IAT
NEWSLETTER
Winter 2010
This issue of the IAT newsletter is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend,
Erma Deutschendorf and to all those suffering as a result of the earthquakes in Haiti
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"IT'S ABOUT TIME WE BEGIN IT,
TO TURN THE WORLD AROUND . . . "
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ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
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Co-Founder/Former President -- Marcelle Orswell
(notmartha2@yahoo.com)
Co-Founder and Secretary -- Theresa Shea (Tree1A@aol.com)
Co-Founder/Webpage Designer -- Sandy Clark (tybrenn@comcast.net)
Co-Presidents -- Ann Schnitz (aerie01@comcast.net)
and
Mary Ledford (eagleshorses@yahoo.com)
Web Site -- -- http://home.comcast.net/~tybrenn/iat/
Facebook -- -- IAT – John Denver: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=100472756285
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
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Hello everyone and Happy 2010! I hope you’re all staying warm and snug – it’s currently 16 degrees here – brrr! Still not as cold as when I was in Berlin recently to see my favorite band. Well, actually not quite, but it felt that way. A good thing there was a lot of hot mulled wine to drink!
There’s nothing quite like the excitement of being at a live concert. The buying of the tickets, the plans you make with your friends, the travel, and then being at the show – it’s all fantastic. It was something that I missed very much in my life with losing John, and I hope that you all get to experience it as often as possible.
Otherwise, work keeps me hopping and its shaping up to be another challenging year in the environmental business. Have a look below for some inspiring letters and articles describing what fellow Earthlings are doing to help the planet and each other. And please continue sharing what you find and what you’re doing – this newsletter really should be titled, “It’s About You!” Of special note is our new column called “Bits ‘n Bobs”, which is for little tidbits not big enough to include as “Letters”. Got a website you want to recommend? A recycling tip? Send ‘em in and we’ll put them there.
My heart to yours,
Ann
PS -- As always, hearty thanks goes out to all those who contributed to this issue of the newsletter.
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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"Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world."
Preamble, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
~ attributed to Chief Seattle, 1855
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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February 21, 2010 - Apache Junction, AZ - Brad Fitch and the Arizona Opry - A Tribute to John Denver - Dinner and Show $29 / Arizona Opry 2275 Old West Highway / Apache Junction, AZ 85119 (480) 982-7991 Dinner 6:30 pm / Showtime 7:30 pm http://www.azopry.com * http://www.cowboybrad.com
March 7, 2010 - Apache Junction, AZ - Brad Fitch and the Arizona Opry - A Tribute to John Denver - Dinner and Show $29 / Arizona Opry 2275 Old West Highway / Apache Junction, AZ 85119 (480) 982-7991 Dinner 6:30 pm / Showtime 7:30 pm http://www.azopry.com * http://www.cowboybrad.com
March 15-23, 2010 * IRELAND CRUISE * Bill Danoff, Mack Bailey and Rachel Levy - Traveling Troubadour Cruises and Tours / P.O. Box 3189 / Staunton, VA 24402 (540) 887-8491 or 800-584-6724 They will be re-visiting one of their favorite places, Galway,
where they will join in the celebration of St. Patrick's Day! The tour will end in Dublin. lynette@travelingtroubadour.com * www.travelingtroubadour.com/Bailey-Levy,_Danoff_Ireland_2010.htm
March 21, 2010 - Apache Junction, AZ - Brad Fitch and the Arizona Opry - A Tribute to John Denver - Dinner and Show $29 / Arizona Opry 2275 Old West Highway / Apache Junction, AZ 85119 (480) 982-7991 Dinner 6:30 pm / Showtime 7:30 pm http://www.azopry.com * http://www.cowboybrad.com
April 17, 2010 - Santa Rosa, CA - Jim Curry with the Santa Rosa Symphony "A Tribute to John Denver" 8:00 pm http://www.santarosasymphony.com * http://www.jimcurrymusic.com
April 18, 2010 - Santa Rosa, CA - Jim Curry with the Santa Rosa Symphony "A Tribute to John Denver" 3:00 pm http://www.santarosasymphony.com * http://www.jimcurrymusic.com
May 8, 2010 - Frederick, MD - Friends With You Band 7:30 pm Weinberg Center for the Arts http://www.friendswithyouband.com
May 14, 2010 - Vevay, IN - Friends With You Band at the historic Hoosier Theater 7:00 pm http://www.friendswithyouband.com
May 15, 2010 - Covington, KY - Friends With You Band 7:00 pm Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center http://www.friendswithyouband.com
