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Local AmeriCorps programs provide important services



Sarah Hackney looks over maps of Malheur County at the county courthouse in Vale Friday. Since October, Hackney, a volunteer with AmeriCorps, has coordinated the development of city and county pre-disaster mitigation plans.
Vale - Although she hails from Florida, Sarah Hackney, 23, knows a lot about Malheur County.

Since October, Hackney has coordinated the Malheur County Hazardous Mitigation Project from an office in the county courthouse as part of a volunteer program with AmeriCorps VISTA.

Nationwide, AmeriCorps is a network of local, state and national service programs connecting more than 70,000 people and 2,000 nonprofit, public and community agencies and organizations, according to its Web site. Three programs make up the AmeriCorps service: State and National, VISTA and NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps).

AmeriCorps VISTA — Volunteers in Service to America — focuses on programs to bring individuals and communities out of poverty. To get involved with the program, a nonprofit organization — public or private — or a local, state or federal agency applies to sponsor a program. Hackney also works with an AmeriCorps partner — Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) — on her project: putting together Malheur County’s mitigation plan, laying out what the county will do after a natural disaster.

“At the end of the day, I’m the one who puts the information together,” she said. “It’s things like retrofitting a building so if there is an earthquake, it doesn’t fall down. Out here, I’ve really had to educate myself about the different hazards here and how people deal with them. I’m from Florida, so I’ve had to learn a lot about fires and the different kinds of flooding.”

Hackney’s term is up in August, and she said she is considering volunteering for another year in a RARE/AmeriCorps program.

“It seems like a really short time now, but when I first started, 11 months seemed like an endless amount of time,” she said. “It’s just a really fantastic program. It’s challenging, but it’s fun because I get to travel for various trainings.”

To work with AmeriCorps VISTA, applicants must be U.S. citizens, 18 and older. They must submit resumes for the positions, similar to a job interview, and after completing a year service, the individual then receives either an AmeriCorps Education Award of almost $5,000 or a stipend of $1,200. During the service, members receive a living allowance, health care, childcare, training, relocation expenses and liability insurance.

VISTA projects take place all through the country, and this year, the VISTA program authorized two Ontario organizations — Four Rivers Health Care and Lifeways — with AmeriCorps programs. The Lifeways volunteer will work toward putting together a drug-free community coalition to apply for a drug-free community grant while FRHC is looking for a clinic program developer.

“They’re going to be able to do things that regular staff members don’t have the time or the money or whatever to do, but these VISTA volunteers can do that,” Kelly Poe, a former AmeriCorps volunteer, said Thursday.

“The purpose of the AmeriCorps is similar to the Peace Corps program. They come into areas of poverty and try to create systems and infrastructure. The two positions that we applied for and were granted will make a significant difference in this community.”

If the positions are not filled, the AmeriCorps funding will evaporate.

“When you’re not going into a professional tract, I think there’s a lot to be said for trying different things out, especially if you have interests and things you’re into but aren’t ready to set your whole career in one direction,” Hackney said. “I didn’t want to box myself into one field yet. There’s a lot to learn. You get to investigate what you like, and even if you end up not liking it, it’s only a year.”

For more information on the Lifeways position, contact Andrea Lockner at (541) 823-9055, or alockner@lifeways.org, and for the clinic position, contact Juli Recla and (503) 889-7852, or jrecla@cableone.net.




Comment Blog - Note: All Comments Subject To Approval

No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:

" Islam is a woman-hating, human-enslaving ideology that should NOT be taught in our public schools. It's obvious the Saudis and the rest of the Muslim fanatics who are trying to take over the world have bought off the State of Oregon. Expect lawsuits.

And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.

Disgusting. "

anonymous wrote on Aug 10, 2009 2:19 AM:

" The girl was Latasha Rodriguez "

Cody W. Ables wrote on May 16, 2008 11:04 PM:

" May 16, 2008

Here is something that we should all read. This is a letter from an angry woman in New Jersey regarding the War in Iraq and all of the war’s negative publicity. Pay attention.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three-thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means quit reading. Should you choose to do so, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add

'If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.' Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England 's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.'

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
Important for us all!!!!
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM. AMEN!’


I hope you take this woman’s viewpoint into consideration. It closely parallels my own. As I begin my journey in becoming a soldier of the greatest country in the world, hearing this woman’s words sets my heart at ease. It is warming to know that there are people in this great country who still care about those men and women who have no choice.


Cody W. Ables
U.S. Air Force Academy 2012
"


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