Alex Zoesch joined the Community Services staff as a building monitor this month and we are excited to have him aboard. As summer begins to wrap up, staff are certainly ready for a break in the activity and look forward to planning for the upcoming fall. A fall retreat is planned in October to give the opportunity to spend time developing goals, vision, and teambuilding activities.

Senior Services

The seniors enjoyed several great trips including the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River along with stopping at the cherry stands. They also went on a tour of Bob’s Red Mill, visited the North Plains Garlic Festival, had a hike at Lost Lake, shopped at Cully’s Farmers Market and Albertina Kerr, and had a tour of Moon Brine pickles. They really enjoy seeing new areas, learning new things, and socializing with their friends.

A need for additional services and community members in need of those services continues to rise. Amy Seabrooke, Respite Care Coordinator, is taking on additional hours as a driver to help meet this need. We continue to struggle to find volunteers to help deliver meals on wheels and to take seniors to medical appointments.

Recreation

Missoula Children’s Theatre came to town in August. In one week a full-blown musical of Gulliver’s Travels featuring local kids was showcased on the stage at Oregon Trail Academy. The Missoula Children’s Theatre travels throughout the country bringing this unique experience to 100’s of communities. The kids had a great time learning their parts and songs, making new friends, and learning new skills which they will use both on and off the stage.

The Fall Community & Recreation Guide was in production in August. Lots of fun events this fall including Dogs Day Out and Corn Cross Cyclocross Races coming in September. Dogs Day Out is a fundraiser for our local dog park and Fences for Fido. Money raised over the last 5 events will fund a new shade/cover structure at the dog park. Fences for Fido has unchained many dogs in the Sandy area and continue to help families in our area provide a more humane solution for their pets. It’s a fun family outing and we thank Liepold Farms for providing such a great venue.  The event includes pet-themed raffle baskets, a Doggie Cross race/walk through the corn maze, agility demonstrations, and training, bobbing for apples, fall-themed selfie station and fetch for a prize. Barlow Trail Veterinary Clinic is the Top Dog Sponsor and Burns Feed Store and Clackamas County Bank are Best Friends Sponsors. Without their participation, this event would not be possible and we thank them for their long-time support.

Special Events

The summer sounds series wrapped up on Wednesday, August 14th in conjunction with the city-wide Volunteer Picnic. Over 150 Volunteers were served Hot dogs, chips, potato salad, and ice cream by city staff and council members. We appreciate the time and dedication our volunteers have given to our community.

The Theatre Series concluded with a performance by the Nutz n Boltz theatre group. All the theatre performances were performed by local theatre groups for free. We had approximately 20 – 40 community members at each show.

Senior Services

Our annual fundraiser to support our meals on wheels program was a success with selling over 75 fresh fruit pies. A tremendous thank you to Everfresh Fruit for the donation of all the fruit for our pies. This fundraiser could not have occurred without this donation and the assistance of our volunteers. We raised over $1000.00.

The seniors enjoyed recreational trips to Clackamas Town Center, drive to Hood River for cherries and museum, a tour of Bob’s Red Mill, and a dine out at the Claim Jumper. They also enjoyed hiking the Cazadero in Boring and also to Latourelle Falls. To get out of the heat, movies were shown at the community center called Friday Flicks. They were a hit with the movies Crazy Rich Asians and Mary Poppins with popcorn and soda.

• Served 280 congregate meals
• Delivered 1,846 meals to home bound individuals
• Provided 16 hours of Case Management services
• Provided 8 units of reassurance (quick client check in-less than 15 minute conversation)
• Provided 279 referrals to resources outside of the center
• Held 9 Tai Chi classes (average attendance 8 individuals)
• Provided 60 hours of respite care (5 days of 4 hours; average attendance 3)
  • Some participants were on vacation throughout the month of July
• 2 new riders for transportation (shopping, activities/outings, to and from center)
• coordinated 10 medical/other rides through TRP. We were unable to coordinate 5 requested rides due to the volunteer’s schedule.
• A new volunteer has been cleared through Transportation Reaching People (TRP-transportation through Clackamas County). He will begin providing transportation in the month of August.
• Housing we coordinated successful housing arrangements for two different community members!

