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Rural Report
June is the
Great
Outdoors Month
It looks like Oregon is currently in the
spotlight for being one of the best places ever for
the great outdoors. In case you were unaware,
June is Great Outdoors Month. It’s a time
dedicated to celebrating and exploring the beauty
and benefits of the natural world. Whether it’s
hiking, camping, fishing, or simply enjoying a
picnic in a local park, this month encourages
everyone to step outside and appreciate the great
outdoors.
The Senate has officially designated June
2024 as Great Outdoors Month, and we’re ready
to join in the festivities. We’re not alone in our
enthusiasm. According to BetVirginia.com,
Oregon is the second most outdoorsy state in the
nation. While BetVirginia.com usually focuses
on Virginia sports betting, they decided to rank
states based on their interest in outdoor activities
using Google Trends search interest scores.
It’s no surprise Oregon ranked so high
given the magnatude of outdoor activities. With
mountains, deserts, and the ocean, Oregon truly
has a little bit of everything. From hiking by
stunning waterfalls to epic cycling and camping
adventures, you can’t ask for much more if you
love being out in nature as much as so many
Oregonians do.
Oregon scored 80, just behind Minnesota’s
perfect score of 100 and ahead of Indiana’s
70. Our northern neighbor Washington placed
seventh with a score of 47, while California
didn’t make the top 10. Surprisingly California
is home to some of the most awe-inspiring
places you ever could visit, such as the Redwood
Forest, Yosemite and Sequoa National Parks and
other wonders.
Water Management
Agencies in Lane and
Douglas Awarded millions
Drought Funds
A sum of $1.22 million will go to the
Tri-City Water and Sanitary Authority,
which serves small communities 20 miles
south of Roseburg, including Myrtle Creek.
General Manager Paul Wilborn explained the
investment will help build a 300,000-gallon
water tank.
“We have an area in our system — it’s a
little bit deficient on water storage. And it’s
kind of on a wild land area, so we’re just
wanting to get a little bit more water in there
for fire suppression, if necessary, or water
usage,” Wilborn said.
Eugene-Springfield’s Metropolitan
Wastewater Management Commission
received a $4 million grant for storage,
filtering and recycled water capabilities.
The federal WaterSMART Program grants
are awarded by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Wilborn said he and his team have sought
this kind of water infrastructural funding
for years. The TCWSA has approximately
1,700 connections. “It can impact about 3,600
people out here.”
“The new water storage reservoir will
work in parallel with an existing 87,000-
gallon water storage tank to enhance fire
suppression volume, improve pressure and
flow and ensure continuous potable water
service to the area,” Wilborn said.
The recent awards are matching grants
and Wilborn noted the TCWSA is “already
invested in the project” and ready to proceed.
Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden
and Jeff Merkley supported the passage
of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and
Inflation Reduction Act, which enabled the
WaterSMART funding projects.
Veterans Corner
Enjoying your Freedoms? Thank a Veteran!
2024 VA/DOD Suicide
Prevention Conference
Oregon Veteran Max Home
Loan Increased in 2024
Reimagining Suicide Prevention: Evolving and
Innovating to Meet Diverse NeedsThe health
and well-being of the Nation’s service members
and Veterans continue to be a top priority for VA
and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). We
are partnering again this year to host the Nation’s
only conference dedicated to addressing military
and Veteran suicide prevention. Join us for the
2024 VA/DOD Suicide Prevention Conference
July 16–18 at the Oregon Convention Center,
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in Portland,
Oregon.
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Af-
fairs (ODVA) has increased the maximum home
loan limit for the Oregon Veteran Home Loan for
2024, conforming to loan limits for mortgages set
by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
ODVA will now accept loans up to the new maxi-
mum loan amount of $766,550, an increase of
$40,350 from $726,200 in 2023, for funding on or
after January 1, 2024. The Oregon Veteran Home
Loan Program, which has been one of ODVA’s
core veteran benefits since the agency’s inception
in 1945, offers eligible veterans fixed-rate financ-
ing for owner-occupied, single-family residences.
