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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2022)
10 DECEMBER 15, 2022 Tribe offering warming centers during winter Smoke Signals Youth Summit attendee The Tribal Emergency Services Department recently announced its plan to activate a warming center if needed during the daytime hours at the Elders Activity Center if the temperature dips to 25 degrees or lower for more than four hours and there is a need for the center to open. In addition, the plan includes a nighttime overnight center, but only for the hours from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the Tribal gym if the temperature reaches 25 degrees or lower for more than four hours in duration. If there is a need for either of the centers, people should call Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Brandy Bishop at 503-879-1837. <If more services are needed, we will help to guide the appropriate agencies and departments to try and meet the needs of the individuals,= Bishop said. þ Contributed photo Tribal nonemergency text line The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemer- gency text line at 541-921-2927. <If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free to contact my ofocer via text through this line,= said Grand Ronde Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight. <When one of my ofocers receives the text, they will call you back when they have time.= McKnight said that emergency situations still require calling 911. For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474. þ 8Our priority is be as efficient as possible9 WASTE continued from front page in the trash. Enter Chapul Farms located outside of McMinnville on North Alpine Avenue. According to its website, Chapul Farms is <an insect agriculture project development company that designs, builds and operates commercial-scale black soldier ny larvae facilities.= <Our mission is to restore biodi- versity to agriculture, soil and plan- et Earth for a more sustainable, resilient and secure food system,= the website adds. Casino Public Relations and Com- munications Administrator Jocelyn Huffman said the casino is in the beginning stages of incorporating Chapul Farms into its existing food waste program and hopes to have the company on board before the end of December. <We9re still working out the logis- tics,= Huffman said. <Our priority is be as efocient as possible. Our to-go containers have become more efocient and more green. It9s a con- tinuing work in progress.= Tribal Council member Kathleen George, who also serves on the Spir- it Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors, briefed the membership on the new waste recycling program during the Tuesday, Dec. 6, Legis- lative Action Committee meeting. <At any restaurant, food waste is a very real issue,= George said. <At a facility with multiple restaurants, it9s even more so. We took a sub- stantial step in the right direction when the buffet closed because buffets are hugely wasteful.= <They are currently throwing away anything that isn9t produce,= Huffman added. <However, it9s much less waste now than prior to the buffet closing.= Chapul will receive food waste from all casino dining outlets and feed it to the larvae, which will eat almost any kind of organic waste ranging from animal waste to food scraps. As they mature, the larvae grow into grubs and climb out of their food source and turn into pupae. For those who instinctively think of nies as dirty and disease-born, those negative qualities do not apply to black soldier nies. They are considered non-pests since the adult does not have mouth parts and does not feed upon waste. They do not bite and are not associated with transmitting any diseases. According to the Chapul Farms website, insects leverage millions of years of microbiological evolu- tion to process organic material into healthy protein and fat, add microbial life to agricultural soils, eliminate food waste and reduce reliance on fossil fuels and <un- sustainable inputs= to plant and animal agriculture. Chapul Farms was founded in 2018 to focus speciocally on black soldier ny larvae applications. <I am regularly convinced that adding insects into the broader land- scape of agriculture is a profoundly pivotal course of action to ensure long-term food security on planet Earth,= says Chapul Farms founder Pat Crowley on the company website. To watch a video about Chapul Farms and how it turns food waste into useful products, go to www. youtube.com/watch?v=xCbFRg- 212Cw. þ Izaiah Fisher, a Siletz Tribal member and Grand Ronde descendant, attended the White House Tribal Youth Summit held in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Nov. 14. During the Youth Summit, Fisher snapped a selfie with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member in the history of the United States. Fisher also is a former member of the Grand Ronde Youth Council. Clothes Closet open Fridays The Clothes Closet is open from 9 a.m. to noon Fridays on the Tribal campus near the Elders Activity Center at the end of Blacktail Drive. The Clothes Closet accepts clothing, small appliances, small pieces of furniture, electronics and household goods that are clean and in good condition. It does not accept books, large TVs or furniture, but there is a community board where people can post those items. For more information or emergency clothes, contact Lori Walker-Hernan- dez at 559-847-7565. þ