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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, August 3, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 28, 2004 Members of a Youth Conservation Corps crew repair a viewing area in Prescott Park, where they also installed a bench. From left are Nick Elliot, A.J. Guoino, Jose Castro, crew leader Shannon Sims and Pat Duggins. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Teens follow tradition Youth Conservation Corps members work to improve public areas in the fashion of Roosevelt’s CCC By JACI SCHNEiDER Mail Tribune Rogue Valley teens are building benches to carry on a half-century long tradition in Prescott Park. The six boys, members of the Youth Conservation Corps, will add to trails and amenities that were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the age of F.D.R.’s New Deal. The CCC disbanded in 1942, but it was the model for the Youth Conservation Corps. "It’s a grandchild of the CCC," said Shannon Sims, supervisor of the current crew. "It’s almost like a tribute to what they used to do," Sims added. Advertisement In their two-week stint at the park the boys will install four benches, repaint signs and clear trails of weeds. They’ve installed two benches with views of the valley for weary hikers, said Dwayne Stoltz, a park technician for the Medford Parks and Recreation Department. Stoltz said he wanted the new benches to match picnic tables installed by the CCC decades ago. As a result, a lone bench sits perched about 15 feet above the gravel road, surrounded by the natural vegetation of the area, with unobtrusive boulder steps leading to it. To construct the site, the six boys, Sims and Stoltz carried one ton of concrete by buckets up the steep hillside. "They’ve done in a week what it would take me a month to do," Stoltz said. "It’s turned out to be a pretty good crew." The "crew" is made up of boys ages 14 to 18, hired by the Job Council to be in the corps. Five days a week at 8 a.m., they meet Sims to start the day’s project, which could be anything from painting to weed-pulling to construction. So far this summer the group has built address markers and pulled weeds at Eastwood Cemetery and painted bathrooms, sheds and bricks at Hawthorne Park. "It’s a good job," said Nick Elliott a 14-year-old resident of Talent. "I like working outside." Even through the heat wave last week, the boys worked in the dust at the park on Roxy Ann Peak, watching out for poison oak and rattlesnakes while drinking lots of water. "It’s hot, but it’s something you got to deal with," Elliott said. Elliott’s attitude is an example of the work ethic the YCC hopes to instill in its workers. The Job Council hired 110 students, ages 14-18, to work in Southern Oregon this summer. The teens work in several different areas, some work in offices, some on forestry crews and many in groups like Sims’ crew. "They taught us about work ethic and how to maintain a job," Elliott said. He plans to use those skills as a Navy fighter pilot after he graduates from high school. The parks department provides the crew with supplies, expertise and safety training. In turn the group works on projects the department needs completed. "This is a great program," Sims said. "They’re working, making money and learning work ethic." After finishing up at Prescott Park, the crew will move to Bear Creek Park before finishing for the summer. After working all day together for several weeks, the boys have become close friends. "I’m getting to know people," Elliott said. "It’s good for me." At the end of the summer, the boys will go their separate ways, but their work will stand as a reminder of what a few teenagers can accomplish in just a few weeks. "I’ll probably be sad," Elliott said. "It’s a good job, I’ll miss it." Reach reporter Jaci Schneider at 776-4471. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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