August 2021

SANDPOINT – It’s a tough course, the Lazy .08K race.

From one end of MickDuff’s Brewing Company’s Beer Hall, intrepid runners must make their way through several challenging obstacles strewn along the course as they make their way to the finish line. First, the toss of toilet paper; quickly followed by the ring toss. A brief stop halfway brings refreshment – a container of gummy bears and donut holes – before limbo tests runners’ nerves and flexibility.

By now you might have guessed that Angels Over Sandpoint’s Lazy .08K isn’t your average fun run. The goal is most definitely to have fun and fundraise to help the community.

When people first see the games and the atmosphere of the festival, they wonder what’s going on, Angels member Shanna Yarbrough said. Then they try it out and have a great time.

“We all the people that went in the first year came back so they must have had a good time,” Yarbrough said. “So that’s all we want to do, have a good time, forget about some of our things that are going on in the world and have a good time and just support a great charity and the community.”

The idea was inspired by a similar event in Texas, a 0.5 mile run, and after hearing about the event, member Kate McAlister told other Angels members that they should try to achieve something. something similar to Sandpoint.

While there was no room at Beer Hall to hold a .5K – the angels say .08K is an “approximate measure” of how far runners must travel. What it does is allow them to organize an event where the focus is on fun and fundraising to help the community.

Holding it at Beer Hall allows them to hold it in a central location and helps the Angels support a business that not only supports their club but also many, many others in the community.

“MickDuff’s is always one of the first breweries to come forward to help with anything, be it fundraising or something,” said Angels member Alyse Ehrmantrout. “So they’ve always helped the angels, and we wanted to make sure we stayed here to help them as well. “

As the runners mingled, talked, sat at tables and played music, stood up and danced. Others sat at nearby tables, enjoying the sunny Saturday afternoon, many with an adult drink in hand or for under-age attendees, a root beer. Laughs, jokes and the occasional water balloon drifted through the air.

“I think Sandpoint is a small town and there are a lot of races going on [in the region]”said Ehrmantrout.” And so that’s kind of a mockery of all other races and for anyone who doesn’t want to run a 5k or can’t and would just prefer you to know, give an organization a goal nonprofit and drink beer and grab donuts. “

With limited space, Ehrmantrout said the Angels added games – and the ability to purchase a VIP package that allowed runners to ride the course in comfort – to make the event as fun and entertaining as possible.

This attitude of having fun while helping others has helped the Angels raise over $ 2 million – all of which return to the community to help others, whether through the Angels’ Back backpack program. to School, scholarships and community grants. and a host of other programs, including Priest River Ministries for Women and rental and utility assistance.

“We’re just a group of men and women… who want to give back to our community,” Yarbrough said. “We love Sandpoint and we love Bonner County and that’s why we’re all here.”

For runners, the focus is definitely on having fun.

“So this year I took a year off to train for the Olympics,” joked Tom Bokowy, joined by his wife Jacinda and his friends Bill and Stephanie Aiken dressed in monkey costumes in the VIP tent. “I didn’t feel safe so I decided to put my energies into this one this year and I’m looking, I’m looking at the podium.”

Starburst mugs scattered around the table and wearing paper crowns to signify their status as VIP runners, the foursome joked about their training regimen and dedication as athletes.

“I was dreaming… a lot of bananas, a lot of climbing, a lot of upper body work, a lot of back scratching, a lot of this, a lot of that,” Bokowy said, causing the others to laugh. of the group. “So I think we have a good shot this year. “

Noting their outfits, Bokowy joked that the others who turned out didn’t train and take the race seriously, as evidenced by their inability to wear proper outfits.

“I feel like other people don’t take him seriously,” he said impassively, eliciting another wave of laughter. “I feel like we’re really the only athletes taking it seriously at this point. I mean you look around, I mean you’ve got people here like you can tell they don’t. don’t take it seriously. We worked hard, we trained. “

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.

SANTA CRUZ – Al fresco dining was crucial for local restaurants to survive during the pandemic as it allowed them to continue serving customers safely as COVID continued to spread throughout the community.

Currently, the city manages 96 outdoor operating permits. They consist of 37 parklets, 13 sidewalk dining areas, 34 private terraces and 12 fitness programs, according to Business Liaison Rebecca Unitt. Most of the permits are for downtown businesses, but they have spread throughout the city, including the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

“We’ve had 96 permits and we’ve had five business closings,” Unitt said. “Any business closure is extremely devastating, but I think it also speaks to the power and impact of this program which can be a lifeline for businesses.”

The parklets have been so well received that Santa Cruz is exploring ways to make the program permanent. However, the implementation of a permanent program could take about a year.

Currently, the city’s temporary parking program ends on December 31. Part of Tuesday night’s discussion near the end of the board meeting urged the board to extend the temporary program for another year until December 31, 2022.

Council ordered city staff to return to council for its second meeting in October with a revised temporary parking program. The extension will give municipal staff the opportunity to write the permanent program. Several aspects need to be adjusted to create a more streamlined program.

The first is to create a cohesive design that restaurants can use to model their parklets. The idea is to improve the security of the parklets. Unitt acknowledged that companies have done what they can with limited time and budgets, but now wants to create a standard for the addition.

“We would work with companies to review existing temporary fleets for any modifications,” Unitt said.

