Story and photos by JOYCE RIHA LINIK

WOLF CREEK & SUNNY VALLEY, Oregon-In the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon where the forested earth folds and crinkles like mounds of green velvet, two small towns are tucked into the creases of neighboring valleys and tied with watery ribbons of cerulean blue. It is easy to see why Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley have appealed to generations of settlers.

Pioneers found that these valleys offered protection from the elements, as well as a plentiful water supply from the nearby Rogue River and its network of feeder creeks. Industrialists were attracted to bountiful woodlands and the promise of gold in surrounding hills. Early entrepreneurs set up service industries along stagecoach routes- an inn or a tavern, a café or a mercantile store.

With the demise of the mining and timber industries, more recent immigrants have been lured by the simple, rustic beauty of the place.

A 1969 cover feature in Life magazine portrayed the area as a refuge for those in search of peace, love, and living off the land. As a result, an influx of tie-dyed renegades loaded up their VW vans and headed for the hills.

While he missed this flower-child pilgrimage, moving to Wolf Creek some 11 years later, Michael McManus fit right in. At 61, with his graying beard and long, tied-back locks, he looks like a man who embraced the ideals of the '60s. Yet his resume demonstrates that he didn't get waylaid as any campus philosopher. After obtaining a master's degree in psychology from Humboldt State University, McManus worked his way up the ladder of the Eureka, California, school system, first as an English teacher and coach, then as a school counselor, and ultimately as Superintendent. Unfortunately, this climb took McManus further and further away from the job he loved most: working with children.

A decision to get away from it all took him to the Siskiyous, where McManus found both home and heart. He discovered a bucolic landscape in which he and his wife, Camille, could put down roots- literally, through an extensive herb garden-and a raison d'etre where his life's work was concerned, for there may have been no place that needed him more.

Josephine County, home to Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley, is Oregon's only federally designated rural Enterprise Community, identified as such because of the severe economic distress of the area. With the Siskiyou National Forest no longer providing a forest-products economy, unemployment is more than double the state average, while per capita income is three-fifths of the average Oregonian's. More than one in two of the county's rural children live in poverty, many in homes without indoor plumbing or electricity. Nine percent of school- children are minorities, primarily Native American and Hispanic. Eighty-six to 98 percent of the community's children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school. The statistics go on and on, but suffice to say, Josephine County is in need of many things. Michael McManus, for one.

According to Dr. Steve Nelson, Director of Program and Planning Development at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, McManus understands that rural voices need to be heard and that, often, this involves creating opportunities to get heard. Though he sometimes is described as "quiet," McManus is never shy about picking up a phone to track down a resource or to connect with someone with the power to make things happen. When children are in need, he'll call Head Start's Ron Herndon or Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber or the President of the United States, if that's what it takes.

"If I had to describe Mike's role," Nelson says, "it's all about kids and all about connections. He sees how all the pieces fit together to benefit children."

KNOWING WHAT CHILDREN NEED
Where children are concerned, McManus has first-hand experience. He and his wife have raised three of their own and are in the process of raising two more, adopted through a foster-parenting program. Some might say that McManus has actually adopted many more since his arrival in Wolf Creek. He has touched the life of nearly every child in the region through his work, first as a child-and-family therapist for Family Friends, a nonprofit organization that treats survivors of child abuse and their families, and more recently as principal of Wolf Creek Elementary School.

"The school is the hub of the community," McManus says, and his statement resonates on a number of levels. Officially, the school serves some 140 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, but actual students include far greater numbers, ranging in age from birth to senior citizens. That's because the school shares its playground with its next-door neighbor to the west, the Oregon Parent Information and Resource Center, recently opened to provide the community with parenting resources and preschool developmental activities (see sidebar, Page 38). Wolf Creek Elementary also shares some of its facilities with its two neighbors to the east: the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition, a social-service collaborative that includes 26 separate service providers, and the Sunny Wolf Community Response Team (CRT), the organization that controls Enterprise Community funds for community development.

