Helping Habitat: ‘Jailbirds’ will be calling to raise funds for housing

By Mary Owen

Don Eubank had no home growing up other than that of his grandparents who took him in. So helping to add stability to a family’s life is, as he said, “the least I can do.”

“I have a great job because I worked hard and long to get here,” said Eubank, a Stayton resident who has been employed in several capacities for the city of Stayton, including police chief and city administrator.

A member of the local Lions Club and the Stayton/Sublimity Chamber of Commerce, Eubank takes his civic duties seriously. He has opted to become one of 10 “jailbirds” for an upcoming fundraiser to benefit the local chapter of the Mid-Willamette Valley Habitat for Humanity.

“Jail ’n’ Bail” will take place on Friday, Dec. 4 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Stayton Steakhouse Restaurant.

”If I can give someone the boost they may need to get to a better place, then I am there!” he said.

Santiam Canyon’s Habitat chapter, SLAMMS (standing for Stayton, Lyons, Aumsville, Mehama, Mill City and Sublimity) is working with the Stayton Rotary and North Santiam Chamber of Commerce to raise funds to build its first home in Mill City late next year.

“We plan to ‘jail’ three well-known civic or business people from Mill City and seven from the Stayton area,” said John Heilbronner, speaking for SLAMMS. “Once jailed, they will need to call for bail money or pledges to go toward the Mill City Habitat home.”

The jailbirds will be picked up prior to the start of the event, some by Stayton police officers, and will spend the incarceration in a large cardboard “jail” made by SLAMMS member Mike Jaeger.

Heilbronner and his crew believe this will bring in lots of funds for the Habitat project.

“My son, John, was one of a group taken in Eugene/Springfield late August to raise money for Jerry Lewis’ MDA Labor Day Telethon,” Heilbronner said. “He is one of the managers for one of the area’s largest pizza businesses. In two hours, he called from the ‘jail’ and raised about $1,500. Locally, we hope to raise between $3,500 and $5,000 or more for our cause.”

SLAMMS members also hope to raise awareness of their upcoming Mill City project and other projects completed or in the works, he said.

In April, SLAMMS completed a three-bedroom, handicap-accessible home working alongside the Chytka family in Aumsville, Heilbronner said.

On Oct. 17, the group began construction on a sixth Habitat house foundation, this time on the corner of Fourth and Santiam streets in Stayton for Lorraine Ramsey, a single mother of a daughter. The house is projected to be finished by July of next year, “or sooner,” said Heilbronner.

“When asked to participate in the Habitat for Humanity fundraiser, I happily agreed,” said Nicole Miller, owner of Word’s Out PR and director of the North Santiam Chamber of Commerce.

“What an incredible cause with a local impact. I’m thrilled to be involved with such a credible organization that is making a difference right where we live!”