My heart is breaking from the news I received this morning that little Jonas passed away last night. He had a wonderful Make A Wish trip to California last week, where he had a great time with his family. Upon returning home, he began struggling with his oxygen levels and was unable to maintain them. On Thursday night, he passed away peacefully with his loved ones surrounding him.

Thank you all so much for your gift of love and service these past months. It is a gift that will live in their hearts forever as they remember what love can do for a community. Jonas brought us together and allowed us to experience the joy of service, to know the feeling of working together on a common goal, and to witness in a very special way the love of our Heavenly Father as He poured out so many miracles upon us. We have all been blessed.

Jonas’ funeral will be probably be on Monday or Tuesday of next week. I will let you know as I get details.

Kristi

COME TO A CARNIVAL AND SUPPORT A LOCAL FAMILY!!

GET THE WHOLE STORY HERE

The students of Olympus High School and Good In the ‘Hood Present:

Spread Magic Around

Olympus High School, October 9, 3:00 – 7:30 p.m.

All proceeds will go to the Coleman family, whose children are fighting SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy).

See the links below for their story.

Bring your family and enjoy live bands, a magic show, a reptile show, bounce houses,

kids activities, sports tournaments, food and more!!

The live auction begins at 5:30, and the silent auction runs throughout the event.

See the attachment for a list of live and silent auction items.

Adults: $5.00        Children 3 – 12: $3.00        Maximum per family:  $25.00

Admission fee includes all activities, shows, and entertainment.

Food and souveniers will be available for purchase.

See you there!!

www.dogoodinthehood.com ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=12164604

To make a monetary donation, visit www.dogoodinthehood.com

or make checks payable to Good in the ‘Hood and mail to P.O. Box 9893, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109-0893

Good in the ‘Hood is a Utah 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization.

**Mark your calendars for our 5K race coming up on October 30th, also to benefit the Colemans!

To the Chairpersons: Would you please email us a summary of your discussions with your committees at the Sunday meeting? Please share all suggestions and plans. Also, would you please include a list of the people who were there on your committee, with their phone numbers and email addresses if you have them, along with any other people who may have joined your group since? We are trying to establish a good communication system with all of the volunteers and committees.

To all Team Members: We are so grateful for your willingness to share your time and talents and ideas! However, we don’t want any surprises and need to be kept in the loop with your plans and progress. We are asking you to email us an update letter twice a week regarding your committee decisions and progress. ALWAYS ask for donations of supplies, equipment, food, advertising, etc., before you consider purchasing anything. If you cannot get something donated, ask what kind of discount you can get. Then, clear any expenditures with us before you proceed. Any expenditures that are not cleared will be considered your donation to the cause. This is very important. We need to know exactly how our budget is holding out.

There is a protocol for securing sponsors. By sponsors, we mean businesses who will champion or support our cause and to whom we will offer public recognition for their sponsorship. We have a committee working on sponsors. Please do not promise sponsorships to anyone if you are not on this committee and are not aware of the protocol. If you have ideas for sponsors, or if you have someone who approaches you with the offer to be a sponsor, please contact us and we will double check with the sponsor committee to make sure there are no conflicts and let you know whether or not to proceed.

Sponsors are different from donors. Don’t hesitate to personally secure cash donations or goods and services for the auction from people or businesses. Donors to the auction will have their name announced before their item is auctioned, so they will have a form of publicity. But not all donors will be given sponsor status.

If you are confused about the difference, we will try to clarify it at the meeting next Sunday. We will have a meeting with all volunteers this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. at my house. Contact me for the address if you do not know. We are going to keep the meeting to 1 hour. We will have committee reports of this week’s progress, and then break out into committees for 30 minutes. We know this is a holiday weekend, so if you are a committee chairperson and will not be there, please contact a member of your committee who will be there and give them the assignment of reporting to the group.

We are working on an online auction donation form which can be filled out and passed on to us. It will include the business name, items donated with approximate retail value. This is how we hope to keep track of items and services donated for the auction. Until then, just email us each time you get an item for the auction.

Please remember the meeting on Sunday, Sept 29.   Bring people who are willing to give their time and resources to the fundraiser event. any amount of time they can offer is appreciated. we know that we are all busy. It will take many people giving what they can to make this happen.

I have attached a letter you may use to request donations from businesses and individuals. I have also attached a receipt form they may use. Please read these documents carefully so that you can present your request properly and that the money gets donated to the right place.

To all of you, make copies of these attached documents to take with you wherever you go from now on so that you will have them handy to give to business owners and individuals you come in contact with. Feel free to email them as well.

