Building Welcoming Communities

This year, the Rural Organizing Project is honing our focus to an ambitious project: building welcoming communities. This means that we’re devoting extra of our most precious resource, organizer time, to working with small groups of people running pro-active campaigns to make their communities more welcoming to immigrants.
    This can work. What begins with a small group gains momentum, bringing in civic leaders, allies in the media and government, and captures the imagination of the community.
    For example, Lincoln County's Immigrant Information Response Team started in 2010 with a year of movie nights and cross-cultural relationship building that grew their group, then moved onto opening dialogue with law enforcement and county leadership about immigrant safety and inclusion, then began passing town resolutions to honor the innate dignity of immigrants and native-born, and committing to values of fairness and acceptance.  They have now passed 4 resolutions in Newport, Yachats, Waldport, and Toledo. These are powerful steps that over time cause a deep change to take root. We have been inspired.
    Nearly all human dignity groups have a history of working for immigrants' rights as part of our commitment to human dignity. We’ve complemented local organizing with advocating for changes to the laws that created today's immigration flows and second-class of undocumented immigrants. Now, we step again into our role as local community leaders and ask:

• What can we do right here, right now, to unite our community, immigrants with native-born, and make us visible to each other?

• What are some of the daily hardships that immigrants experience due to our community's untrusting or hostile attitude, and how can we mend that trust?

• How can we build a cross-cultural fabric strong enough to easily expose the fear-mongering of anti-immigrant policies when and if they come to our town?

• How can we shift the public storyline around immigration by honoring the richness of our heritage as a nation of immigrants--but include current immigration flows among those who greatly contribute?

The work that we're talking about is possible when we make a long-term commitment to local transformation. We've drawn inspiration from from a national collaboration of groups that we're a part of called Welcoming America.  (This approach was recently featured in the New York Times!)
We've shared a toolkit as part of our immigrants' rights series that compiles the best that we've seen to answer these questions in Oregon and around the country.  Check it out on our website here  (or just download this Menu of Options).
--Amanda Aguilar Shank. For the Rural Organizing Project
503.543.8417 www.rop.org

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Strategy and review session set for IIRT this Saturday

The Immigration Information Response Team of Lincoln County will meet with Amanda Aguilar-Shank this Saturday, January 28, at 11 a.m. In the Centro de Ayuda office, corner of 9th and Hurbert in Newport. A short general meeting will be followed by a review of our activities so far and setting of goals and strategies for the coming year. This meeting is scheduled to continue until 2 p.m. to allow time for discussion. Light refreshments will be served.
    At 2:30 p.m., Amanda will meet with members of Occupy Newport in the Centro de Ayuda office to think through the big questions around the Occupy movement and develop next steps strategies for our communities across rural Oregon.

Everyone is invited to participate in both meetings.

--Joanne Cvar cvar@peak.org

“Wetlands in the Landscape” featured at rescheduled Climate Change meeting

Our January meeting has been *rescheduled for this Thursday the 26th in the Newport Visual Arts Center at 5:30 p.m. as usual. Our meeting will feature speaker Mary Kentula, a Wetland Ecologist from the US EPA Western Ecology Division. Kentula has studied and worked in

    Corvallis for over 30 years, earning both an MS in biology and a PhD in botany and aquatic ecology from Oregon State. Her research focus with the EPA includes monitoring and assessing wetlands at the regional and watershed scales, and restoration ecology of wetlands.

    Kentula's talk, entitled “Wetlands in the Landscape: Profiles as a Template for Decision Making," will address how wetlands function in the landscape and how decision-making can impact the services provided. She will also discuss how information, like the types collected for the Yaquina Estuary Conservation Plan Atlas, could be used to learn about the local landscape and provide insights that can guide decision-making.

    We hope to have a representative of the Wetlands Conservancy, authors of the atlas, speak at our February meeting.

View the atlas here:
http://wetlandsconservancy.org/ConservationPlans/yaquinaestuary/YECP%20Atlas%20July%202011.pdf
    Kentula will speak for the first half of the meeting and remaining time will be dedicated to making progress on our draft ordinances. We will will also discuss outreach on Thursday. Bring your ideas and let's work on a strategy to get the word out about climate change and adaptive planning.

