Readers chime in with their stories

Your loyal Publisher had been trying to fill this empty space, and decided to ask a question on FaceBook: “I need a super sweet OR super funny animal story”, and readers responded!
MatchMakers that drool
By Laurrie Piland
Well, 6 years ago, before my husband and I got married, we were stressing because we wanted a nice wedding, but we didn’t have a lot of money.
We were stressing on where we would come up with the money to buy my husband a wedding ring. We put our dogs in the garage and went somewhere, I forget where.
When we came back, the dogs had torn into a box, I’m not sure where it came from, I, to this day, have no idea. Those dogs managed to find 2 men’s gold wedding bands in the box!!
We traded one to have the other one sized and we got married on December 14, 2005 and were able to exchange wedding rings, courtesy of our dogs
Have a good story to share? Send it to us: editor@valleybugler.com

How the Ronald McDonald House changed the lives of this local family

This Christmas season, consider giving gifts that impact lives and create a living legacy of thankfulness. Think charitable giving. Here is one local family’s story of how it changed their lives.
‘The Ronald McDonald House-East Side’
This is the house where families meet to continue their lives,
To eat and sleep,
To find their strengths,
And dry their tears,
To look forward with hope to better years.
This is the house that becomes their home.
This is “The House That Love Built”!
~Author Unknown~

By Johnene Thielen
The Ronald McDonald House is a place for families to stay while their sick child is receiving treatment in the hospital. This is a great relief for families because during the trying time that you are helpless to fix your child, there is a community of people ready and willing to help you in all ways possible.
Seven years ago we stayed at The Ronald McDonald House for a little under a month while our 7 year old daughter recovered from a Traumatic Brain Injury resulting from a car accident. At the time we were living in Kelso, WA (about 40 miles away), we were on vacation when our kids ages 6 and 7 were in the wreck with their Grandparents on Hwy 26.
Once we received the news we “flew” to the hospital. All we had were the clothes we had brought with us to the beach. For 2 1/2 weeks we stayed in Jade’s hospital room at Dornbechers in ICU waiting for her to wake from her coma. Fortunately our son, Brad, walked away with a broken arm. Unfortunately, during this time he really needed to be with his parents but was too young to stay with us in her little ICU room. My husband and I slept on the window sill bed and our son was shifted between family members.
While waiting for Jade  to “wake” from her coma, we thought the hard part was done. We were sent to Legacy Emanuel Hospital for her recovery. When Jade “woke” from her coma it wasn’t like in the movies where the actor opens their eyes and the world is fine.
In reality she thrashed around for 3 days while we anticipated how bad the brain damage was going to be. We were in a small room with room for only one parent to sleep. During this time there was a lot of despair, hopelessness, impatience, visitors and prayer.
When our son made the comment that he wished he was hurt as bad as Jade so that he could be with us, we knew we needed to do something quick.
We got in touch with The Ronald McDonald House, they took us in based off of a donation grant since we didn’t have the money to pay. This grant is possible through the kindness of others; giving donations and volunteering. Not only did they provide us with a hotel quality room with two queen sized beds but they gave us food, toiletries, toys for Brad, and connections to others going through similar situations. We were now on the hospital campus, our son was able to be with us all of the time, we no longer had to spend money on hospital food because we had a kitchen and we had peace of mind that if anything should go wrong we were right across the street. They provided free laundry, video games, and an indescribable sense of compassion from both the staff and other house members.
For the next 3 1/2 weeks we watched our daughter, who couldn’t walk, talk, swallow, and was back in diapers, go through a lot of therapy to regain these simple tasks and more. We’re proud to say that she is now a smart and beautiful young woman; a “typical” 15 year old.
My hope in sharing our story is that you will think of the families staying there tonight, the parents who lost their child but were able to be present until the end, and the families who are and will always be reoccurring guests at The Ronald McDonald House.
The severity of a families’ situation doesn’t matter; the feeling of love and support from the people who donate or work at The Ronald McDonald House is the same. We appreciated what we had during our tribulation and I can only pray that you understand that your Time and Donations absolutely do matter!
You can go to http://www.rmhcoregon.org to learn more.
Johnene Thielen is a local geek, who runs the office at omOriginals Marketing! in Longview. She can be reached at (360)575-9839