Recreation

Summer has been ablaze with programs hosted by Sandy Recreation. They include Camp Namanu Day Camps, Mini and Pee Wee Soccer, Kinderdance and Gym, music and adult softball.
The partnership with Campfire Columbia has been positive and we hope to bring new after school programs to Sandy, targeted to Middle School aged students, sometime during the 2019-20 school year.

Planning for fall programs and events is underway and Dogs Day Out is scheduled for September 14th. Funds raised at Dogs Day Out help support the Sandy Dog Parks. Current funds will help to add a shade/cover structure to the Sandy Bluff Dog Park. 

Special Events

July was a busy month starting with Mt. festival Kids events.  The pet show had over 30 different kinds of animals (even stuffed animals).  We had a variety of farm animals from goats, chickens, frogs, and even a hedgehog. Over 65 kids participated in the Bike Derby. This also included an adult race with the Mt. festival bear riding a bike. The kid’s parade included Presto the Magician.  He was very entertaining and involved some of the kids to participate in his magic tricks. Clackamas County Bank gave out free hotdogs and Safeway donated popsicles after the parade.  These events brought up many community members from outside Sandy. Grocery Outlet, and McDonald’s provided snacks and drinks for all three events.

The other exciting news during the week of Mt. Festival was the kick-off for the City-Wide Bingo event. 300 City Wide Bingo cards were handed out through the weekend. In addition, each business (32) received 20 cards. A total of 940 cards.

Summer Sounds kicked off on July 17th with a Fiery Award -Winning Blues Band of Rose City Kings. The rain may have affected attendance but the 85 people who showed up had a great time. On July 24th Dina y Rumberos put on high energy Cuban music for 125 people. We also had Street Rush, LLC selling hot dogs and other items for the concert. This year these events are co-sponsored with the Library.

Parks

An RFP for shade/cover structures is out to bid for Bornstedt Park and the Sandy Bluff Dog Park. Proposals are due by September 4th.

Four Proposals for the Parks Master Plan were reviewed by the committee with a recommendation to the Council to hire ESA.

No August meeting of the Parks & Trails Advisory Board 

Senior Services

Several informational presentations were given at the community center this month. A representative with Aging & Disability Resources Connection presented information about services and programs that are available for older adults, people with disabilities and veterans. Elders in Action presented information to raise awareness of Elder Abuse and neglect in our community. Additionally, Ride Connection presented information about how to use TriMet’s new HopFastPass. during the month.

• Continued participation in the Transportation Reaching People (TRP) pilot program which accesses medical transportation through a taxi service. We were able to coordinate over 5 rides through the program. Completed applications for three potential TRP volunteers.
• There was an increase in Meals on Wheels participants this month as well as an increase in energy assistance for the cooling program.

Seniors enjoyed various recreational trips to Ft. Dalles Museum in Hood River, Lan Su Chinese Gardens, Spirit Mountain Casino, a hike to Kelly Point and a Dine Out at The Cazadero. Staff accompanied seniors rode the transit system to Edgefield to have lunch and walk their trails. We continue to see many new faces on our popular recreation trips.

Recreation Summer programming kicked off in June. The Recreation Department is offering more than 50 programs including multi-day camps, classes, and events for summer 2019. Everything from day camps and field trips, festival events and soccer, to music programs and modding. Kids can travel the world through music, paddle on Trillium Lake, create a Minecraft game, learn to play the piano, develop soccer skills and more!

New this summer is a week-long residency program that produces a full scale musical starring up to 60 kids in grades 1-12. The Missoula Children’s Theatre travels the country bringing this wonderful opportunity to local communities. They provide the staff, props, direction and staging. Ticket sales remain in the community to support more local programming. Currently nearly 40 children are registered to participate. Come and enjoy the production of Gulliver’s Travels scheduled for August 17th. 
The first games of the summer adult softball league took place on June 25th. 139 softball enthusiasts are taking the field weekly to stay active and enjoy some family friendly competition. The season ends with a tournament and bragging rights on August 10th. 

Planning for the annual Dogs Day Out is underway. This year’s event takes place on September 8th as part of the Sandy/Boring Corn Cross Cycling Event. Funds raised from this event in the past will pay for a new shade structure at the Sandy Bluff Dog Park.

