Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
The Center is fortunate to have Kim Sabin on staff for a few months. Kim is completing her internship as she works towards her Nurse Practitioner degree through Gonzaga University. Ms. Sabin is focusing on health and wellness in older adults. She is conducting a 4-week Heart Health class that will culminate in a Heart-Healthy lunch in April.
She has taken a holistic approach to understanding the needs of the elderly by doing a ride-along with a Meals-on-wheels driver, escorting Cami Henderson on a home visit to assess care needs, assisting Iris White in the kitchen as she prepares meals for in-home and on-site recipients, and helping Sarah Reis in the Change of Pace Alzheimer’s respite program. Kim has observed the Tai Chi for Better Balance class and will sit in on other classes offered in March.
Parks
The International Trails Symposium will be held in Portland in May and Kathleen Walker, Mckenzie Jensen (Mt. Hood National Forest) and I will be presenting on Pyramid Strategies for Low Cost Multi-Use Trails. We will be providing information on developing partnerships and seeking out low-cost alternatives for building high-quality trails. Kathleen and Mckenzie will focus on the miles of trails at Government Camp, and Kathleen and I will gush about our local gem, the Tickle Creek Trail.
Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
Mountain Storm basketball games were in full swing during the month of February. Boys and girls, grades 3 through 6 made use of all OTSD gyms for practices and games. The season wraps up in March with a jamboree at Sandy High School for the younger kids on the 7th, and 5th/6th graders playing on the 14th. A big shout-out for the wonderful volunteer coaches and team parents.
Staff attended a workshop sponsored by Oregon Parks & Recreation Association titled The ABC’s of SMP (Sponsorship, Marketing & Partnerships). Presenters offered useful information, and the informal networking was invaluable.
Transit (Julie Stephens)
Total ridership this month was 10,571. The ridership year-over-year has finally leveled out; this month the overall decrease was 2.4%. The SAM-Gresham decreased 5.6%; again this month, SAM-Estacada had a drop in use of 5.8%; STAR increased again this month by 27%; and ED ridership decreased by 51%.
Staff was kept busy completing 7 grant applications for all transit operating programs and capital replacements.
Julie Stephens joined several transit staff from across the state in Salem to testify before a legislative committee on transportation. There is a proposed bill that would allow municipal agencies providing transit services to collect in-lieu payments comparable to payroll tax for state employees within their service area.
Mt. Hood Express ridership dropped to 3467 in February.
A retired transit vehicle was sold as surplus for $5183 to a gentleman in Michigan. He refurbishes used vehicles and sells them at a reasonable cost so non-profit agencies can transport their clientele.