One of the best ways to gain an understanding of how the current financial crisis is having a negative impact on communities throughout the nation is to read small town newspapers. In such pages, you'll learn how almost every county, city, town, hamlet and school district is facing sizable budget deficits.
The local newspaper for South Pacific County is the Chinook Observer. In this week's edition alone, there was an article about how the school district in Long Beach is considering the elimination of their only counselor for the entire district. There's also talk of closing one of the area's state parks. The bigger story, however, is a proposal to close the Naselle Youth Camp (NYC). NYC "is an unfenced facility that serves male and female offenders in a medium security setting."
The State Senate has proposed keeping NYC open, while shutting down the Green Hill School in Chehalis. The House version is the other way around and is favored by our governor. So, what we have here are two small towns -- Chehalis (7,500) and Naselle (400) -- holding their collective breath to see if the local economy will take a direct hit.
The situation for Naselle is more dire than that of Chehalis. NYC is the largest employer in the area and, if it closes, Naselle may cease to exist.
Many of the workers for a closed NYC would have to move away in search of new jobs. This would cause a direct impact on the local school district which is among the smallest in the state. Losing students would equate to less funding and less funding would mean a loss of teachers and staff. If this were to take place, the state would probably step in and mandate that the school district merge with another in the area.
The few businesses in Naselle (grocery store, gas station, cafe, and bank) would become hard-pressed to turn a profit if the community shrinks in size. The nearest services would then be located in Astoria, OR or Ilwaco, WA -- both around 15 miles away from the center of town. This would necessitate more driving for the locals and this would certainly not be good for the environment nor their pocketbooks.
All this because the State of Washington is staring at a $9 billion deficit. Painful cuts need to be made and there are other small communities like Naselle in the same boat. Several will virtually disappear if the budget axe falls their direction.
The local newspaper for South Pacific County is the Chinook Observer. In this week's edition alone, there was an article about how the school district in Long Beach is considering the elimination of their only counselor for the entire district. There's also talk of closing one of the area's state parks. The bigger story, however, is a proposal to close the Naselle Youth Camp (NYC). NYC "is an unfenced facility that serves male and female offenders in a medium security setting."
The State Senate has proposed keeping NYC open, while shutting down the Green Hill School in Chehalis. The House version is the other way around and is favored by our governor. So, what we have here are two small towns -- Chehalis (7,500) and Naselle (400) -- holding their collective breath to see if the local economy will take a direct hit.
The situation for Naselle is more dire than that of Chehalis. NYC is the largest employer in the area and, if it closes, Naselle may cease to exist.
Many of the workers for a closed NYC would have to move away in search of new jobs. This would cause a direct impact on the local school district which is among the smallest in the state. Losing students would equate to less funding and less funding would mean a loss of teachers and staff. If this were to take place, the state would probably step in and mandate that the school district merge with another in the area.
The few businesses in Naselle (grocery store, gas station, cafe, and bank) would become hard-pressed to turn a profit if the community shrinks in size. The nearest services would then be located in Astoria, OR or Ilwaco, WA -- both around 15 miles away from the center of town. This would necessitate more driving for the locals and this would certainly not be good for the environment nor their pocketbooks.
All this because the State of Washington is staring at a $9 billion deficit. Painful cuts need to be made and there are other small communities like Naselle in the same boat. Several will virtually disappear if the budget axe falls their direction.
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