Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Hawthorne School is getting new playground equipment, Highway 228 is going to get some beautification work at its entrance into Sweet Home, local needy seniors are getting food and attention and a lot more is happening thanks to proceeds from last year’s Oregon Jamboree.
Eleven local nonprofit groups received $20,138 in grant funds from the Sweet Home Community Foundation at the monthly breakfast Thursday held by the Sweet Home Economic Development Group.
SHEDG President Ron Moore told more than 30 people who gathered at Mollies restaurant for the event that SHEDG has given more than $100,000 to the community since 2002. He said it’s uncertain if the future will be as rosy as the recent past for the Jamboree, which netted about $325,000 last year.
“Talent is becoming more costly and the costs are going up,” he said, pointing out that current facilities, on the high school athletic field, permit the sale of a limited number of tickets. Last year’s event was a sell-out.
“Next year we could see an increase of $200,000 or $300,000 in costs and that’s where your profit is. We might be looking at breaking even, like we were a few years ago.”
Moore said SHEDG is continuing to look at its options, one of which is to purchase property to build a facility that could accommodate more people.
Moore also announced that Scott Weld has joined the SHEDG Board of Directors, replacing Beth Lambert, who has stepped down.
Foundation board member John Wittwer said private contributions are beginning to mount for the organization, which focuses on providing aid that will go to local residents.
“Simply put, the foundation’s goal is to improve the quality of life in Sweet Home,” he said. “It’s a little dismaying when you see your contribution go somewhere else. This money stays here.”
Foundation board member Max Thompson, who presented the awards, said 23 applications were received for grants totaling $49,000. The foundation gave $15,000 last year, he said.
“We’ve given out a little over $59,000 in grants up to this year,” Thompson said, noting the total is now over $79,000. “Hopefully it’s making an impact in the community for some things we need in this community.”
Grant recipients were:
– $2,500 to the city of Sweet Home for the Highway 228 Gateway Project being conducted by the city Beautification Committee. Committee members Phyllis Osborn and Alice Grovom accepted the money, which will be used to spruce up the approach into town on Highway 228. The committee, Osborn noted, has already done extensive work along Highway 20 and is now turning its attention elsewhere.
“Our goal on the Beautification Committee is to make the city as beautiful as the natural beauty surrounding it,” Osborn said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without help from SHEDG.”
– $2,000 to Hawthorne School for new playground equipment. Principal Mike Aman said that an old wood play structure on the playground, which is used year-round by children during school and sports activities, is built of treated lumber, which is poisonous. The money will pay for a new climbing apparatus, he said.
– $4,000 to the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs to purchase a 10-foot by 10-foot tent for community events, which will be available to the community. The grant will also pay for a trailer to transport the tent.
– $858 to the South Santiam Watershed Council, which plans to install interpretive signs at Yukwah Campground. The signs are being created by local students, including some from Sweet Home, said Eric Hartstein, of the council.
– $2,500 to the Sweet Home United Methodist Church to fund some new kitchen equipment for the church’s Manna program, which offers a free dinner to those in need on Friday nights. Church member Mary Brendle said the program, which has grown from 8-10 participants to 80-100 on an average Friday, uses a kitchen “built in the 1950s” with consequent equipment failures.
“There’s a need for this kind of service in Sweet Home and we’re providing it,” Brendle said.
– $2,000 to Meals on Wheels, operated by West Cascades Council of Governments, which provides food for senior citizens at the Community Center and for shut-ins. Kristi Murphy, of Meals on Wheels, said that the interaction in the dining room or the expectation of a food delivery volunteer is vital for elderly people.
– $2,500 to Sweet Home Gleaners for food storage containers.
– $2,000 to Samaritan Health Services for its Senior Companion Program, which serves low-income seniors in Sweet Home. Suzette Boydston, director of the program, praised the foundation for its efforts.
“I’m just so proud to be involved in this,” she said, noting that other communities “make more but give less. I can’t believe what you’ve accomplished.”
– $1,000 to the Sweet Home Genealogical Society for a copy machine to improve research capabilities in its library.
– $780 to the Sweet Home Pregnancy Center to purchase videos for the organization’s expanded parenting program.