Barrel to Keg Relay Race a Success

A team member of the “Beer-ded Ladies” team takes off from the 8th leg of the relay. The ladies all ran in tu-tus and were a team of 4, which means they each ran three legs of the race.

The Barrel to Keg Relay Race held July 23rd was a great success. Forty-six teams finished the 69 mile-race from Harris Bridge Winery near Philomath to Rogue Ale brewery in Newport

The relay race raised funds for Community Services Consortium, the Community Action Agency for Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties.

Martha Lyon, Executive Director of Community Services Consortium was on hand at the finish of the race to congratulate the teams on completing the race. “You are finishing a race here today,” she said, “but you are also helping us finish a race to end poverty and homelessness in our communities.”

Clay Martin, Director of CSC Workforce & Education and his staff put together the relay race to raise money to address the root causes of poverty and homelessness in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. He congratulated all the teams and CSC’s own running team who finished 7th overall. “I especially want to thank the many volunteers from local communities and across the state who helped all along the route, with a special thank you to Mark Barrett, race event director, Dee Teem and Danielle Bryant, CSC staff who put our plans into action.”

This is how the teams finished: Besides the eight team divisions represented at this year's event, two individuals ran the entire distance solo.

Top teams in each category, with total finish time and average per-mile pace:

Open 6-person
1. We Got the Runs, 7:21:30, 6:24
Open 4-person
1. Coast Hills Bootleggers, 8:47:43, 7:39
Open 2-person
1. Go Baby, 9:38:58, 8:24
Women's open 6-person
1. RunOregon Blog, 10:22:14, 9:02
Women's masters 6-person
1. Lunachicks, 13:53:01, 12:05
Women's masters 4-person
1. Down the Other, 12:15:56, 10:40
Men's masters 6-person
1. The Final Leg, 10:13:53, 8:54
Coed master's 6-person
1. Rebecca's Mighty Muffins, 10:49:47, 9:26
And the solo runners:
1. Moe Codino of Portland, 11:59:23, 10:26
2. John Liebeskind of Corvallis, 13:21:24, 11:37

Experience Culinary Delights at the Bite of Benton

Come celebrate Benton County’s culinary delights at the 2011 Bite of Benton!

August 27th,2011

location:
Central Park
6th & Monroe & 8th & Madison
Corvallis, Oregon 97330
541-757-1505

time: 4:00 pm
features: A fundraiser for Community Services Consortium's Linn Benton Food Share program! price: $10 parking: Street Parking great attraction for: Families

Local restaurants, wineries, breweries, and food producers will be showcased in this premiere event that will be a gourmet’s delight. In addition to exploring the multitude of booths offering “bites and tastes” of locally created delicacies, attendees will enjoy local entertainment.

Don’t miss your opportunity to savor the tantalizing flavors of the Willamette Valley and enjoy delicious foods, regional wines and beers, music, demonstrations and more. Tickets are now available.

Kids Day for Conservation

It’s time for the ninth annual Kids Day for Conservation (KDC) which will be held on Saturday, October 1st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Benton County Fairgrounds Arena building.

Kids Day for Conservation is put on by over 40 organizations, agencies, and businesses that offer a variety of hands-on natural resource activities suitable for children of all ages. The event is free and open to the public. KDC has been designed to educate and encourage youth to take action for conservation in their community.

Participants will have the opportunity to hold a snake, join the animal parade, learn about recycling, and build a bird house. They can also create recycled art, hear fish tales, and discover the wonders of wetlands. Families can explore energy sources including wind turbines and solar panels and learn how to conserve energy and water. Visit CSC's booth and learn about Energy Education!
Last year over 1800 youth and adults participated in KDC. Attendees said, “It was a great event for kids and adults!” and “It was hard to get my kids to leave, we will definitely come back next year.”

This event will be held rain or shine and there is sure to be exciting and interesting activities for you and your family! A variety of food and drink will be available for purchase.

For more information about Kids Day, call the OSU Extension Office at 541-766-6750.

Supports Work Training

Cameron A. Blagg III sent the following letter to the Editor of the Democrat Herald, it was printed July 13th. (posted here with permission of the author)

I have personally seen the change in a worker when he or she gets specialized training; their stature, self-confidence and feeling of accomplishment is apparent when receiving a certification after studying a subject and passing their test.

In today’s tough economy workforce training is what will help put Oregonians back to work. Please let your legislator know the importance of our local Linn-Benton-Lincoln Workforce Investment Board.

