Search

Tribal Government & News Former Grand Ronde police officer pleads no contest to charges 10.31.2016 Dean Rhodes Public Safety DALLAS -- Former Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department K-9 Officer Patrick McConnell pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of tampering with public records and first-degree official misconduct on Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Polk County Circuit Court. Judge Gilbert Feibleman accepted McConnell’s plea and found him guilty of the two counts. The state dismissed two other …

Commission, Spirit Mountain Casino was the No. 1 tourist attraction in Oregon with more than 2.5 million visitors in the past year. “The success of Spirit Mountain is a result of a combination of several factors which include family entertainment areas like Superplay and the video arcade area, super dining, closer proximity to other tourism designations such as the Oregon coast, and now, the recent opening of the Spirit Mountain Lodge,” a Smoke Signals article stated. 1994 – Gaming took one more …

Tribal Government & News Tribal Council incumbents reign: Leno, Langley and Mercier re-elected 09.12.2020 Dean Rhodes Tribal Council , Elections Graphic by Samuel Briggs III/Smoke Signals By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor For the second year in a row, Tribal voters said they like the status quo on Tribal Council and returned all three incumbents to their seats for three-year terms, according to official results released by the Tribe’s Election Board. Vice Chair Chris Mercier and Tribal …

10 years of service she also distributed Tribal Pendleton blankets. 2011 – The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde became the official owner of the eight-acre Grand Ronde Middle School property. The Tribe agreed to buy the land and 27,443-foot facility for $675,000 from the Willamina School District. The property was part of the Tribe’s original reservation given to it in an 1857 Presidential Order in exchange for ceded lands that included most of western Oregon. The property was zoned as Grand …

, we have so much opportunity and I look forward to what the future brings.” The general manager, who is a direct report to the nine-member Tribal Council, exercises direct authority over most Tribal departments in carrying out day-to-day operations of the Tribal government. Tribal Finance Officer Chris Leno served as interim general manager since January 2023, and said several times it wasn’t a goal of his to remain in the position permanently. One of Blackwell’s first official functions in her …

Tribal Government & News Hop to it: Early Easter means an early egg hunt 03.14.2016 Brent Merrill Tribal Council , Events , Housing Easter comes early this year with the holiday being in March rather than April. And this year’s annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, March 26, at the covered area in Tribal family housing. Housing Services Coordinator Deborah Kroeker said this is one Tribal event not to be late for. “It’s an incredible event,” said Kroeker. “It’s the one event …

Tribal Government & News Two of three Tribal Council incumbents to seek re-election 04.21.2022 Dean Rhodes Tribal Council By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council incumbents Denise Harvey and Kathleen George are in while Jack Giffen Jr. is out. Giffen, one of the Tribe’s longest-serving Tribal Council members, will not be seeking re-election during the 2022 campaign, ensuring at least one new member on the Tribe’s governing board. “I am not planning to run,” he said in an e-mail …

Tribal Government & News Tribal Council approves Housing software contract 07.26.2023 Danielle Harrison Tribal Council By Danielle Harrison Smoke Signals editor Tribal Council approved a contract between the Tribal Housing Department and Yardi of Santa Barbara, California, during its Wednesday, July 26, meeting. Yardi is a property management software company with more than 30 North American offices. The Housing Department has worked with the company in the past, purchasing $25,000 of new …

Tribal Government & News Emergency Services extinguishes burn pile fire 06.26.2024 Nicole Montesano Emergency Services Department By Nicole Montesano Smoke Signals staff writer The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Emergency Services Department responded to a wildland fire on Solar Drive in Willamina on Tuesday, June 25, that spread to between one-quarter and a half acre of property. “There was no property loss due to the quick response of your Grand Ronde emergency services …

focuses on native plants and sustainable development. Barmon also is a driving force for the Mabelville Garden Project at 90 th and Burnside in Portland, across the street from his home, where the group has prodded the city of Portland into planting native white oak trees along a 50-foot wide, two-and-a-half-block stretch of vacant land "with plenty of potential," as Barmon says. He has been talking with Archuleta for six years about growing native plants in the city. At one time, Barmon said, he …