Special Events

The 4th Annual Longest Day Parkway was held on Thursday, June 21st in the neighborhood near Timberline Trails Park. City Staff and the Fire Dept. set up informational tables, provided giveaways, answered questions of patrons as they walked, rode bicycles, skates, and scooters on a one-mile route. Approximately 250 people visited and finished the route by enjoying a hot dog and ice cream at the park. It was a great day and thanks to all who participated.

Noah’s Quest was developed when Carol Cohen lost her firstborn on Sept. 28, 2005. He was stillborn and was a very emotional time and hard for Carol to come back to work at the city. She decided to have an event for other families that have experienced the loss of a child. The event is a 5k/10k run/walk and named after her son Noah. This event is a fundraiser for Brief Encounters support group and is self-sustaining. This year marked the 14th year for the event. Fourteen doves were released this year and each child’s name was announced at the event. The event had over 100 participants who receive a colorful pair of socks. Memorial bricks are sold for the walkway at Bluff Park, and many volunteers help with this event. This event is supported by donations from local businesses which include Everfresh Fruit Co., Clackamas County Bank, Hoodview Disposal, Safeway, Starbucks, and Grocery Outlet.

Senior Services
During the month of May, the seniors enjoyed trips this month to Westminster Church, Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, and English Tea Garden Cafe, Salmon Creek hike, Candy Basket tour, dine out to the Road House, and Red Ridge Farms/Archery Summit Winery in Dayton. A presentation was made by the Aging and Disability Resource Connection about the types of private and public resources available to individuals looking for assistance. An inflammatory lunch was hosted by staff which included some educational material and exercises for Arthritis Awareness Month.

Served 303 congregate meals Delivered 1913  meals to homebound individuals Provided 8 hours of Case Management services Provided 13 units of reassurance Provided 203 referrals to resources outside of the center Held 9 Tai Chi classes (average attendance 12 individuals) Provided 76 hours of respite care (5 days of 4 hours; average attendance 5) 4 new riders for transportation (shopping, activities/outings, to and from center) coordinated 15 medical/other rides through TRP (We currently have only 1 volunteer for this program at this time.

Recreation

The Summer Community and Recreation Guide launched in mid-May. Since converting to an electronic guide the design and publishing is done in house saving the city about $18,000-$20,000 per year. The online guide has live links, email addresses, websites and many ways to download and share the information. Previously, the guide was limited to 16 pages front and back which included the cover and registration page. With the conversion more space became available and the guide has expanded to include information about the Senior Center, a greater representation of Library programs, and special events are promoted with more lively pages.
The name was recently updated to reflect the additional programs represented in the guide. It is now known as the Community and Recreation Guide.   A limited number of printed copies are also available. 
The guide is distributed via an email newsletter/blast and is available on the cities website. Promotion of the guide, programs, and events is supported by school flyers, the reader board, social media, and targeted email newsletters and announcements. Design and format continue to evolve to reflect the new city branding and to update the presentation of city programs and events.
Summer programming highlights include a variety of music camps and a new day camp format, as well as the popular summer soccer program, kinderdance classes and more.  Camp Namanu has returned to provide a week-long program on-site at their property just outside of Sandy. This camp includes pick-up and drop off at the Community Center. Pick up after camp is now at 5:30 to better accommodate family schedules.
The number of Adult Coed Softball teams has nearly doubled over last summer, bringing it back in line with previous seasons. 

Special Events

A fundraiser was held at the Community Center on Friday, May 17th. The evening included a taco/burrito bar with all the fixings and a reggae concert by Aaron Nigel Smith. This fundraiser was done to support a scholarship program for seniors to assist them to participate in recreational trips and activities.

Carol Cohen was able to attain sponsorships from Johnson RV, Clackamas County Bank, Les Schwaab, and Vanport to cover the cost of the performer. All 125 tickets were sold which reached capacity for the auditorium. The ticket sales totaled $1230.00.

All food was donated by Timberline Meats, Grocery Outlet, La Milpa Tortilleria, La Cima Mexican store. Olga Gerberg did an amazing job and cooking all the food and volunteers assisted with serving and clean up. 112 people were served with a total of sales of $807.00.

