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February 25, 2010
Valley Life
‘Dolls’ delivers fun, action By Rebecca Young
Special to the Post-Register Audiences can place a sure bet that “Guys and Dolls” will deliver all the action and entertainment they are looking for. This latest Quincy Valley Allied Arts production is a personal favorite. The musical is packed with clever dialog and familiar songs. The entire cast did a wonderful job and seemed like they were having a great time, which made it especially fun to watch. Based on the story and characters by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, “Guys and Dolls” is set in1940s New York. It is centered around some gamblers looking for some action, but the heat is on. “Luck Be a Lady” is one of the great songs in “Guys and Dolls.” Nick Parker, a QVAA veteran who is playing gambler Sky Masterson, sang it so well he would have made “Old Blue Eyes” himself smile.
Once again, Erin Morse proved her talent for physical comedy and her vocal chops as the sweet saver of souls, Sarah Brown. Her songs “If I Were a Bell” and “Marry the Man Today” were hilarious. Newcomer Kelsea Burton was wonderful as Miss Adelaide. Her Jersey accent was funny and her vocals on numbers like “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Take Back Your Mink,” and “Marry the Man Today” were excellent. Hopefully this Moses Laker will be part of many more QVAA productions. Playing opposite her was Michael Kooy as the big-talking promoter, Nathan Detroit. He did a great job as a hustler under pressure from his fellow guys, his fiancée and “the heat.” His duet with Burton, “Sue Me,” was sweet. Brian Higgins was another favorite as Nicely-Nicely Johnson. He had a great number “You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” Other fun performances came from Patric Connelly as Benny Southstreet and Sherri Kooy as Big
Jule. Randy Brooks was the running joke of the show as the unlucky tourist caught up in the big city action. The numbers featuring the ensemble were solid. Director Eric Van Woert can congratulate himself on a job well done. He has a great cast and crew and a fun piece to work with, and that came through in the performance. The live orchestra is part of what makes QVAA productions so special. They did a great job led by director Mike Silk. Kooy pulled double duty, also choreographing the piece. She did a nice job, allowing the cast to shine during the song and dance numbers. “Guys and Dolls” is a lot of fun and there is still time to get in on the action. It runs February 25, 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Quincy High School’s McConnell Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 and are available at Duda-Hodges Insurance or at the door.
Pinewood Derby winners
Submitted by Jocasta Hodges
The two Quincy Cub Scout packs combined to put on a Pinewood Derby on Saturday, Feb. 20 at Quincy Junior High School. The overall top three were Carson Simmons (from left), who took first place, Tony Martinez, second place and Nate Gonzalez, third place.
Hospital to purchase new bone density machine By Doug Flanagan Post-Register Writer
At the beginning of Monday’s meeting of Grant County Public Hospital District No. 2 board of commissioners, newly-elected chairman Anthony Gonzales asked Quincy Valley Medical Center marketing director Michele Wurl to deliver a piece of good news the hospital has been waiting a long time to hear. Wurl announced that the Quincy Valley Hospital Foundation has completed its goal of raising $68,000 for the purchase of a new bone density machine for the hospital. About $22,000 of that total came from a USDA rural facilities grant,
Wurl said. The rest of the funds were raised from foundation events such as last year’s Spring Swing golf tournament and Red Wine and Blues. “This took over a year (to accomplish),” Wurl said. “We’re moving as quickly as we can (to purchase the machine), and we’re up and running. We’ll keep you apprised of the progress. We’re pretty excited about it.” Wurl said this year’s foundation events will raise funds to replentish the pool that was depleted with the purchase of the bone density machine. A bone density test measures the strength and density of bones as patients approach menopause and, when the test is repeated sometime later, can help determine how quickly a patient
is losing bone mass and density. A bone density test is not currently available in the hospital’s service area. Currently, patients must travel to Wenatchee or Moses Lake to receive the service. “The earlier you have your bone density tested, the sooner you can assess your risk of fracture due to osteoporosis and begin to preserve your bone strength,” according to a fact sheet about bone density scans on the hospital’s Web site. “A new bone density scanner would provide a needed service locally, thus reducing patient travel times, greatly alleviating wait times for patients, and providing a service to all local providers they desperately need and
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have requested for years.” • Hospital administrator Mehdi Merred announced he had received a letter of resignation/retirement from chief financial controller Ken Kiehn. Kiehn has worked at the hospital for the last four years. “Thank you, Ken, for your expertise and commitment,” Merred said. “We’ve been profitable over the last two years, and we couldn’t have done that without you setting the budget in place with precision and professionalism. We’ll miss your expertise. You had a great ability to translate Medicare (terminology) into English. It will be difficult to find somebody who does it as well.”
Kiehn returned the warm feelings. “I’ve had a good time here and made a lot of friends,” he said. “I won’t be going far, though. I’m not moving away or anything. I”m just going to be playing a lot of golf.” • The hospital lost money in January, but Kiehn didn’t sound too overly concerned. “There’s nothing in the budget that’s a major surprise,” he said. “Due to the cyclical nature of these things, we know that the first of the year can be tough. However, we did do better than last January. We’ll just work to control our expenses.” The hospital lost $20,704 in January; it had budgeted for a profit of about $14,000.
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Dr. Espiritu completed her undergraduate studies and Medical Doctorate at the University of the Philippines. Her Internship and Residency in Family Medicine was completed at In His Image in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Espiritu joined Quincy Community Health center in September of 2009. Her interests include all phases of family medicine and her primary objective is to improve the quality of healthcare for families in the Quincy community. Dr. Espiritu’s other interests include trekking, hiking, fishing and traveling . For an appointment call 509.787.6423 or 800.935.1464
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