JOHN DAY – Not everyone can appreciate the quality of life that most Grant County residents enjoy. New surgeon Dr. Keith Thomas and his wife, Cyndy Fox, were in search of just such a lifestyle. They were looking for a small town that needed a surgeon.

“We wanted to find a nice, quiet place for a better way of life,” Cyndy said.

The couple purchased a home on Canyon Creek Lane, where they received a warm welcome from neighbors. John and Lindy Bastian brought them homemade chicken-noodle soup, huckleberry cheesecake and cookies.

“They’re neat people. We think they are a great asset to Grant County,” Lindy said.

Ken and Angela Olson brought cookies and artwork drawn by their children.

“There are so many good people here. You sure can’t find that everywhere,” Cyndy said.

“I know more people here than I did in Albany, where I lived for 13 years,” Dr. Thomas said.

The couple moved here from upstate New York, where Dr. Thomas worked for many years in a large surgical practice. He was also a surgical instructor at Albany Medical College. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and is an active member and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Thomas can perform a multitude of surgeries and screenings for medical conditions such as gallbladder disease, hernias, colon cancer, skin cancer, breast cancer and hemorrhoids. He would like county residents to understand how fortunate they are to have a medical facility like Blue Mountain Hospital.

“My goal is to change the mindset here that people have to go out of town for surgery. They have a brand-new hospital with up-to-date equipment. Everything I would need to do most surgeries is right here,” he said.

Cyndy is a registered nurse who worked for several years for Health Research within the New York State Health Department, managing contracts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and supervised state physician education programs. She is the manager for Blue Mountain Surgery Clinic.

“She runs our practice,” Dr. Thomas said.

They are amateur bird watchers. They also enjoy hiking, fishing and golfing. They have two Yorkshire terriers.

“They’re our babies,” Dr. Thomas said.

They don’t watch a lot of television, but when they do they like to catch “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Animal Cops” and “Law and Order: SVU.”

Dr. Thomas likes to keep his medical knowledge current by reading new medical journals.

“He reads them for hours,” Cyndy said. “He’s very careful and thorough.”

He also enjoys history, comedies and westerns. His favorite movies are “Caddy Shack,” “The Dirty Dozen” and “The Magnificent Seven.” He recently saw the “Da Vinci Code.”

“I really liked it, but it wasn’t as good as the book,” Dr. Thomas said.

Cyndy doesn’t have a favorite movie. She likes action-packed war movies and Disney cartoon musicals such as “Beauty and the Beast.”

“Mostly for the music and morals or messages in the stories,” she said.

Cyndy is also an avid reader. She recently read “I Only Dress the Wounds” by retired local doctor Dr. Ted Merrill.

“It was fascinating,” she said.

They said they felt an instant connection to the area. After a few days away, they can’t wait to come back home.

“Every time I come up over the hill by that big old country lodge over past Prairie City I see that spectacular view of the mountains and the John Day Valley and say, ‘Now, this is God’s country!’ ” Cyndy said.

The climate here can be a deterrent for many newcomers, but they don’t foresee that as a problem.

“The climate here is much better than where we came from. Upstate New York has a lot more snow and it’s colder,” Dr. Thomas said.

They don’t miss the city.

“I don’t like malls. It doesn’t bother me one bit because there aren’t malls here,” Cyndy said.