It was a huge success largely due to Carol and Olga tremendous hard work.

Aquatic Center

The aquatic center closed its door on Friday, May 31st after open recreation in the evening. For the month of May, 583 visits for lap/open recreation swim, 116 participants in water exercise classes, 141 private and semi privates swim lessons were taught, 67 participants in American Red Cross swimming lessons, 19 birthday parties hosted were hosted on Friday nights and Saturdays, and 48 students from Job Corp were tested.

Several participants who did not utilize all punch passes and private lessons will be receiving a refund in June for any passes not used.

Aquatic staff were thanked for their hard work and service over the last year with a goodbye party held on Monday, June 3rd.

Senior Services

Seniors enjoyed a presentation by Melissa Thompson on Alcohol Awareness, Cannabis talk, Easter Egg hunt in collaboration with the Library, and a historical documentary of the city of Sandy by Nancy Johansen-Dressler. Some of the celebrated excursions included visiting the Willamette Heritage Center, watching a performance of the Jefferson High School Dancers, a hike along the Willamette Waterfront, and a trip to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.

• Served 306 congregate meals
• Delivered 1893  meals to homebound individuals
• 2 new recipients
• Provided 9 hours of Case Management services
• Provided 14 units of reassurance 
• Provided 212 referrals to resources outside of the center
• Held 9 Tai Chi classes (average attendance 12 individuals)
• Provided 48 hours of respite care (4 days of 4 hours; average attendance 4)
• 1 new participant in Tai Chi
• 3 new riders for transportation (shopping, activities/outings, to and from center)
• coordinated 14 medical/other rides through TRP
• There was a decrease in coordinated rides due to volunteer availability.

Recreation

Residents enjoyed a variety of opportunities through Sandy Recreation in the month of April. They included the Community Garden, Guitar lessons, Refit, Babysitting Classes, Indoor Playgroup, Pee Wee and Mini Soccer, Kinderdance, Gym, Parent and me Tots.
Planning for summer programs, camps, adult softball, and events were in high gear. Summer programs include Day Camps, Field Trips, Music Camps and more.
Plans are being developed to utilize funds raised to improve the Sandy Bluff Dog Park. 

Special Events

On Saturday, April 27th the Community Services Dept hosted the Solv it Sandy event. Volunteers gathered to do various cleanup projects throughout the city and parks. Safeway donated donuts and juice and Mountain Moka donated coffee for all the volunteers. The shredding event was a huge success with 3600 lbs collected. A repair fair in collaboration with Library was held in the auditorium which included bike repair, small appliance repair, sewing projects, and an information booth on sustainability.

Aquatic Center

In April, the overall usage of the aquatic center declined slightly as compared to March. 392 visits for Lap swim & open rec hours, 114 visits for Water exercise classes, 107 private lessons were taught and 81 children were registered for American Red Cross swimming lessons. 21 birthday parties were hosted on Friday night and Saturday morning. The pool will be closing on May 31st.

The Chemtrol control unit had started to fail in February and we were able to secure a loaner automated chemical feeder for 6 months. Without an automated system, staff must hand feed chemicals to stay within safety regulations. Brian Galovin does an excellent job keeping chemical within limits while balancing working for parks 50% of the his time.

Don’t forget to put in your order for our famous fresh fruit pies. Order forms are available at the Community Center.

We are thrilled to have Amy Seabrooke on our team as our Alzheimer’s Respite Program Coordinator. She began the position on March 20th and has jumped right in. She assisted the participants in planting seeds, storytelling, art/craft projects, snacks, and other activities which then allows their caregivers some personal time. Additional Building monitors have been needed in the evening hours to supervise the building and provide safety and security to non-profit organizations which utilize the center daily. Weekends continue to be just as busy with various organizations fundraisers, private rentals for birthday parties, and private events.

The bus and MV1 received an updated look with the branding. They look fresh, clean, and surely will be see throughout the community.

Senior Services

The seniors enjoyed trips to MHCC for the play Music Man, a visit to the Sister of the Eucharist, Oregon Rail Museum, Red White and Blue Thrift Store, Oregon State Capitol tour and Willamette Valley Pie company tour, and a dine out to Saylor’s. Two local trips included a tour of the Fire Dept with lunch at the Red Shed and a tour of the aquatic center, participation in a water exercise class and lunch at the Ant Farm.