Wolf Creek Elementary is the site for adult evening classes in such subjects as computer software, writing, mush- room tracking, and even belly dancing. And why not? "It is the community's school," McManus asserts.

That's not to say that the focus on grade-school students has gotten fuzzy. McManus is committed, as are staff members at the school, to giving Wolf Creek Elementary students the best possible education. Of course, that involves a strong focus on the basics. To strengthen students' reading skills, for example, McManus notes that every student is provided with four separate opportunities to read and improve each day. And the school recently acquired a computer center, equip- ped with enough terminals to handle a full class at a time, to ensure that Wolf Creek students learn the technological skills they will need when they advance to other schools and eventually enter the workplace.

Before teaching strategies and practices can have an effect, however, children need the kind of support that enables them to absorb the information offered. In impoverished communities like Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley, that means making sure their basic needs are taken care of-things as rudimentary as food and shelter.

"A hungry child is going to have difficulty focusing," McManus notes. Breakfast and lunch are therefore provided.

Some necessities, less tangible, are equally important. "Children need consistency and love," he explains. "They need to know someone cares."

McManus certainly does. He's outside the school each morning to greet children as they arrive; he chats with them at lunchtime in his role as cafeteria facilitator; he's there to see them off on their school buses every afternoon. He bends to their level to talk to them and calls each by name. He makes a point to praise children for their accomplishments and provide encouragement when they need it. Outside of school, he supports them as well, attending after-school events and offering assistance wherever he can. But much of the support these children need comes through community activities-like the parenting center and adult education-that are part of a larger effort to improve results for all.

Children do not live in isolation. They are affected-physically, intellectually, and emotionally -by all those around them. Parents who learn marketable skills have a better chance of finding employment and furthering their ability to provide for their children. Business owners who learn to grow their businesses not only stimulate the community's economy, but also have the potential to provide jobs. Adults who value learning and apply it to better their lives teach children to do the same.

To support each other in this endeavor, the school shares its learning resources with the community while, at the same time, the community shares its learning resources with the school. For instance, the technology center that Wolf Creek Elementary shares with its neighbors wouldn't exist if the neighbors hadn't first donated the building and hardware. If boundaries seem a bit blurred here, it's because they are.

It turns out that McManus is not only the principal of the school; he is also coordinator of the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition and closely linked with the group that shares its house-converted-to-office space, the Sunny Wolf CRT (which, incidentally, is the organization responsible for the donation of the computer center and equipment at the school). Fortunately, Gary O'Neal came on board to head the CRT. Managing all of the Enterprise Community projects is a time-consuming job, and McManus already has two of those.

Make that three. In his spare time, McManus is Director of the Oregon Parent Information and Resource Center, the little house on the other side of the school.

"He has a tremendous amount of energy," says Janet Bell, who holds two jobs herself as Office Manager of both the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition and the CRT. "And when something needs to be done, he never shrinks from taking the hardest part of the project."

It's convenient, then, that these organizations are linked geographically, though McManus is personally wearing a path between the buildings. Their location also reinforces the strong ideological link between school and community development.

They're all working toward improving life for the community as a whole-children and adults. Working with the child involves working with the parent. Working with the parent affects the child. And education-or learning, a less daunting term for some-is a key ingredient in these seamless efforts.

ONE BIG CLASSROOM
In many ways, the Wolf Creek/ Sunny Valley region itself is one big classroom.

Community members like Tom Greene and David Storey look forward to their day as schoolteachers every year. Volunteer firefighters from the town, these men visit during Fire Prevention Week. Through-out the day, groups of students gather in the cafeteria to learn about "the great escape," mapping a route out of a burning building in advance in case the need ever arises.

The students are rapt. For children anywhere, firefighters and fire trucks are exciting stuff.

Greene draws pictures of a burning house on the chalkboard. "You'll want to look for the nearest window," he instructs.

"But what if you don't have a window?" asks a child. The question is a reminder that many of the community's children live in make- shift dwellings that may not have windows or even doors. Some families resort to tents and cars when times are rough.

Without missing a beat, Greene broadens his response to exits of any kind.