If you do get donations, please email me and let me know exactly who is donating and what they are donating. The auction committee will be in charge of picking up donated items and storing them until the event. We will announce that committee to you when it is formed.

We have decided on Saturday, October 9 from 2:00 – 7:00 for the carnival, and possibly a stomp from 7:00 – 9:00 following the carnival. The location is still being negotiated, but we will have an answer on that in a few days. Keep checking the Coleman blog for updates.

As we embark on this project, please remember that we are working with meager financial reserves, and that every penny we spend for the fundraiser is a penny the Colemans will not receive. Yes, they will hopefully benefit from our expenditures, but please be very careful in your expenses. I am asking that anyone who needs to spend money on this event contact me first for permission to do so, so that we can have a current unerstanding of what we are spending. If you spend money without asking, please consider it your donation to the cause. I am generally reachable by email through this website.  Please check out the pricing and quantities on items you are proposing before contacting me for a go-ahead.

Unfortunately, we have no idea how many people we will be attracting to this event. As we go along, we will get a better feel for that.

ALWAYS ASK businesses to donate goods and services before you purchase them. If they will not donate, then ask them what kind of discount they are able to give us for this cause.

I have some DVDs you can take to present our cause to those you approach if necessary, or you can direct them to the coleman2family.blogspot.com website and to KSL.com for more information and to view the news story and the video.

We are looking for the following things to be donated:

Cash Donations
Food for the concessions at the carnival (hot dogs, buns, relish, catsup and mustard, soda pop, bottled water, ice, chips, etc.)
Donated goods and services for the auction such as:
Gift cards for haircuts, professional services, restaurants, retail stores, movie tickets, recreational sites (Lagoon, Raging Waters, etc.)
Printing Services for Publicity, poster paper, printing paper, banners
Balloons, for decoration at the carnival
Radio ads
TV Time (Good Things Utah, Studio 5, KBYU, KUED, etc.)
Tickets for use at the carnival
Bounce house
Entertainers (bands, magicians, mimes, cartoonists, photographers, photo booths, face painters) at the carnival (we want live music throughout the event)
Sound Equipment, extension cords
Graphic Designers for posters, banners, flyers
Vinyl stickers for car windshields
Bracelets
T Shirts with the “Spread Magic Around… Join the Coleman Family Miracle Team” message on them for advertising purposes and also for sale at the carnival.
Snow cone machines
Popcorn machines
Soft Ice cream machines
Hot Dog Warmers
Paper plates, cups, napkins
Garbage cans and liners
Tables and chairs (40 tables round or rectangle, 250 chairs)
Tents in case of rain (small ones like used at sporting events, and large ones for large numbers of people)
New Retail items for the auction (bikes, skis, crafts, quilts, paintings, athletic equipment, musical instruments, craft supplies, etc.)
Just thought I might throw in a new minivan? 2009 or newer. No harm in asking, right?
Help in selling Coleman home so they can move to a larger home to accommodate their children’s needs.

I am sure there is more, but this is a start. we will improve on the list for our Sunday meeting.

If you take the Deseret News, check out the front page.  There is an article on what would happen if a 7.0 earthquake were to hit the Wasatch Front.  I think it will help you as you make your preparations for this type of scenario. It reinforces the value of the things we have been working on as a neighborhood. According to the experts, you and I live in the most severely impacted area.  Here are a few things that stood out to me:

Nearly 100,000 households would be displaced.  38 percent of the buildings in the area would suffer at least moderate damage.

Cell and landline phones will be down initially due to damage or overuse.

The power will go down for at least 8 to 12 hours and when it comes back, it iwll be spotty.

80 percent would have electrical power restored within 30 days, a time frame similar to restoration of communication lines.

Water systems will take longer.  We could be without water for three months.

Sewer systems will take even longer than three months.

Natural gas will perform a little better due to upgrades to pipes and systems recently.

Police and firefighters will be so overwhelmed that they could not reach many people for days, so neighbors would need to rely on each other for help.

Based on these estimates, it seems obvious to me that there are four important areas we need to address in the near future.  They are:

1.    Water storage

2.    Shelter

3.    Human waste disposal

4.    Community Emergency Response Team training (CERT).

I think that our goal this month should be to revisit our water storage. Check to see how much water you have and calculate how much you would need to survive for 90 days.  That would be 180 gallons per person.  You would need to calculate the cost of building a new house to store that much in most cases and determine whether or not you can quality for a bank loan to build it.  Begin with a two week supply and build from there. A two week supply for one person is 28 gallons.   A family of 8 would need about 224 gallons. . . .  This would be 45 five gallon containers.  If you use 55 gallon containers, it would be four containers.  If you use 30 gallon containers, you would need 8.  If you use 15 gallon containers it would be 15 containers.

