P2 The SpokeSman • WedneSday, march 2, 2022
Senior center partners with Redmond schools, Meta to clear tech hurdle
From a press release
The Redmond Senior Center is
partnering with Redmond School Dis-
trict and Meta to launch Tech Zoom-
ers, a technology support program
targeted at helping older adults with
technology challenges and training.
Meta provided a $3,000 grant to
support this pilot program, which
will be held from March through
June. Students from Ridgeview High
School’s computer science and tech-
nology classes have volunteered to
be a part of the inaugural program
and will be official interns of the Red-
mond Senior Center.
“We are excited to support tech-
nology workshops and learning ex-
periences for seniors across Central
Oregon, as well as internships for local
students. Technology is at the forefront
of our future, and investing in educa-
tional programs throughout Central
Oregon is integral to Meta’s mission
to connect people on and off line and
help build community,” said William
Marks, community development
manager at Meta in a press release.
Meta — formerly known as Face-
book — has been part of Central Or-
egon since breaking ground on its
Prineville Data Center in 2010.
Students will partner with seniors
to help teach them new skills or pro-
vide technological support. Not only
will the students gain real-world ex-
perience of providing resumes and
conducting all necessary prework for
an internship or job, but they will also
learn valuable lessons through this in-
tergenerational program. The student
volunteers have spent weeks coming
up with name for the inaugural pro-
gram and preparing for their official
internship with the help of EDCO’s
Youth Career Connect Internship Co-
ordinators.
“This new program will be valuable
for both our older adults and the stu-
dents. Intergenerational events and
programs benefit everyone involved,
and we couldn’t be happier with
the students that Redmond School
District has found to support Tech
Zoomers,” said Maureen Dooley, Red-
mond Senior Center Board of Direc-
tors President.
“Their eagerness to be part of
something new and make it their own
speaks volumes to the character and
caliber of these students.”
Annually, the Redmond Senior
Center provides over 40,000 hot meals
and supports thousands of older
adults through hundreds of programs
and activities. During the height of
the pandemic, the senior center con-
tinued to provide Meals on Wheels
for isolated older adults throughout
the greater Redmond area and offered
a place where older adults could safely
connect, obtain services, and partici-
pate in programs both in-person and
virtual.
The center is in the process of com-
ing up with intergenerational activi-
ties that will involve broader groups in
the community.
“I wanted to participate in this pro-
gram to give back to the community.
THE LONG ROAD TO
KEEPING STUDENTS SAFE
BY SHEILA MILLER
redmond School district public
Information officer
These days, it seems like guid-
ance and restrictions regarding
COVID change daily, if not hourly.
Back in early February, Gov. Kate
Brown announced masks would
no longer be required in schools
on March 31. Then, on Feb. 24, the
state moved that end date to March
19. On Monday, that date moved
back again, this time to March 12.
In February, Central Oregon’s
superintendents sent a letter to the
state, advocating for schools to be
able to make masks optional at the
same time as the rest of the state,
rather than waiting until March
31.
The Redmond School District’s
Board of Directors has also long
advocated for a return of local
control, to allow local leaders to
decide what was needed in our
schools. In February, the board
passed a resolution, 4-1, directing
district leaders to come up with
a plan that would make masking
optional after
March 2.
This created
some issues for
our district offi-
cials, as it asked
us to go against
state law and to
Miller
ask our employ-
ees to do the
same. It also caused state regula-
tory agencies to begin sending us
letters warning of fines and penal-
ties. On Monday, the board recon-
sidered that directive and issued
an updated resolution that di-
rected us to follow state deadlines
for masking.
It’s been a long road to get
to this point — two years ago,
our schools closed for what we
thought would be a short time
to deal with the new threat of
COVID-19. Today we’re all well-
versed in terms like social distanc-
ing, contact tracing, and compre-
hensive distance learning. Back
in January and early February, we
had dozens of new COVID cases
CROSSWORD
among students and staff every
day. Today, those numbers are
dropping fast.
Now, in less than two weeks,
we’ll have the surest sign yet that
our schools are getting back to
normal, as masks will become op-
tional for students and staff. We
know that this is a reason to cele-
brate for many, and that for others
it will be a nerve-wracking expe-
rience.
Masks continue to be recom-
mended in our schools, particularly
for those who are unvaccinated
or immunocompromised. Our
schools will not tolerate any bully-
ing surrounding masks — against
those choosing to wear them, and
against those who do not.
And making masks optional
means asking, once again, that
families be sure not to send their
kids to school when they are sick.
If we’ve learned one thing over the
past two years, it’s that we have to
come together as a community to
keep each other safe and healthy.
That doesn’t end when masks be-
These senior citizens have done so
much for us; I feel like it’s time we give
back,” said Dhruv Patel, a senior at
Ridgeview High School who plans to
attend a 4-year university next year to
major in industrial engineering and
minor in computer science.
The Redmond Senior Center hopes
to continue and grow this program in
coming years depending on the suc-
cess of this pilot launch. Josh Davis,
a Computer Science teacher at Rid-
geview High School, and the school
district lead helping spearhead this
program stated, “This is a great op-
portunity for some amazing young
adults to share their tech skills and
knowledge with others while learning
the value of giving back to their com-
munity.”
PET OF THE WEEK
Now, in less than two weeks,
we’ll have the surest sign yet
that our schools are getting
back to normal.
come optional.
We expect that in the com-
ing days and weeks, the Oregon
Health Authority and the Ore-
gon Department of Education
will announce more changes to
COVID-related school rules —
around things like quarantine and
contact tracing. As those are an-
nounced, the Redmond School
District will do what it’s gotten
very good at — nimbly making
changes that help keep our school
communities safe and healthy, and
that keep all our students at school
every day.
For now, we are so pleased that
COVID seems to be declining in
our community, and we look for-
ward to seeing many healthy stu-
dents with big smiles in just a cou-
ple short weeks.
Submitted photo
Meet Joker! Joker was surrendered to
BrightSide for some behavioral issues,
which leads us to believe he would do
best in a home with no other dogs.
Joker is described by his previous
owner as very affectionate and knows
some basic commands. Joker is a big
and sweet boy that would love to meet
you.
If you think Joker could be the right
fit for you please come to BrightSide!
SUDOKU
WEATHER
Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every
3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9, with no repeats.
FORECAST
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
monday
Tuesday
LAST WEEK
HIGH
LOW
57
47
47
46
47
45
43
38
27
30
26
22
23
19
HIGH
LOW
Showers
Showers
cloudy
partly cloudy
partly cloudy
partly cloudy
partly cloudy
PRECIP
monday, Feb. 21
40
22
0
Tuesday, Feb. 22
24
9
0
Wednesday, Feb. 23
26
-6
0
Thursday, Feb. 24
32
9
0
Friday, Feb. 25
46
4
0
Saturday, Feb. 26
54
14
.01
Sunday, Feb. 27
56
38
0
precipitation to date this year: .74 inches
* = daily record
national Weather Service broadcasts are on 162.50 mhz.
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