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JUNE 15, 2023
7
Resource event will kick off weekend
POWWOW continued
from front page
not be the organizer. He walked on
in August 2022. That role has been
filled by Tribal and Veterans Special
Event Board member Molly Leno.
The powwow will begin at Uyxat
Powwow Grounds off Hebo Road
with a Veterans Royalty pageant at
11 a.m. Friday, July 7, and conclude
with a grand entry at noon Sunday,
July 9.
This year’s host drum will be
Bad Eagle of Vancouver, Canada.
The master of ceremonies is Nick
Sixkiller (Cherokee) with Carlos
Calica (Wasco, Paiute and Yakama)
serving as arena director.
Dance specials will include men’s
traditional with prizes of $800,
$600, $400 and $200 for first-
through fourth-place winners,
sponsored by the Liebelt Family
and Veterans Board. There is also
an outgoing queen special jingle
dance for all ages with prizes of
$300, $200 and $100 for first-
through third-place winners, spon-
sored by Tasina Bluehorse and her
family.
Continuing with last year’s
change, there won’t be an official
Veterans Summit, but instead a
Smoke Signals file photo
The Grand Ronde Veterans Honor Guard leads a grand entry of the 2022
Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow held at Uyxat Powwow
Grounds last July.
resource fair with a more casual
format held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday, July 7.
The resource fair will include
breakfast snacks, lunch, informa-
Tribal nonemergency text line
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemergency text
line at 541-921-2927.
“If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free to contact
my officer via text through this line,” said Grand Ronde Tribal Police Chief
Jake McKnight. “When one of my officers 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.
tion and speakers from the Oregon
Department of Veterans’ Affairs,
Native Wellness Institute, VA
Roseburg Health Care System and
Lines for Life. A closing ceremony
will be held at the Tribal plank-
house, achaf-hammi, at 3 p.m.
Navy Veteran Ramona Quenelle
(Pit River), who serves as the
Tribe’s Veterans Service Officer,
will have a booth at the event.
“One of my main goals this year
is to inform veterans about the
changes that came about because of
the approval of the PACT Act leg-
islation in August 2022,” she said.
“This legislation opens up two new
presumptive illnesses that Vietnam
veterans can apply for if they were
exposed to Agent Orange as well
as more locations of service. This
legislation also opened up myriad
new presumptive illnesses and lo-
cations for Gulf War and post-9-11
era veterans as well. My goal is to
reach veterans to inform them of
these changes as well as educate
them about filing claims that can
be successful.”
Quenelle added that successful
claims require a current medical
diagnosis, an in-service event and
a link between the two.
“It sounds formidable, but my role
is to walk veterans through this
process and help them throughout
this process,” she said. “I especial-
ly want to reach those who have
never filed for service-connection
ever. I also want to reach those
who have a lower-rated disability
percentage and see if they can be
increased. Being service-connected
brings many benefits to veterans
including a monthly tax-free pay-
ment from the Veterans Adminis-
tration (based on the percentage
(it) deems the veteran disabled),
access to health care, and many
state/federal benefits.”
Quenelle also encourages all vet-
erans to visit their nearest veterans
service officer to explore filing for
service-connection benefits.
“It doesn’t matter what era, how
old you are, whether you were
combat or non-combat, or anything
else,” she said. “If you are a quali-
fied veteran, look into service-con-
nection.”
She added that every veteran who
visits her booth will be entered into
a drawing for gift cards.
Please bring your child and get help finding
the right car seat for their height, weight
and age. Get help installing your car seat
from a Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technician. Each car seat installation and
inspection will take about 30 minutes.
This event is brought to you by Early
Childhood Education, working in
partnership with several local Child
Passenger Safety programs. Parents who
participate in car seat education may
qualify for a new car seat, ranging from
free to a $30 co-pay, depending on grant
qualifications.
Please be patient with our
community volunteers.
Friday, June 23, 2023
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
CTGR Day Use Park
Please RSVP using the link
or QR code provided.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/623CarSeat