I like the five gallon containers the best because they are square and can be stacked three high and they make the best use of space because of their shape.  They can be stored in small dead spaces in your home like unused corners, the back of a closet, under a desk or table, etc.  If you were to stack them along a wall of your home and you had 7 stacks of 3 high, you could them place a board along the top of this group of containers and put a tablecloth over it and use it as a cradenza.  You could do the same thing behind a couch which is in the middle of your room and use it as a sofa table.  You can use the same idea to make end tables, night stands, dining tables, etc.  Be creative.  They are also much easier to transport from place to place.  If frozen, they thaw faster.  They have a place to screw on a spigot so that your family can dispense their own water easily.

After the water is addressed, we will focus on shelter.

We will be evaluating the communications drill we participated in last week and try to fine tune it.  However, our communication system is officially in force as of now.  If disaster hits, and our communication by walkie talkie fails due to clogging of the radio waves, captains should proceed to communicate in person to the bishopric member to whom they are assigned, or, if that person is unavailable, proceed on foot to the bishop’s house.

Don’t forget our emergency communication drill Sunday, January 10 at 8:00 p.m.

Attention All Adults in the Valley View Stake!!  Please put Sunday, May 17, 7-9 p.m. on your calendars for a Valley View Stake Adult Fireside at the stake center.  TIM WOOLF, a well known specialist in topics regarding emergency preparedness and survival will be speaking.  Tim has served on the Sheriff’s Department of Search and Rescue, and has commanded a unit in the “Incident Command System”, performing 5-10 rescues per month.  He is trained in the management of numerous disasters and held the position of ICS Commander for the State of Utah for 5 years in the area of earthquakes.  He was sent to the scenes of real disasters in this country and abroad.  He is trained in what works and what does not.  We are very lucky to have the opportunity to hear him speak.  GET YOUR BABYSITTER NOW!  BRING A SPOUSE OR BRING A FRIEND,  BUT BE THERE OR BE UNAWARE!!

If you have not been following the news the last few days, you may not be aware that there has been a new strain of swine flu appearing in Mexico and some areas of the United States. The World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control are monitoring this aggressively and are in the process of determining if this is possibly the beginning of a pandemic. I suggest that you follow this, do your own research, and carefully consider what precautionary measures, if any, your family needs to take. I have attached the booklet I received at a pandemic workshop I attended last month. As usual, I do not endorse this information as being completely correct. It is simply a place for you to start as you determine your approach to this news. Pages 15 and 27 list possible items you may want to consider having in your pandemic kit. Look at the CNN website, MSN, the CDC and the WHO websites.

This is a good opportunity for us to determine how we as a neighborhood are doing in becoming prepared to handle something like this, even if it does not happen. I will be in touch with you regarding steps we might take to help us take care of each other in the event of any personal or community emergencies. These might include organizing blocks with captains, with instructions for communicating the well-being of members of that block, etc.

Here are some steps you might consider.

For now, I would recommend that you start with making sure you have at least a 2 week supply of water @ 2 gallons per person per day. Fill up those water containers you have sitting around empty and obtain any additional water you may be missing to get to that goal. The more water, the better.

Obtain your 90 day supply of food.

Find alternate cooking and lighting sources ( bbq grills with fuel, dutch ovens with briquettes, solar ovens, wood for wood burning stoves, lanterns, flashlights, candles, etc.)

Get a system ready for human waste management in the event of a shut down in the sewage system (bucket with fitted toilet lid, garbage bags, disinfectants, kitty litter or “Super Sorb” (Google it) to solidify waste, antibacterial soap and/or wipes, digestive medications.

Purchase masks for those in your household . These should be rated N95 or better NIOSH approved. You can get them at Home Depot, along with other places. Do your research. They are about $1.00 each without a vent, or $2.00 each with a vent. Home Depot also has them in a size “for smaller faces”.

Buy a package of latex gloves from Costco or Home Depot.

Make sure you have plenty of kitchen and large garbage bags for a host of purposes.

Check your supply of household cleaners including laundry soap, dish liquid, antibacterial hand soap and hand sanitizers, etc. Stock up on Clorox, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol (very cheap, about $3.00 for 2 large bottles at Costco).

Put together some family activities such as games, coloring books, books, movies, etc.