When the lesson has ended, the children can barely contain themselves as they are guided outside to get a closer look at the gleaming white fire and rescue trucks. The firefighters even manage to work a bit of math into their presentation while showing the children the truck's water gauge. Storey says they tailor the lesson for different grade levels.

When Maureen Hutcheson's first-grade students are back in their classroom, she gathers the children in a semicircle around her and asks them to summarize lessons learned. Hands shoot up so quickly, small bodies are almost propelled into the air. It appears the firefighters have met with teaching success. At the least, "Stop, drop, and roll," is firmly engrained in students' minds.

The community also serves as classroom when the students venture out. A lesson for area students has to do with the nature of wetlands and how to restore them in an area decimated by mining over the last century-and-a-half. The Golden Coyote Wetlands reclamation effort has received the financial backing of the Southwest Oregon Resource Conservation and Development Council, among others. The project was the dream-child of local resident Jack Smith who, remembering waterways once thick with steelhead and salmon, was inspired to restore the area to its former bounty. Students have been involved in helping to survey and inventory the land, and to clear intrusive, nonnative plants.

As the project progresses, students will use the site to study both wildlife and history. Eleanor Pugh, an avid ornithologist who has catalogued local bird populations, has already begun to educate the area's children and adults on the complex world of wetlands species. Increased numbers of deer, beaver, and turtles are also anticipated. And history buffs need only cross the creek to find Golden, an abandoned gold-rush era mining town that is remarkably well preserved.

ONE-STOP SHOPPING
Wolf Creek is located 20 miles and two mountain passes away from Grants Pass, the nearest city. Lack of transportation makes it hard for many residents to access state or county service providers. "So," McManus explains, "we said, 'Come to us. We'll give you the space to provide your services.'"

The truth is, they didn't have a space waiting. But McManus and others were adamant about getting the services out to the people. If service providers would come, they would find a space.

Service providers came: representatives from federal, state, and local organizations; designees from public and private foundations. They came to provide welfare and employment resources, health services and counseling, firewood permits and driver licenses. They met in a back room loaned by the local church and set up shop. Because there was no heat in the church's annex and winter in the Siskiyous can get really cold, McManus would come early to start a fire in the wood-burning stove. This image of McManus lighting fires has stuck. Now, the community says he lights fires wherever he goes.

Sid Jack, from the Oregon Employment Department office in Grants Pass, was one of the early members of the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition. He remembers the first community meeting he attended in 1995 when he looked around the group assembled in the church annex and saw more service pro- viders in attendance than local residents. Having worked with many communities over the years, he thought, "Here goes another round of we-know-what's-good-for-you." But the Sunny/Wolf community surprised him. The word may have been slow to spread in the beginning, but now, Jack says, "there are more locals than providers at the meetings," even though the list of providers has grown. What's more, turf battles are nonexistent, he says. "There's a real spirit of we-can-do-it."

Further, Jack says he finds the coalition to be "the most cooperative group [he's] ever worked with." The folks in Wolf Creek are much more concerned about getting the work done than worrying about who gets credit. "There is less turf battle," he says, than he's seen in other places. "In fact, it's non-existent."

With the approval of clients, service providers collaborate to find the best ways to help people in need. These sessions are called "staffings" and they are highly confidential to respect the privacy of those involved. One case involved a couple with four children, living in two cars and a tent. Representatives from several service providers- including Adult and Family Services, the Josephine County Housing and Community Development Council, Services to Children and Families, and the Oregon Employment Department -got together to find fast solutions. They met with the couple on a Wednesday. By the following Monday, service providers had come up with available housing as well as job referrals. Had these services not been available in one location, the family might still be driving back and forth between agencies located in different parts of the state and waiting in lines to see caseworkers who would only be able to help with one piece of the puzzle. And that's assuming one of their cars was functional.

This collaborative approach is rewarding to the service providers, as well as the clients. Instead of sitting in an office seeing an endless stream of cases, they get to know their clients personally in their own environment, which helps them to better understand clients' needs. And they get to see when they've made a difference. "It's extremely refreshing," says Jack.

