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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2018)
AUGUST 3, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7 FOSTER, continued from Page A1 DRIVE A LITTLE – SAVE A BUNCH! 3893 COMMERCIAL ST SE • SALEM MORE INFO AT NORTHERNLIGHTSTHEATREPUB.COM Summer Award Program See 5 movies and get a Small Popcorn and Reg Soda. Get a punch card at the box offi ce. Punches Stop 8/13. See a movie, get a punch. Collect 5 and Redeem. SUMMER FAMILY MOVIE SERIES $1 KID MOVIES (M-F) Labyrinth (PG) August 6 - 10 Jumanji (PG) August 13 - 17 UFC227 - Sat, Aug 4 Dillashaw v. Garbrandt Johnson v. Cejudo 9 FIGHTS IN ALL ON THE HUGE SCREEN Live Fights at 5:00 (21 & Over) - Tickets $13 Reserved Seating Available Now Online. Today in History If pop songs, like hurricanes, were rated on an objective scale according to their ability to devastate the pop-cultural landscape, then the song that reached the top of the American pop charts on this day in 1996 was a Category 5 monster. It fi rst made landfall in Florida as a seemingly harmless Spanish-language rumba, but in the hands of a pair of Miami record producers, it soon morphed and strengthened into something called “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” a song that laid waste to all competition during a record-setting run at #1. — August 3, 1966 Food 4 Thought “Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.” — Martha Stewart, life-style guru, born Aug. 3, 1941 The Week Ahead Friday, August 3 Hawaiian Luau featuring Paradise of Samoa as part of the Free 2018 Summer Concert Series located at Keizer Rotary Amphitheater at Keizer Rapids Park. Gates open at 5 p.m., show starts at 6:30 p.m. Beer, Wine, & Spirits available from Santiam Brewing Company. Please no outside food or beverages. No pets allowed inside the amphitheater. For complete concert schedule go to Facebook.com/KRAORG. For more information, call (503) 910-3232. Saturday, August 4 ServeFest by Lakepoint Community Church. New location at Claggett Creek Middle School, 1810 Alder Drive NE. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A free, family-friendly event. Kids carnival, hot dog lunch, haircuts for kids, manicures, bike repairs, pet grooming, family photos and more. 6th annual Greater Gubser Neighborhood Garage Sale, 9 a.m-3 p.m. Dozens of sales throughout the neighborhood featuring furniture, sports equipment,household items, toys, clothing and tools. Artists reception, Keizer Art Association’s Enid Joy Mount Gallery, Keizer Cultural Center, 2-4 p.m. August show is members-only art work. Exhibit continues to Aug. 31. keizerarts.com. Sunday, August 5 Shrek the Musical Jr. Your last chance to see the kids from Enlightened Theatrics’ summer camp perform Shrek the Musical. Show starts at 2:30 p.m. at Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre, 191 High St. NE in Salem. Visit Monday, August 6 Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. Keizer Civic Center. Wednesday, August 8 Keizer Planning Commission meeting, 6 p.m. Keizer Civic Center. Thursday, August 9 Keizer Traffi c Safety/Bikeways/Pedestrian meeting, 6 p.m. Keizer Civic Center. Committee Friday, August 10 Valvidia Entertainment Concert. 8 to 11:30 p.m. at the Oregon State Fair Expo Center, 2330 17th St NE in Salem. Entrance is $40 . Saturday, August 11 Englewood Forest Festival, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m, at Englewood Park, 1260 19th Street NE in Salem. Free family-friendly art & environmental workshops. Keizertimes presents The Severin Sisters as part of the Free 2018 Summer Concert Series located at Keizer Rotary Amphitheater at Keizer Rapids Park. Gates open at 5 p.m., show starts at 6:30 p.m. Beer, Wine, & Spirits available from Santiam Brewing Company. Please no outside food or beverages. No pets allowed inside the amphitheater. For complete concert schedule go to Facebook.com/KRAORG. For more information, call (503) 910-3232. Correction In a story titled Sign code changes fi nally adopted in the July 27 edition of the paper, the sign code was revised to permit electronic message board changes every 15 seconds and window signage will be permitted without limitation. The misinformation in the original article was due to a reporter error. sudoku Enter digits from 1-9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. involved with OFYC for four years. She’s been in the system since she was 8 years old, and now, at 21 years old, she just aged out of the Independent Living Program (ILP). In the past she’s attended Policy Conferences as a participant, but this year she was facilitating workshops and teaching other foster youth about policymaking. For Sherrett, the policy recommendations this year resonated with her own experience growing up in the system. One policy recommendation in particular hit close to home: