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JULY 15, 2020
West Valley Visioning prepares
to launch new phase soon
By Christine Talley
Special to Smoke Signals
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After a year and a half of sur-
veying the community and hosting
town hall dinners, the West Valley
Visioning Project is announcing
that it has launched the next phase
of its project.
During this phase, with the sup-
port of the Ford Family Foundation
and other partners, the project plans
to contract with a consulting firm to
help develop a collective vision for
the West Valley and create a stra-
tegic plan that will ensure the suc-
cessful implementation of the vision.
The plan will outline and priori-
tize each of the projects as defined
by the community. In addition,
this vision and plan will drive
grant-writing efforts as the com-
munity seeks funding for each of
the projects.
The current mission is to gath-
er citizen-based ideas to chart a
strong future for where West Valley
residents live, work and play. The
project thanks all of the community
members who’ve participated in the
survey and town hall dinners. We
can celebrate the success of the past
year and use it to chart our future.
This project has provided a tremen-
dous opportunity to engage with
the community. As we create the
strategic plan, we will continue to
engage the community in a variety
of meaningful and creative ways.
There’s no denying that the coro-
navirus pandemic has given us a
new context in which we can safely
participate in the world. It has,
likely, imposed a new perspective
on people’s world view, causing
each of us to re-evaluate our prior-
ities. New circumstances may cause
us to revisit what we wish for our
community. These new priorities
and wishes are important infor-
mation that will be incorporated
into discussions and data during
this new phase of the West Valley
Visioning Project.
We are excited to announce that
our second annual photo contest is
open. We are hopeful that we will
be able to come together to see and
vote on the photos in person before
the year is out. If we are unable to
do so, our plan is to host the photo
contest entirely online. In addition,
we are planning an outdoor celebra-
tion for the West Valley community
that will include food, fun and mu-
sic to be held after the threat of the
coronavirus has passed.
We’d like to thank all those in the
community who have participated
in and supported our visioning
project. We look forward to getting
together with you once the pandem-
ic has passed to celebrate, debrief
and set our priorities for the future.
You can find out more about
the photo contest at wvvproject.
org/photocontest. Sign up for our
mailing list at wvvproject.org/mail-
inglist for updates about upcoming
events. You can also follow us on
Facebook.com/wvvproject. 
C L E -TA
Every Saturday 4 p.m. • Everyone welcome
This is a Sober Event • Encouraging Sobriety
Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, Oregon
Toward Spirit Mountain
At the Big Cross - Lighthouse Church • A-Ho-
503-879-3435
9
Job will assist veterans
to obtain benefits
VETERANS continued
from front page
services. The new position was
created at the behest of Tribal
leaders who have long advocated
for local services to help other
Tribal veterans navigate their
federal benefits.
In 2019, the Oregon Legisla-
ture passed House Bill 5598,
which provided funds for each of
the nine Tribes to have its own
Veterans’ Services Officer. The
purpose of these funds was for
Tribes to “expand and enhance
their programs and services.”
In March 2020, Tribal Coun-
cil approved a memorandum of
understanding with the Oregon
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
to provide training and accred-
itation for the job. The state
will provide $25,000 annually
toward the new position.
Former Tribal Council Chair
and Marine Corps veteran Reyn
Leno has long been an advocate
of a Grand Ronde-based position.
“It has always been difficult
to get care for our veterans,” he
said. “A lot of older veterans like
my dad, who served in World War
II, it was really hard to get them
to go to Portland or Vancouver
Veterans Affairs offices. It’s im-
portant for Tribes to have their
own Veterans’ Services Officer.
“Also, a lot of our Native Amer-
ican veterans really rely on their
families to help them access
services, so this will really help
them. It’s a more comfortable
feeling to have this service local-
ly, and takes some of the burden
off of the VA. It’s a different level
of service when a Tribal member
can come right in here and it will
help them feel more comfortable.”
Social Services Department
Manager Dana Ainam said
Quenelle’s combination of mil-
itary service and experience of
working with veterans is a good
fit for the new role.
“We are so excited to add this
program to our Social Services
team,” Ainam said. “We will now
be able to have a dedicated staff
member to build relationships
and knowledge to better serve
our Tribal veterans and assure
that they receive the benefits
and support that is deserved.
“Ramona Quenelle … brings
the presence of positivity and
passion to her work. Her vision
and excitement to develop this
program, learn and build com-
munity will serve us well. We
look forward to identifying our
veterans and learning how we
can meet their needs.”
Quenelle’s first goal as the
Veterans’ Services Officer will
be to attain accreditation, which
takes approximately 12 months
and 1,000 hours of working with
veterans. She began her first
week of training July 6.
“What I didn’t anticipate about
this job is that my unique back-
ground of military service, health
care, education and criminal jus-
tice work would all come together
to prepare me for this,” she said.
“Every single thing I have ever
done in these fields will really
benefit me in this position.”
The primary function of
Quenelle’s job is to assist veter-
ans and their families by obtain-
ing the benefits they are entitled
to through the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
“I will help guide them and gath-
er the proper documentation need-
ed to obtain benefits,” Quenelle
said. “I feel like I will be the person
who helps unlock the puzzle. This
is how I envision that job.”
Quenelle is the third Tribal Vet-
erans’ Services Officer in Oregon.
The other two are at the Confeder-
ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation and Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs Res-
ervation.
Another goal during Quenelle’s
first year will be to identify Tribal
veterans needing services, con-
nect with them and tailor the
program to their needs.
“We have a cultural aspect
that is unique in a veterans’ pro-
gram,” she said. “There is a lot of
research and work we are doing.
Quenelle, 40, is an enrolled
member of the Pit River Tribe
(Madesi Band) and grew up at
the Roaring Creek Rancheria
Reservation near Redding, Calif.
She served in the Navy from
1999 to 2003 on active duty in
South Korea and Japan and
deployed two years on the USS
Blue Ridge in the Asian Pacific.
Quenelle was an active reservist
from 2003 to 2006.
She has an associate degree
in general business from Shasta
Community College, a bachelor’s
degree in criminal justice (sum-
ma cum laude) from Colorado
Technical University and a mas-
ter’s degree in human behavior
from National University.
She has worked for the Grand
Ronde Tribe since October 2018
as the Tribal Court Programs co-
ordinator. Before that, Quenelle
was employed at Shasta Com-
munity College for four years in
the president’s office and student
services, where she worked with
students who were veterans and
helped create a service center
focused on helping them be suc-
cessful in college.
She is married to Anthony
Quenelle and they have six chil-
dren, Koosah (17), Corina (17),
Alliyah (13), Marie (9), Leloo (7)
and Ulali (4).
In her spare time, Quenelle
enjoys attending powwows, danc-
ing, sewing, running, drawing,
reading and spending time with
her family.
“I’m so excited and proud to
call myself a Tribal Veterans’
Services Officer,” she said. 