THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 13, 2020 | $1.00
OPRD facing
layoffs in wake
of revenue drop
Happy campers
Community
&
Lifestyle
T IME
O UT
By Lloyd Little
Retired teacher, coach and
game offi cial
With more than55 years as an athlete,
coach, parent and spectator, Lloyd
Little has gained some insights and
perspectives regarding athletics. Each
week, he shares what he's learned
about sports from his multiple points
of view.
Before the HOF
Part VI: Stephanie Osburn
In 1980, the Siuslaw High
School varsity girls’ basketball
coach, Jay Scanlon, decided to
leave a talented group of young
girl players on the JV team.
Among these players was a fu-
ture Siuslaw Hall Of Fame mem-
ber Stephanie Osburn. Th is de-
cision marked the beginning of
a decade of success for the girls’
basketball program.
Led by the inside threat of Os-
burn, my JV girls team won its
See
LITTLE 2B
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
June 13
6:21am / 5.0
7:43pm / 6.0
1:03am / 2.7
12:56pm / 1.0
June 14
7:35am / 4.7
8:25pm / 6.2
2:11am / 2.2
1:47pm / 1.4
June 15
8:48am / 4.6
9:04pm / 6.4
3:09am / 1.6
2:38pm / 1.8
SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTOS
At last year’s 90th birthday celebration for Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington’s
Camp Cleawox, Girl Scouts of all ages gathered to make friends, learn about the outdoors and
connect to history. This year, all Girl Scout camp events will be held virtually
Girl Scout camps go ‘virtual’
Girl Scouts offers virtual camp and safe outdoor activities to girls locally and nationwide
F
rom the city block to the
suburban backyard to the
back country, Girl Scouts
has a long and storied history of
getting girls outdoors.
This summer, when kids and
parents are faced with limited
safe, accessible, and affordable
camp and outdoor options due
to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA)
is launching three outdoor ini-
tiatives to keep girls entertained
and engaged in virtual and
in-person environmental activi-
ties all summer long.
Offerings include virtual sum-
mer camps, free online experi-
ences tied to the outdoors, and
exciting virtual events to ensure
girls across the country have ac-
cess to a variety of fun, challeng-
ing, and experiential activities
so they can continue to develop
essential skills and behaviors that
will help them become effective
leaders in the outdoors and be-
yond.
Girl Scout Camp Adventures
at Home Marketplace
When girls spend quality time
outdoors and increase their ex-
posure to nature, they thrive
physically, emotionally, and in-
9:55am / 4.7
9:41pm / 6.7
June 17
10:53am / 4.9
10:17pm/ 7.0
4:42am/ 0.4
4:12pm/ 2.4
June 18
11:43am / 5.2
10:53pm / 7.2
5:22pm / -0.1
4:55pm / 2.7
June 19
12:29am / 5.5
11:29pm/ 7.4
6:00am/ -0.7
5:36pm/ 2.8
See
CAMP 2B
New board prsident Gigi Lassen wants to expand schedule, community listener base
pursue our mission: Inform,
educate and entertain. KXCR
was specifically created to share
information by way of non-com-
mercial educational radio,”
members and introduce more
live programs.”
One of the new programs that
Lassan and station manager
Local community radio sta-
Larry Bloomfield were interest-
tion, KXCR, has moved forward
ed in offering was based
with management and pro-
on a model that was nearly
gramming changes during
“KXCR was specifically
a century old and used to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The moves have been created to share information great acclaim by former
Franklin D.
made cautiously over the
by way of non-commercial President
Roosevelt and came to be
past few months, adding a
educational radio.”
known quite famously as
new Board President and a
“Fireside Chats.”
new series of on-air discus-
— KXCR board president Gigi Lassen
“In a COVID world, the
sions for station listeners.
question was what we can
Gigi Lassan has taken
do to inform our commu-
over the organization’s
reins and, as KXCR’s new direc- Lassen said. “We provide a nity, our friends and our neigh-
tor, hopes to continue to grow broadcasting platform with bors about the associated cost of
the station’s number of listeners emphasis on community and the pandemic as it relates to
while also putting the station on keep us informed on the latest education, health, housing and
more secure financial footing.
issues. I am also hoping to other critical areas to the rural
“As the new elected KXCR broaden our base of support, as
See KXCR 3B
president, I wish of course to well as interact with community
Siuslaw News
3:59am / 1.1
3:26pm / 2.2
members can access a one-stop
shop to sign up for any of the
hundreds of virtual summer
camp sessions taking place na-
tionwide.
For the first time ever, girls can
meet and participate together in
virtual camp sessions offered by
any of the 111 councils across the
country. They can find a camp
based on their interests and grade
level on the Marketplace site.
KXCR announces new board president, ‘Fireside Chats’
B Y M ARK B RENNAN
June 16
tellectually.
According to a 2019 Girl Scouts
Research Institute study titled
“Girl Scouts Soar in the Out-
doors,” 86 percent of girls agree
they learned more about nature
through Girl Scouts, and 80 per-
cent state that they participated
in outdoor activities through
Girl Scouts that they never would
have done otherwise.
With the launch of the Girl
Scout Camp Adventures at Home
Marketplace, members and non-
The Oregon Parks
and Recreation De-
partment
(OPRD)
will face months, even
years, of critical chal-
lenges due to the eco-
nomic fallout from
COVID-19.
The agency does not
receive state Gener-
al Fund tax dollars to
operate any service,
including its popular,
heavily visited state
park system.
A decline in its main
revenue sources —
Lottery Fund and park
visitors — has left it
offering reduced ser-
vices and facing layoffs
to fill an estimated $22
million gap in its July
2019-June 2021 bud-
get.
OPRD’s budget is
44 percent Lottery
Fund dedicated by
Oregon voters in 1999
and 2010; 50 percent
“Other Fund” from
park visitors, a portion
of recreational vehi-
cle registrations, and
other sources; and 6
percent Federal Fund,
mainly for heritage-re-
lated programs.
The projected Lot-
tery Fund allocation is
down 30 percent from
pre-coronavirus esti-
mates. The state park
system was closed for
two months, and is
just now starting to of-
fer limited services to
campers.
When it became
clear in spring that rev-
enues were going to be
unstable, OPRD froze
hiring, curtailed dis-
cretionary spending,
and suspended large
improvement and re-
pair projects and oth-
er programs such as
grants.
The current esti-
mated $22 million gap
could grow or shrink,
but it has necessitated
the decision to lay off
47 positions by June
30. The number of po-
sitions laid off could
change; state park field
operations have borne
the lion’s share of the
workforce reduction
already.
Most of the state
park workforce is hired
seasonally, and of the
415 positions allotted
to operate parks, only
77 had been hired by
the time the system
closed in March.
Some seasonal staff
may be hired on a
case-by-case basis to
flesh out the current
skeleton crew. The up-
coming reductions will
focus on other areas of
the department.
Typical services such
as trash collection, re-
strooms, and showers
are limited, both due
to their expense and
See
OPRD 2B
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