The INDEPENDENT, January 19, 2006
Nehalem Valley Food Program seeks help to continue
The Nehalem Valley Food
Program will be stopping food
delivery to rural homes in Jew-
ell, Elsie, Mist, Birkenfeld, Ver-
nonia, and some other commu-
nities unless reliable volunteers
can be found.
The Nehalem Valley Com-
munity Church, which has been
sponsoring the program for
several years, can no longer
provide the van that is used for
the trip to Portland for the food
and is then used twice a week
for the home deliveries. They
have also run out of volunteers.
According to a church
spokesperson, one young man
has handled the twice-weekly
run for the last five months,
many days making both runs
without a helper. Though the
work is a labor of love for him,
he is getting burned out.
The area served by this pro-
gram has many seniors on lim-
ited incomes, and working fam-
ilies whose income covers little
except the basics. There are
few jobs in the area so work
generally involves a lot of travel,
with fuel costs consuming a lot
of income. Many people in the
area have only seasonal work.
The program is working on
getting another van, but volun-
teers are needed. If four drivers
and four helpers volunteered
for both Wednesday and Friday
runs, that would require only
one run a month. The helpers
need to be able to help load the
van, which may require a lot of
lifting and can take some time.
They also carry the bagged
groceries into the recipients’
homes or onto their porches.
Depending on the run it can be
a very long day.
Recipients are asked to do-
nate $5.00 or whatever amount
they can toward expenses. Be-
cause of high fuel costs, the
sponsors have not been able to
commit for the full amount and
donations don’t always cover
the fuel cost. Grocery bags and
boxes are also needed.
Anyone who can help the
program with time, money or
other resources, is asked to call
Linda at 503-755-2114 or Ron
at 503-755-2406.
Library Chautauqua program will tell Coyote Tales
Curt Yehnert
“Coyote Tales from the
Northwest” will be the topic of
the next Chautauqua program
at the Vernonia Public Library
on Saturday, January 21, start-
ing at 2:00 p.m.
Coyote tales are told from
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the Atlantic to the Pacific and
from the Arctic to Mexico.
These myths impart basic val-
ues and beliefs while providing
more instruction. Trickster,
transformer and cultural hero,
Coyote combines in his nature
all the elements that form the
human character. He is sacred
and sinful, majestic and petty,
joyful and miserable, heroic
and cowardly. The many cycles
of Coyote tales reflect the cycle
of life itself.
Curt Yehnert first encoun-
tered Coyote tales while study-
ing folklore in college. When he
moved to the Rosebud Reser-
vation in South Dakota, he
heard Coyote tales first hand
from his colleagues at Sinte
Gleska University. Later at the
University of New Mexico,
Yehnert observed the Navaho
use of Coyote stories as an in-
tegral part of healing rituals. He
believes that Coyote combines
all the elements that form the
human character.
Yehnert brings together as-
pects of folklore, mythology
and anthropology as he retells
and creates a cultural context
for Coyote tales told in the Pa-
cific Northwest. In particular, he
addresses Coyote’s role as a
boundary crosser – as one
whose existence embodies the
portion of our experience
where good and evil are hope-
lessly entwined.
Yehnert is a professor of
English at Western Oregon
University.
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Page 9
Bits & Bites
By Jacqueline Ramsay
Hello
a n d
Happy
R a i n
Drop to
y o u .
Guess
what I
discov-
ered do-
ing the dishes the other day? I
used to collect calendar tea
towels, now I use them. Any-
how, I noticed January 1 was
on Sunday and February had
28 days. I checked the year –
1967. I dug out another towel –
same days matched – date
1978. So, dig out your old emp-
ty daily reminder books – they
are usable again.
Was your New Year’s Eve a
quiet one? Riverside Drive was
one big bang for a while. It
sounded like the charge on
Bunker Hill. Shadow was a
nervous wreck.
A time to reflect but ‘05 went
so fast I really can’t think of any
thing monumental that took
place except the forcing of sen-
iors to hunt up their own pill
plans so they can afford to be
sick. Yak, yak – I hope I’ve cho-
sen wisely.
You guessed it, not much to
chew on yet this year. But, what
is pushing my buttons this
week is Dog Pack season is
starting along Bridge St., River-
side Dr., as well as Rose Ave
(before 10 a.m.). The real gripe
is people walking their dog off
leash and allowing the mutt to
drop on people’s lawns while
they look at the sky.
The T.V. says the rain isn’t
the cause of Winter Blues, it’s
lack of sunshine. Well, duh… I
knew that, my daughter has
been fighting it for 44 years. I
just put up with it by eating
fresh fruit and reading good
“old” books. The Circular Stair-
case – 1908 – Mary Roberts
Rhinehart. Very English, but a
good mystery.
Another good remedy – get
out of the house on Wednes-
days for lunch and listen to the
Golden Oldies music of yester-
day at the Senior Center. Meet
old friends and make some
new friends. It isn’t all Western
music, Cruising Down the River
on a Sunday Afternoon with
Margie going to The Little
Brown Church in the Vale.
One in Four Americans are faltering under the
weight of medical costs.
Surprisingly, 62% of those
same people have health
insurance yet still struggle
with the total cost of major
illness or injury. Are
supplemental insurance
policies the solution? Join us
as we answer these and other questions.
Date:
Mon. Jan 30, 2006
Tues. Jan 31, 2006
Wed. Feb 1, 2006
Thurs. Feb 2, 2006
Time:
6pm-7pm
6pm-7pm
6pm-7pm
6pm-7pm
Branch:
Astoria
Clatskanie
St Helens
Vernonia
Seminar is free but seating is limited, so
call 800-773-3236 to reserve your place
today!