May 22, 2010 - Toledo, Ohio - Jim Curry with the Toledo Symphony - "A Tribute to John Denver" 8:00 pm Stranahan Theater / 2245 Monroe St. / Toledo, OH (419) 246-8000 http://www.toledosymphony.com * http://www.jimcurrymusic.com
May 25, 2010 - Elmsford, NY - Jim Curry's "John Denver Tribute Show" - Westchester Broadway Theater / 1 Broadway Plaza / Elmsford, New York 10523 Tickets $75 plus tax includes dinner
June 4-5, 2010 - Phoenix, AZ - Jim Curry with the Phoenix Symphony - "Rocky Mountain High - A Tribute to John Denver" Lee Holdridge conducting 8:00 pm http://www.phoenixsymphony.org * http://www.jimcurrymusic.com
Branson, MO - Monday through Saturday 10:00am "A Tribute to John Denver & Country Music Legends". James Garrett sings John Denver's best-loved hits. IMAX Little Opry Theatre / 3562 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway / Branson, MO 65616 (800) 419-4832
(thanks to Emily Parris and the Rocky Mountain High newsletter for these dates; thanks too, to Karen Tupek for keeping us up to date with Mack Bailey’s schedule, PattiAnn Cutter, Pat Hough and others for information on Chris Westfall and Charlie Zahm’s engagements, and Deb Sanderson for news of events in California)
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LETTERS & POEMS
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As you may know, IAT offered our cybercookbooks to those members who donated to a local hunger-related charity of their choice. We then expanded it to donations of any sort, since there are so many charities in need, particularly during the holidays. Here are some of the notes we received from 2009 donors, and thanks to all of you for helping these worthwhile causes! If you’d like to continue this program into 2010, please let us know -- AS
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My classroom has started volunteering at the Transitional Housing office in Lafayette, Indiana. We work in their food bank, clothing bank and office. Two weeks ago, we started doing a food drive. We place grocery bags on front doors with a note requesting donations for the food bank. We go back several days later to pick up the filled bags and deliver them to the food bank and stock the shelves. We also volunteer for a local no-kill shelter called Natalie's Second Chance. We walk the dogs who are waiting for life-time homes :-)
Barb Radcliffe
barbrad714@aol.com
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I donated to help buy Christmas hams for the GOOD SHEPHERD FOOD BANK IN AUBURN MAINE
Theresa Shea
tree1a@aol.com
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We made our annual Thanksgiving donation to The Bakersfield Rescue Mission this past week....perhaps this would qualify for a 1999 cookbook (I already have the 1998 issue) Thanks so much and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Warm wishes...
Pat Filkins
Bakersfield, CA.
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we just donated to 3 food banks via sending donations to 3 schools collecting these donation of food.
Benold Middle School
Jack Frost Elementary School
Georgetown 9th grade center
Georgetown, Texas
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I thought the helping my neighbors fb announcement idea with the free cookbook offer was a great incentive! I always plan on giving this time of year and it was the extra motivation I needed to just do it.
My husband is a construction worker and has been laid off due to the economy and is on unemeployment for now and I lost my full-time mainframe computer programming job (outsourced to India) a couple of years ago and have only been able to find part-time cleaning work since then, so times have been tough for us and it is only by the grace of God that we are even being able to not be one of those in line for food at this time ourselves. I had to be a little more creative than just writing a check or going to the store and buying things because of our own tight budget. I did purchase the ingredients to make a green bean casserole (this is something that I make for Thanksgiving for our big family get together so I figured others might like that also) and then today I decided to clean out my pantry - I went through all my canned and boxed goods (I like to stock up when things are on sale) and pulled out anything that I had extra of or that probably would not be used in the next couple of months - to my surprise I had two bags full of extras to give away, things like canned pumpkin and apple pie filling along with the usual veggies and assorted boxes of jello.... It was also a bonus for us because now my canned goods are all organized and I realized how blessed I am to still have plenty of them on the shelves if things get any worse for us in the future!
