discuss the
details of the program. On Wednesday, April 8,
a supplemental budget for $1.8 million to fund
the relief payment program was posted at the
See COUNCIL MEETING
continued on page 7
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Kathy Cole has been hired as the new Tribal librarian for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
She succeeds longtime Tribal Librarian Marion Mercier in the job.
By the books
Kathy Cole hired as the new Tribal Librarian
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
A
common piece of advice is to pick a
career you love so that working is an
enjoyable instead of depressing expe-
rience.
For Tribal member and longtime Chinuk
Wawa teacher Kathy Cole, applying for the
position of Tribal librarian was heeding that
advice.
“I love to read and to promote literacy,” she
says. “This seemed like a fun opportunity that
I had never experienced before. I thought
it would be yet another way to bring our
language to the Tribe. I am not leaving the
language behind in this job. I am taking it
with me.”
Cole succeeds longtime Tribal Librarian
Marion Mercier, who retired in early 2019.
Harris Reibach served as interim librarian
until accepting the position of TERO director
See LIBRARIAN
continued on page 8