This is, in case you were not aware, Christmas Eve. Which means there is still time for some last-minute shopping. But for the rest of you, for those who plan ahead and have everything prepared for a joyous Christmas celebration, we offer only Cheers and no Jeers; nobody, after all, wants to be subjected to the negativity of Jeers this close to Christmas. That would be positively Scrooge-like of us.
Cheers: To the Christmas spirit. The weeks leading up to the holiday annually are rife with stories about charitable acts and the kind of giving that makes this a special time of year. Among our favorites of these stories this year is one about members of the Battle Ground Police Department teaming up with 12 school kids to take them shopping for Christmas gifts. Students, who were nominated by school staff, met with officers at the police station and then rode in patrol cars in a motorcade to the local Wal-Mart.
There, the students were provided with $200 each to spend on gifts, money that came from a $2,500 Wal-Mart Community Grant. “These kids are deserving and our officers appreciate the opportunity to further build relationships with the public we serve,” said Bob Richardson, Battle Ground’s police chief. Police departments throughout the region frequently engage in outreach that reminds the public of officers’ desire to enrich their communities.
Cheers: To cemetery cleanup. A band of misfits who call themselves The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus recently braved freezing temperatures to beautify the Old City Cemetery at East Mill Plain and Grand boulevards. Members raked leaves and strung up Christmas lights at the ancient cemetery, with group leader Eric Klein saying, “Today we’re decorating and giving the cemetery a little bit of holiday love.”
The cemetery, the resting place of pioneers such as Esther Short and Charles Slocum, dates to around the time of Vancouver’s founding in the mid-1800s. The origins of The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus predate even that, although the local chapter is not yet officially recognized by the organization. Official status, however, doesn’t matter when there are local citizens willing to contribute to their community.
Cheers: To Heritage High School. The school, which is part of Evergreen Public Schools and is located northeast of the Vancouver city limits, has been recognized as one of “America’s Healthiest Schools.” The list, compiled by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Kaiser Permanente, honored 328 schools throughout the country for amenities such as the availability of nutritious foods and access to high-quality physical education.
Heritage was joined by Mark Morris High School in Longview in being awarded a bronze medal by the organization, making them the only Washington schools to be recognized. As the Alliance for a Healthier Generation notes, about 1 in 3 school children in the United States are obese or overweight, and such students are at risk for future health problems such as diabetes, asthma, and heart failure. By providing healthy options and health education, schools play an important role in addressing this epidemic.
Cheers: To Mother Nature. Winter storms have caused havoc for cities throughout the region, but they have been a boon in the mountains. After several years of droughtlike conditions, snowpack in the Northwest is exceeding the historical average.
A lack of snowpack in recent years has diminished the water supply during the summer, creating problems for wildlife and economic troubles. The concern this year is that warming temperatures will lead to an early thaw, but for now the situation is more promising than in the past couple years.
