Inside - Community Colleges and Workforce Development

Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
November 2008
Volume 1, Issue 5
November 2008
Inside
• Director’s Note
• Featured
Program
• Advisory
Committee
member Bio
From the desk of the Director - John Asher
Wow! It’s November already. We have finally completed the Youth River
Stewards trips for the fall and are back in the office for awhile. The five
trips were wonderful this year. The youth were all polite, engaged and
respectful. They were also very good workers. The projects this year
included lots of Scot’s Broom removal, some equestrian trail work,
rebuilding of a berm and some painting.
We were very fortunate to have Tim Wood, Director of Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department join us down on “the slough” for an afternoon,
along with Ryan Sparks, Park Manager for the Willamette Mission Unit. As
always, Team Leader Bonnie Cunningham, spent time with the crews and
shared her story of her days as a Corpsmember prior to going to school
and on to working for Parks. What a great “poster child”.
• Governor’s
Summit
We are also extremely pleased to have the curriculum done and mailed.
You should have yours by the time you read this. If you do not, or wish
additional copies let us know. We hope to add more subjects in the future,
probably starting with contemporary mathematics or construction math.
• Administrative
Chit Chat
Doug and I attended the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and
Association of Oregon Counties conferences in Eugene this month.
Always a great place to receive information and opportunities for
partnerships throughout Oregon.
• Office
Administration
Updates
• Matching
Activity
OYCC has added two new Advisory Committee members in the last few
months; James Straub from the Eugene area and Pat Willis from Portland.
James has a background in building management and Pat is the former
director of Jackson Bottom Wetlands and is currently operating a lavender
farm on Sauvie Island. We also bid good-bye to our former Chair, Cyndy
Coleman-Marshall. I cannot begin to list Cyndy’s accomplishments in the
short space provided but realize that there is not one OYCC program that
she has not reviewed or was unfamiliar with. We look forward to a time
when we can “get her back” and wish her luck.
Next up…a new grant cycle for both summer and school year programs.
With the current economic downturn the selections for 2009-2010 are
going to be challenging. At this time, it is unclear as to when and if,
reductions will be necessary. As responsible stewards of public funds,
funding will be granted (as available) to those programs that continue to
perform at the highest levels of OYCC expectations.
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Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
Important
Dates
• 1/8-1/9:
Advisory
Committee
Meeting-Salem
• 1/14:
Community
Stewardship
Corps Coalition
Meeting
• 1/16: Summer
Conservation
Corps Letters
of Intent Due
• 1/23:
Community
Stewardship
Corps Letters
of Intent Due
Make sure that you review the OYCC Important Dates 2009 document
posted on our website for due dates and upcoming events.
All for now,
John
Integral Youth Services – Kathi Milem
We are Integral Youth Services (I.Y.S.) and are located at 115 North 10th
St. in Klamath Falls Oregon. Our relationship with OYCC began in 1992
with summer work crews. In 1995 our year-round program with OYCC
began. Our year-round program is called Teamwork and involves high
school students in many different projects during the school year. We also
have a summer work program that involves 4 different crews. The yearround Teamwork Program consists of 2 different crews with 5 students on
each crew. One crew works Mondays and Wednesdays while the other
works Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have many different partners that we
work with including the City of Klamath Falls, Klamath Basin
Wingwatchers, Winema National Forest, B.L.M. and the numerous
different agencies associated with Integral Youth Services. The types of
projects we have done are weed abatement, trail building, bank
restoration at Lake Ewauna, seasonal banner changing for the city of
Klamath Falls, fence building, painting, drywall and furniture moving. The
Teamwork Program students are involved in just about anything, within
reason, that needs to be done around I.Y.S.
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Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
Featured Partner - Klamath Basin Wingwatchers Association
Our featured partner is the Klamath Basin Wingwatchers Association.
