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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2021)
sNok signflz MAY 15, 2021 3 Tribal personnel help find missing man By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor May • Wednesday, May 19 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gov- ernance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Monday, May 24 – Community Development Plan meeting, 6 p.m., using Zoom teleconference application. 503-879-2394. • Wednesday, May 26 – Membership & Enrollment Community meeting, 6 p.m., using Zoom teleconference application. 503- 879-2304. • Monday, May 31 – Memorial Day observance BY INVITA- TION ONLY, 1 p.m., West Valley Veterans Memorial, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-4555. June • Wednesday, June 2 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gov- ernance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, June 16 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gov- ernance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Friday, June 18 – Tribal offices closed in observance of the Juneteenth observance. • Sunday, June 27 – General Council meeting for Tribal Council nominations only, 11 a.m., Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304. • Wednesday, June 30 – Tribal Council meeting, 10 a.m., Gov- ernance Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road. 503-879-2304 (Editor’s note: All events are tentative depending on the status of the Tribe’s COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic response.) OFFICIAL TRIBAL FACEBOOK PAGES Smoke Signals: 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 Tribal personnel from myriad departments helped find a 73-year-old man who was reported missing north of Grand Ronde off Wind River and Agency Creek roads on Sunday, May 9. Sang Kwon Sa was gathering mountain greens with his wife and friends. They reported him missing at 6:30 p.m. The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department and Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office responded and performed an initial search. A Polk County drone also searched the area by air using a thermal camera. A Search and Rescue Team was deployed and worked the area until about 3 a.m. Monday and a more intense search was conducted on Tuesday. Sa was finally located by search heli- copters, Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight said. General Manager David Ful- lerton said Tribal staff members from Natural Resources, Facil- ities, Emergency Management, the Police Department, GIS and the Elders Activity Center helped search for Sa, who was described as 5-foot-5, weighing 150 pounds with gray hair. He was wearing black pants, a long-sleeved shirt and red and white cap. “We were notified late Sunday evening that an elderly man went missing in the Wind River drainage,” Fullerton said. “Staff were mobilized Monday morning and continued the search Tues- day until the missing person was located. Great job, and thank you all for stepping up to help the family locate their loved one.” Tribal government ends three-week pause on May 10 By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde government ended a three- week pause and returned to its Phase 3 re-opening status on Monday, May 10, General Manager David Fuller- ton announced via e-mail on Friday, May 7. The governmental campus re- verted back to an “essential employ- ees only” model in mid-April after an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in the West Valley not only affected the Tribe, but forced to the Willamina School District to return to remote learning for a week. Fullerton said outside guests will still be limited and employees are encouraged to continue wearing masks, monitoring their tempera- ture, keeping socially distant and washing their hands. According to the Tribal government website, www.grandronde.org, there were 10 active COVID-19 cases being monitored by the Health & Wellness Center on Monday, May 10, and only one new case had been detected. In all, Tribal health care workers have vaccinated more than 19,700 people with the two-dose Moderna vaccine and more than 9,600 of those doses have gone into the arms of people 55 or older. The uptick in West Valley COVID-19 cases was attributed to spring break activities and Easter family gatherings. Health Services Executive Di- rector Kelly Rowe said during an April 21 Facebook Live event that the Tribe is ending its successful mass vaccination events held in the Tribal gym due to lagging demand. She said that all Tribal members and those who live in their house- holds, other Native Americans and their household members, and Tribal employees and their household members 18 and older can schedule a vaccination through the Health & Wellness Center by calling 503-879-7032. Grand Ronde Education Programs: facebook.com/CTGREducation VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Grand Ronde Youth Council: facebook.com/CTGRYouthCouncil Grand Ronde Station: facebook.com/GrandRondeStation Grand Ronde Social Services Department: facebook.com/CTGRSocialservices 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 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. Facebook.com/EmploymentServices sheridanfd.org – swpolkfd.org – westvalleyfd.org Ad by Samuel Briggs III