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14 CapitalPress.com March 24, 2017 California State expects variety of large, small projects to seek Prop. 1 funds Subscribe to our weekly California email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press 299 Area in detail Redding 36 5 Calif. Red Bluff 99 MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST Chico S a cram e n to SACRAMENTO — A state panel expects a variety of large and small propos- als as it has begun taking requests for $2.7 billion set aside in the Proposition 1 water bond for new storage. The California Water Commission opened a fi ve- month application period on March 14 and has scheduled a workshop March 30 for potential applicants to ask questions related to prepar- ing and submitting their doc- uments, which they must do by Aug. 14. Commission spokesman Chris Orrock said the state received 44 “concept papers” over the past year and a half from groups considering seeking funds for everything from large reservoirs to local groundwater recharge proj- ects. “Whether all of those ap- ply, I don’t know,” Orrock said. “Since sending out our Yuba City Proposed Sites Reservoir N Tim Hearden/Capital Press File Thad Bettner, general manager of the Glenn Colusa Irrigation Dis- trict, shows on a map that the countryside in which he’s standing would be under water if the proposed Sites Reservoir in Northern California were built. The California Water Commission began taking applications for Proposition 1 funding on March 14. notice (of opening the appli- cation period) we have start- ed to receive some additional inquiries. “The reality is we could have fi ve applicants or we could have 50 applicants,” he said. “The vast majority won’t submit applications until the end.” The water storage funds have been perhaps the most anticipated portion of the $7.5 billion water bond passed by California voters in 2014. Among anticipated suitors 70 20 5 16 Sacramento Capital Press graphic are backers of the $3.6 billion Sites Reservoir near Maxwell, who have lined up 34 agency participants, and supporters of the proposed $2.5 billion Temperance Flat Reservoir near Fresno. Others could in- clude sponsors of the planned expansion of the Los Vaque- ros Reservoir in Contra Costa County as well as groundwa- ter improvement projects near the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The state envisions fund- ing a variety of large and small projects, Orrock said. “That’s really what this chapter of Proposition 1 was for — to have a wide variety of new water storage that provides public benefi ts to the citizens of California,” he said. Proposition 1 will fund no more than half the cost of a project, and water bond funds can only be used for public benefits, which the initiative defines as eco- system improvements, wa- ter quality improvements, flood control benefits, emer- gency response and recre- ational purposes. Under ground rules the commission approved in December, projects will be graded largely on their role in improving fl ows and water quality in the Delta. At least half of the bond funds given to a project would need to go toward ecosystem improve- ments directly related to the Delta, Orrock has said. The emphasis on help- ing the Delta comes as the 1,150-square-mile labyrinth of islands and shallow water- ways faces a slew of environ- mental problems, including pollution, silting, invasive plant species and saltwater intrusion. After the application pe- riod closes, the commission will determine the eligibili- ty of projects and prioritize them and plans to start mak- ing funding decisions by June 2018. The March 30 workshop will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Klamath Hearing Room on the second fl oor of the Cal- ifornia Environmental Pro- tection Agency headquarters, 1001 I St., Sacramento. The workshop will be streamed live at cwc.videossc.com. The commission has also set up a website with resourc- es for potential applicants. It is https://cwc.ca.gov/Pages/ ApplicationResources.aspx. : “4-H built my sense of responsibility and developed character. To use a livestock example, I had to get up and care for my animals every day — it was an obligation I started at 10 years old. The program taught me to adhere to deadlines, whether it was record keeping or a deadline when those records were due. There were weigh-ins. ... It was character development through caring for another living creature and adhering to deadlines.” Nick Williams after he won the junior trail riding class at the Jefferson County Fair in 1991. Nick Williams didn’t just step into his position as chief operating officer of the Salem (Oregon) Area Chamber of Commerce without skills and experience. He came armed with a toolbox of abilities built at a young age as a member of the Wild Gap 4-H Club of Jefferson County, Ore. “4-H does a great job teaching and refining skills,” says Nick. “The skills learned in 4-H help with almost any kind of job, and since kids enter the program at a young age, it produces very well-rounded people.” 4-H is the youth development program of Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “What is most important to me is that 4-H teaches youth how to work well with other people,” he explains. According to Pamela Rose, Oregon’s 4-H Program Leader, 4-H programs are backed by university research and delivered by trained volunteer leaders. “OSU is well- positioned to make a difference in the skills that kids use in life now and in the career they will have in the future.” : “When I was a 4-H Club officer, our volunteer leader would teach us about the core components of the club and how to work together to accomplish them. It was a strategic vision. We would visit different farms and see the progress they were making. Everyone is on a team of some sort, whether family or at work.” “4-H is a microcosm of a community — it helps kids feel relevant and a part of something larger that was important. No one was left behind — if you needed help, someone was there for you.” : “4-H allowed me to accumulate experiences at a very young age — working with other people; seeing projects through, and how to be the point person. In 4-H people understand where their role is on the team.” In his role with the Salem area chamber, Williams is taking the life skills learned in 4-H and helping local businesses be successful. Williams hopes in the future 4-H will continue the same underlying approach in their programming. “There will always be a need for 4-H.” A national study of youth development programs by Tufts University identified 4-H as the most effective program for building future citizens with skills in community, compassion, responsibility, collaboration and leadership through its learn-by-doing approach. Williams described how 4-H helped him grow in the study’s key areas: “Service was an annual component in my 4-H club. Service meant digging in, doing a project and seeing the people who are affected directly. For example, if an older farmer needed a fence mended, we dug in and could see the burden that it relieved. By seeing the impact made, it kindled something inside of me that encourages me still today.” Nick Williams with his Gelbvieh heifer at the Oregon State Fair 4-H show in 1994. Nick Williams, chief operating officer, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce. 12-4/#13