Set aside some cash and have it in your possession.

Make sure you have the medications you need for an emergency. Include vitamins (C and D for sure) and multis.

Consider how you will communicate with family members not in your household. (walkie talkies, etc. , It has been suggested that texting on cell phones will be more effective than making calls.)

Do your own research. This is just a start and is certainly not an official list.

Again, do not panic. This is simply a time to use wisdom and prayer as you look at all of the information that is out there. This could be something or it could be nothing. But regardless of which it is, we have been warned about hard times to come. We have been asked to be prepared. Whether a pandemic, an earthquake, economic collapse, or almost any other imaginable scenario, we have been blessed with prophets who tell us what we should do.

Feel free to call me. I am not an expert. But I would be glad to discuss resources with you. Plan to be at the fireside on Sunday, May 17 from 7-9 p.m. for more very helpful information regarding emergency preparedness with Tim Woolf as the guest speaker.

Under the Preparedness Section of the blog, click on the Pandemics Booklet for more information

KRISTI SPEAKING. Attached is the April Preparedness Assignment Sheet. If you are just getting started, you can back up and start at the beginning and work forward. Please note that at the Stake Preparedness Fireside on May 17th, there will be much useful information regarding water purification and storage, short and long term food storage, lighting, heating, cooking, alternative power sources, sanitation solutions and more.

For now, I would recommend that you take serious inventory of what you DO HAVE on hand and then listen to Tim Woolf’s suggestions before moving forward with these areas.

The one exception is to fill all of those empty water containers you are storing. Tim suggested that the liquid bleaches (Clorox) are not effective in purifying water because there is just a percentage of chlorine, the other ingredients being whiteners and brighteners and who know what else. Liquid bleaches also lose their potency with time. He recommends using 100% chloring crystals. I am doing some homework on this and I will let you know where they are available for purchase. I will also tell you about how to use them. It is very important that you follow the correct procedure, as it is easy to use too much or too little. I may be doing a bulk purchase of this in the near future as well. I small can the size of a parmesan cheese can will purify water for a family for a long time. The expense will be minimal.

Don’t place water for storage in used containers unless they are the soda pop bottles. Other plastic containers absorb the original liquid and it will leach out into your new water over time, causing strange things to grow in your water supply. If you are using a new, clean container such as the ones we ordered last summer as a stake, you just need to swish some soapy water with a teaspoon of bleach in your containers. Then rinse them thoroughly several times and fill with water. The same would be true if you are replacing old water with new in these same containers.

Do not use ordinary garden hoses to fill your containers. They leach out dangerous chemicals for drinking. Many of us ordered food safe hoses with the water containers last fall. I have one you can borrow if you did not order one. It is recommended that you empty and refill your containers once a year. Water your garden with it. Again, I will get back to you with the instructions to use for purifying water with chlorine crystals. These would be used in situations where you are not sure if your water is pure, or if you are collecting water from other sources than your tap, such as rain gutters, streams, etc.

If you want to purchase water containers, call Industrial Container and ask for Daryl. Tell him your stake ordered a semi truckload full last fall and that you missed out on the order. He may be willing to give you a little discount. Don’t tell him I said so. These discounts are based on volume, so he may not be able to do that for you. But even if he can’t their prices are competitive. You should have 2 gallons per person per day for 14 days to get started. If you want to live longer than 14 days, you should store more if you can. I really like the 5 gallon stackable containers. They are square and take up little space. You can stack them three high along a wall, in a closet, under a table, etc. They are easily movable from one location to the other as well. They are a little more expensive than the same amount of storage in larger containers. You can also get round barrels in 15, 30, and 55 gallon sizes. The 15 gallon size is movable with some effort, the others need to be rolled to a new location. You can store water in these containers outside if you allow space for freezing in the top of the container. Frozen containers can then be rolled into your home or garage to thaw if you need to access the water in the winter.

I CAN’T STRESS TOO MUCH THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR ATTENDANCE AT THIS UPCOMING FIRESIDE. For one thing, I am organizing it and I want to make sure there are a lot of bodies there, but more importantly, I have heard him speak and I know how much I learned that changed the way I am going to do things in the future. Some of the things I have done so far are not necessarily the best way to do them. Bring your spouse, get on the same page, feel the spirit of the message, and hear the information together. I find that it is sometimes hard to pass along this type of information to a spouse. It is also hard to create the same kind of enthusiasm in another person that you feel yourself by being in attendance. Arrange in advance for other family members to take care of your children on May 17 from 7-9 p.m..