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Heather Caspi/Editor-in Chief of EMSResponder.com |
By Fayrene Sherritt
Turnagain Times Hope Correspondent
November 10 the Hope/Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department held their annual meeting. A breakdown was given of the monies HSVFD has spent and what it is planning to spend from the grants State Representative Mike Hawker made available for public safety needs. Under new business it was voted to begin the process of merging the Fire Department with Hope EMS. Once Hope EMS has met and voted to merge, the actual process will begin. There will be meeting notices posted so Hope residents and members of both organizations can have input into the pending change. There is a new group of ETT students training to join the Hope EMS service. If anyone is interested in taking the 40-hour course, please contact either Valerie DeFrance or Tom Burgin soon. Classes are beginning shortly.
The proposed by-law change passed. Beginning with this election, each year there will be a rotation of personnel. The current chief has stepped aside. Henry Motoyama, Assistant Chief has moved into the Fire Chief position, with Kelly Keisling moving from Captain to Assistant Chief which then left the Captain position open. Dwayne McBride was elected as the new Captain. Lana Scanlan was elected as Secretary/Treasurer. Dan Hawksworth and Scott Sherritt will be working together as Training Officers for the department. Beginning with this group, each person will hold their position for one year. This will provide training for the next rotation as well as assure the volunteers that they haven’t been elected to “a life-time” appointment.
Tito Discovery Café (closed in the winter on Wednesdays) was used by Dateline’s film crew, an NBC network program, Nov. 7 as they filmed for an up-and-coming program related to the recent trial of Mechele Linehan. The program is expected to air in January after the sentencing hearing of Mechele Linehan for the murder of Kent Lippink.
Mr. Lippink’s body was found dumped on a secondary road in Hope over 11 years ago. Maria Motoyama was interviewed for over an hour by Dateline correspondent, Keith Morrison. The crew spent over two hours to put up the lights, turned off all the equipment in the café that the microphones would pickup and blacked out some of the windows to help control the lighting. The main person interviewed was the detective in charge of the case from the Soldotna State Troopers. The area where the body was found in April 11 years ago was also filmed. Motoyama said that Keith Morrison was a very pleasant person but she is not sure whether she’ll end up on the cutting room floor when it is all said and done because she played such a small roll in the investigation and trial.
November 17 the Hope Christian Church is sponsoring a free Thanksgiving Dinner to Hope’s residents. The dinner will be at the Hope School with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Along with church members, Tito’s Discovery Café will help with food preparation and Bowman’s Bear Creek Lodge will provide all the catering equipment for serving the meal.
Yes, there is a free lunch! The community is invited to attend a pre-Thanksgiving luncheon at the Hope School at 11:30 a.m. on Wed., Nov. 21. The students in the Foods Class will prepare this gourmet event and Ken and Jan Halverson, school principal and his wife are sponsoring the luncheon. Please call 782-3202 to RSVP so there is enough food. Food will also be delivered to shut-ins. Come and see how well the kids have learned how to cook. The menu of yummy food will be posted in several locations.
November 24 is the Hope Library Christmas Bazaar from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Hope School. Anyone interested in having a table, please contact Susan Anderson at 782-3311. There will be soup, chili, coffee, punch and a bake sale so bring your Christmas shopping list and join in the fun. The bluegrass band will join in again this year providing Christmas music in the background. The Library is also looking for bookshelves or bookcases. If you have any to donate, please call Susan Anderson.
From the Hope School Principal’s Desk, Ken Halverson reported that in order to gain genuine experience for a recent unit of study regarding components of a mystery and the sciences employed when solving a mystery, the Hope students traveled to Anchorage Oct. 30. The students toured the Alaska State Crime Lab and the Anchorage Division Office of the FBI. During the trip they saw first hand how forensic science is applied to solve crimes; they talked to experts in the different departments and learned about the careers existing in these fields. An FBI agent reviewed how to become an agent, which includes passing a physical fitness test; an applicant can not have used drugs as a young person and must pass a lie detector test. The students were impressed with how to work undercover, the pay scale and that the jobs sounded like fun.
This year Dec.14, the Hope School will be putting on a series of short presentations for their Christmas program. Everyone is welcome to join the students for this fun-filled show. Christmas vacation will be Dec. 24 through Jan. 4.
The annual Christmas Potluck will be held at the Hope Social Hall Dec. 22. Everyone is invited to bring a dish, plan to arrive at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. There will be a visit from Santa and other surprises.
Wednesday morning breakfast, at the Hope Christian Church, provides a free breakfast to anyone in our community who would like to attend. Doors of the church will open every Wed. morning at 8:00 a.m. for coffee and breakfast is served to 10 am. All are welcome to come.
The Food Bank is open Wed. 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Those folks needing to take advantage of the food pantry, outside the regular hours, please contact either Tom Burgin (350-1318) or Joyce Burgin (830-5307). If you are in need of food, you are encouraged to utilize this free service.