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Show Page 2 The Ogden Valley news Volume XIX Issue VI June 15, 2011 The Ogden Valley news Staff: Shanna Francis Tel: 801-745-2688 Fax: 801-745-0062 Cell: 801-791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@digis.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 801-745-2879 Fax: 801-745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@digis.net crwendell@msn.com Opinions expressed by advertisers, columnists or letters to the editor are not necessarily the opinions of the owners and staff of The Ogden Valley news. guidelines for Letters to the Editor Letters should be 300 words or less. Letters must be signed and the address of the writer submitted. The Ogden Valley news reserves the right to edit or decline printing of any submissions. Announcements Sought As a community service, The Ogden V alley n ews will print local birth, wedding, obituary, anniversary and missionary farewell & homecoming and Eagle Scout announcements free of charge. We invite residents to send their announcements to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 If you would like your submitted items returned, please send a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. The Ogden Valley news , while respecting all property received, will take no responsibility for lost or misplaced items. Please remember to keep a copy for yourself. Invitation for Articles The staff of The Ogden Valley news welcomes the submission of articles by our readership. We invite you to submit local historical accounts or biographies, articles pertaining to contemporary issues, and/or other material that may be of interest to our readers. We also invite you to submit to the paper, or notify the staff of local events. Awards that have been earned by the reader, family members, neighbors or friends are also sought. While the staff of The Ogden Valley news invites the submittal of information and articles, we reserve the right to select which material will be considered for publication. All material, to be considered, must be submitted with the full name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the material. The OgdenValley news’liability on account of errors in, or omissions of, advertising shall in no event exceed the amount of charges for the advertising omitted or the space occupied by the error. The Ogden Valley news does not endorse, promote or encourage the purchase or sale of any product or service advertised in this newspaper. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Ogden Valley news hereby disclaims all liability for any damage suffered as the result of any advertisement in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news is not responsible for any claims or representations made in advertisements in this newspaper. The Ogden Valley news has the sole authority to edit and locate any classified advertisement as deemed appropriate. It also reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Note: The contents of The Ogden Valley News are copyrighted. To protect this publication and its contributors from unlawful copying, written permission is required before any individual or company engages in the reproduction or distribution of its contents, by any means, without first obtaining written permission from the owners of this publication. The deadline for the OVN July 1 issue is June 15. Letters to the Editor A Big Thank You to Huntsville Residents/Weber County Officials and Other Helpers! On behalf of the property owners of Cottonwood Grove and Brewer Camp in South Fork, THANKS so much for helping with sandbagging when the river flooded onto our properties on May 14-15. Weber County officials brought sand, sandbags, already-filled sandbags, pumps, and workers who filled and carried bags to the riverside. How neat for many Huntsville residents to volunteer and come and help us! What a pleasant surprise. Property owners were up there, some of them all night long, filling and carrying bags to the river. Bless all your hearts! It was a real battle that we fought for several days, and we could not have done the job without the help of so many! Bob and Carolyn White, North Ogden Make a Difference—Volunteer for the Wolf Creek Foundation & AEF C.O.P.E. Retreat Program In early 2006, a chance meeting between Steve Roberts, managing partner at Wolf Creek Utah, and a chaplain from Hill Air Force Base resulted in a program that has served over 1,500 airmen and their families. Three or four times a year, families that have someone scheduled to deploy within 30 days are invited to Wolf Creek for a complimentary weekend that includes luxury second-home accommodations, all meals, world class recreational opportunities, a structured program to help both parents and children deal with deployment issues, and a dinner dance. This program has held Best Practice status within the Air Force since 2008, and several bases from around the U.S. are working to create something similar for their families. One of the unique qualities of this program is what is provided for the children of service men and women. Several base organizations along with Air Force child development specialists take over the local junior high with a myriad of activities along with focused programming to help these children deal with the inherent fear and uneasiness that comes with a parent’s deployment. The parents go through three training sessions put on by the base Chapel that thoroughly deal with the issues that arise during a spouse’s deployment as well as re-integration issues when the spouse returns. Several seasoned officers have reported that in 25- to 30-year careers, they have never been offered anything as beneficial to their families as this program. During a Typical Retreat: Each family receives a complimentary family photo. Many of these photos, as well as pictures taken during the weekend, have ended up in an airman’s helmet while on deployment Each child receives a teddy bear that has a voicebox for the deploying parent to record a message for their son or daughter. Families have time to reconnect with each other in a way that is not normally possible. They can choose to participate in the daily recreation opportunities or simply spend time with each other. Some come to a retreat after their spouse has already deployed; this is always particularly poignant. We have a great DJ that gets everyone up on the dance floor and the “Daddy/ Daughter” dance is very emotional for everyone on staff. Families have opportunities to connect with each other, and the spouse left behind leaves with a support system in place. Base commanders and Chaplain staff spend time getting to know the families during each retreat, and families leave with the knowledge that they are not alone. One of the unique qualities of this program is the lodging. Families stay in luxury second homes and condominiums that have largely been donated by the homeowners. Most of these families could not afford a weekend in this type of accommodations and the fact that the homeowner has donated it to them makes it even more meaningful. Occasionally, a retreat weekend will fall on one of our Music in the Mountains concert nights. All the families are invited to the concert. In 2009, world renowned pianist and performer Jon Schmidt wrote a special song for the retreat participants and recorded it on his latest CD. When he performed it at the concert, there was a crowd of 3,000 on the mountainside, and you could hear a pin drop. Those families were given a standing ovation. We believe it is very helpful to them to know they have that kind of support from the civilian community. Your Opportunity to Make a Difference We are looking for volunteers to help serve at some of the meals during the next retreat taking place June 24 through June 26, 2011. Your only commitment will be for one meal during that weekend. All of the meals are buffet style so a volunteer’s main responsibility will be serving occasional beverages, clearing tables, and resetting for the next meal. We are looking for six to eight volunteers per meal. The real benefit of volunteering at this event will be interacting with the retreat participants. When you talk to these families, you truly become aware of the sacrifice that the whole family makes for the freedom that we take for granted. This retreat coincides with the first Music in the Mountains concert at Wolf Mountain featuring Eric Heatherly. We will have all of the retreat participants at the concert on Saturday, June 25. Please come and show these families our community support. The gates will open at 6:00 p.m., and Eric Heatherly will begin at 8:00. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. You are welcome to bring your own picnic or there will food available for purchase. We invite you to take the opportunity to thank these airmen and their families. To volunteer, please call Sue Munson at 801-781-4131. We look forward to seeing you at the next retreat! Inspirational Thought “You must give some of your time to your fellow men. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.” --Albert Schweitzer |