Category: 2018

In the fall of 2014, a group of citizens came together in Roseburg around a common mission: To improve quality of life for Douglas County residents while saving them money by catalyzing a shift to renewable energy and energy conservation.

Douglas County Smart Energy was formed, and two years later, they took a uniquely Oregon opportunity to boost their impact by participating in a program called Resource Assistance for Rural Environments. Each year, the RARE Program places thirty Americorps participants in rural communities around Oregon for a one-year period to coordinate a variety of collaborative community service projects.

RARE is how I landed in Roseburg from my former home of Hood River, and my one year of service is now wrapping up. I have had an incredible time working with Douglas County Smart Energy, coordinating renewable energy projects and promoting energy efficiency. With just a few weeks left, I am reflecting on the successes I’ve helped create and the remarkable people I’ve gotten to work with. Here are the top projects I got to work on:

• Coordinating the submission of four grant proposals to place solar arrays on the buildings of community groups serving low-to-moderate income residents. Two of these grant proposals were to the Pacific Power Blue Sky Foundation, the fund made possible by contributions of Pacific Power rate payers. We won’t know for a couple more months if these projects will be fully funded, but we are feeling very encouraged by the fact that we recently received partial funding for one of them.
• Supporting the development of an additional four solar projects for nonprofits in the county that will serve the low-to-moderate income population as a member of the statewide Sunshot Solar in Your Community team, coordinated by Sustainable Northwest.
• Helping pave the path for more funding options for medium-to-large solar projects in Douglas County by making it easier for nonprofits, local governments, churches and other groups to take advantage of the federal investment tax credit, which can reduce project costs by 30 percent.
• Participating in the submission of a grant to get four new electric vehicle charging stations in Roseburg.
• Creating a plan to promote energy efficiency awareness that targets multiple sectors, including contractors, home builders, realtors, county and city staff and officials, K-12 students, and the general public.
• Conducting outreach to twenty Douglas County school districts to get out the word about Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s solar curriculum program, Renewable Energy Leadership Lab.
• Developing a list of Douglas County energy efficiency success stories of people who went the extra mile and built very energy efficient homes, discovering along the way how quickly the investment paid for itself.
• I am in the midst of my last RARE project, surveying realtors and contractors to help DC Smart Energy better understand how to promote energy efficient construction. With buildings being responsible for approximately 40 percent of all energy consumption in the United States, and there being many tried and true (and cost effective) methods for constructing buildings that consume a fraction of the energy of buildings built to code, there is plenty of room for leaders in Douglas County to make a difference. This survey should help us better understand opportunities in the building industry in Douglas County, and potentially bring relevant training to the county.

At this point I haven’t decided what I’m doing next, but I’m finishing up my RARE year with immense gratitude for getting to work on such fun projects with such fantastic people. I’ve gotten to do work I care deeply about, and have discovered passion for a new career path I plan to pursue.

To those of you in Douglas County Smart Energy and others who helped make this possible, thank you, and keep up the excellent work.

Sander Lazar is a RARE volunteer working with DC Smart Energy and UCAN as the Renewable Energy Coordinator. For more information on energy efficiency and renewable energy, visit dcsmartenergy.org, or on Facebook by searching DCSmartEnergy.

Originally published in The News-Review

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. — Jared Sidman says it didn’t take long for him to fall for the charms of Cottage Grove.

“So we’re full of beautiful murals; we’ve got covered bridges around town that we’re known for,” said Sidman.

The native of Philadelphia is the new full-time coordinator for Cottage Grove’s Main Street program.

Only a few months ago, Sidman was wrapping up a two year assignment in Micronesia, for the Peace Corps.

“So I was actually on a one square mile island with just a few hundred people, doing some teaching in the schools,” said Sidman.

And doing projects to boost tourism. Now, Sidman wants to see what he can do in Cottage Grove.

“So I’m trying to translate that to here,” said Sidman. “We don’t want to overflow our streets but we want people to come and enjoy this place.”

Sidman acts as a Liason Officer between city hall and downtown business owners.

Business owners, such as Candace Solesbee, is getting ready for a downtown infrastructure face-lift called, the Main St. Revitalization project.

“It’s a pretty big deal down here,,” said Solesbee. “It’s going to help us even out our roads because we’ve got a real “barrel” in our roads–so it will be great for the citizens here.”