Services provided included the following:

• Served 258 congregate meals
• Delivered 1994 meals to home bound individuals
• Provided 8 hours of Case Management services
• Provided 14 units of reassurance 
• Provided 253 referrals to resources outside of the center
• Held 9 Tai Chi classes (average attendance 12 individuals)
• Provided 36 hours of respite care (4 days of 4 hours; average attendance
• Coordinated 21 medical/other rides through TRP
  There was a decrease in coordinated rides due to having been down 2 drivers. 1 driver was on extended vacation. 1 driver was in a pretty bad car accident.

Recreation & Community Enrichment

The month began with the Glen Svaren Mountain Jamboree on March 8th at the Sandy High School gym. Glenn Svaren was involved with the Mountain Storm Basketball League for years as a coach, referee and board member. Glenn passed away in July of 2003 and will always be remembered by those whose lives he has so positively affected. The memory of his bright eyes, caring smile and his upbeat attitude will be with us forever.

Private music classes, Mini & PeeWee Basketball and Soccer, Kinderdance, and ReFit classes are going strong with great attendance. Many recreational activities have been offered with little to no registrations. These offerings include Toddler music classes, group guitar, group violin, adult singing, musical theatre for teens, STEM challenge with Lego engineering, Family Outdoor Adventure outings, and Crochet classes. Marketing of the programs include the Recreation Guide, city website, flyers to schools, and use of Social Media.

Community Garden

Current bed owners had the opportunity to pay annual fees for the upcoming season through March 15th. At that time, the remaining beds opened up for new community members to register. Each bed is $15.00 for the season. The Respite program will be using one of the beds this season to allow the group to venture out of the center and have some time enjoying gardening and the outdoors.

Aquatics

In March, the aquatic center saw an increase in usage with 76% for Lap/Open recreation and 24% for Water Exercise classes. 32% usage by seniors, 22% by adults, and 46%by children. Winter swim lessons completed with 99 children enrolled in the American Red Cross program. 60% Sandy Residents and 40% from other communities. 68 private lessons, 21 water exercise classes, 78 swimming lessons were taught. 21 children from Lil Cubs preschool received swimming lessons. 19 Birthday parties with approximately 15 – 20 people each were booked and Empire Water Polo rented the pool for for a total 9 hours.

Special Events

The City of Sandy Community Partnership Program Grant Review Committee
approved not just the $2000 that was requested for the new City Wide Bingo Event.
The committee instead approved $4000 as they would like to see this event happen twice this year. The committee was very excited to see a brand new event which will include the businesses.

Planning continues for the upcoming fundraiser “The Aaron Nigel concert and Taco Bar” to support programs for seniors. It will be held on May 17th at 7:00pm at the Community Center. Additional events being planned include the Solv-it Sandy on April 27th. The Longest Day parkway will be held Thursday, June 20th this year at the neighborhoods near Deer Point and Timberline Park.

Senior Services (Melissa Thompson)
Tax season assistance kicked off in February with serving 24 people with 1 hour appointments with AARP volunteer tax consultants.  In an effort to raise awareness of Heart healthy activities we offered the seniors an opportunity to learn CPR.   Unfortunately,  we had to be canceled due to inclement weather.  This month we also celebrated Valentine’s Day by having the seniors and the Alzheimer respite program participants make cards. Richard Lyons shared his craft and love of cardmaking with the group.

The inclement weather affected our ability to take a few of our planned trips but the seniors did enjoy going to the movies & dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, the Home & Garden show in Portland, and a Dine out at McGraths. We had such a large group we took two vehicles to enjoy this night out. Additionally, we are expanding our trips to include the  educational experience of various cultures. This month a sold out trip went to the Nordia House, which a is Portland-based nonprofit organization focused on the five Nordic nations and preserving Nordic culture in the Pacific Northwest. after a private tour, we enjoy some traditional Scandinavian food at their cafe the Broder Soder.

