sNok signflz
MAY 15, 2020
5
Virtual meeting briefed on emergency efforts
Danielle Frost
“We want to make sure the membership
knows we were prepared for an emergen-
cy like this. We had (already) developed
partnerships with local, state and federal
agencies, established HAM radio operation
and a continuity of operations plan, so we
knew who was in line to work if someone
was unavailable.”
Smoke Signals staff writer
When the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde government offices
re-open fully, things will look a lot
different than before the COVID-19
coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re evaluating the re-opening
daily,” Tribal General Manager
David Fullerton said. “There will
be changes and we’re asking you
for patience and understanding. We
want to keep Tribal members and
our staff members safe.”
On Sunday, May 3, Fullerton
gave virtual General Council at-
tendees a report on the Emergency
Management Program’s response
and recovery efforts during the
COVID-19 pandemic via the app
Zoom. This was the first remote
General Council meeting the Tribe
has ever held with close to 70 in
attendance.
The meeting opened with an in-
vocation by Tribal Council member
Steve Bobb Sr.
Originally, General Council was
set to hear an annual report from
the Natural Resources Depart-
ment, but COVID-19 necessitated
a different approach.
The Grand Ronde Tribal gov-
ernment began a partial closure of
services on March 13 in response
to COVID-19, with only essential
personnel working remotely or re-
porting to work, and a total closure
of Spirit Mountain Casino occurred
on March 18.
Tribal Council also declared a
state of emergency at the Tribe on
March 17. The resolution allowed
Fullerton to oversee the Tribal
response to the pandemic and
use Tribal resources to respond
and recover from its effects. One
of the first things to happen after
the declaration was to activate the
Emergency Operations hub at the
Tribal Community Center.
The Tribe’s Emergency Manage-
ment Program was established sev-
eral years ago and since then has
had staff participate in numerous
drills including a major earthquake
practice, active shooter event, com-
municable disease exercise and
shelter-in-place.
“We want to make sure the mem-
~ General Manager David Fullerton
bership knows we were prepared for
an emergency like this,” Fullerton
said. “We had (already) developed
partnerships with local, state and
federal agencies, established HAM
radio operation and a continuity of
operations plan, so we knew who
was in line to work if someone was
unavailable.”
The Community Center was
established as the primary Emer-
gency Operations hub and equipped
with communication towers, sup-
plies and equipment.
As the pandemic began to infect
people across America, the emer-
gency operations team gathered
information and culled data, held
daily meetings, established a help
line, determined necessary opera-
tions on the government campus,
established needed resources, and
coordinated with local, state and
federal agencies, as well as other
Tribal nations and organizations.
“We’ve been serving more than
800 meals a week to Elders during
this time,” Fullerton said. “It was
one of the things we started first.
Now, government staff and Emer-
gency Management are focused on
preparing responsibly for recovery.”
Tribal government operations
will resume on Monday, May 18. A
date for re-opening Spirit Mountain
Casino had not yet been set as of
Smoke Signals press time.
“We need to determine what will
be the new normal,” Fullerton said.
Some likely changes will include
having the Elders Activity Center
continue to serve take-out meals
instead of hosting onsite dining,
limited walk-ins at Tribal govern-
ment offices, avoiding the shaking
of hands, no in-person meetings,
locking exterior doors to governance
buildings if needed, wearing pro-
tective masks when around others,
screening staff for symptoms and
changing responses to housing
maintenance requests.
Some departments will essen-
tially remain shuttered, with the
Education Department continuing
its services remotely through the
rest of the school year and summer,
and Chachalu Museum & Cultural
Center remaining closed to visitors.
“The re-opening will not look the
same as pre-pandemic,” Fuller-
ton said. “Taking precautions are
things we will work on as we move
to re-opening. … When we get the
COVID-19 testing capacity and
contact tracing available, then we
will be ready to move forward.”
Following the presentation, Ful-
lerton fielded several questions
from the virtual audience ranging
from wanting more details regard-
ing re-opening of Spirit Mountain
Casino to upcoming housing in-
spections.
“To open the casino, we are look-
ing at recommendations from the
National Indian Gaming Associa-
tion and seeing how they will do
social distancing of the machines,
whether it’s moving them, sanitiz-
ing after each use or turning some
off,” Fullerton said.
Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris
Mercier added that Grand Ronde
and other gaming Tribes in Oregon
were planning a meeting to discuss
when to open. Mercier serves as
vice chairman of the Oregon Tribal
Gaming Alliance.
“We’re hoping to sync openings,”
he said. “Oregon Tribes are trying
to keep each other in the loop.”
According to the Confederated
Umatilla Journal, the Umatil-
la Tribe outside of Pendleton is
tentatively going to re-open on
Friday, May 22, and will require
casino guests to wear masks when
they are moving around the casino
floor, but not when they are eat-
ing, drinking or gambling at a slot
machine.
Other precautions Wildhorse
Casino is planning include frequent
wiping down of slot machines, refill-
able sanitizer stands “everywhere”
and the closing of the casino in the
early morning hours for a thorough
cleaning.
Tribal Attorney Rob Greene said
the general managers of Oregon
Tribal casinos also are developing
best practices in preparation to
open.
“The Oregon Tribal Gaming Alli-
ance will be an avenue that people
will hear from on regarding how we
are opening in a safe and appropri-
ate manner,” he said.
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy said that she was pleased
to see that almost 70 people attend-
ed the first-ever remote General
Council session, which is more than
usually attend in person.
“I really appreciate hearing all of
the questions,” she said.
The meeting adjourned at ap-
proximately 12:15 p.m. without the
usual raffle drawings for $100 and
$50 door prizes. It can be viewed by
visiting www.grandronde.org and
clicking on the Government tab and
then Videos.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Sheridan, SW Polk and West Valley Fire Districts
are recruiting volunteers for fire response,
emergency medical response, and support functions.
Please see our websites for volunteer applications
and instructions.
sheridanfd.org – swpolkfd.org – westvalleyfd.org
Ad by Samuel Briggs III