Yet-to-be-finalized projects may include new sidewalks, more downtown lighting and other elements if funds from a $10 million state grant are approved. Sidman also dreams of funds to erect some billboards and attract more people downtown. in short, he’s bullish on the town’s future.

Originally published on NBC 16

Coburg, Oregon continues to hold its place in the heart of the South Willamette Valley despite its proximity to the Eugene area. In large part this can be attributed to its small-town appeal including Coburg’s National Historic District of vintage style homes with architecture dating back to the 1800s. Coburg’s agrarian flair has been established through cultivated connections to surrounding farming communities, long stretches of country roads and backdrop of the Coburg Hills. The well -preserved homes of varying styles include cottages, barns and bungalows which recall over 150 years of Coburg history. Coburg residents’ value their small-town charm and are fervent to sustain preservation of these assets. During 2017 the community completed its Visioning project with Rural Development Initiatives identifying historic character as a substantial priority to retain and build upon in the years to come.

Coburg’s Heritage Committee continues to play an important role in advancing projects that aim to inspire community involvement. One such project was Coburg Community Historic Art Contest which culminated in Coburg’s first Art Show this past May. The art show displayed depictions of historic structures in Coburg as a means to spotlight local artists and historic buildings. Other projects including an updated Historic Walking Tour Brochure and Colorful Coburg Coloring Book. The Colorful Coburg Coloring book printed through 2018 Certified Local Government (CLG) Grant funds includes depictions of historic homes and architecture included in our Coburg Historic Walking Tour Brochure. Through a partnership with local business owner and active community member Terry Dawson, the Coburg Coloring Book was reproduced from a previous edition dating back to the 1980s. The Coloring Book will be available throughout the holiday season to engage more youth interest in historic preservation. Through these projects, we wish to promote creative expression for future generations as we maintain and enrich ties to our past.

Written by: Emma Vallillo, Community Development Project Manager, RARE AmeriCorps Member for City of Coburg

Originally published on the Oregon Heritage Exchange

People flocked into the Roseburg Public Library on Thursday as soon as the doors opened for the first time in more than a year and a half.

Giddy community members of all ages looked through the stacks and applied for new library cards as volunteers welcomed people for the soft opening at 1 p.m.

It marks the beginning of regular hours for the new city library after voters decided to end funding for the county library system in 2016. The library and its new partners, the Douglas Education Service District, will hold a grand opening on Jan. 10.

A half hour after the doors opened, more than 140 people had purchased books at a book sale in the Ford Family Room, according to Marcy Belzner, a volunteer with Friends of the Library.

“It’s so exciting,” Belzner said. “I’ve nearly been in tears all day. This is what book hunger looks like.”

Belzner said she was overwhelmed by the number of people browsing through the books for sale, which volunteers weeded out of the library’s old collection in preparation for the reopening.

Construction of new meeting rooms and offices for ESD staff moving to the new shared location reduced the space for the library. Belzner said volunteers maintained two-thirds of the original book collection even though the library is one-third of the original space.

The book sale will continue every day until the end of January during regular hours. Hardbacks and large paperbacks cost 50 cents and small paperbacks and children’s books cost 25 cents. The money will go toward adding books to the collection and funding new library programs.

Fifteen-year-old South Umpqua High School student Kaana Fye held a stack of books nearly up to her chin. She planned to buy what she could carry and come back for more.

“You can never have too many books,” Fye said. “Half of these I’ve never seen before. And if you think about it, when you learn something from them, guess what, that’s more knowledge that you don’t have to pay for later.”

Fye wasn’t particularly excited for any one of her new books, she was excited for them all, she said.

While the book sale stayed busy hours after the doors first opened, people in the main area lined up to register new library cards and check out books. Kids used crayons in Oregon Cultural Trust coloring books set out on the tables in the Deer Creek room. Teens logged onto computers in the new young adult area — an age-specific space that the old library lacked.

Myrtle Creek resident Alvin Helgeson flipped through “Scared to Live” by Stephen Booth as he stood between the stacks. He said he had no problem paying the annual $60 library card fee for non-Roseburg residents. The fee became controversial leading up to the library reopening because all county residents used to be able to become members for free.

“I read quite a few English mysteries,” Helgeson said. “It has cost me a fortune since the library closed because I’ve had to buy the books. So I’m glad to see the library open again.”

