Sean C. Morgan
The second annual Sweet Home Community Health Fair will be significantly bigger than the first one, partly due to the fact that it will combine with the annual Jim Bean Public Safety Fair Saturday, organizers say.
“This is to showcase services that are available within the Sweet Home area and outside Sweet Home,” said Bob Dalton, event chairman. The goal is to inform members of the community who may not be aware of the services, he said.
An ad hoc city committee began the health fair in partnership with Samaritan Health Services last year following the announcement and cancellation of Samaritan’s plans to close Wiley Creek Assisted Living Facility to open a drug rehabilitation facility.
When residents, family and community members protested the decision, Samaritan canceled its plans.
“Samaritan partnered with us and said, ‘What can we do differently?’” Dalton said. The planning committee is now headed by City Councilor Lisa Gourley. Members of the committee include Dalton, Councilor Dave Trask, Mayor Greg Mahler, City Manager Ray Towry and former mayor Jim Gourley, with representation from Samaritan.
Turnout to last year’s event exceeded even what organizers had hoped, and this year’s event is a beefed-up version.
The health and public safety fairs are free, Dalton said. The health fair will include a variety of information and resources, ranging from housing and finances to various health screenings.
“We went from 32 tables our first year to 50-plus tables this year,” Dalton said. “I’m sure we probably had 300-plus last year.”
With all of the activity this weekend, Dalton expects attendance to be even higher Saturday.
It starts at 9 a.m. at the Sweet Home High School Activity Gym and runs to 2 p.m.
A city-sponsored Solar Eclipse Run begins at 10 a.m. at Weddle Bridge in Sankey Park, across the athletic field from the high school Main Gym.
Cost for the 3.5-mile run/walk is $25 for early registration, $40 on race day and $25 for the virtual run. Early registration ends Friday, Aug. 18. Participants can pick up their packets on Friday, Aug. 18, at Sweet Home City Hall, 1140 12th Ave. or on race day at Sankey Park, from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m.
Participants will receive a 3-inch medal to commemorate their achievement and solar glasses to safely watch the eclipse.
The event is sponsored by Moon Pies, celebrating its 100th anniversary, the City of Sweet Home and Eclectic Edge Racing.
For information or to register, visit www. 2017solareclipserun.weebly.com.
The Health Fair event has proved popular outside of Sweet Home, with healthcare providers and various other resources coming from Corvallis, Albany and Lebanon as well as Sweet Home, he said. They will offer a variety of instant services as well as information and advice about healthy living and additional services.
Among the services will be a bone heel density scan, veterans outreach, nutrition services, the Healthy Smiles dental van with free dental screening, blood pressure checks, information on preventing childhood obesity and skin cancer screenings.
“We also have more exposure to the Linn County mental health groups,” Dalton said, and the sometimes overlooked Sweet Home Health Center is participating. The clinic is part of Community Health Centers of Benton and Linn Counties.
The Jim Bean Public Safety Fair will feature its usual events, including a bicycle rodeo, a bike helmet giveaway, bicycle registration, a bike giveaway and shredding services among others. REACH air ambulance will land its helicopter at the event as long as it is not on a call.
The goal of the events is “to make sure Sweet Home becomes a healthy community,” Dalton said. “That’s what this is all about.”
For more information about the health fair, contact Dalton at (541) 367-5371. For information about the safety fair, call Gina Riley at the Police Department, (541) 367-5181, or Cindi Robeck at City Hall, (541) 367-5128. For information about the Eclipse Run, contact Pat Gray, also at City Hall.