Guest Commentary: Company’s coming, but is Sweet Home going to be ready?

Gary Jarvis

We are about to witness a once-in-a lifetime celestial event: a total eclipse of the sun.

Many of us have been aware of this, and looking forward to this event for several years. Sweet Home is on the inside of the southern edge of the moon’s shadow, which will plunge us into nighttime for a bit over a minute.

It is estimated that anywhere between 750,000 and 1.5 million people will travel from outside Oregon (mostly from Nevada, Idaho, Washington and California) to the 68-mile-wide path of “totality.”

State officials are warning travelers to expect gridlock in certain areas, and warning people to be prepared. They have also warned towns within the path of totality to expect traffic problems and other issues regarding access to restroom facilities.

Many months ago, I recommended to the Sweet Home City Council that Sweet Home has an opportunity to present ourselves as a destination to people who have never been here before; that this natural event presents a form of economic boon to the town and area businesses.

I grant that there will be an Eclipse Run with the Sun fun run two days before the eclipse, but beyond that I have seen or heard nothing as far as an official plan beyond the alteration and extension of medical clinic hours for the period of Saturday through Monday (the day of the eclipse).

I have seen nothing regarding meeting basic biological needs (restrooms).

I know that emergency services have a contingency plan in place, but am not so sure about the city itself.

Many municipalities have put a lot of work into welcoming visitors to their communities.

Madras (a smaller town than Sweet Home) has thrown out the welcome mat and is girding for a crowd of 100,000 people. They have been planning for the eclipse for over two years.

Corvallis has set up activities for kids, eclipse education booths, and is permitting food carts and even a beer garden.

They are using city parks and renting camping space for around $175 per night. There are several other towns that are turning this event into a money-making proposition.

I wrote the mayor and councilors this past week and again implored them to try to put together some form of welcoming plan for visitors… As of this writing, I have gotten no response.

So, I believe that the city is planning nothing. I fear this is a big mistake.

Here’s why. I think many visitors from the south will not make plans until the last minute to head north to experience totality. According to people who have previously witnessed total solar eclipses, the difference between a 99.9 percent eclipse and a 100 percent eclipse is the difference between night and day; or the difference between seeing an eclipse and not seeing it.

So, if those (potentially thousands) of people hear the reports of possible gridlock on I-5, they may look for back roads to the area of totality. People from the south may well look at a map and say to themselves “I think I’ll get off the beaten path and go Brush Creek to Crawfordsville, Holley or Sweet Home.”

If that happens, we will have guests – without a plan on how to accommodate them.

They could start arriving as early as Saturday. Because of Sweet Home’s long successful history of hosting 10-15,000 visitors each year for the Oregon Jamboree, people may be thinking “if there is any town that can handle a large influx of people, it is certainly Sweet Home,” and make us their chosen destination for the eclipse.

And, therein lies the purpose of this letter.

I know that many Sweet Home residents are now starting to recover from the disruption, noise and congestion from our annual Jamboree. We are not wanting to have to go through that again in two weeks.

However, I honestly believe that “company” is coming, whether we invite them or not. At least with the Jamboree in town, we were prepared, with restroom facilities and camping facilities.

If we get that kind of influx of people, and do not have a plan, it is going to be chaos. I am hoping that businesses are willing, when safely possible, to take down their “no public restroom” signs, and that churches and the school district might consider opening their doors to these potential travelers.

Restrooms are probably the biggest concern when dealing with that many potential visitors. Somehow, some way, this community needs to step up to try to make sure that people can at least relieve themselves.

The eclipse is going to leave a permanent impression on all who experience it.

I am hoping that the permanent impression that visitors have of Sweet Home is not one of “I will never visit there again… It was a horrible experience.”

Let’s make sure this event is enjoyable and safe for ourselves and our guests.

Gary Jarvis lives in Sweet Home.

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