• 11 Era - May 30, 2012
COMMUNITV OPINION
Page 5
Seven's a good point to stop and take stock-
Seven is a big deal for a lot of
people.
In many cultures, seven is
considered a lucky number. In the
Bible. it is anumber that signifies
completeness and it appears in that
regard from the beginning to end.
In religions and cultures with roots
outside the Western world it's sig-
nificant.
It's also the number of years my
family's lived in Sweet Home and
been involved with The New Era.
Hard to believe, but it's true.
The big anniversary was actu-
ally April 1 but we've been so in-
volved in discussing various issues
on this page over the succeeding
weeks that I haven't been able to de-
vote space to reflecting on the real-
ity of it all.
Time does fly. It doesn't seem
that long ago that we rolled into
Sweet Home with a van full of our
stuff and committed ourselves to
running your local newspaper It's
been quite a ride.
Anniversaries are important, I
think, because they provide an op-
portunity to remember the process
and events that have gotten us to
where we are now. whether it be
a marriage or the founding of an
organization or institution, or the
number of years since we graduated
from school, or some other big date
in our lives.
So on that note. let me briefly
reflect on where we've been over
the last seven years here in Sweet
Home. I think it's particularly im-
portant to do so. given the tough
stretch our community has been
through in the last nine months: se-
rious financial problems, the arrests
of two teachers, a crime wave. the
burning of a historic school and the
Post Office in Cascadia, etc.
But here's the good news: A lot
of positive things have happened
and that's what I want to remember
right now. I said "briefly" above, but
the list is actually pretty tong. So
bear with me as I take a look.
SHARE: To me, the most sig-
nificant single thing that's happened
in Sweet Home since my arrival was
the establishment of SHARE - the
Sweet Home Active Revitalization
Effort.
It started in 2008 after, you
may recall, downtown renewal ex-
perts Pam Silbernagel of the Oregon
Cascade West Council of Govern-
ments and Vicki Dugger, executive
director of the Oregon Downtown
Association, gave us the back of
their hands in an analysis of Sweet
Home's business district, describ-
ing it as "'worn, blighted and un-
healthy."
Oh, and they passed us over
for a grant that would have given us
their assistance for a year of vork to
revitalize our downtown, awarding
the aid to Newport, Toledo, Leba-
non and Philomath.
Sweet Home's response has
been impressive because it got legs
and kept going. The community
took umbrage to Dugger's and Sil-
bemagel's analysis and local leaders
set up a meeting to come up with our
own plan of actiom More than 100
people showed up to brainstorm and
that led to two more meetings, each
with more attendees than the last.
What came out of that was
SHARE.
In four years SHARE, which
has become the economic develop-
ment ann for SHEDG (Sweet Home
Economic Development Group),
Notes From
The Newsroom
i
Scott
Swanson
Publisher
has used funds generated by the
Oregon Jamboree to issue grants to
downtown business owners (includ-
ing The New Era) to improve their
exteriors with new paint, new signs.
facades and more. The results are
significant.
It has also hired Brian Hoffman.
as economic development director.
The process of economic develop-
ment is generally a slow. deliberate
one. but if we look at .the merchan-
dising strategies being employed by
an increasing number of our down-
town stores, results are there.
To be honest, the one store I
remember that really stood out the
most seven years ago in ts efforts to
attract walk-in customers - sidewalk
signs, creative window displays,
come-on's - was Seamingly Cre-
ative, the quilting and sewing shop
in the 1200 block of Main Street.
Look at the 1100 and 1200
blocks of Main now. and Long Street
as well. Shops and restaurants are
more attractive, welcoming, with
creative displays, ambiance and
more marketing savvy.
Hoffman lS one of the reasons
that has happened and more will
happen. Business owners are realiz-
ing that he knows what he's talking
about and he can steer them toward
greater success.
So, despite the crummy eco-
nomic times we live in, Sweet
Home's business district is sig-
nificantly different than it was four
years ago, let alone seven.
We've still got a long way to go
to reach our potential as a bedroom
and tourism community strategical-
ly located in the kind of place people
without lakes and rivers and moun-
tains plan their vacations around,
but we've made a lot of progress
- on our own. I've often wondered
what Silbernagel and Dugger would
say now.
