LOGAN – Gary Poore and his wife never had any children, but at the ripe young age of 79 he said he became a “dad” to five young men “who are drug addicts.”
Poore is one of seven candidates running for three open seats on the Logan City Council.
“My biggest reason for running is a result of getting to know these young men and knowing what’s going on with these young people who are addicts,” he said.
In the course of mentoring the men, Poore said it was frustrating to watch them try to stay sober, relapse, go through the jail system, end up with felonies and then struggle to find work. He said it’s a vicious cycle and the city needs to step in to help.
“Logan needs to have what they call a transitional house for people like this that will allow them to have a place to live once they get out of jail and get their lives established,” said Poore. He also emphasized the need for some type of transitional housing for the homeless.
Poore has spent decades working with young people. He is a retired school teacher, with a background in music, math and German. He is currently the Director of the Logan Tabernacle Summer and Christmas Concert series.
In addition to his teaching credentials, Poore served in the Air Force and has experience in city government as a former mayor of Lyman, Wyoming. He said he also spent time there on the council and planning and zoning commission.
Poore praised the Logan City Public Works Department and said, “they do a fantastic job all seasons.”
He said Logan is a “wonderful community and hopefully we can keep it that way.”
However, he said change and growth are inevitable.
“A lot of people say we don’t want Logan to change and that’s one thing that concerns me. We have to be planning ahead so that we don’t end up letting things happen to the city that we don’t want to happen,” said Poore.
This story is one in a series of profiles about the candidates running for Logan City Council. Cache Valley Daily will profile each of the seven candidates in an effort to give residents an opportunity to get to know those interested in being elected to public office.
The Primary Election, held August 13, will narrow the field down to six candidates. The General Election is November 5. Residents in Logan will be voting in the Primary Election by mail. Ballots for the Primary Election will be mailed out on July 23.
This is something that Logan ,Utah has needed for many years . So happy to see someone spear heading such an awesome program !
If you build it, they will come.
Race to the bottom.
Can’t fix stupid.
Pick your cliche.
Your platform seems to be based solely on the issue of transitional housing. Where would you recommend the housing be and do you have other issues you are concerned with?
We definitely need some sort of transitional housing for those individuals addicted to prescription medications and other drugs. As someone who has had experience dealing with drug addicts and alcoholics, transitional housing is the last stop before another trip to jail or six feet under. If we could implement a program that could help benefit the addict while it is also beneficial to the community, that’s the first step. Addicts are people, too. Just because they’ve hit a rock in the road doesn’t mean that giving up should be an option.