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Gambling aid
by state unit
helping many
A group of 1,651 people
could be seated in many high
school gymnasiums.
But because problem
gamblers are notorious for not
seeking help, it’s a big number
to be enrolled in Oregon’s
gambling-treatment programs.
“We’ve recorded a 43 per-
cent year-to-year increase in
the number of problem gam-
blers and their family mem-
bers enrolled in Lottery-
funded gambling treatment
programs,” said Jeffery J. Ma-
rotta, problem gambling ser-
vices manager in the Oregon
Dept. of Human Services.
“The average increase
during the past five years was
17 percent,” he said. “This
year’s is both the largest in-
crease and the largest number
we’ve ever seen.”
National surveys show
that fewer than 1 percent of
problem gamblers seek treat-
ment. Oregon has 2.3 percent
enrolled in publicly funded
programs, and Marotta said
that hundreds or even thou-
sands more receive help
through Gamblers Anony-
mous, churches and private-
pay therapists.
“The proportion of prob-
lem gamblers who seek help
in Oregon is perhaps the high-
est in the world,” Marotta
said. He attributes the increase
to Oregon’s newly adopted
approach.
“We use a public health
framework that incorporates
prevention, harm reduction
and multiple levels of treat-
ment that place emphasis on
quality-of-life issues for the
gambler, families and commu-
nities,” he said.
Grant to RCC
to help rural
education
A federal distance educa-
tion grant will help Rogue
Community College (RCC)
better serve students located
throughout its rural district, an
area that takes in some 4,600
square miles.
On Oct. 21, the college
learned that it will receive
$286,486 in U.S. Dept. of Ag-
riculture (USDA) Rural De-
velopment funding. RCC was
on of 71 successful applicants
selected from 220 requests.
The Distance Learning and
Telemedicine grant will go
toward expanding the Rogue
Interactive Video Network
(RIVN).
Services provided by the
network will include college
transfer classes, technical/
career education, adult educa-
tion courses, and English-as-a-
second-language programs
originating from RCC or other
Oregon community colleges.
It also will offer career and
personal counseling, individ-
ual and group tutoring, and
short-term training for local
businesses.
RCCs Riverside Campus
in Medford will serve as the
hub of the new system, linking
to several college sites: Illi-
nois Valley Learning Center
in Kerby, Workforce Training
Center in White City, and
Grants Pass Redwood Cam-
pus.
The network also will
connect with Southern Oregon
Education Service District’s
(ESD) regional video system
creating a video bridge that
will join the college to other
statewide educational video
systems. These include 27
regional high schools as well
as the Oregon Access Net-
work and its 287 high schools,
ESDs, universities and state
agencies.
It’s easier to ride a horse in
the direction he’s going.
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR 97523, November 6, 2002