Volunteerism: Before I arrived
in Sweet Home to live and work, my
predecessor, Alex Paul,made sure I
understood the level of public com-
mitment to this community. I don't
think it would be an overstatement
to say that volunteerism is stronger
here than any other place I've ever
lived. When someone genuinely
needs help, help is usually on the
way.
The most recent classic re-
cent example is the house built a
few years ago for Dirrell Harper.
former Sweet Home High School
star athlete who is confined to a
wheelchair due to a physical condi-
tion and whose manufactured home
was damaged when a tree fell on it
during, a storm. Volunteers. led by
Mike Melcher and Ron Moore. used
the insurance money to build him a
new house, donating materials, time
and money.
Hundreds help out each year at
the Oregon Jamboree. which is what
makes that event run. The paid staff
are just there to make sure things
are ready for the volunteers, many
of them from right here in Sweet
Home, to ,step in and provide the
muscle.
Particularly in a recession, vol-
unteers keep things moving. Junia
Calhoon, supervisor at the Sweet
Home pool. offered to forego her
salary and work as a volunteer to
keep the pool open. Since that
wasn't legal, she worked on a life-
guard's salary.
Volunteers keep the Main Street
median looking fresh during the
tourist season. They clean up the
trash that other people thoughtlessly
toss onto our streets. They prepare
and serve supper to the needy sev-
eral nights a week at the Methodist
Church. The list is too long here to
go into any more specifics, but you
get the picture.
Outdoors: The Linn County
Parks and Recreation Department.
led by Brian Carroll. has had a very
positive impact on Sweet Home. for
which we are. and should be. thank-
ful. Things were going well when I
arrived, but in the last seven years
River Bend County Park was estab-
lished east of town. the county has
taken over management of the U.S.
Forest Service campgrounds along
Highway 20 and it has taken over
management of Clear Lake Resort.
where it has made significant im-
provements.
Oh. and the parks department
has become economically self-
supporting. Those are significant
things.
Good things happening in the
Sweet Home Ranger District too.
After a period of several years, dur-
ing which you sometimes almost
forgot the U.S. Forest Service was
even present in town. new District
Ranger Cindy Glick has arrived to
lead her staff into a more active role
in the the development of efforts to
increase tourism and use of the .for-
est resources east of Sweet Home.
She's also bringing the staff
back to a more active role in public
affairs, which will help communi-
cation and understanding between
the community and the agency Last
month, the Chamber of Commerce
held its monthly After Hours mixer
at the ranger station.
Sports: In a small town like
Sweet Home, sports - particularly
at the high school level - are impor-
tant. They provide an avenue for
community identity that few other
activities can.
In the last seven years, Sweet
Home has won more than 20 state
trophies (including eight team cham-
pionships), not to mention multiple
individual state titles, in track, wres-
tling, swimming, cross-country and
cheer.
Even if you're not a sports
fan. it's nice to see that local kids
are taking their God-given abilities
and doing something positive with
them. At last count, 14 ex-Huskies
have competed in sports at the col-
lege level this year and several
more are expected to join them by
next fall. Two. Dakotah Keys in the
decathlon, and Jayce Calhoon in
swimming, have qualified for the
Olympic Trials this year. "
Education: Other than the cre-
ation of Sweet Home Charter School
and the closing of Crawfordsville
School. there have not been mo-
mentous changes in local education.
Unfortunately, a lot of the changes
that have occurred haven't been that
great, thanks to the economy.
But one has: the GEAR-UP pro-
gram. While we're still in the tod-
dler stages with this thing, I've been
pretty impressed with the progress
that has been made in at least getting
kids to think about life beyond high
school and what their options are.
Exercise: When I arrived in
Sweet Home I wasn't the only run-
ner in town. but I was one of what
seemed to be a very few. Post-high
school, there seemed to be little in-
terest outside of a few die-hard mar-
athon-type.
Well, how things have changed.
It's amazing. Almost at all hours,
literally, I can't drive or run in town
without seeing someone out jog-
ging, usually m pairs or more.
