The biggest news to hit town in a long while was the announcement of a brand-new hospital for our community. Even bigger news is that it will be on the tax roll and not subsidized by anyone except its users, which are expected to increase dramatically when it is up and running.
Even more amazing is that the idea was kept a secret by a few key people for the past 12 months.
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Our family has benefited a great deal from the existing Hillsboro Community Medical Center facility, formerly Salem Hospital. It was new in the mid-1950s when we moved to Hillsboro. My mother was a registered nurse there for many years.
We never saw the need to go out of town for medical services that were offered here, and have been served very well since those early days we moved here.
Through the years we’ve been there for a host of services, including emergency room for several broken arms and stitches (Dan broke the same arm twice in the same place), mom’s broken hip, my father suffered a massive stroke and his life ended there.
We’ve been there for the croup and hernia surgeries (Dan and I both, he even got snowed in for his visit with the croup), routine tests for numerous maladies not to mention seeing the specialists that visit on a regular basis and referred on to other medical facilities for specialized treatment for heart and cancer.
Did I mention that having a full-service hospital is important in the lives of its citizens?
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The most common questions people driving around town ask me when I’m out walking are: Where can I get breakfast, and, Where is the dental clinic?
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We’ve had reception problems with our satellite dish ever since the wind storm took down our fence. The fence pulled away from the wall it was attached to, bringing the brackets for the dish with it.
I could go out and push it up and it would work for a while, and then it would sag back down, making the coordinates out of whack.
The quick fix was to position the grill below the arm holding up the dish and place a short 2x4 with a washcloth on the end to protect the wires. It works fine until it is time to grill. I finally just screwed the brackets directly into the wall behind the fence.
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I mentioned some of the new construction in town in last week’s column, but overlooked the new expansion at the Cottonwood Valley Baptist Church building on South Main.
Also, a new playground, including a basketball court, sits on the south grounds of First Mennonite Church.
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We’re ramping up for the Marion County Relay for Life hosted by Marion Aug. 1. This year the Free Press is sponsoring a team and we look forward to participating in one of the biggest fund-raisers in the area.
If you wish to honor a survivor or remember a loved one with a luminary or would like to contribute in any way, I would be glad to assist you.
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Cottonwood Valley Baptist Church occupies the building that used to be Lee’s Drive In owned by Lee and Verda Albrecht in the ’60s.
Nancy used to work there and at closing time I would stop by to see if they might be throwing some ice cream away—and, of course, to give the girl a ride home. It was two blocks!
