WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
New report shows scope
of homeless youth
Dianne Lugo
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
There are over 8,000 youth and
young adults in need of safe and afford-
able housing in Oregon, according to a
new report released by the Oregon De-
partment of Human Services.
The report projects a deficit of thou-
sands of units for an ideal housing sys-
tem in the state.
More than $154 million is needed to
bridge the identified housing and ser-
vice gaps statewide. To house and assist
the nearly 2,000 youth experiencing
homelessness in the Mid-Valley and
North Coast region alone, the report es-
timates a need of $20 million.
Authors expect the completed as-
sessment to inform and guide lawmak-
ers in future appropriations decisions.
Ongoing crisis
The project to analyze and estimate
the need and pipeline for housing and
services for the thousands of youth at
risk of or experiencing homelessness
across Orgon came after the introduc-
tion of HB4039 during 2020's legislative
session.
At the time, ODHS reported the state
third in terms of the highest rate of un-
sheltered, unaccompanied youth home-
lessness in the nation – a grim statistic
representing ongoing efforts to combat
youth and chronic homelessness.
The bill would have allocated $2.5
million from the general fund to the De-
partment of Human Services (DHS) for
services specifically geared to support
unaccompanied homeless youth. The
proposed bill also would have dedicated
a portion of the funding for a statewide
assessment of the continuum of hous-
ing and service needs for youth experi-
encing homelessness.
The bill failed to pass during the 2020
session, but ODHS moved forward with
completing a statewide assessment.
A new report from ODHS projects $20
million is needed to support housing
and similar “front porch” interventions
in the Mid-Valley for thousands of
youth experiencing homelessness.
CONNOR RADNOVICH / STATESMAN JOURNAL
“Youth homelessness has been his-
torically underfunded and due to the
very nature of the visuals of youth expe-
riencing homelessness it is much more
See HOMELESS, Page 4A
Mid-Valley man
helped save lives
in Afghanistan
Nasirullah Safi, who served as an
interpreter, hopes for US citizenship
Capi Lynn Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Getting back to
Shellburg Falls
Shellburg Falls spills out at the recreation area in the
Santiam State Forest in late October. Officials say work
to restore the area will continue into next summer.
BRIAN HAYES/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Oregon Department of Forestry taking public comment on its plan to
reopen the ‘gem of the Santiam State Forest’ after last year’s fires
Eddy Binford-Ross Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Shellburg Falls looks a little different these days,
more than a year after the Beachie Creek Fire roared
through the forest around the popular waterfall east of
Salem.
The towering green trees that once surrounded the
100-foot waterfall are almost entirely blackened and
broken, while a new layer of green ferns and tree seed-
lings are sprouting up through the understory.
State officials released plans last week to reopen
what they call the “gem of the Santiam State Forest,”
but hikers still won’t be allowed in until next autumn,
at the earliest.
The Oregon Department of Forestry just opened a
30-day public comment period on a plan that includes
removing some “hazard trees” while restoring trails
and roads. They plan to do some commercial logging
while most of the area will be left to regenerate natu-
rally, officials said. Comments can be emailed to:
Burnt and healthy trees line a trail near Shellburg
Falls recreation area near Stayton.
odf.sfcomments@oregon.gov
“It’s the most visited area in the Santiam State
Forest,” said Jason Cox, ODF Public Affairs Officer.
See FOREST, Page 4A
New rules for drones coming for summer
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Love or hate them, drones in Oregon’s outdoors are
here to stay.
But for the first time, Oregon officials plan to craft
rules that govern where unmanned aircraft can fly with
new rules expected to be in place by next summer.
A recently-formed rules committee will consider
where drone pilots can take off and land at state parks
and the Oregon Coast, taking into account the aircraft’s
impact on wildlife and personal privacy as the number
of drones continues to rise.
“Our hope is to get our recommendations ready for
approval by February or April so they can be in place for
the 2022 summer season,” Chris Havel, spokesman for
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
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the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, told the
Statesman Journal in June.
The committee considering the new rules includes
drone pilots and advocates, park users, and aviation of-
ficials, a news release said. A full list of members can be
found at the bottom of this story.
The committee’s first meeting is scheduled to meet
virtually Nov. 10. The public can register to watch the
meeting
at:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/
register/WN_37-oa0iSTDaDu00iUb7_1g. No public
comment will be taken at the first meeting, but a com-
ment period will follow the release of the proposed
rules. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission
would finalize the rules.
The rules would apply only to the Oregon Coast and
See DRONES, Page 4A
Vol. 140, No. 48
Serving the Silverton
Area Since 1880
A Unique Edition of
the Statesman Journal
QEAJAB-07403y
Nasirullah Safi is awaiting a call for his naturaliza-
tion interview, the last major hurdle to becoming a
U.S. citizen.
He came here on a Special Immigrant Visa in 2016
after serving more than seven years as an interpreter
and cultural adviser to American military forces in
Afghanistan, experiencing first-hand some of the
bloodiest battles of the war.
He served alongside soldiers who earned medals
and made the ultimate sacrifice. He was caught up in
the same ambushes and firefights, the target of the
same rocket-propelled grenades and improvised ex-
plosive devices.
As far as many of those American
soldiers are concerned, he’s a veteran
just like them and should be thanked
today for his honorable service.
“Having somebody work as an in-
terpreter more than five years, I would
Safi
equate that to 20 years in our mili-
tary,” said Pat Flanagan, an Army pla-
toon sergeant who worked with Safi. “That’s a long
time dealing with the dangers.”
In addition to being in the line of fire, Safi received
almost daily threats from the Taliban while working
with U.S. military units at a small combat outpost in
Kunar Province near the Pakistan border. Interpret-
ers were considered traitors and infidels by the Tali-
ban.
Like thousands of others during the 20-year war
in Afghanistan, he risked his life to be the eyes and
ears for American troops who couldn’t understand
the diverse dialects of the people or the complex cul-
ture of the country.
Some of the officers he served with later went to
battle on his behalf to help him get to the United
States. One even hooked him up with a place to stay
with his family.
“He thanks me all the time for what I did for him
over here,” said Kevin Devine, another platoon ser-
geant Safi worked with. “I told him it means more to
me what he did for us than what I’ve ever done for
him. He prevented me from filling body bags.”
Safi now lives and works in the Mid-Valley. He re-
cently published a book titled “Get the Terp Up Here!
War as an Interpreter to U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.”
A common theme through many of the pages is the
friendships he forged with American soldiers.
“I just became one of them,” he said. “The bond
that we created is something I’ll never forget the rest
of my life.”
Growing up in Afghanistan
Safi was born and raised in a small village in east-
ern Afghanistan. His parents were poor, raising eight
children in a two-room house made of stones and
mud.
They went barefoot and didn’t have proper
clothes for the winter. There were days they had no
food and others but little to share.
Part of the book is about his childhood and how
growing up in a war-torn country under the Taliban
regime made getting an education difficult. Many
schools were closed, and his family couldn’t afford
tuition or uniforms at others.
But Safi always had a desire to learn. He dreamed
of one day becoming a doctor to help his mother who
suffered from chronic illness.
His father inspired him to learn English, even
though in religious school he was taught it was “the
devil language.” His father could read and write the
basics and always stressed the importance of foreign
languages.
“The more language you learn, the more friends
you make,” his father always insisted.
The only person Safi knew who could speak, read
and write English was a nearby farmer, but the man
refused to teach him because it would be too danger-
ous. Anyone caught speaking the language could be
See AFGHAN, Page 3A