SETTING A POWERFUL EXAMPLE
When community efforts help adults, they also help children -not just by providing life's necessities, but also by providing opportunities that can make the difference between a child merely surviving or learning to lead a productive, rewarding life. "It's not just the physical support that's important," says resident Ron Murray. He'd be the first to tell others not to underestimate the power of a good example.

Ten years ago, after his stint with the U.S. Army ended, Murray and his daughter, Hannah, moved to Wolf Creek. When he found no employment in the area, he got resourceful. A good mechanic, Murray thought he could make a go at a business of his own. Unfortunately, his repair shop met with a catch-22: Many residents in this poor community can't afford cars. Murray's attempt at a landscaping business also failed. With a child to support and nowhere else to turn, he found himself on welfare and fighting serious depression.

Murray's involvement with the folks at the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition and the CRT helped him regain his footing, slowly but surely. First, Murray took advantage of service providers' offers to help him with his depression and a worsening alcohol problem. Then, Murray says, "I finally decided it was time to do something for myself." He took hold of his bootstraps and gave a good tug.

One of the vision statements adopted by the residents of Sunny Valley and Wolf Creek was a commitment to taking part in the development of the community, even- and, in fact, especially -on a volunteer basis. Murray took this tenet to heart. He began volunteering at the Sunny Wolf program office and, in the process, learned about a temporary employment program offered by the Job Council. He approached CRT head O'Neal with a proposal, and the CRT agreed. Through the program, Murray would spend six months working for the CRT; the state would pay most of Murray's salary; and the CRT would provide job training. Because Murray demonstrated some skill and interest in writing, folks at the CRT helped enroll him in a business-English program offered by Rogue River Community College. At the end of the six-month period, the Sunny Wolf staff was impressed. So was the community, which votes on the allocation of all CRT development funds. In this case, they voted to hire Murray full time to work in the CRT office.

Of this experience, Murray says, "It feels good to be productive, to be a plus to the community, to earn respect." He loves his job and the people he works with, both the staff- ers and the clients for whom he has special empathy. "Now, I rush to get out the door in the morning instead of trying to hide behind it."

The effect on Murray's daughter is also evident. While she had always been a good student, her grades clouded during the worst of the storm. Now, besides providing his daughter with the basics, Murray can provide a positive role model. "It's really brought up her self-esteem," he says. "Seeing her father working and getting paid on a regular basis, that's been really good for her." Hannah's grades have risen to straight As, and she's taken more interest in extracurricular activities. At after-school events, Murray has noticed that she holds her head a little higher. It's clear that she is proud of her father.

Likewise, her father is proud of her. This summer, Hannah participated in another community development program organized through the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition. Through a youth employment program from The Job Council, the teen had the opportunity to work as a teacher's aide at the Oregon Parent Information and Resource Center, learn a bit about early-child- hood development, and earn some pocket money of her own. This community-as-classroom experience, her father says, has opened new options for her future. Hannah is currently investigating child care and teaching as possible career goals.

Other teens took advantage of similar learning opportunities in the community.

Several found summer jobs on the Golden Coyote Wetlands project, reclaiming local waterways.

Another group found summer work on a project organized by the CRT, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and local community member Boyd Peters. In an effort to improve tourism in the area, this group cleared a hiking trail to the top of London Peak (named after Jack London who did some writing here around the turn of the century). The London Peak Trail is particularly significant because it is a wheelchair-access trail, which enables the disabled to enjoy the views usually seen only by the able-bodied.

Opportunities like these provide much-needed income for families. At the same time, they offer job training and teach valuable life skills. Further, they keep teens and young adults engaged in productive activities instead of partaking in a favorite pastime for some Wolf Creek residents: hanging out and drinking in front of a boarded- up store.

REDUCING THE RISKS
In Wolf Creek, teenagers are at particular risk of falling out of the education system and mainstream society. Because there is no middle school or high school in the valley, Sunny Wolf teens are bused to Merlin, a town on the outskirts of Grants Pass. Getting there means catching the bus at 6:20 a.m. This can take a physical toll on adolescents, whose developing bodies often need extra sleep.