He said he used to come to the library once a week before it closed. He hopes the collection expands, but he thinks the lack of countywide funding may impede the library’s ability to get new books from his favorite authors such as Booth. While he’s happy the library is open, he will miss the days when all the libraries in the county — many of which have already reopened — could trade books within the common collection.

Some parts of the facility, such as the children’s library, aren’t open yet, and many Roseburg Library Commission projects are still ongoing. The commission will continue to assess potential book trading systems with other local libraries, according to Library Director Kris Wiley.

The commission is also trying to establish a donation system that will allow low-income people living outside of Roseburg to apply for a library card for free, said Adrienne Groves, an AmeriCorps participant with the city who has been working with the commission. People who use the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would be able to qualify for a free library card.

“We’ve just had so many people in the community who said they wanted to donate to help people get cards,” Groves said.

The grand opening of the library on Jan. 10 will feature performances from ventriloquist Steve Chaney and the Jo Lane Middle School Jazz Band.

Regular hours are 1 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Originally published in the News-Review

COOS COUNTY — In a presentation last week to Coos County Commissioners, the Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative discussed the importance of preserving the dunes and restoring its lands.

ODRC outreach coordinator Jeff Malik informed commissioners of the work the group has been doing over the last year and cluing them in on its progress. Since 1941, about 65 percent of the dunes have been lost, he said.

The group’s monitoring committee, which inspects aerial records from the USDA Forest Service, has noticed slowly over time invasive plant species such as European beach grass and Scotch Broom has taken over much of the open sands of the dunes.

“A lot of groups and community members with very different viewpoints realized that these invasive grasses could really threaten the dunes,” Malik said. “So, in 2014 the Siuslaw National Forest convened the ODRC to work with other organizations and interested parties to protect and preserve the dunes.”

Since then, the group has hosted numerous volunteer work days, which gathers crews from various locations throughout Oregon to pull and remove invasive species from the dunes.

This year, approximately 18 work days took place with hundreds of volunteers aiding in clearing areas. The Bull Run OHV Trail near North Bend was among one of the locations which received a work crew.

“We’ve gotten a lot of support from the OHV/ATV community as well as a number of elected officials and environmental groups,” Malik said. “The biggest help we’ve gotten in Coos County has come from ATV groups including the Save the Riders Dunes in North Bend, who were a big part of our project on Bull Run.”

According to the presentation, the dunes could be lost in less than 100 years if action isn’t taken. The group focuses on maintaining various sites throughout the dunes which need improvement, raising awareness through various outreach campaigns and protecting existing area where dunes are healthy and thriving.

“The dunes shouldn’t only be sand,” Malik said. “There are naturally little pockets of wetlands, native plants and natural tree islands scattered about. But, what we are seeing are these invasive beach grasses turning everything into some uniform scrubby grass land.”

The dunes, which stretch from the California/Oregon border to the Columbia River, feature a unique ecosystem with over 400 species of wildlife, said Malik. The group focuses the section of the dunes which stretches from Coos Bay to Florence. In addition to the organized work days, the Forest Service has also begun bulldozing larger areas to remove beach grass followed by performing controlled burns or herbicide treatments.

Last year, Malik said the group received a letter of support from the Coos County Commissioners in its efforts to secure a grant from Travel Oregon. The group was awarded the grant, which provided funds for a range of outreach materials including informational brochures and posters.

“This was our first time in Coos County doing an outreach presentation,” Malik said. “We want to continue coming here and strengthening our partnerships.”

Along with the effects to wildlife and its habitat, Malik pointed out to commissioners the potential impact the loss of the dunes could have on tourism to the area. In Coos County, about $270 million was spent by visitors to the area in 2017. The dunes he pointed out were a big attraction to tourists engaging in recreational activities and contributing to the local economy.

On June 6, the ODRC will present a lecture on the dunes and its disappearing landscape at the Coos History Museum in its Sprague Gallery in Coos Bay. Sometime in the spring, the group is planning on hosting a volunteer recruitment event in Coos County, but has not confirmed a date.

“If we’re unable to save the dunes then we’ll lose acres of natural habitat, wildlife and economic benefits,” Malik said. “I hope that we could start some volunteer activities down here as a way to help the cause and preserve our dunes.”

Originally published in the World