WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
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Boating permit fee brings in $1.29M in 1st year
Funds boat ramps, parking and facilities for non-motorized boating
Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A new permit required to paddle Oregon’s lakes, riv-
ers and waterways brought in $1.29 million during
2020, the first year of a program intended to improve
access to the state’s water-born recreation.
Anyone paddling a raft, drift boat or kayak longer
than 10 feet was required to purchase a Waterway Ac-
cess Permit following the passage of Senate Bill 47 in
the 2019 Oregon Legislature.
The permits were $7 for a week, $17 for a year, or $30
for two years, plus a $2 service fee in many cases. A
total of 85,473 were sold, bringing the first infusion of
cash into a fund intended to improve boat ramps, park-
ing and facilities for non-motorized boating.
Previously, motorized boat registration fees paid for
many boating facilities in the state.
The program also funds a previous program to com-
bat the spread of invasive species in water and funds
educational or boating safety programs for under-
served communities.
How has the money been spent?
The Oregon State Marine Board said it already dis-
tributed or has dedicated $700,000 to $800,000 of the
$1.29 million taken in.
The money is awarded using a grant system in
which cities, counties, nonprofits or other groups sub-
mit applications. Each proposal is judged on 28 points
of criteria by the Oregon State Marine Board.
“There’s a very broad range of projects that are eligi-
ble,” Marine Board boating program manager Janine
Belleque said. “The bottom line is we want people out
there recreating safely and loving everything Oregon
has to offer.”
In its first round of grants awarded last August, the
Marine Board distributed funds to a range of projects,
including:
h A kayak dock at the Port of Alsea in Waldport
($28,000 in waterway access permit dollars).
h Acquisition of the former Bumblebee Cannery site
in Reedsport for Umpqua River access ($50,000).
h Funding to assist permitting for the future instal-
See BOATING, Page 4A
Some still
waiting for
extended
benefits
State says it is working on fixing
backlog of unemployment checks
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Breezy Aguirre with The ARCHES Project works to count unsheltered people during the Point-in-Time
survey in West Salem. PHOTOS BY BRIAN HAYES/STATESMAN JOURNAL
POINT-IN-TIME
Annual homeless count
underway despite pandemic
Whitney Woodworth
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
On Jan. 26, after morning lows in Salem dipped to
freezing, volunteers and advocates filtered through
shelters, park encampments and parking lots with
the goal of interviewing and meeting every homeless
person living in Marion and Polk counties.
With fewer volunteers, increased safety protocol
due to the pandemic and more people living in city
parks, the annual Point-in-Time count is looking dif-
ferent from previous years, said Ashley Hamilton,
program director for the ARCHES Project.
Those experiencing homelessness are surveyed
each year to collect data for the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. The data is used to
determine the need in each region and is directly tied
to how much federal money is given to help.
See COUNT, Page 3A
Volunteers use an app to survey unsheltered people
during the Point-in-Time count of the area's
homeless population.
OLCC fines Mt. Angel bar for violating mask rule
Emily Teel
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has fined
Mt. Angel's Bierhaus. The bar, 315 N Main Street, was
charged with violating Oregon Health Authority’s
statewide mask mandate aimed at slowing the spread
of COVID-19.
The business will either pay a $2,970 civil penalty
and serve a five-day OLCC license suspension or
serve a 23-day license suspension.
Business owners are entitled to appeal OLCC deci-
sions through an administrative process. The Bier-
haus' owners, Ben Rash and Ryan Gengler, have re-
quested a hearing and the issue remains ongoing.
They declined to comment on the situation at this
time.
Open for a decade, Bierhaus is the first restaurant
opened by entrepreneurs Gengler and Rash. The pair
also own North Third in Stayton, The White Horse in
Molalla, and The Gallon House in Silverton.
OLCC documents indicate the restaurant violated
the policy "when it failed to require its patrons and
employees to wear appropriate face masks, face
shields, or face coverings at the premises." They also
indicate that the violation involved more than one
employee or patron.
The charges were made via notice on Nov. 4, 2020
following an investigation by OLCC inspectors who
observed non-compliance with the orders.
