By Mary Owen
Four candidates are running in the May 16 election for two positions open for the Aumsville Rural Fire Protection District.
Jim Bennett and Rachel Fellis are squaring off for the director 2 position, while Robert Garrison and Royce Marlin view for the director 3 position.
Bennett said he is running because he is concerned about the direction management has taken in the last seven years.
“We had 30 volunteers, and only two of that group are left,” Bennett said. “The key issue is qualified leadership that will encourage more volunteers.”
Bennett wants Aumsville residents to embrace leaders who will return the board of to “a level of controlled leadership.”
“I am Oregon born and bred,” said Bennett, who holds an associate’s degree in management supervision. “I believe that our community needs people with some concept of business practices and processes.”
A U.S. Navy veteran, Bennett said he has 17 years of board experience, seven with the Willamette Agate & Mineral Society in Salem, 10 years with the Blue Clan Intertribal Council in Washington.
“I feel I have been an asset to our country and now would like to be an asset for our community,” he said.
Rachel Fellis, who moved to Aumsville two years ago after living in Salem, believes firefighters are unsung heroes.
“I have a huge respect for those that risk their time and their life to help other people,” said Fellis, whose father and brother were volunteer firefighters in the small community where she grew up.
After moving to Aumsville, Fellis began to look for ways to volunteer, starting with the Aumsville Corn Festival.
“The fire district board chair knew I had been looking for more ways to volunteer, and let me know of this opportunity to work with the fire district,” she said.
Fellis was appointed to the fire district board to fill a mid-term vacancy.
“I have been learning about the district since then,” said Fellis, a program assistant with the Emergency Response Unit at the Office of State Fire Marshal. She worked nine years at the Oregon State Police and serves in the U.S. Army Reserves.
“I am interested and excited about learning and growing in this community and meeting more of the amazing people in Aumsville,” she said.
Fellis views recruiting and retaining volunteers as an issue facing many fire districts in Oregon.
“We may need to rely on mutual aid services more and more for providing our citizens the service that they pay for and deserve,” she said. “I’d also like the district to be more visible in the community, and let people hear about the amazing work that our volunteers do in Aumsville. More visibility could also mean more people volunteering with the district.
“A vote for me would be a vote for progress and visibility in our district,” she added.
Position 3 incumbent Robert Garrison has been in the fire service for 25 years, 14 as a career firefighter and now working as a fire investigator with Portland Fire and Rescue. For 15 years, he served on the board of the Marion County Fire District 1. Last March, he was appointed to an open seat on the Aumsville fire board, a position he hopes to keep.
“The biggest issue we face right now is that we don’t have a fire chief, and we need to find the right person to lead our fire department,” said Garrison, who moved to Shaw two years ago. “The board is working on a job description and evaluating salary to attract the right person to lead the fire department.”
His goal as a member of the fire board is to locate a highly trained chief who is “knowledgeable and capable of growing the fire district” to meet the needs Aumsville’s expanding community, he said.
“The other ongoing issue is recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters,” he added. “The fire service has changed dramatically in the last 25 years, and the training and commitment for volunteer firefighters has increased to be a large commitment. To retain volunteers, we need to be constantly recruiting.”
Garrison said he is examining ways to attract volunteers through different means – website, social media and a newsletter.
A third goal is to work on improving response times, he said.
“I want to be able to ensure that when a member of this community needs the fire department that we have a qualified crew responding in the fastest time possible,” Garrison said.
“I have always enjoyed volunteer work and giving back to the community that I live in,” he said. “My goal as a board member is to maximize the use of our tax dollars to provide the best fire response possible for our community.”
Royce Marlin is retired from a 30-year career in administration for the Oregon Department of Corrections. He also volunteered for the Aumsville Rural Fire District for 23 years as a firefighter/EMT, training officer, duty chief and assistant fire chief.
“I now have the time necessary to dedicate myself to the challenges of being a district board member,” Marlin said. “I feel my experience would be beneficial to continue the service and protection the community is accustomed to.”
Marlin said the board will be challenged in the upcoming months to recruit and fill the vacant fire chief position as well as recruiting and retaining volunteers.
“I have experience in developing position descriptions, recruitment notices and sitting on interview panels which is essential for hiring the best candidate for chief,” he said. “Volunteers are the most important aspect of any small town fire service. I would look forward to maintaining a rapport with the volunteers and reaching out to the community for new recruits.
“I look forward to working with the current board to maintain the excellent service this department provides and continuing to make the department stronger and more efficient,” he said.
For information, candidate bios are in the Official Marion County Voter Pamphlet. Ballots were mailed to registered voters on April 26, and must be received in an Elections Office or an official Oregon ballot drop site by 8 p.m., May 16. Remember: postmark does not count.
