Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2020)
8 Wednesday, January 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Selig nurtures preschoolers for SPRD Edie Jones excited to join board By Sue Stafford Edie Jones was selected among three finalists for the open position on the Sisters School Board at the monthly meeting held Wednesday, January 8. Her appointment fills the vacancy of Amanda Clarke who left the Board in December. Jones will complete the remainder of Clarke9s term, which is set to expire in June 2021. Jones, who ran for the Board in 2013, is a strong advocate of early childhood education and authored a book on the subject called <Raising Kids with Love, Honor and Respect.= She spent two decades working with the Together for Children organization. Jones and her husband, Ted, moved to the area in 1991 and owned and man- aged Camp Tamarack west of Sisters on Dark Lake for 11 years. In addition, Edie has been a longtime contributor to The Nugget. Ted Jones passed away in February 2019 at the age of 86. The couple shared 56 years of marriage. <Ted was always my big- gest cheerleader,= she said. <He encouraged me to run for the School Board back in 2013.= Jones lost that election to Melvin Herburger, but contin- ued to be involved in a variety of education-related activities and now is thrilled to have a chance to serve. <I9m excited,= she said. <When Ted passed away, I By Charlie Kanzig Correspondent Correspondent The smile on Valerie Selig9s face as she talks about her three- and four-year-old Grasshoppers in the Sisters Park & Recreation District preschool program speaks volumes about her, her work, and the children. <It9s not really work, and they pay me for it!= Selig said. <It is what I love.= A naturalized U. S. citi- zen who was born and raised outside of London, England, Selig graduated from col- lege in England, trained to work in children9s residential homes. She quit her first job to spend three months travel- ing in the U. S. and Australia. Returning home, she got what she thought would be a tem- porary job at Christmastime at Zale9s Jewelers, where she stayed for five years. In 1985, Selig transferred with Zale9s to work in the states for two years. The two years became five, and she met her future husband, Guy, never returning home per- manently to England. They have visited, as Selig still has a long-time friend there as well as two brothers and their families. <I have never regretted it,= offered Selig. <I have no desire to go back.= With their young son, Aaron, they were living in the Bay Area in California and Selig used her early childhood education to start a co-op preschool for the local parks and recreation district, a position she had for seven years. After visiting a friend who lived in the Spokane Valley, Guy and Valerie decided to leave California. They inves- tigated towns in several dif- ferent states and with a stay at the local KOA campground, they fell in love with Sisters. It was 2006 when they went home, quit their jobs, sold their home, and moved to Sisters. Aaron entered the sev- enth grade at Sisters Middle School. He is now 25 years old, working in Grand Junction, Colorado, for the Bureau of Land Management. Selig attributes that career choice to Aaron9s participa- tion in the IEE program at the high school. She said he par- ticipated in a number of the programs at SPRD including camps, skiing, and the after- school programs. Guy worked for the Sisters School District in all three schools for 12 years, as a sub- contractor for maintenance at SPRD, and now works at The PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD Valerie Selig is the director of SPRD’s preschool program. Lodge in Sisters assisted-liv- ing facility doing <whatever needs to be done.= Upon first arriving in Central Oregon, Selig had a fun year working in a pri- vate Bend preschool which <was very different from the co-op and had everything I wanted,= Selig said. She began at Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation (SOAR) in 2008 in their after-school program and later substitut- ing for the preschool teacher. She also worked for four years as a paraprofessional at the middle school. When a local preschool closed its doors in 2010, then-SPRD Executive Director Ann Heath gave the green light and SPRD opened up a classroom for a small preschool program with a teacher and aide. Establishing the preschool was a collab- orative effort, with parents See PRESCHOOL on page 27 spent some time just being at home and spent some time getting things, includ- ing myself, settled to this new part of my life. Realizing that, as much as I miss him, life really does go on and it9s important for me to go on in a good way.= Jones considered many ways in which she could still contribute. <I thought I could volunteer at Habitat for Humanity or ASPIRE or Circle of Friends 4 those sorts of places,= she said. <I was trying to figure out where I could find a place and feel like I am making a commit- ment and a difference that is significant. The more I thought about it I knew it had to do with kids.= When she discovered the opening on the School Board, she knew it was what she wanted to do. <I have the time and I still have the passion, so I am very glad the Board chose me for the position,= she said. Jones has kept up with the news on public education in Oregon and feels lucky to be joining the Board at a time of growth and improved fund- ing, including the Student Success Act. She is becoming more familiar with the School District9s mission and vision work and likes the direction things are going. Obviously as someone who spent many years running a camp for youth that included Outdoor School, experiential learning is something Jones believes in deeply. In addi- tion, she is appreciative of the community partnerships that PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG Edie Jones was appointed earlier this month to fill a post on the Sisters School Board. the schools have with orga- nizations like the Sisters Folk Festival, the Sisters Science Club, the aviation program and Together for Children. <I am pleased how Together for Children is part- nering with Parks and Rec since there is an emphasis there for early childhood and how we can help parents be the best they can be,= she said. Jones understands that students need practical, skill- based learning in addition to academics. <Not all of our stu- dents need to go to a four-year college,= she said. <In addi- tion to what we are already doing here, we need to make See JONES on page 22 Year-round FIREWOOD SALES — Kindling — — — SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS 541-410-4509 SistersForestProducts.com Gypsy Wind CLOTHING Sweater sale! All 50% off NIGHT AT THE ORIENT at The Belfry Open Wed., Thurs, Fri. & Sat., 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Cl Closed dS Sun. - T Tues. 351 W. HOOD AVE., SISTERS February 23, 4:30–6 p.m. Youth and adult tickets available Entertainment by Oregon Tai Chi Wushu View activities & classes, and register online! www.SistersRecreation.com 1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091 SNO CAP MINI STORAGE Sisters Industrial Park 157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575 www.SistersStorage.com • State-of-the-art Security Technology • Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40 • Individual Gate Codes • Long-term Discounts • On-site Manager