CSC's Charter School, Career Tech, has a WeatherBug station for Lincoln City and Career Tech. It's a good place to check out the weather before you head to the coast. Go to Weatherbug or you can get there from the Career Tech website too.
Friday, February 26, 2010
One Door Closed and Others Opened for Preschoolers in Lincoln County
Lincoln City, OR…When the door closed for the final time at Walt’s Hillside Honeytree Preschool in Lincoln City other doors opened for preschool programs in Lincoln County. One of those opening doors benefitted Community Services Consortium’s Lincoln County Head Start Program, thanks to the Honeytree School board members.Liz Young, president of the Walt’s Hillside Honeytree School Board, and fellow board members Mary Jane Munger and Robyn Myers were determined to use the money from the sale of the school building and property to reach as many children as possible. They chose to use the money for programs serving preschool aged children or early childhood programs.
“The board ruled that the money from the sale would go to a 501 (c)3 nonprofit,” said Liz Young. “We wanted to help as many children get preschool in Lincoln County as we could. We felt by splitting the money among programs, we reached more children in our Lincoln county communities.”
CSC’s Lincoln County Head Start was one of the programs to receive a donation. Suzanne Miller, Director of the CSC Lincoln County Head Start Program and Martha Lyon, Executive Director of CSC accepted a donation of $31,445 from the Honey Tree board members at a luncheon held February 18th in Lincoln City.
“Thank you to Walt’s Hillside Honeytree School Board for the generous contribution of $31,445 to help support the classrooms of Head Start, Lincoln County,” said Susanne Miller. “We are grateful for this appreciation of the work that Head Start does to assist children and families in our county to better prepare for their successful futures. We can only succeed with this kind of patronage from our community partners. From the hearts of our children and families, we send our deepest gratitude.”
Head Start is a national program which provides comprehensive developmental services for America's low-income, pre-school children ages three to five and social services for their families. The child focused programs are aimed at increasing the school readiness of young children. Head Start provides services in the areas of education and early childhood development; medical, dental, and mental health; nutrition; and parent involvement.
CSC Head Start of Lincoln County serves 160 children and their families in Toledo, Lincoln City and Newport. For more information, please call Toledo: 336-5113, Lincoln City: 996-3028, or Newport: 574-7690.
CSC Weatherization Training Program Spring Schedule
CSC Weatherization Training Center is located at240 SW Washington ST, Corvallis, OR 97333
CSCWxTraining@Communityservices.us
Course: Lane Community College: Weatherization/Energy Auditor Lab (closed enrollment)
Cost: Contracted Sessions: February 11, 12, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 & March 1, 2, & 3, 2010
Customized training includes full use of training facility, limited field work and 2 Weatherization Training Staff each day. 2 cohorts of 14 students will be served for a total of 28 students.
Course: Performance Tested Comfort Systems PTCS – Duct Sealing Certification
Cost: $450 Session: March 8-10, 2010 (open enrollment)
Description: The PTCS Duct Seal training class covers several aspects of the PTCS program including:
• Pressure diagnostics in the building to identify leakage to the outside
• The use of testing equipment like the duct blaster, blower door, and manometer
• Proper techniques for securing and sealing ductwork, including mechanical fastening, Panduit straps, and the use of mastic.
• Program specific requirements to qualify for utility incentives and tax credits
Technicians who successfully complete the course will become PTCS Certified and will be eligible to participate in various regional programs sponsored by Bonneville Power Administration, Energy Trust of Oregon, local utilities, and the Oregon Dept of Energy. For more information visit www.ptcsnw.com
Course: BPI – Building Analyst & Resnet HERS Testing Certifications (closed enrollment)
Cost: Contracted Session: March 15-19, 2010
Customized training for local contractor and in-service training for CSC Weatherization Trainers.
Course: BPI – Building Analyst & Envelope Professional Dual Certification Class (open enrollment)
Cost: $4,250 Session: March 22nd-April 9th
Description: Building Performance Institute (BPI) certification is the nationally approved training standard of the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® Program of the US Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (DOE and EPA). Locally, the Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) is a participant in the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® program.
Building Analyst Professional – course content:
• Fundamentals of Building Science • BPI Standards and Project Specifications
• Fundamentals of Buildings and their Systems • Analyzing Building Systems
• Measurement and Verification of Building • Professional Ethics, Conduct & Communications Performance
Envelope Professional – course content:
• Building Science (Intermediate) • BPI Standards and Project Specifications
• Envelope Systems and their interactions with (Intermediate)
other Systems • Optimizing Envelopes and their interactions
• Measurement and Verification of Building with Building Systems
Performance (Intermediate) • Professional Ethics, Conduct & Communications
Course: Pre-apprenticeship Program with Corvallis School District (closed enrollment)
Cost: NA Session: April 19-23, 2010
Customized one-week introduction to weatherization and green jobs with the Corvallis School District.
