Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Kevin Hamilton ,of Linn County Road Department, walked casually last week along the new pavement at the new River Bend pushing a device to measure the length of different sections.
Different sections have different widths, and he needed to calculate how much more asphalt was needed to finish the job. Total paving at the park would require some 4,000 tons ? 8 million pounds ? of asphalt.
The paving project was one of the final big steps toward the opening of the park. With paving complete, just a handful of projects remain at River Bend County Park.
“I hope to have this open on a limited basis by Labor Day weekend,” said Richard Frick of Linn County Parks and Recreation.
Morse Bros. began paving on Aug. 1. Frick expected paving would be complete by Aug. 5.
The paving was covered by a grant, which includes construction of another, smaller picnic shelter.
The Northwest Youth Corps was busy working on trails all week, Frick said. The crews will finish the trail system around the perimeter of the park.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office’s inmate work crew also has worked on trails at River Bend.
The park still needs landscaping around some RV sites along with some trail work, Frick said, but the park can open before that’s completed. He said he would like to get the RV dump station completed before opening.
The park roads still need to be “shouldered,” Frick said.
The park will have 45 spaces initially. A second phase will add 45 more. The park is located just over three miles east of Quartzville Road off Highway 20. It is just east of Camp Attitude.
Part of the reason why Frick said he hopes to have the park open by September is the help the county got from the Youth Corps.
Stephen Kidd, 17, of Sweet Home was among those working on the Youth Corps crew at River Bend.
Kidd is the son of Rod and Angie Jaques. He has lived in Sweet Home all of his life. “My brothers and sisters (worked on the crew) just to get ready for school,” Kidd said. They used it for money to buy extra school clothes, and now Kidd is doing the same thing.
His team is mostly fixing trails that have become overgrown, Kidd said.
“It’s” hard,” Kidd said. “I’m getting blisters on my heels in my new boots,” but he said he’s having fun too with “new experiences and new friends.”
The crew also is graveling paths in anticipation of paving them eventually, depending on funding, crew supervisor Kat Mullins of San Francisco said.
After work, the crew enjoys an afternoon swimming before chores and dinner.
Following dinner, the crew spends about an hour in class learning about a variety of topics related to the environment and resource issues, Mullins said. They can include classes on climate change and land management. They also learn work skills and how to work in a team, through anger management and hands-on skills.
This is the first time Kidd has been to the River Bend park area.
“I didn’t even know it was here,” he said. “My parents didn’t even know.”
He said he enjoyed swimming the South Santiam River there. “It’s nice and cool.”
The Youth Corps crew was at the park for a week. This week it moves on to another location.
Four crews will rotate through the park and other locations in the Northwest.
The Youth Corps is a nonprofit organization based in Eugene, Mullins said. It provides programs for grade-school children through older teens, including this five-week work program.
Students receive a little more than minimum wage, Mullins said. As an educational outing, their wages are not taxed.
“For a lot of teens, it’s a first job, so we try to instill a strong work ethic,” Mullins said. Their work can include everything from trails to invasive species removal.
For more information or an application, visit http://www.northwestyouthcorpse.org on the Internet. The organization has fall and spring sessions in addition to summer.
“They’re doing an excellent job,” Frick said. “They’re going to help us get the campground open before Labor Day weekend. Without their help, we couldn’t do it.”
Sean C. Morgan can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 367-2135.