COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2019 | 7A
from A1
Skills
trainable youth.
With the help of other
instructors, Gaines envi-
sioned a skill center which
would teach a variety of
trades such as welding, me-
chanics and woodworking.
“We could do all kinds of
stuff with these kids if they
want to learn something,”
he said.
Gaines secured a build-
ing on Franklin Blvd. in the
Glenwood area and spent
about a year building the
center. Backed by a team of
volunteers and supported
by local fundraisers, Gaines
had set up two shops and
eight classrooms.
“We spent quite a few
thousand dollars on the
place,” said Gaines. “We
were getting really close to
opening.”
Then
the
monkey
wrench dropped.
“The mayor texted me
and said that I needed to
do this trade school skill
center somewhere else,”
Gaines said. “It angered
me. I did all that work.”
The news came as a
shock and Gaines chalked
it up to the cold flow of bu-
reaucracy.
from A1
Row
Gilbert, executive director
of the Watershed Council,
the past years have shown
a steady decline in gar-
bage. But this year’s winter
storms likely uncovered
garbage that added to
clean-up weight.
Before the day of the
float, volunteer Doug Gar-
letts, who coordinated the
event, did a trial run along
the six miles of river to
mark places where it had
changed. Garletts’ recon-
naissance helped the group
anticipate trouble spots
and areas that would need
more attention.
“He did all the work
behind the scenes… it
wouldn’t happen without
Doug,” said Gilbert.
The group began the
day at about 9 a.m., work-
“Springfield changed all
the building codes in that
area and we couldn’t do
anything – we couldn’t use
the building at all,” he said.
“They had plans for Glen-
wood and we weren’t part
of their plans.”
Despite the setback,
Gaines had resolved to see
the project through. One
year ago, he sold his house
in Springfield and moved
to Cottage Grove with the
intention to reboot his skill
center on his own property.
Again, however, Gaines
ran into another hurdle.
The proposed skill center
would be constructed un-
der the aegis of the non-
profit Lane County Youth
for Christ and would raise
his own property value. As
such, Gaines was told he
couldn’t construct there
either.
With the little money
left over from his previous
project, Gaines has begun
searching for a building
that could house and train
area youth. Lately, he’s had
his eye on Latham School
as a venue, starting with a
small group of 10.
“What I’d like to do is
teach a few kids some skills
and then have them help
in training the next group,”
he said. “We want to bring
them in and house them
and teach them the skill.
And we’d have to have a
controlled environment to
do that.”
Touching the lives of dis-
affected youth is hardly a
new project for Gaines.
“I’ve been dealing with
these kids for the last 31
years as a chaplain at the
detention center,” he said.
“I’ve helped a lot of kids get
turned around.”
Gaines works at the John
Serbu Juvenile Justice Cen-
ter in Eugene, a facility
which helps troubled teens
integrate back into society.
His own experience as an
abused child and drug user
for 15 years, he says, is an
accessible contact point for
the youth he treats.
“And I’ve turned my life
around. And now I’m giv-
ing back,” he said. “I’ve
dedicated my life to work-
ing with these kids. And so
that breaks open the door
for me to be able to speak
into their lives because
they connect with me.”
Gaines recalled his own
trust issues and hang-
ups as a youth and what
it would have taken to set
him straight.
“A lot of these kids are
used and abused and have
never had a chance,” he
ing through about a six-
mile stretch, utilizing the
slow-moving current to
cover a stretch from the
Row River boat launch to
Lynx Hollow State Park.
Including
intermittent
stops along the way to pick
up garbage from the side of
the river, the clean-up con-
tinued until 4:30 p.m.
There were challenges
in the float but, according
to Gilbert, no surprises
thanks to Garletts’ test run.
Volunteers removed trash
from the river and carried
it on their kayaks or rafts,
with larger items too big
for personal floats being
placed on a garbage barge.
The largest item found?
A car door.
In addition, volunteers
hauled a lot of tires out
of the river, along with
a shopping cart, all of
which added to the overall
weight recovered during
the clean-up. Gilbert com-
pared lifting tires out of the
river to cross-fit.
“It’s a workout, but it’s a
fun workout,” she said.
There were also smaller
things recovered by volun-
teers, such as diapers and
fishing line. At the end of
the float, the whole group
docked on the bank and
piled the garbage in a stag-
ing area for Oregon State
Parks to pick up and dis-
pose of.
said. “They’re just surviv-
ing and I want them to
get on with their lives. …
They’re no throw-away
kids. They’re just dealt a
bad hand. A lot of times
these kids are being turned
on to meth and all kinds
of drugs by their own par-
ents, which is really sad. So
I just want to give them a
chance.”
If Gaines’ skill center
project gets off the ground,
he’s hoping to implement it
countywide.
“It’d be nice to get the
kids out of their environ-
ment,” he said. “If we can
get them away, bring them
up from Eugene into Cot-
tage Grove, train them,
and then we can try to
find them jobs, set them
up with school and clothes
and try to help them have
a start.”
As the Juvenile Justice
Ministry Director with
Youth for Christ, Gaines
also couches his counsel
to youths in Christian doc-
trine.
“We share the Gospel
also,” he said. “It wouldn’t
depend on their being
trained, but I want to speak
into their lives about a dif-
ferent direction with their
life.”
The proposed program
Overall, Gilbert said she
would consider the clean-
up a success; the day’s
weather was great and, af-
terwards, the group went
to the Brewstation to cele-
brate.
“Any year where you get
that much trash out of the
river is a good year,” Gil-
bert said.
For more information,
visit the Coast Fork Willa-
mette Watershed Council’s
website at www.coastfork.
org.
Accounting • Payroll
Personal & Business Income Tax
trade, if they want to get off
the street and they want to
get on with their life, it’d be
no charge,” said Gaines.
To see the project take
root, Gaines is also relying
on a community of skilled
volunteers who will be able
to donate services to the
center.
“I’m going to find peo-
ple that are willing to teach
these kids a skill. I can’t
teach everything. I can
teach some,” he said. “Most
of these kids haven’t had
a chance. And they just
have to realize that some-
body cares about them and
they’re not out to take ad-
vantage of them.”
More information about
Lane County Youth for
Christ can be found at
www.lanecounty.yfc.net.
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would be aimed at youth
under 21 and focus on
short courses that could set
them up for their next step
in life.
“We’re talking about
weeks,” said Gaines. “It’ll
probably give them just
enough skill to get an ap-
prenticeship job.”
Considering the inher-
ent pitfalls of dealing with
troubled youth, Gaines
is also aware that certain
precautions will have to be
taken.
“It’s going to be a se-
cured setup,” he said. “The
kid has to be willing on his
own accord to stay there
and not run off. If they run
off, they’re out of the pro-
gram.”
In addition, the skill cen-
ter would operate free of
charge for attending youth.
“If they want to learn a
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