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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
