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Wednesday, Nov. 7,2012
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Elderly woman gets new wheels
Felicia Skriver
News Editor
B right sparks w hiz past the
safety glasses o f student w eld-
ers as they put the saw to the
m etal. The legs o f the w alker
are clasped dow n w hile they
saw it into tw o pieces. This
project was a great act o f com
m unity service, provided by the
w elding technology departm ent
last week.
“I w ant to em phasize th at in
the program , on occasion we
do like to help the com m unity
out,” said John Phelps, a w eld
ing technology instructor here
at CCC. “I couldn’t im agine
how m uch it w ould cost som e
w here else.”
W hen 81 year-old R obbie
Pappas could no longer m aneu
ver around her apartm ent w ith
the w alker she had, she decid
ed to call C lackam as w ith the
project in m ind.
“I w as fru strated by not
being able to m ove around my
ow n apartm ent,” said Pappas,
longtim e resident and educator
o f C lackam as County. “ So it’s
ju s t w orked beautifully.”
The project entailed bring
ing the w idth o f the w alker
dow n to 12 inches and also
adding a tray to set things on.
The goal is to m ake it m uch
narrow er so that Pappas can
m aneuver m ore easily.
“ Yeah, it is nice to give back
to the com m unity,” said Travis
M ontm iny, one o f the w eld
ing technology students h elp
ing w ith the m odification. “I t’s
nice to be able to help som eone
who needs h elp .”
Pappas has been m ore than
satisfied w ith hef new w alker,
getting around her house has
been m ore sim plistic because
o f the w elding departm ent.
“I t’s w onderful! A bsolutely
w onderful!” said Pappas. “I f I
did not have that w alker today,
I could not have gotten around
today. I w ould like to com pli
m ent Travis too, because he
m odified it and put a tray on it
so I can place things on it.”
T he w eld in g dep artm en t
w ould like to em phasis that
they do not take on all projects
offered. T hey have been solic
ited a couple tim es; how ever
Travis Montminy narrows the size o f Robbie Pappas’walker so she can easily navigate her apartment. Pappas found her new walker “absolutely wonder
fu l! ” She was very pleased with the finished product.
they do not take on any and all
projects.
P appas has been an educator
in C lackam as C ounty for the
last 30 years, and sh e’s glad
to see th at the com m unity and
education can go hand in hand.
“I tau g h t at schools for
years,” said P appas, “and as a
tax payer o f C lackam as C ounty
I feel like m y m oney is being
used w ell at y our college ... I
Childcare for CCC parents
Emily Rask
Associate News Editor
When parents need a place to
plop their kids while they plod
away at class, the college has help
available in spite o f cuts to some o f
the services available in the past.
Clackamas Community College
has been helping young parents
for many years with childcare ser
vices. The Young Parent Program
just ended after 20 years last June
due to no grant funding and lack o f
enrollment.
Although the program is no
longer active, the college still has
a very strong early Head Start and
a YMCA program to fill these
important needs o f families on
campus.
One o f three Early Head
Start teachers for eight children,
B rian
Kidwell
explained how
convenient it is
for parents to
have their chil
dren right by
them
as
they attend
school. He
said it almost feels as if they are on
the same level as their kids.
“They have to be a Student for
it to be completely free. CCC stu
dents get first priority. We provide
childcare to any mom on campus,”
said Kidwell. “There is a wait
ing list for the early Head Start
program so when we select chil
dren for the program we select the
neediest.” .
The YMCA Child Development
Center offers another top notch
affordable, childcare program that
is flexible. Infants to 12 year olds
get to learn and live a healthy life
style in a state licensed program.
Program director o f the
Clackamas'YMCA, Kelly Skopil,
said, “We have discounted rates for
CCC students and faculty. Students
can get very affordable rates to
have their kids here.”
Early Head Start works mainly
with families that need help such as
those with low income or ones with
children that have special needs.
The YMCA program works with
familes in our community. There
are options at the college for all
types o f student parents.
According to their website, the
YMCA is the largest nonprofit pro
vider o f after school childcare in
the nation. The nonprofit organiza
tion funds quality affordable child
care services for all. With 2,687
locations across the country serv
ing 21 million people a year, the
nonprofit is a national resource
available locally to parents in need
o f affordable childcare.
The YMCA also offers stud
ies in eight particular areas: lit
eracy, mathematics, science, social
studies, arts, technology, healthy
habits, and social, moral, and spiri
tual development. The program
focuses on helping children learn
and develop their skills. They can
show what interests them in these
programs and then the teachers
can work with them to learn more
about their interests.
It is really simple for CCC stu
dents to get their children into these
programs.
“CCC students can apply
through ASG for financial aid child
care,” said Skopil.
The
A ssociated
Student
Government is in the Community
Center next to the cafeteria in
CC152
Both programs are located in
the Family Resource Center build
ing and are open Monday through
Friday from nine to five.
w ould also like to com plim ent
John Phelps, because he was
the m ost courteous w hen I
cam e to pick the w alker u p.”
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