Meals on Wheels weekly menu
Meals on Wheels offers takeout 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 center is closed Friday, Nov. 25, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The menu on Monday, Nov. 28, is a barbecued chicken patty or breaded fish with tartar sauce, Lyonnaise potatoes, a San Francisco vegetable blend, sunflower-seed bread and seasonal fruit.
The menu on Tuesday, Nov. 29, is turkey tetrazzini or beef Spanish rice, an Italian vegetable blend, country coleslaw, a rye bran roll and gelatin jewels with whipped topping.
For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, contact Norene at (541) 367-8843.
Deadlines near for holiday programs
Sweet Home firefighters and police continue to accept applications for their Christmas outreach efforts to local youth.
The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District is accepting applications to its Christmas for Kids
Sharing Tree toy program and the Sweet Home Police Department is accepting applications to its Teen Sharing Tree and Shop with a Cop program.
The programs are open to underprivileged children in the Sweet Home community.
Applications to the fire district, for children 12 and younger, are available at the “Sweet Home Sharing Tree” page on Facebook.
Applications to the Police Department program for children in seventh through 12th grade and Shop with a Cop, for children ages 4-12, will be available on the city’s website, sweethomeor.gov.
Paper applications for the Teen Sharing Tree and Shop with a Cop will be available at the Police Department, 1950 Main St.
The deadline to submit applications to the sharing trees is Dec. 2. The deadline to submit applications for the Shop with a Cop program is Nov. 25.
In the sharing tree programs, names of children and families are written on tags and placed on the sharing trees. Anyone who wants to help those in need is invited to visit the Fire Hall or Police Department and choose a name or multiple names from the tree. Donors are welcome to contribute for entire families.
Tags are available at the Fire Hall, 1099 Long St., and Sweet Home Police Department, 1950 Main St. Donors purchase an item or items listed on the tag, wrap the gifts and then return them to the by Dec. 7. The tags that are left on the sharing trees will be taken by the local department personnel, who will purchase gifts to fill those requests.
Those requesting gifts from the fire district will be able to pick them up Dec. 15-16 at the old City Hall. The Police Department will distribute on Dec. 14.
Cash donations to the “Christmas for Kids Sharing Tree” toy programs may be made at the Fire and Ambulance District office, 1099
Long St., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Donations to children’s programs at
Sweet Home Police Department, 1950 Main St., may be given 24
hours a day. All cash donations will be used to purchase toys and needed clothing for local children. Funds
donated to the Police Department also may be used to help pay for the Shop with a Cop program and other children’s programs.
Applications are also available for the Dec. 3 Police Department’s Shop with a Cop program on the city’s website at sweethomeor.gov/police/webform/shopcop-2020-application. Paper forms are available at the department.
The program is open to children 4 through 12.
During Shop with a Cop, children will receive credit to shop at Bi-Mart with police officers. Treats and hot chocolate will be available.
They’ll get to meet Blue Santa, and members of the Sportsman’s Holiday Court will assist them in wrapping gifts.
For further information about each of the sharing trees or the Shop with a Cop program, contact the Fire and Ambulance District at (541) 367-5882 or the Police Department at (541) 367-5181.
Singing Christmas Tree makes return
The Sweet Home Singing Christmas Tree will return, after a two-year hiatus, with a full weekend of performances Dec. 2-4 at the Sweet Home High School Auditorium, 1641 Long St.
Performances begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Doors open an hour before show time for photos with Santa.
Admission is free. Donations are accepted.
SHHS Ski and Ride Club film, auction
The Sweet Home High School Ski and Ride Club will show a Warren Miller ski movie and hold an a silent auction at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, in the high school Commons area.
The event is the club’s annual fundraiser. All proceeds support student lift tickets, rentals and transportation to Hoodoo this winter.
Auction items include a Hoodoo season pass and Anytime Card, a Santiam Snolab workshop to build your own skis or snowboard, merchandise from Hoodoo and Berg’s Ski and Snowboard Shop, Oregon Jamboree tickets, lumber and bark dust from Weyerhaeuser, and local gift certificates/baskets from The Rio, Parrish Land Clearing, Sayer Farms, Tolman Dentistry, Ace Hardware, P3D, Growlers Cafe, All Star Pizza, Crocker’s Cars, O&M Point S, Dutch Bros, Gleaners, Country Financial, Christman Cabinets, Windom’s Hair Salon and A&W.