If you are not familiar with this group of dedicated local leaders and their partners (Community Services Consortium and Oregon Employment Department) visit www.region4wib.org to get a sense of how they work to help educate our workforce in an effort to grow our local economy and provide jobs.

Workforce development is the answer for many Oregonians. Read how it works on the WIB site and if you agree use the links on the home page to support investment in our local workers and their training programs.

Cameron A. Blagg III, Albany (July 8)

Beware the wolves of foreclosure

Editorial from the Corvallis Gazette-Times, Tuesday, July 12.
Posted with permission from the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Successful scam artists push our most vulnerable buttons, so it's no surprise that the foreclosure crisis (which continues to play out in Oregon) has spawned a new breed of confidence game.

As people threatened with the loss of their homes search for any solution, they sometimes are tempted to turn to bogus counseling services that charge big bucks for advice that may turn out to be worthless.

It is, of course, a long-running trait of con artists that they play on our deepest fears - and these days, those don't come much deeper than the fear that we might lose our homes.

Fortunately, this is a scam that's relatively easy to see through.
The mid-valley has two nonprofit agencies that have been approved by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to offer counseling to people who are facing foreclosure. Here's the deal: They never charge for their services.
In other words, if you're dealing with a counseling service that wants to slap you with a big bill, better take another look. A much closer look.

You'll be better off with one of these two agencies:
- Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services, 541-752-7220. Ask for Kym O'Hare.
- Community Services Consortium, 541-758-2630. Ask for Jon Polansky.

Both of these agencies provide free (there's that word again, "free") information and advice to homeowners on ways to avoid foreclosure - and the best current estimate is that some 700 housing units in Linn and Benton counties, and 23,000 across Oregon, are in some stage of the foreclosure process.
The agencies also can communicate directly with your loan servicer to try to work out a mutually agreeable solution.

But don't wait until it's too late: As soon as you realize that you might fall behind on your payments, you should contact your mortgage servicer to see if you qualify for a modification or some other loan arrangement.
And beware of the wolves that come circling around your door, bearing offers that seem too good to be true. It's still the best advice for staying out of the clutches of scam artists: If it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

CSC Lincoln County Head Start enrolling now. Recruiting teaching staff.

Angelina Felix and Jo Le Doux, Head Start teachers are making a pinata for the children.

Community Services Consortium(CSC) Head Start has provided children in Lincoln County with comprehensive child development services, targeting early childhood education through its outstanding school readiness program.

Research clearly demonstrates that early childhood experiences and relationships establish the foundation for all future development.

“We strive to give all children an optimal start in life with opportunities for a bright and positive future and understand that parents are children’s first and most important teacher,” said Suzanne Miller, CSC Lincoln County Head Start Director. “Our children are prepared to enter kindergarten and meet the challenges of grammar school. We provide educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to children and families. Working with community partners and Community Services Consortium, we offer resources and referrals to best meet the individual needs of our children and families.”

CSC Head Start is recruiting qualified teachers, teaching assistants; and classroom aides. English/Spanish bilingual applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. If you enjoy working with a team, educating and nurturing active preschoolers and continuing your professional development you will love the CSC Head Start program. Part time, on-call positions are available. Great benefit packages are offered.

Call about joining the Head Start program as a family enrolling a preschooler or as a teacher seeking to become a member of the Head Start team, call (541) 996-3028 or go to the community Services Consortium website at www.communityservices.us Employment application can be downloaded at www.communityservices.us

CSC Head Start, is a no-cost preschool serving Lincoln County, it is now enrolling for the 2011-2012 program year at Head Start sites in Lincoln City, Toledo, and Newport. Children must be 3 or 4 years old by September 1, 2011. Applications with enrollment information are available at each site or by calling 541-996-3028.
Head Start sites:
• Lincoln City: 2130 SE Lee Street Lincoln City, OR
• Newport: 253 NE 1st Street Newport, OR
• Toledo 845 NW A Street, Toledo, OR

Healthy Kids: Free or Low-cost Insurance for Children

Healthy Kids can help!

Healthy Kids provides:
- Health care for children 18 and younger.
- Free or low-cost health care based on income.
- Coverage, even for children with a medical condition.
- Medical, dental and vision care; regular checkups; preventive
care; prescription drugs; mental health and chemical
dependency services; and medical equipment and supplies.

Apply today for Healthy Kids coverage:
In Lincoln County, call Cristina Simpson at (541) 921-8158.
In Linn or Benton counties, call Elizabeth Weybright at (541)758-2620

Free Summer Meals in Oregon for children & Teens 1-18

Community support is needed if we are to make sure all children get enough to eat this summer.
All of us can tell our family and friends that free meals are
available to ALL children and teens 1-18 years old.