They got involved with our Teamwork Program because they heard, from
other partners, that the I.Y.S. Teamwork Program was willing to do
volunteer work for them. Teamwork has been doing different projects for
them now for about 2 years. Bill Wood is the person we work with and he
feels the benefits of working with a crew is that they can always get more
done than just doing it himself. He also added that our crew has always
been willing to do whatever is asked of them. The challenges are that
there is usually one or two students that need to be watched for a while to
make sure things get done right. Working with students is different than
working with adults because the students seem to get things done quicker.
Featured Project – Klamath Basin Wingwatchers Trail
One of our most exciting and rewarding projects is the Klamath Basin
Wingwatchers Trail. The project is funded by the Wingwatchers, which is a
non-profit organization that relies on donations and volunteers. There are
10 students, 2 crews of 5 youth that work on the project. The
Wingwatchers thought of the project because of major bank erosion along
the west bank of Lake Ewauna. The impact this project has on the
community and environment is that now there is a solid, safe bank on the
lake that will help in the migration process of the birds. We also built a new
trail and hauled loads of gravel so the community can enjoy the beautiful
area created for bird watching. By doing this work the students earn a
small stipend and receive scholarship credit hours. In the end, everyone
involved gets a great sense of accomplishment along with the students
gaining valuable work experience.
Mike Milem – Crew Leader for IYS
My name is Michael Milem and I am
currently the Teamwork Facilitator at
Integral Youth Services in Klamath Falls,
Oregon. I have been working here at
I.Y.S. since April 7th of 2008. I heard
about this job from my sister, Kathi
Milem, who is the Education Programs
Director here at I.Y.S. I have always
felt a need to work with kids and this job
was the perfect opportunity for me to
have that chance.
I think the most challenging part of my job is that most of these kids have
not had much work experience, so just about everything we do is a
challenge for them, at first. It is great to see them learn as they go and
watch them transform into good workers who really take pride in what they
are doing. Their sense of accomplishment once they are done is beyond
comparison. That is probably the most satisfying part of my job.
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Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
If I could give one tip to someone who is just starting to work in this field
with “at-risk” youth it would be that these are kids who deserve a chance
to make it in the world that has labeled them “at-risk.” If you take the time
to give them the opportunity to try something different and you never give
up on them, the positive growth that is achieved is worth all the time you
have invested.
Advisory Committee Member Bio – PattiAnn Monzie
I have been a member of the OYCC Advisory
Committee since January 1, 2005 and am now in
my second term on the Committee. I served as
Vice-Chair under Cyndy Coleman-Marshall and
became chair when Cyndy resigned from the
Board due to family medical issues. My year as
Chair is just beginning (even though I acted as
Chair for all of last year!).
I was approached by the past Director of OYCC
to become a member of the Advisory Committee
because of the active role that I had played for years working with summer
youth programs. I had not thought about becoming a Board Member until
that time but the position fit in very well with my position and duties
working for the Forest Service.
I love working with kids – that has to be my favorite part of this program as
well as other programs that I am involved with. Volunteers, summer youth
programs and recruiting at colleges for the Forest Service are the most
rewarding part of my position. I love the interaction with young people –
watching them develop and seeing where they get to in life!
I currently work for the Forest Service at the (beautiful) Columbia River
Gorge National Scenic Area in Hood River, Oregon. I have been in this
office for nearly 20 years after transferring from the Forest Service in
Montana. I have been in several different positions since I have come to
this office and I feel that the one I am in now is the most fulfilling for me. I
have been an Information Assistant, Human Resources Manager, Public
Affairs Specialist, Civil Rights Manager, Administrative Officer, and now an
Administrative Specialist (which actually combines several jobs into one!).
I am also a member of the Hood River Education Foundation Board which
is the primary scholarship and grant program in Hood River County. I have
served on that Board for approximately 10 years and as the Treasurer for
the past 4.
I did not graduate from Oregon State University; however, I have probably
spent as much time there as some students who have attended there.
Both of our sons, Cameron and Tyler, attended and graduated from OSU
and between both boys I went to 10 OSU Mom’s Weekends and attended
MANY intramural sporting events and baked enough goodies to put me in
the Guinness Book of Records! I am a true Beaver Believer…I may not
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Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
have gone there but my sons and my money did!
