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Show Guardian of Your Community News WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 • A3 Being wary of water There and Back Again Shirlene R. Ottesen You might be a redneck if your stereo speakers used to belong to the Drive-in Theatre. We have turned the page of another month of this year already. I'm always glad when January is over. It seems that much of the time our coldest weather is past and with the days getting longer we can look forward to a new season. There are ads appearing in the newspapers featuring gardening supplies and I'm sure many farmers have already decided what to plant in their fields. They have to decide which hay fields are old and need to be plowed up, where to plant grain and which fields produce the best corn. Although changes appear every day in our lives, some things do remain constant. The pictures and reports coming from Haiti surely capture our attention as to what can happen when a catastrophe happens and in this case, a terrible earthquake. Hopefully, many of our homes and structures are built stronger and maybe could survive. But that is something we will never know until one happens to us in this area and I'm certainly not anxious to have that experience. If we will learn a lesson from what we observe and hear, it would be that we have some emergency supplies in place to protect our family. And what is the first? Water. This island is surrounded by water and still they have none to drink. When I see groups fighting over a bottle of water it reminds me to keep putting some away in my storage just in case. It is amazing that they are still finding people alive after more than a week. Just yesterday, they told of a young 13-year old girl that they rescued. She was in her home when it came down on her, but somehow she still had access to water which kept her alive. It is amazing that your body can go without food longer than without water. So, do you have a supply of water stored? The recommended amount is 2 gallons per person per day. I went to a meeting on water storage a couple of weeks ago and I learned a lot: how much water you need for an emergency, the best way to store water and how to purify water to make it useable. The person who shared this information said that it is impossible to store all the water you would need for an extended period of time. When we think of having a year's supply of food, I think we automatically include water. But it would be impossible to store that much water, but we do need to have water stored for an emergency. He remarked that "after 72 hours then bad things start to happen such as we have seen happening in Haiti; looting and robbing and chaos." His main thought was that it would probably be possible to find water somewhere, but it would need to be purified. We have the Spanish Fork river close to us and hopefully it would keep running, but we certainly could not drink the water straight from the river. There are many ways to purify water. Some are expensive while others can be homemade and cost much less. I recently purchased a purifying system which was highly recommended by someone who has used the same system and if it worked for him it will work for me. There are several do's and don't' s when purifying water so be sure that you access the many sources available on the internet so that you do it right. Should we experience a catastrophe here, we want to be sure that the water and food we have spent time, energy and money in storing is usable and beneficial to our families. Good luck with your preparations. If you haven't started, it isn't too late, but start now. When you get used to that thought process it will come easy for you. Remember, "it's better to be two years too early than 10 minutes too late." 'Rocky's Smile' premiering at SF library Marilyn M. Atwood STAFF WRITER February is National Children's Dental Health Month sponsored by the American Dental Association. Chair for Provo District's Dental Health Committee, Sharon Wiest, has organized a puppet show. With the help of many volunteers, the show will be presented at 30 elementary schools in Utah Valley during the month. Parents in our area are invited to bring their children to see "Rocky's Smile" at the Spanish Fork library on Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. "Rocky's Smile" was written by Lisa Arlington and is brought to life by marionette puppets designed and hand made by Ree Roper. This fun and educational puppet show Courtesy photo DENTAL DINOS: Pictured above, from left to right, are Sharon Wiest, Ree Roper, Cathy Bennett, Allison Atwood, Elisabeth Oldham and Marilyn Atwood. They are a few of the volunteers that will present "Rocky's Smile" during "National Children's Dental Health Month." is a great way to entertain children and at the same time teach them about the importance of taking care of their teeth. A demonstration of how to brush and floss is a new addition to the show this year. Children Talent warms up Benjamin 'Round and About Benjamin Kathleen Olsen A way was found to spark up a cold, winter night with the presentation of a ward talent show on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Under the direction of the Primary presidency, over two dozen numbers were presented to a happy, receptive audience. Some of the talent included a duet by Ned and Dan Hansen, a barbershop quartet consisting of Frank Ballard, Darren Brown, Jacob Brown and Jonas Rogers, a skit by the Cub Scouts, a song from the Activity Day girls, a highlight of the show with Justin Stewart as Bat Man and Dirk Seitz as Robin who brought the house down as they swooped around the cultural hall, Brylee Rudd on the mandolin, and the youngest solo participant was a poem by Joey Brown. The finale was an encore performance of Cynthia McKee who, according to reports, 'had the piano smoking.' There were other numbers including dancing, other poems and skits. In addition to the program numbers, other talents were on display with art pieces, photography, quilts, carvings, stitchery, porcelain dolls, baked goods and other items. Refreshments were served to close this fun filled evening. The Primary presidency includes Lisa Coombs, president, Sarah Brown and Denise Mullins, counselors, and Beth Bartholomew, secretary. Our will learn that regular visits to the dentist can help keep their smiles bright and beautiful. Kiwanis Madison's Avenue sympathy goes to Becky and Brett Davis and their family on the death on Becky's father. Norman Ray Canova of Herriman, UT, suddenly passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 19,2010 and graveside services were held at the Herriman Cemetery on Friday, Jan. 22,2010. ••• After living in Benjamin for many, many years, Clifford and Clara Lee Clark have moved to Spanish Fork. They will be missed very much as they were active in church and community affairs and were great contributors in a wide variety of activities. We wish them well in their new home and hope they will return often. ••• Thanks to everyone who participated in the Spanish Fork West Stake blood drive which was held at the Lake Shore church on Jan. 21, 2010. ••• One last reminder of the Spanish Fork West Stake Relief Society special meeting. This will be held on Thursday, Feb. 4 at the stake center. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Main Street Church's chapel, thus, dresses or skirts are appropriate. (Note the location change from the stake house.) The speaker will be Jonathan Russell, CES instructor and former seminary teacher, and will address the topic: "Self Esteem in Women and Young Women." All Relief Society and Young Women are invited. ••• One more comment on the house and property invasion issue to which a police officer recently addressed some Benjamin residents. There has continued to be evidence of several attempts of invasions or vandalism so we urge everyone to be extra vigilant when any suspicious activity is observed. by "Big AIH and "Farnzy" oNe MY m e ETCHING m BIG mt What are these Mom ? They're BofPalo Wings! Courtesy photo NEW MEMBER: Mike McKell was born in Salt Lake and raised in Ferron. He graduated from Emery High School. He attended SUU and graduated from law school at the University of Idaho. He served an LDS mission to Portugal. He married Brandi Johnson and they have four children: Landon (8), Madison (7), Dalian Kent (4) and Kandalyn (2). Mike is an attorney and an adjunct professor at UVU. He is past president of the Payson Kiwanis club and has served the youth in this area for many years. He will be serving on the major emphasis committee in the Kiwanis club. ©2010 Madlngo L L C , Allan Olsen and Darren Fames '...I didn't know that Buffalos have wings. Hmmmm, can we have some Buffalo Eggs and toast later ?" |