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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2020)
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 700 Tribe holds first virtual General Council meeting — pg. 5 may 15, 2020 Government plans phased-in May 18 re-opening Pandemic policing By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor T he Grand Ronde Tribal gov- ernment, partially closed since mid-March in reaction to the COVID-19 coronavirus pan- demic, will begin a cautious re-open- ing process on Monday, May 18. However, things are going to be different, General Manager Da- vid Fullerton announced during a Wednesday, May 13, Facebook Live event. Fullerton said the Tribe has increased its capacity for testing, contact tracing and personal pro- tection equipment and no longer fears not having enough health care capacity to handle any coronavirus cases. So far, Grand Ronde has not reported any positive coronavirus tests among the 81 conducted as of May 13. The first phase of re-opening will include requirements that employ- ees wear masks while interacting in public with others, no walk-in visitors will be allowed on the Trib- al campus and employees will be screened for possible fever before being allowed to work. Tribal employees will be provided with masks and hand sanitizers as the re-opening process begins. De- pending on the results, re-opening may progress to a second phase or be scaled back to a partial opening. There also will be no loose doc- uments allowed, handshakes will be discouraged and there will be no refreshments available for the public. The Health & Wellness Clinic will See OPENING continued on page 6 Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez Tribal Police Officer Tyler Brown returns to his vehicle during a traffic stop along Highway 18 on Friday, May 8. Tribal police officers are wearing masks and gloves while encountering members of the public during the course of their duties. Tribal officers adapting to COVID-19 By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer T here isn’t a single industry that has remained unaf- fected by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, including law enforcement. From traffic stops to jail book- ings, the way the Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department per- forms its job has required ad- justments to ensure safety of members of the public and of- ficers, according to Chief Jake McKnight. “I would say the biggest chang- es are not taking anyone to jail unless it is domestic violence or a mandatory arrest,” he says. “Also, all of the officers are now wearing masks and gloves, and we’re making sure we always have coverage in case a family member gets sick and an officer See POLICE continued on page 10 Tribe preparing to take over area’s fire services By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor T he Grand Ronde Tribe runs its own police department and will soon add its own fire department to its list of sovereign nation-provided public safety services. According to a Dec. 12 approved authoriza- tion to proceed signed by seven Tribal Council members, General Manager David Fullerton was asked to renegotiate a memorandum of un- Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez derstanding with the West Valley Fire District to include a “comprehensive transition plan” for the Grand Ronde Tribe to assume operations of the fire station on Grand Ronde Road. In addition, Fullerton was directed to file the appropriate documents to register the fire sta- tion as being owned and operated by the Tribe, See FIRE continued on page 7 The Grand Ronde Fire Station will soon become operated by the Grand Ronde Tribe instead of the West Valley Fire District. The station has been open for 10 years.