Northwest Youth Corps - Work for Linn Co. youth

There are still slots available in a summer forest work program for Linn County teenagers.

Ethan Nelson, the program director for the Northwest Youth Corps, said about 20 spaces remain to be filled.

Participants spend five weeks working on outdoor projects such as building and maintaining trails. They are paid for their work and enjoy sightseeing hikes on weekends.

Linn County is paying almost all costs associated with the program for up to 60 youth this summer.

Nelson said the slots set aside for 14- to 15-year-olds have been filled, but there are still openings for 16- to 19-year-olds.

'We've been getting a good response from Linn County. Partners we've been working with have helped us get the word out,' Nelson said.

Northwest Youth Corps is based in Eugene and sends teams to wilderness locations throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Linn County.

Unlike work crews operated by the Linn County Juvenile Department, this program is not for court-ordered community service but is simply intended to provide work and life experience for young people.

The program has a zero-tolerance policy for drug and alcohol use and includes classes on life skills and substance abuse awareness.

Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist, who championed the summer work program idea, is hoping that young people and families take advantage of this opportunity.

'It represents teaching kids work skills and has value to the community and value to the kids,' Nyquist said. 'I've got some very positive feedback from the community.'

Linn County is not using any general fund money for the program. This spring it decided to allocate more than $106,000 from its federal forest payments to provide the spaces in the program.

Each year, Linn County gets money from the federal government as compensation for the extensive federal ownership of land in the county. Most of this money is for roads and schools, but some of it is earmarked for various forest-related educational and improvement programs.

Other county uses for these funds include habitat restoration, the Linn County Search and Rescue team and several outdoor schools.

To apply for a space in the summer youth work program, call the Northwest Youth Corps at (541) 349-5055.

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