Examination of the existing parklets will begin in September, according to a schedule provided by the Economic Development Department. The review is expected to last around two months and end in November, when the city finalizes the design guidelines.

The city also hopes to expand the areas where parklets are allowed. In the downtown area, parklets are only found in the 1100 block of Pacific Avenue and the partial closure of Cathcart Street, places that the original pilot program did not allow them to be. Therefore, the city must take the time to revise the program to allow the parklets to be on Pacific Avenue after the temporary program ends.

The city is also considering expanding the area to Beach Street or parts of the western part “where appropriate,” Unitt said. The city does not know when this step of the process will take place or how long it will take, as it has not yet coordinated this step of the project with the planning commission.

Finally, the city must revise the tariff structure of the program. Currently, the city has a fee to register for the program. For private spaces, the money stops there. However, for businesses that would need to use the street or sidewalk space for alfresco dining, the city includes a parking fee, according to economic development director Bonnie Lipscomb.

Revising the program to make it permanent should not take the whole year. However, the city wanted to give businesses time to go through the licensing process so there was no gap between temporary and permanent programs. The authorization process is expected to begin sometime in 2022, according to the schedule.

“I want to thank you all across economic development for all the hard work you have done in trying to make these outdoor dining opportunities come true,” Board Member Justin Cummings. “(They are) something that, as Rebecca mentioned, has been a lifeline for many companies. So many businesses want to be compliant, and that helps them comply with county guidelines. “

“About the middle of my time at ASU, I retired from my classes and took a year off. And then when I came back I didn’t have my scholarship anymore so I looked for options and decided to join Starbucks. because there was the Starbucks College Achievement program, ”said Jory Miller.

“Once the benefits started, I started my ASU online classes. And honestly, it was pretty exciting, you know, getting paid for school, as well as taking classes. I didn’t. didn’t find the online format too difficult so I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed working for Starbucks. “

“We can’t wait to have her energy in the department – and to have such a good role model for our students,” said Patricia Rankin, chair of the physics department.

Social workers help people cope better with life’s hardships, typically referred by government agencies and social service providers. But they are also found in hospitals and clinics, helping those who are being treated for physical or mental illnesses but who also need help coping with everyday life.

Nine students from Arizona State University’s School of Social Work form the first cohort of a new partnership with Phoenix Children’s. They will be working with young patients and their parents at the hospital for the next year starting this fall.

Phoenix Children’s and ASU’s School of Social Work have teamed up to allow nine students to work at the hospital as part of a one-year program teaching social work in health care. Photo courtesy of Phoenix Children’s
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ASU and Phoenix Children’s have worked together for years to train students interested in careers in health care, but this is the first time social work students will be offered a combination of health and health training. mental health in the halls of the hospital, said Sarah Vitse Doyle, a school of clinical assistant professor in social work who is collaborating with Phoenix Children’s under this new partnership.

“Our partnership with Phoenix Children’s has been primarily in the area of ​​health care; the philosophy of mind-body connection will be a new addition to our partnership, ”said Doyle, who taught at the School of Social Work for five years previously. starting his current position.

Rhonda Baldwin, director of social services for Phoenix Children, said the health system has developed an ongoing professional relationship with ASU “because we see the value of aligning academic learning and service delivery. When this happens, all parties are empowered and can achieve more effective programs for patients and families.

Many Phoenix Children’s staff serve as adjunct professors for ASU’s BSW and MSW programs, said Baldwin, who is a member of the School of Social Work’s Phoenix Community Advisory Board.

Phoenix Children’s staff began seeing children and adolescents with growing health concerns even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Baldwin said.

“The isolation and loss caused by COVID-19 intensified many mental health needs and led entire families to grapple with the lack of mental health resources,” Baldwin said. “Professionals trained to work with children and adolescents, especially those with complex physical health needs, are rare. ASU and Phoenix Children’s commitment to come together and develop a program to further meet the needs of our children will benefit the whole. independent therapy licenses and have the evidence-based practices and tools to provide high quality care.

Prompt access to support services can potentially reduce suicide attempts and ease the anguish felt by young people and their families, “who often have to wait to get the help they need,” Baldwin said. “With this partnership, we are expanding the workforce, who can respond quickly to requests for help and do so in a way that allows children and families to continue to thrive.”

After completing the year, students will be eligible for a two-year scholarship. In addition to experience in health care social work, the two-year program provides enough therapeutic experience for students to become licensed therapists, Doyle said.

Social health workers provide a variety of services to patients and their families, from crisis intervention to insurance assessments.

Students who complete all of the training will be qualified to provide individual therapy to patients, said Doyle, who said his students would not be the only ones benefiting from the program.

“This program provides a unique opportunity that I feel is important in that I also see the huge need in the community for this program,” said Doyle. “It provides hands-on experience for our students, but it also meets the needs of our community.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for social workers to seriously consider how they provide social work in the health care system and how social workers can serve patients from a social work and health care perspective, she declared.

Students will also have monthly opportunities to deepen their knowledge by studying topics such as HIV, sex trafficking, trauma-informed care, gender dysphoria, health care disparities for tribal communities and other evidence-based interventions, Doyle said.

“I really appreciate this program for its ability to respond to a need within our community. We strive to better serve our underserved populations, ”said Doyle.

This press release was produced by Arizona State University. The opinions expressed here are those of the author.