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.

Sandy Community Campus – (Tanya Richardson)

Both the portable building in front of the aquatic center and playshed behind the Aquatic Center were demolished in September.  Two open house workshops were held at the public library to seek public input on the master plan for the Sandy Community Campus.  City Manger, Kim Yamashita, Community Services Director, Tanya Richardson, city staff, Opsis Architecture firm, and Walker Macy Firm were all present with the master plan for the SCC site.

Aquatic Center – (Tanya Richardson)

After a very successful Summer season, the aquatic center was closed for four days after Labor day to do maintenance, replace the boilder stack and provide additional staff inservice training. The hours have been cut back to account for children back in school and the fall season.  Lap swim continued to be open in the early morning hours (6:00am – 8:00am), lunchtime (11:30am – 1:00pm and Monday/Wednesday evening. Water exercise classes were offered the same times as in the summer with little to no change in attendance.  Swimming lessons were offered in the evenings on Monday & Wednesday with 105 registrations in the evening.  Lessons for patrons with alternative school schedule were offered in the afternoons.  Classes started slow but we are hopeful to gain ground as the word spreads of our great program.  The aquatic center was busy every weekend with Birthday parties.

Special Events – (Carol Cohen)

On September 9th Corn Cross was another successful event at Liepold Farms.  It was our largest event with 297 athletes. It was a beautiful day and the spectators enjoyed watching the racers throughout the day.  The kiddie cross had over 50 kids attending and tackling the fun obstacles like going over hay bales and maneuvering around farm animals.

Recreation – (Sarah Richardson)

Seniors – (Melissa Thompson)

In the month of September, the seniors went to Hamilton Creek, Oregon Zoo, Portland Nursery, Oktoberfest, Barton Park, and Tillamook Pioneer Museum and Cheese Factory. They enjoyed dinner at Red Lobster and breakfast at Cazadero. A six-week Diabetes class began August 24th which educates seniors on symptoms, emotional challenges, healthy eating, and appropriate physical activity.

Aquatic Center – Tanya Richardson

Throughout the summer, the Aquatic Center stayed extremely busy.  Here is a brief analysis of the membership and program usage over the last eight weeks.

Swim Lesson Program- 406 registrations  63% Sandy Residents   37% Non Residents

Water Exercise Class Memberships – 32 memberships   56% Sandy Residents   44% Non Residents

Lap Swim & Open Rec Memberships – 74 Memberships   72% Sandy Residents   28% Non Residents

Private Swim Lessons – 105 Private Lessons   62% Sandy Residents    38% Non Residents

Daily Pass Totals

Adult Lap Swim – 386 Resident    185Non Resident

Child Open Rec – 1284 Resident    430   Non Resident

Senior Lap Swim – 49 Resident   80 Non Resident

Daily Water Exercise Totals

Senior Water Ex – 27 Residents   11 Non Residents

17 Birthday Parties

24 Private Rentals with Empire Water Polo

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)

The Recreation Department was busy wrapping up summer programs including camps and adult Softball, and programming and publishing the Recreation Guide for the fall.

Code to the Future was a great hit this summer which themed around the Minecraft Video Design.  Camps offered this summer included weeks at Camp Namanu, Tennis Camp and Basektball Shooting.  The community garden is in full swing with all beds rented again this season.  Dogs and their owners continue to love the Dog Park and can’t wait for Dogs Day out this summer.

Seniors (Melissa Thompson)

The weather did not stop the seniors from enjoying the great weather of Oregon.  Trips included hikes to ZigZag Falls and Trillium Lake.  They also visited the Oregon Garden, Clackamas County Fair and rode the Canby Ferry to the Dahia Festival.

Genevieve White,  a health Coach, was a guest speaker who provided the seniors with general education and tips in regards to gastrointestinal health.

Aquatics (Tanya Richardson)

On July 5 at 12:00pm, the renovated Olin Bignal Aquatic Center was opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony.  The Aquatic Center was open for free for all citizens from 12;00pm – 5:00pm.  We had over 200 people visit and enjoyed on the inflatable obstacle. course.  30 part time staff members were hired as lifeguards, swim instructors, head lifeguards, and water exercise instructors.  Carol Cohen moved to full time to assist in overseeing operations of the Aquatic Center with Tanya’s oversight.

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The aquatic center had over 100 children registered for the American Red Cross swimming lessons over the month.  The open recreation swim times averaged over 50 per day with Friday evenings very busy.  

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)