BackPack Program Supports Children

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According to statistics provided by the BackPack Program, 22% of families in Goldendale are living below the poverty level. That is 14 percentage points over the state average. Of that percentage 32% are under the age of 18 and further 39% are under the age of five. Many of these children, for various reasons, are not getting the nutrition they when not at school.

The BackPack Program is intended to give these children easy to prepare and nutritious food during the weekends. A local church stores the food and every week volunteers meet there to load up the food to be placed in the children's backpack at school. Food is discreetly placed in the childs backpack so that they are not singled out.

After the initial funding from the Washington State 4-H program to get started , several local groups have donated funding to sustain the program. The local Kiwanis Club has donated books to place in the backpacks as well. The cost to fill a backpack is about $3 or $12 per month. Food donations are accepted but need to be easy to prepare and nonperishable. If you would like to more information or wish to support the BackPack Program contact Ava Van Velsor at 509-773-5817.

Bridge Closure Effects Community

Important Advisory:
A complete closure of the Highway 97 Biggs bridge is scheduled to begin January 2, 2008. There are several detours available using the US 197 Dalles Bridge via I-84, State Route 14 or the I-82 Columbia River Bridge for eastbound traffic. Advance warning signs are in place. This project is scheduled for completion in fall 2009.
For more information, contact Chris Tams in the Columbia Gorge Area Engineering Office at (866) 279-0730, or visit the project Web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US97/BiggsBridge/.
People who need to cross the river for work are encouraged to call the Car Pool Match Northwest at 1-866-973-6879 or go to www.carpoolmatchnw.org to make carpool connections.

Washington Gorge Action Programs

Washington Gorge Action Programs is a non-profit, serving the Klickitat & Skamania, Washington communities as an action agency for the public benefit of the following:

# Community Services
# Family Services
# Weatherization
# Emergency Assistance
# Emergency Services
# Food Assistance
# Emergency Shelter
# Housing Development
# Domestic Violece
# Sexual Assault


Click Here for the Washington Gorge Action Programs website.

WorkSource: Central Washington

You can visit the WorkSource centers directly. Select the location below to learn about contacting them, and what you will find when you visit them:

* WorkSource Columbia Gorge
* WorkSource Goldendale Affiliate
* WorkSource Sunnyside
* WorkSource Toppenish Affiliate
* WorkSource Yakima
* WorkSource Kittitas

* WorkSource Central Washington

Our Vision

The OneStop Workforce Partnership of Central Washington will…

1. Be Customer / Consumer Driven
2. Utilize Integrated Technology Systems
3. Have Accessibility, i.e. Easy Access (also for special needs) and be easily
recognizable
4. Share Resources and Current, Updated Information
5. Emphasize Co-Ownership and Interdependency Between Partners
6. Be Outcome Based, Using Quality Improvement Strategies
7. Each Partner Organization will offer Access to Identified Levels of Core
Services.

Our Mission

To provide an effective, comprehensive, and fully integrated delivery system of services for successful employment. To bring together business, economic development, employment, training, education, labor, and social services to share responsibility for universal access and workforce development. To share resources to increase service delivery capacity and efficiency, and provide access to information and services across organizational lines.

Membership to the OneStop Workforce Partnership of Central Washington is open to all interested parties. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the partnership should submit a letter of interest to the full membership,

What Services are available?

There is a dependable menu of services that may be directly offered at one or more locations:

For the Job Seeker...

* Resource Room - FREE access to computers, phones, fax machines, copiers, and Internet, all for your use in resume writing and job search activities.
* Job Search Assistance - Let our staff and resources help match you with a job suited to your skills and career needs.
* Workshops - Several FREE workshops are available. Topics include writing effective resumes, interviewing, dressing for success, financial planning, and more.
* Unemployment Insurance Information - You can file a claim for unemployment insurance simply by dialing 1-800-362-4636. More information is available at gotoui.com, or from our WorkSource centers.
* Recruitments and Job Fairs - Many businesses come directly to us to fill their hiring needs. Make sure we have your resume, so that we can call on you when those opportunities arise. And watch for information about job fairs in your area.
* Career counseling and assessment - Our experienced staff can help you determine what sort of career you are best suited for, and what you can do to advance to an even better job.
* Transitional assistance (dislocated workers) - If you have lost your job because of a lay-off or business closure, let us help get you back into the working world as quickly and as successfully as possible. We may even be able to help finance your training for a new career.
* Information on job trends and labor market data
* Veterans services
* Help in finding federal or state dollars to cover some or all of the costs of training
* Information about employment and training providers to help you make informed choices
* employer assistance through recruitment and pre-screening of applicants

For the business / employer...

* Automated or assisted job posting
* Recruitment and pre-screening of applicants.
* Unemployment Insurance information - how to reduce your premium burden.
* Information on wages, benefits and labor market data
* Infomation about state taxes.
* Human Resources - Let our staff augment, or act as your HR Department.
* Tax Credits - There are many ways you can earn significant tax credits, while training new employees to fill your open positions.
* Customized training - Need special training for your employees, so you can grow your business and stay competitive? Contact us for information about how we can help.

These services are offered by a number of partner organizations who participate in this one-stop system. The cooperation among these partners makes the blend of these services seamless to you, the customer.

Where are the access points?

You will find many of these services, and/or information on how to access them in person, here on our website.

Klickitat County: Environmental Health Services

Our Mission

Improving People's Health by Reducing Exposures to Environmental Hazards. This is accomplished by:

* maintaining a safe supply of food and drinking water
* discovering the mechanisms of environmentally related diseases
* treating and disposing of solid and toxic wastes
* reducing air, water, food, and noise pollution

Click Here for the website.

Klickitat County: Personal Health Services

Our Mission

We work to promote and protect the health of Washington citizens. This is accomplished by:

* Improve health through disease and injury prevention, immunization, and newborn
screening for prenatal disease programs.
* Prevent illness and death caused by behavior choices
* Provide education to help people make good health decisions
* Control communicable diseases
* Strengthen families

Click Here for the Personal Health Services website.

Rural Assistance Center: Health Services

What is the Rural Assistance Center?

A product of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Rural Initiative, the Rural Assistance Center (RAC) was established in December 2002 as a rural health and human services "information portal." RAC helps rural communities and other rural stakeholders access the full range of available programs, funding, and research that can enable them to provide quality health and human services to rural residents.

Click on the title of this post to access the RAC website!