Kelly Kenoyer
Plans are coming together for childcare during the new socially distanced school year for Sweet Home students, thanks to money from a Linn County emergency order.
Linn County Commissioners earlier this month determined to step up for local kids by approving a declaration of local emergency in response to Gov. Kate Brown’s July 28 order that students in fourth grade and above in counties failing to meet certain COVID-19 metrics would start the fall online. Since then, the governor has closed all Linn County schools to students, due to increased COVID numbers.
A meeting held Aug. 11, including local leaders such as Sweet Home City Manager Ray Towry, Lebanon schools Supt. Bo Yates, and Kris Latimer, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Santiam, focused on how to distribute $1 million in federal pass-through money of COVID-19-related relief funding the county has received. The group of county leaders prepared grant applications, which will help determine how the funds are distributed, Board of Commissioners Chairman Roger Nyquist said.
Sweet Home Library Director Rose Peda applied for another $63,796 in conjunction with 4-H and Oregon State University.
The Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Santiam has applied for $100,000 worth of the funding available through the county to provide for children during the school year, Latimer said.
BGCGS submitted four separate applications for program funding. The programs include a package of fall youth activities such as archery club, running club, hiking club, and a few other sports camps, open to kids in both Lebanon and Sweet Home; a six-week “Iron Chef” program for teens to learn about cooking and nutrition; a county leadership program for seventh- to 10th-graders to learn leadership skills; and a classroom-to-careers expo for students in eighth through 12th grade in Lebanon and Sweet Home to explore vocational/CTE opportunities.
BGCGS Executive Director Kris Latimer said, “this funding opportunity provided by Linn County Commissioners is of paramount importance to children and families.” She also thanked the county leadership for providing this funding, as “the calls asking for activities and support haven’t stopped coming.”
The club is also continuing its offer of full day childcare with academic support, which is already half full. There are 45 slots available per day, with three stable cohorts of 15 children to prevent COVID-19 transmission.
Peda participated in the leadership program being developed by the BGCGS when it was aimed at adults. She said it’s now going through a redesign to work better for children. The program develops a cohort of leaders who work together on a shared project.
“It provided networking for us, and we still stay in contact,” she said. “Some cohorts actually have gotten back together and done other projects.”
Peda said the best skill she learned from the program was working together effectively. “Everybody has different skillsets, and we learned how to determine where your skillset would fit best in the project. That was really, really valuable,” she said.
The Sweet Home library applied for funding in conjunction with the 4-H club and Oregon State University. That program will cover the hours from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and will involve education students from OSU offering homework help, alongside a group of retired teachers pulled together by local retiree Kathi Collins, Peda said.
The program will be in the dining area of the Jim Riggs Community Center.
It may also bring in Outdoor School’s Mike Vernon to teach kids in the classroom, “and they may be able to go down to the creek” for outdoor learning as well, Peda said.
The library’s program will likely be able to accommodate 30 to 40 kids ages K-12, she said, and they’ll need to register through 4-H to get involved. “We’re coordinating with some major partners and we’re very thankful that 4-H committed to this program.”