--Paris Edwards, Volunteer Coordinator, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition

paris@oregonshores.org 541-414-9371.

Addressing Climate Change impacts on fish, wildlife, and plants

The Council on Environmental Quality and the Interior Department have released a draft plan outlining a national government-wide strategy for addressing climate change impacts on fish, wildlife and plants. The plan is open for public comment until March 5, 2012.
    View the draft at www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov
--Contributed by Sharon McLennon

Help accessing social services electronically:

volunteers needed immediately
Progressive Options of Lincoln County is looking for additional volunteers to help persons with disabilities of all kinds obtain needed social services and assistance, and to advocate in the community on their behalf.

    Progressive Options, which recently announced a new service to help people access social services and assistance using the county's two new local phone and Internet directories, will be sponsoring a free three-hour training workshop on Thursday, Jan. 26, for their own volunteers and for any other private or agency case workers and caregivers who would like to attend.

    The focus is on training volunteers and professional caregivers so that they can then pass the information along to their clients, but anyone is welcome to attend. Representatives from the Dial 2-1-1 and Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) systems will provide the training and answer questions. Light refreshments. The training workshop will take place from 1 to 4 p.m., at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, SW 9^th and Hurbert, in Newport.

(Accessibility entrance on Hurbert.)

    Anyone needing immediate help with the systems can receive it on a drop-in basis at the Progressive Options office, 611 SW Hurbert Street (across from Jonah's Whale thrift shop), Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. To 3 p.m.

    Contact Progressive Options at progop541@yahoo.com or541-265-4674.

Author John Baker At Newport Public Library
The Newport Public Library will host a reading by Dr. John Baker from his latest book, Lost and Found: Lessons from Life,
 on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 2 p.m. Lost and Found is a collection of short vignettes highlighting everyday and profound
situations in Baker’s life. Sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, the stories bear witness to the author’s search for
 meaning in the challenges of life.
Baker, a graduate from the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, has taught in high school and college.
His other publications include Camp Adair: The Story of a World War II Cantonment; Today, Oregon's Largest Ghost Town,
and three works of poetry: Reflections From a Coastal Town, Pacific Shift: and
Other Poems, Popcorn Palace and Other Poems.
See <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/WebZ/FSFETCHfetchtype=fullrecord:sessionid=fsapp639095gxkozraqa5d97a:entitypagenum
=7:0:recno=4:resultset=3:format=FI:next=html/record.html:bad=error/badfetch.html:entitytoprecno=4:entitycurrecno=4:numrecs=1>.
For more information about this program, call the Newport Library at 541.265.2153 or check its website, www.newportlibrary.org.

Newport Senior Activities Center offers card-making classes

Come and make a Valentine with Leona Beutler. Newport Senior Activities Center offers free card-making classes every Tuesday morning at 10:30, and this Valentine’s Day is a celebration of all things Valentine! Come and join in this creative class for making these personal works of art to share with your family and friends. Class will be from 10:30-noon on Valentine’s Day. Leona Beutler, the instructor, has been sharing her talents with participants at the NSAC for the past few years.
    Please call 541-265-9617 for more information, and check out our website, too: www.newportoregon.gov/sc. We are located at 20 SE 2nd Street in Newport, next to City Hall. Now is the time to check out your Newport Senior Activity Center and all its offerings to help you have a great 2012!

 The Inside Job

Please join us Tuesday, January 31,6 p.m. at Oregon Coast Community College Newport campus for a FREE public showing of the Academy Award -winning documentary film Inside Job.
   Inside Job is the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

    Narrated by Academy Award® winner Matt Damon, I Inside Job was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. 

      See the Inside Job official trailer at http://youtu.be/FzrBurlJUNk  Free public screening on January 31, 6 p.m.  In the Community Room at Oregon Coast Community College, 400 SE College Way, in Newport. Refreshments and Discussion of film will follow the screening. 

