Tribal Council OKs grant application for transit planning

Tribal Council approved a Special Transportation Fund Discretionary Grant application to the Oregon Department of Transportation during its Wednesday, March 2, meeting.

The competitive grant, if received, will help the Tribe update its 2007 Transit Plan, said Planning and Grants Manager Kim Rogers at the previous day’s Legislative Action Committee meeting.

The only other item on the agenda was approval of the March 6 General Council agenda, which will feature a program report on the Tribe’s support for appropriate use of Native American mascots by Oregon public schools.

Also included in the March 2 Tribal Council packet were authorizations to proceed to:

• Create a full business plan for creation of a Tribal Competitive Local Exchange Carrier;

• Allow Natural Resources Department Manager Michael Wilson to purchase a forestry-specific excavator;

• Nominate Tribal Council member Brenda Tuomi to the National Indian Health Board’s Public Health in Indian Country Capacity Survey Advisory Committee;

• and terminate the Employee Health Plan Trustees contract with ELAP because it was learned that the program “may negatively impact employees to a greater extent than originally understood.”

Tribal Council member Jon A. George joined Cultural Protection Coordinator Jordan Mercier to perform the cultural drumming and singing to open the meeting.

The meeting, in its entirety, can be viewed by visited the Tribal website, www.grandronde.org, clicking on the News tab and then Video.