Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2021)
sNok signflz SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 Community paper shred event slated A community paper shred event will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, at the recycling depot on Tyee Road near Tribal housing. It will be a socially distanced drive-through event. Community members can recycle paper, envelopes, card stock of any color and a limited amount of staples. Unacceptable items include plastic, metal, binders and binder clips, paper clips, CDs and DVDs, and ink ribbons. The paper will be recycled into pulp that is mixed with fresh pulp before new products such as tissue, paper towels and napkins are manufactured. The Grand Ronde Food Bank also will be accepting donations at the shred event. Holiday food box items needed include canned or packets of gravy, stuffing, yams or sweet potatoes, cake mix, frost- ing, cranberry sauce, chicken or turkey stock, sugar or brown sugar, green beans and cream of mushroom soup. 17 Election Office open through Sept. 9 The Election Board office will be open every Monday, Tuesday, Wednes- day and Thursday through Thursday, Sept. 9. Office hours will be from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. The Election Office is located in the Tribal Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, and the phone number is 503-879-2271. For convenience, blank signature verification forms will be placed in a hanging basket outside the Elections Office door. Completed forms — with a notarized signature or legible copy of ID, including your signature (driver’s license, member ID card, passport, etc.) attached — need to be mailed to the Election Board for processing. The form will not be processed unless it has been notarized or includes a legible copy of ID and your signature attached. Ballots were mailed to voters with verified signatures on Wednesday, July 28. Tribal members may submit a verified signature card at any time up to and including Election Day on Saturday, Sept. 11. The Grand Ronde post office is no longer open to accept ballots on Sat- urday, Sept. 11. For Tribal members’ convenience, there will be a ballot box in the Governance Center building during the election season and also on Election Day there will be a box in the Community Center where completed ballots can be dropped off. There will be ballots available, as has been done in the past, for those members who want to vote in person. It is the voters’ responsibility to ensure the ballot is received by the Election Board on Election Day — be sure to allow adequate time for the ballot to reach the Election Board by 6 p.m. Sept. 11. We Want To Hear From You! That’s right, the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center Comment Box is located at the entrance of the Health & Wellness Center, next to the drinking fountain. Share your experience, good or bad with us! We look forward to hearing what you have to say. TRIBAL VETERANS SERVICE OFFICE Ramona Quenelle, Tribal Veterans Service Officer, (TVSO)US Navy Veteran (IT2 SW) Phone: 503-879-1484 | CTGRTribalVSO@grandronde.org CTGR Social Services Department, Attn: Tribal Veterans Service Officer 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR 97347 VETERANS CRISIS LINE, CALL 1-800-273-8255 AND PRESS 1 OR TEXT 838255 VETERANS CORNER, September 2021: SAVE THE DATE CALENDAR: Check out our Facebook page: @CTGRTVSO Sept. 2021 (Date/Time TBD-tentative) Paint with a Vet event (only 22 spots available) E-mail CTGRTVSO to register. E-mail CTGRTribalVSO@grandronde.org to sign up for important email updates, register for events and/or training links! Oct. 2021 (Date/Time TBD) Native Wellness Behavioral Health Training #4 UPCOMING EVENTS: August to December 2021 Coffee & Chat with the TVSO The original plan was to take you out to coffee and meet with you face to face. Due to the pandemic, that isn’t possible and I do not want to risk anyone’s health and safety. Because I still want to connect with you, I will be reaching out to you via phone call to speak with you about your benefits or other related veteran topics. In return for your time the TVSO will send you a gift card as a token of appreciation. The Tribal Veterans Service Officer will call all Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Veterans to review Veteran Benefits the Veteran might be eligible for. Reviewing and applying for benefits can mean more money in your pocket and/or more benefits that you qualify to use. In some cases, spouses can also benefit in case of the Veterans passing. Let’s chat! (Via Zoom) Cultural Class #2 – Cattail Cordage Video link, supplies, and instructions will be sent upon request. September 22, 2021 at 10 a.m. (email TVSO for link to register) Mindfulness Behavioral Health Training #3 Nov. 12, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. Veterans Day Dinner Dec. 2021 (Date/Time TBD) Veterans End of the Year Event ANNOUNCEMENTS: SOUTHWEST ASIA THEATER OF OPERATIONS? The Department of Veterans Affairs will begin processing disability claims August 2, 2021 for asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis on a presumptive basis based on presumed particulate matter exposures during military service in Southwest Asia and certain other areas – if these conditions manifested within 10 years of a qualifying period of military service. Contact the Tribal Veterans Service Office to determine if your dates of service and location of service fall within the qualifying dates. you were on land, air or sea, you may be entitled to compensation from the VA. Blue Water Navy: Agent Orange Presumptive Exposure in the Republic of Vietnam. 1. Are you a Vietnam veteran (includes military, naval, or air service) who served in the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975? 2. Did you serve aboard a vessel operating not more than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia? 3. Do you have one or more of the Agent Orange presumptive conditions listed below: IHD, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, respiratory cancers, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, soft tissue sarcomas, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, hyper thyroidism, etc. Contact the Tribal Veterans Service Office for more information. IRAQ or AFGHANISTAN? Did you serve in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield, New Dawn, Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom? The Open Burn Pit Registry allows eligible veterans and service members to document environmental exposures, such as smoke from burn pits, oil-well fires, or pollution during deployment, as well as record health concerns, through an online questionnaire. VIETNAM VETERANS - AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE? The list of conditions presumed to be caused by Agent Orange exposure has recently expanded. Whether www.grandronde.org/services/social-services/veterans-services | www.benefits.va.gov/vso | www.facebook.com/CTGRTVSO Ad by Samuel Briggs III