I enjoy walking and hiking with my dog Marley; going on road trips with my
husband Jim; spending time with my family; and cooking for friends
football games, basketball games, and family whenever we can gather
together.
Governor’s Summit for Disproportionate Representation of
Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System – Jennifer Kerr
The Governor’s Minority Youth Awards were established to honor Oregon
minority youth who make positive choices and become successful in their
lives. The awards are given to youth ages 14-25 who overcome difficult
times and hardships that have also shown consistent progress in
overcoming adversity. The awards are presented at the Governor’s
Summit on Eliminating Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile
Justice System.
This year, Sobeyda Luque, an OYCC Corpsmember was honored at the
summit. Sobeyda is a member of Training and Employment Consortium
(TEC) in Malheur County.
Sobeyda had a child at 15, dropped out of school and joined the OYCC
program at TEC. She continued on and attended Treasure Valley
Community College where she received her CNA Certificate. Now, she is
an assistant Crew Leader for TEC. Sobeyda attended the summit where
she received her award and participated on the youth panel.
Former Governor Kitzhaber presenting the award to Sobeyda
For more information on the awards visit
http://www.oregon.gov/OYA/dmcsummit/2008/summit.htm
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Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
Administrative Chit Chat with Doug - Doug Denning
I cannot remember another year that has flown by so quickly! It seems
surreal planning events for the summer of 2009!
The Community Stewardship Corps (CSC) had another very successful
school-year for 2006-2007. I would like to share some of the overall
numbers with you:
Youth Enrolled – 594
Scholarships Awarded – $190,499.00
Credits Earned – 2,241
Diplomas Awarded – 116
GEDs Awarded – 22
Total Match Raised – $3,478,116.00
Match Ratio – 9.03/1
Thank you to all of our providers and the valued sponsors and partners
that make these CSC programs a success!
There are still a few Summer Conservation Corps (SCC) Final Reports
that are being revised so I do not have final numbers yet. I will say,
however, the summer programs were extremely successful and the SCC
Corpsmember comments on the surveys have been good.
Just a heads-up……..OYCC Letters of Intent will be due before you know
it! Summer Conservation Corps Letters will be due January 16th and
Community Stewardship Corps Letters will be due January 23rd. All
programs that intend to apply for OYCC funding MUST submit a Letter of
Intent prior to writing a proposal. Please feel free to contact me if you have
any questions or concerns around this requirement.
Directors and Administrators of CSC programs, please save the date of
January 14th for the OYCC Coalition Meeting. Meeting time and location
will be announced soon.
That’s all I have for now. I hope that you all have a happy and peaceful
holiday season!
Office Administration Updates - Jennifer Kerr
As many of you know it has been our intent to make the surveys available
online for quite some time now. I am very happy and relieved to say that
all of the online surveys have been built and system testing will begin very
soon. Watch for information on how to access the surveys online.
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Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
Matching Activity
Match the following names to the letter that corresponds to their
job title.
Kathi Milem
___
Mike Milem
___
Sobeya Luque
___
Ryan Sparks
___
Bonnie Cunningham
___
Tim Wood
___
PattiAnn Monzie
___
Jim Straub
___
Pat Willis
___
A. New OYCC Advisory Committee Member
B. Team Leader
C. OYCC Advisory Committee Chair
D. Youth Award Winner
E. Teamwork facilitator
F. Oregon Parks and Recreation Director
G. Education Programs Director
H. Park Manager
I. New OYCC Advisory Committee Member
John Asher
Doug Denning
Jennifer Kerr
john.asher@state.or.us
douglas.denning@state.or.us
jennifer.kerr@state.or.us
Oregon Youth Conservation Corps
255 Capitol St. NE, Third Floor
Salem, OR 97310
503-378-8648
To unsubscribe/subscribe or questions contact
Jennifer Kerr
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