I know here in St. Louis the need is very real this year, many of the plumber's from my husband's company are losing their houses and things because they've been laid off for so long, their umemployment and savings ran out a long time ago - these are folks that never had to ask for help before - it is really hard for them to do!
The food went to the Boy Scout food drive (let me know if you are not familiar with that event) and to Thanksgiving baskets my church will be giving to families next week. Many churches either have similar ministries this time of year or they donate goods to neighborhood food pantries if anyone is really having a hard time finding a place to donate. Either cookbook is fine with me, I am so glad it is electronic, I don't need any more cook"books" - surprise me!
Thanks!
Karen Jaros
KJaros@sbcglobal.net
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I made a recent donation to the NYC Rescue Mission for Thanksgiving dinners for six people who cannot afford to have their holiday - it's a soup kitchen in Manhattan. I contributed to both cyber cookbooks years ago & still have them so if you want to hold off on one for me and send it to someone who doesn't have one, that's OK with me! Anyway, what a great idea to encourage people out there to help others! Have good holidays! Warmest regards, Carole
<whispjesse@aol.com>
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I wanted to let you know that I participated in the food for the hungry holiday program. Yesterday, I donated to a Salvation Army red kettle and today I was at the grocery store and they make it so easy to donate. Kroger (my local store) has ready-made bags of food that Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee (our local food bank) are requesting. The bags have tuna, canned fruit and vegetables, macaroni and cheese, etc... You don't even have to collect the different items around the store. I bought two bags! Kroger is also one of the drop off sites for Second Harvest collections so as soon as I checked out the bagger took my sacks and added them to the collection barrels. It couldn't have been easier and you know these are things that are needed.
I remember hearing about the cyber cookbooks several years ago. I wanted to order one then but it was too late they had been discontinued. I love to collect cookbooks. Could I order both? One for each donation. I can't decide which one I'd like best.
Hope you have a great holiday season and that many more people donate to the food banks around the country. Take care.
Jennifer
<jenniferanderson812@hotmail.com>
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My daughter and I sponsor children in Kenya and Zambia. We were able to establish a site to help about 200 kids and mostly the money is coming from people in Colorado for school children in Kenya. It has been successful. We give to food pantries all year when there are drives in our community. I intend to do it again.
A few months ago Innocent lost his job on the coffee farm he was a supervisor he thought he would get his job back but he didn't. We sent him money to live for food and shelter for his family to keep him going even though he is industrious. I lost my job in 08 and it has not been easy and we still try. We have some goods news the organization that sponsored the school is also purchasing the temp school house they were in. Now he will have his own schoolhouse. It was a miracle.
Love,
Carol xxoo
carolynwilkey@aol.com
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The first weekend of November the Lions Club of Port Colborne always holds a food drive, I donated some pasta, some pasta sauce, a spice cake and some cereal and pb.
Liz Seger
Port Colborne, Ont Canada.
eseger@cogeco.ca
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Our donations at this time of year so far have been: CHOW- Broome County Council of Churches- food pantries donations, St. Marys of the Assumption RC Church Christmas Basket fund and gifts for families- monetary and food gift, Fellow Earthlings Meerkat wildlife Sanctuary out in California- monetary donation, Animal Care Council of the Southern Tier- monetary and pet food donations, St. Marys and Conklin Ave Baptist Church Soup Kitchens- monetary donation, Fenton Clothing Bank- gifts for children of users of the Clothing Bank and as always- Salvation Army Kettle Drive, The Literacy Volunteer Program and Ross Park Zoo- monetary gifts.
Judi Sackett
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We donated dog biscuits and cat food to the Ernest W. Bell Animal Shelter in Swansea, MA
Sandy Clark
tybrenn@comcast.net
I Want to Live…I Want to Grow…”
(by Carole Romanowski - whispjesse@aol.com)
As reported in my daily newspaper, The Journal News, nearly 200 million children under age 5 in poor countries have stunted growth because of insufficient nutrition, according to a new report published by UNICEF before a three-day international summit on the problem of world hunger.
The head of a UN food agency called on the world to join him in a day of fasting ahead of the summit to highlight the plight of 1 billion hungry people. Jacques Diouf, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said he hoped the fast would encourage action by world leaders who will take part in the meeting at his agency’s headquarters.
