WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Gift and comeback moment for Detroit
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Another problem came up in complet-
ing the Detroit Community Center.
Concrete pads needed to be poured
outside of the back doors of the nearly
completed building to make sure the
building met regulations and it could be
finished in time for the June 4 grand open-
ing.
Like a lot of things in the construction
of the building, the coalition of builders
who are working on the project for free fig-
ured out a way.
A white Ford pickup with “Rich Duncan
Construction” signs on the doors was pull-
ing a concrete mixer with “Siegmund Con-
struction and Excavation” signs on it
around back to haul the concrete to pour
the pads.
“I would say that’s a visual example of
how a lot of things occurred, rolling on the
fly and doing whatever it took to get done,”
said Andrew Siegmund, owner of Sieg-
mund Construction and a part-time De-
troit resident.
Conceived in the aftermath of the La-
bor Day wildfires of 2020 and executed by
a consortium of builders, the group is go-
ing to give the community something it’s
never had: A gathering place and some-
thing the people of Detroit can take pride
in.
Over 70 companies in construction
and other fields and organizations in a va-
riety of fields have banded together, and
it’s nearly ready to be given to the commu-
nity.
“We build buildings all the time,” Dun-
can said. “It’s getting the right people in
the room. I can’t say enough for all of the
different construction companies.”
Detroit was a vacationer’s haven
Duncan and his family frequently va-
cationed in Detroit.
He kept a trailer in the town. You could
find him and wife Shelly on weekends on
his boat on the lake, watching his grand-
children jumping in the water. The kids
didn’t care how cold the water was, but he
did and frequently stayed on the boat.
“They say one of the biggest bonding
things that you can do with your family is
boating and we certainly enjoyed the boat-
ing and the water sports, especially with
the younger kids and letting them learn
how to participate with those,” he said.
Vacationers and part-time residents of
Detroit contributed greatly to keeping the
city going after the decline of the logging
industry in the 1990s.
The city had a population estimated at
See GIFT, Page 4A
Students
lead fight
to improve
mental health
Eddy Binford-Ross
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
‘M o r e t h a n j u s t
i d e n t i f y i n g fi
firre ’
Oregon uses ‘digital fire lookouts’ to monitor wildfires
Zach Urness
One Salem-Keizer Public Schools student recalls using
his suicide prevention training twice in the past few years.
He’s not sure his friends would be alive if he hadn’t.
Another said the pressure she feels two years into the
pandemic has taken a serious toll on her mental health.
And a counselor observed the number of students seek-
ing help for anxiety and depression rising dramatically after
they returned to in-person schooling.
Since 2010, mental health professionals have seen in-
creasing levels of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation
in students of all ages, district officials said. However, the
pandemic has had an acute, negative impact on the already
increasing statistics, as the stress, isolation and trauma of
the past couple years have compounded.
Students in Salem-Keizer have been at the forefront of
the fight to increase support available to their peers and to
break the stigma around mental health.
Across Salem, young people are working with their
teachers, counselors, administrators and the school district
to increase the resources available in schools, teach stu-
dents how to effectively help their peers struggling with
mental health issues and ensure everyone knows what re-
sources are available to them.
“The stigma around mental health is really difficult to
break through for those who are struggling, which is why it’s
so important to have these conversations,” Arnav Mohin-
dra, a senior at South Salem High School, said. “Showing
students what’s available to them will help save lives.”
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
An ‘especially difficult’ year
Each day during fire season, Tobi Beavers and
his team of four begin the critical work of watching
the southern Oregon forest for any sign of wildfire.
They scan the mountains and valleys of the Sis-
kiyou and Cascade ranges for any puff of smoke ris-
ing into the sky, just like generations of fire look-
outs across the American West since the early
1900s.
But Beavers and his team don’t climb to high-al-
titude lookout towers or spend entire summers in
solitude atop mountains. Instead, they head into a
building in Central Point equipped with numerous
screens showing images beamed in from 30 cam-
eras placed at 15 different mountaintop sites across
rural Josephine and Jackson counties.