To find the nearest summer meal site visit
www.SummerFoodOregon.org
or Call toll-free 1-800-SAFENET (723-3638).

¡Vengan para comida gratis y para divertirse durante el verano! Para todos los niños entre 1 y 18 años de edad
Información sobre el local y las horas:1-800-723-3638 (llamada gratis)

Spend Food Stamps at Farmers Markets and Receive an Extra $6

If you buy at least $6 worth of produce or food-producing plants at a farmers market in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, you will get an extra $6 to spend at the market.

The organizers, Ten Rivers Food Web call the program SNAP Incentive” they are introducing it at the Corvallis, Albany, Brownsville, Sweet Home and Newport farmers markets. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Customers can spend their SNAP benefits at farmers markets by swiping their cards at market credit card machines to receive wooden market tokens to spend at any vendor selling fresh food or food-producing plants.

When a customer swipes and deducts at least $6 from their SNAP card at the market, they will receive an extra $6 in “That’s My Farmer SNAP Incentive” tokens.

Free Money Matters Class

Starting July 13th Beth Larson will host a Free Money Matters Class at the Albany Community Services Consortium (CSC) office at 250 SW Broadalbin. The class will take place on July 13, 20 and 27 from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm in the large conference room.

Money Matters is perfect for anyone working on large goals like education, buying a home and building better credit--and for those who are trying to move past living on an “emergency plan”. We’ll take a look at basic budgeting, spending leaks and how to be strategic about money use--as well as talk about preparing for emergencies so that they don’t throw anyone off track.

Sign up up by calling Beth at 541-758-2759

Beth Larsen, Housing Resources Coordinator
Community Housing Services
545 SW 2nd St., Ste. A
Corvallis OR 97333
Ph: 541-758-2759
Cell: 541-231-6019
Toll Free Ph: 866-245-1780
Email: blarsen@communityservices.us

4-H helps out Linn Benton Food Share

150 4-H members, grades 7th -12th labeled rice and beans and sorted canned goods at the Linn Benton Food Share Warehouse as part of planned activities at the 2011 Summer 4H Conference at Oregon State University.

"We are grateful for the help of the 4-H members," said Susan James, Volunteer Coordinator for Food Share. "They were energetic and enthusiastic in the work they did. With only 4 full- time staff members at Linn Benton Food Share, we depend on volunteers to help us with the work of collecting, handling and distributing almost 5 million pounds of food. In this case, the number of volunteers from 4-H for several hours was an enormous help."

Besides this community service project, The 300 4-H members chose from 60 classes throughout the 3 day conference. The classes offered ranged from activities such as traveling to the State Capital, climbing rock walls, buying the right horse to hiking, cooking, and yoga classes.

CSC Receives High Marks

CSC's evaluation in part from Oregon Housing and Community Services:

To: Martha Lyon, Executive Director of Community Services Consortium

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) recently conducted a review evaluation and desk audit of the first units initiated for the Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers(SERC) program with CSC on June 9th, 2011.

The purpose of the evaluation is to identify an agencys strengths and innovations, formulate practical and constructive recommendations for improvements and to provide on site training and technical assistance.

OHCS reviewed and assessed your agency’s ability to maintain its eligibility to receive federal and state funds, as well as your ability to operate according to terms of applicable laws, regulations, contractual obligations, policies and guidelines.

Priorities of SERC (From EISA Section 411(b))
1) Cost-effectiveness to low- and moderate-income families
2) Potential for replication of successful results
3) Impact on health and safety and energy costs
4) Extent of partnerships, including financial partnerships

Evaluation Results
Findings:1.There are no findings that require a written response.
Concerns1. There are no concerns that require a written response.

Your staff should be commended on their commitment and great attitude in providing a valued service to your community that saves energy, increases comfort and quality of living.

We find that the staff is well organized, informed and knowledgeable.
We found no existing issues that would prohibit the CSC SERC program from being able to effectively meet the program priorities and provide information for the evaluation.

Ben Baggett is to be commended for his efforts in compiling an effective Request For Proposal(RFP.) This RFP boilerplate was used by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and US Department of Energy (USDOE) as the sample boilerplate that other states could use for their Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) PV projects.

The visit was very encouraging and we look forward to seeing the applications and also speaking with contractors at the next monitoring.

Please thank your staff for their professionalism and assistance we received. Their response time was exemplary in meeting our requests for data. If there are any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me.

Dan Elliott, Sustainability Manager
Oregon Housing and Community Services