Josai visit to Sweet Home
(Above) Members of this year’s Josai exchange program tour group from Josai Gakuen high school in Tokyo, Japan, enjoy a visit to A&W on July 21. Their trip involved a lot of sightseeing, organized by Amy Wingo, adviser of Sweet Home High School’s Josai Club. July 21 was spent in Sweet Home, where they had an English lesson followed by games and a tour of town. The group of 10 students and a teacher, were hosted by Josai Club students, who will visit Japan next year. They stayed with host families in Sweet Home July 17-27.
Photos by Miriam Swanson
Getting Set for the Big Show
Staff members from AllStar Tents and Party Rental of Salem set up a stage on a baseball field at Sweet Home High School Friday morning, July 25, in preparation for this year’s Oregon Jamboree festival. The Jamboree starts tonight, July 31, with the kick-off party at Sankey Park starting at 6 p.m. with Jacquie Roar on stage, followed by Jeff Miller & The Congregation at 7:30 and Kurt Van Meter at 9 p.m. The event is free and the public is welcome to attend and get a taste of what it’s like to be inside the gates. The Oregon Jamboree festival starts at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1. Gates open at 1 p.m.
Down Day for Local Fisherman
Owner Pat Sherrett points out describes to a County Parks ranger how his Dodge Dakota pickup ended up in Foster Lake Wednesday morning, July 23, at the Gedney Creek Boat Ramp on North River Drive. Sherrett, of Lebanon, who said he fishes the lake frequently, said he was hauling his boat out – something “I’ve done hundreds of times” – and decided to straighten it a little. He said his brakes got wet and “failed” and the truck and trailer slid down the ramp. He said he had to climb through the window as the truck floated to escape. He was soaked but said he was unhurt. Sherrett was able to get into his boat and move it to the dock. Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District personnel and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representative responded to the scene, but Corps officials directed them to leave the truck until Corps personnel arrived later in the day to arrange to get the truck and trailer out of the water.
Photo by Scott Swanson
Staff protests in front of Lebanon hospital
Staff members of the Lebanon Girod Birth Center and the emergency after-hours surgical services unit at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital protest Wednesday afternoon, July 23, along Hwy. 20 in front of the hospital. Nurses say that the community is being given “untrue statistics and not enough information to be able to form a real and informed opinion” and respond knowledgeably to proposed cuts to those services at the hospital.
Photo by Scott Swanson