Jean Elmore, GRI, e-PRO

Among the many treasures to be discovered in McMinnville is our Gallery Theater. Saturday evening was the last performance of the current production, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum and I was fortunate to be among a nearly sold-out house that enjoyed every minute of it.

Where do these talented performers come from?

By day they are shop clerks, business owners, high school or college students, or maybe your next-door neighbors whom you greet daily without ever knowing they possess acting talent, trained voices, a knack for comedy timing or once considered a professional dance career. It's even possible that the polite person who carried your groceries to your car today has appeared in over 50 plays.

The theater is a labor of love for the community volunteers who, for the love of theater, devote countless hours and rely on ticket sales, advertising, private donations and Gallery memberships to entertain and enlighten the lucky citizens of Yamhill County and beyond.

Visit the website, pick your favorite shows or order season tickets and get ready for an affordable evening of excellent theater amid the enticing aroma of fresh-baked warm chocolate chip cookies that are ready for you at intermission.

We've done it again!! Last year the Yamhill Valley was listed among theNew York Times list of 28 havens for a relaxing escape. While thumbing through the March issue of Sunset magazine yesterday I was delighted to see (drum roll please) McMinnville listed second in the Food and Wine Haven category of the article 20 Best Small Towns in the West.

The selection criteria included "... possesses a sense of connectedness you find only in places so small you can't get lost in the crowd" and dubbed the towns "we-topias" for their blend of self-reinvention and community.

The rest of the intro mentioned that "These towns inspire dreams (and maybe moving plans)" which gives me a natural opening to mention my website, JeanElmore.com for more information about McMinnville and a searchable data base of all property listings in our area.

Thank you, Sunset!

Did you miss it? Your Sweetheart would have remembered getting that new home for Valentine's Day forever. There is still time to create that memory at interest rates, prices and incentives that may not be seen again for years.

The Yamhill Valley is holding its own as the market picks up in light of passage of the Stimulus Bill by Congress. Once the final bill lands on President Obama's desk for signature the race will be on. More and more buyers will be out to take advantage of the tax credits for first-time home buyers, loan supports and many other incentives that will be available.

Buyers who have been unable to qualify for loans recently will soon be able to go forward with the help of the government. Philosophy aside, if you have a home to sell or are looking to buy your opportunity to do either or both is upcoming. The latest word on the tax credit is $8,000 to be applied at closing for homes purchased by first-time homebuyers until November, 2009

Now is the time to start shopping. Your first stop should be a mortgage company to obtain a prequalification letter to have in hand. Most sellers are requiring prequalification before tying up their properties in negotiations. Offers on foreclosure properties are automatically rejected without them.

Your second stop should be with a Realtor® in the area of interest to you. Local Realtors® know their market and can be your best source of information, particularly if they are members of the area Multiple Listing Service and can represent you on listings by any affiliated company. Your agent can also recommend a reliable lender if you happen to miss that first step!

Sellers, put your homes on the market now and help make someone's belated Valentine, St. Patrick's Day, or Just Because Day a special one!

This is the last you will hear from me on this topic, I promise. The irony of the following two articles appearing in the same issue of The Oregonian this morning was just too good to pass up.

The headline of the first article appears in large bold print on the front page of the Metro Section E: UO raises bar for applicants. Citing an increased enrollment of incoming students that is overwhelming existing classroom space and necessitating the placement of 400 incoming freshman in off-campus housing due to a lack of dormitory space, the University of Oregon has received approval from the Oregon State Board of Higher Education to raise admission requirements. New applicants will now be required to have a 3.4 high school grade point average to qualify for automatic admission rather than the previous requirement of 3.25. This is an effort to reduce the number of new students in future years.

Well-qualified academic students with hopes of attending UO are facing disappointment.

Now move on to the headline in even larger bold print on the front page of the Sports Section C: Knight Arena put on fast track. Today was the ground-breaking ceremony for the $200 million state-of-the-art basketball arena at the University of Oregon and a timetable for completion that shows a sense of urgency that somehow makes no sense in light of the academic program situation.

$100 million for the arena was donated by Phil Knight and it will bear the name Matthew Knight Arena in honor of his late son. As a parent whose worst fear is to be predeceased by one of my children I can undertand his motivation. But that still leaves another $100 million to be accounted for and concessions and alumni donations are the goal of making up the shortfall. In this economic climate financial goals are merely goals as opposed to realities.

My point is that the timing is terrible. Soliciting donations for construction of a sports arena when those monies could be better spent on the mission that the University is trusted by the public to do - educate their children in an environment conducive to learning - is completely irresponsible at this time.

Will those players sporting Phil Knight's Nike logo all have a minimum 3.4 GPA before they are allowed on the court? We can only hope.

This may come under the topic heading of Flights of Fancy but I think I've come up with a fix that could turn the economy around immediately! It's so simple it's almost scary.

Unemployment is rising at an alarming rate and reached nearly 10% in Oregon as of yesterday. Economists are concerned about a worsening the recession as more and more Americans curtail spending after one or more household paychecks are lost, and displaced workers are looking for retraining at local universities and community colleges just as schools are cutting academic programs and putting proposed vocational/technical programs on hold.

Here's the idea: (Warning to college sports fans - you may want to stop reading now.)

What if all college athletic programs required the athletic coaches to be licensed and qualified to teach at the college level in the state of their employment? They are, after all, instructing athletes in a public or private institution. Their pay would be on the same scale as professors in academic disciplines and the various auxiliary coaches (special teams, etc.) could be recruited from adjunct instructors. And what if the players were required to major in a related career field such as sports medicine or physical education? Millions and millions of dollars would be made available to fund college housing and retraining programs as well as restoring our nation's status in science and engineering and paying enough to attract quality teachers to primary and secondary education.

After the recovery I see farm clubs and minor leagues for football and basketball emerging to feed talent to the professional scouts much as baseball has traditionally grown teams. Taxpayers would no longer be funding the semi-pros.

So, rabid sports fans and alumni - put on your school colors and break out the pompoms. You can still enjoy the games since the playing field will be leveled when teacher/coaches take to the fields or courts across the country. I'll bet the ticket prices will be cheaper, too.