--Yasmina Dedijer-Small www.yasminadedijer-small.com

Vermont Workers visit Corvallis:
Strategies and Tactics for Organizing Communities

Reminders:

Barbara Roberts to headline Gomberg Kick Off Event:
Small Business leader launches campaign for Oregon HouseLincoln County small businessman David Gomberg will officially launch his campaign for the Oregon House of Representatives with a community event on Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Lincoln City Cultural Center at 7 p.m. Governor Barbara Roberts will be the featured speaker. Gomberg was chief-of-staff to Roberts when she served in the Oregon House in 1981. Retiring State Representative Jean Cowan is also scheduled to speak. The entire community is welcome to attend the no-charge event.
         The Gomberg Kick-Off will take place at the Lincoln City Cultural Center (Old DeLake School), 540 NE Highway 101, in Lincoln City. Oregon State House District 10 runs from Waldport in the south to Tillamook in the north and Sheridan in the east. It includes portions of Lincoln, Tillamook, Polk, and Yamhill Counties.
     For more information please visit www.ElectGomberg.com.
--Matt Rowe,  541-260-367 matt@electgomberg.com

Open House events for HELP
Join us at the Newport HELP Center on Tues. January 31, 4-6 p.m., to learn about the Lincoln County School District's Homeless Education and Literacy Project. Take a tour of the HELP Center and learn about the different programs that we offer. Staff will be present to answer questions and talk about the volunteer opportunities at the center.     Light refreshments will be available. The NEWPORT FAMILY LITERACY and HELP CENTER is located at 351 SE Harney St., Classroom F.
    There will also be an Open House for the Homeless Education and Literacy Project at the TOLEDO HELP CENTER on Thursday, Feb. 2, 4-6 p.m. Staff will be present to answer questions and talk about the volunteer opportunities at the center. Light refreshments will be available.
    The Toledo HELP Center is located at 1811 Arcadia Dr, Building D, in Toledo. Questions? Call us at 541-336-4357
e-mail: brittany.russell@lincoln.k12.or.us
--Brittany Russell, Volunteer Coordinator, East/West County HELP Centers
Newport: 541-574-5824 Toledo: 541-336-4357

Climate Change and Water Resources
Our lecture series will continue this month with a panel discussion on climate change and water resources. The panelists include Ken Williamson, Chris Surfleet, and Anne Nolin. Dr. Williamson is an Environmental, Civil Engineer and the current head of the civil engineering department at OSU.  Dr. Williamson will introduce the topic and discuss potential impacts to resources and infrastructure for Oregon’s coastal communities. Dr. Surfleet, a Forest Engineer, will discuss his research on the impacts of climate change on hydrology and its relationship to water management and policy. Dr. Nolin, a Climatologist, will discuss how remote sensing helps us better identify “at risk” areas in the Pacific Northwest vulnerable to the hydrological impacts of a warming climate.
    The event will take place at the Yachats Commons on Tuesday, January 31 at 7 p.m. Further detail and bio information will be posted on our website www.oregonshores.org and our project blog http://oregonshoresclimateaction.wordpress.com.
    Contact me with any questions regarding either event at Paris@oregonshores.org, or 541-414-9371.
 --Paris Edwards, Volunteer Coordinator, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition 

Newport High School Literary and Photography Student Review

The Yachats Academy of Arts and Sciences is proud to present an evening featuring Newport High School students in a review of their literary and photography projects. The event takes place on Friday, Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m. at the Yachats Commons, 4^th Street and Highway 101, Yachats.

    Featured performers include Flannel Wolf, Nakaia Brogran, Hocoontas, Sedative Soup, Super Rock Cluster, Brie Staunton, Preston Cahall, Logan Cummings and many others. Newport High Senior Elana Sutton will emcee the event.
    There is no admission charge for this presentation, but the Academy appreciates a $5 donation to help cover our publicity expenses. The Academy also asks that you be prepared and generous in your support for these student activities and exciting projects.
    For more information, go to GoYachats.com or call 541-961-6695.
 

America's healthcare system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.  

--Walter Cronkite