Corvallis, Benton County ranked one of nation's 100 best for youth

By REBECCA BARRETT
Gazette-Times reporter

Corvallis and Benton County have been ranked as one of the 100 best communities for young people in the United States by America's Promise Alliance.

The first national competition recognized communities that showed a commitment to providing healthy, safe and caring environments to young people. More than 1,200 communities applied, and Corvallis-Benton County was the only one in Oregon to make the top-100 list.

Corvallis Mayor Helen Berg praised the efforts of Benton County's Commission on Children and Families for submitting the application that included information about the community's efforts to help young people succeed.

"This recognition from America's Promise Alliance is for those efforts, and also for the way CCF told our story," Berg said.

She also encouraged people to continue to do the things that led to the recognition.

"Let us use this praise we have received to continually remind ourselves of the Alliance's ‘five essential promises critical to the well-being of young people: caring adults who are actively involved in their lives; safe places in which to learn and grow; a healthy start toward adulthood; an effective education that builds marketable skills; and opportunities to help others.'"

Among the factors cited in the alliance's announcement for why Corvallis and Benton County were chosen was the county's Healthy Start program, which includes a welcome baby visit for all new parents. During the visit, parents can participate in voluntary screenings for risk factors associated with child abuse, neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, mental and physical health issues. Parents are offered additional visits and referrals to other services for up to five years, and the program includes public, business and private partners.

JoAnn Miller, director of the Benton County Commission on Children and Families, said the county also mentioned many of the activities that cater to young people, such as the Teen Idol competition and the children's programs at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

The community has also supported initiatives to build a new Boys & Girls Club in Corvallis, and the new Philomath Youth Activities Club, the downtown skatepark, the Riverfront Park fountain and a new outdoor pool, Otter Beach. There is a place for young people to go if they don't have a home, Jackson Street Youth Shelter, and public schools have achieved among the lowest high school dropout rates in the state.

Although the ranking emphasizes the things that adults think are important for youth, teens at the skatepark on Wednesday afternoon agreed that this is a good place to live if you're under 18.

Jim Hodgson, 14, moved to Corvallis recently from Colorado, and said he likes the community. He's glad to be attending the brand new Corvallis High School and he has places to go after school to hang out with friends.

Jon Amaral, 16, said he likes living in Corvallis because it's a college town. He said there's very little violence or crime here.

Evan Buchan, 15, used to live in Las Vegas and said he finds Corvallis "boring sometimes."

That's not say he disagrees with Corvallis being a great place to live for young people.

"It's definitely one of the best places," Buchan said.

America's Promise includes the United Way of America, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Junior Achievement and YMCA, and was founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The alliance was formed in 1997 following the Presidents' Summit for America's Future, when Presidents Bush, Carter, Clinton and Ford challenged the country to make children and youth in a national priority.

Corvallis has been recognized as a fine place to live several times in recent years.

This April, the magazine Men's Journal ranked Corvallis No. 7 on its list of best places to live among U.S. cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000. In 2003, Corvallis was listed by the magazine as the eighth best on that same list.

In 2004, Corvallis was named the 10th best place to live in America by "Cities Ranked and Rated," a book published that year.

A report by Bicycle Transportation Alliance in 2002 ranked Corvallis as Oregon's most bicycle-friendly city. That same year, the Orange County Register newspaper named Oregon State University its best Pac-10 Conference campus.

Also in 2002, Corvallis was ranked seventh of about 500 small cities in the country as a good place to do business by BizDemographics, an online publication.

The Corvallis School District made Offspring Magazine's list of the top public school systems in the country in 2000.

In 1996, a Parade magazine article rated Corvallis one of the 10 best cities in which to live, and a 1995 study by Vegan Magazine ranked Corvallis as one of the 13 best towns to be a vegetarian.

ON THE NET:

A complete list of winners can be found at www.americaspromise.org.

Reporter Rebecca Barrett can be reached at rebecca.barrett@lee.net or 758-9510.