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Public Comments - Media

Evans keeps busy on several community fronts
Polk County Itemizer-Observer
January 11, 2006

Diving right in

Craig Coleman
January 11, 2006

MONMOUTH/INDEPENDENCE -- Paul Evans would wake up on a Vietnam-era cot, in a little trailer on Balad Air Base, daily from February to June in Iraq last year.

He'd spend the next 17 hours hunched over computer monitors, ordering supply drops or air support for ground troops, greenlighting special operations missions and other aspects of air-battle management.

Between 2003 and 2005, Evans made several month long trips to Washington D.C., working at the nation's Joint Air Defense Operations Center.

He was charged with keeping air space around the capitol or events such as the G-8 Summit clear of weapons and hijacked planes.

The former Monmouth mayor's military duties as a major with the Oregon Air National Guard have taken him across the country and world for the past four years.

He now finds himself back in the familiar digs of his hometown, adapting to life outside the military.

Evans splits his time between teaching a speech communication class at Western Oregon University and working a part-time job with Central School District as a community education official, handling outreach and public affairs for district administration.

"Getting back to civilian life does take getting used to," Evans said. "I enjoy being back, though."

Evans said he had been searching for a job when his military service came to an end during the summer of 2005.

He was considering congressional staff work in Virginia when Central administrators offered him a public affairs position in July.

Evans said he'd been interested in a career in education for years -- "I'm a closet wannabe high school history teacher" -- and had even discussed working with the district during his days as mayor.

"After that call, I purposely forgot to return a lot of those calls for jobs back East," he said.

Evans spends about 20 hours a week acting as an assistant to the superintendent and as a liaison between the schools and the community.

The job includes everything from meeting with citizens who want to know how the district's budget process works, to working with WOU administrators to provide educational programs in Central classrooms, to discussing school funding with state leaders.
"I'll be meeting with Sen. Ron Wyden this week," Evans said, "letting him know that our district, like everybody else's, is in need of state dollars."

Evans has also been assigned to long-range projects, such as Central's involvment in creating the Ash Creek Multi-Purpose Trail, and helps coordinate a recent series of town hall style meetings between the district and residents of Monmouth and Independence.

"You have people who send their kids to Central schools who identify themselves as parents, as part of the faith community or Latino community," he said.

"We're trying to get their opinions on how they think things should be run and if they're matching with what's actually happening."
Apart from the school district, Evans teaches at WOU three days a week. He said a college campus is where the most noticeable differences between military and civilian life present themselves.

"As a major who's worked in a combat zone, seldom do you ever have to explain yourself," Evans said. "When you're an instructor at a university, you have to explain yourself multiple times.

"The difference between a 21-year-old soldier in Iraq and a 21-year old at a college, their immediate concerns, life experiences and personal issues ... their mindsets ... are so completely different."

And at times, so is the etiquette, Evans added. He was both amused and puzzled during his fourth week into fall term, when one student began assembling breakfast in front of him during a lecture.

Commonalities between the armed forces and working in education do exist, Evans said, such as being able to mulit-task and interacting with a variety of different people.

"I think what ties it together is that teaching and being in the military are both about leading people," he said.

Central School District has scheduled another session for community members Jan. 16. For time and location, contact Evans at 503-838-0030.