Warren Miller’s “Ticket to Ride” will be screened during the event. Admission is free.
Bazaar vendor booths available
A number of vendor booths remain available for the annual Town & Country Christmas Bazaar to be held Dec. 2-4 at the Linn County Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road East, Albany.
This year’s bazaar will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4. Admission is $2 for adults and children admitted free.
Vendor booths are available for $120. To reserve a spot, call Expo Center Rachel Lytle at (541) 704-1182 or email [email protected].
First Friday focus on holiday love
Lebanon Downtown Association and downtown merchants will present a First Friday event themed “A ‘Hallmark’ Holiday Love Story Between a Small Town and Its Community” from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2.
The event will be cohosted by Bloom Boutique and Tea House, 712 S. Main St. It will include carolers, treats, cocoa, crafts, a gift drive, and appearances by the Grinch and Santa.
For information, visit http://www.facebook.com/lebanondowntownassociation or call (541) 497-1415.
American Legion hosts bazaar
The American Legion Auxiliary will hold a Christmas Bazaar Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3, at American Legion Santiam Post 51, 480 S. Main St., Lebanon.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Lunch will be available for purchase both days.
Christmas tree auction set Dec. 4
Sweet Home High School Alumni Foundation will host its 17th annual Trees for Scholarships Auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Boys & Girls Club, 880 18th Ave.
The event includes dinner, a silent auction and a live tree auction.
Tickets are $35 each or $280 for a table of eight. A limited number of VIP tickets, which permit early entry at 5 p.m. to avoid long registration lines, tree preview opportunities and a complimentary beverage, are available for $50 each or $400 for a table of eight.
Sponsorships for decorated trees in the live auction may be available. Contact Mary Sue Reynolds at (541) 401-1794.
Donations of themed baskets or items for the silent auction may be made by contacting Lauri Carlson at (541) 401-3148 or Jamie Melcher at (541) 401-1991.
All donations are tax-deductible and all proceeds go to scholarships for Sweet Home High School students, who received more than $82,000 from SHAF in 2022.
Seating is limited. To purchase tickets early, contact Shari MelcherSmith at (541) 409-4019.
Tour of history in Lebanon Dec. 3
Build Lebanon Trails will host a tour of downtown buildings at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, starting at BLT’s booth in Ralston Park near the corner of Park and Maple streets in Lebanon.
The walk, which is part of Lebanon’s Christmas festivities, presents a glimpse into Lebanon’s past through historical structures with guide Jeff Smith, a local historian.
This year’s event includes a tour of the Wells Fargo Building, originally the Lebanon National Bank, built in 1910. Highlights include its original bank vaults, the second-floor board room that overlooks Main Street and the bomb shelter in the basement. Tour-goers will also visit an upstairs apartment currently under construction on Main Street, and pass two former Lebanon hospitals, with discussion about their history.
Participants should arrive early to sign participation waivers and receive Whisper listening devices for the walk leader’s lecture.
Parking downtown may take more time than usual because of the other festivities in the park.
This is mostly an outdoor event. Leashed dogs are welcome, but may not be allowed inside structures.
Christmas store set for children
The 2022 Kids Free Christmas Store will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Hope Church , 890 Mountain View Road.
The store gives Sweet Home youngsters aged 2 through 12 an opportunity to shop free for their families. Children will be assigned a personal shopper, who will escort them to tables where they can choose gifts to be wrapped and placed under Christmas trees.
For more information, contact Director Nancy Patton at (541) 409-4276.
Grief seminar scheduled Dec. 9
Mennonite Village will host “Grief and the Holidays” from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the Lakeside Center, 5353 Columbus St. S.E., Albany.
The presentation and discussion will address complications that can arise during the holiday season and ways that individuals can cope and potentially thrive.
While the bulk of the discussion will center around grief related
to the death of a loved one, it will also address the grief that comes from life experiences, including those brought about by the pandemic.
There is no admission charge.
For more information, contact Christina Harkenss at [email protected].
Focus groups set on health
The Sweet Home Health Committee, in partnership with Western University School of Health
Sciences, will hold four focus-group meetings in January to seek community input on the health of the city.
Student doctors from the university will conduct these sessions at 6 p.m. Jan. 10, 11, 17 and 18 at the Sweet Home Police Department, 1950 Main St. Participants will be asked 5 to 10 open-ended questions about health care and health-related issues.
Each focus group will be limited to eight individuals.
Anyone interested in participating should contact Larry Horton at [email protected] with preferred dates.