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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com February 18, 2015 A3 Five JCS students tackle city playground’s upgrade By S.F. Tool Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Five eighth- grade boys from teacher Laurie Altringer’s commu- nity service class decided to take on the adult-sized job of raising money for renovation of Joseph City Park’s playground as part of a Family, Careers and Com- munity Leaders of America (FCCLA) project. First stop: present the idea to the Joseph City Council for permission to undertake the project. Joseph Char- ter School students Steven Beckman, T.J. Grote, Tyler Homan, Kade Kilgore and Trey Wandschneider made the presentation while Al- tringer watched in approval at the Joseph City Council’s Feb. 5 meeting. After reading a brief in- troduction to the project, each boy took turns narrat- ing a Powerpoint presenta- tion. The presentation in- cluded stating the amount, $4,000, that was needed just to start the project. Reasons cited for the renovation in- cluded safety concerns, and the observation that the playground equipment’s current state of disrepair had a negative impact on tour- ists with children. The group also mentioned that even some Joseph citizens resort- ed to taking their children to Enterprise for park play, possibly causing Joseph merchants a loss of revenue. The students said the project could result in healthier, happier children and it was an opportunity to unite the community in a common cause. The boys told the coun- cil they’ve already select- ed a top-notch playground designer, Play By Design, which intends to garner in- put from JCS classes with the aim of designing the playground in accordance with the desires of local children, yet also to inte- grate Joseph culture into the design. The group mentioned the bulk of the project en- tailed fundraising because the project’s total estimated cost is $20,000. The boys in- tend to raise funds through a number of methods includ- S.F Tool/Chieftain From left: Wallowa Memorial Hospital Cardiac Sonographer Rebecca Patton, Imaging Director Sarah Johnson and Respiratory Therapist Loring Lamb with echocardiogram upgrade in the background. Hospital’s ultrasound upgrade reduces need for patient travel By S.F. Tool Wallowa County Chieftain A stress echocardiogram upgrade to the ultrasound system at Wallowa Memo- rial Hospital allows patients to take cardiac stress tests locally rather than driving to La Grande or Walla Wal- la. The upgrade comes from a gift of nearly $15,000 af- ter WMH Imaging Director Sarah Johnson made a pre- sentation to the Circle 100 Club of 2013, a local charity comprised solely of women. Johnson said the hospital started utilizing the upgrade on Nov. 1. “Patients run on a treadmill and we monitor their EKG (electrocardio- gram) and then we do an echocardiogram in conjunc- tion with that. It’s an ultra- sound of the heart,” Johnson said. The imaging staff run the tests both pre- and post-ex- ercise to monitor any chang- es. If results to this point don’t indicate the presence of a healthy heart, the next step involves sending pa- tients to the Catheteriza- tion Lab for further testing. “This has great prognostic value,” Johnson said. She added that previous to the upgrade, patients ei- ther received only the stress test or the hospital sent the patients to a facility that possessed the echocardio- gram equipment. Johnson emphasized that the hospital preferred the idea of treating the patients locally rather than sending someone with a possible heart condition for a long drive. “It’s nice to keep peo- ple here. We have four doc- tors who do these tests with us because the presence of a doctor is required,” Johnson said. She added that before the upgrade, the hospital sent out at least 200 patients per year to other facilities. The hospital also re- cently added a new tech- nologist, Rebecca Patton, to aid with ultrasound and the new upgrade. “Our new technologist is a re- lief technologist who has already been trained, and specializes in echocardiog- raphy. She’s really great,” Johnson said. Johnson added that the transition to using the up- grade went very smoothly with a minimum of retrain- ing involved. Young musicians invited to compete; apply by Feb. 27 Inland Northwest Musi- cians is accepting applica- tions for participation in the 15th annual Young Artists Competition scheduled for March 8 at Hermiston High School. The competition is open to instrumentalists and vocalists up to age 25 in four age divisions: ele- mentary, junior high/mid- dle school, high school and young adult. Division winners receive cash awards, with some par- ticipants being selected to perform in concert with the Inland Northwest Orches- tra in May. Information and application forms are avail- able online at www.inland- northwestmusicians.com. Application deadline is Feb. 27. For more information contact Alice Massey at amassey@wtechlink.us or call 541-379-5564. S.F. Tool/Chieftain Young men on a mission to upgrade the Joseph park’s playground. FCCLA members, from left, T.J. Grote, Steven Beckman, Kade Kilgore, Tyler Homan, and Trey Wandschneider. ing donations — reaching out to the community via the Chieftain, Facebook, KWVR, and distribution of fliers — and grant-seeking. The presentation con- cluded with photos of possi- ble playground designs. The council complimented the boys on their presentation. Mayor Dennis Sands asked the group what the time-line would be for the project if the council approved it. Al- tringer answered that with a concentrated funding effort, the project could be com- pleted before summer. Other council members suggested grant avenues such as Cycle Oregon, Bronze Blues and Brews and Wildhorse Casino. The council also a elicited a promise that the boys con- tinue on with the project into next year if funding proved elusive. The council next step included seeking a Safeway Foundation Grant, which has an average award of about $10,000, and fol- low with applying to Cycle Oregon for grants in the $3,000-$4,000 range. followed with a unanimous vote to allow the boys to proceed with the project, after which the entire audi- ence rewarded the boys with a healthy round of applause. Altringer later said the S PA AY Y A N D N E U T E R 1 0 % S a v i n g s C a n i n e a n d Fe l i n e S P AY AN D N E UT U E R P L U S $ 1 0 co u p on f r om W C H S e n t erpr i sev et . c o m * NOW SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS FOR ENERGY ASSISTANCE Community Connection has funds available for utility payment assistance in Union, Wallowa, Baker and Grant counties. Please contact your local office of Community Connection for more information or to schedule your appointment. Funds are limited. 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