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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2021)
sNok signflz APRIL 1, 2021 3 Blue Heron fire suspect’s trial date set for June 1 By Dean Rhodes and Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals staff writers April • Wednesday, April 7 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Governance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Thursday, April 8 – Community Input meeting, 6 p.m., Zoom tele- conference. 503-879-2304. • Sunday, April 11 – General Council meeting, 11 a.m., Zoom tele- conference. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, April 21 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gover- nance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. May • Sunday, May 2 – General Council meeting, 11 a.m., Zoom tele- conference. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, May 5 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Governance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, May 19 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gover- nance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Monday, May 31 – Memorial Day observance, 1 p.m., West Valley Veterans Memorial, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-4555. (Editor’s note: All events are tentative depending on the status of the Tribe’s COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic response.) Health & Wellness Center hours The Health & Wellness Center is pleased to add additional access for patients during holiday weeks on Thursday mornings. The clinic will be scheduling patients at 8 a.m. every Thursday preceding or following a holiday closure. Urgent care also will be available during this time. OREGON CITY – The man sus- pected of starting a fire that dam- aged the Grand Ronde Tribe’s Blue Heron property has a trial date set for June 1 after he was found fit to proceed by Clackamas County Judge Heather Karabeika. Karabeika previously ordered a mental health examination by Oregon State Hospital personnel on Jan. 4 after finding there was reason to doubt Enrique Omar Mejia’s mental ability to proceed with a criminal defense regarding the arson charge filed against him. Oregon City police arrested Me- jia, 29, for the Dec. 5 fire at the former Blue Heron Paper Mill site that the Tribe purchased in August 2019. He was originally scheduled to go on trial on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Mejia’s court-appointed attorney Ruben Medina Jr. requested a psy- chiatric/psychological examination, saying that a criminal trial could violate his client’s “fundamental right to competency.” Mejia reportedly made “concern- ing statements” that called into question his ability to stand trial, Medina said. He added that his client’s family members said that he has been having mental health issues for some time. Medina told the court that Mejia claimed to have had a chip implant- ed in his head and wanted to know what would happen when the chip was discovered. He also asserted that he has since been followed around by a cult that is trying to frame him for a crime. According to a Dec. 29 court filing reported by The Clacka- mas Review, Mejia said that because of his brain implant “a group of people can Enrique Omar Mejia see what I’m thinking; they can see what I see, and they can hear what I hear. … I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I think it’s part of a cell phone or Google eye or something.” Mejia’s previous convictions in- clude a 2018 disorderly-conduct charge in Lincoln City. According to the Lincoln City News Guard, he also was cited and released by the Lincoln City Police Department in July 2020 after police received a report of a man with a beer pushing a crosswalk button over and over again. Oregon law states that a person may be found incapacitated if, as a result of a qualifying mental disor- der, he or she is “unable to under- stand the nature of the proceedings against the defendant or to assist and cooperate with the counsel.” Mejia remains in the Clacka- mas County Jail in Oregon City on $100,000 bail on one count of second-degree arson. He has been previously denied release because of failure to appear charges, the felony arson charge, having adult convictions and being unemployed. His next scheduled court date is a status check set for May 13. Includes information from Pamplin Media Group. OFFICIAL TRIBAL FACEBOOK PAGES Smoke Signals: Are you frustrated with your diabetes control? Do you have questions about diabetes? Do you need help managing your diabetes? If so… Call the Medical Clinic today at 503-879-2002 To schedule an individual diabetes education appointment facebook.com/SmokeSignalsCTGR The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde: facebook.com/CTGRgov Grand Ronde Health & Wellness: facebook.com/GRHWC Grand Ronde Children & Family Services: facebook.com/CTGRCFS Grand Ronde Royalty: facebook.com/CTGRRoyalty Grand Ronde Education Programs: facebook.com/CTGREducation Grand Ronde Youth Council: facebook.com/CTGRYouthCouncil Grand Ronde Station: facebook.com/GrandRondeStation Grand Ronde Social Services Department: COMMITTEE AND SPECIAL EVENT BOARD VACANCIES facebook.com/CTGRSocialservices The following Committees and Special Event Boards have vacant positions. Grand Ronde Food Bank: facebook.com/GrandRondeFoodBank Spirit Mountain Community Fund: facebook.com/SpiritMountainCommunityFund Grand Ronde Cultural Education: facebook.com/Grand-Ronde-Cultural-Education Grand Ronde Community Garden: facebook.com/GrandRondeCommunityGarden Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department: facebook.com/Grand-Ronde-Tribal-Police-Department Grand Ronde Employment Services Facebook.com/EmploymentServices Housing Grievance Board – 1 vacancy, 5 expiring Ceremonial Hunting Board – 2 vacancies, 4 expiring Culture Committee – 2 vacancies, 4 expiring Enrollment Committee – 2 vacancies, 2 expiring Fish & Wildlife Committee – 2 vacancies, 2 expiring Powwow Special Event Board – 1 vacancy, 4 expiring Education Committee – 5 expiring Election Committee – 4 expiring Health Committee – 2 expiring Timber Committee – 3 expiring TERO Commision – 2 expiring Veterans Special Event Board – 5 expiring Please send completed applications to Stacia Hernandez, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 Ad by Samuel Briggs III