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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1993)
Tow service for drivers who drink in the holidays By Katy Soto Oregon C\<uly f. met8X1 Every year. they offer their services, mid every year people ignore them. They are trying once again this year, and maybe people should listen and hear their plea Last year, Oregon Life Tow provided 102 tows home to people who were bright enough to realize they were incapacitated by alcohol and could not drive home They will begin to service inebriated patrons at midnight Wednesday and the service will continue through New Year's Day. Oregon Life Tow is sponsored by Atlantic Richfield Co. in conjunction with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Oregon Tow Truck Association. The idea is that if you are going to drink during the holidays you're going to need a ride home. Of course, as the sponsors urged, the best choice would lie not to drink at all during the holiday season. At the annual Oregon Life Tow kickoff, representatives from all of the orx'inina tions involved showed up to speak their piece. Tim Curtis, a sales representative for ARCO AM/PM was on hand to do some corporate well wishing. "ARCO is proud to sponsor Oregon Life Tow for the fifth year.” he said "We are committed to safety." Nest. Bill Rice, who lost a son to a drunken driver seven years ago. shared his testimony and pleaded with people to bo cautious during the holidays. “I think that Oregon t.ife Tow is anoth er way to get home safe and sober The first is not to drink and drive." he said On Dec. 1ft, Rice's son Michael was delivering pizza when he was hit from the rear by a drunk driver, and the impact forced his car into an intersection and the path of another car. Michael lived for It days, and "it was the worst time of my life I am just now getting back I plead with everyone, please do not drink and drive If you do drink during the holidays (.all Oregon Li fa Tow.” Rice said. Lt. Richard Waits of the Springfield office of the Oregon Slate Polit e was very optimistic about the upcoming holiday season "The Oregon State Police support and applaud the efforts of Oregon Life Tow Stopping drunk driving has always fawn a high priority l-nst year HO people were arrested during the holiday season. We had no fatalities in Lane County from drunken driving, though Kvery available jrerson will bo used for patrol during the holidays Pm sure most people would rather ride home in a tow truck than in an Oregon State Police vehicle,” Weiss said. Finally. Lee Dannerick spoke on behalf of the Oregon Tow Truck Asso< iation. "You can now be towed (if you are intoxicated) without charge providing that you live within a 25-miie radius Last year, there were 200 fatalities in Oregon due to drunk driving, we'd like to make that zero," he said. Kvery year about 40 tow- truck opera tors partii ipato in Oregon Life Tow Since then, the program lias provided for more than t>40 tows during the holiday season "There are more than fi40 men and women alive today to enjoy this holiday season with their families and friends, because they made the right decision to use Oregon Life Tow sometime during the past four years.” said Jeff Kuhn, ARCO AM/PM's district sales manager The chairwoman of MAIM) Oregon said Oregon Life Tow’s holiday service is invaluable. "Five years ago. before Oregon Life Tow began, the winter holiday period from Thanksgiving to Now Year’s was much more deadly for motorists than the summer holiday period. Alcohol-related fatalities were much higher and drinking drivers did not have the range of support that is now available." Jeanne Canfield said. If you nre feeling a little too much of the holiday spirit(s), you may call 1-800 243-4450 (M/UNDERLAND - * 5CVIDEO OAMES 5th STREET ^ PUBLIC MARKET 683-8464 v r VIDEO ADVENTURE VALLf V RIVIA PL A2A ' Tire h ’ ♦y¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥• November 19,1993 ■he relief I ill her Home ol the ‘*$1000.00 Football Contest" iNO f NT RY FEE REQUIRED FOB OUR CUSTOMERS] X WTCXB • _i- • j 1 >,-«<■ Lit*- ■*'[ ALL LOTTERY GAMES hamburgers • broasted chicken • nachos • pool • hard darts • soft darts • shuffleboard Great Food!! Great Fun!! 3SK) W. 40th. Eugana OR 97405 (Corner 40th & Donald) 485-4304 .AW. 22 95* IHVOI riiniw rmj (ratuuHq 0W laUM w/**m*.« (%sm BWVfa ft PiWlMd o/m (uf pitta aad i*'J\ aunty.