Documents state "after receiving a warning" about
non-compliance with Gov. Brown's Executive Orders
regarding face coverings and social distancing "from
OLCC inspectors during a previous site inspection,
Inspectors observed continued non-compliance and
multiple patrons not wearing masks."
OLCC Inspectors observed a bartender "not mak-
ing an effort to get the patrons to comply with the
guidelines."
When the Inspectors contacted the business own-
ers "they described the difficulty of enforcing the
mask requirements, but have since instituted multi-
ple measures in the premises and with their employ-
ees to ensure future compliance."
At the same January OLCC meeting wherein the
Bierhaus stipulated settlement was discussed, two
other Oregon eateries were also mentioned as having
violated the statewide mask mandate. Cabaret II in
Portland and Seven Nightclub in Bend are also
charged with fines.
Emily Teel is the Food & Drink Editor at the States-
man Journal. Contact her at eteel@statesmanjour-
nal.com, Facebook, or Twitter. See what she's cooking
and where she's eating this week on Instagram:
@emily_teel
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Peter Fenton went from a tough but rewarding job
to spending his days struggling through a frustrating
tangle of bureaucracy.
For the past seven years, he worked for companies
that helped people transition from institutionalized
settings to living independently.
Since leaving his job in March 2020 due to the CO-
VID-19 pandemic, he’s had to focus on trying to ac-
cess the unemployment benefits the law says he
should be getting.
A month ago, he faced his unemployment benefits
running out before a new stimulus package was
passed into law that gave him an additional 11 weeks
of coverage.
After receiving unemployment for the first week
of January, the payments stopped, and he’s received
rejection letters despite the Oregon Employment De-
partment’s messaging to keep applying.
“Some people might think unemployment, you’re
on easy street, you just get these checks,” Fenton
said. “I’ve found that it’s as stressful or more stressful
than work.”
Multiple problems have caused delays in unem-
ployment benefits for thousands in Oregon.
When benefits under the CARES Act expired in
December 2020 and the Continued Assistance Act
took its place, the U.S. Bureau of Labor struggled to
get information to states about how to administer
them. And the new law came with some new require-
ments, which further delayed unemployment pay-
ments, especially for states with outdated computer
systems like Oregon’s.
On Wednesday, Oregon Employment Department
acting director David Gerstenfeld said the depart-
ment is starting to pay the backlog of unemployment
to people in Fenton’s situation ahead of its Jan. 29
goal.
Gerstenfeld said the department is also trying to
catch up on unemployment payments to self-em-
ployed and gig workers by Feb. 5.
“As with (the benefit extension), it’s possible we
could pay that ahead of schedule,” Gerstenfeld said.
He reminded people that payments will be paid
retroactively for both programs “so people should
continue to file weekly.”
Leaving a job due to high-risk status
Fenton, who has lived in Eugene for the past 30
years, spent much of his life as a writer, including a
stint as chief paranormal correspondent for the Na-
tional Enquirer.
For the past seven years, he has worked in home
healthcare.
“I actually enjoyed it a lot. For me, it was like doing
an adventure, but I didn’t have to leave town,” Fenton
said. “And there were very, very interesting individ-
uals, once you get to know them.”
He worked about 20 hours per week at a location
in Springfield for the past four years, cooking and
playing games with residents, and dispensing medi-
cations.
When the pandemic hit in March, Fenton consult-
ed with his doctor and was instructed to leave the po-
sition as he is in the highest risk category for illness
for COVID-19 due to his age of 71.
“As soon as I read about this back in March, I used
up all my vacation time and my sick time. I found out
I could do this unemployment thing. I was guided
that way by the company,” Fenton said.
Fenton first filed for unemployment in late March.
After a couple weeks of receiving nothing, he con-
tacted the offices of Congressman Peter Defazio and
State Representative Paul Holdley and in a few
weeks was receiving unemployment benefits, which
was much faster than many of the other hundreds of
thousands of people in Oregon who applied for un-
employment benefits.
See UNEMPLOYMENT, Page 4A