OCR Text |
Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 2 Volume XI Issue II November 1, 2004 The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS | Letters to the Editor | A Day in the Life of an Army Reservist’s Wife By Patti Syme Staff: Thank You Volunteers and Sponsors Shanna Francis Tel: 745-2688 Fax: 745-0062 Cell: 791-4387 E-Mail: slfrancis@att.net Jeannie Wendell Tel: 745-2879 Fax: 745-2879 E-Mail: crwendell@att.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 VALLEY NEws 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: I want to commend the Rounkles for their efforts as instigators of this year’s successful Pineview Dam Cleanup that they organized the first week in October. It was a large, but greatly needed undertaking. | am very much appreciative of their willingness to be involved in the community year after year. They are always very generous with their donations to the many and varied community events that are held each year in the Valley and Ogden Canyon, especially the biannual Ogden Canyon Cleanup. I was heartened to see so many individuals who were willing to pitch in and help on a beautiful Saturday morning, but was sad- dened to find that the majority of the volunteers came from outside of Ogden Valley. Out of area volunteers traveled a substantial distance to come and cleanup our backyard! A big “thank you” to them and the many sponsors who made donations. I hope that the Pineview Cleanup can become an annual event, and that more Valley families and local organizations— scout, church, and ee _Broups will also be inclined to join in thee Again, thanks to the neato and many volunteers who participated in cleaning up Ogden Valley and Ogden Canyon this fall. Shanna Francis, den 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 OGDEN VALLEY 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, pt ‘omote or our household mechanics, showed me how to pay the bills on line, how to run the irrigation system on the 40 acres on which we live, management techniques for the office we share, and those duties and what we should do should kid problems arise. Nope, I was in for a rude awakening. My family life is not so simple even with him around. Don’t get me wrong, over the years I have made due without him during his monthly active trainings and the several months he is gone for “extra training” and or exercises. Missing birthdays, anniversaries, and Father’s Day (for some reason he is always training on that day) is a regular occurrence for a military wife . . . even though he is “just” an army reservist. Somehow this latest departure seemed a little more daunting. This time he wasn’t just training and there was no, “Oh, he’!I be back in a couple of days so he can fix it then.” The first week he left the dishwasher quit, the garage door opener stopped working, the electric fencer wouldn’t charge, we couldn’t get the sprinklers to switch cycles, and I had to replace my washing machine! OK, we were doomed. | felt as though a large black cloud was looming overhead and that people had better stay clear of me or they would develop the same symptoms. Luckily, a couple of new appliances installed by friends, a good electrician, and pure luck helped us recover from the first week’s perils. I could hardly wait for the next week to begin. Work and the kids’ schedules had kept me pretty busy over the next couple of weeks and Scott was still in the States preparing for his time overseas. First to Wisconsin and then to New York to the unit he would be attached during his deployment. There he would have a few days to see me so I gladly went to New York. What an opportunity; I was able to see “Ground Zero” up close and personal. Even more so, to talk to some of the men who were actively involved in the rescue of those who survived 911 and to some of the firemen who came to aide in the search and rescue operations after that fateful day. While in New York, I needed to obtain a active duty. This was to be an easy task as the unit helping them out-process had set aside a day for family members to do just that. But it was not to be so! Their computers were down so we drove to another installation to complete the task. Apparently, the whole area was experiencing computer problems and _ worse, because we were not a part of the new area’s regular schedule so the ID card personnel were less than helpful. They informed us that it could be several hours before we could be helped, and that previous appointments would take precedence. “Gotta” love waiting in any large organization and the Army is no different. After about an hour or so, we had made no headway and still had no ID card. The couple we were with became impatient and tried the old “head up the chain of command if you’re not getting anywhere” trick. They asked to see a supervisor who pretty much nodded about the situation and sent them back to sit for another hour. My husband—a pretty patient man—watched the time dwindle and with only a day left before he would be deployed. He decided to take matters a step further. He headed over to the Commander of the Post’s office. Well, the commander wasn’t in but his secretary was. After hearing our predicament and the lack of time left for us to accomplish our task, she was on the phone in a flash. I must say, that within 30 minutes we were happy owners of new ID cards and all was well with the world. The moral to the story: if you can’t get it through proper channels, go up the chain of command and you may just find a sympathetic ear. It doesn’t hurt to write a nice “thank you” when you do receive help either! I know that others are experiencing the same things that | am. Those who have never experienced a deployment or long separation— it is quite different than living on a military base where other family members within a neighborhood can lend support to each other. My husband is a full time real estate agent, another’s is a lawyer, a guardsman, an insurance salesman. They all come from different walks of life and we are here trying to keep everything running smoothly until their return. I am not used to being a single parent and making all the decisions on my own about running our home and farm. It is hard to tell my husband of the struggles here because it drives him crazy that he can’t come home and fix them. He needs to be totally focused on what he is doing and have peace of mind that things are ok here. The military is very aware that if the soldier’s family is not ok, he or she will not be ok where they are or with what they are RESERVIST cont. on page 3 Dated this 21st day of October, 2004. ‘ Clerk,Recorder Inspirational Thought “Faith in your own powers and confidence in your individual methods are essential to success.” or claims husband has been a part of the Army in active or reserve status for over 20 years, I was no way prepared for his recent deployment. Oh, I thought I was, I even felt some satisfaction as my husband explained the intricacies of new ID card since Scott’s status had changed to —Roderick Stevens 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 cceponstble for any So your husband’s been deployed. Now what? As a mother of four kids—two in their teens dver- tisements 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 advertis- Coes cy eee 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. Deadline for material for the November 15 issue of the OVN is November 3. ERM {7 Thurs, Oct,28&h & FriéOct,29th 7:00 | 745-4009 PM HearthsideinEden.com LAKESIDE aby =: 50% to 70% OFF or more Remaining Stock a Skis o Boots 0 Parkas 0 Bibs a Gloves 1 Hats store fixtures and 1 Poles o Pants & Access. ski rentals VILLAGE Embrace opportunity. . . after a busy day...return to your elegant condominium on the shores of Pineview Reservoirt... just below the world renowned Snowbasin Ski Resott...to boat, fish, water ski, windsurf, hike, bike, play tennis...or do nothing but relax...and take in the stunning views. Store Hours and Markdowns Mon. m. thru - . for a weekend or a lifetime. Fri. .M. (North side door) 834 Washington Blvd. - Ogden 6486 East Highway 39 ¢ Huntsville, Utah 84317 Sales: 800-939-2030 Rentals: 866-745-3194 |