* 9:30 pjtt. ^ 23 $3 Low The Oorpx dirts HovNmbor U 24 $3 SoaNIsh lira Brother Jones Musi tie 21 or mer \um 342 3358 tat ami laitalaSa Working miracles with disabled children SI’OKANF (API Dawn Frederick had hold many sick and dying < hildren This was one she couldn 't put down She i amid (lit* tiny blue-eyed baby during her duties »t Sa< red Heart Medical Center, sometimes laying her on a blanket on the floor next to tier as she worked as a pediatru nurse The child, who had slipped beneath her bathwater at 11 months, had been declared legally dead. Revived, she was so damaged by the near-drowning that doctors saw little hope she would ever walk, talk or see The dnv Frederick reported for work and found the infant had been sent to Interlake School, she thought, well, tomorrow will bring another child Then she drove to Medical lake Today, the "vegetative" infant has grown into a giggling sixth-grader who dawdles after school and loves llismn and dumb jokus At school, she reads books aloud to first-graders. At home, she leans over the laid of a foster sister and i oos like a mother dove The only thing brighter than her smile is the one on her adopted mother's face "This kid is my miracle." Frederick said from her Spokane home I am looking lor others " Frederii k was single. 50 year* older than her i barge and working full time when she legally adopted Cinnamon Dawn Frederick The afternoon she drove to the state hos pital at Med it al Lake, the tiny girl, trapped inside herself, gave a clear indie ation of how she felt about being separated from Freder ick. A single tear rolled down her cheek 'Cod knows which children need mothers and which mothers need children.” Freder ick said. With her own children grown and away. ‘God knows which children need mothers and which mothers need children.’ Dawn Frederick Foster mother for disabled children Frederick began visiting Cinnamon on week ends. holidays. Christmas Dav. She talked to the bahv constantly. carried her everywhere and put herexjKH tatioiis as high as possible Cinnamon rose to meet them By the time Frederick brought her home as a foster child at 2. she could mimic for her adopted moth er a clo< k. "tii k tock, tick took." By the time she was legally adopted at -tl. the child that doctors believed would never walk got out of her wheelchair and crossed the living room Todav. she strides from room to room ponytail bobbing She loves the mall and .McDonald's, rollercoasters and the Spokane Interstate Fair. And she loves her foster sisters Five vears ago. F rodent k quit her job as an assistant nursing supervisor to become a foster moth er lor other children with severe handicaps Now she also cares lor three girls who can not walk and talk A team of nurses and caregivers stream in and out of Frederick's snug home School buses come and go. Frederick keeps a si lied ule that would rival any corporate execu tive's. "I could never do this if I had a husband." she says with a laugh, standing in a dining room that has been converted to a bedroom "It's a fishbowl existence.” But children do better at home. Frederick maintains. When Cinnamon moved in, she couldn't stop looking at the photographs and art on the wall. Institutional walls are bare. Turning tier home into a 24-hour-a-dav foster home was more natural than even Frederii k could have imagined Her own parents had cared for H(> foster children in addition to raising her and her sister Although 34 of the 3.r>0 foster homes in Spokane County take children with disabil ities. Frederii.k is one ofnliout four that takes medically fragile children who do not walk, said Mvrah Swim, a social worker with the state Department of Social and Health Ser vices. Children with such needs often have lov ing families, but those families are ill equipped to tare for them. Other foster children come from homes that are neither clean nor safe Frederick's home is both Outfitted with special beds, a hot tub and two kitchens, the home is divid ed into two wings of spotless, well-lit rooms Frederick, who has a bachelor's degree in nursing administration, runs a tight ship It s the Cadillac of foster homes." said t vonne Bovvers, a licensed practical nurse who specializes in pediatric home care. "She expel ts near perfection.” Toward that end. she has butted heads with teachers, doctors and caregivers Fred erick has fired attendants who did not meet her expectations and argued with doctors who think children should be institutional ized She has pulled children out of schools they did not apjiear to thrive in. "If they don't do right by my children. I come out roaring.” Frederick admits "1 have non-verbal children; they cannot speak for themselves.” f.ast vear, Frederick waged an 11-month battle with the state over funding. "It's been difficult and time-consuming, but we appreciate that she cares," said Swim, who licenses foster homes for the state. "We know she does. She's very, vers strong and a strong advocate for the children in her home " IP* * r K’S your turn to set the table Send the FTD Autumn Harvest Bouquet This bounty of seasonal color adds to the cclebration jy— especially when you can't be U there Nrrvtng thr Unwnitt why t*B Eugene s Flower Home THE UNIVERSITY FLORIST 610 E. 13th at Patterson • 485-3655 Owners are l of O alumni ENROLL YOUR CHILD NOW in Eugene Creative Care's before and after school day care program. Thirteen 4-J in school locations for your convenience. Lowest sliding rates . Flexible hours call 683-7291 or register at 1350 Chambers ■ | (back stairs of the Scmler Optical Bldg.)