Dedicated to a true geek Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Long before I embraced the fact that geeks are cool, I was a fan of the Steves and of Apple.
At our first house I cut down a pine tree and replaced it with an apple tree. It was a McIntosh of course. We then built a pond and named our first 2 fish ‘Steve’ and ‘other Steve’. They were affectionately named after Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
With Steve Jobs at the helm of Apple they have made some amazing products that have shaped the world of computers. I embraced their mantra “think different”.
My first Mac was an 8100 that I bought used from a good friend in college. It (my first Mac) was a year old and so much faster and intuitive than the PC that my dad had bought me months before. The first Mac that Michelle and I purchased together was the original iMac (Bondi Blue).
We’ve enjoyed a few macs over the years, a Grape iMac, The Cube (brilliant machine ahead of it’s time). My first laptop was a titanium Powerbook, I affectionately called it TiBook (Titanium). Somewhere in the mix I picked up a mini, eMac and 3 or so iMacs. Michelle and I currently love our MacBook Pros. Steve was a visionary and a showman. I don’t know how many of his keynote speeches I watched over the Internet. Countless, probably.
Without exception Steve would wear his patented blue jeans and black turtleneck and present the next big thing that would change the computing world. He would sell the future. He would show us brilliantly simple solutions to complex problems.
Whatever he was showing off, he made you want it and feel that you needed it. Steve’s charisma created what has been called the RDF “Reality distortion field”. He had a mesmerizing way to make his passion yours. And being a showman, he truly understood how to do an encore. On special occasions he would finish his presentation, well almost and then he would say, “there is one more thing”.
When he said this, the MacAddicts knew it would be big.
As an innovator not everything they made was a hit. One of my favorite quotes (one that I can’t find anywhere online) is this:
“Good companies make mistakes. Great companies make it right.”
Steve and Apple have been one in the same for so many years. Even after they fired him in 1985, I’ve seen them together. I’ve always appreciated his presence.
Here is a quote that shows what could have been called arrogance (it wasn’t true):
“You know, I’ve got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can’t say any more than that it’s the perfect product and the perfect strategy for Apple. But nobody there will listen to me.” — Fortune, 1995
Well he was right. Steve came back to Apple in 1996 and had an amazing run. Unfortunately, for all us; Steve, his family, and fans Steve lost his battle to cancer this year. He will will be missed. I was looking forward to his next “There is one more thing.”
I hope and believe that Steve will always be in Apple’s DNA. In this way Steve will live on. Let’s finish this quote from Steve that he shared at Stanford when asked to do a commencement speech.
“Do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is love what you do.”
Steve Jobs 1955-2011
Oscar Myre IV is one of the geeks at omOriginals Marketing in Longview, who will miss Steve, and all his quirky greatness. You can reach the local geeks: 575.9839

Honoring R.A. (Pete) Clark Toutle Lake Class of 1933

On August 20, 2011 about 100 members of the Toutle Lake Senior Alumni gathered in the school multi-purpose room for the bi-annual reunion. A pot luck dinner was served, followed by recognition of the attending classes. The classes of 1970 and 1971 were welcomed to their first reunion. The class of 1961 celebrated their fifty year anniversary!
And pictured above is R.A. (Pete) Clark, honored as the oldest attendee. Pete graduated in 1933!
“Boy, I sure wish that I could be in the paper before I die!” exclaimed Pete Clark to columnist Paddy Burrow, of the Valley Bugler newspaper.
Taking that to heart for the 96 year old gentleman, Paddy has offered up this space in her monthly column as a tribute to Pete.
“I’d really like to have his picture printed and give him the joy of seeing himself in the local paper!” said Paddy.
We were only too happy to oblige. Pete – here’s to you, and many more happy Alumni Reunions in the future!
- The Valley Bugler

