Bearing hundreds of letters for penpals and friends, the eight-person 1993 Official Rubtsovsk Sister City
Delegation spent two activity-filled weeks in Grants Pass May 9-23.

The delegation was led by Valenthia Tibyenkina, chief of the Rubtsovsk City Board of Education (a position
similar to that of our school district superintendents).

Accompanying her were the following:

          Irma Volgina, head of the preschool department of the city board of education. 

          Nadezhda Ribina, principal of the school for mentally retarded children.

Alexander (Sasha) Nikolaev, chief administrator of dispensary at the Tractor Electrical
Equipment Plant.

Lyubov Kosinova, manager of a kindergarten/preschool program.

Victoria Agrizkova, Pedagogical College instructor of teaching methods for musical
education in kindergartens.

Elena Minina and Lyubov Nazarenka, both teachers of English at the high-school level.
These women also served as interpreters for the delegation.

Our agreement with the Rubtsovsk Sister City Committee provides for "official" delegation visits
every other year. Although we were expecting this delegation, information about the actual delegates
and their arrival/departure times were not available until mid-April.

The Grants Pass Outreach Committee, headed by Paul Tuttle, with much assistance from Carl Rhodes
and Vera Quimby, sprang into action, finding host families and arranging an itinerary meeting the
delegates' interests.

Paul and Carl met the Aeroflot flight in San Francisco May 9 and conducted an I-5 tour to Grants Pass,
turning the delegation over to their host families Monday evening. Most families hosted for one week,
giving the Russians a chance to experience the lives of two different families. If you want to learn more
about our guests, we're sure the host families would be glad to share their impressions and feelings with
you. The Sister City Board thanks these host families: Anita and Dick Stryker, Barbara Paulson, Darlene
and Bernie Hill, Marci and Will Harmon, Judy and Tom Drummond, Mollie and Jay Means, Erich and Nancy
Fleishman, Tom and Pat Bange, Jeri and John Yunker, Richard and Sue Cohen, Sandra and Mark Ross,
Kathryn and Paul Brooks, Ruth and Paul Tuttle, and Pat and Len Ramp.

The delegation visited many educational institutions. Among them were the school district offices of
Grants Pass and Josephine County, Allen Dale, Lincoln, Jerome Prairie, Fruitdale, and Merlin Elementary
Schools, North Middle School, Hidden Valley and Grants Pass High Schools, Rogue Community College,
Seventh Day Adventist and Montessori Schools, as well as the Coalition for Kids Family Resource Center.
The Sister City committee is grateful to people at all these schools and agencies, who warmly welcomed
our Russian visitors.

In addition, our guests managed to take a short float trip on the Rogue, and to tour our city and county
government offices, our downtown and other shopping areas, the Grower's Market, Crater Lake, and the
Oregon Coast.

 

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A Visit to Rubtsovsk       Official Exchange May 1993