The Canyon Weekly January 11, 2011
Volume 3, Issue 2
News and Life - For Our Side of the Mountain!
Serving the communities of Lyons, Mehama, Elkhorn, Mill City, Gates, Niagra, Detroit, Breitenbush, Idanha and Marion Forks
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Gates Elementary gets new play structure
There’s one big change notable at Gates Elementary School this week, and it’s a BIG change. It’s a 72 foot x 40 foot completely covered outdoor play area with 14 feet of head room. “On rainy days the kids would have their recess in the old gym here,” said Brad Yates, the superintendent of the Santiam Canyon School District and the principal at Gates Elementary. “But it wasn’t safe. Any wetness at all on their shoes and (the kids) would be slipping all over the place. We’d have to basically walk the kids in circles.” Now the kids will have ample room to run, play wall ball and four square in the rain - thanks to grants obtained from the Oregon Foundation and the Frank Family Foundation. Their generosity fully funded the planning and construction of the play structure that will serve for generations to come. The plan is to be finished by this Friday, with a ribbon cutting ceremony to be announced soon. In other news at Gates School, fundraising continues with kids collecting Box Tops for Education and empty Capri Sun (and similar) juice pouches. The annual cookie dough fund raiser kicks off February 2, and See’s Candy will be available to purchase at the open house nights on Feb 7 and Feb 9. These seemingly small contributions quickly
add up, as the students have helped to earn the return of locally celebrated Kelly Thibodeaux, a professional fiddle player from Louisiana, who will teach every child in the school basic fiddle techniques. Last year’s program was so well received by students and parents alike that many kids chose to continue fiddle lessons throughout the year with local musicians.
Doctors descend on Detroit
Eugene physician to film documentary on health care in rural America
What’s Ideal Health Care? Is it a midnight house call? A doctor with a sense of humor? A community clinic just down the street? In a series of three events over three months, over 50 doctors from across the country will be coming to Detroit to hold town-hall type meetings with residents of the North Santiam Canyon. Not that they all are planning to more here,
Students playing tag after school in front of the massive new structure: (l to r) 3rd grader Savanna Fields-Bodegheimer; 1st graders Sophie Widmer, Emma Longfellow, and Ashton Saari.
and create it themselves. These doctors are taking part in a growing movement to personalize the face of modern medicine, and will be participating in filming a documentary featuring testimonials from the locals. A medical convention and a documentary being filmed in Detroit...Oregon? “Yes,” said Pamela L. Wible, MD the
executive producer of the documentary. She’s a board-certified family physician & pioneer in community-designed healthcare. She opened the first clinic in the United States designed entirely by patients in Eugene in 2005. Since then she has been sharing her vision nationwide, helping communities to create their own ideal clinics. (cont’d on page 12)
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