To request additional information or to register for any open enrolment class, please email CSCWxTraining@Communityservices.us.
Scholarships & Tuition Waivers are available to WorkSource Oregon participants who are registered with Community Services Consortium.
Learning exchange: Newport Head Start demonstrates to Taiwanese
The article, written by Newport NewsTimes reporter Monique Cohen, originally appeared in the February 10, 2010, edition.
A group of 14 exchange students and faculty from Fu-Jen Catholic University in Taiwan recently visited the Community Services Consortium Head Start center in Newport as part of their two-week studies while at Oregon State University.
OSU Associate Professor Sharon Rosenkoetter, who teaches in the Human Development and Family Sciences department, accompanied the group. Rosenkoetter also directs the Study Abroad in Taiwan Program, which gives OSU students an opportunity to take classes while living in Taiwan and learning more about their culture over a 10-week program.
Suzanne Miller, CSC Head Start director, and Jan Morden, education, disabilities, mental health coordinator, gave students a tour of the building and grounds before everyone gathered together to learn about Head Start. Taiwan doesn’t have a program similar to Head Start, so the visiting group was eager to learn more and had plenty of questions. Miller explained that the Head Start program is more than 40 years old and is for 3 to 4-year-old children from low-income households. She stressed that Head Start isn’t a preschool or a daycare.
“The heart of Head Start is holistic. We’re really taking care of the whole child. This isn’t just a school. School is one part, but we also take care of the social and emotional needs of the child,” she said. Head Start currently operates eight classes in three Lincoln County locations, Newport, Toledo and Lincoln City. Children attend class three days a week, and an average classroom size is about 20 students. Every aspect of the child’s needs are evaluated. “We make sure they have dental screenings and health screenings, and we do hearing and vision tests,” Miller said.
“However, I think what is also key is the parental involvement. We really involve the parents.” Each month parents attend meetings, and they are involved in the policy council - one of Head Start’s governing bodies - so they have a say in hiring and changes to the program. Head Start teacher advocates visit parents and the children during monthly home visits. Morden said Head Start also works with special needs students, and part of her job is to make sure the children receive the services they require. Head Start is federally funded and also receives state government grants. This year, CSC Head Start received government stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which it is using to help with staff training and new educational requirements for teachers.
Miller shared with the students the results of long-term studies of Head Start that children from the program have increased high school graduation rates, fewer grade repetitions and better emotional development. It also helps move families out of poverty.
One student asked Miller about the future of Head Start and whether she saw the program growing. “I think because the forecast is kind of gloomy for the near future, financially, it means that more families are going to need Head Start’s kind of help,” said Miller. “Right now, we really want to serve more of Lincoln County. For us to get the word out there is so important to let families know we’re here. We’re helping lift those families and those children up so they can become partners with others in building a better world.”
CSC Head Start is currently recruiting new students for next year. Contact any CSC Head Start location for an application.
A group of 14 exchange students and faculty from Fu-Jen Catholic University in Taiwan recently visited the Community Services Consortium Head Start center in Newport as part of their two-week studies while at Oregon State University.
OSU Associate Professor Sharon Rosenkoetter, who teaches in the Human Development and Family Sciences department, accompanied the group. Rosenkoetter also directs the Study Abroad in Taiwan Program, which gives OSU students an opportunity to take classes while living in Taiwan and learning more about their culture over a 10-week program.
Suzanne Miller, CSC Head Start director, and Jan Morden, education, disabilities, mental health coordinator, gave students a tour of the building and grounds before everyone gathered together to learn about Head Start. Taiwan doesn’t have a program similar to Head Start, so the visiting group was eager to learn more and had plenty of questions. Miller explained that the Head Start program is more than 40 years old and is for 3 to 4-year-old children from low-income households. She stressed that Head Start isn’t a preschool or a daycare.
“The heart of Head Start is holistic. We’re really taking care of the whole child. This isn’t just a school. School is one part, but we also take care of the social and emotional needs of the child,” she said. Head Start currently operates eight classes in three Lincoln County locations, Newport, Toledo and Lincoln City. Children attend class three days a week, and an average classroom size is about 20 students. Every aspect of the child’s needs are evaluated. “We make sure they have dental screenings and health screenings, and we do hearing and vision tests,” Miller said.
