Eagle Valley care residents send balloons into blue yonder for Labor Day

Clouds of colorful helium-filled balloons drifted into a bright Labor Day sky, swirling lazily to the east and then to the south as residents of Eagle Valley Care Centre watched with family and friends who had come for the celebration.

This was the second annual Labor Day balloon release and barbecue for the 36 residents of the assisted living center, and it's something they all look forward to according to Admissions Director Paige Redington.

"Last year they watched until they couldn't see (the balloons) anymore," she said.

Each pair of balloons is tied to a post card with the name and address of one of the residents, and anyone finding them is asked to mail them back.

"We got three responses last year, one from Dayton, one from Incline Village, and one from Sparks," Redington said, noting the event landed one of the residents a couple of pen pals. Two little girls, aged six and eight, found the balloons just outside of Dayton, and brought the card in personally, and wrote to the residents for months afterward.

Locally and privately owned, the Centre was established in March of 1992. It is relatively small, offering assisted care living for a maximum of 38 residents.