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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2021)
sNok signflz SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 Casino gift store seeking Tribal member artwork The gift store at Spirit Mountain Casino is seeking Native Amer- ican and contemporary art from Grand Ronde Tribal members as the store refocuses. However, there is one catch. Tribal artists must first contact the Tribal Employment Rights Of- fice to become vendors and be defined as an Indian-owned business. “Becoming an IOB vendor is the first step in the process,” said Human Recourses Director Camille Mercier. “Once they are a qual- ified vendor, their pieces will need to meet a predetermined list of standards in order to have any items in the gift store.” Mercier said the target date is mid-October for the gift store to start accepting consignment items from Tribal artists. “It’s been long overdue to have our own Tribal member artwork featured,” she added. To contact the Tribe’s TERO office about being listed as an Indi- an-owned business, call TERO Director Harris Reibach at 503-879- 1455 or send an e-mail to tero@grandronde.org. n Community Health Program Medical Transport Services Medical transportation services are available to Tribal members within the six-county service area when an alternate means of transportation is not available. Advance notice required. Please call 503-879-2078 to schedule a reservation. 5 Tribal Council OKs contract for Community Center expansion By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council approved a pro- fessional services agreement with Portland-based Akana on Wednes- day, Sept. 8, that will employ the firm for architectural services to design an expansion of the Com- munity Center. The expansion will create an ad- dition to the Community Center for the Warriors of Hope program with- in the Social Services Department. The program serves survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Akana has previously worked with the Tribe on the Creekside Elder Housing development that is currently beginning at the south- west corner of Hebo and Grand Ronde roads. The Community Center opened in March 1992 and was the first permanent building constructed on the Tribal campus in Grand Ronde after 1983’s Restoration. In other action, Tribal Council: • Approved two credit card autho- rizations for Torey Wakeland and Gabe Synegal as part of their work as single resource bosses for the wildland firefighting pro- gram; • Approved a one-year contract extension with Industrial Eco- nomics Inc. so the company can continue to provide environmen- tal consulting services to the Tribe regarding the McCormick and Baxter superfund sites at Portland Harbor; • And approved the enrollment of two infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements out- lined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance. Also included in the Sept. 8 Trib- al Council packet were approved authorizations to proceed that es- tablished a $1 lease fee at the home ownership property on McPherson Road to create an infrastructure fund to supplement the cost of future repairs and upgrades, in- structed Finance Officer Chris Leno to start the supplemental budget process to fund the recent increase in minimum wage and related wage compression rate increase in the amount of $486,000 and established the Sept. 15 per capita payment amount. Tribal Council also approved the agenda for the 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, General Council meeting, which featured an executive session presentation about Spirit Mountain Casino as well as Tribal Council election results. To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Government tab and then Videos. n Approximately 54 percent of the casino’s staff are vaccinated FACEBOOK LIVE continued from front page by the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors on Tuesday, Sept. 7. Tribal Council members also discussed the vaccine man- date during its Tuesday, Sept. 7, Legislative Action Committee meeting that can be viewed at www. grandronde.org by clicking on the Government tab and then Videos. Currently, approximately 54 per- cent of the casino’s staff members are vaccinated, Mercier said. The casino held two two-hour meetings with employees to ex- plain the decision. Thomas said approximately 100 total employees attended the two meetings. Thomas said whether to get the vaccination remains a personal decision for casino employees. Em- ployees will have a 40-day window during which they can get vaccinat- ed and retain their employment or find another job. “We regret any employees that we lose,” Thomas said. “But we have to proceed based upon the health of all of the people involved and how that impacts the casino, which is our responsibility.” Thomas added that the casino at this time will not require proof of vaccination for guests although it has reinstated its mask-wearing rule for customers. Mercier said medical exemptions will be permitted, but they will be reviewed by Tribal health care Photo by Kamiah Koch About a dozen protesters gathered along Highway 18 in front of the Spirit Mountain Casino on Friday, Sept. 10, to express their opposition to the vaccination mandate for all casino employees. They held signs protesting the vaccination mandate that was approved by the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors on Tuesday, Sept. 7. General Manager Bruce Thomas said employees will have a 40-day window to get vaccinated or lose their jobs. Human Resources Manager Camille Mercier said that about 54 percent of the casino’s 934 employees are already vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. professionals before being accept- ed. There will not be any religious exemptions, she added. Tribal General Manager David Fullerton said the Tribal govern- ment currently is at an 86 percent vaccination rate for its employees and will not mandate all employees receive a vaccination. Only Health & Wellness Center staff are cur- rently required to be vaccinated or be tested daily for COVID, he added. “Our employees have done a great job stepping up,” Fullerton said. The 20-minute Facebook Live event was the 21st held by the Trib- al government since March 2020. Approximately 300 people logged on to watch the broadcast, which also included Health Services Exec- utive Director Kelly Rowe and Trib- al Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy. Kennedy started the Facebook Live event by briefing attendees on COVID-19 statistics. She said the Tribe is currently tracking 37 active cases, and has tested 3,056 people with 2,904 negative results and 152 positives, which translates into a 5 percent positivity rate. So far, the Tribe has vaccinated almost 20,800 people. “We know that the COVID vari- ant has hit not only the state of Oregon and the U.S. hard, it has hit the Tribe hard as well,” Kenne- dy said, encouraging others to do anything they can to spare others from this “awful, angry disease that is running rampant.” Kennedy encouraged viewers to remain socially distant, get vac- cinated and wear a mask while in public. “Let’s all join this effort, this cam- paign, to make sure this virus is eradicated,” she said. “Be a warrior against this virus.” In response to questions from viewers, Rowe said the Tribal Health & Wellness Center is cur- rently providing third-dose booster shots to those who are immuno-com- promised and that the clinic is see- ing shorter time between exposure and infection with the widespread Delta variant. Rowe added that the Tribe cannot test specifically for the Delta vari- ant when it gets a positive result, but can send a sample to the state lab for testing if the patient is pre- senting different symptoms. n
