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Earth Day
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— pg. 9
May 1, 2024
Shasta to close, plan
participants asked to
consider delaying non-
essential medical care
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals editor
T
he Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde provided an employee update
on the status of its health insurance
plan on Wednesday, April 24.
“Over the last few months, the Tribe has
been working to transition the adminis-
tration of its health care plans for both
Tribal members and employees away from
Shasta Administrative Services and over
to our new administrator, Forest County
Potawatomi,” an all-employee email said.
“While we are happy to report that the
transition is still progressing as planned,
the situation at Shasta has slowly deteri-
orated and we are actively looking to find
ways to support Shasta in its efforts to keep
processing claims as it winds down.”
As a precaution and to help minimize
issues with claims processing, the Tribe is
asking Tribal members and employee plan
members to consider the postponement of
elective or non-essential services until July
1, when the transition to a new health in-
surance plan occurs.
According to the American Medical
Association, a non-essential service is, “a
surgery or procedure that can be delayed
without undue risk to the current or future
health of a patient.”
“This will help smooth the transition
until we begin service with our new admin-
istrator,” the email said. “We are working
diligently to support the transition in the
best way we can and understand that many
of you will have questions and concerns.
Please be patient with us and with staff as
we navigate this challenging situation. We
See SHASTA
continued on page 3
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member and Willamina High School senior Cohen Haller has received numerous awards for
basketball during his high school career. Some of these include selection as an all-league and all-
state player every year since he was a freshmen, most valuable player at Willamina for the past 3
years and being named the News-Register Athlete of the Year.
Baller for life
Tribal member Cohen Haller scores prestigious all-league, tournament honors
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals editor
W
hile in elementary school, Tribal mem-
ber Cohen Haller remembers a fellow
basketball player that he really admired
telling him he would never be a point guard.
“He looked like he was ready to cry when I
picked him up from school that day,” his dad,
Tribal member Rich Haller, said. “He told me
what had happened and I asked him a question.
‘Do you believe that?’”
The answer was no.
“Well, I don’t believe it either,” Rich said.
Fast forward several years and Cohen, 18,
is one of the most celebrated 2A league point
guards in the state of Oregon and has received
numerous awards for basketball during his high
school career. These honors include selection
as an all-league and all-state player every year
since he was a freshmen, most valuable player
at Willamina High School for the past 3 years
and an array of senior year accomplishments.
He scored a quarter of all of Willamina’s
points during the regular 2023-24 season, was
selected to first team all-league, second team
See BALLER
continued on page 5
Six names being added to Veterans Memorial
By Danielle Harrison
Smoke Signals editor
S
ix names, including that of
Tribal member Robert E.
Patterson, will be added to
the West Valley Veterans Memo-
rial during the Monday, May 27,
ceremony being held on the Grand
Ronde Tribal campus.
Patterson’s name will go up on
the Navy pillar along with the
names of Scott B. Leclaire and
Smoke Signals file photo
Timothy R. Linn.
The six pillars at the West Valley
Veterans Memorial feature the
names of Tribal and community
members from Grand Ronde, Wil-
lamina and Sheridan who served in
the four major branches of the U.S.
military – Army, Navy, Air Force
and Marine Corps.
The addition of six names this
year will increase the number of
those honored on all pillars to 2,388.
Tribal member JC Rogers sings the national anthem during the Memorial
Day observance held at the West Valley Veterans Memorial last May. This
year’s Memorial Day observance will begin with a meal served in the Tribal
Community Center starting at noon and the ceremony occurring outside at
the Veterans Memorial starting at 1 p.m.
The memorial had four pillars
until 2023, when the Tribe received
a $33,000 grant from Oregon State
Parks to install two new black
granite slab pillars at the memorial
because the ones containing names
of Army and Navy veterans were
reaching capacity.
Other names being added include
Curtis J. Hubbell on the Army pillar
and Joseph E. Gaines and Megan A.
Davis on the Air Force pillar.
The Memorial Day ceremony will
begin with a meal being served in the
Tribal Community Center starting
at noon and the ceremony occurring
See MEMORIAL
continued on page 7