Foster Dam road closed ’til Sept. 16
The road over Foster Dam will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Thursday, Sept. 16.
The closure will allow for fish removal, annual spillway gate maintenance and the installation of PACE equipment.
Meals on Wheels weekly menu
Meals on Wheels offers take-out lunch at the Sweet Home Community Center to seniors over 60 at noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Senior Center serves a separate lunch on Wednesdays.
Suggested donation is $3.50. All meals are served with milk, coffee or tea upon request and diabetic desserts are available on request.
The menu on Friday, Sept. 17, is a beef Spanish rice bake or chicken penna pasta, fiesta-blend vegetables, a garden vegetable salad, oat bran roll and a poke ’n’ pour cake.
The menu on Monday, Sept. 20, is braised beef tips with brown rice or chicken pomodoro, zucchini with red peppers, spinach romaine salad, an herb roll and lemon pudding.
The menu on Tuesday, Sept. 21, is barbecued chicken breast or Salisbury patty with gravy, whipped potatoes, winter-blend vegetables, sunflower seed bread and an ice cream cup.
For more information, contact Norene at (541) 367-8843.
SH’s Tune It Up Tuesdays wraps
Rhonda Funk wraps up the Tune It Tuesday concert series on Tuesday, Sept 21, in Sweet Home’s downtown area.
The weekly events were held in conjunction with the Sweet Home Farmers Market, in an effort to encourage residents and visitors to congregate and shop downtown.
Participants are encouraged to bring “tuned-up” cars, trucks and side-by-sides (on Long Street). Downtown-area shops and local restaurants will be open until 8 p.m. Bring a lawnchair and enjoy face-painting and cornhole games as well.
For more information, contact the Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce at (541) 367-6186.
Learn to garden with native plants
The Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener program is offering a series of free virtual monthly classes, The Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up Series, which will be broadcast via Zoom webinar at 3 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month through November at extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/growing-oregon-gardeners-level-series.
The classes, which include topics as far-ranging as Dazzling Dahlias to Adapting Your Garden and Landscape to Climate Change, are meant for those with a bit of gardening under their belt.
The topic for Tuesday, Sept. 14, is “Gardening with Native Plants for Pollinators.” The talk will share research conducted by the OSU Garden Ecology Lab about the connection between natives and pollinators, as well as provide recommendations for native plants for western Oregon gardens.
Before the pandemic, this series would have been held in person solely as continuing education for Master Gardeners, but the webinar format allows the sessions to be offered to the public.
The content, taught by horticulture experts from around the state, is meant to address current issues like wildfires, climate change and pollinators.
Community Resource Fair
The Family Assistance and Resource Center Group is holding a Lebanon Community Resource Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, at the River Center, 3000 S. Santiam Hwy., Lebanon.
Services include vaccinations, haircuts and dental checks, all free of charge.
For more information, visit http://www.facforthehomeless.org.
Best in the West tri’s this weekend
The 11th annual Best in the West Triathlon Festival will take place Friday through Sunday, Sept. 17-19, starting and finishing at Lewis Creek Park.
The full 2021 series includes a Half-Iron, Kids Splash & Dash, Olympic, Sprint, Super Sprint, 5- and 10K, a half-marathon, Beer Mile Relay, Aqua Bike, Aquathon, Duathlon, Paddle Triathlon and a triathlon.
Saturday’s long-course bike route features two laps with a turnaround near the Berlin and Bellinger road intersection rather than the usual one larger lap. In addition, Saturday’s run courses are all on North River Drive as opposed to the usual routes that include part of Quartzville Road. Sunday’s race routes remain unchanged.
Also featured is a mixed-team relay, the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, according to Bronson. The event has gained notoriety since its two-male, two-female structure was featured in Olympic competition for the first time this summer in Tokyo. The Best in the West’s version sees all participants swimming, biking and running before the next team member goes.
Farm Bureau seeks calendar photos
The Oregon Farm Bureau invites the public to submit their best photos of Oregon agriculture for a chance to be featured in the 2022 Oregon’s Beauty calendar.
Horizontal-layout, high-resolution images are needed of all types of agriculture. Suggested subjects include rural scenery; portraits of farmers, ranchers or farm families; planting or harvest shots; scenes from farm stands or farmers markets; and close-ups of fruit, vegetables, flowers, crops and farm animals. Photographers selected for month pages will receive photo credits, plus copies of the finished calendar.
Submission deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 15. Instructions, photo specifications, contest rules and examples of previous calendars are available at http://www.oregonfb.org/calendar.
Women’s Bible study begins
Mid-Valley Women of Christ will begin a fall Bible Study the week of Sept. 20 at locations throughout the area.
The seven-session study will focus on the prophet Elijah and will be led by best-selling author Priscilla Shirer.
Locations and times in Sweet Home are:
n Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Freedom Hill Church, 2470 Main St .;
n Wednesdays from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Sweet Home Evangelical Church, 1347 Long St.;
n Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Sweet Home Evangelical Church, 1347 Long St .;
n Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at Sweet Home Church of the Nazarene, 415 Holley Road; and
n Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. online through Freedom Hill Church.
Child care is not offered for any of the studies, which are facilitated by local women.
For more information, visit http://www.midvalleywomenofchrist.org.
Pine Meadows hosts planting day
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invites volunteers to cele-brate National Public Lands Day by planting habitat-creating vegetation from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Pine Meadows Campground, 75166 Cottage Grove Reservoir Road, Cottage Grove.
For their efforts, participants can stay for free at the campground the night of the event. All volunteers should wear sturdy closed-toe shoes, long pants and protective face masks in acknowledgment of COVID-19 protocols. Gloves and tools will be available.
Volunteers should pre-register no later than Monday, Sept. 20, by contacting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park ranger office at (541) 942-5631.
Parenting course begins Sept. 20
Samaritan Health Services and Parenting Success Network are sponsoring a 12-week virtual “Nurturing Parenting” course from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays beginning Sept. 20.
Parents of children aged 0 to 8 will learn strategies that promote empathy in children and form the basis on day-to-day family interactions.
Participants must have Internet access as well as a camera and microphone. A limited number of touchscreen tablets and hotspots are available for loan.
For information and to register, call (541) 497-4358 or email [email protected].
Funding for social accountability
Nonprofit organizations in Linn and Benton counties interested in applying for social accountability funding from Samaritan-affiliated hospitals in those counties are invited to submit full proposals no later than 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1.
Complete proposals must address one of the following social determinants of health: economic stability, health-care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. Specifically, a project must identify how it will address the particular determinant of health, identify the target population the project will address and must have measurable outputs.
For more information, contact Community Health Promotion director JoAnn Miller at (541) 768-7330 or [email protected], or Shelley Hazelton at (541) 768-5256 or [email protected].
Blood drive at church scheduled
The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1155 22nd Ave., Sweet Home.
To schedule an appointment, contact Jeanie Stover at (541) 971-8252.