“We rotate through the images of each camera
every two and a half minutes, just to see if anything
catches our eyes,” Beavers said. “There are times
See WILDFIRES, Page 4A
Above: Oregon's digital fire lookouts watch the
forest for signs of smoke on screens that beam in
images from remote cameras placed across the
state. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
Main: The Bootleg Fire roared to become one of
the largest wildfires in Oregon history.
JOSH VARELLEN / US FOREST SERVICE
New state development rules could
significantly impact Salem, Keizer
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A state commission has adopted three temporary rules
that could significantly impact future housing develop-
ments, prioritizing dense communities and walkability while
de-emphasizing automobiles.
“The commission’s action is intended to improve walk-
ing, biking and transit opportunities, increase housing
choice and supply and promote more equitable and inclu-
sive development in Oregon’s communities thereby decreas-
ing greenhouse emissions,” said Robin McArthur, chair of the
Land Conservation and Development Commission.
The temporary rules augment three areas of state law:
housing development, transportation planning and metro-
politan greenhouse gas reduction targets. The rules apply to
the eight largest metropolitan areas in Oregon: Albany, Bend,
Corvallis, Eugene/Springfield, Grants Pass, Medford/Ash-
land, Portland metro and Salem/Keizer.
One aspect of the new rules is these metro areas would
need to designate "climate-friendly areas," which would be-
come central to future developments as cities look to ex-
pand.
These zones would contain higher-density housing, jobs,
businesses and services and include "high-quality" pedestri-
an, bicycle and transit infrastructure.
The zones would contain "abundant" vegetation and tree
See RULES, Page 2A
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Students and mental health professionals agree the pan-
demic took a toll on students’ mental health and general
wellness, both during quarantine and upon their return to
school.
“This year has been especially difficult. The stress from
the past couple years of the pandemic and everything going
on has compounded,” Karley Strouse, a Salem-Keizer
school psychologist and president-elect of the Oregon
School Psychologists Association, said.
Rosa Rivera, a counselor of eight years at North Salem
High School, said their number of suicide risk assessments
— tests that predict the likelihood that someone will at-
tempt suicide — have gone up noticeably. Along with that,
the number of students reaching out for help around anxi-
ety and depression has doubled or tripled since schools re-
turned to in-person learning.
The isolation kids experienced during the pandemic, as
well as challenges adapting back to the classroom, directly
impacted this increase, Rivera said.
And, even with the hardships so far, Chris Moore, Salem-
Keizer’s social-emotional learning coordinator, cautioned
that schools likely still have not yet seen the true effects of
the pandemic on mental health.
Pragmatically, the district’s goal is to have no more than
3-5% of students struggling with acute mental health crises,
10-15% at risk and 80-85% of the student population doing
relatively okay. Right now, the percentage of students in cri-
sis is higher, with 7-10% of students in the highest level of
need, Moore said.
Students also feel less of a sense of belonging at school.
In a districtwide survey conducted in fall of 2021, fewer
than half of students surveyed felt positively about their
place at school. Out of 16,480 students in grades 6-12 grader
who answered the question, 7,506 felt they belonged quite a
bit or completely at their school.
Connection with the school community and others was
hard to maintain during the pandemic, so relationships and
support networks suffered, Mohindra said.
Another repercussion of the pandemic has been student
behavior in the classroom, Moore said.
Teachers are finding their students struggling to focus
more than they were in 2019. And district officials said
they’ve seen an increase in students “disrespecting” their
peers and staff members.
Counselors said schools are seeing more behavioral is-
sues because students missed crucial stages of develop-
ment during the pandemic.
“We are seeing students who are one to two years be-
hind in emotional maturity,” Moore said.
Mohindra also noted that this year’s freshmen had their
last full year in the classroom when they were 6th graders.
See MENTAL HEALTH, Page 2A