Many eligible for heat funds.Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard Thousands of Lane County residents are lining up for help paying home heating bills as the days and nights turn colder and higher fuel prices kick in. Federal aid is available for elderly and disabled people and low-income households, at least until the money runs out. The fund usually dries up with thousands of households still on waiting lists; last fiscal year, almost 6,000 households received aid through the fund. "There definitely are so many more households that qualify than we'd ever be able to serve with this kind of funding," said Mary Ellen Bennett of the Lane County Human Services Commission. Bennett is the local coordinator of the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP LIHEAP Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program , which helps eligible low-income homeowners and renters pay their electric, oil, natural gas, propane propane, CH3CH2CH3, colorless, gaseous alkane. It is readily liquefied by compression and cooling. It melts at −189.9°C; and boils at −42.2°C;. or firewood heating bills. The county has received $1.3 million in LIHEAP funds so far this season and expects another small payment, bringing the total to $1.5 million, before the winter is over. A substantial increase in LIHEAP funding nationally this year isn't expected to benefit Oregon, Bennett said. The additional funds likely will go to states in the East and Midwest that rely heavily on heating oil, she said. Most Northwest households use electricity and natural gas for heat. But there is some good news for the state. Another $14.7 million will be available for low-income energy aid thanks to settlement payments from energy companies investigated for electricity price manipulation during the Western energy crisis of 2000-01. That could give Lane County another $1 million to $1.5 million in various types of assistance this year. "It would be like a whole other round of funding, so I'm very optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about that," Bennett said. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 5,879 households in the county received aid through LIHEAP. Payments this year began Nov. 7 for senior and disabled households. All other eligible households may apply for aid starting Dec. 5. To qualify, a household's gross income must be at or below 60 percent of Oregon's median income level. That means a single person's gross monthly income must be $1,600 or less. A four-person household's monthly income must be $3,078 or less. The amount of assistance a household receives can range from $125 to $320 and depends on household size, income level and type of housing. The one-time subsidy is paid directly to the recipient's utility account. Nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. social service agencies screen applicants. "Our agencies are having tons and tons of phone calls," Bennett said. "The waiting lists for this year are growing." In addition to the federal money, most utilities also provide credits for customers who struggle to pay their bills. The Eugene Water & Electric Board offers relief through its Energy Share program, funded at $1.7 million a year and administered by the St. Vincent de Paul Vin·cent de Paul , Saint 1581-1660. French ecclesiastic who founded the Congregation of the Mission (1625) and the Daughters of Charity (1633). Society of Lane County. The fund, including about $200,000 in donations from EWEB EWEB Eugene Water and Electric Board (Oregon) customers, provides bill credits of up to $200 per eligible household per year. "We're urging people not to wait until they get a shutoff shut·off n. 1. A device that shuts something off. 2. A stoppage; a cessation. notice or some kind of final notice before they seek assistance," EWEB spokesman Lance Robertson Lance Robertson is an American musician,disc jockey, and actor. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Lance relocated to Los Angeles. Lance became well known in the LA indie rock scene from his band, The Raymakers and while working his day job at Amoeba Records. said. Springfield Utility Board's assistance program, Project SHARE, is run by Catholic Community Services of Lane County. SUB has more than $75,000 available this year, up from about $52,000 last year. Households may receive up to $150 a season. EWEB and several utilities also provide special help for military families and Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. evacuees Resident or transient persons who have been ordered or authorized to move by competent authorities, and whose movement and accommodation are planned, organized and controlled by such authorities. .
HOME HEATING HELP General information, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program: 682-3835 Seniors 60 and older: Eugene: 682-5354 Springfield: 736-4406 Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). : 682-7804 Florence: 902-9430, Ext. 7830 Veneta: 935-2262 Junction City Junction City, city (1990 pop. 20,604), seat of Geary co., NE Kans., at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers; inc. 1859. The rail, trade, and processing center of an agricultural and dairy area, it grew as the supply point for nearby Fort Riley, : 998-8445 Oakridge: 782-4726 General public and households with disabled persons: Eugene: 689-6747 Springfield: 747-8349 Cottage Grove: 942-6492 Florence: 997-2816 Oakridge: 782-3590 UTILITY AID Eugene Water & Electric Board: Energy Share: 689-6747 Springfield Utility Board: Project SHARE: 747-8349 Emerald People's Utility District: Helping Hands: 746-1583 Lane Electric Cooperative: Member Assistance Program: 484-1151 Blachly-Lane Electric Cooperative: Blachly-Lane Energy Share: 688-8711 Central Lincoln Public Utility District: SOS SOS, code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as … — — — … (three dots, three dashes, three dots). Program: 997-2816 (Florence only) Pacific Power: Oregon HEAT: 503-612-3790 NW Natural: For the Gas Assistance Program or the Oregon Low Income Gas Assistance, call 682-3378. |
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