More than 90 percent of these children live in Africa and Asia, and more than a third of all deaths in that age group are linked to undernutrition, according to UNICEF. While progress has been made in Asia – rates of stunted growth dropped from 44 percent in 1990 to 30 percent last year – there has been little success in Africa. There, the rate of stunted growth was about 38 percent in 1990. Last year, the rate was about 34 percent.
South Asia is a particular hotspot for the stunted growth problem, with just Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan accounting for 83 million hungry children under five.
“Unless attention is paid to addressing the causes of child and maternal undernutrition today the costs will be considerably higher tomorrow,” said UNICEF executive director Ann M. Veneman in a statement.
UNICEF also launched an online petition against world hunger through a Web page featuring a video with Diouf counting from one to six to remind visitors that every six seconds a child dies from hunger.
The UN children’s agency called for more strategies like vitamin A supplementation and breast feeding to be rolled out more widely. That could cut the death rate in kids by up to 15 percent, UNICEF said.
The progress UNICEF points to in improving nutrition is also almost certainly a result of economic growth.
The Rome-based FAO announced earlier this year that hunger now affects a record 1.02 billion globally, or one in six people, with the financial meltdown, high food prices, drought and war blamed.
The agency hopes its World Summit on Food Security, with Pope Benedict XVI and some 60 heads of state so far expected to attend, will endorse a new strategy to combat hunger focusing on increased investment in agricultural development for poor countries.
The long-term increase in the number of hungry is largely tied to reduced aid and private investments earmarked for agriculture since the mid-1980’s, according to the FAO.
Countries like Brazil, Nigeria, and Vietnam that have invested in their small farmers and rural poor are bucking the hunger trend, FAO chief Diouf told the news conference. They are among 31 countries that have reached or are on track to meet the goal set by world leaders nine years ago to cut the number of hungry people in half by 2015, he said.
My personal comment on this drastic situation is I have been a UNICEF member for awhile, as was John Denver as it’s spokesman for many years, and if you would like to be a part of this life-sustaining cause, the website for UNICEF is unicef.usa.org. I know we can all make a difference.
"Untitled Free Verse" |
(by Carole Romanowski - whispjesse@aol.com)
In life there is a force
...an emotion so strong
We've all felt to some degree.
The more it's awareness grows within us
...the deeper are it's layers, it's depths.
It can be all encompassing
And bring forth passion, compassion
...beauty.
This force emanates outward
And creates movement of action
...and reaction.
It helps the poor, the sick
...uplifts the weary soul
Giving hope, comfort
...and light.
It can move mountains
Subdue overzealous tides
Create inroads to the spirit
Connect with souls
...here, and in the hereafter
Transcending the universe
...and is all around us
...everywhere
Waiting to pour forth.
When used wisely
It creates solutions
...dries tears
Unlocks doors to treasures.
It is more powerful than kingdoms
And the closest one can experience
...Heaven here on earth
...making angels of men.
This force, this emotion has a name
...it is love.
And this love has a face
...it is John's.
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BITS ‘N BOBS
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Terracycle takes all sorts of trash and turns it into useful and beautiful items for sale – this’ a great organization to get schools involved with: http://www.terracycle.net/
Nabuur.com is an online volunteering platform that links Neighbours (online volunteers) with Villages (local communities) in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Connected through Nabuur.com, Neighbours and local communities learn about each other, share ideas and find solutions to local issues.
Everybody has something to offer, and everything is done online.
Do you have a little spare time and the desire to make a difference?
Check out http://www.nabuur.com/ and see if you can get involved.
Five tips for taking care of birds this winter: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/2010/Winter-roosts-for-birds.aspx?20100118_WLO_January_Edition
EcoFlight advocates for the protection of remaining wilderness and wildlife habitat through the use of small aircraft, and provides educational programs designed to encourage an environmental stewardship ethic among citizens of all ages. http://ecoflight.info/
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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
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In Portland, Going Green and Growing Vertical in a Bid for Energy Savings
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/us/31portland.html?ref=science
January 30, 2010 The New York Times
PORTLAND, Ore. — Urban gardening used to seem subversive. People planted tomatoes in public parks, strung their hops to rooftops to make homebrew and reclaimed empty lots as community farms, never mind the property owner.