“However, I think what is also key is the parental involvement. We really involve the parents.” Each month parents attend meetings, and they are involved in the policy council - one of Head Start’s governing bodies - so they have a say in hiring and changes to the program. Head Start teacher advocates visit parents and the children during monthly home visits. Morden said Head Start also works with special needs students, and part of her job is to make sure the children receive the services they require. Head Start is federally funded and also receives state government grants. This year, CSC Head Start received government stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which it is using to help with staff training and new educational requirements for teachers.
Miller shared with the students the results of long-term studies of Head Start that children from the program have increased high school graduation rates, fewer grade repetitions and better emotional development. It also helps move families out of poverty.
One student asked Miller about the future of Head Start and whether she saw the program growing. “I think because the forecast is kind of gloomy for the near future, financially, it means that more families are going to need Head Start’s kind of help,” said Miller. “Right now, we really want to serve more of Lincoln County. For us to get the word out there is so important to let families know we’re here. We’re helping lift those families and those children up so they can become partners with others in building a better world.”
CSC Head Start is currently recruiting new students for next year. Contact any CSC Head Start location for an application.
Paring energy costs through efficiency
This article, written by Steve Lathrop of the Albany Democrat-Herald, was published Monday, February 22, 2010.
Stephanie Green and Paul Deatherage are on the move a lot. They might be in Lincoln County one day, in east Linn County the next, and back in Benton County the day after.
Green and Deatherage provide low-income families in all three counties with what is becoming popular money-saving information. Through the Community Services Consortium’s Emergency Services Department, they are educating families on energy efficiency.
“It’s a money-saving perspective that we take,” says Green, the energy education coordinator. “We point out the environmental advantages, but our emphasis is to help people cut costs.”
Green, in her first year with the CSC, is taking the lead on a new program that she says is off to a good start.
She conducts free Energy Conservation Workshops at CSC sites in Albany, Lebanon, Corvallis and Newport, pointing out ways families can lower their energy expenses. “It’s new, but it’s busy. I had 140 people in January workshops,” Green said. “I do three or four workshops at each site every month.”
About 20 people are on hand each session. Most come to the workshops through referrals from the CSC’s Energy Assistance Office. That was the case with Cheri Staker of Albany.
“I knew I needed to get some weatherization and I was sent here. I think it’s going to show me the right way to do things,” Staker said.
Workshops help speed up a process that used to feature one home visit at a time for on-side audits and to provide instruction.
Deatherage still conducts the free home visits and remains busy, but some of the pressure has been lifted because of the workshops.
“The addition of the workshops along with the audit allows us to reach more people,” he said. “I’m able to get the information to those who can’t get to workshops ... the elderly and disabled.” He is able to handle three visits a day, and inspections provide a thorough energy-efficiency analysis.
Workshops include a free kit with energy-saving materials to help attendees get jump-started. Kits include caulk and a caulking gun, spray foam, energy-efficient light bulbs, and thermometers to measure water and refrigerator temperatures.
Home inspections, which are available to workshop participants as well, offer additional weatherization materials. “I have more materials in my truck that are more custom to the clients' needs,” Deatherage said. “And if they need help installing the materials, I can offer that as well.”
Homeowners who have taken the workshop or had an audit can usually qualify for CSC’s free weatherization program, which brings an in-house crew to completely weatherize a home. Funding for the job costs comes from federal and state grants.
Stephanie Green and Paul Deatherage are on the move a lot. They might be in Lincoln County one day, in east Linn County the next, and back in Benton County the day after.
Green and Deatherage provide low-income families in all three counties with what is becoming popular money-saving information. Through the Community Services Consortium’s Emergency Services Department, they are educating families on energy efficiency.
“It’s a money-saving perspective that we take,” says Green, the energy education coordinator. “We point out the environmental advantages, but our emphasis is to help people cut costs.”
Green, in her first year with the CSC, is taking the lead on a new program that she says is off to a good start.
She conducts free Energy Conservation Workshops at CSC sites in Albany, Lebanon, Corvallis and Newport, pointing out ways families can lower their energy expenses. “It’s new, but it’s busy. I had 140 people in January workshops,” Green said. “I do three or four workshops at each site every month.”
About 20 people are on hand each session. Most come to the workshops through referrals from the CSC’s Energy Assistance Office. That was the case with Cheri Staker of Albany.
“I knew I needed to get some weatherization and I was sent here. I think it’s going to show me the right way to do things,” Staker said.