The veteran home loan product is a non-
expiring, lifetime benefit for any eligible Oregon
veteran and may be used up to four times. The
program provides financing for purchases only
and cannot be used for refinancing.
This state veteran home loan benefit is separate
and distinct from the federal VA Home Loan
Guarantee and has lent nearly $9 billion in low-
interest home loans to more than 336,000 veterans
since 1945. To be eligible, a veteran must have
served on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces,
as documented on their DD-214, and must meet
one of the service criteria outlined on ODVA’s
website.
For more information about the Oregon Depart-
ment of Veterans’ Affairs Home Loan Program,
program eligibility, or to find a partner broker near
you, please call (800) 633-6826 to speak with a
loan specialist or visit www.orvethomeloans.com.
Guided by the National Strategy for Preventing
Veteran Suicide (PDF, 2.8 MB, 42 pages) and
Department of Defense Strategy for Suicide
Prevention (PDF, 1.8 MB, 103 pages), this
year’s theme — Reimagining Suicide Preven-
tion: Evolving and Innovating to Meet Diverse
Needs — focuses on innovative ways to increase
the reach to at-risk Service member and Veteran
populations, especially including historically
underserved and growing populations such as
women, LGBTQ+, or American Indian and
Alaska Natives.
Who Should Attend
VA and DOD care teams, leaders, allies and sub-
ject matter experts from across the country are
invited to come together and share comprehen-
sive and public health-based strategies to prevent
suicide nationwide.
North Douglas Herald
July 2024
Continued from Page 2
Letters to the Editor
ongoing use to the citizens of Drain. A part of
the Endowment was the establishment of the
Civic Center Committee. In the language of
the Endowment, this was to insure that there
was oversight and stewardship of authority
to mitigate and integrate the intended use of
the resource in liaison with the city and in it’s
partnership, which was codified at that time.
Now, a generation later and a city
government somewhat removed from those
motivations, character, and ingenuity - a
new resolution results in the nullification of
those important guardrails. Under the tunnel
vision of finding money, cutting costs and
diminutive progress, the city management
closes it’s eyes and ears to those committed
to finding constructive answers to prevailing
problems while keeping an eye to progress and
growth. There is a lesson to simply attempting
to maintain the status quo and that is inevitable
decline.
When government shuts out those voices
it is left to push a narrow objective, and
without a true rudder it spins within it’s own
circles, unfettered to others concerns. I know
that the CCAC has been working diligently
on the objectives outlined in the letter above.
One example is, of the needed improvements
identified that would contribute to the potential
income from the center is updating tables and
other amenities in the kitchen and the CCAC
has supposedly been tasked to inventory and
look for ways to prudently save the city money
while researching the material improvements.
I say supposedly because, as the committee
meets regularly to research and request
meetings to report back findings and assuage
management with their diligence to save the
city money that it claims the civic center is
hemorrhaging. The city management declines
to meet for these findings and on it’s own, with
out consultation, purchases one 8’ table for
over $200, when there are more appropriate
tables available for 1/4 that cost. If the concern
is the financial burden of the center, why is
the source of procurement more important
than the cost? Doesn’t this insure that the
burden is now amplified and contributing to
the supposed financial liability, leading to
increased speculation and accusation that it is
a burgeoning impediment on city finances?
A citizen committee that has little or no
meaningful input or feedback to the powers that
be, has little chance of finding encumbrances
that are slipped into it’s operating costs like
water, utilities and man hours charged that
aren’t directly attributed to it’s specific and
actual use. It can’t monitor or regulate with
any accuracy and so cannot defend or even
identify it’s own position and is in effect, in
limbo. For the sake of Katrina’s plea for the
community to come out and volunteer and
contribute to the efforts to be involved with the
betterment and success of citizen resources, I
urge you to join her.