OJAI VALLEY : Jobs Program Seeks Youths to Fix Trails

An Ojai-based youth employment program is hiring workers to repair Ojai Valley hiking trails ravaged by winter rains.

Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers will hire 50 people to begin repairs May 22 and plans to hire an additional 50 by the time work ends in October.

Applicants must be county residents at least 18 years old. They also must have been unemployed for 15 of the last 26 weeks or recently laid off. Full-time students are not eligible.

The job will pay $8.10 per hour for 40-hour workweeks.

Lanny Kaufer, assistant project director, said the storm damage that needs repair is extensive.

“There are places where the trails are completely obliterated,” he said, “places where the side of the trail has collapsed, caved in and become dangerous.”

Work will begin in Rose Valley. Crews will work under the aegis of the U.S. Forest Service as they fill in trail segments washed out by the rains and remove mudslides and debris that block paths.

“While the work is very demanding, it should appeal to people who want to be outdoors and want to learn about nature and the environment,” Kaufer said. “And they’ll be developing job skills and learning how to work on a team.”

The U.S. Department of Labor is funding the program through the Job Training Policy Council of Ventura County.

Those interested should call the state Employment Development Department in Oxnard at 988-2243, arrange an appointment to apply for PSE Flood Employment and say they want to work with CREW. Applications can also be picked up at CREW’s office at 110 E. Matilija St. in Ojai.

For more information, call 646-5085.