Cooperator’s Update Wednesday 21st October

Sean Davis

Sean is working on a COVID-compliant Halloween party for the kids. Last year’s one was a great success and they’re hoping that in spite of all the difficulties they’ll be able to make some fun memories for the young’uns. Madison offered to host the event at the MGS and it is likely to take place this Saturday (October 31st) during the day.

Sean and Doug Farrington from Living Waters Church are working on advancing shed projects. Demand for it has been high, with many people requesting to be considered for a shed build. They will now be working through these requests to verify property ownership or rental permission to build them. There has also been a lot of interest in the mentorship program and they may get some extra local hands to help with that.

Sean spoke with The Ford Family Foundation and they want Sean to put together a list of organizations such as Living Waters Church and McKenzie Wellness Center which are working upriver so they can allocate funding and work directly in partnership with all of them

John Carlile – UMCC

The leaky roof issue has been temporarily addressed by Tyee Burwell patching the holes. When the rains start he will get up in the rafters and work on any long term leak issues. Shane Kamrath will also be looking into the bee or wasp issue on the side of the building.

The relief centers are still working on planning out the cache stores for inclement weather situations when areas may be cut off from vital items. The relief center will lose their refrigerator truck at the middle of November as it costs $1200 per month and they currently do not have the funds to continue paying for that. They need a generator hard wired into the building that can accommodate the refrigerators, freezers and heat. If they can get a propane generator that would be ideal since the propane tank is already there, but they need an electrician to check the wattage, etc. Sean said he would talk to Alex Jones regarding this issue.

The UMCC building now has a satellite that provides a fast connection, so they are able to offer school hours there. Hours are available from 8-10:30am Friday through Tuesday and longer on Wed and Thursday when the relief center is closed. The space will accommodate up to 6 parents and six children! Perhaps they can get an EA from the school to help with these learning sessions.

They are currently taking names and contact information of those interested in Thanksgiving dinners, and will be working on prepared and packaged meal options (for collection and delivery) depending on need. John is already working with some Rotary Clubs who are interested in helping. He will also reach out to Ford Kendall. They will also work with the clinic thanks to Kelly and others to determine level of need.

John received a note on his desk stating they would have a mobile mail truck parked at the school by next week. Sean said he heard from DeFazio’s office and they said there would be a mobile post office in BR by today, we will update as soon as we hear more on that.

Alyssa Brownlee – Housing

A School Board Meeting was held, where they decided they’d be able to offer some level of in-person gatherings there, but there is still a lot of cleaning up and logistics to be worked out before that goes ahead.

Alyssa has been sending more and more people to work with Laural O’Rourke from Lane County to assess the needs in the community. Margaret Beilharz posted on local Boards there is an Oregon PUC special meeting on Wednesday about CenturyLink restoration. This is a public meeting with links available on the bulletin boards.

Shane Kamarath – Forest Service

Stroube Flats is still taking yard debris and will remain open for the foreseeable future.