a concerted effort to limit the number of “houseless” foster youth. At the conference, the youth who presented on this issue said foster youth need better information about their housing rights and should be more involved in deciding where they end up after they turn 14 years old. Foster youth are at risk of becoming houseless when they feel that their options are too narrow to accommodate their needs, whether that’s feeling pressure to exit the system because they feel they’re being forced into residential mental health treatment or can’t fi nd an environment that accepts their identity, which is especially diffi cult for LGBT+ youth. Older youth who feel cornered often lobby to exit the system and end up homeless. “If you consider couch- surfi ng homelessness, and I sure do, I was homeless for about a year and a half. … Even though I’ve had places to stay, it was always temporary, it was only a month-long thing,” Sherrett said. This type of homelessness—where the individual isn’t physically on the street, but doesn’t have a place to stay long-term—often goes unnoticed. In addition to giving foster youth more information on and access to their housing rights, foster youth need more support to integrate into the community as they near adulthood. Another 2018 OFYC Policy Recommendations The foster care system in Marion county is struggling to meet demand. This is the sixth part of a continuing series in the Keizertimes investigating the state of local foster care and shedding light on ways to get involved. Check back next week for another installment. policy recommendation that addresses that need is increased funding for the Independent Living Program, which provides classes for current and former youth to better navigate adult life and funding for tuition, vocational training, and housing. State funding is currently set at $2 million, and the recommendation posits that $6 million is needed to allow the program to fulfi ll the current need. “We need to make the effort to make sure foster kids have these services. How can we do that? By pushing legislators to make a choice,” Sherrett said. “Instead of putting money toward a prison, put it toward ILP services, so we don’t have these at-risk youth going to prison. They can stay at- risk, get the help they need, and eventually not be at-risk anymore.” Sherrett’s passion for advocacy is evident, but the confi dence with which she carries herself is something she’s had to work toward, she said. This year, as a workshop facilitator, she was coaching her peers on policymaking for the fi rst time in her life. At fi rst, she was anxious about fi lling that role. But after talking through her anxiety with some of her older peers, she realized the purpose of what they were doing. “We’re going to make an impact on people, this why we’re doing this, to make a change within the foster care system, to make a difference and let our voice be heard,” Sherrett said. “That’s what I love about being involved with OFYC.” OFYC members spent the weekend of July 21 hashing out policy recom- mendations for lawmakers, DHS higher-ups and ser- vice providers to improve the system in a way that will have the greatest impact on youth in foster care. Here’s the full list of recommenda- tions: • Increase funding for Independent Living Pro- gram (ILP) services, includ- ing services for foster youth exiting treatment centers. • Increase funding for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) and increase the diversity of CASA volunteers. • Create sexual awareness classes provided by DHS caseworkers with curricu- lum designed by doctors, psychologists, and those with lived experiences, with a focus on the men- tal and emotional aspects of sexual health. • Expand Oregon Health Plan (OHP) coverage to include more options for alternative mental health services and treatment, and improve access to dental specialists such as ortho- dontics. • Provide youth in care with a complete list of mental health resources and all available mental health services. McMahon, the program director, said that’s what the best thing about a youth- led program like OFYC is: empowering youth to be the change. “I’m not the decision maker for this program, and it’s amazing for the youth to feel that,” she said. “I think they really feel that they’re directing and owning it.” Policymakers, both within DHS and at the Capitol have been surprisingly open to youth involvement, McMahon said. They’ve welcomed youth voices in policy meetings and in presentations to train DHS employees, among other areas. Every bill OFYC New foundation will provide outside aid to Keizer Fire Present and past members of be mailed to: Keizer Fire Foun- the Keizer Fire District Board dation, P.O. Box 20183, Keizer, of Directors and other civic- OR 97307. Keizer Fire Foundation minded leaders have joined to- gether to form the