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Articles by Ric Hinkie
Republican Party is dead
Republican Party is dead The Republican Party is dead. The Grand Old Party (GOP) of President Eisenhower, Goldwater and McCain is no more. I miss it. It stood for American Values that benefitted us all, not just the oligarchs who pay to get their selfish way by funding MAGA candidates today. kAm(92E 5:5 E96 @C:8:?2= v~! DE2?5 7@Cn $66 E96 `hde #6AF3=:42? !2CEJ !=2E7@C> F?56C !C6D:56?E t:D6?9@H6C Wv6?6C2= @7 E96 pC>J H9@ =65 p>6C:42 2?5 @FC 2==:6D E@ G:4E@CJ @G6C v6C>2? 2?5 xE2=:2?
Shelter shows a little kindness as family gets back on their feet
Can you imagine losing your job, your home and wondering how to take care of your wife and young daughter? And what about the beloved dog you can no longer afford to feed and care for? That is the situation a man shared with Teresa DuMarce outside of the Humane Society of Central Arizona one morning, an hour before it opened to the public. The man was in tears as he petted his dog. He did not know what to do. His love for his pet was so strong, but he just couldn’t care for it anymore.
Ponderosa Family Care starts food for the needy program
What could be more kind than helping those in need put food on the table? Ponderosa Family Care, a local physician group, is doing its part to help. At their three offices –– 127 E. Main Street, Suite D; 600 Highway 260, Suite 9; and 806 S. Ponderosa Street – they have food racks set up. kAm%96 C24<D 6?4@FC286 E9@D6 :? ?665 E@ E2<6 2 7@@5 :E6> H9:=6 6?4@FC28:?8 A2E:6?ED 2?5 G:D:E@CD E@ =62G6 2?
He does not deserve our vote
He does not deserve our vote This is an open letter to all US military veterans and retirees. kAm(6 2== 5:5 @FC 5FEJ H96? 2D<65 E@ D6CG6 @FC 4@F?ECJ] s@?2=5 %CF>A C67FD65 7:G6 D6A2C2E6 E:>6D] w6 2?5 x H6C6 5C27E65 :? E96 >:55=6 `he_D] x D2:5 J6Dj 96 D2:5 ?@]k^Am kAm“$@C6 766E” D2:5 9:D 7@@E 5@4E@C[ H9@ H2D C6?E:?8 9:D 2A2CE>6?E 7C@> E96 >F=E:\>:==:@?2:C6 %CF>A 72>:=J] }@ 4@>AC@>:D6 E96C6[ C:89En u:G6 E:>6D 96 H2D 5C27E65[ 7:G6 E:>6D 96 C67FD65]k^Am kAmw6C6 2C6 >@C6 @7 9:D 2?E:\G6E6C2? 24E:@?D] ~?
Hometown Heroes: Time Out Shelter
Can you imagine how scary and painful it would be to have your spouse/partner/relative or someone else mentally and perhaps even physically hurt you? What would you do? Who could you turn to? Where would you get help? For 30 years, the Time Out Shelter in Payson has been a refuge for more than 10,000 people, mostly women and children, but sometimes men too.
Hometown Heroes: Kaitie’s Closet
Besides food in your tummy and a warm place to sleep, the next need that can bring smiles to a disadvantaged child is a pair of shoes that fit, a jacket and some new clothes. That’s what the Hometown Heroes volunteers at Kaitie’s Closet work so hard to provide: clothes for marginalized children. “We had a young girl walk two miles to get to one of our distribution sessions,” said Bob Horne, director of Kaitie’s Closet, “who left with a size 8 pair of new shoes ...
Hometown Heroes: Payson Community Kids offers a safe place to be a kid
Can you imagine being a parent or grandparent of 50-90 kids? Fun loving, full of pep, curious, and, yes, sometimes mischievous kids. But 50-90? Welcome to the world of the Hometown Heroes at Payson Community Kids, a free after-school program for the underprivileged children of Payson. The buses pull up and Beth Gallob, or “Miss Beth” as the kids call her, welcomes both elementary and high schoolers at PCK, just north of Expedition Church.
Hometown Heroes: CASA volunteers offer foster care children a safe harbor
Can you imagine how scary it can be for a child living in the foster care system? Having to go to court with adults you don’t know all around you? Who can you rely on? You may even live in another city because there was no foster care where you live. Perhaps you have moved in and out of foster homes. You wonder if you will ever live with your family again? If a foster child is appointed a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), they have at least one consistent, caring person they can count on.