Adolescence is also the first time that many of the "have nots" meet the "haves" from wealthier communities. The emotional toll can be significant. The Boys and Girls Club, a member of the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition, tries to catch kids before they fall.

National statistics show that most juvenile delinquency happens in the first hour after school. Bored kids, released from school while many adults are still working, will find something to do. In an effort to make that "something" constructive instead of destructive, the Boys and Girls Club offers Power Hour, a one-hour after-school program that provides homework help and promotes basic-skills development, including computer practice. Children of all ages are welcome, and older students often help tutor the younger ones.

Additionally, the club offers evening and weekend activities, including field trips filled with experiences many of these children might not otherwise enjoy: bowling in Grants Pass, eating pizza, seeing a movie, going ice skating, or taking a climbing class. Though the lack-of-transportation issue made these trips rare at the start, that's no longer the case.

The Fraternal Order of the Eagles lodge in Grants Pass raised the money to buy the club a van and also organized a used bicycle drive. Repairing the bikes is a new club project, and another way to teach the children about responsibility and ownership, explains Dave Plautz, coordinator of Boys and Girls Club activities in Wolf Creek. With more of the world within reach, there's no doubt that these children will travel farther in life.

Wolf Creek residents Eileen Zink and Bev Strauser saw further options for teens in a junk-filled garage behind the house that's headquarters for Sunny Wolf programs. Zink's grandmother, it seems, was fond of the adage "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." Zink was reminded of this as she heard tale after tale of bored children getting into mischief. She and Strauser decided that the Sunny Wolf garage was just what teens needed. The two women offered to coordinate a community effort to clean out the junk and turn the garage into a meeting place for teens.

Not only did the CRT agree to the proposal, they found funds to do some of the finish work-putting in drywall and adding a bathroom and kitchenette. The teens themselves participated in the painting and decorating of their new home and couldn't be happier with the results. They've even included a bathroom wall of inspirational graffiti.

Additionally, Zink and Strauser were instrumental in equipping the teens' garage with vehicles for education and entertainment: computer terminals and software, video games and pool tables, chess sets and decks of cards. Many items were donated by people or organizations who supported the idea of the Wolf Creek Teen Center.

Adult volunteers see that the drug-, alcohol-, and smoke-free policy is strictly enforced, and distribute healthy snacks that have been provided through donations. The real measure of success: When- ever the doors are open, teens hang "out" inside.

GAINING GROUND
Those without children at home have also benefited from the school-and-community efforts. Many have given something back. As part of a dance and theater troupe called Those Wolf Creek People, Laurie Robertson and two fellow artists received a Commission on Children and Families grant allocated by the Boys and Girls Club to provide dance workshops at the school. For children who may not even have a television set at home, Those Wolf Creek People were a real hit. The group continues to organize theater productions in which community members take the stage.

Robertson was also one of the first adults to take advantage of the computer classes offered after hours at Wolf Creek Elementary. The skills she acquired there enabled her to generate computer spreadsheets for her husband Ronald's truck-driving business, which allows him to spend more time on the job generating profits which, in turn, help to stimulate the local economy.

And the Robertsons aren't the only small-business owners who have benefited. The CRT has used a portion of Enterprise Community funds to offer low-interest loans to small business owners who can't obtain traditional bank financing.

According to the CRT's O'Neal, "We're like the old-fashioned banker who knows people and their reputation." And the strategy is working. Thus far, the effort has funded nine small business loans to community members, and timely payments are rolling in. Some of the businesses have even created new jobs in the community.

Last year, the CRT itself started a small business to generate income for the years ahead, when Enterprise Community funds are no longer available. The business involves shipping specialty fencing (designed to keep out deer) from a family-owned company in Pennsylvania to customers in the western United States. Already, the business has expanded into its own warehouse.

Indeed, the combined efforts of both school and community in Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley are gaining ground.