A bird-man in Antarctica

December 1st @ 7pm
Cowlitz PUD Auditorium
Willapa Hills Audubon Society to host Noah Strycker’s presentation about penguins in Antarctica.
Ice, penguins, and the cold comforts of living and working in Antarctica will be featured in a lively slide show by Oregon birder and author Noah Strycker, 25, at a special meeting of the Willapa Hills Audubon Society. The free one-hour “Among Penguins” event is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Thursday, December 1st at the Cowlitz PUD Auditorium, 961 12th Avenue in Longview.
Strycker spent three months during the Antarctic summer researching and photographing a quarter-million Adélie Penguins. He slept in a tent in below-freezing temperatures, endured howling blizzards, and spent his days in the 24-hour sunshine watching loud, active, and smelly two-foot-tall penguins go about their business nesting, fighting, incubating, waddling, feeding, napping, sliding, diving, and swimming.
Strycker recounts his experiences on the coldest, windiest, driest, least populated, highest, and most remote continent in his new book, Among Penguins: A Bird Man in Antarctica (Oregon State University Press, 2011).
A magna cum laude Oregon State University graduate, Strycker serves as associate editor of the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine, has published photographs and articles in all major birding magazines, has contributed to several books (including “Birds of Oregon: A General Reference” and “Good Birders Don’t Wear White”), and works as a bird researcher in adventurous places around the world.

PUD Senior Fair • Oct. 13th

Thursday, October 13
10:00 to 3:00
John Searing Auditorium
(at the PUD)
Cowlitz PUD is excited to host its first ever Senior Fair, Thursday, October 13 from 10:00 to 3:00 at the John Searing Auditorium at the PUD,  at 961 12th Avenue in Longview..
The event is open to all PUD customers. It will be a chance to join PUD employees and Board members to ask questions about the PUD, its services and about key issues in the electric industry. Refreshments will be served.
The PUD will offer energy conservation information, tips on electrical safety and power outage preparation, and information about qualifying for the Senior Citizen/Disabled Citizen rate discount programs.
CAP representatives will be on hand to make appointments for those who may qualify for a rate discount and also to help with senior health insurance questions. The Department of Emergency Services will also  be there, along with other agencies and senior services. Visitors will find a roomful of helpful information.
Questions can be directed to the PUD main office at (360) 423-2210 or (800) 631-1131.

The cost of raising a child

There have been quotes detailing the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is a far different take on the cost.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition.
However, $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
• $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That’s a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is don’t have children if you want to be “rich.” Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* jump in piles of leaves,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, handprints set in clay or Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* assembling that trampoline,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
The cost of raising a child? It’s priceless.

Anonymous

Laughter is good for your health

• Laughter relaxes the whole body
  A good belly laugh actually relieves physical tension and stress, leaving
  your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes later!
• Laughter boosts the immune system
  Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and
  infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
• Laughter triggers the release of endorphins
  Endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals, promote an overall
  sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
• Laughter protects the heart
  Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow,
  which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular
  problems.
  ***information found at www.helpguide.org***

‘Cruise for the Cure’ – a car show that aims on saving lives.