An architectural rendering of the trellises designed to shade the western facade of the main federal building in Portland, Ore.
Yet here in one of the more thoroughly tilled cities in America, subversive has come full circle: the federal government plans to plant its own bold garden directly above a downtown plaza. As part of a $133 million renovation, the General Services Administration is planning to cultivate “vegetated fins” that will grow more than 200 feet high on the western facade of the main federal building here, a vertical garden that changes with the seasons and nurtures plants that yield energy savings.
“They will bloom in the spring and summer when you want the shade, and then they will go away in the winter when you want to let the light in,” said Bob Peck, commissioner of public buildings for the G.S.A. “Don’t ask me how you get them irrigated.”
Rainwater, captured on the roof, and perhaps even “gray water” recycled from the interior plumbing are both possibilities, the architects say. But they concede that they are still figuring out some of the finer points of renovating the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, which was completed in 1975 and is currently 18 stories of concrete, glass and minimal inspiration.
Who will prune the facade? Maybe the same folks who wash skyscraper windows, the architects say. Perhaps the exterior concrete panels removed in the renovation could be reused as salmon habitat in a nearby river.
The G.S.A. says the building will use 60 percent to 65 percent less energy than comparable buildings and estimates a savings of $280,000 annually in energy costs. Solar panels could provide up to 15 percent of the building’s power needs. The use of rainwater and low-flow plumbing fixtures will reduce potable water consumption by 68 percent. And energy for lighting will be halved.
“It will be one of the more energy-efficient high-rises in America, possibly in the world,” said James Cutler, whose architecture firm, Cutler Anderson, led the design work.
The building has long been in line for renovation and improvements in energy efficiency, but money did not come through until the passage of the federal stimulus package last year, with its emphasis on environmentally friendly projects. That intensified the environmental ambitions; the building, the largest federal stimulus project in Oregon, is being renovated under the G.S.A’s new Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the plan. In December, Senators John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, both Republicans, criticized the cost of the project and ranked it second on a list of what they called the 100 worst stimulus-financed projects. The G.S.A. has said that report relied on incomplete data, but the project’s cost has also raised eyebrows here.
Joe Vaughan, a longtime commercial real estate broker here, said that the building’s office space would ultimately cost more per square foot than some other environmentally-conscious projects that are built new.
“As a taxpayer, I think it’s a horrible waste of money that no private developer would undertake,” Mr. Vaughan said.
G.S.A. officials said the cost of constructing federal office buildings cannot be compared to private buildings because of security and other government requirements. Nor, they said, should the construction costs of the building be viewed in isolation.
“The idea is that the cost savings are in the energy efficiency,” said Caren Auchman, a spokeswoman for the G.S.A.
There are questions about whether the efficiency efforts will work as designed. “Most of what we put in our buildings is tried and true,” said Mr. Peck, of the G.S.A. “On some part of it, we’re prepared to be a beta tester.”
“My dream,” Mr. Peck added, “is we will find a technology that needs a test and we will make the market for it.”
The renovation is scheduled to be completed by 2013, said Donald Eggleston, the president of SERA Architects, which is overseeing the project for the G.S.A. This summer, he said, landscaping experts will experiment with vines and cover plants that can endure Portland’s wet, mild winters and its dry, hot summers — and do so at varying heights.
“We may train them on some vines in the nursery,” Mr. Eggleston said. “About 50 percent of the windows we need to shade every summer. You can’t take little seedlings up there in Year 1, because you won’t have anything up there for five years.”
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NEWSLETTER NEWS
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If you would like to submit articles, news items, stories, poetry, or any other pertinent information to IT'S ABOUT TIME, please e-mail any of the IAT staff. The submission deadline for the next edition is April 19, 2010. Please be sure to include any contact information so that members can e-mail or snail-mail for further details.
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The contents of this newsletter are entirely at the discretion of the "It's About Time" staff. Contributions, as always, are welcomed, although inclusion is not guaranteed. All contributed material may be subject to editing for content and length.
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". . . IT'S ABOUT TIME WE START TO LIVE
IT,
THE FAMILY OF MAN,
IT'S ABOUT TIME
AND IT'S ABOUT CHANGES . . .
AND IT'S ABOUT TIME."
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