Services Provided to Seniors included: 176 congregate meals served
Delivered 1,682 meals to home bound individuals
Provided 9 hours of Case Management services
Provided 13 units of reassurance
Provided 263 referrals to resources outside of the center
Held 7 Tai Chi classes (average attendance 12 individuals)
Provided 40 hours of respite care (3 days of 4 hours; average attendance 3)
9 new riders for transportation (shopping, activities/outings, to and from center)
Coordinated 29 medical/other rides through TRP

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)

Winter programs were in full swing in the month of February with over 2000 visits to recreation programs and activities including soccer, music, playgroup, Mountain Storm and more. Budgeting for the next biennium and summer programming were also in the works, along with preparations for two Jamboree events in early March. 

Carol Cohen (Special Events)

For the month of February nailed down enough sponsorships were nailed down to host a Reggae Concert (Aaron Nigel Smith) and Taco Bar that will be held on May 17th Friday evening at the Community Center.  All local businesses like Les Schwab, Vanport, Clackamas County Bank, Johnson RV, Timberline Meats, Grocery Outlet and more local businesses will provide in kind donations. This event is a benefit concert help support funding for senior programs and services.  The goal is to sell 125 concert tickets and host about 100 people at the taco bar. An application was submitted at the end of February for a Tourism grant that will go toward a City wide event. This new event will involve local businesses and City Departments. More details to follow if grant is awarded to us.

Tanya Richardson (Aquatic Center)

The inclement weather affected several of the swimming lessons. Refunds or credits were issued for two cancelled classes for the first session. Make-up lessons are being offered for missed classes for the second session.

Despite the inclement weather the aquatic center had over 500 visits, 99 registration for group swimming lessons, 28 private lessons, and 21 birthday parties. Spring Session of swimming lessons begin after Spring Break through the end of May. Registration begins April 1st.

Senior Services (Melissa Thompson)

The seniors enjoyed many great trips including the King Tut tour at OMSI, Rose City Dog Show, Lunch at Edgefield & the movies, and Dine out at Stanford’s. In support of Glaucoma awareness month, Carol Cohen took the seniors on a field trip to a local organization called Oral Hull Foundation. With a full bus load of 15 people, some have never heard of Oral Hull and had no idea what they offered or where they were located. They gave a tour of the grounds, hiked down a steep trail to 2 ponds and fed the fish and was served a marvelous homemade lunch.

Olga Gerberg began her new position as Client Services Coordinator on January 7th. We are thrilled to have her be a part of the team.

Senior Services provided: Served 264 congregate meals, Delivered 1,952 meals to home bound individuals. Provided 12 hours of Case Management services, 9 units of reassurance, 301 referrals to resources outside of the center. Held 8 Tai Chi classes (average attendance 12 individuals) Provided 76 hours of respite care (4 days of 4 hours; average attendance 5)5 new participants in respite care  6 new riders for transportation (shopping, activities/outings, to and from center)coordinated 35 medical/other rides through TRP Provided energy assistance to 6 individuals

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)

The Winter/Spring Recreation Guide was published In January with programs that continue through May. Excited to have new music and STEM programs continue through this session. Music classes include piano, violin, voice, musical theater, and more. The STEM program uses Lego Materials to teach engineering concepts. Kinderdance has added a Kindertots and Kids Yoga to their existing program. 

Mountain Storm kicked off the regular season in January with 24 teams grades 3-6. The K-2 Fundamentals class continues to be very popular as well.  

The Recreation Department would like to thank the Oregon Trail School District for their support of our programs. We utilize gyms in almost every school to support this team sport experience and active program for kids. 
In the month of January there were approx. 623 visits to city recreation programs. 

Aquatic Center (Tanya Richardson)

After the Holiday closure, the Aquatic Center increased its usage for the month of January with over 550 visits, 12 birthday parties, and staff tested over 40 young adults from Timberlake Job Corp in their water safety skills.

The first swimming lessons session starting for the Winter with 85 registrations in our youth classes. Private Lessons started strong with 71 lessons taught to children throughout the region.

Sandy High School Swim team continued to utilize the aquatic center from 3:00-5:00pm Monday – Friday.

The aquatic center continues to employee over 25 part time hourly employees throughout the region. At least quarterly, staff inservice 2 hours in Emergency Action plans, customer service, maintenance job skills, first aid and rescues.