I think much of the credit for
this goes to the existence and in-
fluence of Steelhead Strength and
Fitness gym, which opened fight
before we here at The New Era held
the first of two New Year weight
loss contests. Then. more recently,
the Elite Performance Academy has
opened, which has contributed fur-
ther.
Whether or not you're into it.
exercise is good for both body and
mind. and it's good for our com-
munity. You don't have to be rich to
run. We have regular teams training
and competing in the Hood to Coast
and Portland to Coast (high school)
relays, and people have just seized
the gauntlet and. literally, run with
it.
Cougars - Whoops, probably
don't want to go there. Suffice to
say they seem a lot more numerous
and "friendly" than they did seven
years ago.
So. having reflected on the
past. the natural next step is to think
ahead. If I'm still sitting at this desk
seven years from now. what would
I like to see then? Here are a few
thoughts:
• A bustling downtown full of
business people who are attuned to
what customers want and are com-
mitted to doing what it takes to be
successful, particularly offering
goods and services that work for
both residents and visitors.
• A steady flow of visitors who
come here and spend money here
because they enjoy the beauty our
area offers and they value the recep-
tion they get from local residents
and businesses.-who make them feel
welcome and who are committed to
serve them in a professional, friend-
ly manner.
• On a similar note, I think
it's imperative that the 380 acres of
land previously owned by Western
States Land Reliance Trust. which
was foreclosed at the end of 2010
by Linn County, be developed in a
manner that benefits the community
it's located in - Sweet Home.
That will likely include a va-
riety of uses - industrial, commer-
cial, recreational and maybe resi-
dential, although the property to the
east could still become the high-end
residential community its develop-
ers have dreamed of.
Black Butte benefitted Sis-
ters in many ways. These proper-
ties could make a big difference for
Sweet Home. Yes, they could spell
some changes for us. but if those
changes mean jobs and local pros-
perity, those are good changes.
• Jobs. Businesses. most of
them probably small, that produce
goods and services that are viable in
the community or outside, that aren't
entirely dependent on the whims of
legislators and judges who are easily
swayed by junk science and popular
thinking that runs contrary to what
the real needs are in rural, forested
communities such as ours.
• Forests. Intelligent manage-
.ment of the Willamette National
Forest- thinning of overgrown units
and the creation of liveable habitat
for wildlife such as deer and elk and
bears, whichare just as important as
spotted owls.
I'd like to see the forest man-
aged and governed by people who
understand it, or who understand the
value of listening to the folks who
work and recreate in it every day,
because they're the ones who really
understand what's going on there.
Judges, particularly those who re-
spond to the "Green" contingent
that seems to have figured out how
to make a living battling communi-
ties they don't even live in, don't
understand that.
• An even more active residen-
tial community - people who are in-
volved, who share their talents, who
are committed to making Sweet
Home a better place to live.
• Education. The efforts to
steer local kids to bigger and bet-
ter things should continue. College
isn't what it once was and it may
not be for everybody, but it still is
the door to success in many fields.
Taking kids. particularly those from
low-education, low-income backz
grounds, and helping them be pro-
ductive, successful people, is a plus
and if local efforts to do that pay off.
we all are richer.
• Character. There are many
people of exceptional character m
Sweet Home, but as I monitor the
activities of our local police offi-
cers, I realize that lack of such can
be a big problem. Local churches.
schools, clubs and individuals -
ideally, parents - can help develop
character in our youngsters, which
will benefit us all and make Sweet
Home an even better place to live
• II Editorial
From page 4
can provide to fund city operations
(or Fire and Ambulance District
or School District or Cemetery
District) appear to be dwindling.
That doesn't leave much room to
increase public expenditures.
This proposal really had
nothing to do with sending a
message to the community, as
some folks suggested. It had to do
with being frugal at a time when
resources are becoming scarce.
That scarcity isn't likely to go
away any time soon.
City employees need to face
the reality many other residents.
including- other local public
emplyees, live with daily: that
things are bad economically. The
assumption that the funding faucet
can simply be turned on to provide
wage increases at will is far from
the truth.
Yes, we believe that the
council did the fight thing in
honoring its commitment. But city
employees and their union leaders
need to consider, if things do not
improve economically in the near
future, whether they are spending
their political capital wisely in
.accepting raises while everyone
else is hurting.