Cancer.
It’s one of the most dreaded words a person can hear at any age in this life.
It was 1996 when Kim Walters found herself struggling with grief that followed both her parents’ deaths, within 15 months of each other, from cancer.
She cried out to God for help.
In answer to her prayers, the Lord breathed a vision for the New Hope Cancer Recovery Ministry into her heart. Out of her own brokenness came something beautiful and healing that has helped literally hundreds of people.
Today, Kim is the Director of New Hope Cancer Recovery.
If you, or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer, there is hope.
Hope through medical advances in treatment, caring physicians and staff and through an emotional and spiritual support group.
Hope based in Faith.
Kim facilitates the New Hope support group, encourages people over the phone and meets with new people over coffee.
Frequently, she visits the hospital, the Hospice Care Center and Women’s Health Pavilion. Road trips to other cities are also made when needed.
In the New Hope support group, every member becomes her friend. She rejoices with and supports them in whatever medical reports they receive from their physicians.
Family members sometime struggle with how to realistically cope in the face of a cancer diagnosis in someone they love, and the support group helps address these hard questions.
It is Kim’s desire to “help family members and friends stay connected to their loved one during their illness.”
Because Kim stayed connected to her parents during their cancers, it taught her ways to make this journey less painful for relatives and friends. With the loving support of her husband, Jeff, she has the help to continue in her ministry.
To know Kim is to love her. She is a woman after God’s own heart and it shines through her and her actions of caring for others every day.
Kim acknowledges that the Lord has provided her with super-natural strength many times.
“He gives me the strength to stand up and talk at funerals after losing one of my precious members”, says Kim Walters, “God gives me everything I need in order to minister to others.”
She finds healing in sharing their stories and celebrating the lives of her dear friends because each one means so much to her.
There have also been many, “victory” stories of healing that Kim is happy to share with someone needing a “lift” of encouragement on their own journey.
We grow through crisis. The New Hope Cancer Recovery Ministry offers new and positive ways to think and respond in the midst of any crisis.
New Hope members learn to think beyond their circumstances by doing things together as a group such as:
~Participating in the Relay for Life to raise funds for cancer research.
~Annual Terry/Taylor Garage Sale in August using a variety of ways to raise money and cancer awareness.
~Hosting the annual “Cruise for the Cure” (since 2007), a classic car, truck and motorcycle show on the last Saturday in September on Commerce Avenue in downtown Longview.
For patients going through treatment, their families and friends, a New Hope support group can be a lifeline of strength and encouragement.
So, if you, or you know someone who is facing cancer, we would encourage you to contact Kim at (360)425-7978 or kimmerz21@msn.com
You will be blessed and she would be honered to assist you and your loved one on your journey.
The Cruise for the Cure can only be made possible by the many generous people involved, and of course, sponsors. It is only with them that the show is a great success, drawing hundreds of spectators each year.
And it’s no wonder – all of us are affected by cancer in some small way, shape or form.
New Hope Cancer Recovery’s proceeds from this years show will be used to purchase new hats, scarves, medications, gas cards for those who have to travel, etc. Hospice will benefit as well, including Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. There will be designated funds sent to Ronan’s Foundation. Ronan Thompson passed away shy of his 4th birthday. He was honored at last years show. This year the show will be in memory of him along with two ladies from New Hope who passed away recently, Becky Bingman and Lynn Heston.
Please see the Cruise for the Cure ad on page 2! Donations accepted.

ARTSY Events & Activities

Announcement:
1. The Longview Outdoor Gallery (LOG) will be installing bases and sculptures in downtown Longview at the beginning of September.  The 11 sculptures will be installed by September 10. The group is still fundraising, so if you wish to help, please contact Laurel Murphy or the Valley Bugler.

First Thursday Activities
Thurs, September 1

* Broadway Gallery
1418 Commerce, Longview
www.the-broadway-gallery.com
Showcasing Judy Vendermaten (photography), Ruth Doumit (stained glass and tile), Bob Farr (photography) and Mary Huels (pottery).
Reception 5:30-7:30pm
Music by Calvin. Door Prizes!!

* The Gift Cottage
1414 Commerce, Longview
Local artists.
Open until 7pm.

* Longview Public Library
Koth Gallery, 1600 Louisiana
www.longviewlibrary.org/
Dion Manriquez (paintings)
Show runs Sept 1-21.
Open until 8pm.
* Lord & McCord Art Works
1416 Commerce, Longview
www.lindamccord.com
Jordan Reed (photographs) Mr. Reed studied photography at Lower Columbia College and now resides in Israel.
Reception 5:30–7:30pm
Israeli desserts will be featured.

* Teague’s Interiors
1267 Commerce, Longview
www.teaguesinteriors.com
TBA
Reception 5:30-7pm.

* The Bistro
1329 Commerce, Longview
www.thebistrobuzz.com
Wine tasting. Live music. Door prizes. Reservations recommended. Hours: 5-8pm.

Opportunities
Call for Artists from the City of Moscow, Idaho Public Arts Initiative. They are looking for artists, architects and design teams living in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming to prepare detailed site-specific proposals for the design, fabrication and installation of a permanent outdoor sculpture in a city park in September 2012. Budget: $35,000. Deadline: September 9, 2011. Contact the City of Moscow for RFP info.

« Previous Page — Next Page »