Senior Services – (Melissa Thompson)
Staff continued to provide services to seniors despite being short staff due vacancy of the Client Services Coordinator and staff absent due to medical reasons. We continued to provide assistance with completion of 9 Energy assistance applications.Sandy Seniors participated  2 hikes (Oaks Bottom and Troutdale); outings to The Grotto, Victorian Mansion, Christmas Ships and Spaghetti Factory (twice!), and a Tour of Lights with caroling, cocoa, and cookies; Older Drivers’ Safety Awareness class; Breakfast with Santa; and many other holiday activities.

Special Events – Breakfast with Santa (MOW fundraiser)

On Saturday, Dec. 1st staff and volunteers put on another excellent Breakfast with Santa event.  This fundraiser for Meals on Wheels had over 400 people attend and participate in having a full course breakfast, making hand made Christmas cards for Meal on Wheels participants, photos with Santa, raffle, and a Holiday bazaar upstairs. The event raised over $2000.00 for the meals on wheels program.  Thank you to our volunteers who helped put on this amazing community event.

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)

Winter and Spring programming was completed and programs were opened for registration in late December. The Recreation Guide was given a new name and is now the City of Sandy Community and Recreation Guide. This better reflects the inclusion of the Aquatic Center, Senior Services, the Libraries and Transit. More of the new branding strategy was incorporated in the design. The guide is primarily an electronic piece and part of the overall marketing and communications for Community Services programs. Other avenues include eblast newsletters, flyers, Peachjar (OTSD), COS Website, Online Calendar, Social Media, Community Center Reader Board, database development etc.

Aquatic Center

The aquatic center closed on Dec. 22nd for routine maintenance over the holiday break.  During this time, contractors adjusted temperatures on heating system and changed out filters on HVAC.  Staff changed out overhead light bulbs, cleaned tile around the pool, and did a deep cleaning to the locker rooms.  Additionally, we have had issues with the main pool pump, CO2 feeder, and chemical controller.  Research on cost of needed repairs in the in the process.

Due to the holidays and break we had lower usage then in previous months.  We had 391 visits to the aquatic center for the month of December.  There was 14 birthday parties, Empire Water polo rentals on T/TH evenings, and over 150 students from Sandy Grade elementary had a party during the daytime on Dec. 20th.  The high school swim team continues to use the pool M-F from 3:15pm – 5:15pm and had 2 swim meets in the month.  The aquatic center was reopened on Jan. 2nd after the closures.

Aquatics (Tanya Richardson)

OTSD utilized the aquatic center for the Sandy High School water polo season which ended at the end of October.  They used the pool for practices M-F from 3:15 – 5:15pm. Additionally, they hosted 8 water polo games.  Total amount of hours of use was 90 hours with no charge. The High School swim team began practices on November 13th with practice M-F from 3:15pm – 5:15pm and will continue through February.

Group lesson session finished up in November with a total of 101 participants for the last session. As group lesson sessions completed we saw an increase in private lessons with over 58 lessons taught for the month of November.

The aquatic center had over 550 participants in the various activities such as lap swim, open recreational swim, and water exercise classes.  In addition to the movie shoot rental, 12 Birthday parties were hosted, and Empire water polo continues to rent the pool to provide youth water polo practices.

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)

Mountain Storm Youth Basketball completed preseason registration, team building, and open gyms. 187 youth in 27 teams will begin the regular season after Winter Break. New music programs were launched with voice, piano, violin and musical theater among the options for youth to older active adults.

Senior Services (Melissa Thompson)

Seniors enjoyed a tour of the Creo Chocolate Factory this month and were able to create their own piece of chocolate.  They participated in a hike along the Clackamas River and visited the beautiful lights at Pittock Mansion.

Some trips had to be canceled due to vandalism to the bus and staff deficiencies. Hiring had begun for the Client Services Coordinator replacement.  However, services continue with Melissa taking on most of those job duties.  We are happy to have served  33 more energy assistance application, provided over 1800 meals on wheels, 250 meals in the community center,  20 medical rides, and multiple client services including reassurance, information, and assistance to the citizens.