Workshops help speed up a process that used to feature one home visit at a time for on-side audits and to provide instruction.
Deatherage still conducts the free home visits and remains busy, but some of the pressure has been lifted because of the workshops.
“The addition of the workshops along with the audit allows us to reach more people,” he said. “I’m able to get the information to those who can’t get to workshops ... the elderly and disabled.” He is able to handle three visits a day, and inspections provide a thorough energy-efficiency analysis.
Workshops include a free kit with energy-saving materials to help attendees get jump-started. Kits include caulk and a caulking gun, spray foam, energy-efficient light bulbs, and thermometers to measure water and refrigerator temperatures.
Home inspections, which are available to workshop participants as well, offer additional weatherization materials. “I have more materials in my truck that are more custom to the clients' needs,” Deatherage said. “And if they need help installing the materials, I can offer that as well.”
Homeowners who have taken the workshop or had an audit can usually qualify for CSC’s free weatherization program, which brings an in-house crew to completely weatherize a home. Funding for the job costs comes from federal and state grants.
2010 Legislative Accomplishments for Head Start
"Children are the most worthwhile assets in which Oregon can invest. When the private and the public sectors work in tandem to ensure every young person has the opportunity to thrive, our state will see a high return on our investment. My colleagues and I in the Legislature affirmed this value this month by funding $1 million in new money for the Early Head Start program, while protecting Head Start from any budget cuts through the 2009-2011 biennium.
Without the tremendous and invaluable assistance Head Start and Family Stepping Stones provide, Oregon’s youth would surely suffer. One of the foremost responsibilities of government is to maintain the best services and support possible for the next generation.
As a father and a legislator, I know first-hand the wonderful progress that can be made when a child’s potential, which may begin as a mere whisper, is supported and cultivated until it becomes a great roar. We must invest in the future, and we must invest in our children. We have done just that during the 2010 Legislative Session, and our success today is a stepping stone on the path to developing tomorrow’s leaders.
It is an honor to represent you in the Oregon House of Representatives."
Managing a Successful Volunteer Program
Are you a volunteer coordinator, volunteer program manager, or someone who recruits or works with volunteers? Do you want to increase the effectiveness of your program’s use of volunteers? Would you like to recruit and retain quality volunteers, and motivate them to excel? LBvision Volunteer Center, a part of CSC's RSVP program, offers this training series at minimal cost, as a service to our local nonprofits.A 10-week course in professional development for nonprofit staff that
work directly with volunteers. This course is offered by LBvision Volunteer Center, a program of CSC’s RSVP Program.
Training will focus on strategies to build competence in volunteer management. Session Topics
4/1: Advocating for Your Volunteer Program: Erin Barnhart, Volunteer Initiatives, Idealist.org- Portland, Director
4/8: Designing Volunteer Positions & Volunteer Motivation: Tifani Erpelding, AmeriCorps *VISTA Program Coordinator, CSC
4/15: Recruitment: Beth Fox, RSVP/LBvision Director, CSC
4/22: Interviewing Volunteers: Tifani Erpelding, AmeriCorps *VISTA Program Coordinator, CSC
4/29: Training Volunteers & Risk Management: Tifani Erpelding, AmeriCorps *VISTA Program Coordinator, CSC
5/6: Volunteer Retention & Recognition: Beth Fox, RSVP/LBvision Director, CSC
5/13: Supervision & Delegation: Deb Curtis, Corvallis Parks and Recreation, Youth Volunteer Corps Program Director
5/20: Mutual Performance Reviews/Handling Performance Problems: Glenis Chapin, Marion County Volunteer Services Coordinator
5/27: Program Evaluation: Glenis Chapin, Marion County Volunteer Services Coordinator
6/3: Latest Topics in Volunteer Management : Social Networking,
Marketing your program and more: Kate Budd, Volunteerism Program Coordinator, Oregon Volunteers
Workshop Series Fee: $75 for 10 sessions; LBvision members receive discount $20 for 10 sessions
Dates: Every Thursday, April 1st through June 3rd Time: 1pm - 3pm
CSC Conference Room at Two Rivers Market, 250 Broadalbin SW, Albany, OR 97321
Registration Deadline: Mail check to LBvision by March 25, 2010
For information call: (541) 812-0849
Contact RSVP at:
Linn Office: 250 Broadalbin SW, Ste. 2A Albany, OR 541-812-0849
Benton Office: 545 SW 2nd Street, Ste. A, Corvallis, OR 541-753-9197
Sponsored by Community Services Consortium, RSVP has operated locally for over 30 years as a nonprofit volunteer resource.
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