Hometown Heroes: Payson library volunteers
Thousands of us rely on the Hometown Heroes at the Payson Library. With more than 70,000 books on the shelves and 13,000 library card holders, it takes an army of staff and volunteers to help manage the Payson Public Library. Most of us probably don’t realize there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work by the staff and volunteers to make the books and other media materials available.
Hometown Heroes: Northern Gila County Historical Society-Rim Country Museum
Did you know Payson was once famous for Moonshine? Has 1,000-year-old artifacts? Has its own fire lookout tower and the original Julia Randall school room, circa 1940s? The volunteers at the Northern Gila County Historical Society—gift shop, Zane Grey Cabin replica and Rim Country Museum do, and they would love to share these things and many more. And they sell great Christmas gifts there too. Maybe a furry rattlesnake, a stuffed elk, or your very own Mogollon Monster shirt or hat.
Hometown Heroes community celebration honors those that serve
Payson’s first Hometown Heroes Community Celebration was held Friday, Dec. 2. Nearly two dozen local non-profit organizations took part with display tables highlighting their services to the community. Each had volunteers present to provide information about both the work of the organization and what kind of volunteer experiences they provide. See the attached list of organizations and how to reach them. Each would welcome additional volunteers and donations to support their work.
Hometown Heroes Community Celebration
Hometown Heroes Community Celebration Editor: Come celebrate the spirit of giving by Payson volunteers and learn more about our Payson area community service organizations at a Hometown Heroes community event from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 2 at the United Methodist Church, 414 N. Easy St. (east of Paul’s Ace Hardware).
Hometown heroes: Presbyterian food bank
It is that time of year again when the community is asked to help those in need for the holidays. There are several food banks taking donations, including St. Vincent de Paul, the Pine-Strawberry Food Bank as well as Community Presbyterian Church. Donations given during the holidays often help these organizations throughout the year as organizers stretch every dollar. At Community Presbyterian Church, 800 W. Main St., the need never ends.
Hometown Heroes: Pine Strawberry Fuel Reduction
The mission of this week’s hometown heroes’ is to keep your home and our Rim communities free of forest fires. Throughout the summer and fall, Pine Strawberry Fuel Reduction, Inc. (PSFR) volunteers staff a brush pit every Sunday afternoon and Thursdays for residents to dump their tree branches, leaves, and other green debris. The PSFR crew wrapped up brush pit operations on Nov. 20, but will back open in the spring.
Hometown Heroes: Aspire Arizona Foundation
“The most important investment you can make is in yourself,” said Warren Buffett, one of America’s most successful investors. Payson High School students are doing just that by taking dual credit courses through Payson High School and EAC-Payson community college. The Aspire Arizona Foundation (AAF), a local non-profit that has helped nearly 500 students take more than 2,000 courses since 2016, pays for those classes, in which the students receive both college and high school credit.
Hometown Heroes: Humane society shelter volunteers, staff
You see them walking down Main Street every morning in yellow safety vests, dog leash in hand. They are the volunteer dog walkers at the Humane Society of Central Arizona. They arrive around 8 in the morning, meet up with Apollo, Kansas, Rusty, Nova or one of the other dogs awaiting a lifetime home and take a walk. “Good for both of us,” said Mike Behrens, who has been volunteering for the past eight years.
Hometown Heroes: Hospital volunteers
Volunteers are vital to patients and visitors when they come to Banner Payson Medical Center. There is a healthy and mutually appreciative relationship between Banner employees and the volunteers — many of whom work right next to the doctors, nurses and staff. “Whether it is a volunteer greeting a nervous, apprehensive patient or their family that walks into our lobby.
Hometown heroes: Weekend food program for students in need
For nearly 100 students who receive lunches while at school, the weekend often means going hungry. But thanks to the Student Weekend Food Program (SWFP) at the Payson United Methodist Church, volunteers are sending these students home with bags of food. Volunteers buy food and pack it into bags every Tuesday. Packing will begin again on Sept. 20. The current plan is to assemble 80 bags to be split between four schools, 20 per school.
Hometown Heroes: Payson Homeless and Veterans Homeless Initiative
Like it or not, the Payson community has a homeless crisis. Every night from 4 to 6:30 p.m. the Payson Homeless and Veterans Homeless Initiative offers a hot dinner, clothing, and a shower. In cold weather or during a natural disaster, the center has sleeping accommodations too. Imagine living on the street and in the forest in the snow and cold. The Warming Center, as it is often referred to, is at 601 E. Highway 260, on the east end of Mount Cross Lutheran Church’s parking lot.
