By Joe Morey
News Editor
On Monday, Nov. 14, the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board (TGB) approved giving every Tribal Member who is of 18 years of age as of Dec. 31, 2022, a $750 gift, but the gift would be awarded in two separate phases.
The second phase of the gift is set to begin soon, which will be disbursed as a check to all Tribal Members who live outside of Sawyer County.
The plan for the second phase will see one day where Tribal Office staff will hand out the checks to any members who come to pick them up, then, remaining checks will be disbursed by mail to the rest of the membership.
The day of pick up will be announced soon, but the size of the check run is large, thus the reason for the delay. Tribal Administration officials state the disbursement should be next week.
The first phase was already given to Members living within the Tribe’s service area (on Reservation and within Sawyer County).
The reason for breaking the gift up into two phases was because the tribal office was overwhelmed last year (last time a gift was disbursed) with lines out to the parking lot and TGB just didn’t want that to happen this time because it’s cold outside and also, because two separate payouts would be easier on the Tribe’s cash flow.
“We take this opportunity to wish our Tribal Members a happy, heartwarming, and healthy Winter Season,” The TGB stated.