God's Gifts
Onawa parish offers valet service

By KENNY KEANE, Globe staff reporter
Posted February 20, 2003

ONAWA - Winter weather can often force many people to stay inside their homes and avoid traveling either by car or by foot. More specifically, it can prohibit many elderly and handicapped individuals from attending Mass on Sunday.

However, St. John Parish in Onawa may have discovered a remedy. Prior to this winter, the parish's building and grounds committee made the decision to offer a valet service for parishioners of St. John's.

Chuck Orsini, Terrell Raabe and Doug Zima, all members of the committee, have each volunteered to assist those who wish to use this service.

"They'll park the car for them and get the car for them after Mass," said Father Harry McAlpine, St. John's pastor. "It's a wonderful thing for a lot of these people because of ice that sometimes accumulates in parking lots and on sidewalks. This will eliminate their risk of falling."

One of the deciding factors in offering this luxury was the completion of a new parish center, which is set up perfectly for the valet service.

"Now that we have that new hall, which has a nice entranceway with a roof over it, you can pull right on in just like a curved driveway," Orsini said. "It was just something that Doug came up with that we should maybe do this, and I agree with him. We have a lot of elderly people in the church, and we do need this.

"We also figured that it could help if the weather's bad. Maybe with a little snow they might not want to come to church because the sidewalks are bad. This way they can pull up underneath the roof, and we can be there to help them."

Part of the reason that offering the valet service was so crucial is due to the slope of the church, according to Zima.

"When it rains or there's moisture, it slopes toward the west making the street and the sidewalks icy in some ways that the elderly people can't manage to walk," he said. "It's a slope that they would have to walk up, and it's difficult for them to maneuver to get up into the church.

"We built the addition, which has an elevator, so why not use it? They would walk in at ground level and get in the elevator, which would bring them up one floor if they couldn't make the steps that are required to go up into the church."

Zima said he and the others have not been called upon to assist with this service yet due to the lack of winter-type weather. However, he said that has not stopped people from making use of the idea.

"What happens is, the family members are getting a hold of their children, and their children are waiting for them as they pull up," said Zima, who lives right across from the church. "One weekend I saw an old classmate of mine, who has a pickup, and he pulls up underneath the awning, drops his mother off and then he parks his pickup right across from my house. Then he walks across and goes to church.

"At the end of the service, he goes and gets his pickup, pulls underneath the awning and picks her up. So it works out pretty slick."

Being in the insurance business, Zima said he gets kind of nervous when people slip, fall and break something. He said it's not only a problem for the health of the people but also for insurance purposes.

"If that sidewalk or driveway isn't properly cleaned then I would say the parish or the church is liable for that," Zima said. "So you better make sure it's done. If you can avoid those situations, maybe a valet service would help. That's kind of protecting yourself there somewhat."

Although winter tends to be the most appropriate time of the year to offer this service, Orsini said it is not just going to be available for this type of weather.

"As far as I'm concerned, it can run all summer and all yearlong," he said. "You have people who can't walk or are in wheelchairs. When we did this, we started it with the idea for the bad weather, but the more I've thought about it and discussed it with Doug, it should be continued all yearlong."

Not only do they hope to continue this service at St. John's, but Father McAlpine said he also hopes this will stimulate other parishes to follow suit.

"I thought it was a wonderful idea when they brought it up, and I think it will catch on. It just takes time," he said. "I think it's a service that's deeply appreciated by showing concern for people."