Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 6, 2017 11A
Solution on Page 12A
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Trina Wright and Rick Young present Christina Smith and her two daughters, Bella
Allen, 3, and Gracee Allen, 10, the keys to a 2000 Isuzu Trooper.
Christmas comes early
Car Doctor’s Young donates car to family in need
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — When Christi-
na Smith found out she
would be the owner of a
new-to-her car, she was in
disbelief.
“I won’t say the words I
said, but I was really excit-
ed,” Smith said Monday.
The car, a 2000 Isuzu
Trooper, is an early Christ-
mas present for Smith and
her two daughters, Gracee
Allen, 10, and Bella Allen, 3.
Rick Young, the owner of
The Car Doctor, donated the
car to them after asking
around to find a family in
need of reliable transporta-
tion. She picked up the car
Monday after Young made
sure it was ready for the road
and detailed.
P.J. Johnson with Titus III
House in Dallas knew right
away that Smith and her
family were the perfect re-
cipients. Johnson said Smith
began a long journey of re-
covery at Titus House, which
provides a place for women
to live while in recovery.
Now Smith is sober, has
reunited with her children,
has her own apartment and
recently landed a job in Al-
bany, Johnson said.
“I went through Titus
House, too, and was just
telling P.J. the other day that
it’s amazing because she
gave me the opportunity to
be there,” Smith said. “I
didn’t have the greatest rep-
utation for behavior, so she
trusted in me and allowed
me to be there. It helped me
a lot. I got a lot done there.
Titus is amazing.”
Smith said shortly after ar-
riving at Titus III, she entered
treatment, but Johnson held
a room for her at the house.
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Bella Allen, Christina Smith and Gracee Allen celebrate
receiving an Isuzu Trooper on Monday.
“I came back right after-
wards,” Smith said. “I was
there for about five months
doing all the programs I
needed to do.”
The donation is a wish
fulfillment for Young, too.
“I’ve wanted to do this for
about five years. It seems
like the holidays come and
go so fast that by the time I
thought about it, I didn’t
have enough time to do it,”
Young said.
T h i s y e a r, t h e s t a r s
aligned, and Young received
the car from a long-time
customer.
“The car itself was donat-
ed to me by a customer who
was moving out of state and
didn’t have a need for the
car. We fixed everything that
was wrong with it,” Young
explained. “He asked if I
knew of a place to donate a
car. I told him I’ve been
wanting to do this forever.”
A grateful Smith thanked
Young Monday when he
handed the keys over to her.
Providing holiday meals to Dallas-area
families in need for more than 50 years
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giving list this year!
Make
checks to:
Christmas Cheer
PO Box 661
Dallas, OR 97338
Do you or someone you know need a little help?
Ask for an application or go to our website
to apply: www.dallascc.org
All volunteers are encouraged to bring
canned goods when coming to help
sort, shop & deliver food boxes
on Christmas Eve at 6 am, Sunday,
Dec. 24th at LaCreole Middle School
More information: 503-623-3585
Coordinators: Warren & Sue Lamb
— 5013C — Non-Profit Organization
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“He made a very happy
family,” she said. “We’re going
to get a lot of use out of it.”
Young said he’s glad to see
the car go to a family that re-
ally needs it.
“That’s a perfect example
of someone who had gone
through hard times and
worked to get themselves
back on the right track,” he
said. “I’m happy to see a
family like that get what they
deserve.”
He plans to make a simi-
lar donation every year
around the holidays or find
a family that already has a
car that needs repairs and
do that work for them.
“We could bring it into the
shop and do an overhaul on
it, make sure it’s all safe for
them,” he said.
Smith hugged and
thanked Young before load-
ing her daughter’s car seat in
the Trooper.
“Merry Christmas,” he
said, “and we will see you at
your next oil change.”