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December 8, 2003 |
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About Town Dave Uphoff |
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Support the families of our soldiers
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With the holiday season upon us, everyone is busy buying gifts, putting up decorations, and
attending parties. It is the time of the year when job efficiency plunges as we wind down to the
year's end trying to make it to the finish line before we collaspe. In this hectic spree we
need to remind ourselves that there are many Americans that will not be home for Christmas this year.
Many of our friends and loved ones are overseas in Afghanistan or Iraq fighting terrorism.
The war on terrorism has had a definite impact on many American families. What makes this war different is that there is a large number of soldiers from reserve units. I am sure that most reservists didn't foresee the possiblity of active duty. However, after September 11, 2001, everything changed. Without a draft system, our country is relying heavily on reservists to supply the manpower needed to fight a war. Suddenly, breadwinners are being yanked from their jobs and sent overseas to fight a war. Families are left alone to run the household on a smaller income to which they were accustomed. Agnes Nemmers suggested to me last month to publish the names of military personnel so that they can be sent letters from home. Agnes has been involved with the Women's Auxiliary of the VFW and also with the American Red Cross blood drive. She has been an ardent volunteer for our community for many years and is to be commended for her selfless interest in helping others. I thought Agnes's suggestion to send letters to our soldiers was a great idea until I read in the paper this morning that the military is discouraging sending letters. They feel that it poses a security risk and bogs down the shipping system causing a delay in the shipment of things like replacement equipment. Instead, the military suggests that we donate to a military family relief fund to help the military families who are struggling financially while family members are deployed overseas.
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Starting this week, the names of families in which the head of the family is
overseas will be listed at this webpage. I urge anyone who knows of a military family in need
to send their name and address to this website. By sending a donation or even a card to a family, you
will be helping in the war effort. In addition, there are national organizations to which you can make
a contribution.
Illinois National Guard at www.il.ngb.army.mil. Telephone (866) 524-4564.
Thanks for the treesAs a citizen of the Minonk community, I want to extend my extreme gratitude to Jason Gerdes, president of Gerdes Wholesale Nursery of Harvard, IL, for donating 37 trees to the City of Minonk. The retail value of these trees exceeds $6,000 and is a godsend to a city that desperately needs new trees in its parks and other public areas. I have spotted 10 areas in the Westside Park in which trees could be planted. Hopefully, the trees can be planted before the ground freezes. The other trees will be planted in the other city parks. Hopefully, Mr. Gerdes's generous act will spur other businesses and individuals to make contributions to the City of Minonk. The growth and well being of small communities is dependent on the charitable acts of community-minded citizens and companies.I want to thank everyone who stopped by to view the new Minonk Talk office Saturday night after the Parade of Lights . Coffee, hot chocolate, cake and cookies were served and a good time was had by all. Around 8:30 p.m. my friend Judy went with her daughter and son-in-law to pick up some pizzas and bring them back for our dinner. After being gone an hour, I decided to call her to see where she was. As I dialed her number, I heard a phone ring in the other room. I quickly hung up the phone and went into the other room and answered the phone in Judy's purse. There was no answer. I returned to the front room greeted with howls of laughter. I suddenly realized that I went to answer the cell phone that I was trying to call. That was my senior moment for the week. |