Hometown Heroes: Humane society thrift store volunteers
It costs nearly $40 a day for the Humane Society of Central Arizona to house a dog. Helping cover that cost is the Humane Society Thrift Store on Main Street. Without the amazing volunteers at the Humane Society Thrift Store on Main Street, there would be a huge hole in the overall budget to care for the animals. The store contributes 30% to the budget. It costs an average of $36.55 per day to house and care for a dog at the shelter and $32.69 for a cat.
Community college gardeners help keep campus beautiful
It only seems appropriate that in the same place where knowledge grows, nature’s beauty grows too. Students come to gain knowledge and skills, community members come to workout and enjoy other programs and the elk come to nosh on the greenery. This week’s Hometown Heroes are the volunteers that plant and maintain the beautiful flowers and grounds at our Eastern Arizona Community College. The students’ learning is part of a plan—instructors have carefully developed curriculum.
Hometown Heroes: Payson Senior Center
Their families are elsewhere, their friends are gone. They are alone. One in six seniors faces depression, isolation, and hunger. But Jan, a regular recipient of the Meals on Wheels program, wakes up in the morning and knows that she will have a meal today. Anita will be reminded to eat. Betty, who has fallen and been lying on the floor all night, knows that her “angel” will come for her in the morning.
Hometown Heroes: Walshes enjoy helping others
Our sixth Payson Area Hometown Heroes are Chris and Maureen Walsh. Both are full-time employees of Edward Jones Investments in Payson. They are involved in many area activities while serving their clients and enjoying their time together and with friends. Here are just a few of the ways they are Hometown Heroes. Kiwanis — Just this year they led the team, which raised $19,000 for scholarships awarded to Payson students. Chris is Kiwanis president-elect and chair of the scholarship committee.
Hometown Heroes: Mogollon Sporting Association
If you have a huge passion for youth, sports, wildlife, hunting, fishing and conservation, then the Mogollon Sporting Association is for you. They have raised more than $2.5 million and invested the money in a wide variety of activities that have benefited the 50-mile radius around Payson.
Hometown Heroes: St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank
Imagine a fully stocked grocery store — canned goods, bakery, dairy, fresh veggies, frozen food, fruit and more. This is one store where you can’t buy anything. It’s all free to needy residents. The St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank feeds 70 to 80 families every 10 days. That’s more than 2,565 boxes provided in a year and more than 15,000 pounds of food every month gathered from a variety of local and Valley sources.
Arizona Wild Rescue helping wildlife across northern Arizona
Ever wondered what happens to an injured animal in the wild when a human finds it? What kind of help is available? What should you do if you find an animal that needs help? The answer to all those questions is Delphia Strickland. Strickland is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and the director of Arizona Wild Rescue. When a golden eagle was found on the ground, alive but unable to stand, Strickland transported the bird from Lakeside.
Hometown Heroes: Veterans Helping Veterans
Thanking a veteran is a simple way to acknowledge their service and sacrifice. Veterans Helping Veterans takes support of veterans much further. Sometimes that means helping a veteran get the benefits from Veterans Affairs (VA) — benefits they were promised, sometimes many years before. Sometimes it is finding them physical and mental health benefits. Sometimes it is finding them a home to get them off the streets. And sometimes it’s a ride to the grocery store, the doctor’s office or the library.
Hometown Heroes at the Christian Clinic
Here are some medical heroes to celebrate. The Payson Christian Clinic, 701 S. Ponderosa St., Suite D, serves between 80 to 110 people each month. That’s more than 16,000 since its founding in 2007. All patients either have no health insurance or huge deductibles. Doctors Judy Hunt, Alan Michels, Lauren Washatka and physician assistants Mike DeMack, Gerilyn Trulove and nurse practitioner Lynne Vigil are the medical team.
Hometown Heroes: Roundup launching new column
Look around Payson and it isn’t hard to find someone lending a helping hand. We want to celebrate those residents going above and beyond, and so the Roundup is launching Hometown Heroes, a new column that will be published one to two times a month. Ric Hinkie has volunteered to spearhead the effort, a Hometown Hero in his own right. Since moving to Payson in 2005, Hinkie has served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, two churches and the local Trout Unlimited chapter.
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