Health and Wellness Expo set for Sept. 24
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 5 months AGO
CBH Columbia Basin Herald Local News
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 13, 2016 6:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The annual Central Washington Health and Wellness Expo is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 24 in the ATEC building on the Big Bend Community College campus. Sponsors are Columbia Basin Herald, Confluence Health, Samaritan Healthcare, Moses Lake Community Health, Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata and Health Alliance. Admission is free. As its name implies, the expo focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, providing information on health issues, introducing people to agencies and companies that can help them negotiate the healthcare system. And it’s more than that - it’s fun. “Lots of prizes and games for kids and adults,” said expo organizer Tera Redwine. The expo features a Kid Zone, which includes 300 teddy bears for kids to take through the Teddy Bear Clinic. Kids get a new teddy bear and go through the clinic, which teaches them about maintaining good health. Bears get a checkup and along the way their owners (and their moms and dads) get information about healthy habits. Local fire departments and EMS companies and agencies will bring emergency equipment for kids to look at and get close to. Depending on its availability, the LifeFlight emergency medical response helicopter will set down and let kids (and adults) take a peek inside. There’s a coloring contest sponsored by Samaritan Healthcare, and lots of other activities for children, Redwine said. Information will go out to schools in Moses Lake, Soap Lake, Ephrata and Quincy about two weeks prior to the expo. The ATEC building is filled with vendors all day. “The vendors come from all over,” she explained. The 2015 expo attracted more than 70 vendors, from agencies and health care providers, to skin care and nutrition companies, to health insurers, to financial planning, to home healthcare to retail companies (like Costco). Fall is the season for open enrollment in public health insurance programs like Medicare, and there will be Medicare information for seniors. Other topics for seniors will be covered as well. Demonstrations are also scheduled. One of her goals, Redwine said, is to expand the demonstration list, adding more exercise options for people of all ages, and regardless of their initial physical condition. The expo has its own Facebook page, and it will be updated as the date gets closer and more information becomes available.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Mattawa council considering annexation ordinance
MATTAWA — With discussions about development increasing, Mattawa City Council members will consider adding an annexation procedure to existing city regulations. Council members discussed the options at the regular meeting Nov. 5.
Othello School District patrons to vote on capital levy proposal in February
OTHELLO — Othello School District patrons will be asked to accept or reject a six-year capital levy request in a special election in February 2027. Othello School Board members voted 4-0 to submit the proposal to voters at the regular meeting Monday. Board chair Lindsy Prows was absent. If it's approved, property owners would pay an estimated 97 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The owner of property worth $350,000 would pay $339.50 in taxes. Ballots would be due by Feb. 9. Because it's a levy proposal, it would require a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass.
Port of Quincy energy project update at Nov. 19 open house
QUINCY — Quincy-area residents are being invited to get an update on, and ask questions about, a project to build standalone energy generation, a joint venture between the Port of Quincy and Colusa Indian Energy. A town hall meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Quincy Business and Events Center, 115 F St. SW.