COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | MARCH 4, 2021
| 3A
Middlefield Oaks Senior Living ‘was there’ when local senior needed a home
Rebecca Higley nev-
er imagined she would
be homeless at age
66. “When I was 20, I
thought I’d be with my
husband going through
our golden years togeth-
er. I never thought I’d be
homeless,” Higley said.
Higley raised three
children and did not ac-
quire the security that
employment or a profes-
sional career might have
provided to her for sup-
port as she aged.
“I was a housewife,”
Higley said. “I didn’t
think my life would end
up this way. Becoming
homeless didn’t sneak up
on me, it jumped up at
me.”
Nearly five years ago
while traveling on a Grey-
hound bus to visit her
daughter in Roseburg,
Higley fell and broke her
hip. She received treat-
ment while hospitalized
and planned to recover at
her daughter’s home.
Plans changed when
conflict with her daugh-
ter’s father prompted
Higley to reach out to
friends living in Cottage
Grove.
“They invited me to
stay in their RV, and I was
thankful to Mark Walker
and Nancy Atkinson,”
Higley said. “We have
been friends for 26 years,
it showed true friend-
ship when they offered to
help.”
Higley lived in her
friends’ RV for over three
years until recently, when
they all moved to a differ-
ent property — at which
point Higley found her-
self living in a tent.
“I lost everything. My
COPD was getting worse,
there was mud, and I
couldn’t get through the
mud,” Higley said.
She struggled to sur-
vive without proper hy-
giene and a warm place
to sleep. Her health de-
clined and her friends
knew she needed help.
They drove her to
the Emergency Room
at PeaceHealth Cottage
Grove Hospital.
“I couldn’t breathe. If
my friends hadn’t tak-
en me to the hospital, I
probably wouldn’t have
made it through the win-
COURTESY PHOTO
Rebecca Higley, once homeless, now in her new
residence at Middlefield Oaks Senior Living.
ter,” Higley said.
Kat Rio, the RN Care
Manager at PeaceHealth,
spoke to Higley about
her options and began
reaching out to several
community resources,
including Senior & Dis-
ability Services, Middle-
field Oaks Senior Living,
and other long-term care
facilities.
“Kat was gung-ho to
get me into a place. She
called lots of places and
no one had a room for
me,” Higley said. “Then
Middlefield Oaks offered
me an apartment. I want-
ed to cry when I saw my
new home. It’s beautiful,
and it’s huge! I have a key
to my own front door,
and I have my own bath-
room, kitchen, full refrig-
erator and microwave.”
Heather
Arnason,
Executive Director for
Middlefield Oaks Senior
Living, responded to
Higley’s need.
“When we heard Re-
becca’s story, we couldn’t
say no. She needed help,
and we could provide the
level of care she needed,”
said Arnason. “Our mis-
sion is to provide safe,
quality long-term care for
seniors so they can live
their lives to the fullest,
and we were grateful to
have an available apart-
ment to offer Rebecca.”
PeaceHealth
Care
Manager Elizabeth Saw-
yers remembers working
on behalf of Higley years
ago. “It’s good to hear
PeaceHealth and Senior
& Disability were able
to offer assistance, and
Middlefield Oaks was
there when she needed
a safe home. I’m so hap-
py she’s finally living in a
healthy, beautiful apart-
ment with 24-hour care,”
Sawyers said.
Ruth Tracey, the Com-
munity Relations Direc-
tor for Middlefield Oaks,
credited the new trajec-
tory of Higley’s life as a
heartfelt collaboration
and community effort.
“It all came together
beginning with Rebecca’s
friends who helped her,
to PeaceHealth Hospital
in Cottage Grove who
provided a continuum of
care and communicating
with Senior & Disability
Services for multiple rea-
sons, including acquiring
a bed for Rebecca,” Trac-
ey said. “Then, watching
the department heads at
Middlefield Oaks gath-
er items and furniture
needed to set up Rebec-
ca’s apartment was truly
service from the heart.
It was a team effort, and
it took every person in-
volved to make this hap-
pen.
“To be able to serve this
deep of a need in a per-
son’s life is an honor. It is
the core of why I choose
to be in this field.”
Renowned civil rights
leader Mahatma Gandhi
once said, “The measure
of a country’s greatness
should be based on how
well it cares for its most
vulnerable populations.”
Higley said she appre-
ciates the care and sup-
port she received.
“I’m so thankful to the
hospital and everyone.
Oregon has been kind to
me. Oregon takes care of
their people,” she said.
Crow-Applegate-Lorane School Board names superintendent/principal finalists
The Crow Applegate
Lorane (CAL) School
Board has announced
three finalists for fur-
ther consideration to
be the next superinten-
dent/principal for the
Crow-Applegate-Lorane
School District. The se-
lected finalists are:
• Heidi Brown — Cur-
rently, Brown is the prin-
cipal of the Harrison
elementary school in
the South Lane school
district (SLSD, Cottage
Grove, OR).
Additionally, she is
the co-facilitator for the
SLSD Equity committee.
Previously, she worked in
the Triangle Lake school
district for 11 years in
a variety of roles, in-
cluding athletic director
and middle/high school
teacher.
Brown received her
master’s degree in Edu-
cational Leadership from
the University of Oregon.
• Sandra Price — Price
has worked in the Sa-
lem-Keizer school system
since 2012. First as the
Director of Elementary
Education and currently
as the Director of School
Improvement.
Prior to her current as-
signment, she worked for
the Lane Education Ser-
vice District as a School
Improvement program
administrator.
From 2004-2007, she
was the Yoncalla Elemen-
tary/Middle school prin-
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cipal.
Price earned her mas-
ter’s degree in Education-
al Leadership from the
University of Oregon.
• Wayne Reposa —
Since 2018, Reposa has
been the assistant pro-
fessor for the Bushnell
University (Northwest
Christian University) in
Eugene, Ore.
Previously, he was a
middle school principal
for eight years in the Leb-
anon (Ore.) Community
school district. He was
an elementary teacher
in Springfield for eight
years prior to his work
in Lebanon. Reposa has
a master’s degree in Edu-
cational Leadership from
the University of Oregon.
The CAL school board
will begin background
and reference checks for
the finalists over the the
next few weeks. Each fi-
nalist will be invited for
a “day in the district” on
Wednesday, March 10.
At that time, staff and
members of the commu-
nity will have an oppor-
tunity to meet the candi-
dates.
The staff and commu-
nity “meet and greet” will
be held from 5:30 to 6:45
p.m. at the Applegate El-
ementary School. Com-
ment cards will be pro-
vided for participants to
share thoughts with the
school board.
COVID-19 protocols
will be strictly enforced.
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