Keizer Fire Foundation. The mission of the founda- tion is support the training of Keizer Fire District fi refi ghters and medical personnel, provide equipment and to provide sup- plemental support for the emer- gency services activities of the district for the residents of the Keizer area. The foundation will promote 5 YEARS AGO the fi refi ghting, lifesaving and McNary student earns education efforts of the Keizer her way to Europe Fire District. Eventually the foundation Cassandra Jones, 16, spent the will solicit project ideas from last fi ve months doing bake sales and yard work to raise the the public. Currently fi nancial dona- $5,000 needed to fund a trip in tions may be mailed to PO Box Europe as part of a music tour 20183, Keizer, OR 97307. The by Voyageurs International. board is asking Keizer residents 10 YEARS AGO to honor the foundation with Planned statue will bequests. Life-long supporters of the Keizer Fire District can honor city’s namesake be confi dent that their dona- A selection committee has been tions will have positive effects formed to choose the artist who on the district and the citizens will sculpt the statue of Thomas Dove Keizur for the new civic of Keizer. Dave Bauer, a volunteer with center. the district for 30 years, a for- 15 YEARS AGO mer Salem-Keizer School Board Stun gun robbery member and co-owner of R. report unravels Bauer Insurance, serves as presi- dent of the Foundation. Other Police believe an apparent offi cers include vice president robbery outside the Wells Shawn Lapof, a Keizer resident, Fargo Bank branch in Keizer member of the board of direc- was actually staged to cover tors of the Keizer Chamber of up the attempted theft of a Commerce and secretary-trea- local restaurant’s deposit. Two surer Chet Patterson, a member employees of Taco Bell were of the Keizer Fire District board arrested. of directors; he also served as 20 YEARS AGO one of Keizer’s fi rst city coun- Council resorts to cilors in the early 1980s. drawing to fi ll vacant Other board members in- clude: Victoria Shinn, Karen Van position Meter, Garry Whalen and Lyn- The city councilors deadlocked don Zaitz. Keizer Fire District on several ballots to fi ll a va- Chief Jeff Cowan serves as an ex cant seat. Split 3-3 between ap- offi cio member of the founda- plicants Lore Christopher and tion’s board. Jacque Moir, Police Chief Marc The foundation’s fi rst project Adams come up and picked a will be announced in the sum- name out of a 5-gallon bucket. mer of 2018 and begin solicit- That’s how Christopher won ing donations. Donations may appointment. looking back in the KT has been designated a 501(c)3 charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Service which allows it to accept tax- free donations. • Establish crisis plans in order to facilitate perma- nency by preventing un- necessarily moving foster youth from their homes. • Youth transitioning into care must receive mental health counseling and foster parents and the caseworker must interact with youth for one month before con- ducting the Child and Ado- lescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment. • Hire former foster youth to bridge commu- nication barriers between DHS and current foster youth so youth know their rights and opportunities for obtaining housing. • Foster youth must re- ceive an in-person meeting at age 14 informing them of housing opportunities, fol- lowed by a mandatory fol- low-up meeting every 6-12 months to document prog- ress. Prioritize the hous- ing needs of youth with a higher risk of houselessness, including LGBTQIA2S youth and youth of color. • Support relationships and bonding between fos- ter parents and foster youth by requiring caseworkers to provide classes, trainings, and resources regarding re- ligion, lifestyle, and bond- ing in easy to access formats such as posters, packets, and websites. has championed at the State Capitol has been signed into Oregon law. But McMahon wants to see youth involvement go beyond a seat at the table. Of DHS Child Welfare, McMahon said, “The agency was really ready to have youth at the table and now I’m trying to shift that to having a table of youth.” For more information or to support OFYC, visit ofyc.org. GROWTH, continued from Page A1 struggles likely lie ahead, said Glen Bolen, a senior planner with OTAK, a consulting fi rm helping Keizer plot the path forward. “Costs will be higher because everything will need to be built from scratch. Fees would have to increase dramatically. Demand for property may not be suffi cient to support infrastructure costs, and homes may not be affordable to current (Keizer) residents,” Bolen said. maze Maze by Jonathan Graf of Keizer KEIZERTIMES.COM Web Poll Results Should the Salem-Keizer School District have its own police department? 63% – No 37% – Yes Vote in a new poll every Thursday! GO TO KEIZERTIMES.COM
