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The INDEPENDENT, April 2, 2009
Enter Chris Dudley’s video contest Tips given for safe Easter
Since the former center re-
tired from the National Basket-
ball Association in 2003, Chris
Dudley has not been sitting
around much. Dudley has been
scuba diving, learned to snow
ski and wakeboard, and even
scaled a mountain. Now,
through the Chris Dudley Foun-
dation, he is challenging other
people living with diabetes to
video tape what they are doing
to stay active. The Chris Dud-
ley
Foundation
recently
launched the Lights, Camera,
Active! video contest. Both kids
and adults are asked to submit
a one-to-three minute You-
Tube video demonstrating how
they are not letting diabetes
keep them from doing what
they love. The prize for the 18
and older category is a Sony
Camcorder. In the under 18
category, the prize is a Wii.
“At age 16, I was diagnosed
with diabetes. I refused to let it
keep me from playing the game
I loved,” Dudley said. “A diag-
nosis of this disease doesn’t
have to ruin your life. If you
have a good management pro-
gram set up with your doctor,
you need to keep doing what
you love!”
Dudley has been a role mod-
el for people living with dia-
betes. He played in the Nation-
al Basketball Association for 16
years, including the New York
Knicks and the Portland Trail
Blazers.
The Chris Dudley Founda-
tion, started by Chris and his
wife in 1993, is devoted to ad-
vocating for people affected by
diabetes, through educational
programs and support for dia-
betes research. Since 1996,
the foundation has also hosted
a basketball camp, in Vernonia,
for youth with diabetes. Since
retiring in 2003, Dudley has de-
voted much time to his cause.
He is an internationally recog-
nized speaker and recently co-
authored a children’s book
about overcoming adversity.
Videos for the Lights, Cam-
era, Active! Video contest will
be accepted until April 24,
2009.
Go to www.chrisdudley.org
for contest rules and more in-
formation.
St. Helens to hold Easter Egg hunt, too
In the spirit of commu-
nity…local organizations, busi-
nesses and public officials set
aside their individual projects
and come together to create a
day of fun for the kids of Co-
lumbia County. On April 11 the
Columbia County Event Com-
plex will host the mEGGa East-
er Egg Hunt from 10:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m.
The siren from a Columbia
River Fire & Rescue fire engine
will blow promptly at 11:00 a.m.
to officially start this year’s
hunt. The ground is divided by
age groups and volunteers
spend the morning hiding eggs
throughout the grounds. Over
150 of the eggs are filled with
“PRIZE” tickets that kids ex-
change for a special prize do-
nated by citizens and local
businesses. There is also a
special hunt designed for phys-
ically and cognitively chal-
lenged children.
In addition to the mEGGa
hunt, kids can enjoy the 4-H
Petting Zoo that’s full of bun-
nies, piglets, birds, chickens,
calves, goats and more.
Throughout the school system,
coloring contest sheets with de-
tailed information on the mEG-
Ga Easter Egg Hunt have been
Pet of the Month
Columbia Humane Society in St. Helens has a variety of wonderful pets
available for adoption. Find the pet that’s right for you in the shelter
at 2084 Oregon Street. Phone 503-397-4353
Open Mon - Fri 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 am. to 5 pm.
Poor Honey found herself at the shelter
because her owners were moving out of town
and decided not to take her. Honey is a very
sweet, kind and loving dog. Honey is house
trained, knows basic commands and is full of
love. She is used to living with cats and enjoys
their company. Honey is a little on the "heavy"
side and can use some exercise and healthy
eating habits. She likes baths, is leash trained
and was trusted off leash by her last owners. If
you are looking for a nice dog to be part of
your family please come visit Honey, you will Honey
not be disappointed.
The Columbia Humane Society is a No-Kill non-profit shelter
dedicated to helping friends find each other since 1985.
This Adopt a Pet is Sponsored by:
Senator Betsy Johnson
distributed. Kids can do the col-
oring contest at home and bring
it to the hunt on the 11th, or can
sit down at a designated color-
ing station on-site. Other activi-
ties include the showing of the
Veggie Tails movie “The Easter
Carol,” face painting, 4-H
archery demonstration and pic-
tures with the Easter Bunny.
