craigdailypress.com

At the start of each summer, as the schools close and the weather warms, Craig City Clerk and Personnel Director Shirley Seely finds herself with a large stack of work to sort through.

That work entails filing the paperwork to add about 100 youths ages 16 to 20 to the city’s payroll for various positions around Craig.

“It takes a lot of time,” she said. “Our first payroll in June is the one that really hits us, because that is when they all come on board and it takes quite a bit to do all the paperwork and track them down.”

But, Seely said she is happy to do the work for the youths.

“We appreciate the fact that these kids are willing to work,” she said. “I really think it is a good program for them. It really helps them in life skills and helps us run the programs that we need to.”

This year, the City of Craig was presented with an appreciation award and plaque from the state recognizing the city for their efforts to employ youth for the summer.

Seely said the city employed 100 youth over the summer in jobs at the road and bridge, parks and recreation, refuse, wastewater, and water departments. Several youths were also employed this summer as baseball umpires and soccer referees, she said.

This year, the city has paid temporary workers a total of $204,084.69 as of the end of July, Craig City Manager Jim Ferree said. Most of that money is paid to the summer youth force, Ferree said.

The city’s budget includes about $310,000 for seasonal and part-time employment for 2010, but Ferree said he does not expect to spend all of that money.

The award is part of the Colorado Governor’s Summer Job Hunt Program, which is administered locally through the Colorado Workforce Center in Craig.

Morganne Foster, who is the Craig coordinator for the program and an employment specialist with the office, said she was “very proud” of the city for winning the award.

“We were really pleased to hear that the city was going to be hiring the same number of youth that they generally do,” said. “They really came through for the youth this summer, they really did.”

Dustin Willey, 16, who will be a junior at Moffat County High School, is a desk attendant at the Craig Swimming Complex.

He said it was nice to have a job, especially in the down economy.

Willey contends it has been tough for youth to get summer work recently.

“The adults are taking the jobs, so we really don’t have anything,” he said.

Brent Juergens, 17, who will also be a junior at MCHS, echoed Willey’s thoughts.

“They get laid off at their bigger corporate jobs, and they’re stepping down a few ladders,” he said of adults in the workforce.

But Juergens said he was thankful to have his job as a part-time lifeguard and part-time pool aide.

“Its nice to buy your own stuff and just have work to keep yourself busy,” he said.

Foster said the goal of the Governor’s Summer Job Hunt is to help youth find employment in a field they are interested in, and to build job skills for the future.

As part of the program, Foster said she hosted two classes at the end of June through the workforce center that focused on teaching youth interviewing skills, resume preparation and how to complete an application and approach employers.

“It is perfect for the youth that are looking for just a summer job,” she said.

Craig was one of 30 businesses and employers on the Western Slope to receive the award. Rocky Mountain Youth Corps of Steamboat Springs also received the award, said Julie Berge, Governor’s Summer Job Hunt coordinator.