Inch by inch, step by step, residents are beginning to make real strides toward improving the health of their community. There's still a long, uphill climb before economic stability is attained and the commu- nity is able to support itself. But, as McManus attests, "This is a real 'can-do' community." And folks in these parts have a great deal of experience climbing mountains.

Parents and preschoolers alike enjoy "hanging out" at the Oregon Parent Information and Resource Center. Although the goals of this program are quite serious-providing resources for parents and developing school readiness in preschool youngsters -the methods emphasize fun and informality. The center, a joint effort of the Sunny Wolf Family Coalition, Portland's Albina Head Start, and the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, is designed to support the community's disproportionately high number of children being raised by single mothers and living below the poverty level. In many cases, residents live miles from their nearest neighbor. As a result, children may have no opportunity to socialize with others their age. Pre- schoolers may never have been left in the care of another adult. This isolation can be a hindrance to development and a setback once they begin school. Marion Schneider, the child-development specialist at the parent center, plans activities to help ready young children for the school experience. Some activities involve the parents with their children; others are for children only. Sometimes, the kids just play with toys and with each other, while the parents gather in another room. "Everything is a learning experience at this age," Schneider says. Putting a toy in the hand of a child, she explains, creates an opportunity for discovery. Through such moments, children learn growth and dexterity, cause and effect. They become familiar with their world. When they play with the other children, they learn to socialize. When they listen to Schneider guide them through a crayon exercise, they prepare to take direction from a teacher. Wolf Creek Elementary staff have noticed the difference already. Last year, McManus notes, there were a number of new students who arrived at the start of school and really weren't prepared for the experience. This year, kindergarten teacher Linda Blackburn had her first arrivals from Schneider's class. Those who have attended classes at the center, she says, are much more advanced than those who haven't. Parents advance along with their children. In fact, they may even have more fun. Where it may be a bit traumatic for a child who has been isolated in the country to adjust to a roomful of other children, the parents couldn't be more thrilled to connect with other adults. There's a great deal of talking and laughing whenever they meet. And there's learning, too. While Schneider is working with the children, McManus meets with the adults for parenting class, although that's a bit of a misnomer. The experience is more of a blend of group therapy and gab session, interspersed with pearls of wisdom from McManus, delivered so skillfully that revelations seem to spring from thin air instead of from any lesson plan. In one such "class," the conversation is already flowing when McManus mentions a notice he's seen about a group that's seeking out potential foster parents. This turns the conversation to issues that children may have from early childhood experiences and what kinds of parenting are good or bad. What the participants don't seem to realize is that McManus has steered them here to discuss parenting issues in a "safe" forum. While talking about foster children and other people's parenting skills, the participants begin to share their own views and frustrations. They compare experiences. Together, they learn to solve problems. One recent discussion, for instance, surrounds discipline. Inevitably, the issue of spanking comes up and a debate ensues about whether it's better to spank with a bare hand or with an inanimate object such as a kitchen spoon. Cindy Henry, a mother in the group, says that instead of spanking, she asks her son if she should tell Mr. McManus about his bad behavior. The group laughs. Henry explains. It's not that the child is afraid of McManus, a self-described "marshmallow," but that he respects his principal and knows that his principal respects him. He doesn't want his image tarnished in McManus' eyes. This gives McManus the perfect opportunity to talk about alternatives to spanking, spe- c- ifically the "assertive discipline" he and his staff use at the school. He doesn't get preachy on them. After all, he says, there's no parent- including himself-who doesn't have room to grow. He doesn't get technical on them. But he does give the parents an idea of how assertive discipline works, noting that it involves building mutual trust and respect with a child, and it rewards positive behavior. If, however, children behave badly, McManus suggests that parents identify the action, inform them of the result that will occur if they continue to engage in the behavior, and give them a choice. He also plants the suggestion that they go sit in on Maureen Hutcheson's first-grade class to get an idea of how assertive discipline works. The conversation segues into another discussion and eventually ends when some of the preschoolers come looking for their mommies. Later, when one of those mommies is asked about parenting classes, she says there aren't any. "Oh, sometimes we get together and talk," she concedes, "but there aren't any classes."

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