The Columbia County Rodeo
Court is also back this year with
pony rides. New this year will
be a planting station where kids
can plant a vegetable or flower
to take home and watch grow.
This is the 9th year of the
mEGGa Easter Egg Hunt and it
continues to grow a little each
year. The process of cleaning,
stuffing and organizing a hunt
of 26,000 eggs is a year-round
project. The mEGGa Easter
Egg Hunt is funded entirely
from donations and has be-
come a tradition for many fami-
lies from around the area.
Everyone is invited to come,
rain or shine, to enjoy this free
family event!
There was a time when the
most dangerous part of Easter
was making your son wear
those scratchy gray-flannel
trousers. These days, there are
other worries and, according to
some child safety experts, par-
ents would be well advised to
become…well, egg-sperts be-
fore making some Easter
plans.
“Eggs are a big part of our
kids’ Easter traditions, but they
also come with some inherent
risks,” says Linda DeRose-
Droubay, director of Safety and
Quality Compliance at Virginia-
based The Children’s Group,
Inc., publisher of popular chil-
dren’s catalogs HearthSong ®
and Magic Cabin ® . “There are
some common sense meas-
ures that parents can take to
make sure Easter stays fun for
everyone.”
She offers up these tips for
Moms and Dads:
· Always buy eggs from a re-
frigerated case and keep them
refrigerated before you boil
them in preparation for deco-
rating. Be sure to check the
“Sell by” dates.
· When you boil your eggs,
make sure the water is hot
(185-190 degrees F). Cool your
eggs in cold water or allow
them to cool slowly at room
temperature.
· When shell eggs are hard-
cooked, the protective coating
is washed away, leaving open
pores in the shell where harm-
ful bacteria could enter. Be
sure to refrigerate eggs within
two hours of cooking and use
them within a week.
· Don’t eat or cook with
cracked eggs or eggs that have
been un-refrigerated for more
than two hours.
· If you plan to eat the East-
er eggs you decorate, be sure
to use only food grade dye.
(Some people make two sets of
eggs – one for decorating and
hiding, another for eating.)
· Make sure to wash (and re-
wash) your hands, utensils,
and work surfaces to keep bac-
teria from spreading.
· Hide eggs in places that
are protected from dirt, pets,
and other bacteria sources.
· Limit the hiding and hunting
time for real eggs to two hours.
Refrigerate them immediately if
they are to be eaten.
· Eggs found hours later or
the next day should be thrown
out — not eaten!
· Consider using plastic eggs
instead of real eggs for Easter
egg hunts.
On the hiding front, DeRose-
Droubay offers these words of
caution:
· Remember to avoid hiding
places near tempting electrical
outlets or plugs.
· Keep eggs at or below eye
level of younger children.
· Do not hide eggs in cup-
boards or drawers with danger-
ous products.
· Do not hide eggs in, on, or
under glass.
· Do not hide eggs in preex-
isting holes in the ground or
trees.
· Do not hide eggs in any fo-
liage that has thorns, looks po-
tentially dangerous or poison-
ous (If you don’t know the
name of the foliage, don’t put
an egg in it!).
· Do not hide eggs in any an-
imal’s home, food bowl or play
area.
· Do not hide eggs where
pesticides or poisons have re-
cently been sprayed.
· Do not hide eggs in tool
sheds.
· Keep count and track of the
eggs you hide.
Put these safety tips in your
Easter bonnet to assure a safe
time for all.
Youth Legacy
project begins
Oregon 150, DemocracyLab
and the Chalkboard Project
have teamed up to create an
online think tank. It’s a pioneer-
ing opportunity to use the inter-
net to harness the thinking of
Oregonians from all corners of
our state to collaboratively cre-
ate a vision of Oregon’s future.
Project 2059 is asking high
school students to create a col-
lective vision for Oregon in
2059, the bicentennial year, by
considering issues that will
shape our state over the next
50 years. DemocracyLab is
dedicated to public policy issue
collaboration and consensus-
building which allows students
to use the innovative Democracy-
Please see page 11